SERIES ON PETER
by D. Stuart Briscoe
SU BM ISS IO N
A s I think of the Apostle Peter, I can’t help but see myself re flected in his life and actions. So many of the mistakes that he made are repeated by me. His failings are frequently my own. There are some extremely valuable lessons for us to learn in studying th e spiritual growth of this man of God. There are two basic things the Lord wants us to learn. The first is the truth about Jesus Christ and the second is the truth about ourselves. As we apply these factors, we can ever live the kind of life needed for spiritual victory. The Saviour pointed out immedi ately the truth about Simon. He told him, “I know all there is to know about you: your weaknesses, fail ings, mistakes, as well as your ear nestness, sincerity, zeal and devotion. I not only know what you are, but also I know what I’m going to make of you as I am allowed to be ‘let loose’ in your life.” This is exactly what Christ wants to do in and through us today as well. Unfortunately, like ourselves, it took Peter a long time to learn these two lessons. I t was a painful road at times. When Peter finally acknowl edged the truth about himself, he saw the Lord in His true perspec tive. Peter began to reckon with the fact that he could never live the Christian life by himself. He dis covered that the Christian life is simply Jesus Christ in His resur rection power let loose in a very or dinary person. Our Saviour not only invites us to come to Him that we might commit our lives to His care, but also He requires us utterly to abandon our lives to Him for salvation as well as for service. One of the reasons some Christians never get very fa r in
their spiritual growth is because they never seem to discover that God has a job for them to do down here on earth. Not only are they given the privilege of salvation, but also the responsibility of abandon ing their lives to Him for whatever He has in mind for them. Christ has always made it clear that He expects those who come to Him for salvation to commit their lives to Him in full and complete submission. We are not just to stride along, trying to put our feet where He put His. We rather make our lives totally available to and ex pendable for Him. We are to love Him more than anything or anyone else. He is to be the very center and core of our existence. If we love our lives, we will lose them. If we hand them over to Him, we will gain His life. This is what it means to follow the Lord Jesus. It is what He ex pects us to do. The moment the Lord demanded utter abandonment of Peter’s life, it was done “straightway.” Christ in essence promised, “If you follow Me, I will make it My personal re sponsibility to make you a fisher of men.” How few Christians ever real ly get around to becoming “fishers of men.” Why is this? It is either because the Lord doesn’t keep His promises, or else because we don’t do what He tells us. We know from personal experience and external evi dence that the latter is definitely true. When Peter left his nets, he set off in characteristic fashion. He made things “hum” wherever he went. The trouble was they didn’t seem to “hum” the way the Lord wanted them to. While Peter was full of enthusiasm and energy, he had to learn some very important lessons. 19
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