"WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED"

LUKE 22:3

A. OUR LORD'S SOLICITUDE FOR AN OVERCONFIDENT DISCIPLE
  1. His paternal warning to Peter:
    1. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." - Luke 22:31-34; Amos 9:9, 10
    2. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" - 1 Pet. 5:8
    3. "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." - Rev. 12:12
  2. His reassurance to Peter:
    1. "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" - Luke 22:32
    2. It is wonderful that we too have an advocate with the Father, our Saviour - 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1-3; Heb. 7:25, 26
  3. He makes a startling forecast to the over-confident follower:
    1. You will deny me three times - Matt. 26:69-74; Mark 14:67-72
    2. How good it is to know that our Saviour knows our every weakness and remembers us in his prayer - Ps. 106:46
B. WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED
  1. This prediction shows that there are two opposing natures in man:
    1. The carnal nature - 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Rom. 7:14; John 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:50
    2. The divine nature - We become partakers of this nature through faith in Jesus Christ - 2 Pet. 1:2-7
  2. These two natures are opposed to each other: Rom. 7:14-18
    1. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other" - Gal. 5:17
    2. "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" - Gal. 5:16
C. OUR LORD WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED IN THE CONVERTED PETER
  1. He repented of his denial of his Master with many bitter tears:
    1. That tenderhearted and pitying look of the Master broke his heart; he wept - Mark 14:72
    2. He called to mind the words of the Lord, and he realized that the Lord knew him much better than he knew himself; he was overconfident.
  2. Peter, the converted Peter, became a strong witness for his Master:
    1. Think of the power of his simple sermon on the day of Pentecost! Acts 2:14-36
    2. His boldness before the Jewish leaders at the peril of his life - Acts 4:19; 5:29
    3. Legend has it that Peter died a martyr for Christ; that when they wanted to nail him to the cross, he requested to be crucified with his head downward.
  3. Peter's experience shows:
    1. That conversion is a daily experience - 1 Cor. 15:31
    2. That conversion is not just an outburst of human emotions; but a change of attitude; a change of heart - 2 Cor. 5:14-17
    3. It involves the crucifixion of the old carnal nature.
    4. The daily renewal of the man created in the image of Jesus Christ - 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10
    5. His experience shows further that our usefulness to the cause of God depends upon our true and daily conversion -
      1. "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" - Luke 22:32
      2. "And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord." - Zech. 10:12


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