A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN (1): FAILED FAITH

(Luke 22:31-34)
July 30, 2017

Read Luke 22:31-34 Its the Lords last night with His disciples. The
disciples are arguing about whos the greatest! Jesus shows them how skewed
their thinking is by reminding them in His kingdom, the one who is greatest is
the one who serves an off-the-wall concept from the worlds perspective.

Now Jesus takes them a step deeper in the learning process, showing how
weak and limited they really are. He takes them behind the scenes for some
inside information. A few years ago some NE high school boys let 3 goats
loose inside the school with 1, 2 and 4 painted on their sides. School officials
spent all day looking for No. 3! It pays to have inside info they lacked.

Thats what Jesus gives here, specific to Peter, but applicable to all. Its a
sneak peek behind the curtains where God and Satan operate, kind of a mini-
Job 1-2. It is convicting, instructive and encouraging.

I. The Profane Petition

31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you
like wheat. Jesus wants the disciples to know even as they are having this
inane argument, Satan is asking permission to grind them up. It reminds us
Satan cant make a move without Gods approval. But God often gives that
approval as with Job. Psa 11:5: The Lord tests the righteous. Satan is one
instrument God uses to test our faith, whos real and whos not, to grow us.

Now, you cant see in English, but you in this verse is plural. Satan has
demanded to have you all. Yet Jesus addresses His comments to Peter. Why
Peter? Probably several reasons. First, he is the leader of the group. Second,
hes always the spokesman. Third, by his impulsive nature, he is perhaps most
vulnerable to Satans schemes. And fourth, he doesnt know it yet, but he is
going to be the primary test case, so Jesus addresses the group thru Peter.

Simon, Simon dual address for emphasis. Listen up, Simon. This is
important. But, why Simon? Jesus had named him Peter (Rocky!) Why Simon
here? Jesus saying, Simon, here you are again acting like your old self.
Arguing about whos greatest? Youre walking thru the minefield of your
old nature, and youre about to blow yourself up. Satans asking for you.
And if youre not careful, hes going to have you for lunch.
1
Satan wants to sift them like wheat implying theyre just chaff the wind will
drive away at first sign of resistance. In essence, Satan is saying as he did of
Job These guys arent real. Let me at them. Their faith will crumble like a
mobile home in a tornado. Theyll run for cover to save their own miserable
skin. And at first blush, thats pretty much what was about to happen.
Theyre arguing about who is greatest, and theyre about to prove there isnt a
great one in the whole bunch. Jesus wants to wake them up to the reality they
have a powerful enemy they cant hope to defeat on their own.

Same enemy thats crouching at our front door. Peter and the disciples were
not unique in being targeted by Satan. Later Peter warned in I Pet 5:8, Be
sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. He wrote that to believers. We are
the ones in danger of being eaten alive by an enemy who wants to play cat-
and-mouse to sift us like wheat to seeking what will make our faith fail.

One tool he uses is diversion. He hides by getting us focused on symptoms

rather than root causes where he appears as an angel of light. We see our
enemy as secularism in the school system, those pushing the LGBT agenda,
ISIS, Planned Parenthood or our godless, profane boss. And those are
reprehensible manifestations of a godless society. But they are not the
ultimate enemy. The ultimate enemy is the one who gets us to self-righteously
campaign against those evils while at the same time we spin the truth, commit
murder by harboring revenge in our hearts, commit idolatry by coveting what
our neighbor has, commit adultery by accommodating a lustful thought life
or, just like the disciples, living a self-promoting lifestyle. They thought their
enemy was Rome; their enemy was pride! They were already being played.

Eph 6:12:For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Satan and
his demons are the enemy. They may use all these other entities. But it is the
power behind those thrones who is the real enemy. Hed love nothing better
than get us defocused on outward enemies while he destroys us from within.

I used to work extensively with FBI. Several times I was at Quantico where
they train agents. They have a little fake town there and during one
particularly strenuous exercise, trainees go on a hunting expedition for a
suspect. As they walk thru this made-up community they encounter sudden
movements and potential threats that pop up out of nowhere. They must
2
instantaneously determine whether the pop up is citizen or target. Theyre
learning to focus on the real target without getting diverted by false targets.

So we must focus on the real enemy, realizing Satan disguises himself as an

angel of light (II Cor 11:14), as he did with the disciples by convincing each
how great he was. Its a spiritual battle. Jas 4:7, Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you. He doesnt like to be spotted; he will flee when he is exposed
by the Word. Jn reminds us in I Jn 4:4: for he who is in you is greater than
he who is in the world. Satan is great; God is greater. Satan is seeking to
distract, disorient and destroy us. But by Gods power, He can be resisted. But
we must not fool ourselves; he is petitioning for us just as he did the disciples.

II. The Priestly Prayer

Thats an unnerving glimpse behind the scenes. Satan is asking permission to

have at us. But I love the next glimpse. 32 but I have prayed for you that your
faith may not fail. As Satan petitions, Jesus prays. Thats a good thing to
know. In fact, were it not for that, wed have been up in flames long ago.

Now, theres a subtle but meaningful shift here. In v. 31: Satan demanded to
have you (plural) all the disciples. But in v. 32: I have prayed for you
(singular) you, Peter. Ive prayed specifically for you by name. Ive got
your back. Does that mean He didnt pray for the other disciples? Of course
not. Read Jn 17:6-19 words uttered that same night for all the disciples. But
He has singled Peter out here as an example. Ive prayed for you, Peter.

So we might think, Nice for Peter, but he was an apostle. Of course, Jesus
prayed for him. But me I dont count that much. Oh, yeah! Wanna bet?
Know what Jesus is doing right now? Rom 8:34b: Christ Jesus is . . . is at
the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Interceding =
praying. For whom? Us. Thats Paul, yes, but also all the normal, everyday,
individual Roman Xns. Hes praying for them. Heb 7:25: Consequently, he
is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,
since (purpose clause, bc) he always lives to make intercession for them.
Listen, our very salvation hangs on the fact that Jesus prays for us. You say,
Okay, generally, but by name? Come on. Man -- you are stubborn!! Yes,
by name! Isa 49:16: Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands. By name, Beloved. Hes praying for you by name. If that doesnt
send goosebumps down your spine, youre hopeless! I can remember hearing
Mom and Dad pray for me a time or two. It was life changing. But Jesus?
Takes it to a new level. Hes got your back. And its a good thing He does.
3
Now, look what Jesus prays for and what He doesnt pray for. 32 but I have
prayed for you that your faith may not fail. He prayed that Peters faith not
fail. BUT He did not pray that he not be sifted. He didnt pray that, did He?
He didnt pray that He not be tested. Weve seen before that every difficulty
that comes into our lives has multiple players. Each is a (temptation
or testing), each intended by Satan as a temptation to bring us down; each
intended by God as a test to build us up. Our response makes the difference.
But God does not remove every test. He did not remove Job from a huge test.
He did not remove Saul from Davids life for 13 years of testing. Daniel went
in the lions den. Three boys to the fiery furnace. He did not spare His own
Son from 40 days of testing in the wilderness, nor from the ultimate test of the
cross, and He did not remove Peter and the apostles from this test. But He
prayed their faith would hold. Prayed theyd pass!

Tests of faith are a gift from God, Beloved. How do I know? The Bible says.
Turn Phil 1:29, For it has been granted to you (graced a precious twofold
gift) that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also
suffer for his sake. God gave me the gift of faith to believe in Him I love
that. He equally graced me with the gift of suffering being tested for His
sake. Adversity always has a purpose to grow us! Just like Peter. Im not
praying the circumstance away; Im praying your faith holds. Think thats a
clue how to pray?! Ill tell you this whatever sifting is yours today --
whatever pain, irritation, frustration, failure, disappointment, or perplexity its
intended by God for your good and His glory. Not for comfort for glory!

On Jan 25, 1949, the US Senate chaplain, Peter Marshall awoke with severe
chest pain. An ambulance came, but Peter insisted Catherine stay home and
get little Peter off to school. But within minutes the phone call came. Peter
Marshall, 46, had died of heart failure. In To Live Again, Catherine describes
the days of anger, despair, fear and self-pity that followed. She blamed herself
for not doing more. She blamed God for taking him when she needed him. But
one day she realized God often comforts us, not by coddling our self-pity, but
by rebuking it: Gods comfort doesnt walk on tiptoe as in a sickroom; it
marches. There is steel in its backbone. The word comfort is derived from
the word fortiswhich means strong. I opened my NT and found there
exactly that concept of comfort: Discipline always seems for a time to be a
thing of pain, not of joy; but those who are trained by it reap the fruit of it
afterwards. So up with your listless hands! Strengthen your weak knees!
God was asking me to grow up, to take a new step toward maturity.

4
Thats why Jesus prayed for strengthened faith, not changed circumstances.
They failed the first stage, but later got it right, not because they were great
but because God is. The priestly prayer is always for faith to see us through
Gods gift of adversity. Then we have Gods promise in Rom 8:18: For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed to us. With a great Savior praying for us and a
great Father answering, wherever we are is a good place to be.

III. The Prideful Pronouncement

But Peter wasnt with it yet. 33 Peter said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with
you both to prison and to death. Amazing. Think of the context. Jesus has
just told Peter Satan himself is asking to shake him up. He Himself is praying
that Peters faith not fail. That wouldve had my attention! But not Peter. No
wonder Jesus calls him Simon! Peter, operating in his flesh: Dont you worry
about me, Jesus. I got this! Prison? Death? If thats what this means, Im
there. You cant fault his spirit; cant fault his commitment; cant fault his
intention. But hes got a severe dependence problem.

Youd have thought hed have learned his lesson the time he caught nothing
all night, but the Lord overloaded him next morning (Lu 5:4-6). Youd have
thought he wouldve learned when the Lord asked His disciples to feed the
multitude. When they couldnt, He fed 5,000 out of nothing (Mt 14:16-20).
Youd have thought Peter wouldve learned his lesson when he and the others
couldnt heal the demonized boy in Lu 9:40-42, but one rebuke from Jesus
and the demon was gone. Youd have thought Peter wouldve learned when he
walked on water while looking at Jesus, but sunk when he tried it on his own
(Mt 14:28-31). Youd have thought by now Peter would have learned Im
helpless without Jesus. But some of us are slow learners, arent we?! And so
we get Peters prideful pronouncement. Dont you worry about me, Lord. I
can take care of myself and you, too. I can do it. But he couldnt do it
and neither can we.

Conc Were all slow learners. Remember when David fought Goliath? What
courage. But remember what David told him? I Sam 17:47b: For the battle
is the LORDs, and he will give you into our hand. David had skill with his
sling, and he used that skill. But his trust was in God not the sling! BUT!

I Sam 21: A few years later when Saul, out of jealousy, was habitually
playing pin David to the wall, David forgot the source of his strength. He
went into hiding, but everywhere he went, Saul had spies. Running out of
5
places to go, he arrived at Nob without food or weapons. Ahimelech, the
priest, gave him bread from the temple. Then David asked about a weapon. I
Sam 21:9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you
struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind
the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here. And
David said, There is none like that; give it to me. So, here he is, about to
trust for his defense the sword of the giant he killed by trusting God.

It gets worse. A spy reports Davids whereabouts, so I Sam 21: 10 And

David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.
Gath! Ring a bell? Home town of Goliath. So now David is trusting for
protection in Goliaths sword and Goliaths hometown. This cant end well.
And it doesnt. King Achish figures out this is David, so I Sam 21:12: And
David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of
Gath. Not the same boy who killed the giant, is he? He now fears man
instead of God. He now trusts self instead of God. He only gets out of this by
feigning madness until Achish says, Ive already got enough nutcases at
court. Get him out of here. David is at rock bottom. Why? Failed faith.

But God brought him back. How? It was about this time that David wrote
Psalm 42. Look at v. 3: My tears have been my food day and night, while
they say to me all the day long, Where is your God? Ever feel that way?
Perhaps you feel that way today. What do you do? What did David do? V. 5:
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6) and my God. When
David got his eyes off self and back onto God when he again claimed him as
his God and his salvation, things began to clear. And so for us. Behind the
scenes, the Savior is praying that your faith not fail. Stop looking at the
circumstances. Start looking at Him. Lets pray.