ually does. You will lose your tes timony when you lose your temper. Broken-hearted, Peter had de nied his Lord with oaths and curses. The enemy of his soul had battered and buffeted him until he became defeated by sin. It was a result of disobedience in his own life. Do not allow your life to go the way of Simon Peter as it was at this point of his life. The weakest per son in any place is not a bold in fidel but rather a Christian who is out of fellowship with God. May the Lord spare us from the spiritual downfall of this man. Our only protection is through obedience to the Word of God! A COMPROMISING DISCIPLE It is always sad to see a good man in a bad place. This can never bring honor or glory to the Lord. In the denial of the Lord by Peter (Matthew 26:69-71), he was not in the tight place. Peter's life is one of contrasts. Sometimes he is hot and other times he is cold. Some times he is fervent and other times he is flailing. Sometimes he is on the mountain-top of triumph and other times in the valley of tor ment and defeat. Sometimes he is at the place of victory and other times he is vascillating. Sometimes he is near the Lord and other times he is following afar off. Peter denied Christ three times and in three ways. The first denial came by where he was. What was he doing there? He denied the Lord by being in company with the enemies of Jesus Christ. He was not there to witness. He had the wrong associates. The same is true today with many Christians. David rightly testified, "Blessed is the man who sitteth not in the Page 27
selections. The third was the chair man of the ladies' aid who had not gotten her way. It is quite amusing to see the "miffed tree" and how true some of these evaluations are. Simon Peter was up the "miffed tree." He was just plain mad. He had been rebuked kindly by the Lord for trying to defend the Sav iour. The crestfallen disciple was unhappy because of this necessary criticism. Jesus did not seem to appreciate him. He did not want to be exhorted. I wonder, can we stand being exhorted by another believer when we are wrong? This is further proof that Peter has backslidden on the inside. The Bible reminds us, "Exhort one another while it is yet day, lest any be hardened through the de ceitfulness of sin." We read a later account of how Peter was able to face exhortation. After Pentecost he was doing some thing that was wrong. Paul says, "I withstood Peter to the face be cause he was to be blamed." Child of Cod, could you stand to be ex horted if you are not walking up rightly according to the truth of thè Gospel? I am afraid that we do not follow the doctrine of exhortation in these days. Peter's attitude to ward exhortation was indeed changed after the resurrection and Pentecost! You know the story of how Pet er, after the apprehension of the Lord, swore that he did not know the Lord at all. The little maid felt sure he had to be connected with Jesus based on his speech. Peter blew up and lost his temper at this thought. Certainly he was not right with God at this point! What a time for Satan to move in and take over. Anything can happen and us
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