It’s Time To Wake Up

Luke 22: 31 – 62

A rooster and a fox lived in a forest. The rooster was very intelligent and clever. One day a fox was hungry and spotted a rooster sitting on a tree branch. On seeing the rooster, the fox thought of capturing it, but for that, he would have to call the rooster down.

The fox thought that he could fool the rooster into climbing down. He asked the rooster to come down as he no longer needed to be afraid of other animals. He said that the king had passed an order and no animal could harm any other animal. The fox said that they could together go to the king and clarify this with him.

The rooster smelled something fishy and said let’s go to the king and take some of our friends with us as well. The fox told the rooster that to go to the king, he needed to come down first.

The rooster was listening to the fox and knew the fox was trying to fool him. The rooster thought quickly and said that some hounds were coming their way, and they could take them along to the king.

Hearing this, the fox panicked and ran away, saying that the news had not yet reached the hounds. The fox immediately fled from there, and in this way, the rooster saved his life.

Moral Of The Story
The moral of this story is “CLEVERNESS always saves you from danger.” The clever and intelligent rooster outwitted the cunning fox and escaped from danger.
1 Corinthians 3:19 tells us "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;

How many of us have ever fallen asleep in Church? Statistics show that most people have – at least once.
In the days of the Pilgrims, churches had a person they called a “tything man”. His job was to keep people awake during the sermons, which usually lasted 2 to 3 hours in length, by using a long pole.

The following are just a few reasons individuals have given for falling asleep in church...
• They got up too early
• Or they’ve been up too late the night before
• Or the sermon’s boring....
WHICH I’M SURE DOESN’T APPLY TO ANYONE OF YOU HERE IN CHARDON
• Or because they’ve worked hard all week and they just can’t help themselves

BUT then there are other times, when people fall asleep but have their eyes “wide Open”...
Years ago (when I was younger) I remember being in love with a special girl. She often occupied my thoughts - even when I was at church. One day, at church, during the sermon… I began thinking about her. And, during this daydreaming I reached over and squeezed her knee (right there in church).
Only problem was, she wasn’t seated beside me at the time. I was sitting next to my sister.

It took a long time to explain to my sister why I had done what I’d done.
Literally, I was asleep in church even while I was awake.
My mind was on other things. And I needed to be woke up
Even the Apostle Peter fell asleep “in church” a couple of times.
In Luke 9, we’re told that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the Mountain of Transfiguration. While Jesus was praying Moses and Elijah appeared with Him... but verse 32 tells us…
“...Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep” Peter was falling asleep!

Then in Luke 22:45 we’re told that Peter fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus “...rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep.”
And this happened, not once, not twice, but three times!

Peter did worse than fall asleep in church. He fell asleep on Jesus.
But even worse than that, Peter was often asleep “in church” even when his eyes wide open. He was there with Jesus – he was listening to the preacher – but his mind was on other things. And he needed to be woken up.

In Matthew 16, for example, Jesus was teaching Peter and the other Apostles about His death, burial, and resurrection.
But somewhere along the line Peter fell asleep to what Jesus was saying: verse 22 Peter says "Never, Lord!"… "This shall never happen to you!"

His mind was elsewhere He was asleep to what Jesus was saying
And so Jesus WOKE him up: Jesus turned and said to Peter in verse 23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Now in our text this morning, we find that Peter has done it again. His eyes are open but he’s asleep ”in church”. He’s gone to sleep and Jesus wants to wake him up
How do I know that Jesus wanted to wake Peter up?

Well, last night I knew I needed to wake up this morning… So, what do you think I did to make sure I did that? I set my alarm. I needed something to wake me up.

In the same way Peter needed to have something wake him up. So Jesus used a rooster. For centuries roosters have served to wake people up. And that’s what Jesus used this rooster for.

This bird was the tool God used to wake up Peter to some basic truths. What was it that Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to?

1st – Peter needed to wake up to the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to handle everything on his own. Peter was a “man’s man” He was a powerful, towering giant. Peter was a force to be reckoned with.

Peter might not have been the type to start fights... but he could finish them. One of Peter’s basic problems was that he always thought he could handle anything.
• When Jesus said He was going to be betrayed... Peter said “Others might... but not ME! I’ll follow you to prison or even to death! Nothing can stop me from protecting you.”
• And when Jesus was arrested, Peter pulled his sword and whacked off the ear of one of the men. No one dared to touch Jesus with him around. He could handle anything or anyone. He was sure of himself. Sure of his strength.

He believed there was nothing he would face, that he couldn’t handle. But he was wrong. Peter couldn’t handle everything.
Luke 22 verse 31: “Peter” (Jesus said) "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.”
Peter – there’s someone you can’t beat
Peter - there’s someone you can’t handle
Peter - there’s someone who’s bigger, smarter and more powerful than you are... and his name is Satan.

Peter’s not the only person who’s ever had this problem.
1 Corinthians 10:12 warns us: “... let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
That’s a wakeup call to ALL believers: you’re not as big and smart and powerful as you might think you are. You can’t handle everything on your own. Don’t be so foolish as to think you can do much of anything without talking to God about it.

Too many Christians fall into the SUNDAY ONLY mindset. They put in their hour in worship… and then they leave God back at the church building. They make decisions without Him. They face their challenges and difficulties without Him.

They may not deliberately do this with forethought... but they do it. And they do it because they don’t want to bother God. They’re big boys and girls now. They don’t need Him to involve Himself in their daily lives.

I admit to you… that I don’t always ask God’s guidance about things when I should. I don’t always pray as often as I might. I wonder if it is something that has happened to all of us at some time.

We need to wake up to the fact that – without Him we’re not going to be able to handle the difficulties of this life.And that was what Jesus was telling Peter – WAKE UP!

WAKE UP and realize you aren’t as big and as bad and as brainy as you think you are. Because there is someone out there just waiting to take you down.

Former heavyweight boxer James “Quick” Tillis recalled his 1st day in Chicago after his arrival from Tulsa.
"I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under my arms and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ’I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ And when he looked down, the suitcases were gone.

He was a heavyweight boxer. He was a big, bad, rather scary kind of man. AND he was going to conquer Chicago. But somebody took all that he owned away from him.

“Wake up” Says Jesus– take heed lest you fall. Know that there are forces in this world that you can’t take on ... BY YOURSELF.
That was the first thing Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to: You CAN’T do this on our own...

So… the 2nd thing Jesus wanted him to wake up to was… he didn’t have to do everything on his own. Jesus was still in control.

Luke 22:59-61 it tells us that “About an hour later another said,
"Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
Peter replied, "Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.
IT IS Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:
"Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."

How did Jesus know Peter would deny Him 3 times?
How did Jesus know that rooster was going to crow when it did?
Because Jesus is God.
He created the rooster. He created Peter.

In Isaiah 46:9-11 God declared:
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Jesus knew the temptation Satan had planned for Peter. And He knew how Peter would respond to that temptation. And Jesus wanted to wake Peter up to the fact that He knew that and that HE was in control.

When OUR life turns sour.
When WE ARE in over OUR heads.
When everything you THOUGHT you had under control suddenly collapses.

REMEMBER THIS
Jesus is still in control. Now that’s hard for Peter to believe. Jesus has just been betrayed by a friend. He’s been arrested. He’s been put through an illegal and humiliating trial. And that’s going to be just the beginning. Jesus is going to be beaten and He’s going to be whipped.

He’s going to be taunted and spit on by some of the very people who praised him just days before. He’s going to be forced to drag His cross down the streets of Jerusalem. And He’s going to be nailed to that cross, and lifted on that cross as it’s put in position and dropped into place. And then He’ll die the slow agonizing death of those who are crucified. And when He dies, they’re going to bury His body in a borrowed grave.

And, as far as Peter can see,... that is where Jesus will stay.
WAS Jesus in control? Absolutely, EVEN THOUGH Peter couldn’t see that!
And, SO MANY times in our lives we have DOUBTS… BUT GOD is STILL IN CONTROL!

Jesus was still in control.
Now, one last observation:
Why do Roosters crow?
Roosters crow for one basic reason: The Sun has risen... and there’s a new day coming.

The OLD Peter needed to wake up the fact that he couldn’t do it all on his own.
But then he didn’t have to because Jesus was God in the flesh – Jesus was God come down in human form. And Jesus had come to change Peter’s OLD life forever.

A new day was coming. It would be a day when the OLD Peter’s life would be buried and all forgotten.

As God tells us in Romans 6:2-7
“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death,
we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

When we’re buried in the waters of baptism our “OLD MAN” dies.
Our OLD LIFE is buried.
And we rise up to a NEWNESS of life.
Ephesians 5:14 says to you
"Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

INVITATION.

Contributing Sermon By Jeff Strite