Which Group Are You In?

Sermon by Bro. Roger Lucas

Read Matthew 26:36-75. In these verses, Jesus goes to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is later betrayed, arrested, tried and crucified. In this story, we see three groups of people:

1. The Group of Eight - These eight disciples were left at the garden gate. They represent the people in the church today that don't get involved. They attend, maybe even every Sunday, but they just want to sit in a pew for an hour or so and go home. They don't take on responsibility for the work of the church.

2. The Group of Three - These three disciples (Peter, James and John) went into the garden with Jesus. Jesus asked them to watch and pray with Him while He was in the garden, but they fell asleep. They represent the people of the church that take on the bulk of the load. They get involved - they teach Sunday school, they knock on doors, they sing in the choir, they organize pot lucks, they visit the sick... they work for Christ! And they get tired and weary, just like Peter, James and John did.

3. The Group of One - Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus, was missing from these activities. He gave up. He quit on Jesus. He represents the people that have just quit the church. They don't want anything to do with Jesus or His people. Maybe they got tired (like the people in the Group of Three), maybe they were discouraged... whatever happened, it caused them to give up.

Which group do you find yourself in?

Now look at Peter. He was in the Group of Three. He was member of the inner circle. If Jesus was the pastor, Peter was the head deacon.

But when Jesus was captured and tried, Peter followed from "afar off" (verse 58).

Because of fear, Peter denied Jesus three times. At that moment, what group was Peter in?

The greatest thing about God is that He gives us second (and third, and fourth, and fifth...) chances. Peter denied Christ, and it looked like he had given up, but he repented!

When Jesus rose from the dead, He told the women at His grave to "go tell Peter." He gave Peter a second chance - because Peter repented! He even chose Peter to be the one that preached on the Day of the Pentecost.

So....

If you're in the Group of Eight... get involved! God has blessed you with a talent (weather it's singing, cooking, or just being friendly) that you can use for Him!

If you're in the Group of Three... take heart! God provides rest for the weary (Matthew 11:28). Remember, "you can't out give God!"

If you're in the Group on One... don't give up. Jesus will never give up on you. He loves you and wants you to come back to Him!