take and apply the word and may we live in the light of it may we think often of thy word and then a little later as we turn to thee in prayer oh lord help us to pray we are conscious day by day how much we need thy help not least in prayer oh lord help us to pray we would not take it for granted we would not rest in any strength we might perceive we have we look solely to thee Help us to pray. Have all the glory tonight, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name. O we thank thee that we can come. Bless this time, we pray, and all who gather in the middle of the week, whether it was yesterday, tonight, or tomorrow. Bless all such gatherings. Bless thy people in these days. Build us up, O Lord, we pray, in our most holy faith, Hear us, O God, for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. We chant our first praise, Psalms 32, Psalm 32, verses 1 to 6. Our first praise, O blessed is the man to whom is freely pardoned, all the transgressions he hath done, whose sin is covered. we're going to sing from verse one through to verse six the first half of verse six concluding with the words as found our mayest be psalm 32 verses one O blessed is the man to whom this three-leaf clover bends, All the transgressions he hath done, his sin is pardoned. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord In dukes and lords to sing, And in whose plea there is no count, Nor fraud is found therein, When as I did refrain my sleep, and silence was my charm, My bones and wounds, they long to be found. I'll mourn them all day long. For now, for me, all day and night, I'm at it every night. So that my more certain edges did somehow straddle their high. I thereupon have up to Thee Thy same acknowledgement, and likewise mine iniquity. I am not a pharisee, I will confess unto the Lord my trespasses, should I And of my sin, Thou freely didst forgive iniquity. For this shall every lonely one His prayer have made to Thee. Tonight we return to our series in Peter, and with this in mind let's turn to Luke Chapter 22. Luke chapter 22 and we're reading from verse 54. Luke 22 and we're reading from verse 54. Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. And when the akin did fire in the midst of the whole, and was set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and then she looked upon him and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, of a truth this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me for us. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing to the reading of his precious word. Now we come tonight to verse 61. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said unto him, before the cock crowed, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Dear congregation, one day all the tears from the believer will be wiped away. In Revelation chapter 21 verse 4, revealing God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. No more tears, one day. No tears of sorrow, no tears of pain, But then consider also no tears of regret and no tears shed under conviction. But here they are the present things. There are the tears of sorrow and tears of pain. And then also tears of repentance. All there should be in the believer's life. What evidence is there that one has truly repented of their sin in that initial way? that one has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and repented of their sin. It is this that they know what it is to shed tears. They know what it is to mourn over their sin. They're a child now, but they grieve their Heavenly Father. They let the Savior down, and they know what it is to mourn over their sin. It's not an easy pathway, is it? But have you mourned over your sin? recently. Have you borne evidence that you are a child of God? Here's Peter. He denies the Lord. He makes out that he isn't a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet the Lord turns and looks on Peter and Peter is melted to tears. Though he's strayed, he bears evidence in verse 62 that he is truly a child of God. and evidence that one has truly repented of their sin is that they go on repenting. You see, as James Fisher puts it, repentance is an abiding principle until the Lord shall wipe away all tears. And as we think about death, what a wiping away it will be, and then on that great day for all the church together, what a wiping away it will be, no more tears of sorrow, no more tears of pain, No more tears of repentance. And are we not thankful for that in heaven and in Emmanuel's land? We will not shed tears being under conviction because we will be perfect. But here we know what it is to shed tears. We grieve over our sin, do we not? It may be a little while in coming, but it comes, doesn't it? Because the shepherd comes after his sheep. Those words in Psalm 23 verse 3, he restoreth my soul. Precious words, aren't they? When we are cast down and he restores comforts as part of restoring. But also as we shall see in Psalm 119 verse 176, there is a restoring when we backslide. The shepherd comes and he restores. And in doing so, he uses the word and through his spirit there was conviction. And we grieve over our sins. It may be a little while in coming, but it will come. And are we not thankful for that? It does come. We do feel our sin. We do mourn over our sin. We turn our feet like the psalmist in Psalm 119, desiring after a full obedience to follow the Lord. Dear child of God, you can look back, can you not? To times you have cried, you have mourned, you have grieved over your sin. But Peter caught the eye of Jesus and he went out and wept bitterly. He remembered the word of the Lord, verse 61, before the cock crowed, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. What had he done? And there are times when we say before the Lord, what have we done? And we weep bitterly. Now just a little background tonight before we come to these words. Peter was informed by Christ in verse 31 and verse 32 that a difficult time was coming for him, but also for those other disciples. Just come with me to verse 31. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fell not, and when thou convertest, strengthen thy brethren." A difficult time was coming. Satan would harass Peter and those others. Peter sadly would be found denying the Lord. But what a comfort if Peter only but grasped it. The Lord was making intercession. He was praying for him. Well, Peter hears these words and he responds in a self-confident manner, though sincere to some measure, in verse 33. Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. You see, Peter, he hears these words. Lord, I'm ready to follow thee. That's what I'm going to do. And the Lord lovingly has to say something to Peter in response in verse 34. I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. Our Lord knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. And as we think of that, the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. Sometimes we can be self-confident. Sometimes we can make known and make known to others, I'm going to so follow the Lord. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. The Lord knows us better. How often we stumble, how often we fall. Later, our Lord is found in the garden of Gethsemane. He was there in great agony, as we have seen on many an occasion. But also he was betrayed. And that brings us now to verse 54. Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. Peter, self-confident Peter, Peter, bold Peter, believing that he would so follow the Lord, now is following at a distance. And it can happen. We can be so following the Lord. The psalmist said in Psalm 63, my soul followeth hard after the Lord, and they are precious times, aren't they? When we are aware that we're in such fellowship with the Lord and communion with the Lord, and there's a skip in our heart, and we're so following the Lord, we're so focusing on Him. But a little while afterwards, we can then begin to follow at a distance. And we need to be aware of this. We can be so following the Lord, close to him, but then suddenly straying from him. Peter, a close disciple of our Lord, who was taken a little further with our Lord into the garden of Gethsemane, was found a little later following at a distance. It's not what we want to do, is it? But it happens. Peter followed as we see in verse 34. And then in verse 55, And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the whole, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man also was with him, and he denied him. Just earlier, so strong, making it known he's going to follow the Lord, Notice verse 33, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. That's what I'm going to do. I will so suffer for thee, Lord Jesus. Now he's denying the Lord. And we can all look back, can't we? Times when we were following the Lord, but then we failed him. That brings us to these words tonight in verse 61, And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me from us. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Three things tonight, time permitting. First of all, Peter's sinful actions. Secondly, Peter's loving saviour. Thirdly, Peter's genuine tears. Peter's sinful actions, Peter's loving saviour, Peter's genuine tears. The main thing we consider here tonight is Peter's denial, when we think of his sinful action. But it wasn't just his denial, as we will consider in a moment, there were other things interwoven into this time of when he was backsliding from the Lord. But let's consider first of all, as we think of Peter's sinful actions, the denial. Three times he denied the Lord. I've denied the Lord many more times. I'm sure you're thinking the same. We think of Peter. He denied the Lord. He lied. He cursed. Before we point the finger at Peter, we need to point the finger at ourselves. Peter would learn a lesson. Have we not learned a lesson? Now just notice the first occasion, it's from verse 54 through to verse 57. We've read a number of those words. Just notice verse 57, and he denied him, saying, woman, I know him not. Peter then removes to the porch. He was there in the high priest's house or palace, as another account is given in the Gospels. But then he removes to the porch, Mark 14, verse 68. And another comes, and what do we read in verse 58? 58. And after a little while another saw him and said, thou art also of them. And Peter said, man, I am not. The first denial, woman, I know him not. The second denial, man, I am not. Then finally we come to verse 59 through to verse 60. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed saying of a truth, this fellow also was with him. For he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately while he had spake, the cock crowed. An hour passes now from the second to the third denial. An hour. Think of Peter. He's just denied the Lord two times. And there's an hour now in which he does not seek the Lord. And it reminds us we can begin on a pathway of some particular sin and time passes before we're convicted of our sin. But a third denial comes in verse 60. Man, I know not what thou sayest, immediately while he hath spake the cock crew. Three times before the cock crew, twice. He denied our Lord. Bold, forward Peter, denying love. And what a contrast from verse 33 through to verse 57. How quickly he stumbles. And let me say this again, we need to be on our guard because quickly we can stumble. Something we see, something we hear, and we can be tempted and instead of holding our ground like Peter, did on our particular occasion, we like Peter can yield to temptation. We can promise much. I will serve thee to the end. I will so follow thee. I sang when I was baptized, yet I failed the Lord often. We can promise much, and others can hear us making such promises, yet we can so quickly Matthew Paul, the poor Puritan wrote, how little do we know ourselves. They cannot tell what our hearts will be in three or four hours. Peter didn't realise, did he? He wasn't aware. And we just don't know, do we? What we may be doing tomorrow. Oh, the Lord keep us near to him. But we do fail him. The Lord knows. That's humbling, isn't it? It's a comfort the Lord knows the future. And he knows the valleys we have to pass through, and he knows he's going to be with us there, yet he also knows the departures, the backslidings. We will never fall from grace, but we do stumble, we do backslide, and the Lord knows it. What a humbling thing. The Lord knows all my sin, all the sins I'm going to do, till I'm made perfect and tears are wiped away. Peter didn't know what was going to happen, we do not know, yet he was found denying the Lord. Just note these words again, verse 57, and he denied him, his saviour, his greatest friend. And we do it, don't we? We promise much to him. We make our vows, our promises. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Yet we failed him. It may not be some denial like Peter, but we fail him in other ways. We think of this denying here. Literally the Greek word speaks of to reject, to refuse, to contradict. Remember those words from John 1 verse 12, but as many as received him. Just think he's the unspeakable gift, isn't he? Presented to us in the gospel. Whosoever believeth, and through the grace of God and that faith being put within, we received Christ and he's ours forever. Yet in denying, we can reject him. I don't belong to him, that's what Peter's saying. I don't know him, that's what Peter's saying. Are we not thankful the union is in despite our sins, but the Lord will teach us, the Lord will chastise us, but are we not thankful? The union with Christ is forever. Why have we ever denied Him? Why have we ever wronged Him as a believer? We did Him much wrong before. We would not have this man to reign over us, the Lord Jesus Christ. We wouldn't believe in Him. Not believing in Jesus is a sin. He's breaking the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Yet we did, and we broke that commandment every moment. We wronged him. Oh, he drew near to us. Like the good Samaritan, he saw us and all our sin, yet he did us good. And he's been taking care of us. Yet we found him. We sin against him. We're led often to Calvary, aren't we? We come around the table. We're thankful for the bread, for it speaks of the broken body of our Lord. All those years ago, we're thankful for the cup of wine, for it speaks of the precious blood of Jesus, and our hearts are moved. And yet before we come around the table the next time, we felt Him, at least I have. We felt Him. Well, here's Peter. He promises to go all the way to death for the Lord in verse 33. but here he's rejecting Jesus. A true believer, though they have received Christ Jesus the Lord into their hearts, may deny him. They may refuse openly to be in acquaintance with him, to disown him. Denying Christ is serious. We can deny him in silence, can't we? And as we come to this subject, we do so with care because sometimes we don't have the opportunity to say something for Jesus. But we always have the opportunity, don't we? Just by the way we act to shine for Jesus. The other day I was walking through Salisbury and there was someone just helping somebody on the ground. And you know, the first thought that came to me was, I wonder if that person's a Christian. just by the way they were helping this person on the ground were living epistles seen and read of all men how sobbing it was that Peter denied the Lord Satan whispered in his ear and Satan can whisper in our ear it's not worth it it's costly opportunities do arise And sometimes we don't take them. It may be Satan whispers, you may lose friendship, but you have the greatest friend with you. You choose the easier paths as the devil. And sadly we deny. And we have to be wise, don't we? Just turn with me to those words in Ecclesiastes 3 verse 7, a time to lend and a time to show So a time to keep silent and a time to speak and there is times when we have to keep silent. We have to keep silent. It's not right to speak but there's other times when it's right to speak for the Lord. That's when the problem comes, when the opportunity comes and it's right to speak for the Lord and we choose not to. No, it's not easy. I begin with myself. It's not easy, is it? And I think of Peter. How many times have I denied the Lord? Denying Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me. Denying him who is the beloved of my soul. My beloved is mine and I am his. What a precious thing to say, but then to deny him. And I have to put my head in my hands at times in shame because I denied the Lord. Listen to what one of old wrote. Jesus, shall it ever be a mortal man ashamed of thee? Ashamed of thee who angels praise, whose glory shine through endless days. Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend on whom my hopes of heaven Depend. Why didn't I speak for Jesus? When the opportunity arose, there were times I couldn't speak for Jesus. Sometimes I couldn't speak for him in the workplace because it was difficult. And you can't always speak for Jesus in the workplace, but there's times in your life you can speak for Jesus, like me. And like me, you may have denied your Lord. He went all the way to the cross. He was in such agony. He was in such pain. He loved you unto the end. John 13 verse 1. What love! In a couple weeks time on the Wednesday were considered these words. Greater love have no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. What love to a sinner like me, a hell deserving sinner, a wreck, when the opportunity comes. Peter, he was used so much, yet here he's denying the Lord. But that's not all. Peter, in denying the Lord, did something else. He lied. We've seen this, have we not? Verse 57, woman, I know him not. He commits another sin. He bears false witness. He knew Jesus. He was in union with him. Man, I am not, verse 58. And he lies the third time, verse 60. On the second time, as we note in Matthew 26, verse 72, he did so with an oath. He pledged or promised before a witness that he didn't know the Lord. How serious that was. a lie. If the only thing we did was lie, we'd be going to hell if it wasn't for Jesus. You know, we can think of certain sins. Lying is a sin. Bearing false witness. My Saviour died on the cross because I lied. Because I denied Him. Because I lied. How sad. Come with me to verse 59 here. And about the space of one hour after another confidant the affirmed, saying of a truth this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crowed. He lies. He's strong, isn't he, with the man. I know not what thou sayest. He's so adamant on denying the Lord. May we never get to such a point. But I fear I may have at times. Here's Peter, he's denying and he's lying. He wants to so make out that he doesn't know Jesus. He deliberately lies. Now Peter was identified by his speech. They knew that he was a Galilean. But he went and lied. He deliberately lied because he was ashamed of Jesus. How sad it is when people know you to be a Christian. I remember there was a certain gentleman once gave his testimony. He was in the workplace. He worked for a firm called Land Rover, not too far away. And he acted in such a way that one of his colleagues came up to him I didn't think Christians did that and his heart sunk. But I'm thankful that Christian was honest because that Christian helped me to think about owning my Lord. There's times when people know us to be Christians and they see the Christian acting in a way. What a shameful thing for the world to know that one is a Christian and yet they hear lies. Here's Peter. He was known to be a follower of Jesus. He was known to be a Galilean. It was beyond dispute. And yet Peter lies. But then consider further here. Peter cursed as he denied in one place. Matthew 26 verse 74. Then began he to curse and to swear saying, I know not the man and immediately the cock crew. He cursed and when we look at the Greek word there was a frightening end. He frightened. He lied and he frightened. He spake in such a way to those who had spoken to him. How he let the Saviour down and how he let himself down. What he said was not good. It was not befitting of a follower of Jesus. He was so trying to convince them that he was not a believer. See how far Peter had sunk. And sadly we can act in a way which is not befitting of the name of Christian. And sadly a believer can so try to convince someone that they're not a follower. What a sin that is. Now dear brethren, be careful. and prayed that the Lord would set a watch over your mouth. Remember Peter, he was going to follow the Lord. Just a few hours later, he's so backsliding, asked the Lord. Psalm 141, verse 3, said, the watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips, look to the Lord. to be careful, yes, and when we say something wrong it's our sin, but oh how we need the Lord's help. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the doors of my lips. How many things have come out of my lips that have not been good in the sight of the Lord. Oh, for the Lord's help. What a time of sifting it was for Peter. He was being greatly shaken. and he commits one sin after another, and that's how it can be. One sin leads to another sin. Dear brethren, be on your guard. We can stumble so quickly. But take comfort before we move on. Just return with me to those words in verse 32. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. We fail the Lord, but he doesn't fail us, he continues to make intercession. He ever liveth to make intercession and he's making intercession when you do something wrong, when you go down some pathway of sin. He makes intercession and he makes known in verse 32, there will be a turning point and our faith will not fail. We fail him, but he will never fail us. and our faith will not fail, and he'll be on his way to restore us soon. Well, let's move on more briefly and consider secondly Peter's loving Savior. Peter's loving Savior, verse 61, and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. He's the Lord, he turns, and he looks on Peter. Peter, whom he so loves in a special way, Peter, who was a close follower. Peter, who was saved. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. Well, let's just open this part up now. First of all, the turning around of Jesus. The turning around of Jesus. And here we're led to consider that Jesus was aware. Remember that poor lady who came to Jesus and touched the head of his God? In Mark 5 verse 29 we read in a straight way, the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that flame. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press and said, Who touched my clothes? He was aware. There was somebody there, but he was aware and he turned. Here we read in verse 61, the Lord turned. He was aware. And he goes on to look at Peter. Now he turned to see that lady who had suffered much in affliction. And the Lord turns and looks on us, for we suffered much in affliction. But there's something humbling here. The Lord turns, because Peter's felt in heaven, he's receiving the praise. And dear brothers and sisters in Christ, because of his precious blood, one day you're going to be there giving him the praise and there'll be no tears coming down your cheeks. You'll be giving him the praise, you'll be there considering it now, he's there receiving the praise, but then he turns and he takes note of a believer when they fail him. What a humbling thing that is. Jesus is aware. Jesus receives the praise in heaven, yet he is aware of his people when they fell him. There's no hiding. You remember Adam and Eve, they hid themselves in the garden. The Lord came. The Lord was aware. He asked Adam a question to draw him out, but the Lord knew, and the Lord is aware. There's another piece where the Lord turned. I'm thankful the Lord turns in heaven and takes pity on me when I'm suffering an affliction and he takes note of my tears but I'm ashamed to think the Lord turns in heaven and takes note of my sin. Secondly, the Lord turned firstly and looked upon Peter. The look of Jesus The Lord turned and looked on Peter, straight at Peter. You know when you cast someone's eye? Used to happen nearly every Thursday at Tottenham Evangelical Church. For some reason the organ was at the front and my mother was the organist. And if I was visiting, if I was messing around, I'd look up, my mum's eye was looking at me. Always seemed to be looking at me. So sometimes I wouldn't look up. But if I just lifted my head, there was my mum's eyes, if I was messing around. Sometimes she would smile at me, that was alright. Other times I knew I had done wrong. You know what it's like when someone catches your eye? Just think of this, Peter caught the eye of Jesus and he was convicted. The Lord is aware of my sin. And the Lord sees. And there are times when we catch his eye. We're reading the word of God and a verse comes. And we're aware that Jesus has been aware of our sin and he's looking on. Jesus is watching me. You know what that's like? You're doing something that's not right comes, your conscience is prepped, you're reminded of a verse, sometimes it may be when you're about doing your business, some verse just comes to your mind, it may be in worship, and you're aware that Jesus is looking. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. What must the heart of Christ been like? Disappointment within. Upset. Yes. Here's one following me but now they're backsliding. Disappointment. Grief. We do grieve the Lord, don't we? It's a big subject because there's such fullness of joy in the heart of Jesus at this moment. He rose again from the dead and he ascended up in high and if you go to Psalm 16 you'll see such fullness of joy at the Father's right hand, yet we grieve him. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. Peter's looking at the eyes of Jesus. And Peter was melted. But what else would he have seen in the eye of Jesus? Love and pity. And yes, we are aware that Jesus looks on. He takes note of our sin, but you be assured he looks on with loving eyes and tender eyes of compassion. He's grieved, but he loves you. He pities you. Looking on, Peter. It's humbling, isn't it? That we're aware Jesus is looking on us. But remember this, when we're not aware and we're doing something wrong, Jesus is looking. Oh, that we will become aware, that we will catch his eye, that we will be convicted and melted to tears. What an effect it had on Peter. As the Lord looked on Peter, and then Peter remembers the word of the Lord, he goes out and weeps bitterly. Listen to John Gill, it was a melting look to him. a means of convincing and honouring him and of bringing him to repentance. I remember as a boy sat in the church at Tottenham and I couldn't look up because the preacher that day was my dad and I'd done him wrong before service that day. I couldn't look up. Remember the publican in the temple, what couldn't he do? He couldn't look up. And sometimes we catch the eye of Jesus, but then we hang our heads in shame. We blush. We can't look to him. But Jesus says, you can. You can, you confess. There'll be forgiveness. But then consider further as we think of Peter's love and savior, his master's word. Verse 61, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, and he said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me. The word of the Lord was fulfilled. Peter, Lord Peter, verse 33, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. Our Lord speaks to Peter. Verse 34, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. The Lord knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. and the word of the Lord came to pass and it convicted Peter. Peter remembered and the Lord uses his word. The Spirit takes the word and this conviction is not pleasant is it when we fill our sin? It's not pleasant when we feel we've let Jesus down is it? It's not a pleasant thing is it? But you be thankful Jesus uses his word through his spirit, and the spirit uses the word and it's effectual. It's not a pleasant thing, is it? But you be thankful the word is effectual in your heart. Consider the masses all around. They may hear the word in the open air, or you may tell them some verse of scripture, but it doesn't affect them. But the word of God affects you, doesn't it? It may be you're not really reading as you ought to, but then the Word comes home and it highlights something in your life you've been found from. The Lord loves you so much that He will convict you through His Word. The Spirit will so work, John 16 verse 8, and when He has come, He will reprove the world of sin. He will reprove, He will convict, convince, Did he not do that work in effectual calling? We were convicted of our sin to some measure. It may have not been like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. It may have been like Lydia. We just told her, heart was open. She knew some measure, but not the measure of the Apostle Paul. But she knew some conviction. And we've known some conviction. And we do continue to know some conviction. Maybe just a verse comes and the Lord is saying to us, thou art the man. A rebuke comes through his word. It's a rebuke from a faithful, loving shepherd. Peter remembers and there's times when we remember because the Lord through his spirit is impressing that verse, that chapter, his word upon our hearts because he loves you. Revelation 3 verse 19, as many as I love are in rebuke and chasten. The world would think that's strange, but we are thankful, aren't we? We do feel convicted. You feel convicted, don't you? I feel convicted. It's an evidence we're so loved by Jesus. If you've never really felt convicted in your life over sin, Because I read in Revelation 3 verse 19, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. That's why we get convicted, isn't it? That's why we feel we've let the Lord down at times. He rebukes, he convicts, he brings to light, he exposes, he chastens, he instructs us. Well, Peter was convicted as he remembered the Word. Did nothing consider this here? His master looked on him and his master's words sunk into his heart and he goes out and weeps bitterly. The Lord will deal with me and the Lord will deal with you for our good and the glory of his name. Well, let's conclude then finally, thirdly, Peter's genuine tears. Verse 62, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. What a contrast, just go back to verse 53. Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. This is what I'm going to do. Just a few hours later, he's weeping, because he's felt the Lord. And that happens at times, not always, but it does happen. We promise much to the Lord. And then we go and fail him. And we feel convicted. Why did I do that? Why did I say that? Why did I opt out? And we begin to mourn. It may not be the tears begin to fall down the face, but there's grief within. We mourn. Here's Peter. He goes out and weeps bitterly. He can't control himself. He's humbled. And as a result, he goes out and weeps bitterly. He feels his sin. He feels he's failed Jesus. And you know, when we are brought to that place, what do we feel? Yes, our sin, but also that we failed Jesus, our Savior, who went all the way to the cross. We've let him down. And as people of the world, they feel they've done wrong. Legal conviction, that's what Judas had. But he didn't feel he felt Jesus, but we who love the Lord, we feel we've done wrong, and we feel we've failed our Savior. And that's why we go to him in prayer, isn't it? Why do we go to the Lord in prayer? Being convicted, because we feel we've failed him, but also there's mercy. Peter goes out and weeps bitterly. He's aware of Jesus. He sees the eye of Jesus. He remembers the word and he goes out and he weeps bitterly, or literally, violently. He so weeps, he so mourns over his sin. He's denied the Lord three times. He's lied, he's cursed, and the tears are flowing down. He's affected. Why did I do that? Why did I say that? At times when we're affected, are we not? Maybe you're going through a difficult time. You're perplexed. You're down. You're anxious. And you're crying. Some of you may do your crying in private. Some of you may cry a little more in public. But the tears flow down. Your heart is melted. Emotions have been stirred up within. You're crying in affliction. There's a flood of tears. You're struggling and the tears do not stop. You remember Mary on the day of resurrection. What a wonderful day. This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. But Mary's weeping uncontrollably. Where's her saving? They may be going some trial You're weeping uncontrollably. It may be you just don't sense the Lord's nearness. You're weeping uncontrollably. You're struggling to pray. But there's times when we weep, we grieve, and the tears keep flowing because we feel we've let Jesus down and we've We don't really go and tell others. We tell Jesus. We weep before him. Yes, Peter, he goes out, but he's mindful of Jesus and Jesus is watching him. The weeping over sin. I let thee down, Jesus. I'm so sorry. There is mercy to be found. He will not fail us. Yes, He will chastise. He will instruct. And there are the consequences of sin, but He will not fail you. And there will come forgiveness. There's fatherly forgiveness. Judicial forgiveness we've known, but there's fatherly forgiveness. I know how I need it. And when we humble ourselves and look to Him, fatherly forgiveness is known because of Jesus. Well here's Peter's genuineness and we know when we've genuinely sought forgiveness before our Heavenly Father, before our Saviour. Saviour times, I can remember doing this. I quickly said sorry because I knew I had to say sorry but I didn't truly mourn over my sin and if we're honest we can identify with that. but there are times we fill our sin and we go to the Saviour. But Peter, he goes out and weeps bitterly. Did Jesus see you mourning over your sin? I'm not going to ask you, I'm just going to ask myself, when did Jesus last see me mourning over sin? No, David said, restore to me the joy of thy salvation. And that joy is known. But oh, it follows a time of weeping, doesn't it? When did Jesus last see you crying or being grieved over your sin? Did Reverend take comfort? He takes note of your tears. He sees you backsliding, but he also sees you stopping and getting down on your knees. And that brings him joy. And that brings him delight, because he delighteth in mercy. As the prophet makes known, he sees you. Oh, we hang our heads in shame that Jesus sees us failing him. But take comfort, Jesus sees you and me on our knees, looking to him, Lord, forgive me. And he comes as a physician to heal the soul. There's forgiveness. You are forgiven. Go in peace. Remember that lady, she was weeping. She was converted because the Lord spoke of her faith. But she knew doubts in her heart. The Lord says, go in peace to that believer, that new convert. And the Lord keeps saying it to his children. Go in peace when they humble themselves and seek that forgiveness. We deny him, but he will not let you down. He will forgive. He's a faithful shepherd and a loving friend who comes. He so loves you so he'll catch your eye and he'll bring a word to bear so you feel your sin and then he'll embrace you. There's forgiveness. If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be filled. And we're brought to that point as it were, on our knees, weeping over our sin, and we're caused to look up. He lifts the golden scepter, and we're left in awe of Him. How much He loved me, that He went all the way to the cross. How much He loved me, that He comes to me to convict me as a believer. How much He loved me, loves me. Peter's genuine tears, and you be thankful for genuine tears. What's the opposite to genuine tears? Crocodile tears. I remember a pastor came up to me many years ago, asking about someone else. Is it crocodile tears? I knew what he meant, and I said, and this is solemn, it's crocodile tears. And it was. We both know it. Genuine tears, not crocodile tears. They're genuine and the Lord sees and he takes those tears and he puts them in his bottle and he shows you and assures you of his love. Well here's Peter as we will consider on another occasion. The Lord comes to Peter quickly on the day of resurrection to assure him and to comfort him and to remind him there's service and are we not thankful the Lord comes to assure us and to remind us there's work to be done And do not we want to serve him? Do not we want to love him more and more? Do not we want to do better? You know, it's an evidence of true repentance in our lives. We want to do better. You look at the children's catechism. With a grief and hatred over their sin, and with a full purpose after new obedience. And that's what we want to do. With the psalmist we turn our feet that Silas was a believer, we turn our feet, we want to do better. I remember saying as a child to the Lord, Lord, I'm sorry, I want to do better. May the Lord never take away that childlike spirit within me. I want to love him more and I want to do better. I want to fight more of myself. comes to restore. Just notice verse 32 as we draw to a close. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fell not, and when thou art converted, turn. He's a believer, but he backslides. He's going to be turned nearer to the Lord again. When thou art converted, the shepherd comes to restore. Remember those precious words from Psalm 23, verse 3? He restored my soul. And he does. You may be weeping on your own, you're struggling in some situation, and then a verse comes to you. The shepherd's appeared, and his spirit is applying, and there's that restoring of the soul. He restores comforts. We get fearful, don't we? True believers do get fearful. That's why we have so many verses in Scripture. Fear not, be not afraid. He comes to restore our soul. You may be fearful, troubled like those disciples, He comes to restore your soul. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. But there's another aspect of this story. Where's the sheep gone? They've backslidden. They've walked off a little. Not totally, of course, but walked off a little. The shepherd comes. And in Redmoor Point, there's a little lamb on the other side of the wall. couldn't get over the little wall the sheep could but not this little lamb no one else but the shepherd could help this little lamb and the savior comes the great shepherd he comes to restore your soul you've been you've been walking away you've been backsliding he's taking notice of you as we see here he's aware verse 61 he looks on you the word comes and the restoring takes place he restores my soul I was doing something wrong. I was thinking something wrong. But now I'm thinking of Thee, Lord Jesus, because Thou hast come. I grieve over my sin, but now I'm thankful. I'm at Thy feet, looking up to Thee. O come to me, Psalm 119, verse 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek Thy servant. We do go astray. He comes seeking. He's already found us, of course. We'll always be saved, but that's life. He comes. He knows we're not where we should be. He comes to restore us. He restores my soul. I've been convicted. I'm grieved over my sin now. I'm crying. But he wipes away my tears. He reminds me of his love. And he tells me to go on. Are we not thankful? It's not a pleasant thing, is it? Conviction. But you take comfort. Though this sounds strange that you do get convicted. Because it's an evidence how much you're loved by a shepherd. He sees me straying. He knows where I go, but he comes. for the glory of his name to restore my soul so that i'm focused on him and i'm saying more often to him again i love thee lord jesus psalm 116 verse 1 i love the lord jesus said it just before he went to the garden of gethsemane when did you last say it to jesus that you loved him it's not long after we're convicted is it we found saying, Jesus, I love Thee. There's other times in affliction, we draw His name, we feel His help, and we say, Lord, I love Thee. But there's times when He convicts us, and He melts our hearts and the tears flow. I'm sorry, Lord, and I love Thee. Let us pray. O gracious God, we are humbled but we are thankful. Blessed Shepherd, how much thou didst love us to go all the way to the cross. And when thou didst come near to us and effect your calling, thou didst see our whole life before thee. The sins we had committed, the sins we were doing, the sins we would do. And we are humbled, O Lord, to think thou didst know all our sins from now till we get home. We thank Thee, O Lord, Thou dost come to us, and Thou dost turn. We're humbled. Lord, we would say in light of what we heard, may it be that Thou dost not turn so much over me in my sin. But Lord, do turn, and do look, and do come, and do restore that we are found saying to Thee again, how much I love thee, and we are thankful. Draw us near, forgive us when we have failed, we've failed more than Peter, but what a great Saviour thou art. O Lord, remind us of thy love said Aunt Calvary. Remind us of thy love for us now. O hear our prayer. Convict us where we need convicting, Deal with us as thou didst deal with Peter. We know it will be for our good. Lord, we want a closer walk with thee. We desire to do better, O Lord. We take comfort because thou dost so love us, and thou dost hear the desire of our hearts. Hear us, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. Amen. We'll turn to our second praise, Psalm 51. Psalm 51. We'll sing this praise and then one or two points for prayer. We'll return to prayer and then I'll conclude in prayer. So we'll just sing the second praise, Psalm 51, the treatise from Kildare. Verses 1 through to verse 7. After thy lovingkindness, Lord, have mercy upon me. For thy compassion's great blot out all mine iniquity. And then notice verse 7. Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow. And what a blessing it is when the Lord deals with us and we take comfort in forgiveness, in fatherly forgiveness. We take comfort in being washed and made whiter After Thy lovingkindness, Lord, have mercy upon me. For Thy compassions great brought us, all my iniquity. meek and strong, still and fully washed from mine iniquity. All my transgressions I confess, my sin I ever see. Thee only have I sinned, in Thy sight of this sin, that when Thou speak'st of messy, just, and clearly judging still, Behold, I, iniquity, was born a world within. My mother was to me conceived in guiltiness. Beholder with the inward thoughts, with truth-delighted eyes, and wisdom thou shalt make me known within the hidden paths. To Thou with lips that strangle me, I shall be cleansed, so. Yea, wash Thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.