ahead to this coming Lord's Day. We look forward to the ministry of the Reverend Malcolm Watts who is coming here for the whole day. The psalmist said in Psalm 27 and verse 8, When thou saidest, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Let us seek the face of the Lord in prayer. Let us Almighty and ever-blessed God, we would seek Thy face, and we pray we might know Thee, favour, the grace, O Lord. May Thou lift up the light of Thy countenance upon us, we pray. All we come to Thee, we thank Thee that Thou art God, and that Thou art our God, and we have been blessed so much through Thee. As is our prayer, we might know further help and blessing this evening hour. We need thee, Lord, we need fresh supplies. O Lord, do come and touch our hearts and may the Spirit work within. And may we go feeling that thou hast done us good this evening now. We come to thee through the name of our blessed Saviour, our precious mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we thank thee that through him there is access. O, we could not come of ourselves, no hope we would have, but we thank thee for him who loved us and gave himself for us, who went all the way to the cross of Calvary, that we would know salvation and its access even now. Oh, we will be mindful of Calvary as we come to thee in prayer. Do help us in the word tonight, bless the preaching of the word here and in other places in the middle of the week, and bless the hearing of the word. Oh Lord, give us ears to hear, Lord, may we know the word being applied. We come to Thee now, cleanse us from our latest sins, even of this day, O Lord. Hear our prayer, for Christ's sake. Amen. We take our first phrase, Psalm number 20, verses 1 to 5, and we're going to sing to the tune of St. Andrew. Psalm 20, verses 1 to 5. Jehovah hear thee in the day when trouble he doth send and let the name of Jacob's God be from all ill defend. Psalm 20 verses 1-5 ♪ Jehovah hear me in the day ♪ ♪ When trouble beat the sand ♪ ♪ And let the name of Jacob sound ♪ He from all ills defend. O let him help, send from above, out of his sanctuary From Zion's midst, Lord Holy Head, Let Him give strength to Thee. Let Him remember all Thy gifts, I've served Thy sacrifice. From Thee my heart's wish has fulfilled, Thy thoughts have kept so wise. In Thy salvation we will join, In our God's name we will display, Our paths and the doors Thy prayers all fulfilled. Let us continue by turning to God's Word. tonight, Luke chapter 22 and we shall read from verse 31 through to verse 38. If you recall we started a new series looking at the life of Peter which will then lead in to consider first and second Peter, the epistles. We're on Luke 22 and we're going to read from verse 31 through to verse 38. 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 now 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 thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt deny Now Christ denied that thou knowest me. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse and script and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his script. And he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. So I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two souls. And he said unto them, it is enough. Amen. A few moments to light, we come to verse 31 and verse 32. 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 fell not and were now converted straight from thy brethren. Dear congregation, Whilst our Lord was here upon earth, he faced such an intense and exhausting battle with the evil one. Satan fiercely and repeatedly attacked him with a weapon of great evil. And we see that particularly in the Garden of Gethsemane, what agony he knew. Yet our Lord held his ground and defeated our great enemy upon the cross. Dear brethren, take comfort, he is victorious. our blessed Lord. He arose victoriously from the grave, in the entered heaven, triumphant at his ascension. And you recall those words which were sung in light of his ascension in Psalm 24, verse 8, who is this King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, and there the hosts of heaven, praising the Lord, recognizing the victorious one, that he had overcome, he had fought in a battle, but he overcame. He fought with sin, death, and the devil, but he arose victoriously. In Hebrews 2 verse 14 we read these words, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, devil and we think what the lord did here upon earth and particularly on the cross how he dealt with the devil we have there the word destroy him it can be rendered from the greek as rendered useless our lord is the victorious one and are we not at peace over that now satan is a defeated foe as we see in hebrews 2 verse 14 he has lost his suffocating grip over the nations. He is bound, however, he is still a powerful enemy. And Peter makes that plain. The Lord willing, we'll consider this when we come to the epistle. 1 Peter 5 verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. He hates you, and he wishes you destroyed, but he knows he cannot. but all who seek your harm. And let us not forget there is satanic activity, satanic activity against me and against you. A number of God's servants recently have been so aware of the satanic activity that we are facing. Be on your guard. There is one on the throne, but take comfort, he cannot snatch you. He cannot take you away from the hands of your beloved Saviour. Be careful. Be sober. Use the armour that the Lord has given. Lift up the shield of faith. How often the devil will send fiery darts towards you. Lift up the shield of faith and say, following Christ's example, it is written. When you feel the temptation has come, look to the Lord. and lay forward of the promises, turn again to the word and rest in what the Lord declares in his word. Now as we come again to this chapter, Satan was very active near the time of Passover in those hours leading up to the death of our Lord. As we have already considered, there was a bruising attack upon our Lord. But then we consider secondly, that Satan was active in view of Judas. Judas would go and betray our Lord. But then thirdly, Satan was active in view of Peter and those other disciples. And with that in mind, come to verse 31. And the Lord said, Silent, silent, behold, Satan hath desired Our Lord informs Peter, Satan desires to have you, but then to Peter's comfort, our Lord makes known that he is praying for him. And as we will consider in a moment, what a comfort it is to know that our great high priest is making intercession for us when we are in the battle. but then thirdly we consider how our Lord makes plain that he will defend and protect Peter. He is a king, will defend and protect Peter. Notice verse 32, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fell not, and when thou art converted or restored, he's a converted man, but here we consider him being restored from a time of backsliding, strengthen my brethren, have come directly to these words tonight and I'd like us to consider first of all Peter informed by Christ and we consider our Lord acting as a prophet, secondly Peter prayed for by Christ and then we consider in these verses our Lord as the high priest and then thirdly Peter protected and delivered by Christ and here in these verses thirdly we So when we come to these verses we can consider Christ's threefold offices of prophet, priest and king. And what a blessing it is, our Lord acts as prophet and he speaks to us to comfort us. He acts as the high priest, he ever liveth to make intercession for us. And fairly he is king, he is defending and he will deliver. But first of all tonight, Peter informed by Christ. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desire to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Here our Lord is informing Peter. Now our Lord speaks with great authority. And then we also consider that his knowledge is extensive. He knew what was about to happen. But consider thirdly, his wisdom. How wise he is. He comes alongside Peter and he informs Peter of what is about to happen. He is the faithful prophet. Now he directs his speech towards Peter. but then also towards those other disciples. Just note that here in verse 31 and verse 32. 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. And down those words, he's opening up. Not only is he praying for Peter, but for those other disciples as well. And that's very important. And the Off Life version brings out the Greek here he speaks to Peter but then he's speaking to them all but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fell not and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren well Peter particularly was informed but also those other disciples and dear brothers and sisters in Christ we consider these verses to begin with tonight the Lord informs us We're going to face times when we are sifted in the sieve, when we are going to face a time of battle with the evil one. The Lord informs us. He informed Peter, Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. He makes it known. Now we are disciples of the Lord. We are pupils. And you remember what he said to us in the gospel, come unto me and then learn of me. And we, having gone to the Lord Jesus Christ, were found sitting at his feet where we are to be there often as pupils, learning of him. Learn of me. What a blessing to hear the voice of the beloved, the voice of the shepherd, to be there looking up to him, to be there considering what he is saying to our listen to him. If he says, learn of me, we're to listen. So you consider what the Lord is saying here in verse 51. Are you listening? You're going to face times of difficulty, but the devil will fire a barrage of arrows at you. We're to listen. It's not to be questioned, debated, but received. We think in 1 Peter 5 verse 8 of the devil is a roaring lion, warping about. We're so thankful he's defeated. We can never be snatched from the hands of Jesus, but we need to be sober on our guard. We need to watch and pray and we need to be ready to lift up the shield of faith because the battle will come. Our Lord wisely informs us and he speaks with such care. He so cares for you and me. And so he tells us we're going to face battles. There's going to be times when we are sifted like his wheat in a sieve. He gives us notice. God's servants are to so listen to him because they are prime targets. They find themselves tired and weary in the battle. There were no times when they face a bruising attack. You think of the men in the trenches on the front line. They were there in the trenches, listening out for the whistle. And then they would go over the top. And they were prime targets. Yes, there were others there in backup, but those on the front line, they were prime targets. But consider we are all targets, and the devil will come, and he will fire his arrows at us. Temptations will arise. It's not easy to know from whence they come at times. As one of the Puritans made known, sometimes a temptation arises from within our hearts. Other times it's from the world, but unfairly, it can be from the devil, and the devil will tempt you devil will seek to hurt you and sometimes you may face a bruising attack. None of these words here behold satan a desire to harm you that he may sift you as wheat. He wants you harmed. He doesn't love you. Yes he may paint the world in fair colors. He does not love you. He wants you harmed. Do not underestimate this. wants you sifted in a sieve and there will come such times he will desire to shake you up and down if he could to shake away the good unlike the wheat where the chaff is shaken away he wishes he could he knows he can't but he will make it difficult for you he will harass he will tempt and we're assaulted we're in a battle Do you understand why the Apostle Paul writes to the church at Ephesus to put on the whole armour of God? It's good to remember that. We need to be putting on the armour of God and we need to be using it. We need to be responding. Remember those words, resist the devil and he will flee from you. We need to do the resisting. We're in a battle, dear brothers and sisters. And it can be so difficult at times. And you can be so weary. You think of those who have been engaged in war. They're so weary. They can be broken. They can be so exhausted. And that's how it can be. We can be so weary. One doubt after another. We can be exhausted. Our Lord gives us notice. Sometimes, suddenly, A fiery dart comes. But when we consider the whole, we're not surprised are we? Because the Lord has given us notice. And we're not ignorant are we? Remember those words of the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 2 verse 10? To whom you forgive anything, I forgive also. For if I forgive anything to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgive it in the person of Christ. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us But we are not ignorant of his devices. You see the danger? Satan getting an advantage. But do you realize there and see those words? We're not ignorant. We're aware, aren't we? Of his devices, his purposes, his designs, his plots. He plots against you. He has designs against you. But we face We've been informed that we will have tribulation in this world. The Lord speaks to us as prophet and informs us we're going to face a time of difficulty. There is a battle. Our Lord so loves you. He has such a concern for you. He pities you. Therefore, he speaks to you as prophet to inform you. And he speaks with authority. What do we read here? Satan hath desired word get to know the bible more and more so you can respond more readily to the devil it is written secondly peter prayed for by christ peter prayed for by christ verse 32 but i have prayed for thee dear brethren in compassion as a prophet he informs us his difficulty And then secondly, in compassion as a priest, he makes known that he is making intercession for us. But I have prayed for you. I'm going to face a battle, and it can be so difficult in the battle, but, what a precious word, but you're not alone. You have one who is watching over you, one whoever liveth to make intercession, but I have prayed for thee, not only Peter, but for them all. He prayed for Peter, and he continued to pray for Peter. He makes intercession, and he continues to make intercession, because he has such a heart of concern. He is our sympathizing high priest. In Hebrews 7, verse 25, we read that, wherefore he is able also to save them the uttermost are come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He ever liveth. What a high priest we have! And he makes that intercession with such a heart of compassion, for we read in Hebrews 4 verse 15, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And notice those words, but was in all points tempted like as we are. And there can be a special reference there to the temptations he faced here upon earth as the devil came to tempt him, as we see in Matthew chapter four. He's touched. Just think of it. He knows what it was like. to be in a battle with the evil one. To know a bruising, a terror. He's touched. He has such a hard compassion. And when he sees you struggling in a battle, he's touched and he continues to make intercession. He makes intercession for you before the battle. He makes intercession for you in the battle and then after the battle. Such a simplified You know, you can meet someone and there's coldness when you meet them. You tell them of something and there's coldness, but then you meet someone else and you can tell they've got such a heart for you. Oh, consider your blessed redeemer, your high priest. He has such a heart for you. He understands, he's touched. What's one of the reasons why he came into this world? It is that he might have a fellow feeling of our infirmities. You recall we looked at that series a couple of years ago, why Christ came. And if you recall, a certain gentleman has identified at least 38 reasons why our Lord came into the world. And so we can say this one, he was born at Bethlehem, so he would be touched by your infirmities. He knew what it was to be heavy in the garden of Gethsemane, so he's touched when you're heavy. When you're weary, he's touched because he was weary at the well. When you're hungry, he's touched because he was hungry after those days of fasting. What a high priest we have. When you're in the battle, when the darts are coming towards you, he's touched and he makes intercession. He makes intercession with such a heart of compassion and he never stops making intercession for us. Our sympathising high priest, but I have prayed for thee, is the second office of Christ. Now listen to John Owen. He takes himself to be concerned in our troubles as we are members of his mystical body, one with him. He is inclined from his own heart and affections to give in unto us and help and relieve us as our condition doth require. And he is inwardly moved during our suffering and trials with a sense and fellow feeling of them. He's moved. Remember we read often in the New Testament, he was moved with compassion. We think of his compassion, it was active. moved with compassion and he's moved with compassion towards you such a heart he's moved and so he makes intercession he speaks to the father he intercedes in view of what he has done and in view of your need he interceded for you whilst he was here upon earth He interceded for you in the Garden of Gethsemane. He interceded for you upon the cross, as we see in Psalm 40. He interceded for you when he rose again and ascended up into heaven, and he's appearing in heaven for us now, and he's still interceding for us. When you enter the valley and there's a battle, your blessed high priest is interceding for you. And what a comfort, he intercedes for us. ever before we get to the battle. He's interceding. Take comfort, dear brethren, but I have prayed for thee. He'll keep interceding for you again and again throughout your life. In the last valley, sometimes the devil comes. And it's not always easy because there's such a battle. but he'll be interceding not only will he be at your right hand he'll be there in heaven interceding for you and then when you're home he'll continue to intercede and after that great day when all enemies are conquered and redemption is complete and we're presented to the Father 1 Corinthians 15 verse 24 he will continue to make intercession for your eternal happiness James Fisher writes What will be the subject of his intercession on behalf of the saints in heaven? And he answers, the everlasting continuance of their happy state. He intercedes for you in the valley now. He'll never be interceding for you when you're on the mount of glory above, for your happiness. Now consider, his intercession prevails. Come with me to verse 32. but I prayed for thee that thy faith fell not and here it comes and when you see his intercession prevails and when they are converted let me say carefully again we're not thinking of Peter being saved he was saved we're thinking conversion when one is turned when one is converted they're born again and then converted well here we're considering when the believers restored We go astray, as we see in Psalm 119, but there comes the shepherd and he restores us. And he turns our feet, as the psalmist says, where there will come a turning time. Remember how it began. Our Lord looked on Peter and Peter caught the eye of Jesus and he went out and he wept bitterly. There's the beginning of the turning. And our Lord came to him on the day of resurrection early. to comfort him. What a faithful shepherd we have. There is this restoring. What we see here, his intercession prevails. He makes known to Peter, not only is he making intercession for him, but it will prevail. For when thou art converted, when thou art brought back close to me, you'll be found strengthening the brethren. His intercession prevails. And that's a comfort, isn't it? We can enter a battle. and we can sort of struggle and we can fail the Lord. But the Lord will intercede that we are brought through and restored. And His intercession is powerful and it will prevail. Remember what He said in that great prayer in John 17 verse 9, I know that thou hearest me always. He was heard by the Father. And He's still being heard by the Father and therefore you'll get through the battle because his intercession prevails. Peter prayed for by Christ. It's a comfort to know someone's praying, isn't it? You may tell them of something and they assure you that they're praying for you. Your beloved Saviour is making intercession and he's always doing it. The best of friends here upon earth doesn't pray for you all the time. They pray often, but not all the time. But your high priest in heaven never stops making intercession for you. It's amazing, isn't it? He receives the praise. He leads the song, Hebrews 2, verse 12. And he makes intercession. What a great savior we have. How great he is to be able to do all these things And He makes intercession for each believer at the same time. You know, I find it hard to think of a few at the same time. It's not easy, is it? We have our prayer list to remember certain ones. Just consider your beloved Savior. He's making intercession for millions upon millions at this very moment. And He has such a heart for each and every one He so thinks of them. He has such a heart of compassion for them in every situation they face. And on he goes, interceding. What a great saviour. And are we not thankful? He never stops. He's always thinking. We are graven upon the palms of his hands and he looks at his hands and he ever makes intercession. But I have prayed for thee. You enter a time of difficulty. You enter a battle. But, says the Lord, I have prayed for thee. We're further defining tonight, Peter protected and delivered by Christ. Peter protected and delivered by Christ. But I pray for thee that thy faith fell not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Our Lord as a prophet informs Peter and those others, the time of sifting is coming. There's a battle He makes known and assures them that he's praying and that his intercession will prevail. And here they can take comfort, they're going to be delivered, for he is a king. When thou art converted, and when, just note those words again, and when, the devil will retreat, at least for a while, and when, You'll come through some difficulty. And when? Why? Because you have a King who is protecting you. And you have a King who will deliver you. You consider Christ as a King. He has you in his hands, protecting you. You think of a parent holding the hand of a little child to protect them, to keep them near. The Lord has hold of your hand, He is protecting you. And when? What comfort we find in these two words, and when? There's hope. And we should not be surprised because we have a victorious King. The King of glory, Psalm 24, who is mighty in the battle. Satan is a defeated foe. And so it is, and when? They are converted. That's interesting, isn't it? His time of restoring will come again on the day of resurrection when Christ rose victoriously. And when is the Lord looking forward? He will have the victory. Peter will be protected and Peter will be delivered. And when thou art converted for the King we have. We need protecting. We're in a battle. We need one to make intercession for us but we also need one to protect us. Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is reigning on Corinthians 15 verse 25 and he is defending us. Psalm 89 verse 15, remember that psalm, so full of the Lord Jesus Christ as the apostle makes plain in Hebrews chapter 1. Those words there, we think the help that we needed was laid on him. consider he is the king he is our defense and he will protect us psalm 89 and verse 15 blessed is the people that know the joyful sound they shall walk o lord in the light of their thy countenance and then verse 18 for the lord is our defense and the holy one of israel is our king he's our king and he is our defender You may be assaulted, harassed, hurt, injured, but you will not be plucked out at the hands of your king. You will not be overrun. You should think when the enemy comes and overruns the camp. Well, the devil may assault, the devil may fire his arrows, but he will not overrun you and defeat you. Our faith may be greatly attacked. You only have to go to Psalm 73. God is good to Israel, but as for me, and Asaph, he was tempted by the devil. His faith was attacked and your faith may be greatly attacked, but it will not fail or cease to be because you have a king protecting your soul and defending you. Yes, sadly we backslided. We have a shepherd king who comes after us and will restore and deliver us from a time of backsliding. And what a blessing it is to be delivered from such a time of backsliding. The devil will sift you, but the king will protect you. Our king is our beloved saviour. He defends and he protects. but I have prayed for thee, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Hear the Lord. Comfort Peter and his other disciples. There is protection, and deliverance will come. In the battle is the King of Kings, and he will lead you through and to victory. We have a King on our side. You think in olden days the soldiers would see the king riding on horseback up front. Look to your king by faith. He rides prosperously, Psalm 45, the victorious one. Look to him. He is already overcome. You trust him and follow him, for he will bring you through the battle. For Christ in you informs, Peter, and Christ And we have the last valley to go through yet. And sometimes it can be hard for the believer in that valley because the devil comes. But the Lord informs you and me, you listen to Jesus. But also consider he's making intercession. What a comfort. He's doing it now. And he'll continue to do it in the future. in your future trials you carry on making intercession and it will prevail and then consider further he is a king protecting you now and delivering you and one day when we're in heaven we'll be amazed at Christ as king how he was protecting us in certain circumstances and we weren't aware But we will be then. For he is a king, and he is a priest, and he is a prophet. For Peter was so loved by Christ, Peter was so cared for by Christ. And Christ in his free-throwed office, with such love and care, comes to help Peter. And Christ in his free-throwed office, so loves you and cares for you, and he comes to help. O Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that there is one at Thy right hand, our blessed High Priest, and we thank Thee that His intercession is powerful and it propels, and we can bear evidence to this as we look back at certain trials and battles we faced, and we were delivered, and we would lay hold by faith on this truth tonight. May we rest in the intercession of Christ, that it prevails and it is powerful. This is a comfort to us. O blessed Lord, never stop interceding for us, we pray, and protect us and deliver us. And be a prophet to us, speak to us, Lord. And may we be at thy feet listening. May we not, as it were, turn our deaf ear, but O may we listen. O Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for sending Thy beloved Son into this world and that He fought in the battle and He came forth victorious where we could have never come forth victorious. O we thank Thee for Him and that He is the King of glory. We look forward to following Him to heaven and entering in through the gates and seeing the King of glory Till then, O may we ever behold him by faith, and may we take comfort that he is there for us in heaven. To descend, Lord, help us to set our affections more often on things above. O hear us, may the Spirit work within our hearts, for Christ's sake. Amen. 5 and then verse 8. Psalm 4 verses 1 through to verse 5 and then verse 8. Give ear unto me when I call God of my righteousness have mercy hear my prayer thou hast enlarged me in distress. Psalm 4 verses 1 to 5 and then verse 8 and the tune is Give ear unto me when I go, Lord, on my righteousness. Have mercy in my breath, Thou art Enlarge me in distress Enlarge me in distress O ye the sons of men, how long will ye love her in tears? How long, my Lord, return to shame? and will be popularized. But know that for himself the Lord, the Godly man doth choose. The Lord, when I am here to call, to Him will not refuse. To Him will not refuse. ♪ Fear and fear not, Lord, with your heart ♪ ♪ Our bed and silent day ♪ ♪ All dreams present are bright and new ♪ Just as I'm in the Lord's, trust ye, I'm in the Lord's, trust ye, I will obey thee down in peace. And quiet sleep we'll take, Because thou only beatest when In safety, Lord, thus may we be.