He is Risen Part II (Denial)

You know…I think that many of us would probably consider ourselves to be strong Christians…when the truth is…that we…in and of ourselves…are weak. I mean we read about Peter’s denial and we wanna believe that under the same circumstances that we’d never deny Jesus…or be ashamed to say His name but honestly…aren’t there many times throughout our lives when we end up doing just that? There’ll be a time to speak up for Christ and we don’t speak. There’ll be a time when someone labels us as “one of those Christians” and we reject that label…afraid of being rejected ourselves. There’ll be times when the Spirit moves us be courageous for Christ and we are anything but courageous. We may not like to admit it but there will be times in life when we all choose to retreat from being identified with Christ rather than standing up for Christ we defect and we defect for shame's sake. We don't want to risk standing up and standing firm because we’re afraid of getting hurt…and so it was…with the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the lesson He teaches them in our text today is a lesson that He intended for all of us…and it’s a tough lesson for most people to learn…and as we’ll see…it was a tough lesson for the disciples to learn as well but it was a remarkable and unforgettable one…and it was a lesson that I believe changed their entire lives…and it can change yours…so like Judge Judy says: “Put on your listening ears…” because it’s important.