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Three Strikes But Not Out
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>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world!
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It was the Montana State AA
girls high school softball state
championship game. Billings West
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was taking on Missoula Big Sky.
In the double elimination state
championship, Missoula Big Sky
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had defeated Billings West in
the first round. However
Billings West won 4 straight
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games only to face Missoula Big
Sky once again. Big Sky hadn't
lost a game yet, so Billings
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West would have to beat them
twice. They beat them the first
game and now they were tied in
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championship game. Tied 2 to 2
in the bottom of the seventh
inning.which is the last inning
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of high school softball,
KendylBoltz of Billings West
stepped up to the plate with two
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outs. Kendall Rauk, the pitcher
of Missoula Big Sky, stared down
her target she began the windup
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and the pitch. Four times.two
strikes, two balls. KendylBoltz,
a 10th grader with all the
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stress that a 10th grader can
handle, waited for the next
pitch. The pitch came, she swung
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and missed. A strikeout! But
wait, the catcher did not catch
the ball - so Kendyl bolted, no
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pun intended, to first base. The
catcher, retrieved the ball and
threw the ball to first base,
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but it sailed over the
firstbasemen's head and landed
in the right field fence.
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KendylBoltz rounded first
started slowing up at second,
but her coach waved her on. She
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headed to third, the throw was
up and over the third basemen's
head and now Kendyl dashed home.
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She was safe. Her team won the
state championship on what
reporter Ben Rohrbach called a
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comedy of errors. 3 strikes, but
not out. 3 strikes and a home
run. Could it be that this
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story marvelously illustrates a
very important principle in
feeling lost, but being found by
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Jesus? Three strikes, but not
out. Kendyl thought everything
was lost..that there was no
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possibility of success, but
somehow, someway not only was
she not out.but she scored the
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winning run.
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Today, as we complete the
series, Lost and Found,we are
going to look at the life story
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of a person whose relationship
with Jesus took quite a few
twists and turns. I find quite a
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few things in common with him
and you might too. The date was
somewhere around 27 AD. There he
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was. Working the nets.A
fisherman. He was from Bethsaida
on the western banks of the Sea
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of Galilee. He was a Jew and
though He didn't receive any
special training, he no doubt,
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learned at the feet of his
family, likely his mother. He
knew the Bible stories and
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longed for the Messiah to come.
As a Galilean, he would have
"had a reputation for an
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independence and energy which
often ran out into
turbulence."Galileans were more
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frank and had a more transparent
disposition than their brethren
in the south.1Galileans also had
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difficulty with the guttural
sounds of the Hebrew and Aramaic
languages, along with some
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others difficulties in speech,
and their pronunciation was
reckoned as harsh in Judea.2 But
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this Galilean fisherman
experienced a sudden change in
his life when he was called to
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be an apostle of Jesus Christ.
He knew Jesus and he followed
Him. In fact, the Bible records
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that when he was called to be an
apostle, he immediately left his
nets. In every list of the
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apostles, you will find that his
is always the first name listed.
He was the first apostle to
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identify Jesus as the Christ, as
the Messiah. Yes, he walked on
water, and he witnessed the
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transfiguration. Yes,
this was Simon called Peter.
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Fast forward 3 ½ years from the
day that Jesus called him by the
sea. That night was different
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than any other that he had had
with Jesus. The mood was
different. It was somber and
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there was a palpabletension in
the air. They had gathered in
anupper room for, what would be,
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the last supper. Missing from
that evening's festivities was
the servant to wash the feet of
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the disciples and their Master,
as they entered the room. They
had been arguing about who would
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be greatest and now each one of
them, including Peter, looked
around, wondering.who would make
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the first move to do lowly task?
Simon, called Peter, nicknamed
Cephas.the stone, wasn't going
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to move.But then to his utter
dismay.Jesus moved.He picked up
the basin and began to wash
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their feet. John 13
verse 6 picks up the story:
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Jesus demonstrated that we need
to be cleansed by Him. While
baptism symbolically washes away
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our sin, we need an occasional
reminder. Communion is that
symbolic reminder. Jesus had
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hoped that the foot washing
would prepare His disciples for
something that was going to be
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devastating for them to hear. He
talked to them about His
imminent death. Peter didn't
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understand, but responded in his
typical aggressive way. John
13records the conversation
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beginning in verse 36:
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That word "deny" that Jesus
used, was a strong word, quite
literally translated means to
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disown, renounce, despise, or
reject. Jesus predicted that
this strongly supportivePeter
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would go against the principle
taught by Jesus in Matthew 16:24
- of practicing self-denial and
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instead Peter would actually
deny Jesus. Can you imagine
shocking it must have been for
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the disciple who was known as
the rock to hear that? How would
that even happen? As Peter's
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mind began to spin, Jesus said
something else. Remember that
chapter and verse division in
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the Bible introduced much later
in history..to allow for easier
navigation of the scriptures.it
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was not the way John wrote it
nor how it was spoken. And so
the very next words of Jesus
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after giving Peter that
unbelievable news. Are recorded
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in John 14:1-4 Now I wonder if
Peter truly grasped the next
words out of the mouth of Jesus,
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at that time.
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The Greek word for "be troubled"
means to be shaken up, thrown
into confusion, to be disturbed
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or unsettled. Jesus was trying
to bring hope in a desperate
situation. Friend, are you
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living in a state of confusion?
Does life just seem to be in an
unsettled state? Then these
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words of Jesus are for you and
for your hope and assurance
Jesus says,"you believe". It is
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interesting to note that the
word for faith and belief in the
Greek are the same. You have
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faith, you have belief. There is
no difference.. Next, Jesus said
to Peter and says to you
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today.although you are
distressed, do not fear.because
I will come again. His coming,
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His returning was not a
possibility or plausibility.it
was and is a guarantee.
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But what happened next? -You
probably know the story well.
After leaving the upper room,
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they went to the garden called
Gethsemane. And there you'll
remember, the mob came for
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Jesus. The Bible records that
Peter stood to fight John 18:
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After 3 ½ years, Peter had not
grasped that the ministry of
Jesus wasn't about destruction,
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but about
salvation. John 3:17 says,
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But this great warrior, the
rock, Peter still didn't get it.
What else happened that fateful
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night? Matthew 26
records beginning in verse 57,
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Literally Peter followed from
afar off. He was close enough,
yet far enough away as to not be
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seen. He wanted to see but not
to be identified as one of His
disciples. What a dramatic
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fall.first drawing a sword to
fight, now, lurking behind inthe
shadows. The Bible then records
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a sad transpiring of events:
Matthew 26 beginning with verse
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69 tells us: The Bible says that
Peter denied Jesus.we talked
about that word. The Bible also
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says that Peter Cursed and
swore: To Curse means that he
invoked divine harm upon himself
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if it is not true And he swore
which means he made an oath.
Here was Peter the first to
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acknowledge Jesus as the Christ,
but now the first to deny Him.
Just then the rooster crowed.
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Certainly, the scene from the
upper room came back to his
mind. He hadbeen so sure of
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himself that he would never deny
Jesus. The Bible says that he
went away and wept bitterly.
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Imagine the mental agony of
Peter. Was there any hope for
him? Is there any hope for us?
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Peter may have recalled an
earlier conversation he had with
Jesus during a less uncertain
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time. It is
recorded in Matthew 18:21,22
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I wonder if Peter asked himself
if Jesus could really forgive
him?Peter had denied him not
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just once, or twice, but three
times. Isn't it three strikes
and you're out?Highly favoured,
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he was one of only three
disciples who witnessed Jesus
bring a girl back from the dead.
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He got to go up to the Mount of
Transfiguration, and just that,
had been asked by Jesus to pray
00:19:31.97\00:19:48.12
with Him in the garden. Now
what? What kind of future did
Peter have ahead of him now?
00:19:48.22\00:19:55.12
Peter left that place, weeping
bitterly. He found himself back
in the garden and poured out His
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heart to God in sincere
repentance. God did not give up
on Peter and had something
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beyond expectations planed for
him. Peter had been the first to
acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, he
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was the first to deny Jesus and
as the disciples received news
that Jesus was no longer in the
00:20:20.92\00:20:30.56
tomb, he was the first disciple
to gointo the empty tomb. Luke
24:10-12 records how that
00:20:30.66\00:20:37.60
happened,
00:20:37.70\00:20:39.07
At first, Peter didn't
understand what had really
happened. But Jesus appeared to
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Peter. and then to the group
gathered in the upper room.
Imagine the joy of Peter's
00:21:10.50\00:21:15.47
heart. Jesus was alive., not in
the tomb, but alive! But, what
did that mean for Peter. Could
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he be restored? John 21 records
the dramatic story of what
happened in Peter's life and
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what can happen in each of ours.
Sometime after Jesus
resurrection the Bible shares
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this touching story:
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Peter was very saddened by this
line of questioning. But the
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story goes on. Peter, who denied
his Master in the hour of His
death, would witness for him
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through his own death. He would
literally fulfill Matthew 16:24,
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Thethree questions Jesus asked,
no doubt referred to the three
denials of Peter. Three times,
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Peter denied Jesus and now he
was given opportunity to three
times to affirm Him. There as a
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near-Orient custom of making a
declaration three times before
witnesses. Peter had been
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restored! The book Desire of
Ages, a classic on the life of
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Christ, says, For Peter, and for
us, when it comes to being
accepted by Jesus, three strikes
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is not a guarantee that you're
out! Jesus longs to restore us.
Jesus had another purpose in
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dealing with Peter this way,
The Desire of Ages goes on to
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explain, God is faithful despite
our unfaithfulness! And treats
us with such tender love and
00:25:59.89\00:26:07.23
compassion. Even when you are in
despair, and your sin is
dragging you down in the dust,
00:26:07.36\00:26:11.57
Even when you are striking out,
don't ever stop believing.Jesus
is looking for you and He wants
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to restore you. He can take that
strikeout of yours and turn it
in to a homerun. He can
00:26:20.21\00:26:26.45
change and transform you. No
matter how far you may have
wandered, Jesus is looking for
00:26:26.55\00:26:32.85
you to accept you back as a son
or a daughter. The promise of
Isaiah 1:18 can be true in your
00:26:32.95\00:26:41.70
life,
00:26:41.80\00:26:42.93
You may have been away from Him
and not know it, you might be in
a church but feel lost, or might
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have intentionally walked away
or maybe you've even denied Him.
The promise of Jesus is He will
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take you back. He will restore
you. Though you've been lost, He
will find you, restore you and
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all of heaven will have a
celebration when Jesus
ultimately brings us home to be
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with Him and we are forever
safe. The Father will be waiting
for you with open arms.
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Heavenly Father, though many of
us have experienced three
strikes in our life; although
00:27:37.25\00:27:42.99
many of us may feel like we are
out, the promise of Your Word is
not that we are out, but rather,
00:27:43.09\00:27:49.80
You want to restore us, remake
us, reshape us. And so today, we
come to Your everlasting arms,
00:27:49.90\00:27:56.17
that You would redeem us.
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
00:27:56.27\00:28:01.81
My dear friend, Jesus, with His
relentless pursuit of you, wants
to find you. Will you make
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yourself available to Him? I'd
like to give you the DVD of this
series, Lost, that you might
00:28:15.99\00:28:23.23
grow in Jesus, that you might
see His everlasting love, and
that you might fall into His
00:28:23.33\00:28:28.47
arms and find hope in Him.
Here's the information you need
to receive today's offer.
00:28:28.57\00:28:36.18
My dear friend, Jesus was able
to redeem Peter from his three
denials, to restore him fully,
00:29:26.16\00:29:33.47
and have Peter be a leader in
the early church. He can restore
you as well. Friend, I hope that
00:29:33.57\00:29:40.98
you have found in Jesus a
forever friend Who will love you
through all things. Please join
00:29:41.08\00:29:47.48
us again next week. Until then,
remember, it is written: "Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:29:47.58\00:29:54.66
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God."
00:29:54.76\00:29:59.23