When The Rooster Crows

Matthew 26. I'm going to, I'm going to read from this chapter. And I'm going to — I'm going, for the sake of time this morning, I want to try to condense it down. So I'm going to skip through the verses a little bit, to tell the story that is here. But Matthew 26:33: Peter answered and said unto him: even if thou all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said unto him: assuredly I say to you, that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Verse 47: and while he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the 12, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and Elders of the people. Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying: whomever I kiss, he is the one. Sees him. Immediately he went up to Jesus and said: greetings, Rabbi. And kissed him. But Jesus said unto him: friend, why have you come? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. Verse 74: then he began to curse and swear, saying: I do not know the man. Immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, who had said to him: before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. So he went out and wept bitterly. Chapter 27:1: when morning came, all the chief priests and the Elders of the people plotted against Jesus, to put him to death. And when they had bound him, they laid him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that he had been condemned, was remorseful, and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest and the elders, saying: I have sinned, and betrayed innocent blood. And they said: what is that to us? You see to it. Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

For a little while this morning, I want to preach: when the rooster crows. Jesus, I'm so thankful that you're with us right now, and I feel you close and near. God, I Surrender myself to you for the next few minutes. God, I pray that you could use my voice to reach your church and your people. God, anoint our minds and our hearts, to receive what you have for us today. In Jesus name, amen.

The word of God is unique in origin and in context. It is comprised of instructions and Revelation and poetry and history, and much, much more. But perhaps no other portion of the Bible speaks to us with more detail, or gives us more insight, than the gospels do. When it comes to the life of Jesus Christ, you see, they give us what I would term as an Insider's view, into the life that Jesus lived, and the lives of those that were close to him and around him. When we see, as a young boy, this curious nature: Jesus leaves the sight of his parents, only to be found later in the temple. Supposedly, as he words it, he's about his father's business. We see the vocational skills of his father, who's a carpenter. No doubt taught Jesus the craft that he had masterfully honed himself. Or we also see the relationship that he has with his mother also, as she begins to guide and instruct her son in his life. And as a teacher, Jesus left so many in amazement with the words that he spoke. As they said to themselves: we've never heard anyone talk on this wise before. And they stood astounded, as he began to unfold and unravel the things of life itself, in a way they had never heard before. We could extend this list with ease, to fast in various roles that Jesus fulfilled in his time, as it was written down and accounted in to the gospel. He was a Healer. He was a miracle worker. He was a servant. And he was a savior. We gain our view of Jesus Through what we read in scriptures. But there were 12 that saw him in a different way. These were the men who walked with him daily. They prayed with him. They ate with him. They fellowshipped with him. These 12 men, disciples, so aptly named — they seen all that he did. Now, they only knew him as all the things I've already listed. But they also knew him as a friend. They saw him and ways that nobody else saw him, when his hair was down and he was relaxed. Perhaps two of the most well-known disciples were those of Peter and Judas, who we have read about in our reading today, to start this message. Peter was loud and boisterous and fearless. And Judas was seemingly timid and passive and reserved. Judas is labeled in our minds, not for all the good that Judas did. But Judas is known as the traitor, or the betrayer. He gets a reputation for what he did. And we've labeled him that way through out eternity. That's what we know Judas is. But in reality, if you really think about the story that is there — the story that I read you, the a shortened version of, in Matthew 26 and 27 — it's hard really to walk away and not ask ourselves this question: did Peter do anything different than Judas did? These events took place on the same day. That took place simultaneously, as what was going on. Peter, in his boast. Peter, in his personality. Peter, in his willingness to always be the one who speaks up first. When Jesus was telling them that tough times were going to come, and they were going to be tempted to deny that they even know him — before he even thinks about what he's saying, his mouth is already moving. Everybody else may deny you, but not me. It may get real bad. I hear what you're saying. But I just want you to know: the rest of these ones, the rest of the 11, they may be cowards. But I promise you, not me. That they all may, they all may run scared. They all may go hide. But not me. Jesus, I want you to know that, that there's going to be one left standing. It's going to, it's going to be me. To which Jesus turns to him and says: for the rooster crows in the morning, you'll deny me three times. That's Peter. We see these two lives that, that we were reading about, unfolding on the pictures of scripture here, pages of scripture here. And we see — to me at least — their actions were almost the exact same. In fact, if I were to look at it, and we were going to use human logic, I would say to myself: Judas did the action one time. Peter did the action three times. Seems like, if we were going to compare and keep a count in the score, what was going on — Peter seemingly turned out worse than Judas did. But we don't talk about Peter in the negative, do we? Talk about: Peter's the one who walked on water. We talk about: Peter's the one who stood up on the day of Pentecost, and preaches that Foundation message. We talk about Peter having the keys to the kingdom. That's how we remember Peter. We preach about the good and not the bad. Basically, the same mistake was made by two men on the same day. Yet they found themselves having different Destinies. Sounds impossible, but it still happens today. Today, there are people here who have fellowship with God, and been in his presence. Who have experienced the same move. Who have heard the same messages being preached, and worshiped in the same worship services, and experienced the power. And somehow have the same struggles, just like everybody else is. But understand me this, before I go any further — it's important for you and I to know this truth: Destiny is not determined by what happens on the outside of a person, but Destiny is determined by what happens on the inside of a person. Just as the disciples, we still struggle often times with the very same things. We struggle with the same problems, and the same battles, and the same spirits, and the same issues. And nobody here in this room today has walked thus far, without facing something in your life. Life, we have all experienced something. Every one of us knows what it's like to have to fight. Every one of us knows what it's like to have to deal with frustrations and difficulties. Romans 3:23, reading from the new living, says: for everyone has sinned, and we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Now, I know this is not a startling truth. And sometimes I believe, like, that verse of scripture brings us some kind of comfort, to a degree. But let's — let me, let me just say this: will, you're not by yourself. I said earlier, in a session I was teaching this morning: if you're looking for Perfection, don't ever go to a church. There's no perfect people in the church, because there's no Perfect People. We're all flawed. Every one of us are flawed. Every one of us are marred by sin. Now, we live in this dispensation of Grace. And hopefully we Embrace salvation, and what he did at Calvary, and we apply that to our life. But every one of us are sinners, saved by grace. We all struggle. We all fight. And surely we can relate to where Peter and Judas were. But surely we can put ourselves in their shoes. We've been where they are. We felt what they have felt, when we have seemingly let God down. Every one of us have felt that in our life, at some point or another.

We look sometimes at God, and we think, maybe to ourselves, like: he's, he's some far off, distant thing. Some kind of angry Tyrant, just pushing us away. But the reality is quite different. The first thing that I feel it's important for us to understand this morning, in this service, is: your destiny is not decided by anyone other than you. Your destiny is not decided by anybody else other than you. Just, you determine your destiny. Not your circumstances. Not what has happened to you. But you can determine your destiny. It depends on how you react, and how you respond, and what you do. It's up to you where your destiny lies. Now hear me: I'm not referring to a lifelong dream. I'm not referring to a vocation, or a position, or some kind of, some level of social status. I'm talking about who you can become in God. Who he had always intended you to be. I'm talking about your spiritual Destiny. Your position in the kingdom of God. There are people who will point fingers, and say: well, for this reason, or for that reason. Or because this person did that to me. Or this person did that. Or because of my circumstances. Prisons are full of people who declare: it wasn't their fault. They're not guilty. It was somebody else that made them do — it was their circumstances. It was their childhood. It was their parents. It was, it was this. It was that. They point fingers. They sign blame. But understand me: you can point no fingers at anyone other than yourself. You decide. You decide. You determine your destiny. It is up to you. I'll take it a step further: it's, it's time today to stop assigning blame anywhere else. It's time today, on this, on this first month of 2025, to start a year off by saying: you know what, I'm just going to own me. I'm not going to blame anybody else. I'm not going to point any fingers. I'm just going to take some responsibility. I'm going, I'm going to just own this year, and just say: you know what, it's on me. If I have some success, it's going to be because I decided one day to get myself up, and stop giving excuses, and stop living in the past, and stop applying labels. To look at what thus sayith the word of God, and how he feels about me. What is his opinion about me? I'm here to tell you: he's for you. He is for you. He is for you. Do you hear me? He is for you. He is for you. God is for you. I don't care what has happened to you. I do care about where you are right now. And this is the truth: my God loves you, and he is for you. Determine your destiny. You decide your outcome. You are the only one who can determine it. You're the only one who can yield to what you feel in your heart. You are the only one. We, here at this church, we're going to give you opportunity. We're going to help create an environment of worship. We're going to preach. We're going to teach. We're going to plead. We can cry. And we can do all that. But we cannot force you to respond to God. That is up to you. We cannot make you yield to his spirit. That is up to you.

What do you think Peter said in Acts 2 and 40? And with many other words did you testify and exort, saying: save yourself from this UNT generation. That's an interesting study, that word untoward. You Bible theologians and Scholars in the room, and those of you nerd out on word studies — once you go word study that one out, play with it. It's, it's kind of fun. As you talked about the word, the Greek word there, meaning crooked and bent away. From everything about this generation, everything about the environment outside these walls, everything about the life and the world that you and I are surrounded with, is UNT unto. What, it's unto God, is pointing away from God. It's running away from God. It's zling to run away from God, and everything. And this is what Peter was saying: turn yourself away from this unow generation. Meaning: you don't find yourself in a Direction that's opposite of God. You need to be running to God. Why would you run away from God? You need to be running two things that are right. Why would you run away from righteousness? If you're not walking towards him, that means you're walking away from him. Everything this world has to offer pales in comparison, to what God has for you. Everything this world has to offer pales in comparison to what God has to offer you. Why would you seek for after anything else, other than what he has for you? His peace, which passes human understanding. His righteousness. His glory. Why would you run towards anything else? I don't, I don't care how much money you can make. I, how much money you have. I don't care how much acceptance that you get. I don't care how much notoriety is there. Everything this world is trying to offer you pales in comparison, for what God has for you. Alone can determine your destiny. And the reason you can do that is because our God is merciful. He is a merciful god. He is a merciful god. The only reason that there are people in this room, under the sound of my voice — and the only reason that you are still here — is because someone has been praying for you. It's not an accident that you're here. It's not an accident that you're in this room. Somebody Prayed you into this room. It may not have been somebody direct. But I promise you, there has been prayers prayed over you in your lifetime. You may have thought nobody cared for you. But I promise you: somewhere, some way, somehow, God laid you on somebody's heart. And they called your name out in prayer. They seen your face in Destiny. And I'm here to tell you, the reason you're here is because we have a merciful god, who loves us. And we should Relish in the fact that he loves us enough, to allow us to be here today. Don't miss this opportunity. Somebody Prayed For You.

2 Peter 3 and9: the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, some men count slackness. But his longsuffering to us, we're not willing that any should perish. Not willing that any should perish. He doesn't want anybody to perish. But he wants everybody to come to repentance. God wants everybody. God wants everybody. He wants everybody. He want — there's not one he doesn't want. He wants everybody who has ever lived. He wants everybody. That was his plan. He did not create Humanity to live apart from him. That was never his. That was never his desire. It was never his intention. The result of disobedience in sin is why we have the separation. But that was not the will of God. That was not his will. It not his expl. In fact, when God made hell, he made it too small. Because the Bible says in Isaiah 5, that Hell hath enlarged himself. Which means there are more people going to hell than God ever intended. That was not his plan. That was not his purpose. That was not his desire. But somewhere along the way, when we got caught up in our own desires, and our own lust, and our own passions — our own, and own things that we wanted to bend to our will — somewhere along the way, we lost out on what God's intentional, initial plan was for Humanity. God doesn't want anyone to live apart from his presence, because God is a god of mercy. And anyone who misses Heaven is going to be there, because they did not accept one last plea that Mercy gave them. Nobody's going to go to Hell Without God trying to stop them. Nobody. Nobody. Did you hear me? Nobody's going to go to Hell Without God trying to stop them. In fact, you're going to have to jump over Mercy to get to hell. You will jump, you will leap over Mercy, to get to hell. There are people here, and the preachers preached his word, and God has reached, and God has pleaded with you, and God has pulled you. And you've walked out the doors, and you've snubbed your nose of God, time and time again. But listen to me. Listen to this truth I'm going to tell you: it's never too early to respond to God. But there will be a day when God says: I've tried, and I've pleaded, and I've begged, and I've asked, and I've — and time and time again, they've turned their back on me, time and time again. And he will turn you over to a reprobate mind. Listen, I'm reaching for some, somebody today. Paul addressed the same mindset in Romans chapter 1. And I'm not going to read the whole chapter for you, but I encourage you to go back and read it for yourself. But I will read you verse 21: because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was dark. And professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Verse 28: and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do things which are not convenient. One translation says: to do things that should not be done. Listen, that is not God's intention. That is not God's plan. He's reaching. He's striving. He's coming towards you. He's trying to do all that he can do for you. But there's, there, there's, there some point you have to acknowledge, and turn back, and embrace what he is trying to do, by reaching you.

Listen, I feel this in my spirit to do this. This is outside my notes. But for some reason, God just brought it back to my spirit. So I'm, I'm going to say it. You know, I've struggled by times. And I, I've mentioned this in a couple of settings, but it really has just got down in my spirit. I've struggled before, when I read through scriptures, and to try to get my head around, and understand why — why sometimes the Bible words things the way it words things. Why it would say things like: Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Yeah, what would — why would, why did God hate Esau, if God loves all men? How does he hate Esau? That seems contradictory to me, right? And I know the word of God does not contradict itself. So what was it he's trying to do? What does this statement mean? Because I want to be honest with you. And I know maybe not everyone in the room can make this connection. But maybe I can hopefully paint the picture well enough that you will. Because if you read through the scriptures, and you understand the story between Jacob and Esau — if I'm going to be honest with you, if I was going to ask and answer the question, which one did God hate — I, it seems like he hated Jacob more than Esau. Just, just when I read it. I mean, because ES, es a, Esau got everything Esau wanted. Esau was selfish. Esau didn't care. Esau didn't want to fulfill the obligations. But yet he was blessed. God, God spoke some things over what was going to happen, and Esau was able to continue to live in that blessing. It's what it seems like, when I read through their Scriptures. It seems like to me that, that if I was going to answer the question on which one was disliked, and which one was liked, it seems like Esau had things going for him. Then Jacob was the one that was struggling. Jacob was the one that was losing stuff. Jacob was the one walking with the limp. Jacob was the one who was deceived. Jacob did all this stuff. Jacob was fear for his life. If I look what was going on — then it came to me in prayer one day. Because I was really wrestling with this. Because how did, how did God hate Esau, if Esau got everything he wanted? And the Lord spoke to me one day, and he said: I let Esau be Esau, because Esau didn't desire me anymore. So the way I hated Esau is: I just let Esau do whatever Esau wanted to do. But Jacob — I love Jacob. So I corrected Jacob. I continued to Fashion Jacob. I continued to mold Jacob. I continued to teach Jacob. I continued to take him through trial and circumstances and situations, that, that was causing him to be dependent on me. So that I could lead him. So that I could direct him. Because I loved him enough that I would correct him. I loved him enough that I would work with him. But Esau, I just let Esau be Esau. So we got to be really careful in our life, when we, when we're living, and we're saying: you know, I got my relationship with God. And your relationship with God, you know, is going contrary to what his word States. But you say: well, if God didn't approve, then why am I blessed? Why is this going on? Why is got going on? Be very careful, because you become a lot like Esau in those moments. So he's, he's always, he's always pulling for us. He's always, he's always trying for us. He's always drawing us. He's always trying to get us to be better than we are. To bring us up, to completely fulfill the plan he has, for the expected end, that the word says that he has for you. He has an expected endend for us. I promise you, along the way, you're going to face some things. In — you got to be careful that we don't get turned over to a reprobate mind. You can live however you want to live. But there may come a day when God turns you over.

Judas came to Jesus after he betrayed him. And I want you look with me for just a minute. Jesus was reaching for him. The symbol and the sign of a kiss was given. That's What Judas said: the one who I'm kiss, he's the one you need to arrest. But if we go back to 26 of Matthew, Matthew verse 50: but Jesus said to him: friend, why have you come? Now here's the deal: we know that he already understood what was going to take place, because it was Jesus that said: what you got to do, you go do it quickly. There had to be a moment that Jesus had to go across, right? He had to go — he had to go be our sacrifice. So the way things transpired and laid out: Judas was there. And as they're having their moment — when, when, when God's instituting the last supper, he's talking to them about the bread and the wine and the New Covenant, I want do all this again — and they're, they're arguing, and about who's going to do what. And then he has that moment with Judas, when he says: look, what, what you got to do, you go do it quickly. So when he shows up at the Garden — are you going to tell me that Jesus is unaware, or has forgotten what, what it was that Judas was going to do? No, no, no sir. No ma'am. I feel like in this moment, what you're seeing here is one more chance, and opportunity, that he's trying to wake Judas up. I know what you did, Judas. But friend, why have you come? Could it be, in this moment, there's a plea? There's, there's an opportunity? Because I feel like that he was asking, in that moment: Judas, do you want forgiveness? You can't convince me otherwise, that Mercy would not have forgiven him in that moment. I'm so thankful for Mercy. I feel like what you read about there is one last plea for mercy in his life. Mercy was reaching out to Judas, even after what he did. Even after he betrayed, Mercy was reaching out to him one more time. You know what this tells me? That even after the life you've lived, even after all the failures, after all the things they have done, all the mistakes, and all the labels that have been placed upon you — there is still mercy here today, day for you. There's still a god who's saying: I'm willing to give you one more chance. I'm willing to go out one more opportunity. I'm willing to reach out to you just one more time. I'm willing to be here with you just today, if you'll reach out to me. That's what God's doing this morning. Thank God for mercy. God is here trying to reach somebody, trying to catch the soberness of what I'm trying to preach about today.

The second thing that I feel like is important for you and I to understand is: when it comes to your destiny, the Difference Maker is the direction you take. The difference between Judas and Peter was not in what they each did, for on the outside — it's, to me, it's plain as day. They both were guilty. They both were guilty of betrayal. They both were guilty of denial. They both were. They both had walked down the road. The difference determined was the Destiny, was the direction they took after the mistake. Judas ran away from God. Peter ran to God. That was the day their Destiny was decided. The day that earmarked the change in her life. Judas, after realizing his mistake, he ran away from God. But Peter, after realizing mistake, he embraced the mercy that was there. So you got two options. You can walk out the door here in just a few minutes, here in a little bit — well, this message will be over — and this can be just like any other message, any other time, that you ever come to church before. Or you can determine that today, this message is for you are. Or you could say to yourself: I'm going to turn to God this morning. It's because I firmly believe that his arms are outstretched right now. And I, and I firmly believe that he's just waiting for you to embrace him today. That's, that's the God I know. He's waiting. Because you can change your destiny today. The difference is Direction. So what direction are you going to take? Are you going to run to God, or you going to run away from God? And when you're running to God, God's going to do everything he can to protect you.

Now, I find it interesting, when you read through scriptures — they talk about that, that God had laid out these Refuge cities, that were there in the scriptures. Interesting terms to study out, when it's there — these Refuge cities — and how they were laid out. So if someone had done something mistakenly, accidental, they could run to a refuge City. And when they got to The Refuge City, The Refuge City would take them in. They were protected, as long as they were inside the Refuge City. But if you go back and study this out — go back and look, go back and read — if you ever turned away from The Refuge City, The Refuge city stopped fighting for you. As long as you're running to the Refuge city, they're on the walls. The Archers are shooting for you. They're fighting for you. They're, they're wanting, they're trying to help you get to The Refuge City. But if you stopped Midway and turned and walked away, they stopped. I'm here to tell you: God's fighting for you. Run towards God. Run towards God. He's there to fight for you, to get you back where you need to be. I don't, I don't, I don't — you have not done — listen to me, I say this in the Holy Ghost — you have not done anything to disqualify yourself from his Mercy. Praise God. I don't care how bad it's been. I don't care what you've created inside your mind. There is nothing there that disqualifies you from his Mercy. What direction are you going to take? I've come here today to say that there is hope. Because surely Peter felt the same way, just like you and I. He denied the Lord three times. Three times. There's Hope here today. I think about what he did. And there, there's a big piece of me that identifies with Peter. No, I'm not, I'm not Peter. I'm not the Apostle Peter. I'm not there. There's a lot about his personality that I find myself. There's a lot of similarities there. You know, I can sometimes get a little extra confident in myself. I can sometimes — especially when I was a younger man, before my frontal lobe was fully developed — someone say it can't be done, I'm like: oh, we can do that. Michael and I talked a lot about — we had a lot of those years, like: I can just stand out of the way, move back, you know, would do it. I learned, learned a lot of things that I'm not able to do, the hard way. So when Peter makes Bold statements, like: Lord, if that's you out there on the water, then you bid me come. Cuz I know my boat's tossing to and fro. And I know the waves are big out there, and they're crashing down. But if that's where you are, God, I want to be where you are. I, there's been moments in my life when I'm going be bold: let me go out there. And then i', I've jumped out too, and did a little sinking. Part of me can identify that. I, part of me knows that there's been times when I've given God my word, and I went back on my word. Part of me understands that boldness that stood up and said: you know what, these, the, these other Chumps back here, they may chicken out on you, but not me. Yeah, they, they're, they're a little weak anyway. God, you — Jesus, you know they're a little weak. You've been around them. But not me. You know me. You know me. I'm with you. I'm with you. I won't deny you. When that story unfolds in Matthew 26, it just wrecks me. It rips at my heart. Because I feel the sting, and the shame, and the reproach that comes on. And he says: I don't know what you're talking about. And that verse that I read you is: he starts cursing, and says: no, I don't know him. Like, I can feel that shame. I can feel that, that, that big mess he makes. That, that, that shattered Brokenness. That big pile of rubble. All of his faith, it looked like it's just come crashing, ing down. There's nothing left.

As they get ready to close today — and the musicians are going to come — I feel strong that God wants to do something. I feel like I have a new little insight into this story, though, I want to tell. As they're getting ready to come, I ran across a story — before I get to the inside, I want, I want to tell you about a story. Ran across a story I read. I read a little while back, and felt it appropriate for today. It's a story about a man named Samuel s skull, who decided to settle down in Arizona and start a farm, with his wife and children. And one night there was this Fierce storm that come up, and had all of the rain and the wind and the hail. And just before Daybreak, he's just wrecked. The part of the roof of the house has come up. And he's just feeling sick, and feared what he might find. So he decides, you know, just before Dawn, he walks out to try to survey the loss, and figure out, out what's going on. So he's trying to see. And he realizes that the garden has just been beaten down flat by the hail. And the house roof is all messed up. And the chicken CP had blown down. The dead chickens are scattered everywhere. Destruction, Devastation, every direction he looks. While standing dazed, and evaluating the mess, and wondering about the future — he heard a stirring on the lumber pile, of the remains of the old chicken cpop. The rooster was climbing up through the debris. And he didn't stop climbing, until he had mounted the highest board in the pile. That old rooster was dripping wet. And most of his feathers were blown off. But just as the sun came over the Eastern Horizon, he flapped his bony wings, and he proudly began to Crow at the dawning of the KN day. You see, I feel like we have misunderstood the rooster in this story. Let me revisit with you the denial by Peter. Matthew 2673: a little later, those who stood by came up and said to Peter: surely you also come, surely you're also one of them. For your speech betrays you. Then he began to curse and swear, saying: I do not know the man. Immediately the rooster crowed. The rooster crows, because there's a dawning of a new day. Listen to me. Immediately the rooster crowed, and there was a new day. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who had said to him: before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times. So he went out and wept bitterly. You see, the rooster crows because there's something new starting. Peter was eaten up with regret, and eaten up with remorse. But I believe there was more at play here. I feel like Peter, a good Jewish young man, remember the words of the old Prophet Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3:19: remember my afflictions in roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers, and sinks Within Me. This I recall, call to my mind. Therefore I have hope. It's because of your mercies, that we are not consumed. Because thy compassions, they fell out. They are new every morning. I know I Den, hied you three times, but there's a New Day Dawning, which means there's new Mercy in this day. I don't have to be stuck in yesterday's failures. I don't have to be stuck in yesterday disappointments. I don't have to be stuck at yesterday's mistakes and failures and labels. I have a new day that Dawns today. Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me. There's a New Day Dawning today, for someone. You've mistaken the rooster crow. But I promise you, it's bringing new Mercy into your life. I don't care about your past failures. I don't care what you've done. All that matters is: God is here, reaching for you today. There is new Mercy today. Peter chose new Mercy. Stay on me, across this room. Peter, you messed up. You made big mistakes. Standing in a pile of rubble and ruin. But today is the day something great is going to happen. God sent me here this morning to sound the alarm: today does not have to be the ending for somebody. Instead, it's a beginning. It's, it's a beginning. There's a new day. The rooster is crowed. There are new mercies available for you today. I don't, I don't know everybody's story in this room. But I know — I know, I feel, I sense in my spirit — somebody needed to understand that there was more to the story. It wasn't about his failures. See, Judas got caught up in his failures. He went in, he turned the money back in, and said: look, I don't want it. They said: hey, what do we have to do with that? He says, he was remorseful, but it doesn't say he was repentant. There's a difference in say: you know, I wish I wouldn't have done that, and feel bad — and then say: God, forgive me for what I have done. The difference is the direction. Judas decided to take matters into his own hands. He decided to do what only he knew to do, the only way he knew to fix the problem, with what he was dealing with. The guilt that was there was just to kill himself. But Peter — it took him a minute, all right. I'm not trying to paint him as the perfect picture of what happens. It took him a minute. But when he heard his master cry — when Jesus was on the shore, Peter jumps out of the boat, swims over there. Jesus has got breakfast fixed on the shore, and he sits down with Peter. And he asks him some real questions: do you love me more than these? I'm here to tell you that Jesus, Jesus is pulling for somebody today. He's here about restoration. He's here about fixing back. He's here about restoring. So I want you to know: these altars are open today. I don't know who needs to come. But I want you to know: the roosters growing. There's a new dawn, and new Mercy, just for the day. This I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope. It's because of your mercies that we are not consumed. Because thy compassion, they fail not. They are new every, every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is the faithfulness. So whatever you have, whatever is going on, I'm here to tell you right now: today is the day. I would come. It's time to pray. We're going to pray with those that have come down. God's going to do a work this morning.