The sermon titled 'Without Me You Can Do Nothing' explores the theme of human dependence on Jesus, using the passage from Matthew 26:30-35 as a backdrop. It draws a parallel with John 15, where Jesus describes Himself as the vine and believers as the branches, emphasizing that apart from Him, they can do nothing. The sermon highlights the inability of man and the utter dependence on Jesus as the shepherd, as illustrated by Peter's denial and the scattering of the disciples. It stresses that this dependence is not a weakness but rather an opportunity to exalt God's greatness and faithfulness. The sermon also delves into the significance of singing in worship, noting that it is a vital part of worship, suitable for both joyous and difficult times, and serves as a preparation for heavenly praise. Through the example of Peter, the sermon warns against overestimating one's own strength and underestimating the challenges posed by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Ultimately, it encourages believers to recognize their need for the shepherd's guidance and strength, and to engage their affections in worship through singing.

I'll be reading our passage for today. Matthew chapter 26 verses 30 to 35. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter answered and said to him, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.

Jesus said to him, assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I have to die with you I will not deny you and so said all the disciples father I pray that you'll open up our hearts Lord that you'll take this passage and drive it into us today father be honored and glorified help us to hear in Jesus name, Amen. You may be seated. The title of the sermon today is, Without Me You Can Do Nothing. Nothing.

Nothing. And it's a phrase that doesn't even come out of this week's text. It actually comes out of John 15 where Jesus says that He's the vine and we're the branches. And if you want to be fruitful, you have to abide in the vine because without him, without abiding in the vine, you can't do anything. And though it's not part of the text this week.

If we grapple with the text today and we come away having acquired the wisdom of that text, we're going to find ourselves decreased and we're going to find that Christ has increased. We're going to find ourselves humiliated and laid low And we're going to find Christ exalted and a vine that makes us fruitful as we abide in him. So let's begin by praying towards that end. Oh Father, I do pray that you would use this text to lay us low before you, that we would decrease, that you might increase, that we would be humiliated so that you could be exalted. Oh God, make us into a people who abide in you and are made abundantly fruitful through your strength in us.

Help us to know today that apart from you we can't do anything. We pray in Jesus' name for your help. Amen. So the inability of man is on display in this text in spite of all of our protests to the contrary. And oh, there are going to be protests to the contrary as we move through the text as Peter protests the truth of what Jesus says of him.

Actually, Jesus is true and Peter is the problem. And so the inability of man is set before us and the utter dependence on the shepherd is set before us. And I want to submit to you that this is not a thing to be despised in any way. We should never despise our own inabilities and we should never despise our utter dependence on the shepherd because God uses these things to make himself great, to make himself known as a mighty God. So this isn't something to be despised, it's something to be run towards, to be embraced.

And actually we should relish it. We should relish that we can't do anything, that any good, any progress, any fruitfulness comes from abiding in the vine so that the vine might have all the praise and all the glory because he's the one who's worthy of all the praise and all the glory. Now in verse 30, a hymn is sung and a scene is changed. They've been in the upper room. Our text last week was the Lord's Supper text.

What a blessing it was to preach that, just to contemplate the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus. And so that's where they've been in the upper room. And now the scene is going to change to the Mount of Olives and the text next week is going to take us to Gethsemane where Jesus, being made sin, is going to agonize over being made sin. And so the scene changes in verse 30, and they're singing a hymn. Now this is the only time that Jesus and the disciples are said to be singing in the gospel accounts.

It's also in Mark 14, but it's exactly the same circumstance. He's talking about exactly the same song on exactly the same night. So this is the one time that you see Jesus and his disciples singing. But I want to take this opportunity, because singing of a hymn is in the text, to make four observations about singing. About singing.

Observation number one. This is possibly the Jewish halel. You spell that H-A-L-L-E-L. And you know the word hallelujah. This is the first part of that word.

And hallelujah is just a two part word, praise God. This is the praise part of that word. And the Jewish Hallel is part of the Jewish tradition of worship and it's associated with the Passover meal. So you can see how I'm headed there because we're just coming out of the Passover text. And the Jewish Hallel is a set of Psalms, Psalm 112 through Psalm 118.

And it's not part of the law of God, but it is part of Jewish worship tradition associated with the Passover that before the Passover meal they would sing 112 through 116. These are general Psalms of praise. There's lots of praise to God in these Psalms, as there are in most of the Psalms. And Psalm 114 is particularly praising God for the Exodus, for redemption from slavery in Egypt. So you could see how they would especially want to sing Psalm 114 before the Passover meal in remembrance of God's great deliverance of His people from the bondage of Egypt.

So 112 through 116, singing of that before the Passover meal, and then after the Passover meal, Psalm 117, which is just three verses, it's the shortest of all the 150 Psalms. So they'd sing those three verses of Psalm 117, and then they would sing Psalm 118 to conclude the Passover meal. So the text doesn't say that in verse 30 what they're singing is Psalm 1.18. But if they were, it's very consistent with rock solid Jewish tradition. In other words, the Jews are still doing that today.

The Jews were doing that before the time of Christ, in the time of Christ, all the way up to today. It's part of Passover practice. Now, turn to Psalm 118. Turn to Psalm 118. I want to read the concluding verses of Psalm 118.

And just ask you, Imagine if Jesus was leading the singing of these verses in verse 30. I'm not insisting that he was, but it's very possible that he was. Almost all the commentators say, it was probably this. So the commentators aren't the Scriptures, but this is solidly part of Jewish tradition. Psalm 118, beginning in verse 22, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord.

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord and He has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

You are my God and I will praise you. You are my God, I will exalt you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Just the thought of Jesus leading that on this night at the end of this Passover meal before going to Gethsemane and agonizing before God to read these words, bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. What I just read begins with the stone that the builders rejected. That's what's been happening all week, this last week of Jesus' life is the stone being rejected by the builders, but he's being made the chief cornerstone.

He's being made the captain of our salvation. And then we have the words that the people were saying as Jesus entered Jerusalem, the triumphal entry, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, save now, that's what it means. Hosanna, save now, I pray. And then the talk about sacrifice and the mercy of the Lord.

So Jesus was probably singing this. But in any event, whether he was or whether he wasn't, Hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of Jews were singing these words this night. So whether Jesus was or wasn't, this same night all the Jews in Jerusalem overwhelmingly would have been singing these words of Psalm 118. Isn't this just like God to orchestrate history, to bring it to this point where on this night where the shadows are starting to pass away and the substance is here ready to be bound to the altar and be sacrificed in a great show of God's mercy towards those who trust in Him, would bring people to sing these words on this night. Number two, observation number two, singing has always been a vital part of the worship of God, always, always, always.

Singing has always been a vital part of the worship of God. There's such a rich Old Testament tradition for singing, culminating in the book of 150 Psalms, to be sung in praise to God, The Psalms. So this singing is not new. It's so well established all throughout the Old Testament and in the book of Psalms. God has actually given us a song book so we know how to praise him rightly.

Listen to Paul commending singing to us in Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20. Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20. Paul commends singing in this way, and do not be drunk with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." So Paul in Ephesians 5 verses 18 through 20, says two things about singing. One is that it is an exhortation of one another.

It's actually, there's a horizontal human aspect where we're actually speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. It's not all vertical, just us to God. We're actually exhorting one another and encouraging one another through our singing. It's speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The second aspect to this is that it's heartfelt praise to God.

It's gratitude. It's thankfulness pouring out, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks always for all things to God. So it's an exhortation of one another, speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and It's a heartfelt outpouring of praise and gratitude towards God from the heart. If there's singing that happens and it's not from the heart, the point has been missed. Or Paul in Colossians 3 verse 16.

Colossians 3 verse 16. Again Paul commending saying, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." So you see, Paul has written the Ephesians, now he's writing the Colossians and he's saying the same thing. There's this element of exhorting one another, in Colossians he actually says teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And there's the second element again of heartfelt praise and gratitude to God. Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Do You get that? There's grace in your heart. God has given you grace and it results in something. It results in an outpouring of thankfulness and gratitude. So, Jesus is singing in Matthew 26 And the Old Testament richly establishes it, including a song book, and Paul commends us to it.

So singing has always been a vital part of the worship of God. Observation number three. Singing is not just for light-hearted occasions. Singing is not just for light-hearted occasions. It's perfect for light-hearted occasions.

So in James 5, verse 13, James says, is anyone cheerful? Let them sing. Let them sing Psalms. So singing is perfect for lighthearted occasions, but it's not just for lighthearted occasions. Looking back just a little in Matthew 26 to verse 22, it says, the disciples were exceedingly sorrowful.

Why? Jesus has just said, one of you is about to betray me, Jesus has just been talking about how He's coming to His death and His resurrection. And they understand the death part and they don't understand the resurrection part, so they're exceedingly sorrowful. The disciples are not feeling peppy in verse 30. They're not feeling peppy.

This is not peppy singing. These are men who have heavy hearts and yet they have grace in their hearts. They have a melody in their hearts because of the goodness of God. And so they sing anyway even though it's not a lighthearted moment. Or, we looked back at the disciples and their sorrow, you can look forward to verse 37 when it says, Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Jesus is not feeling peppy in verse 30. It's not a lighthearted moment. And yet, they're singing to God. They're singing praise to God. Listen to Acts 16 verse 25.

But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Paul and Silas locked up in jail, not feeling peppy I'm guessing, but singing and praying. And the other prisoners are listening to these praises go up to God at midnight. Singing is a habit that we should cultivate in all the seasons of life, all the seasons, the peppy seasons. By all means, I'm not degrading peppy seasons.

I love peppy seasons. I'm all for joy and I'm for happiness. I'm not raining on joy and happiness. I'm just saying all of life is not joy and happiness. Is the melody in our hearts going to go away when we're outside of the moments of peppiness, outside the moments of joy and happiness?

Not mine. I don't want the grace in my heart to be extinguished by moments of distress and sorrow. You shouldn't want that in your heart either. So singing is a habit to be cultivated in all the seasons of life. There should be a melody in our hearts even when the circumstances are difficult and we're distressed and we're full of sorrow.

That cannot extinguish the song in our hearts. Finally, observation number four, singing is a warm up for heaven. You get that everywhere in Revelation. Singing is a warm up for heaven. Revelation chapter 5, singing is the theme.

Revelation chapter 14, singing is the theme. Revelation chapter 15, singing is the theme. And you're seeing phrases like a new song, the song of Moses, the song of the lamb. You are worthy, O God, to receive. Great and marvelous are your works." These are the phrases that you're seeing in the singing chapters of revelation.

So the Bible sets before us singing rooted in the worthiness of God to receive praise. That's why we sing. There's one reason to sing and it's because God is worthy to receive praise and it's heartfelt, emotional thankfulness. I want no part of an emotionless faith. And thankfully, the Bible doesn't set forward an emotionless faith.

Now, we live in an evangelical environment where there is a chasing of emotion, and That's not right. It's not to be chased, but it is to be enjoyed. God wants our hearts engaged, our affections engaged. He wants us to emote in our worship. And that's why we have singing.

Singing stirs that. Singing stirs the emotions. And there can be an overdoing that in a way that just is an end in itself and that's wrong. We should stay away from that. But I'm concerned that we not see the pendulum swing to the other end where if there's any hint of emotion we want no part of that for fear of being charismatic.

Relax brothers and sisters. I don't think we're in danger of becoming charismatic. But as someone who has been charismatic in my past, I know there's a lot of joy to be had by having our affections trained upon God and having emotion in our worship and not being afraid to have our singing have a component of emotion to it. Yes, it is speaking to one another. It is teaching and admonishing one another.

So the content should be so rich and biblical and solid, and yet our hearts have to be engaged in this endeavor. It is worship in spirit and in truth. Worship in spirit without truth is not right. Worship in truth without Spirit is not right. Our affections must be engaged, and all these things must be done to His glory according to His word." Question.

Question. Have you learned to sing as the Scriptures would have us sing? Have you learned to sing as the scriptures would have us sing? Have you learned to sing as the scriptures would have us sing with the heart engaged? I'm not talking about ginning something up and sheer emotionalism.

We should be singing, Making melody in our hearts to the Lord. We should be singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. He is worthy of it. He's worthy of it. So if we haven't learned to sing in the way that the Scripture puts forward, we're saying something that's wrong about the worthiness of God.

Okay, you have to make that connection. We don't want to be saying something wrong about the worthiness of God. He's worthy of all honor and praise. And we should sing like it. Okay?

We should sing like he's worthy of all honor and praise because he is. Verses 31 and 32. Jesus foretells upcoming events. He's going to talk about what's going to happen in the hours that are following what he says, And then he's going to talk about after him being raised, after the resurrection. So he's foretelling, he's prophesying here.

Let's read verses 31 and 32. Then Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Jesus begins with something that's going to be true of all of them, comprehensively true of the disciples. You will all be made to stumble.

All of you. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Judas is the betrayer and the rest of them are also going to stumble. King James renders this, you will all be offended instead of you will all be made to stumble. NASB and ESV render this, you will all fall away.

Same Greek, underlying Greek word, scandalizzo, scandalized, The base word for scandalized. You'll all be made to stumble or offended or you'll all fall away. And it's the same word used in John 6, 61 where Jesus has said, unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no part in me. And many of those who had been following him were offended, stumbled, fell away, were scandalized. They were scandalizod and they left him.

It's the same word. On account of me, the association with Jesus this night is going to become an unbearable scandal and the price of association just gets too much, and they scatter. They don't want to think that they're going to scatter. They don't even think it's possible that the association with Jesus would become, the price of it would become so high that they would scatter. But it's true, they'll scatter.

They were happy to be with them when there were miracles of people being raised from the dead and multitudes being fed. The blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame walking. And they've even survived this week where there's been a withering attack on Jesus from the scribes and the chief priests and the Pharisees. Jesus has gotten more than the better of that all week long. But they've survived that withering attack on Jesus.

But now mobs are going to be coming with swords and clubs and the price is too high. And the threshold is crossed. And they scatter. Then Jesus speaks of the underlying foundational truth of what's happening. God the Father is striking down his beloved son.

So you have what's happening on the surface and you have what's really happening. What's happening on the surface is A scattering of sheep, a disaster causing scattering. And what's really happening is God the Father striking down His beloved Son. I will strike the shepherd. Did you notice that this week?

Unless you read it a bunch of times, you might not have noticed it. I will strike the shepherd. Who is I? It is God the Father striking the shepherd. And Jesus is quoting a prophecy that's being fulfilled.

Zechariah 13 verse 7. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He's fulfilling another prophecy about his life and death. And it's Zechariah 13 verse 7. Jesus quotes right out of the middle of this verse.

And to retain the richness of the prophecy, I'm going to begin reading at the beginning of that verse. Listen to more of the verse. Start at the beginning of Zechariah 13, 7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts. Can you believe that?

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. So that little part is what Jesus quotes, strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But the first part of that verse is God telling the sword to awake against his shepherd. And he calls this shepherd the man who is my companion. Is that rich Trinitarian theology in Zechariah?

It is. At least two out of the three. You have two out of the three in Zechariah 13 verse seven. This shepherd is the companion of the most high God. He's a man and yet the companion of the Most High God.

God the Father has awakened the sword to strike down the shepherd. Jesus wants his disciples to see beyond the surface, below the surface, on the surface. Disaster! Jesus is going to die. Their hopes of a glorious earthly kingdom come to an end at the cross, on the cross, under the surface, the unstoppable will of God is marching forward to redeem a people.

And Jesus doesn't want his disciples to get swept away with what's happening on the surface with this so-called disaster, a death of infamy and disgrace on the cross. Under the surface, the unstoppable will of God pressing forward so that sinners could be free from their sins. God has been pointing towards this moment for a long, long, long, long time. Listen to Genesis chapter 22 verse 2. Genesis chapter 22 verse 2.

Then God said to Abraham, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. And then the whole rest of the chapter gives the little details of Isaac carrying wood on his back and them leaving the servants to go. And Isaac saying, Father, where's the lamb? And Abraham saying, God will provide the lamb. And at the last minute, a substitute being brought in.

And it's God giving a picture that he'll actually do, he'll actually follow through all the way through what Abraham was willing to do, which is to give his beloved son. Abraham waited almost a hundred years for this son. He loves this son. And God's giving a picture through the lives of Abraham and Isaac of how much God loves his son, and yet he will not withhold his son. He will give His Son.

Or Isaiah 53, the first part of verse 10, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. I will strike the shepherd. Question. Question.

Have you learned to anticipate greater things happening under the surface? Have you learned that about God yet? Disaster on the surface. Glory underneath. The will of God being worked out just as He always designed it underneath the surface.

Have you learned to anticipate greater things happening under the surface? I'm not saying we can always know what's happening when it looks like disaster on the surface. I'm not suggesting that. I'm just suggesting that we ought to know the character of our God and that He is an almighty God who's always working out the purpose of his own will. And he's always wiser than us.

And he's always bringing about his own glory so that when the disaster is happening on the surface, we have reason to hope that he's glorifying himself because that's what he does. Over and over and over again he brings disaster on the surface and it's really just the working out of his will to make himself glorious as he is. There is an almighty God directing every atom of this universe, directing. Not reacting to, not responding to, ordaining and directing. This should give us such confidence.

Even when disaster is happening on the surface, such confidence that under the surface he's just making himself great. Verse 32, Jesus concludes here by restoring the disciples' hope, saying that he'll regather the scattered sheep. So, he talks about the shepherd being struck. He's the shepherd. God the Father is the one who strikes him.

And the result will be a scattering of this sheep. Jesus doesn't leave it there. He talks about rising from the dead. He's already spoken very plainly in previous chapters about his resurrection. So this might have been a mystery to the disciples, but Jesus has already said it.

He's already said what it means to have been raised. He's talking about his resurrection and that he'll be regathered, he'll go before them into Galilee, And he's gathering, regathering, recollecting, collecting up these sheep. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus' sheep hear his voice and follow him. No one can snatch his sheep out of his hands.

No one can snatch his sheep out of his hands. These are all things from John 10. He says, I'm the good shepherd. He says, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. He says, no one can snatch them out of my hand in John 10.

When Jesus sees sheep that are scattered, he's moved with compassion and he sends out laborers. This is Matthew 9 verse 36. Remember that? Jesus, he sees the multitude and he sees that there's like sheep without a shepherd and they're scattered. And he says he's moved with compassion.

This is what happens with Jesus when he sees scattered sheep. His heart is moved to compassion and he sends out laborers. Jesus is a shepherd when if one in a hundred wanders away, He'll go up into the mountains to find that sheep. He'll leave the 99 and he'll go after that one sheep. He won't just count it cost of business.

Cost of doing business, not Jesus, not this shepherd. One leaves the hundred and he'll go into the mountains and look for it until he finds it and he'll bring it back and he'll come back rejoicing that he found that sheep. Jesus is called that great shepherd of the sheep in Hebrews 13 verse 20. So the story cannot end with scattered sheep. It cannot end that way.

And it doesn't end that way. The story can have scattered sheep as part of the story for sure, but it cannot end that way because Jesus isn't a shepherd that will allow that story to end that way. The disciples forsake Jesus, they flee, just like Zechariah 13.7 says, but there's still a sheep. No one can take them, no one can snatch them out of his hand. No circumstances, no people, no person.

And his faithfulness as a shepherd doesn't depend one lick on their faithfulness. These words should be such a comfort. Now, this only applies to his sheep. I don't want it to be false comfort. But for those who have trusted in Christ, those who are his sheep, be comforted by these words.

The faithfulness of your shepherd does not depend one ounce, one iota, on your faithfulness. And there will be gaps in your faithfulness. And there will be failures in your faithfulness. And your shepherd will come and get you. In fact, Jesus knew all this before the Passover meal began, didn't he?

Was this hidden to Jesus before the Passover meal? He knew it all along and yet he did not withhold his body and his blood. He knew every stumble that he was about to prophesy and yet he rolls out the cup, and he rolls out the bread, and he says, take, eat. Drink from this, all of you. Question.

Question. Have you learned how dependent you are on your shepherd? Have you learned how dependent you are on your shepherd? You have no ability to save yourself or to keep yourself. God is sovereign in salvation, in justifying sinners, and He's sovereign in sanctification, in preserving His people.

Without Christ you have no hope of being justified. Without Christ you have no hope of being preserved. But when God shows mercy and He forgives the sins of someone, He covenants to take them to heaven and to preserve them every minute of their lives and to bring them safely home. You have no ability, but your shepherd has no limitations, including your stubbornness, your sinfulness, your frailty. Your inability doesn't stop your shepherd at all.

He has no limitations. Verses 33 and 34. Peter debates the Son of God having already rejected Zechariah. Do I need to say that that's bad? We hold these truths to be self-evident.

It's a bad idea to argue with the Son of God and to reject what is written, for it is written, Zechariah is the Word of God set in stone. But Peter has other ideas. Let's read verses 33 through 35. Peter answered and said to him, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.' Peter said to him, even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.

And so said all the disciples. Us too. We're ready to die too. Jesus. Peter asserts that he belongs Peter asserts that he belongs in a different category.

I could see these guys doing that maybe, but not me. What Peter says presumes two things. One, that he doesn't think he's vulnerable to the temptations that others are vulnerable to. He just thinks he's above it. Secondly, he doesn't think he's subject to the same internal corruptions that other people are, he thinks he's past that.

He passed that grade and now he's been promoted into another grade where you don't have to worry about vulnerability to this kind of temptation or struggling with these kinds of internal corruptions. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 12, "'Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.'" In other words, you're never more vulnerable than when you think you're not vulnerable. Never more vulnerable than when you think you're not vulnerable. It makes you vulnerable to think like Peter's thinking. Again, Paul, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 12, "'Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.'" Jesus actually knows things that Peter doesn't know.

He knows the size of the mob and he knows that they're coming with swords and clubs. And he knows that there's a world and a flesh and a devil that is warring mightily against this disciple. Luke 22 is our parallel text. So, same time, same circumstances, but a different account of it. Listen to Luke 22.

Luke preserves something from the conversation that Matthew doesn't set forth in his account. Luke 22 verses 31 and 32. And the Lord said, "'Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren." This is exactly the same time. Matthew doesn't say it, but Luke says it.

Jesus actually looks Peter in the eye and says, Simon, Simon, the devil has asked for you, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail. It could have been a lot worse for Peter. It was a lot worse for Judas. Jesus intervenes. It reads just like Job, doesn't it?

Satan goes all the way up to the predetermined boundary that God has said you can't go past that line. But God preserves his man, And Peter is his man. Proverbs 27 verse 1, do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring. Proverbs 27, 1. Don't boast about tomorrow.

You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. You don't know the size of the mob, but Jesus knows the size of the mob. You don't know what weapons he'll be carrying, but Jesus knows the weapons he'll be carrying. You don't know that Satan has asked for you to sift you as wheat, but he knows. So don't boast about tomorrow.

Our nature is filled with this bent towards overestimating our own strength. This is Peter's problem here. He thinks he's strong when he's not strong. Apart from Jesus, he can't do anything. Back to the sermon title.

So when the shepherd's struck, he'll scatter. So we have a nature inclined towards overestimating its own strength and underestimating the enemy, the world, the flesh, and the devil that is warring against us all the time to overthrow us. This is a terrible combination, overestimating your own strength and underestimating your enemies. And we see this in full display with Peter. So Peter has said that he's going to fare better.

He's going to fare so much better than these other disciples who might be subject to temptations and internal corruptions. But Jesus in verse 34 says that he's going to fare worse. He's going to fare much worse. So far all he's said is, sheep are going to scatter when the shepherd's struck. What could be more natural than sheep scattering when the shepherd gets struck?

So nothing overly disgraceful so far. But when Peter insists that that's not him, Jesus looks him in the eye and says, forget about scattering. You're going to deny me three times before the rooster crows. Before the middle of the night, you will have denied that you know me three times." Verse 35, rather than humbling himself, Peter doubles down. This is just like Peter.

Rather than humbling himself, he gets more impassioned in his insistence that Jesus is wrong and Zechariah is wrong. In the parallel text in Matthew 14, again, same time, same night, Matthew 14 verse 31, but Peter spoke more vehemently. Peter spoke more vehemently. He just ratchets up the passion. I know they don't say that in Columbia.

He ratchets up the passion. Peter should have been begging Jesus for help. Okay, do you see that? In the Gospel so far, we're in chapter 26, we're almost at the finish line. We've seen Jesus be so tenderhearted to the humble, so long suffering with the humble.

But Peter doesn't have an ounce of humility in him. He should have been begging Jesus for help. He would have found him to be willing, tenderhearted. Romans 12 verse 3, Paul says this, Romans 12 verse 3, for I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of themself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Paul is warning us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.

So he gives us a do not, do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to. And he gives us a do, think soberly, think soberly. The measure of faith that you have is a measure of faith that God has given you, think soberly about yourself. Listen to what Calvin says, whenever any temptation is presented to us, let us first remember our weakness, that being entirely thrown down, we may learn to seek elsewhere what we need. Isn't that helpful?

When we're faced with temptation, think first about your weakness so that you'll look elsewhere for help. Peter is thinking that he has all the resources within himself that he'll need to withstand this temptation, but it's not true. If he would think about his weakness, it would send him elsewhere for help. What is he, three feet from Jesus? Jesus would help him.

After hearing these words, If anyone on the planet should be able to stay awake to pray, it should be Peter. He won't be able to stay awake. That's where we're headed next week. These words should make him wakeful. These words should fill him with terror at the weakness and the frailty of his own heart and make him watch and pray.

But he won't be able to watch and pray next week. Question. Question. Have you learned to think soberly about your own strength? Have you?

You have a nature built bent towards overestimating your own strength and underestimating the things that are warring against your soul. Has God taught you to think soberly about your own strength? John 15, 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing." Do you believe that?

You believe it's true? Without me you can do nothing. Nothing. It's the absolute reverse of Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

All things you can do through Christ who strengthens you. Nothing you can do without Christ. So the Bible pretty much covers it from both angles, both sides of the coin. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, Philippians 4.13. You can do nothing 15, you can do nothing without abiding in the vine.

John 15 verse 5. There is one place to get strength, one place. Flee to Christ, Flee to Him. He is a strong tower. The righteous run in to the strong tower and they're saved.

Flee to Christ. There's only one place to get strength. A few concluding remarks. I'm just going to re-ask the questions I've been asking all along. Have you learned to sing as the Scriptures would have us sing?

Do you sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord? Do you sing with grace in your heart to the Lord? Are your affections turned towards God, both when you're peppy and when the circumstances are very distressing and you're full of sorrow. Have you learned to anticipate greater things happening under the surface? This is how God does things so often.

Disaster on the surface, the will of God being worked out under the surface. If all you can see is on the surface, you'll just go from one crisis to the next and your faith eroding all the time. But if God would give you eyes to see beneath the surface, exactly the opposite will happen. Your faith will be growing with every disaster as you see God make His name great through the circumstances of life. Have you learned how dependent you are on the shepherd?

God is able, more than able, to accomplish everything that concerns me today. He's able. He has no limitations. He has no lack of willingness. No one can snatch you from his hands.

Have you learned to think soberly about your own strength? Have you learned to do combat with your natural bent to overestimate your own strength and to underestimate the enemies that war against your soul? Since you have a bent towards that, you have to learn how to wage war against those two things. Finally, I want to read out of 1 Peter 5. You can join me if you like.

Peter's first letter. This is Peter. This is the man from our text. 1 Peter 5. A wiser Peter than Matthew 26.

A trained Peter, a taught Peter, a discipled Peter. First Peter 5, beginning in verse 5. Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is Peter from Matthew 26.

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. If you see a lot of Peter, the Matthew 26 Peter in your own heart, take courage. There's a 1 Peter 5 Peter who's been trained by God, who's older and wiser, and has been brought to know that though God resists the proud, He does give grace to the humble. That you can humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time. Let's pray.

Oh Father, I thank you for this text. I pray that you would make us those who sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. That all of our affections would be pouring out towards you corporately and in the shower as we sing praises to you, O God, that our lives would be full of melody because you've been good to us. God, I Thank you for our brother Peter and all his frailties, his small faith, his bravado, all these things that we find so discouraging in ourselves and I thank you that we have these glimpses that you can take a man like that and bring him to maturity. May it be so among us.

God, come and do a work. Help these texts bring us low so that Christ can be exalted. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for watching!