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Harold Smith Copyright Mailbox Club Inc. 1972
COURSE 1 Peter Lesson 1
NOW HEAR PETER
by R. E. Harlow
EVERYDAY PUBLICATIONS INC.
421 Nugget Avenue, Unit 2,
Scarborough, ON,
Canada MIS 4L8
Copyright 1972 Used by permission
You will be studying these Lessons:
I Peter and the Lord Jesus Christ
2 Peter and the Holy Scriptures
3 Peter's Message .
4 Peter and the Priests
5 Peter and the Elders of the Church .
6 Peter and the Beloved Mother .
7 How people can be delivered from their sins.
8 How to become a child of God, and how to
know that you are one ..
9 Christ our Shepherd and Bishop
10 How to become a priest and a saint .
11 The Judgment of God
12 Waiting and Growing
PLEASE READ THIS
Simon Peter, the son of John, was a
great
man. He was not born great, but he became great when he lived with the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is more important still to remember that God told
Peter what he should write. It is necessary that everyone should listen
to the words of Peter.
If you have a New Testament, look up the
verses which are given in each chapter of this book. You can understand
what Peter said even if you do not own a New Testament, but it is
better
if you have one and look up each verse.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you
to understand and obey the Sacred Scriptures. When you learn some new
truth,
tell your friends about it.
Do not try to learn what men teach, but
learn what Peter said or wrote in the Bible. You have listened to what
men think: NOW HEAR PETER.
LESSON 1 SIMON PETER AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Push out into the deep water and let .Four nets down for a catch,
Luke 5.4.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words to Simon
Peter. Christ had used Peter's little ship and wanted to pay him for
it.
Peter and his friends had been fishing all night but had caught
nothing.
Peter was an expert fisherman and knew that it is easier to catch fish
at night. Now it was bright day light, and this Teacher told him to try
again! Jesus was the son of a carpenter; He knew how to make things out
of wood, but what did He know about fishing?
The Sea of Galilee was a good place for
fishing. There were many cities along its shore and many people earned
money from the fish they caught with their nets in its water.
Simon Peter lived in the city of Bethsaida
and often went fishing with Andrew, his brother. One day Andrew had
heard
John the Baptist say that Jesus was the Lamb of God, John 1.29.
Andrew brought Simon to Christ and Jesus
gave him a new name, Cephas or Peter. Both these words mean stone. In
the
Scripture a rock is a picture of God. Jesus gave Simon this name to
show
that Simon had become a son of God. He would share in God's nature, 2
Peter
1.4. Now on the Sea of Galilee the Lord Jesus told him to try again to
catch some fish.
When Peter and his partners obeyed they
caught a great many fish. Peter was so surprised that he asked the Lord
to go away, because he was a sinner, Luke 5.8. But Jesus told Peter to
follow Him and soon He made Peter one of the twelve apostles, Luke 6.14.
So Peter had the great honour of living
with the Lord Jesus Christ for nearly three years. One of the greatest
things that Peter said in his whole life was that Christ is the Son
of
God. Jesus asked His disciples who men said that He was. Some said John
the Baptist, some Elijah or Jeremiah. Then He asked them, But who do
you
say that I am? Simon Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the
living
God. The Lord praised Peter for these words. How did Peter know that
Christ
is the Son of God? Because God had revealed it to him. Then the Lord
said
that He would build His Church, and He gave Peter the keys to the
kingdom
of heaven, Matthew 16.15-19.
But Peter did not always speak the words
which God wanted him to say. In the very same chapter Christ told His
disciples
that He must be killed and rise again the third day. Peter could not
understand
how anyone could kill the Son of God, the King of Israel. He said,
Lord,
this will never happen to You. But Jesus told Peter he was like Satan
who
tried to keep Him from following God's path for Him, Matthew 16.22,23.
Peter said the wrong thing at other times
also. At one time a change came over the Lord Jesus and He looked very
different. Moses and Elijah came and talked with Him. Peter said,
Lord, it is good
for us to be here: if you are willing, let us make here three tents,
one
for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, Matthew 17.4.
Peter wanted to honour Christ together
with Moses and Elijah. But God will not allow any man or woman to
receive
as much honour as His Son. So He spoke out of a cloud,
This is my own dear Son, in whom I am well
pleased: listen to Him, Matthew 17.5.
When the Lord was getting close to the
end
of His life, He told His disciples that the Jews would make Him a
prisoner.
At that time His disciples would all run away and leave Him alone.
Peter
could not believe that he himself would ever act like that. He thought
he would never run away even if all the other disciples did. The Lord
warned
him that he would deny his Master three times that very night. Peter
said
he would rather die with Christ than deny that he knew Him, Matthew
26.34,35.
Soon they came to a garden and Jesus went
on to pray to His Father. But Peter and the others fell asleep. Christ
said that their spirits were willing, but the flesh was weak, Matthew
26.41.
When a crowd of people came to arrest
Jesus,
Peter thought he should fight, and he cut off one man's ear. Peter was
wrong again and Jesus healed the man. Then all the apostles ran away.
Peter
followed
the crowd, but stayed far behind them.
They soon came to the high priest's courtyard
and the priests condemned the Lord Jesus and began to spit in His face.
They said many evil things to Him and beat Him with a whip. Peter was
sitting
near the fire when a girl said to him, you too were with Jesus,
the
man from Galilee, Matthew 26:69. But Peter said it was not true.
Finally
he swore with an oath, I do not even know this Man, Matthew 26.72.
Just then a rooster crowed which showed
that it was almost day. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter
remembered what the Lord had said to him and he went out and wept with
great sorrow.
So the Lord Jesus went to the cross by
Himself. He alone bore the punishment for our sins. At the time of His
greatest pain and sorrow, He cried, My God, my God, why did you leave
me?
Matthew 27. 46.
Why did God abandon Him? Because He was
bearing our sins. Finally Jesus cried out with a loud voice, It is
finished,
John 19.30. He meant that He had finished the work which was necessary
to save men. So then He died.
But on the third day God raised Him from
death. Peter and John went to the grave and found it empty. Then they
knew
that He had risen. A little later Jesus met Peter and forgave him. He
allowed
Peter to serve Him again and told him to teach the young believers.
So we see that Simon Peter, the son of
John, was a great man. He was a man, a human being, and did not always
do the right thing. But he was with the Lord Jesus for three years and
he became great because the Lord made him great.
Peter called himself a sinful man. But
he believed in Christ and the Lord forgave him. Christ forgives
anyone's
sins only when that person believes in Him. He Himself died on the
cross
and took God's punishment for sin, my sin. I believe this. That is all.
But Peter was not only a forgiven sinner.
He became an inspired apostle and wrote part of the Scripture. Because
he was an inspired apostle, we must hear what he said. In this book we
will consider what Peter said and wrote when he was here on earth. He
would
say the same things if he were alive today. Let all men listen to Peter
and believe.
TEST 1 NOW HEAR PETER
Type the letter X for the correct answer or
statement
on the line before each question. Only ONE answer is correct.
1. Peter was brought to the Lord by
a) his father, John;
b) his brother Andrew;
c) his friend, John.
2. The Lord gave Simon a new name, Peter, which means
a) a stone;
b) a shepherd;
c) a fisherman.
3. One of Peter's greatest days was when he
a) introduced a boy with five loaves and two fishes so Jesus could
feed the 5,000;
b) tried to defend the Lord by cutting off the ear of the high
priest's
servant;
c) declared that Christ was the Son of God.
4. Peter was with the Lord in the garden and
a) prayed that he would not be tempted;
b) was the only apostle who stayed awake;
c) fell asleep with the others.
5. Peter denied the Lord three times but he
a) confessed his sin to the high priest;
b) went out and wept bitterly;
c) fasted in sackcloth and ashes for seven days.
Write TRUE (yes) or FALSE (no) on the line after each question.
6. Peter realized who Jesus was and he cried out,"I am a sinful man".
7. Peter told the Lord that he thought He was Elijah.
8. The Lord rebuked Peter for trying to persuade Him not to go to the cross.
9. Peter and John went to the tomb of Jesus and found it was empty.
10. Peter's sins were forgiven by the Lord Himself.
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