184: Jona Lawson - Tried by Fire

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to Good Christadelphian Talks. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to.

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   And now, let's talk more about this week's talk. Hello and welcome back to another talk. This week, we're listening to a study that was taken from the end-of-year studies given by Brother Jonna Lawson. I want to make sure I get his name right because the last time we had a class from Brother Jonna, I mispronounced it.

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   So I apologize, Brother Jonna, for messing that up. Hopefully, I got it right this time. This particular class is the fourth study in the series that was given right at the end of 2021. And the title was Peter, Life, and Discipleship. This particular class is the fourth one called Tried by Fire. And it is looking really closely at the Last Supper and Jesus' trial and what that meant from the perspective of Peter.

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   And I just really loved how Brother Jonna was looking at making Peter more real. He had a lot of interesting comparisons to some of the other disciples and how all of those things fit into really putting you in almost Peter's mindset during those times and how he might have felt. Definitely had some powerful emotions.

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   This class came recommended by several people who were there live for the end-of-year studies. The entire series is fantastic, but this was definitely kind of the climax that really hit home for me listening to it and really kind of gave me something very different to think about. I finished listening to it over the weekend, and so it gave me something really powerful to think about during the memorial service on Sunday.

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   And hopefully it does the same for you this coming Sunday. So, as always, thank you for the recommendations, for continuing to send those in. We will get the rest of this entire series on the Good Christ Delphine Talks extended podcast. With that, I will turn it over to our brother, John L. Lawson, for his fourth study on Peter, A Life of Discipleship, titled Trial by Fire.

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   Good evening again, everyone. Welcome to those who have braved it out here tonight. And also, hello to those who are reclining on the couch at home with a cheese platter. Enjoy that, but beware of reclining that chair too much. I know what that's like. So, tonight we'll continue our study of the life of Peter.

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   And I suppose tonight we've got to probably the very crux of this man's life, haven't we? Probably the most famous section about his life. Now, I've never done it myself, but I've seen it done at Sovereign Hill. I've seen how they refine gold, 24 karat gold. And the way that you refine 24 karat gold is actually quite an intense process.

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   You can go and watch it if you visit Sovereign Hill. They'll show you how it's done. But you need to heat the metal to around 1200 degrees. And then you need to take it through a number of processes back and forth to slowly purify that gold until eventually after process after process of burning this metal hot, all of the impurities are removed from it.

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    And you're left with the purity of this beautiful metal of gold. Well, that process of refining metal with gold was how Peter later came to describe how characters are refined and how his character was refined and how God refined his faith and developed into the man that he eventually became. Now, we all have flaws in our characters, don't we?

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    We all have imperfections and impurities. And sometimes our flaws are more obvious to other people than perhaps even sometimes ourselves. I know my kids are always telling me about my impurities and flaws, but we all have them. And Peter had some flaws in his character as well. And they needed to be refined.

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    And they needed to be worked on. And God needed to do that through the trials that would come upon his life. One of the things that Peter's character needed refining from is that he was a man, and it comes out in the record in a number of ways, he was a man that was very confident in his own ability.

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    And he was quite self-reliant. And it comes out in ways when Peter often speaks before he thinks. Or he promises something great that he's going to deliver, but can't deliver it. And it also comes out with his competitiveness with the other disciples. He was always vying to try and be the greatest, as they all were, and put themselves a little bit higher than the other person.

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    Peter needed to learn humility. And humility is a hard trait to learn. Just come to Matthew 18, where Jesus describes for us that humility is such an essential characteristic, which he's looking for in all of his disciples. And he says in verse 3 and 4 of Matthew 18, All of us need to, if we're going to be in the kingdom of God, develop the characteristic of humility.

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    And Peter needed to learn that. The other thing Peter needed to learn, and it's related to this, was as a result of his confidence in his own ability, he often looked perhaps down at other people and their abilities. Just look over at verse 21, where Peter asked Jesus a question. He says, So he comes to the Lord and says, Look, if my brother just keeps offending against me, surely, Lord, surely if he does it seven times, that's the limit.

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    I'll never have to forgive him after that. Now, Peter probably thought he was being generous, because apparently in the day, the Pharisees has set a limit on three. If someone sinned against you three times, that's it. You never have to forgive them ever, ever again. And no doubt some of that hardness of spirit that was amongst the community had rubbed off on that man, Peter.

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    And he thought, surely, seven times was the limit to which you'd need to forgive your brother. But Jesus says to Peter in verse 22, I say unto you, Peter, that until seven times seven, until 70 times seven. In other words, what Jesus was saying was, there's actually no limit to the forgiveness that you should give to your brother.

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    Now, that was just unthinkable to the disciples. Later, they would ask Jesus a similar sort of question. And Jesus would say, you need to forgive your brother even seven times in a day. And it says that the disciples are like, are you serious? I cannot even understand that concept. Peter needed to learn compassion and forgiveness for his brother.

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    And Jesus went on in that chapter, in chapter 18, to use a parable, the parable of the unforgiving servant. And I'm sure you remember it, about a servant who came to his master and he couldn't repay his enormous debt that he had. And even though the debt was just so enormous, because the man came and asked him for forgiveness, the master forgave him.

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    But then after he received forgiveness, when someone came to him and asked him to have compassion on them, he turned his back on them and he gave them no forgiveness. And Jesus concluded that parable in verse 33, when he said, shouldest not thou also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?

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    Why didn't that servant show compassion to the man that came to him? Because he'd failed to comprehend how much he'd been forgiven. And that's true, isn't it? We learn compassion to others when we realise how much compassion and forgiveness has been handed to us. And Peter needed to learn that lesson. Because Jesus needed Peter to be a man in the ecclesia.

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    He was going to be one of the leaders of the ecclesia. And what he needed was a man of compassion who could look out and be a hand to pick up those brothers and sisters in his ecclesia. And so he needed to learn the hard lesson, the tough lesson of how much he needed compassion himself.

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    And so the Lord will teach. The Lord is going to teach this man. I'm amazed always by this story, how much the Lord is doing on this night. I mean, he's got to achieve so much. And within all that achievement that that man does that night, he's also making sure that people like Peter and John and all these other disciples are learning the little things that they needed to learn to be ready.

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    And the Lord made sure that Peter that night learnt humility and compassion. And they were going to be tough lessons for that man to learn. And those lessons would be learned. It would feel like for that man, he was in like a furnace of fire.

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    And we're going to see Peter tonight descend down to his lowest point. But the beautiful thing about this story is it's a comeback story. And I love comeback stories. And we're going to watch tomorrow or on Monday, we're going to see this man rise again out of the depths of his weakness. To learn the lessons that his Lord wanted him to learn.

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    Come to Luke chapter 22, where we start this awesome story. It would have been a huge week for Peter, even before he got to the last night. There was so many things that he had done with the Lord. There'd been the Olivet Prophecy. There'd been amazing miracles that had been done. And Peter had been there for all of them.

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    And then it came to the very last night that the Lord would be with his disciples. And in Luke chapter 22 and verse 18. Sorry, not Luke chapter 22 and verse eight. The Lord in preparation for that night, it says, and he sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare us the Passover that we might eat.

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    So he sent Peter and John, and these were the two trusted, most trusted of his disciples, weren't they? And he sent these two men and they went into Jerusalem to this upper room. But they had to do it in a secret way. There we go. They had to do it in a secret way.

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    Look what he says in verse 10. And he said unto them, behold, when you enter into the city, now the city was teeming with people. They reckon that at the time of Passover in Jerusalem, at this time, there could have been up to a million people in Jerusalem. That's the size of Adelaide, isn't it?

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    Maybe a little bit less in Adelaide than a million. That's a lot of people. A million people in old Jerusalem. And he sent with this task to enter into the city in verse 10, and you shall find a man there. And that man will be bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him to the house where he enters.

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    So they had to go into the city, teeming with people, all preparing for Passover. And they followed this man to this special upper room. Now, why was Jesus being so secretive about it? Well, look what it says in verse five and six. And they were glad, said the Pharisees and chief priests, and they covented to give unto him, that's Judas, money.

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    And he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. And Jesus knew that. That Judas was looking for any opportunity he could to now betray the Lord. But the Lord knew that he needed a little bit more time with his disciples. He needed that last night with them in the upper room because he had so many things to pass on to them before he would be taken by Judas.

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    And so he arranged this secret passageway where Peter and John would follow this man with a pitcher of water and they would go and find the upper room. And then once there, Jesus said, I want you to prepare this Passover for us and get it ready. Let's go to John chapter 13, where we come to the upper room where the Lord is.

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    And of course, now it's now night. And the Lord is with them in the upper room. And they share supper together. But there's something that they didn't do that they would normally do that was a custom. And it's interesting that they followed that man with the pitcher of water upon his head. And maybe it was that pitcher of water that was the water that was used in the upper room.

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    And they watched that man come into the upper room and they took that big pitcher of water and he placed it down in the upper room. And that pitcher of water was to be used for the custom of the day. And the custom of the day, so he tells us in Luke, in the story of Simon the Pharisee, was that the lowliest person in the house, the servant, it would be their job to wash the feet of everyone who came through that door.

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    It was a humbling task, but someone needed to do it. And when the Lord gets midway through his supper, no one's done it. And why had no one done it? Well, see, the disciples at this point in the upper room, although all these other things are happening, there's contention amongst the disciples. You might remember that it was just a couple of days beforehand that the disciples, one of the disciples' mums had gone to Jesus and had discussed with him and said, oh, look, I was just wondering, right, amongst all the other things you've got going, just wondering whether my boys might be able to get two of the most prominent positions in the kingdom of God next to you on your right hand and on your left.

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    And you know what? It says that the disciple, the rest of the disciples found out about that and they were so angry. It says they had an anger of indignation at those other disciples that they got their mum to go and get them the prominent positions. You see, there was so much competitiveness and tension between these two men.

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    Sorry, not two men, 12 men. And not one of them was going to be prepared to go and pick up that pitcher of water and be the one that was the least among all of them to wash the feet.

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    And so the Lord rises. The Lord gets up in verse four. He rose from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself.

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    And the Lord showed them, didn't he, what humility was all about. There was no doubt whatsoever who was the greatest man in that room.

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    And yet he laid aside his garments and took a towel. And you imagine how the disciples felt when that happened. They must've been so embarrassed, wouldn't they? Peter must've been embarrassed and he shows his embarrassment as the Lord works his way through every single one of those disciples and he finally gets to Peter.

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    And what does Peter say in verse six? And he cometh, he to Simon Peter and Peter said unto him, Lord, I can't take it anymore. There is no way that you are going to wash my feet.

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    He was embarrassed, wasn't he? As I'm sure they all were and sheepish. But Jesus answered in verse seven and said, what I do unto you now, you know not, but thou shalt know afterward. And what the Lord meant by those words was what I'm doing for you here, Peter, in washing your feet is actually just a symbol of something far greater.

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    Because tonight, I'm going to do the most humbling act that anyone's ever done. And I'm going to wash you completely clean. And Peter says to in verse eight, and Peter said unto him, thou shalt never wash my feet, Lord. Never, ever will you wash my feet. And Jesus said to him, if I wash not your feet, then you can have no part with me.

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    Peter needed to recognise, didn't he? The need that he had to be washed. And he didn't recognise that to this point. All of us need to come to that point where we recognise our need to be washed and we allow the Lord to wash us and to cleanse us. But Peter didn't think he needed washing.

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    And so the Lord gives them an example of how to be humble. And he says that in verse 15. I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Peter never forgot that lesson. If you go to second, if you go to his letter in Peter, when he talks about humility, he says we need to be clothed in humility.

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    And he remembered that night when the Lord washed their feet. Now, after the Lord had washed their feet, he then had to bring up the elephant in the room, which was the fact that there was a betrayer amongst their midst. And the Lord in verse 21 brings this up and he does it with anguish.

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    It was something that was very much pained the Lord. And it says in verse 21, when Jesus said unto... So when Jesus had thus said, he began to be troubled in spirit. And he testified and said, verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. And we know that what then happened is all of the disciples started to look at each other across the table and across the room to work out who it was.

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    And you know what? None of them knew who it was. They all suspected that maybe it could even be them. That they looked across the room at who it was. And it's interesting, isn't it? Like sometimes we always, because of the way we know this story so much that it would be that, you know, perhaps Judas is dressed in a black cloak or something.

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    It'd be so obvious that he's the evil one, but they never knew. They never knew. In fact, do you know that Judas was actually one of the most prominent of the disciples? And we can find out from this little story here, as it says in verse 26, that Judas was actually probably right next to the Lord.

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    Because he said, the one that I dip the bread in and give it to him, he's the one. And he's able to do that in verse 26 without anyone else knowing. And so we know the seating arrangements or some of them for that night. We know that Judas was on one side and verse 23 says that leaning on Jesus' bosom was the disciple that Jesus loved and that's John.

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    So he's got John on one side, on his right hand or on his left, and he's got Judas on the other side. Where's Peter?

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    Well, Peter in verse 24 has got one of the back seats. Because what he has to do when this whole discussion is happening with the Lord, verse 24, it says, and Simon Peter therefore had to beckon with his hand to John and say, John, ask Jesus what's going on. We need to know.

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    And the whole night during this upper room, that's where Peter is. He's shouting from the back because he's trying to be more prominent. He wishes he was right next to the Lord, but he's right on the back and he's beckoning.

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    But Jesus hasn't put him there deliberately, hasn't he? So that he can speak to Judas about what he needs to get done. And then finally, Judas leaves. And it's interesting how Judas is described in this chapter. Look what it says in verse 26. And Jesus answered and he said unto him, I shall give a sop and when I have dipped it and when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

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    And he's called that again in verse 2, the son of Simon. And Peter in this chapter, he's always called Simon Peter. You see, there's two Simons in this chapter. And the Bible, the record of these men's lives actually contrasts these two men, these two Simons, Judas and Peter. Because they actually had a lot in common between the two of them.

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    Both of them, when you look at the lists of the disciples, those four lists that we talked about in our first study, always on the top is Peter. And always listed last is Judas.

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    Both of them, we know, were very close to the Lord. Peter is very close to the Lord. And Judas must have been close to the Lord as well because he was put in charge of the finances. He was one of the key men amongst the 12. And he's sitting right next to the Lord in the upper room on the last night.

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    And no one questioned it. Everyone just thought that that's what happened. So both men were very prominent. Both men were very close to the Lord. Both were his disciples. Both were allured by the glory of now. And we saw that last night in our study with Peter, didn't we? In Matthew chapter 16, where Jesus had to say, you need to refocus your mind, not on the here and now and the glory now and what you can have.

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    But you need to set your mind on the future. And see, Judas struggled with that as well. And there's all sorts of different theories and we don't know exactly about what Judas was trying to do. But some of them seem to be that what he was trying to do was bring Jesus out, to bring him to power now so that he could be part of it.

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    And he was caught up in now and what he wanted to do today. And Peter was similar. And both of them would betray their Lord. Both men would. And I believe that they're in the record as a contrast for this reason because although they're so similar here, the difference is in the final result for these two men.

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    And we'll see that in our final two studies about what Peter was able to do and what Peter's outlook was and how it was different from Judas. And so Judas goes out into the night and it must have been a relief for Jesus in that upper room that at least now he knew, although he was so sad that Judas went out and he was sad because he wanted to save him too.

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    He now had an opportunity, a little window to speak to these disciples and tell them what he needed to give to them before he goes. And he starts that in verse 33. Little children, he says, yet a little while I'm with you and you shall seek me and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, you cannot come.

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    So now I say unto you and as Jesus was going into some of the most important information information that he could possibly relay to the disciples about some of the key commandments, Peter's not listening. And we know that Peter's not listening because look what happens in verse 36. Peter just interrupts the Lord and all he can think about is what Jesus had said in the first, in his first message about I'm going somewhere.

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    And Peter says in verse 36, Simon Peter said unto the Lord, where are you going Lord? What are you talking about Lord? Where are you going? See, Peter still had no idea and none of the disciples did and we talked about that last night. Even though Jesus had relayed it to them over and over again in so much detail, they still didn't know what laid ahead that night.

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    And so Peter wants to know, what is it Lord? Where are you going? And Jesus says to him, Jesus answered in verse 38, oh, sorry, Peter answers in verse 30, Jesus answered in verse 36, whither go thou, sorry, verse 36, I'll read it again. Simon Peter said unto the Lord, whither goest thou?

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    And Jesus answered him, where I go, thou canst not follow me now, but you will follow me afterwards. So he says to Peter, you can't come where I'm going now. And Peter jumps in immediately in verse 37 and says unto the Lord, why can't I follow you Lord? Why can't I go with you now?

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    I will lay down my life for you Lord. That's how much I love you. I will lay down my life for you. Now it was going to be the other way around, wasn't it? It was going to be Jesus that would lay down his life for Peter. But see, Peter flipped it and said, I can do it for you Lord.

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    And I am ready to do that. See, he was overconfident, wasn't he? And he had this faith and trust in the power of his own faithfulness and his own ability to stand right with the Lord that night in anything that was going to happen. And Jesus says to him, verse 38, will you, Peter, will you lay down your life for my sake?

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    Verily, verily, I say unto you, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me three, thou hast denied me three times. So Jesus gives a prophecy here about what was going to happen on that night. Now, the cock crowing is as most people understand it, was probably not a rooster, but it was probably this Roman watch change.

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    So when the guards changed, they would blow a trumpet sound and that would be the call to know that they should change their watch and they would blow that every three hours after 12pm. So from 12pm and then to 3am. And Jesus says, before that cock crows, now Mark adds, before that cock crows twice.

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    And Mark's record is usually thought to be the record that Peter wrote or Peter got Mark to write, to write. And so Peter puts a few little bits of information in his gospel record to highlight some of the things and Peter says, there was two crows of the cock that night. There were two signals that I was given before I was to make those three denials.

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    Now, as a result of that rebuke almost by the Lord to Peter, there broke out amongst the disciples again, another big fight amongst them about who was the greatest. Just come to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. Luke 22. And you can imagine how that probably happened.

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    You know, once the Lord had said to Peter, you haven't got it in you, Peter. You're not going to be able to stand with me. I'm sure some of the other disciples played on that and started to stir up and say, yeah, I told you, Peter, you're not up for it, mate. But some of us are.

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    And then the whole thing erupts in verse 24 and there was also a strife amongst them. Which of them should be accounted the greatest? The greatest. Imagine that. On the most important night in history and here's these 12 men arguing about which one of them is the best. And the Lord gently rebukes them.

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    He knows what they're like. He's been with them. He understands. And he rebukes them for what they've done. And then he turns to Simon again and probably by this stage, Peter was getting all defensive in front of his other disciples and getting all worked up and the Lord says to him again for the second time.

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    Verse 31. Simon. Simon. And he uses his original name, doesn't he? That name which means listen. Simon, you need to listen to what I'm saying because what I'm saying to you is actually really important. And he says, Satan has desired to have you that he might sift you as wheat as well. Now Satan had been the one that came into the heart of Judas just in John chapter 13 that he might go and do the things that he was and the Satan for him was probably this inward conflict about glory now versus glory in the future and Jesus says to Simon, Simon, that same conflict which is within Judas is within you and you need to be careful and he says he's desired to have you this night and sift you as wheat.

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    The way they sifted wheat back in those days is they would get like all the wheat and they'd put it in a big area with a little wall around it and they would take a big stick and they would beat that wheat and they would smack that wheat until what would happen is the wind would come and all the chaff would come off the top of that wheat and the wind would come and blow it away and you'd be left down the bottom with the precious wheat and that was a painful process for wheat wasn't it and that would be the process that Peter would go through that night in order to bring forth the wheat of his character but Jesus says to him look what he says in verse 32 but I have prayed for you Peter I have prayed for you that your faith fail not I'm right here with you Peter and when thou art converted Peter strengthen your brethren and all Peter would have heard from that whole dissertation from the Lord would have been two words when you are converted and he's like are you serious you're saying that I need to be converted like are you serious Lord I have given the last two years of my whole life I left my family I left my job I gave up all for you and I've been working I've been asking questions I've been seeking you I've been learning about you I'm one of your most trusted I would give everything for you Lord and you're saying I need to be converted and that's what he says in verse 33

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    Lord I am ready I've been with you for two years I am ready now both to go to prison and to go to death if need be and that's what he thought laid ahead in the night see Peter's still got dreams of beautiful glory of him and Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of horses and getting rid of the Romans and taking the glory now and I'm ready with my sword Jesus but that wasn't the plan and Peter wasn't ready there were parts of his character that needed to be refined and so Jesus says to him again gently he said unto him I tell you Peter the cock will not crow this day it's this day Peter before thou shalt deny me that you ever knew me that you ever knew me they must have been tough words for Peter to hear mustn't they but you know what he didn't hear those words that the Lord was trying to say to him he was probably took from that he was more committed he was more determined and I always laugh at this verse verse 38 Jesus talks to them and he said unto them he was talking to them about what life was going to be like after he was gone and they completely mistook him and I guarantee verse 38 is Peter when he said and they said Lord it's alright don't worry about our security we've got two swords here we're ready to go and Jesus says it's enough Peter you're not getting it Peter was still bound up with what he was going to do that night for the Lord now the

80. 39:07

    Lord then went out to Gethsemane with the disciples they left the upper room and they probably made their way around the walls in the moonlight of the full moon of Passover and this was something that they did regularly so they knew this path but they had to be very careful as they went around that path because Jesus knew that there would be Judas eyes watching and looking and they made their way around that path until they get perhaps around here about halfway point and it's at that point where Jesus sits down with them again and he goes through some of the things that he wanted to talk to them about and if we come to Matthew chapter 26 we take up some of the words that Jesus was saying to them and Jesus needed to bring the reality not just to Peter they were all thinking the same way and he needed to bring a reality to their thinking about what was going to happen on that particular night and he does this in verse 31 then Jesus said unto them all it's not just Peter all of you will be offended because of me this night for it's been prophesied I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad lost and leadless that's what's going to happen to you tonight and all your ideas of impending glory are going to be shattered and ruined and Peter pipes up again for the third time determined verse 33 then Peter answered and said unto him though all men Jesus I don't know about these guys you're probably right Lord they're not

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    up for it but he says though all others Lord will be offended because of you this night I never will offend I would never do and so Jesus for the third time has to tell Peter verily Peter I say unto you this very night Peter in just a few hours before the cock crows you're going to deny me three times and Peter gets all worked up and all passionate and he says again for one last time though all would forsake you Lord I would die for them and I will never deny you and so passionate must have been that last call from Peter that all the disciples said we're the same Jesus we'll stand with Peter we would never ever ever forsake you and then they moved from there and they went to Gethsemane and Gethsemane was where the Lord fought his hardest battle of all wasn't he and it says that his demeanor changed in verse 38 and they must have noticed it particularly the three men that he took closest to him Peter James and John those three men came right close to the Lord and they must have seen in the Lord a man who was always in such control they must have seen the lines on his face and the trouble which surround him as he says there my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death please be with me here and we know that from the Psalms that the Lord looked for comfort as he wanted men to be with him during this toughest of moments for him and so he asked those three closest disciples to come with him

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    as he knelt to pray to his father but what do they do they fell asleep you see the night was too big for these men they were strong tough fishermen ! the toughest of men but it was all too much for these men and and Jesus comes in verse 40 after he's been praying for an hour or so and he cometh unto his disciples and he found them asleep and he picks on Peter again and he says Peter couldn't you wait for me just one hour and he's trying to get Peter to think back at his violent disagreement with him just a few hours beforehand when he said he would do anything for the Lord and he says you couldn't even stay awake with me for just one hour now Peter Jesus wasn't angry with Peter he knew what Peter was like and he says that in verse 41 he says watch and pray that you enter not into temptation the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak and Peter didn't understand that yet Jesus could see the sincerity of his words but Peter was yet to understand the weakness of his own flesh to achieve what he thought he could achieve and that's the lesson that he would learn that night and so the Lord goes back to pray again and then after he prayed three times and won that victory in the garden all of a sudden there's a commotion in the garden and the disciples are still asleep and Jesus goes to the disciples and wakes them up and says wake up there's a crowd that's now come into the

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    garden and he says that in verse 46 rise let us be going behold he is at hand that doth betray me and so the disciples Peter who's groggy with sleep get up from their sleep and are right there with the Lord and who's coming down verse 47 and while he yet spake Judas comes down one of the twelve and who's with him there's a great multitude with swords and with staves and there's a chief priest and there's elders and there's people they've got clubs they've got swords they've got spears there's a violent group of men that are coming down with Judas to get these men and they've got violent !

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    intent and when they come down the Lord is amazing in his demeanor always love in John's record when all the soldiers come down and they ask where is Jesus who is Jesus and Jesus says I'm Jesus and it says all of the soldiers fell back onto the ground they were amazed at the calmness of this man at the clarity of mind see they were hunting fugitives every day and no one just put up their hand and said I'm the one come and get me and Jesus concern in that moment was only for his disciples Mark's record says that as they came to take him that Jesus said just can you please let these go these men can you let my 12 disciples go I'm here you can take me please don't let them be harmed and in the commotion of what was going on Peter sees his moment and he's got his sword hasn't he in his jacket and he's determined to be loyal and verse 51 says and behold one of them which was with Jesus suddenly jumped out from the rest of the disciples and he stretched out his hand and he drew out a sword and he struck a blow to one of the soldiers and took off one of his ears and John says that that was Peter Peter in a moment of glory this is it this is my opportunity and he pulls out his sword and he swipes at the enemy and he takes off an ear right I can imagine the other disciples looking at what Peter had done when it all finished right this great commotion and just

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    been like what are you doing Peter are you serious right you've taken off this guy's ear and Jesus knew that any second that could just erupt and all of the disciples would be killed and Jesus acts in an instant and takes that ear and puts it back on the side of the man's head and instantly people don't even know what's going on and Jesus says please let these disciples go and he turns to Peter in verse 54 and he says and now then shall sorry verse 53 he says to Peter thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my father and that he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels but how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled that it must be and that's what Jesus had said to Peter in Matthew chapter 16 you remember Peter it must !

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    this is not something that's optional it's something that I must do and he rebukes Peter in the garden and then once he's done that all of the disciples realise the gravity of the situation and verse 56 says and all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled then all of the disciples forsook him and fled and you know what it wasn't an easy getaway Mark's record says that as they scampered and scattered in every single direction that the soldiers were hunting after them they ran after them they didn't leave them because one of the soldiers grabbed one of the men's garment and he was left running with nothing on because they wanted to get the disciples as well sometimes we look at that scene and we think the disciples were able to walk out of the garden they ran for their lives knowing that if the soldiers had grabbed them they were going to be killed as well and they were scattered off in all directions into the night and then Peter wherever he went in the first instant moment he catches his breath and he regroups himself and he remembers the words that he said to the Lord it's all a blur now isn't it because he's thrown his sword out there's all these things have happened he's run they've tried to get him but he's found a little hiding spot and he thinks !

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    about his loyalty of what he said to the Lord I would never betray you I'll be with you I'll stand with you and so he gets back up quickly and verse 58 says and Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace and he went in and sat with the servants to see the end see Peter thought that's what was going to happen now he thought all's lost everything that I thought was going to happen this night everything that I dreamed was going to happen over this Passover of the Lord coming to glory it's all now going to come to an end and he sneaks through the streets of Jerusalem afar off behind that band and he makes his way around the temple through the streets creeping so careful that he doesn't get seen as they lead Jesus through the winding streets back to the high priest house and Peter goes there to see the end and John's record says that when he got to the high priest house the door was locked for him he couldn't get in and he knocked at the door and they didn't let him in and you know what was a dangerous place the high priest house you can actually go to Jerusalem today it's amazing you can go to Jerusalem and they've actually found the ruins of this exact house and you can stand and walk in the areas of that house where Peter must have walked there's only a few of the walls there but you can map out and see and it's not a huge house so it wasn't going to be easy for Peter

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    to go in there and be able to hide completely it was he was determined to go and he knocked on the door and he couldn't get in and John's record says that John had gone there as well and he was already in that priest's house and the reason why he was there was because they knew him somehow he had some kind of business connection with them and they knew who John was they knew the personality of John and the damsel at the door had let him in and Peter sees John in the house and he calls to him he said hey John can you get me in as well and John comes over to the door and he speaks to the damsel at the door and he says look this guy is with me can he come in and she knew him and so Peter is allowed in you can imagine !

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    Peter walks into that courtyard to try and find a spot where he couldn't be seen and that's what it says in verse 58 that he came into the palace verse 69 now Peter sat without in the palace so he found a spot where he hopefully thought that he couldn't be seen but then someone came straight up to him from the palace and it was a damsel girl and John says it was the same girl that he had spoken to to let him in the door the same one that knew John and she probably known John for years and she would have known that John was from Galilee and she would have known that John was a follower and disciple of Jesus and so she comes to Peter not long after letting him in and Peter is trying to hide himself in the porch and the damsel comes to him and says to him weren't you also sorry thou also was with Jesus of Nazareth sorry Jesus of Galilee and John's record says that she went further and said you're one of his disciples like John was was probably what she was thinking see she made the connection it wasn't an unusual connection for her to make it was she'd just been observant and she'd seen this man maybe she'd seen Peter before with John and Peter instantly replies to her in verse 60 sorry verse 60 70 but he denied it before them all saying I know not what thou sayest I don't know what you're talking about I actually do not know what you're talking about at all I know not who you are

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    talking about Mark's record says I don't know him I don't even know what you're talking about how was Peter able to do that to the Lord so quickly after the Lord had just told him just a few hours before that this would be what happened and he just didn't tell him once did he he told him three times in detail what would happen to him that you would deny me and here's Peter having all that information and knowing everything about it and yet when the question gets asked he says I don't know him I've never known him before how did he do that well see he was caught off guard wasn't he it wasn't how the night he expected would turn out and he expected !

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    that the moment ! that he was going to stand for the Lord was the moment of heroic grandeur in the garden but this temptation was different and it came from a little girl a damsel woman and she's the one that asked him the question and Peter wasn't ready to answer and you see that's how temptation comes doesn't it in our life temptation comes unexpectedly it comes usually from left field it comes when we're not ready it usually comes when we're in a stressful period in our life or we're tired or there's stuff going on or we're afraid or there's all sorts of things happening in our life and all of a sudden temptation will strike upon us and it's a lot harder to resist temptation in our life when that happens and that's what happened to Peter he was caught unexpectedly by temptation and so he creeps out into the porch verse 71 says and when he had gone out into the porch so he went out into another courtyard that was next to it to try and get away from this situation to hide himself further and Mark's record says at this point he heard the cock crow the first time and that would have been a reminder to him of what to God and he heard he heard that cock crow and he did remember what the Lord had said that he would deny him and he remembered what he said the first time and he couldn't believe it he couldn't believe that already he denied !

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    his Lord and then he said to himself I'm never going to do that again I can't believe I did that I'm never going to do that again have you ever said that when you've been tempted and then when you've been drawn away by your own lust and enticed have you ever said I'll never do it again and then you do it again and you say I'm never going to do it again and then you do it again that's Peter here isn't it he's in the midst of temptation and he's learning as we all do in life about our own weakness as much as we want to be strong as much as we want to stand for the Lord we can't do it and that's what Peter's discovering in this moment in the courtyard and they come to him again and this time it's not just one there's a lot of them there's a crowd of them and Peter stands with the crowd next to the fire it's easy isn't it relatively to stand with Jesus and to profess our love for him when we're in here it's a lot harder when we're by ourself or we're alone with a different crowd and that's where Peter is one man huddled around a fire and he's burning isn't he he's learning what it's like to be tried by fire to refine his character to understand who he really is that's what the Lord's doing to him that's how God's working with him and the maid asks him again and she said unto them so a second maid comes and she says before all of them you're one

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    of Jesus disciples aren't you and Peter denied it and this time he denied it with an oath so that everyone could hear and everyone would know I've got nothing to do with him have you ever done that you might not have done it with an oath but I've done that I've denied my Lord I've not stood up for him and professed I knew him when I should have done he

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    Peter stood again with the crowd. And John tells us that by this stage, the crowd included soldiers. And some of those soldiers were the very soldiers which had been with him in the garden.

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    And Peter knew what he'd done in the garden. He'd been the one with the sword, hadn't he? And John's record says that the man that recognised Peter this time was a relative of the very man whose ear he'd cut off.

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    And what did that mean for Peter? Well, if they recognised him now with all these soldiers, they'd take him, wouldn't they? And they'd cast him into prison.

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    And then maybe they'd cast him to death. And that's what Peter had said, hadn't he? I'm ready, Lord, to go with you to prison and to go with you to death. And so they asked him, you are with him. And it wasn't just one, it was a number of them. And they all started saying, your voice sounds like a Galilean.

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    You're absolutely, definitely with him. And the one that knew him, that saw him in the garden said, it is him. And in that moment, verse 74 says, he began to curse and he began to swear. And he said, I know not that man.

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    And that was the old Simon coming out, wasn't it? He became the fisherman again. And he forgot all the things that Jesus had taught to him in that moment. And he wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he wasn't with Jesus. And at that moment, that exact moment, as Peter was still voicing those words, as they were still coming out of his mouth,

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     that he'd never, ever known his Lord. Verse 74 says, immediately, the cock crew. Luke's record says, while he was still speaking. And Luke's record also goes on to say that not only that, not only did the cock crow at the exact moment that he was making his third denial, not only that, at the same moment, a door opens from up the top, maybe of this priest's house.

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     And at that very moment, out comes the Lord. And through a perfect line of vision, he sees the Lord's eyes. And he looks upon him. And suddenly, it all clicks together in his mind.

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     Everything that's happened that night. Everything the Lord had said. Everything that he'd done. And you know, I think that's beautiful. And why I think that's beautiful, as hard as it is to read, is that that didn't happen by accident, did it? The Lord orchestrated that. God's providence made all of that happen exactly as it did.

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     So that people, Peter would experience that moment with the Lord. And by that experience with the Lord, he would learn the lessons of that night. And why I think that is so beautiful is this. Sometimes we think God's only working in our life when we're going well. And we're moving on the path that we think that we should go in.

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     But this story tells us that even in our weakest and darkest moments, has God forsaken us? Has God let us go? No. He's working in our life. To bring about change. To bring us closer to him. To mould us. To shape us. And that's a beautiful thing. Never feel. Like we've got into such a spot that we can never return.

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     Or that God would never work with us. He's always working. That's his character. He loves us. And that's what he's doing for Peter. And what would that look have been like? What do you think that look would have been like as he looked into the Lord's eyes? We actually get a couple of clues.

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     The same word looked that is used here when Peter's eyes catch the Lord's is the same word used when he first met him. You remember when he met him for the first time and it said, he looked at him. And he knew who he was. And what was that look all about? That first look?

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     It was a look that looked into the eyes of Peter and he knew his potential. And that was the same look that Jesus gave to Peter. He'd not given up on him. And the other time that word is used is when Jesus was speaking to the rich young ruler and it said that he looked upon that man and he loved him.

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     It was a look of love, wasn't it? And from that parable, it was a look of compassion. I understand, Peter. I understand. And Peter runs out into the night.

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     And he weeps bitterly. It was going to be a tough few days for Peter, wasn't it? And there were so many things that he was going to think about.

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     But amongst all that anguish and pain that he thought about over those three days, and we'll look at some of those things that he would have gone through in our next study. One of the things he must have thought about and gone through in his mind, despite his own weakness that night, as he thought about the events of that night, he must have been amazed at the behaviour of the Lord.

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     At every step of the way, when he had fallen, the Lord had stood strong. In the upper room, when they had fought and were envious against each other, he was humble. When he'd slept and was unable to support his master in the garden,

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     Jesus struggled. When there was confusion in the garden and all of them ran off into different directions into the night, the Lord was calm. The Lord was composed. The Lord knew exactly what he needed to do. And when he was in the upper, when he was in the priest's house, and he was wracked with fear, and he denied his Lord, the Lord spoke truth.

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     And he stood for God. And I wonder whether you noticed in verse 63, what the Lord said. The question that the Lord was asked. And it was this question, which was the question that would send him to his death. Look what it says in verse 63. But Jesus held, sorry, but Jesus held his peace.

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     And the high priest answered him and said, I adjure thee by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the son of God.

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     Remember, that was the same confession that Peter had made. And when it was going to cost him everything, the Lord says in verse 63, 64, thou hast said. He stood for truth, even though it cost him his own life. Let's finish in 1 Peter chapter 2, where we'll just read a couple of verses.

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     Years later, when Peter was looking back at the example of his Lord, he penned these words in his appreciation for all the Lord had done for him.

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     For even here unto, verse 21 says of 1 Peter chapter 2, for even here unto were we called, because Christ also suffered for us. He left us an example that we should follow in his steps. He did no sin. Neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, he reviled not again, but when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judged righteously, who his own self bear our sins in his body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed.

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     For all of us were like sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. And Peter is going to be brought back in our next session by that shepherd as he runs out into the night.

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     Three things that we learnt from tonight. One, the need for humility. And Peter learnt that tough lesson that night, didn't he? He also came face to face with his own weakness. And all of us at some point will come to that realisation. But he also came to the realisation of the amazing strength of his Lord.

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