Ron Dunn Podcast - Sifted But Saved - Bellevue

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

Ron Dunn preaches one of his most famous sermons dealing with the sifting of the believer.

Thank you very much. And the music has been a blessing, as it always is. And I praise the Lord for the opportunity of just being a part of it and enjoying it as well as participating in it. And, well, the last day, it's sort of a bittersweet time, isn't it? And you wait for all year for it to get here, and then when it gets here, you turn around and it's gone. It goes mighty fast. And I just thank the Lord, though, that He's allowed us to be here and be a part of it. I want to thank this church and Adrian for their graciousness. I'm sure you felt the same thing.

And every time I've been here, I have felt this, that from Brother Adrian all the way down to anybody that's working on the staff, at whatever level, they just seem to have an exceptional spirit of graciousness and making you feel welcome. There is just a spirit in this church that is really very rare that you find in many places, and I think it is a reflection of the leadership of this church and of the commitment they have to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it's been a ministry to me just to be here. And I've been blessed. And I know that for those of us who come to speak, that we come to be blessed as much as to try to bless. And this is an oasis for us, and it gives us a tremendous encouragement in our ministry. And so

we're all very grateful. And I especially appreciate Sonny and Loretta Tucker, who've been my, occasioned my ride this week, and we've kept them waiting several times, and they've gone through heavy traffic to try to do everything for us, and they've been such gracious hosts, and I appreciate it very much. And the helpfulness of Bob Sorrell and just everyone makes this a very special time. And I praise God that this church is here. It is a miracle, and every time we drive up this church, I'm just amazed at what God has done, what God is doing. What a magnificent testimony to the grace of God and to the power of God that this place presents. So thank you, Brother Adrian. And even though

you also are a chief of sorts, I want to... Actually, the truth of the matter is, Adrian probably has more of that wild stuff in himself than I have in me. But you'll notice how he's not said a word about it. That's because he's not a real chief. He's just, you know, a lieutenant. Those of you that have not been here don't have the slightest idea what I'm talking about. I'm not too sure myself. Would you open your Bibles to the gospel of Luke chapter 22? The gospel of Luke chapter 22. I'm going to read beginning with verse 24 and I'll read through verse 34. The gospel of Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 34. You will immediately recognize, of course, that we are in the upper room. The Lord and His disciples eating the Passover supper.

It has been a very strange and ominous evening for these disciples. And there is a cloud hanging over the entire proceedings. Things are going on that they cannot understand. And they are uneasy and apprehensive. And so it is not surprising to find that Luke records in the 24th verse, and there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger,

and he that is chief as he that doth serve. For whether is greater he that sits at meat or he that serves? It is not he that sits at meat, but I am among you as he who serves. You are they who have continued with me in my tribulations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father has appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my tribulations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father has appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell you, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day

before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. One of my favorite writers through the years is a man by the name of C.S. Lewis, and many of you I know are familiar with his writings. He wrote quite a few science fiction novels, but he's best remembered for his works like The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, and Miracles, and many others. The first book by C.S. Lewis that I ever read was an account of his conversion, his spiritual autobiography. Before Lewis became a Christian, and he did not become a Christian until he was an adult, he had been an atheist. And in the telling of his story, he mentions that there

came to him on two separate occasions, for no reason that he could understand, that there came to him just passed through his being for a fleeting moment a sense of pure ecstatic joy and well-being. Just all of a sudden, for no reason, suddenly there just came upon him just that incredible sense of joy. And that happened to him on two occasions. And of course, after that, naturally, he was always looking for that joy, wondering how in the world he could somehow recapture that and what the secret of it was. Of course the story is that when he finally came to Christ, he found that joy that he had been looking for. And so he entitled his spiritual autobiography, Surprised by Joy. And I've

always thought that's such a neat title. What a wonderful title to be able to give to your spiritual experience, Surprised by Joy. I'm thinking about calling it, Surprised by Misery. Or, Surprised by Failure. Because I have been surprised by failure. I have been surprised by misery. Not to say that I haven't been surprised by joy. It has not been my greatest surprise. I sort of expected to have joy when I came to the Lord. And in those times in my Christian life when God would do what I consider to be a new work in my heart and I would come

to a fresh commitment of my life to Him, I wasn't surprised by joy. I expected there to be joy and peace. That has not surprised me. What has surprised me is my failure. I think Simon Peter, if he had written an account of this story, could have very well entitled it, Surprised by Failure. Because he was. He boasted to Jesus. And I don't think it's an empty boast.

I think at the time Peter made those statements, he was as honest as he knew how to be. I believe Peter loved Jesus as much as it was possible for him to love him at that time. I think he was as committed to Christ as it was possible for him to be committed to Christ at that time. And he said, Lord, I want you to know something, Lord. I am never going to leave you nor forsake you. Now, you can count on me. I understand you're worried about some of these other boys over here.

I've never been too sure about them myself, especially, you know, Matthew the publican. I don't know. But I want you to know something, Lord. You can count on me. I am ready to go to prison. Matter of fact, I'm ready even to die for you. And he was surprised by failure. That's happened to all of us, hasn't it?

It's going to happen to some of you this next week. Because many of us, or most of us, I would imagine that have been here, God has touched our hearts and God has done something in our lives. And, you know, you have those times and you go away and you say, boy, finally, at last, I've got it all settled. Now I've got it settled, boy. I'm telling you, things are going to be different from now on out. All the boards are nailed down.

All the covers are tucked in. And from now on out, it's going to be nothing but victory all the way. I remember a young man that came to Christ one Sunday morning in our church. And so when I presented him to the church, I did what I would occasionally do. I asked him if he, you know, had a word of testimony he'd like to share with the people. I thought that's a good way to start off your salvation experience. And I didn't do it with everybody, but sometimes I would. And at the time, it seemed like a good idea. And so when I presented Tim, I said, Tim, do you have anything you'd like to say to the church?

He said, yes, pastor, I do. He said, I want everybody to know I just feel wonderful. I've never felt so great in all my life. And I just want you to know I'm never going to lose this feeling. Well, I thought a little pastoral counseling would be good right there. And I said, well, now, son,

we all know how you feel. And praise God, that's wonderful. But you know, Tim, you might not always feel quite as wonderful as you do right now. No, Pastor, I'm never going to lose this feeling. I just feel wonderful. I feel terrific.

I'm never going to lose this. Well, now, son, we all know how you feel. We've all been there. But, you know, feelings have a way of changing. You don't want to put your faith in your feelings. You want to put your faith in the Word of God, you know. No, Pastor, I'm never going to lose this feeling. I just feel wonderful.

Well, I didn't think it looked very good for the pastor to have a fight with a new convert right there. So I said, you know, and you know, folks, there are some things you can't tell anybody. And so I said, well, God bless you, son. God bless you, son. God bless you. About three weeks later, here he comes, dragging himself into my office. He says, oh, pastor, I need to talk to you. I said, what's the matter? He said, oh, I think I'm lost.

I think I'm lost. I don't think I've ever been saved. And so as we sat down, I discovered something. You know what? He had been surprised by failure. I got to wondering why it was so hard for Peter to accept the word of the Lord. You know, I think it's something a man will stand toe to toe to Jesus Christ and say, No, Lord, you're wrong.

Why did he find it so difficult to believe the prediction of Jesus? Well, I want you to back up a bit to verse 28 where Jesus says, Why did he find it so difficult to believe the prediction of Jesus? Well, I want you to back up a bit to verse 28, where Jesus says, You are the ones who have stuck by me in all my trials and tribulations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Now that is heady stuff.

He said, you the boys that have stuck by me in all my trials, and I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to appoint unto you a kingdom just as my Father has appointed unto me, and you're going to sit right next to me eating and drinking in the new kingdom. And I'll tell you something else. You're going to be sitting on thrones

judging the twelve tribes of Israel. By the way, Simon, before the rooster crows in the morning, you're going to deny tell you something else. You're going to be sitting on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. By the way, Simon, before the rooster crows in the morning, you're going to deny that you know me three times. Boy, that's a fast transition. One minute I'm a hero, the next minute I'm a zero. One minute I'm sitting on a throne judging the twelve tribes of Israel the next minute I'm over here denying my Lord and the transition was just too much for Peter to take how in the world could you in one breath have this wonderful thing to say about Peter

and in the very next breath talk about him denying his Lord so it's understandable but you know what I find encouraging Jesus did not find it all that strange to find failure right next to success and I want to tell you something I don't care how deeply you love the Lord Jesus Christ

that love can be temporarily overwhelmed at times. And I do not care how deeply committed you are to Christ that commitment can be at times temporarily overwhelmed. And so Jesus says to Simon Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. So I want to talk to you this morning about this experience, the sifting of the saved. Now in other places in the New Testament, you might find this same experience referred to as chastisement or testing or trial or discipline or education. But here, Jesus prefers to use this very graphic imagery of a sifting process whereby the wheat is harassed

and hassled to separate the chaff from the good. And so Jesus said, Simon, I want you to know something. Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. And let me just suggest three simple statements concerning this. Oh, by the way, let me just mention also that there are three kinds of people in this building this morning. There are those who have been sifted. There are those who are right now being sifted. And the third group is, watch out, brother, it's headed your way. Because sooner or later, in one degree or another, every one of us is going to experience what Jesus here calls a sifting process. So three

simple statements. Number one, the Lord Jesus predicts that we will be sifted. A grim prediction, but he makes it. Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. The purpose of the devil is, Jesus is saying, he wants to take you and turn you inside out. He wants to turn you every which way but loose. He's going to harass you and hassle you. He's going to try to destroy your faith in me. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he made this statement, we are not ignorant of his, the devil's, devices. The word is strategies or stratagems. In other words, Paul was saying that the devil is a schemer. He's a strategist, he plans and plots. And I think

it'd be helpful for us to understand a little bit about the strategy of the enemy. And there are several things here in this passage that I think are helpful. First of all, I believe we can see that one of the strategies of the enemy is that he attacks us during times of stress or pressure. I said a moment ago that these disciples were, well, they were under some stress. They were under some pressure. As a matter of fact, the entire week had been a strange week for these disciples, and Jesus had kept talking about dying and leaving them. And as I said the other day, that every time Jesus would bring up the cross, they'd try to change the subject. They won't talk about that.

Didn't even want to think about that. And all week long, these have been strange goings on. And now tonight in this upper room, there's just been a cloud hanging over it. And Jesus said something strange about somebody betraying him. And all the disciples begin to say, well, who could that be? Maybe it's me. And if you want to know just what kind of state they were in,

they didn't say, Lord, is it John or is it Matthew? They said, Lord, is it I? That's how confused they were in their spirit. And there was that strange exchange between Judas and Jesus, and then suddenly Judas bolting out and going out into the night. Strange. And so it's not surprising to find in verse 24 where it says, and there was a strife between them. There arose a dispute. That's a very interesting word. It literally means, well, it's a word Nike, which means victory, has the word love prefixed to it, lover of victory.

What it indicates is there was a competition among them. There was a rivalry among them. Suddenly there was a tear in the fabric of the fellowship of this band of disciples, and they were over here arguing about something. They were arguing over which one of them was the greatest. Basically, they were arguing over which one of us is going to take over when Jesus is gone. Now you think about it. Here is a moment when these men could have been encouraging, comforting, strengthening their Lord who is about to die, but instead they're over here in a corner arguing about who's going to get the silverware when mom dies. Basically what they were doing. And so there was a rip, there was a tear in the fabric of their fellowship, and that's all the devil needed. And he stepped right into that place, and he found a

foothold. They gave place to the devil, and immediately he began to work in their lives. And what I'm saying to you is this, that the devil is a dirty fighter, my friend. And when you are going through a period of unusual stress, there's a crisis in your life, you're under pressure, that is when the devil loves to operate. Because, you know, it may be some financial crisis, or it may be something with the kids, or something in the church,

or it may be some health crisis, but when you're going through something like that, your mind is preoccupied with these things, and it drains you emotionally, and you're vulnerable. You're vulnerable. And I know there are times, and I've said it myself, well, I'm going through so much trouble right now, I know God would not allow anything else to come to me. Surprise, surprise, surprise. He does. The devil likes

to kick you when you're down. He's a dirty fighter. And so what I'm saying to you is this, that some of you I know right now are going through unusual pressure in your life. There's a crisis. You're under unusual stress. That makes you a little bit irritable. That makes you anxious, a little uptight, preoccupied. You're tired all the time because you're so drained. If you're not careful, that's when the devil can come in and rip the fellowship that you have and score a victory in your life. Sometimes he attacks us before the trial ever comes, so we won't be able to be ready for it. Sometimes he hits us right in the middle of it,

and then sometimes he's waiting on the other side of it. You know, you come through some great crisis and you say, well, I made it through that, but you're so exhausted and so vulnerable, the devil is waiting there to zap you right there. That's one of the strategies of the enemy. It's one of the strategies of the enemy. But there's a second strategy that you notice there. And it is this, that the devil in attacking us, he attacks us at our strong points. He attacks us at our strong points. Now, some of you are saying, preacher, I always thought that the devil attacked us at our weak points. He does. He always attacks us at our weak points. That's why I said he always attacks us at our strong points. That's his strategy. He attacks us at our strong points,

which are our weak points, because we think they are our strong points. Therefore, they become our weak points. Have you ever thought about what area did Peter get defeated? In what area of his life did Satan attack him? Have you ever thought about that? If I were to ask you to draw up this morning

a profile of Simon Peter, describe Simon Peter, how would you do it? Years ago, was it Douglas that wrote a novel about Simon Peter called The Big Fisherman? I like that. That's the image I have, big fisherman. When I think of Simon Peter, I think of a big guy. I think of a man whose muscles are well built, and he's suntan because he spent all of his life out there pulling those bulging nets of fishes from the sea. And he's a... Well, actually, Peter was a redneck.

That's what Peter was. He's probably the first redneck that ever lived. I'm convinced if Peter were alive today, he'd drive a pickup truck with a rifle rack on the back and wear cowboy boots and probably vote for David Dukes. That's just, that's Simon Peter's a redneck. That's basically what he is. He's a rough and tumble kind of guy. He's not a champagne sipper. He's a beer guzzler type of guy. He's rough and tough. Why sure. And a little while when the soldiers come in the garden to take Jesus there's only one man that pulls

the sword and goes at him who is it it's Simon Peter Simon Peter's best point is his strength and his courage that's the best thing he's got going for him here Jesus says you know before the rooster

crows you're going to deny that you know, before the rooster crows, you're going to deny that you know me three times. Oh, wait just a minute, Lord. You know, the only thing that would cause me to deny you if I were afraid. And Lord, I'm not afraid of anything. You just wait till we get to the Garden of Gethsemane and you watch me pull out my sword.

I am not afraid of anything. Now, I'll admit, Lord, that I'm not perfect. And, Lord, I know I have my weak points. But, Lord, my courage, my strength, that's the best thing I've got going for me. That's my strength. That's my strong point. That's the one thing I don't have to worry about.

And that's exactly where the devil got him. Isn't that interesting? That very moment, at the very point, that's where the devil got him. I'll tell you, folks, the devil's strategy is to attack you at your strong points because they are your weak points. Like you, I have been embarrassed and ashamed and angry at all of the television coverage through the past years of these high-profile preachers

who've fallen into gross immorality. It's embarrassing. I tell you what what I'm not perfect boy that's one thing I'd never do I know I've got my weak points Lord but I tell you Lord boy that's one thing I would never do it's exactly what Simon Peter said and that's exactly what a lot of you say, isn't it?

Sure, every time I hear about one of those guys, I pull my self-righteous robes about me, and I say, well, I know I'm not perfect, and I know I have my faults, but boy, that's one thing, oh no, that's one thing I would never do. Oh, is that right? That's exactly what Peter said. And how can I be so certain this morning? How can I be so absolutely certain that if it had not been me in that particular situation, and if I had had that kind of temptation, how can I know it would not have been me? I've never stolen a million dollars. Of course, I've never had the chance. I don't know, y'all. I don't know. Give me the chance, I might take a crack at it. What I do know, and I hate to admit it, is

that I'm capable of anything. And Paul said to the Corinthians, you who think you stand, take heed, lest you fall. And I couldn't even begin to count the people that have come to me in the years of my ministry for counseling, and they've always started off with something like this. Preacher, I never thought I would do this. I never thought I would do this. And we've seen other people's lives fall apart, and we'd say, my goodness,

that's the last thing I would ever have expected of them. The devil's strategy is to attack us at our strong points because they are in fact our weak points. But there's a third strategy there. The devil attacks strategic people. He attacks, that's his strategy, people in strategic positions. Now, I want you to look at the text, and I want you to see something interesting here. Verse 31, Jesus says, Simon, Simon.

Call Simon aside. He says, Simon, Simon, got something I want to say to you. Satan has desired to sift you as wheat. Now, the word you there is plural. It doesn't come out in the English, but it's plural, indicating all the disciples. Jesus is saying, Simon, Satan has desired to sift the whole bunch of you, all of you, as wheat. But, then he reverts back to the singular, but I have prayed for you, singular Simon, that your faith, singular, may not fail. And when you, singular, get back on your feet,

you, singular, minister to your brethren. Do you see what he's saying? He pulls Simon Peter to one side, and he says, Simon, Simon, Simon. Oh, Satan has desired to sift the whole bunch of you. He's going to sift all of you as wheat. But I want you to know something, Simon. Boy, I prayed for you that your faith will not fail. And when you get through this thing, I want you to help your brothers. Jesus singling out Simon Peter. Now, I ask you a question. Why did Jesus single him out? Because the devil had singled him out. Why? Because Peter was the primary target of the enemy. Why? Because Peter was the unofficial leader of that group of disciples. It's obvious as you read the disciples, as you read the Gospels, that the disciples took their cue from Simon Peter. He was, he was the spokesman, he was the unofficial leader of that band of disciples.

And the devil knew that if he wanted to sift the whole bunch, Simon Peter was the key. That all he had to do was somehow trip up Simon, defeat Simon, and the rest of the boys would be easy pickings. Because, well, they drew some of their strength and encouragement from this blustering apostle who was their leader of a sense and who was their spokesman. You see, that's the way the devil operates. He goes after people in strategic positions. He goes after people of influence. I can tell you without any question who the number one target of the devil is in this church. That's this man sitting over here, Dr. Rogers. Number one target. As a matter of fact, when

Peter in 1 Peter chapter 5 is writing about being a vigilant against the devil, the roaring lion, he is addressing himself to the elders of the church. Because I'll tell you something, no church will ever rise above the spiritual level of its pastor. It may not rise that high, but it'll never rise above the spiritual level of that pastor. Now, I'm not saying that there may not be people in that church, individuals who may be more spiritual than their pastor.

I'd have to confess that every church I've ever pastored, there were some folks in that place knew more about walking with God than I think I'll ever know. But I do know this, that church as a whole, as a body, as an institution, as an organization, that church never rose above my own spiritual level and leadership.

Because when God sets a man as under-shepherd in that church, he commits himself to that man, and the blessings of God flow through that man to that church. And the devil knows if he wants to defeat the church, the number one target is to defeat the leader, the pastor. That's the way the devil operates. You know, I think about Billy Graham in this context. Can you imagine what pressure that man must be under? Can you imagine the devastation? Can you imagine the devastation in the lives of so many millions of people if suddenly Billy Graham was found to be a phony or fell into great sin?

Don't you know the devil? Don't you know the devil? Don't you know the devil must hound him day and night? And I know what some of you are saying. Boy, I'm glad I'm not a preacher. Oh, boy, I'm glad I'm not Billy Graham. The devil's not after me. Oh, is that right? Do you mean to tell me that

there's nobody in the world you have any influence over? Sort of like a son or a daughter? Brother or sister? You see, folks, whether we like to admit it or not, we are the key to somebody else. I love the song they sang,

The Long Winding Road. In one place it says, they can't afford to turn back. Why? Because others may be following in our tracks. Let me ask you a question this morning. Do you know of somebody, can you think of anybody, present or absent, but is there somebody right now you can think of,

and you admire them so much, and you look to them so much, you draw so much encouragement and so much strength from them, that if something happened to them spiritually, it would not devastate you? Of course. I know people like that. There are people that if it turned out that they were false, if it turned out they were living in great sin,

I tell you, it wouldn't destroy my faith, but oh, the devil could use it to sour me a little bit. And so that's the way the devil operates. And you are the key to somebody else. You do exercise influence over somebody. All right. Now, you all must listen much faster than you're listening.

All right? Number one, the devil predicts that we'll be sifted. Now, I've got some good news and bad news for you. What do you want first? Yeah, I'll give you the good news first. The good news is the devil can't lay a finger on you without divine permission. Is that good news?

That's good news. The book of Job and other places teach that to us, that the devil cannot lay a hand on me without divine permission, and then he can only touch me where God permits him to touch me. That's the good news. The bad news is he does get that permission. As a matter of fact, when the King James says Satan has desired to have you, it's the translation of a word that means to obtain by asking permission. To obtain by asking permission.

What Jesus is saying is, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked and got you. It's almost a word of prayer. The devil has obtained you. Oh, he had to ask permission, and I gave it. And so the Lord not only predicts it, he also permits it. And that raises a question and creates a problem. Why in the world would the Lord have permitted Satan to sift Simon Peter? Well, obviously Jesus didn't know how it would turn out or he would never have done it. Evidently, he just misread the situation and misjudged Simon Peter's maturity because if he had known what was going to happen, he certainly would never have done that. Well, no, that can't be the answer.

Do you mean to tell me that Jesus knew exactly what would happen and still said, yes, devil, you may go ahead and sift it? That's exactly what he said. I wouldn't have done it. The devil came to me and said, I want to sift your son or daughter, but I need your permission to do it. I wouldn't give him permission. I don't know most of you. But if the devil came to me and said,

I want to sift that person, but I need your permission, I wouldn't give the devil permission, and you wouldn't either. I guess that means I love you more than Jesus loves you, doesn't it? No, it can't be the reason. I confess to you, I worried over this for a long time, and then suddenly it just dawned on me. It's very obvious there are two reasons why the Lord permits the devil to sift us. Number one is because we need it. We need it. We require sifting.

I mean, that goes with the territory. It's an occupational hazard. You want to be wheat? Yes. Okay, you're going to have to be sifted. Why? Because there's some chaff. There's some foreign substance.

There's some dirt. There's some junk. And before you can ever be made into life-giving food, there must be a cleansing, a purifying process. And so wheat never questions the thrashing floor. Wheat never questions the sifting process. It's not anything unusual to the wheat. The wheat just says, well, this is just the way it is because wheat has to be sifted. It needs it. And I want to tell you something. The reason the Lord permitted the devil to sift Peter is because Peter needed it. I guarantee you, a man who will stand toe to toe and eye to eye to Jesus Christ and argue with Jesus, that man has problems. I mean, after three and a half years

of Jesus trying to teach this disciple something, it must have been a discouraging thing. At the last moment, here is Simon Peter still brimming over with confidence and arrogance and pride. These others may forsake you, but not me. The devil comes to Jesus and said, Boy, I'd like to sift him. Jesus said, Sound like a good idea to me. Matter of fact, that's exactly what he needs. He just needs a good old swift sifting.

So I'm going to let you do it, devil. I'm going to let you do it. You go out there. Take him. But I know what you're up to. Yeah. You're hoping that you can so sift him and shake him and thrash him that nothing but the chaff

will remain. Well, I'm going to let you sift him, but I'm going to overrule your purpose so that nothing but the good remains. Help yourself to him, but you'll be doing my work. You see, I think there's a sense in which Peter forced Jesus into the sifting process. I believe the Lord prefers to cleanse us by His Word. And I think that if I'm responsive to the Word of God and the Spirit of God, and when conviction comes and there is need for this adjustment in my life and this repentance in my life, I believe that as I am sensitive to that

and I yield to that, then I think that's great. But I believe that there are times when I force God to do that because I refuse to listen to the Word. I refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit. And all of a sudden, I think the Lord will say, well, there's nothing for it

but just to let the devil sift you because whatever it takes, I am going to make you holy. Whatever it takes, because you see, the Lord is not sentimental. He is compassionate. You know the difference between being sentimental and compassionate, don't you? This is sentimentality right here. This is sentiment. Here's a mother who has a little, how old is this? About two, three-year-old boy. And you've told him for the 89th time not to do that.

And he does it 90 times. And now you've had it. Your patience has worn through. And you yell at him. And you go get the switch. And this little boy knows he's had it. And so he does what those little tykes can do. He sort of gets a big old tear hanging right there in the corner of his eye,

a big old brown eye. And he gets that little lip to quivering and that little dimple chin quivering. He says, oh, mommy, mommy, I didn't mean to. Oh, mommy, mommy, please don't spank me. And there's no self-respecting mother who could ever, ever spank such a little angel. And so you say, all right, honey, all right, that's okay. Now that's being sentimental. You know what compassion is? Wailing the daylights out of that kid. Why? Because you don't want him to grow up rebellious. The easiest thing in the world to do is not to discipline your children. Because, oh, I just can't stand to see them cry.

I have news for you folks. God is not sentimental, but He is compassionate. And He's willing and ready to do whatever it takes to make you like Jesus. And if it requires a sifting process, so be it. But there's a second reason the Lord permits us to be sifted, not only because we need it, but because others need it. Now, I do not mean others themselves need to be sifted. I mean others need us to be sifted. Would you look at the 32nd verse again? What does he say?

But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. You say, well, his faith did fall. No, not utterly. His love failed, his courage failed, but no, not his faith, not utterly. And Jesus says, and when you get back on your feet, when you regain your equilibrium, here's something I want you to do, Peter. I want you to strengthen your brethren. It's our word. Paraclete comes from that word. Minister to your brethren. Encourage your brethren. He's saying, Peter, when you get through this process, this sifting process, and you've recovered from it, then I want you to turn to your brethren

and strengthen and minister to them. Peter, right now you're not fit to minister to anybody. Right now you're not fit to encourage anybody. When you get through this experience, you will be fit, You will be qualified to help your brothers. You see, I believe that not only do we ourselves need to be sifted because of times of sinfulness and disobedience and stubbornness, but I believe there are times when God sifts us, not because of sin in our life, not because of rebellion in our life,

but because somebody out there needs us to be sifted. There are people sitting here this morning. You'll live and die without ever knowing why certain tragedies came in your life. You'd give everything you own if God would just sit down and say, here is why this happened. But it will never happen in this life. But I believe that when we get over to the other side

and we know as well as we're known, you know what I think? I believe we'll find the explanation for our suffering in the lives of other people. I believe that the tears we shed water the flowers in somebody else's garden. I think the gold that our suffering earns is often deposited to the account of somebody else. Do you know what I'm talking about? I know this much,

that the Lord has never taken me through anything that sooner or later somebody didn't cross my path who didn't need to know what I'd learned. And so it may be this morning that you're going through some great trial and testing, and you just don't understand why. You've confessed every sin that you can think of, and you're as right with God as you know how to be,

and there's just no explanation. Why is the Lord allowing this to happen? Why is this happening? Well, it may very well be that God is wanting to equip you and make you fit to minister to encourage somebody else. Well, that's one reason I'm not a singer, and if I were, I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to sing this song that says, whatever it takes to make me what you want me to be. You say, well, preacher, aren't you willing to stand this morning

and say God whatever it takes to make me what you want me to be do it I just said I'm not going to sing that song I'm not going to push it it. But I do know that the Lord permits us to be sifted at times because others need us to be sifted. John MacArthur said last night that the ministry means pain. Well, that wasn't a very encouraging word. And yet, it is.

Because it's not just suffering. It's the sufferings of Christ. So, the Lord predicts it, the Lord permits it, and finally, the Lord protects us in it. Listen to what he says, But I have prayed for thee. And when, not if, not maybe, not perhaps, hope so. He said, no, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when you get back on your feet, no doubt about the outcome, yes, you're going through a whirlpool of disaster. Yes, you are going to be sifted. Yes, you are going to fall flat on your face. Yes, you are going to deny that you know me three times.

But when you get through this thing, and the reason you'll get through it is because I prayed for you. I prayed for you. Now, I want you to notice something. He doesn't say he's prayed for all of them. He comes to the singular, and He says, Simon Peter, I have prayed for you. Now, He did pray for all of His disciples. John 17 makes that clear. But Luke is giving us the picture here that in a very special way, in a very special way, Jesus prayed for Peter in a way that he did not pray for these others. And the reason is because Peter needed it in a way that the others did not need it.

Now, I'm going to make a statement that's not theologically correct, but is true. Those who need Jesus the most have him the most. Now all of us have equal amounts of Jesus. All of God dwells in us. All of Jesus dwells in us. I know that to be true. But there are times when some of us have more of Him than at other times. To those who need Him the most, they have Him the most. Peter, I'm

praying for all these boys. I want you to know, son, I'm praying for all these boys. I want you to know, son, I'm praying for you in a very special way because you're the one that's going to take the brunt of this whole business. And I just want you to know that I've prayed for you. You know where I felt the greatest presence of God? And last night in this service and even Thursday night, my goodness, didn't you feel the presence of God?

Oh, but I felt it greater somewhere else. I've been in some great meetings in my life. I've witnessed what I believe was true, genuine spiritual awakening on two different decades in my life, and I felt the presence of God so overwhelming. But I must tell you something. That's not the place I felt it the greatest.

Do you know where I have sensed God's presence the most? Well, I'm thinking now about a little kitchen in Irving, Texas. I'm sitting down at a kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee with a young mother whose nine-year-old boy has just died of bone cancer. And as we sit there and talk, I swear I could hear angel wings flapping.

Never felt the presence of God like that. Why? She needed it. She needed it. I'll tell you where I felt the presence of God the greatest.

I felt the presence of God the greatest in the hospital standing beside the bed of some saint going out to meet God. I'm going to tell you where I felt the presence of God the greatest. I felt the presence of God the greatest in some of the darkest hours of my life.

And I could swear that I could feel his hand on my shoulder. Friends, he's always nearest to those who need him the most. Peter, you're going to bear the brunt of this thing, and I want you to know, son, I prayed for you. Special way. Well, I believe in intercession. I believe it makes a difference, don't you? I tell you, I think there are times when I can feel people praying for me. Sometimes I want to say like Martin Luther, he said, I feel so good today, somebody must be praying for me.

I think intercession makes a difference. I remember the very first time that I ever had anybody to tell me they were going to be praying for me while I was preaching. It remember the very first time that I ever had anybody to tell me they were going to be praying for me while I was preaching. It's the first time that happened. I was in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was just, Kay and I had not been married, I don't know, hardly at any time. And I was a young preacher, and we were there in that church. I was preaching revival meeting in that church, and it was dead. I mean, it was dead. Actually, you need to say it with two syllables to really get it across. It was dead. It was just dead.

I mean, not many people were coming and those who did come didn't care. I didn't care. Pastor didn't care. Why should I care? Not my church. You know you can backslide while you're preaching revival meeting.

So all I want to do is just get down there and preach my little sermon and go back to motel and turn on television. They didn't care, I don't care. Until Saturday night, I got to church Saturday night and I was walking up the sidewalk and I heard somebody call my name.

And I looked out and parked at the curb was a black Rambler station wagon. Remember when they used to make those old Nash Rambler station wagons? There was a black Rambler station wagon parked at the curb. It was my wife's

grandmother, Mrs. Cook, and she was waving her arm at me, calling me over. So I went over there, and there she was, sitting in the front seat of that Nash Rambler station wagon, which I guess you might say was the first compact car in America. But there were two other elderly women with her in the front seat, and that struck me as kind of strange that all three of these women were sitting in the front seat of this small car, because these three women were not…they…well, they weren't thin women, and they were all scrunched together in the front seat of that Rambler station wagon. So I went over there, and I leaned over, and I said, Hello, Mrs. Cook. How are you?

And she reached up and grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down. And she said, Young man, just want you to know that while you're in there preaching tonight, there are going to be three old ladies out here in this car praying for you. Do you think that made a difference to me? that while you're in there preaching tonight, there are going to be three old ladies out here in this car praying for you. Do you think that made a difference to me? You better believe it. I'd never had anybody tell me that before. I went in that church. I preached that night.

And all the time I was preaching, you know what I kept seeing in my mind's eye? I kept seeing three old ladies scrunched together in the front seat of a Rambler station wagon, praying for this young preacher. And it made a difference, folks. I mean, I could feel the difference.

Thanksgiving Day, 1975. Our oldest son died, Ronnie Jr., at the age of 18. He suffered from depression, manic depressive. And on Thanksgiving Day he took his life.

Well, it takes a little while to get over that. Well, you don't get over it, but you get to where you can handle it. But you need to go through a couple of birthdays. You need to go through a couple of birthdays. You need to go through a couple of Christmases.

You know, the wound doesn't heal, but it stops bleeding after a while, and you can hang it. Well, I realized that his first birthday, after his death, I was going to be gone. His birthday is October the 13th, and I realized that I was supposed to be in a meeting in Georgia on that day, and I tell you, I didn't want to be there because I knew, I knew that was going to be a tough day.

October the 13th, 1976, first birthday after he died, I knew it was going to be tough. It's tough, I guess, when you lose any child, but when you lose them to suicide, there are so many recriminations and there are so many questions and morbid thoughts. And I didn't want to be away by myself in a motel. I didn't want Kay to be home by herself. So I told the pastor and he understood the situation. So I stayed home that week. October the 13th fell on Wednesday. I was home all week, Sunday morning.

Got up. I knew Wednesday was going to be a bad day. Boy, I dreaded Wednesday. I knew I'd wake up Wednesday to all sorts of morbid thoughts and gloom and doom. Until Wednesday, we woke up, got up, and there were no morbid thoughts.

There were no recriminations. There were no questions. There were no what-ifs. There was no doom and gloom. There was no depressions. As a matter of fact, it was a good day. A good day. And several times during the course of the day,

Kay and I mentioned it to you. It's a pretty good day. Five o'clock, we went out to the cemetery with our other two children, stood around his grave, sang a hymn, had a word of prayer, went to church.

His prayer meeting night, went to church. Nobody expected me to be there. I walked in, and there was a woman across the way who saw us come in, and she rushed over, and she said, Brother Dunn, I thought you were out of town this week. I said, No, I'm here. I'm here. She said, Oh, I'm so glad to see you. Listen, she said, What's been going on with you today? And I said, what do you mean?

Well, what's been happening to you today? Well, what's been going on today? She didn't understand the significance of that day. I said, well, what do you mean? Why are you asking? She said, well, she said, about 5 o'clock this morning, the Lord woke me up. And she said, I just had you and your family on my heart and mine so much

and she said all day long I've been able to do nothing but just pray for you and pray for your family and I just figured you must be going through something and I just like to know what's been going on with you today and I looked at Kay and we smiled at each other

and we understood why that had been a good day no mystery there well I want to tell you something folks I thank God for three old ladies who will scrunch together in the front seat of a rambler station wagon pray for a young backslidden preacher I thank God

for dear saints of the Lord, sensitive who will spend the day interceding. But you know what I'm most thankful for this morning? Is that even at this moment, blessed Lord Jesus is interceding for me and praying for me. He ever lives, why? To make intercession for us.

Satan has desired to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed, already prayed for you. Let me just close by saying this. Whatever path your Lord sends you down he has already preceded you by his intercession and when you walk out of this building today you will be walking on ground

your Lord has already covered with his intercession and there's nothing to be afraid of walking on ground your Lord has already covered with his intercession. And there's nothing to be afraid of. Father, we thank you for your goodness to us. And thank you that right now you're praying for us, interceding. In Jesus' name, amen.