Corinth Reformed Church
150 Sixteenth Avenue NW
Hickory, North Carolina 28601

Robert M. Thompson, Pastor
August 19, 2007
(more sermons)

Over my head

Have you ever taken on a project that seemed manageable, only to realize part-way in that you were in over your head? This sermon is an example. Preaching on "The Transformation of Peter" seemed doable at the time the worship staff sat in my office and chose Peter as one of the biblical characters whose life change we would address in our sermons this month. Just identify the key moment of change in Peter's life and some key life lessons from it.

It's not as easy as it looks. The more I delved Peter this past week, the more I realized that his life should have been five sermons, or ten or more. Then, the closer I came to Sunday, the more I realized that the time for preaching today would be shorter than usual, not longer. That's OK -- it's how we planned it. We want the personal testimonies and the music to blend with and reinforce the stories of transformation from the Bible. But how do you squeeze Peter into 15 minutes? He is an amazing and complex individual.

Disciple of Jesus

What's your favorite story about Peter? There are so many to tell. What about that first encounter by the Sea, when Peter, his brother, and two friends dropped their nets immediately and followed Jesus? [1] It's the first glimpse we have of the impulsive Peter.

Later Jesus would find him again at the lake, and, after a teaching session, would tell the group of fishermen to head back out to sea for a catch. Peter would object, ""We've worked all night and caught nothing. But since you say so...." A huge haul would prompt Peter to exclaim, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" [2]

Or maybe your favorite story is when Jesus was walking on the water. The frightened disciples thought he was a ghost, but Jesus assured them, "It is I!" Peter was the one who said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you." And he did, and sank when he turned away. [3]

You can't talk about Peter without the scene at Caesarea Philippi with its backdrop of granite cliffs. There Jesus asks the twelve, "Who do you say I am?" Peter speaks up, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus reminds Peter of his nickname, "the Rock": "On this rock I will build my church." [4]

Shortly thereafter Jesus predicts his death for the first time, and it's Peter who takes Jesus aside, presumably on behalf of the other disciples, and chastises Jesus for saying such a thing. Quickly Peter moves from being "the Rock" to "the devil": "Get behind me, Satan!" [5]

It was Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration who wanted to build three temples for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. [6] Peter asked the question, "How many times should we forgive?" that led to the seventy-times-seven answer. [7] When everyone was deserting Jesus, Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!" [8] And when Jesus said it's almost impossible for a rich man to enter God's kingdom, Peter spoke on behalf of the others: "We have left everything to follow you!" [9]

On the night before Jesus' death, when Jesus told his disciples they would all forsake him, Peter was only the first to speak -- but the others joined him. "I will never disown you!" [10] But he did, and in a memorable scene recorded in all four gospels he declared at least three times, "I don't know him!" After the last denial, the rooster crowed and Luke records that memorable connection between Jesus' hurting eyes and Peter's, tear-filled and remorseful. [11]

On the third day after the crucifixion, however, Peter was the first of the disciples to see Jesus, and perhaps the only one to have a private meeting with the risen Lord. [12] Sometime later, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" and three times adds, "Feed my sheep." The he predicts Peter's martyrdom. [13]

I had forgotten how prominent Peter is in the New Testament, and that's just in the Gospels so far. We'll come back in a moment to ask some questions about those stories, but let me just make one observation. Peter as disciple of Jesus, that is, the Peter in the gospels, is not necessarily a leader among the twelve. He is, however, a spokesman. [14] The person who speaks first or speaks most is not necessarily the leader.

Apostle of Jesus

Well if that's Peter as disciple of Jesus, what about Peter as apostle of Jesus? In Luke's careful record, we find Peter as the undisputed leader of the Jerusalem church in Acts 1-12. He preaches the sermon on the Day of Pentecost, when 3,000 are saved. [15] He and John heal a crippled man on the temple steps [16] and soon come into repeated conflict with the Jewish leaders.

Acts 4:13 describes them as courageous but unschooled and ordinary men, that is those who had not been through the rigorous rabbinic training such as Saul of Tarsus, who would become known as Paul. Their qualification was that they "had been with Jesus." When they were threatened, they would only say, "We must obey God rather than men!" [17]

Peter's reputation was legendary. People with sick friends and relatives would strategically place them so that Peter's shadow would fall on them for healing. [18] Peter's experience and influence opened the door of the church to uncircumcised Gentiles. [19] Peter's miraculous release from prison was credited to an angel. [20]

Of the next thirty or so years we know little, because attention shifts to Paul in the book of Acts. But we have hints that Peter's ministry stretched to Syria, Greece, and Italy. Tradition says he died in Rome at the hands of Nero. Not long before he died, he wrote the letters we have in our New Testament bearing his name.

Among the dizzying array of Scripture texts I could have chosen to tell Peter's story, I selected 1 Peter 4:12-16 precisely because it shows the depth of his maturity as he reached the end of his life and ministry. It is only the seasoned believer, with the stakes of faith imbedded deeply in solid rock, who can say, "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed." "If you suffer as a Christian, praise God!"

Transformations

What can we learn from the transformation of Peter transformation about how God changes people? How he wants to change you and change me? Here are some take home points.

First, Jesus transforms the heart, but he generally leaves the personality intact. Peter's take-charge, overconfident impulsiveness makes him look like a floundering idiot at times in the gospels. The same qualities turn into leadership material in Acts. If you are shy, or impulsive, or witty before you give your life to Christ, then you will probably be shy, impulsive, or witty afterward. But the Lord will use those qualities to do his work because they are how he made you.

Second, transformation is about the who, not the what. It seems to me that sometimes people hold back from a commitment to Christ because they are not sure what changes he will want to make. What will he ask of me? What will I have to give up?

Peter didn't know the answer to the "what" question. But from the first time he met Jesus, he knew the "who" was all that matters. This Jesus is worth following. If he is who he says he is -- and Peter's understanding of who Jesus is certainly grows -- whatever he wants is OK with me.

This total abandonment to Jesus Christ is at the heart of transformation. When Peter leaves the nets and follows him, when he says, "Lord, if it's you, help me walk on water," when he declares, "You are the Christ," and even when he says overconfidently, "I will never disown you" -- that's his heart -- I am all yours, Jesus Christ!

Third, always be ready for the next step. A better title for this sermon may have been "the transformations of Peter." From the first meeting, Peter gave himself fully to Christ. But every encounter with Jesus meant another transformation of his life, another level of understanding and discipleship.

We need to see every experience of life -- good, bad, hard, fun, surprising, expected -- as a potential moment of transformation. It's not about enjoying the successes and delaying the spiritual growth until later. It's not about surviving the failures and wondering later what it all meant. It is about asking of every experience, "Lord, what am I supposed to be learning? How are you trying to change me?"

Perhaps you have come to church today wondering the meaning of something going on in your life. Maybe it's a little thing. Maybe a big thing. Maybe it's bad. Maybe it's good. Maybe it's new. Maybe it's the same old issue that's been plaguing you -- or blessing you -- year after year. Maybe it's an opportunity, perhaps a storm, possibly a question, maybe a risky, even dangerous event. You're just not sure what it all means.

Here's what it means: God is at work in your life. He wants you to take the next step. He wants to change you. He wants you to learn to trust him at the next level. He wants to teach you to give more. He wants you to give up some sin that you've been holding back. He wants you to get help for some recurring and nagging problem you've been trying to handle on your own. He wants you to stop making excuses. In love he wants whatever this is to be the next step in his transformation of you. Amen.

Copyright 2007 by Robert M. Thompson, Pastor. Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures quoted are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright 1978 by New York International Bible Society.