Welcome. I wanted to give you a quick WILD update. The plan was to go to
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PETER’S EXHAUSTION EQUALED NOT
BEING SPIRITUALLY PREPARED
When was the last time that you got up very early in the morning and worked hard all day, then had to go to a meeting and could not stay awake for anything. Your head kept bobbing and caught yourself giving out a little grunt (snore) which you immediately looked around to see if anyone heard you. There are some days and periods of time in our lives where we are, as they say, burning the candle at both ends.
It is often during these times where we are not spiritually prepared for what lies before us. We put ourselves in positions of unprepared ness and temptation can much more easily get a hold of us. Peter in Matthew 26:36-56 could relate to situations like what is being described here. Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to pray in the
Shortly after the sleeping episodes, Peter impulsively lops off Malchus’ ear in the heat of the moment (John 18:2-12) when Judas, some soldiers and religious leaders came to arrest Jesus. A question can be asked here of whether Peter’s action was a result of not being spiritually alert due to sleeping when he should have been praying. Then we can consider the fact that Peter denied Jesus three times and thus continued to not be spiritually prepared during that time.
Jesus had predicted that Peter would not be able to stand up for Him when the time came which Peter denied vehemently he would never do. In the Garden Peter is singled out after the first time Jesus returned from praying as to why they were sleeping and not praying. Why was Peter singled out when the other two were doing the same thing? Perhaps it was because of what Jesus predicted and Peter had assumed the leader’s role among the apostles. Thus as the leader goes, so goes the group.
Jesus knew what was in store for Peter. Fatigue makes a person spiritually unreceptive, dull and unalert. Militarily, when you are not ready or tired, the enemy has the advantage. We want to be prepared at all times. When we are allowing the Holy Spirit control of our lives, we are spiritually prepared and ready for temptation. Satan truly does prowl around, looking for the opportunity to spiritually devour someone (1 Peter 5:8).
Peter could have forced himself to stay awake and pray. That is hard to do. As spiritual leaders we need to get good rest, scheduling our days so as not to get fatigued and have quality time to spend with God plus being able to slow down to be listening to Him. Everyone needs the Sabbath rest God prescribes in order to be rejuvenated. Being spiritually alert and sharp requires that we be physically rested.
Many testimonies of falling into temptation include being fatigued in some way. The temptation to believe that we have to always be working, available to people at any time are lies. Look at Jesus’ life. There were times He was unavailable, to the point the apostles had to hunt for Him. He was spending time with His Father. Jesus even left villages before all the people were healed and everyone had become a believer in Him. That should speak volumes to us.
ILLUSTRATION
(And Youth Ministry Illustration)
The Face on the Puzzle
A father had just sat in his chair on Sunday afternoon, planning to read a newspaper, when his young son came running to him and wanted Daddy to play with him. Dad tried gently to respond to his son by telling him that daddy wanted to read the paper for a little while. If he would come back in twenty minutes, daddy would play with him.
So the son went and played for a little while but being so young, he did not know what twenty minutes was and was back by dad in a few minutes wanting to play. Daddy did not want to play and told the little boy it would be a while yet. The little boy left sad and discouraged but in a short time, was back to play.
The dad was now convinced that he would not get to read the paper and looked on the floor. There he saw a full page map of the world included in his newspaper. Dad took some scissors and proceeded to cut the map into about twenty pieces. Leading his son to a table, Dad told the son to put together the puzzle of the world as the first of their afternoon games. When the son would finish the puzzle, then they would play more games together. The dad knew this would take his five year old son a long time to put the puzzle together and give him plenty of time to read the paper.
Not five minutes had passed and the son came running back to dad. He had finished the puzzle and was ready to play the next game. The dad was very shocked that the son was done so fast and went to see whether the son had put the puzzle together correctly. He had and dad wanted to know how the young son could put the puzzle together so fast.
The son said it was easy because on the back of the map was a picture of a person. So the son put the picture of the person together first. When he had done that, the whole world seemed to fit right into place!
When we have a correct and growing relationship with Christ (the picture of the person on the back of the map), the world fits into the right perspective. We will then be spiritually prepared to face what comes into our lives and also be developing our Biblical worldview, because we will be seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus.
YOUTH MINISTRY INSIGHT
There was the bracelet, “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do) that was big in the
This philosophy has been used on youth for centuries. Why did Nebuchadnezzar select young men to take back to
For way too long Christians have focused on the behavior of youth. You need to be developing your thinking processes. Romans 12:2 indicates, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLT). Changing the way you think is called renewing your mind.
In
As you go through your teen years, you are developing your thought processes, working through the whys and hows of life. You question why you do or do not believe something or how something works. Accepting something because your parents say so is not acceptable anymore. You are working out reasoning, to believe something because it is your own personal belief, asking, “Can I trust God?”
Do you know how Jesus thought, why He did the things He did and said what He did? In order to work this through, you need to get to know what Jesus said and what else is written in the Bible. Think it through, ask questions and ponder whether what you are studying from the Bible is evident in your life. If not, why not?
A simple test of this is can you share about your faith without using “church” words? Many of your friends do not know what most of the words we use in church mean, so you have to communicate with them in a way that they will understand. If you can only use “churchy” words, then you need to work through what you really do believe and why you believe what you do.
The world and many groups of people want you to think their way. “It is okay to lie or steal as long as no one gets hurt.” Or it can be as radical as, “If someone does not believe about God the same way you do, you can kill them.” Many different types of people are after your mind. Jesus wants your mind, heart and soul to transform you into a loving person of His. If you are a Christian, you need to work to think as Jesus thought.
SCRIPTURE-BASED PRAYERS
To Have Your People Pray For You and Other Pastors
1. In Jesus’ name I bind the fear of failure and the fear of humankind (Jn. 14:1). Let pastor’s confidence not be eroded by the daily resistance to the gospel or my pastor’s vision. Allow my pastor to fear God more than people.
2. Father, heal my shepherd’s heart of any grief caused by ministry. Bestow on my pastor a crown of my shepherd with a garment of praise instead of depression. I call my pastor an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display Your splendor (Is. 61:3).
QUOTES ON THINKING
Philippians 4:8-9
“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” John Locke
“Life consists of what a man is thinking about all day.” Writer and Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” James Allen
“Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; Nothing expands possibilities like unleashed thinking.” William Arthur Ward
