2015.05.03_Tonight Before the Rooster Crows

A world full of lies.

God is truthful. It is because of this reality that we are able to believe in Him and receive life. Hence, there is no lie found in Him. When God commanded, “Let there be light!” light came to be; and when He said, “Let there be an expanse!” it was so. In essence, every word spoken by God was fulfilled, for His words cannot be revoked. Even at His expense, He will always accomplish what He has spoken.

In the midst of the world we live in, we see many acts of unfaithfulness, those of which in their excessive inundation have stimulated a life that is difficult to abide by. Likewise, pastors contain immeasurable amounts of grief because of the many times they have been deceived. Many people have become involved in the church, where they joyfully receive grace and claim to faithfully remain in their faith lives. However, as a ship tied loosely by a cleat at the harbor will eventually recede into the ocean, many people have neglected their promises and left the church.

Hoping and waiting are essential elements in our life of faith. If we claim to truly love God, we must be able to trust in His promises by waiting patiently, for He is the “First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:13). Thus, from everlasting to everlasting, His permeating words are fulfilled without fail or change. As for us, our duty is to believe in the certainty of God’s promises and simply remain faithful in patience.

The Lord speaks of Judas Iscariot, stating that “It would be better for him if he had not been born” (Mt 26:24), for he had known that Judas would betray him for thirty silver coins. Likewise, we must realize that God may still claim, ‘though at this moment you call on my Name, you will fall away on account of me’.

God does not demand righteousness from any humans. Had there been even one righteous person among us, Christ would never have died on the cross. The Bible clearly reveals that there is not one righteous person among us (Ro 3:10), for humans in their sinful minds are hostile to God (Ro 8:7). Nevertheless, we have been called righteous solely because God has given us His faith. It is unfortunate however that people do not know how to hold on to this God-given faith and wait.

People under the reign of the devil

The reason why people are constantly being deceived and similarly participating in the act of deceiving is because they follow the ways of the Devil. In the book of Ephesians 2:1-2, it is written, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient”. When Adam ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, God asked Adam, Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” To this Adam replied, “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree and ate it”. God then spoke to Eve, “What is this you have done?” She replied, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate”. At this, God said to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers”. The Devil caused the corruption of man through his lies.

In 1 John 3:8, it is written, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” Many people make promises to do something whilst thinking to themselves, ‘I’ll do this for now, but let’s see what happens later on’. Jesus spoke of the devil as ‘the father of lies’ (Jn 8:44). After the devil placed the thought of selling Jesus in Judas Iscariot’s mind, it did not leave him. Even to the point of calling Jesus, “Rabbi”, and kissing Him, the thoughts did not elude him. Similarly, the reason why people lie is because they are being governed by the devil.

The acts of denying the Lord

Jesus said to His disciples, “This very night, you will all fall away on account of me”, to which Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will”. However, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Mt 26:35).

The words, ‘before the rooster crows’ indicates today (before the dawning of tomorrow). Though the sun may not yet have set, the moment the rooster crows, the next day is said to have started. In this way, the rooster’s call is a standardized means of dictating the start of a new day. Thus, when Jesus declared, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times,” it is a way of saying, “before tomorrow, you will disown me three times”. This is a statement Jesus is making to all humanity.

When Jesus was being interrogated in the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas, some people said to Peter, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee”. To this, Peter replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about”. Moments after, another person proclaimed, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth”. At that time, people called Jesus a ‘Nazarene’ so as to lower Him, for it was a place of insignificance that was not even mentioned by prophets. Hence, when Jesus’ disciple, Nathaniel, first heard the news about Jesus he proclaimed, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

When Peter heard the people’s claim that he was with Jesus of Nazareth, he refuted with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Shortly after, another came and questioned him, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away”. At this, Peter began to call down curses on himself as he solemnly denied Jesus. Immediately, the rooster crowed and Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken, ”Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times”. In recalling this, he went outside and wept bitterly (Mt 26:69-75).

Similarly, there are many situations where we deny Jesus in our lives. Whilst worship is a time of coming before God and ‘kissing’ Him, our spirits must have the desire to wait upon the Lord with a heart of earnestness. However, some people, when faced with sudden events occurring on Sundays think to themselves, “Every week of the year I attend church. Surely, missing out once is fine”, and the same circumstances arise with the duty of offerings. Though they confess their love for God constantly, when the time comes for offering, it is as if they neglect God by relentless claim, “I do not know you”.

We are people who have established a covenant with God. Baptism in itself is the establishment of a covenant with God. We as people who have established this covenant, must not disregard God. Jesus taught us to pray. “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name (Mt 6:9). We do not simply pray in this way, but through our lives, the name, Jesus, is to be blessed as holy. Within the Ten Commandments, the third commandment stipulates, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Ex 20:7). Though all sins can be forgiven, sins regarding the misuse of God’s name receive no forgiveness. Regarding this, Hebrews 10:26 states, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left”. As people who have received the name of God and henceforth been saved, shall not deny the name of God.

Many people deny the Lord based on reasons of time and finances. Though with their lips they cry, “Lord! Lord!” their hearts are far from God. God clearly asserts that for these people, there is no room for these people in the kingdom of God (Mt 7:21) and thus, we must change our ways before tomorrow comes. People who swear not to betray the Lord, should not deny Him before the evening fades. Before the rooster crows, we must turn our hearts that had strayed back towards God.

The need for spiritual sense in order not to deny the Lord before tomorrow comes

Spiritual sense is an intrinsic element in our lives of faith. What is spiritual sense? Moments before Elijah was taken away from this world, Elisha followed him diligently. When he was asked what he wanted, he replied to Elijah, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” (2 Ki 2:9). This reference to spiritual sense is not simply an emotion, nor a sensation in our bodies. When Jesus’ mother, Mary, heard the news of her conception, she asked the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” to which the angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. For no word from God shall be void of power.” (Lk 1:34-38, ASV). When God’s words enter our souls, it becomes a spiritual inspiration. People who have this spiritual inspiration are moved and henceforth, driven by the words. Regardless of how many times a person reads the Bible, unless he is governed by the words of God in the Bible, he does not have spiritual sense.

We have drunk the blood of Jesus, and to commemorate this, we take the Lord’s Supper. Jesus’ blood has become a spiritual sense within us. Jesus’ blood has become the atonement for our sins because there is life in His blood. Since we were forgiven of our sins through the blood, we have been made righteous before God and hence became God’s heirs together with Christ. Jesus’ blood thus gives us the spiritual sense to become heirs of God. For this reason, there is no need to think about the Lord’s suffering to force tears when we take the Lord’s Supper. We should instead be thankful that we have become God’s heirs through that blood, and have hope.

When Jesus commanded, “Eat my flesh”, many of the disciples who had followed him for a number of years fled, for they could not understand his words. This is because they lacked the spiritual sense to understand. Nevertheless, we must eat the flesh of Jesus, for this is how we can reap eternal life, which in turn, will allow us to resurrect and enter the kingdom of God. Thus, we must have the flesh of Jesus become spiritual sense within us.

Without spiritual sense, we cannot deliver our prayers to God. In regards to prayer, Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”. If God’s words do not become spiritual sense, our earnest prayers will have no value. Whilst many people pray for the concerns of what we eat and drink, Jesus stated, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt 6:33-34).

Tomorrow is not like today. When tomorrow comes, we will suddenly transform into an imperishable body and come to see the Lord. Before this day comes, we must not deny the Lord. A boat must be tied effectively at the cleat of a harbor, so as to prevent it from receding into the ocean. Though Jesus said, “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me”, we must seek this spiritual sense so as to not deny him. We must have the true faith that will never deny the Lord in any circumstances.