HOFC Sermon Archive

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

38. The Source of True Defilement

39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith

40. He Has Done All Things Well

41. Jesus Feeds 4000

42. Jesus Sighs

43. Beware of Leaven

44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida

45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

46. Mindful of the Things of God

47. The Cost of Discipleship

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

59. A Couple Days Before Palm Sunday

60. The Cup and Baptism

61. Greatness in the Kingdom Comes from Serving

62. Blind Bartimaeus

63. Triumphal Entry

64. Cursing and Cleansing

65. Faith and Forgiveness

66. Is it from Heaven or from Men?

67. Parable of the Wicked Vine Grower

68. Our Duty to God and Country

69. The Resurrection of the Dead

70. The Two Greatest Commands

71. David’s Son and David’s Lord

72. Beware the Pretentious Scribes

73. The Widow’s Mites

74. Olivet Discourse I

75. Olivet Discourse II

76. The Preparations

77. The Last Supper Part I

78. The Last Supper Part II

79. Peter’s Denial

80. The Garden of Gethsemane

81. The Betrayal of Jesus

82. Jesus Before the Council

83. Peter’s Denial of Jesus

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 14:66-72 “And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”

68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the entryway.

[a: later manuscripts add “a rooster crowed”]

69 And when the servant-girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” 70 But again he was denying it.

And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are also a Galilean.”

71 But he began to curse and swear,

[b: put himself under a curse for swearing]

“I do not know this man you are talking about!”

72 And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said the statement to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And throwing himself down, he began to cry.”

INTRODUCTION

It is now Late Thursday Night of the week of Passover.

§ Late Thursday Night: In the inner part of the temple before the Sanhedrin (TODAY’S MESSAGE)

Among the things Jesus suffered is the indignity of Peter’s denial of knowing Him. We read in the text that three times Peter denied knowing Jesus. Once when the High Priest servant girl saw him. A second time when she insisted to the crowd that Peter was one of the disciples of Jesus, and a third time when bystanders recognized him as a Galilean, assuming he must be a follower of Jesus.

Footnote on Mark 16:68, later manuscripts add the phrase “a rooster crowed,” while earlier manuscripts do not have this. Mark 16:72 tells us “And immediately a rooster crowed a second time.” So we already know what Jesus said came to pass.

Assumably, somewhere over the centuries of copying the Scriptures, a scribe thought they should add where the first rooster crow probably happened. This was not only unnecessary because of the wording in Mark 16:72, but also frowned upon by theologians because of instruction from the word warning us not to add or take away from the word of God.

Deuteronomy 4:2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I am commanding you.”

Deuteronomy 12:32
“Whatever I am commanding you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.”

Proverbs 30:5-6
“Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.”

And everyone remembers Revelation 22:18-19

Paul also warns that if anyone preaches the gospel contrary to what the apostles taught, they would be cursed. Remember, Jesus condemned the religious leaders for elevating human tradition to the status of divine command. (Mark 7:7-9)

Now Peter was with Jesus from the very beginning! (Mark 1:16-18). He witnessed his own mother-in-law healed (yes, Peter was married, and so were many of the other disciples); he also witnessed Jesus walking on water in the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus at the transfiguration where both Moses and Elijah appeared with Him.

And yet…Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.

What would cause a man of God to deny the Lord? This record can help us avoid making the same mistakes Peter made, as we examine what he himself writes as one who knows the dangers.

I. PETER WAS BETRAYED BY HIS PRIDE

a. Peter boasted he would never deny Jesus.

i. In Mark 14:27-29 Peter proudly proclaims in front of all that even if “they” all left Jesus, he would not

ii. In proclaiming this in pride, Peter actually took his first step away from Jesus in that moment and began falling away

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

iii. Have you ever been overconfident in your service to God?

1. Boasting how great a Christian you are, or even how bad someone else is?

2. Gossip runs rampant, and mostly in churches among the congregants.

3. We can fall so easily to pride

1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

b. Peter later writes, commanding us to be humble

1 Peter 5:5b “…And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,”

One of the biggest problems in the Body of Christ is gossip and individuals thinking they are better than others. I hear it all the time. Peter learned the hard way about pride, and we can either learn from Peter’s mistake, or learn the hard way in our lives as well. Are you prepared to fall? That is what will happen if you travel this route

II. PETER WAS PLAGUED BY LAZINESS

a. Remember he fell asleep when Jesus needed him in the garden?

i. At a time when Jesus asked Peter to do something (Mark 14:37-42), Peter’s attitude and laziness led to a lack of preparation.

1. There are things Jesus has asked us to do as well. Do we say, “tomorrow,” “I’m planning to…,” or worse yet, “I have plenty of time to do the will of God on my time.”

James 4:13-14 no one is promised tomorrow.

Proverbs 19:21 “Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of Yahweh will stand.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.”

ii. The same can happen to us!

Without doing what the Lord asks of us in His timing, we too can be unprepared (Luke 21:34-36)

Many gradually drift away because they are too lazy to earnestly and diligently seek Him, and obey in His timing instead of their own. (Hebrews 2:1-3)

iii. How often have well-intentioned Christians followed their own will in matters that “seem” like godly, good Christian things, but end up struggling with the consequences of their will?

iv. Jesus said, the path that leads to destruction is broad, and many find it.

b. Peter later writes about being diligent.

i. He commands in his epistle to be vigilant and resist against the devil. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit

[take faithfulness, commitment, prayer, scripture reading SERIOUSLY],

be watchful

[mindful that you can be deceived, not just by the devil, but by your own heart!].

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

[Whom will he find to devour? Like a lion, he hunts the weak in faith, those weak in the word, those weak in their walk, those who separate themselves from other Christians, those who are deep into the world and its ways, those who are deep into themselves, and their own ways]

⁹But resist him, firm in the faith,

[some do not resist the devil. Some invite him into their homes, their relationships, their hearts.]

knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished among your brethren who are in the world.”

Other believers go through the same struggles as you. The key word in this verse is "accomplished.” What is accomplished? Peter says, resisting the devil!

III. PETER WAS OVERCOME BY COWARDICE

a. Peter followed Jesus…at a distance.

i. After Peter was full of pride to Jesus about never leaving Him, even if all the others did, he followed Jesus after they arrested Jesus and took Him away.

ii. But notice… Scripture says Peter followed at a distance. (Mark 14:54)

1. Now that Jesus was unpopular, Peter kept his distance.

2. Staying just far enough away so that he would not be identified with knowing Jesus…sounds like some of the Christians today.

3. Peter was unprepared to face criticism, ridicule, persecution, and to be challenged about his faith and belief.

a. This is the state of many who do not spend any time in the word of God.

b. They think they already “know” what the bible says, or even say, “I’ve already read that.” Pride.

iii. Maybe we too are guilty of this. Ashamed to be seen carrying a bible? Offering godly advice when asked? Ashamed to be seen with other Christians?

b. Peter later encouraged glorifying God.

Peter wrote in his epistle, 1 Peter 4:16 “but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to glorify God in this name.”

1. The apostles knew persecution in a way many Christians today have never experienced. They were beaten, imprisoned, hunted, rejected, and in many cases killed for faithfully proclaiming Christ, as seen in Acts 5:40-42, Acts 12:1-5, and 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.

2. Being mocked, insulted, or socially rejected for believing the Bible may be unpleasant, but it should never be compared to or confused with the severe suffering endured by the early church.

3. Their example reminds us to endure lesser opposition without self-pity and to pray for believers around the world who still face imprisonment, violence, and death for the name of Christ, whose suffering is far greater than that experienced here in America.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Far too many today shine their light for themselves, so that they may be glorified.

There is substantial psychological research connecting social-media behavior with narcissism, self-importance, status seeking, and attention seeking.

A major meta-analysis examined 57 studies involving over 25,000 people. It found a statistically significant association between grandiose narcissism and social-networking behavior, with narcissism especially related to self-presentation and accumulating larger numbers of “online friends,” many of whom they did not actually know personally.

Another meta-analysis of 80 studies similarly found that people higher in narcissism tended to engage more heavily in social networking. Narcissism was associated with activities including posting photographs, status updates, commenting, interacting, and having more online friends.

They found that narcissism was consistently associated with certain forms of online self-presentation. In particular, inauthentic self-presentation was more common among people higher in narcissistic traits.

Social media did not invent narcissism, pride, selfishness, or the desire for human praise. What it has done is give those impulses a stage, an audience, and a scoreboard. Traits that once might have remained largely private can now be displayed publicly through constant self-promotion, attention-seeking, comparison, outrage, and the pursuit of approval.

2 Timothy 3:2, “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant…”

3 John 12:43, “for they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God.”

IV. PETER, TOO, WAS INFLUENCED BY WORLDLINESS

a. Influence of the world is a real problem for some.

i. While sitting with the servants of the high priest, he was ashamed to be seen with Christ

ii. It was far easier for Peter to mingle with those of the world and enjoy their comforts of anonymity and warmth of the fire, rather than stand with Christ.

iii. But one cannot be “comforted by the fire” of this world and not be burned!

Proverbs 6:27-28 “Can a man take fire in his arms and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?^”

1. If you play with fire, you will get burned!

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

b. Peter later reminds us in his epistle that we are not of this world

i. We are called by the word of God to live as travelers, abstaining from the lust of the flesh, and live with honorable conduct among the nations (1 Peter 2:11-12)

We are told in 2 Peter 3:13-14 “… according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. ¹⁴Therefore, beloved, since you are looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.”

If Christ came at this very moment, what would He find in you?

CONCLUSION

By the time Peter concluded his second epistle, he finished it with a warning to all of us.

2 Peter 3:17 Beware, else you may fall from your commitment

What can help us stay committed as we should? The next verse, 2 Peter 3:18a says, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…”

These warnings come from a man who is not only qualified as an apostle to instruct us, but from one who experienced some of the very things he warns us of. When Peter wrote his epistles, he knew how easy it was to fall into things such as pride, laziness, cowardice, and getting wrapped up in worldliness.

However, Peter also knew from experience with the Lord that one can grow in grace through things such as humility, diligence, glorifying God, and living as strangers and sojourners in this world.

FINAL THOUGHT

This world is not our home.

Scripture reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven” Philippians 3:20, and that we are “strangers and exiles on the earth” Hebrews 11:13.

We belong to the kingdom of God, not to the passing kingdoms of this age, for He has “transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love” Colossians 1:13.

While we travel through this world, we represent another King and another kingdom, for “we are ambassadors for Christ” 2 Corinthians 5:20.

So let us live as citizens of heaven, faithful travelers on earth, and worthy representatives of the kingdom to which we truly belong.

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