The following....Things Will Not Go According To Our Plans....was first posted on January 5 of this year....the following in italics from a preface about the same time....On the deception that is surely ahead....it is quite likely that evangelicals will think that God is moving greatly in some way....where it will not be God that is moving! Charismatics are particularly susceptible in falling for false movements of God.
Things Will Not Go According To Our Plans
This we are familiar with....at the Passover supper Jesus told Peter that he....Peter....was in danger of temptation but that He....Jesus....had prayed for him. We know that Peter then said....with supreme confidence...."Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Everyone is familiar with how Jesus responded to Peter that before the rooster would crow in the morning that Peter would deny Him three times....and we know what happened in the morning. Cut and dried right? We know everything here that we need to know.
Well there is more. All four gospels tell us how on the Mount of Olives that night....as the mob came for Jesus....one of the disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. John was the only gospel writer to identify Peter as the one with the sword. It seems that Peter's boast of going to prison and even to death with Jesus was pretty sound up to then. So what happened between the time they took Jesus....and before the rooster crowed?
This is not insignificant.....nor trivial....I do not believe....for this principle will directly affect many of us....in one way and to one degree or another.....probably in the near future. Something collapsed in Peter as he saw Jesus led away. All the evidence of miracles and power from the previous three years suddenly disappeared. This was not going according to plan. There were surprises. Peter began to unravel and then came completely undone.
We today think that we know it all as to what will happen in that which is called....the Tribulation....maybe not all the specifics.....but we know that it will be so bad that our own family members may be against us. We are humble to a certain degree....for we know that we will need the Holy Spirit to stay strong....but here it is folks....just like with Peter there will be surprises.....and things will not go according to our plans!
We need to be prepared for whatever it is that comes against us at that time....that it will be worse than we thought....that confusion will reign because of it....and that we...."if possible even the elect"....will be in danger of coming completely undone just as Peter did! It is not enough to boldly proclaim that Jesus will hold on to us.....if we have not shown any concern at all over His coming....nor His warnings. That would be an extreme....and even absurd presumption.
We have been warned to be vigilant a number of times in God's Word....and we in effect blow the warning off every time.....for we do not think that Jesus is coming back right now. We don't even want to talk about it. For if we did.....if we even leaned that way....we would at least attempt to become a people separated once again....and right now that is too much to ask.
Peter was taken by surprise....and if we are not sober-minded and vigilant.....then we also will be taken by surprise. We are knowledgeable of Peter's weaknesses during the ministry of Jesus....but we tend to relate those weaknesses a little bit to easily....rather than having the fear of God instilled in us in seeing how frail we can be.
