2024-08-01
Given by Pastor Ibrahim
Peter is like us in many ways, impulsive, outspoken, somebody who speaks his mind. Peter is very honest as we shall see from the lapse of time we have before us.
John 21.15
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Peter had let the Lord down, failing him.
Jeremiah 31.18
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.
This is a powerful text, if you are outside the Lord tonight, the simplest prayer - "turn thou me and I shall be turned". Repentance is a total turning, and this is what Peter could said in his repentant state.
Remember in Luke 22, Peter denied the Lord around burning fire, around the coals. The word coals is mentioned in Luke 22 and here in this chapter John 21. Peter's restoration also happened around the fire, when that breakfast was being provided. One fire of denial, another fire of restoration.
The pitfalls, the hurdles, the obstacles of our growth - self-trust, self-admiration, self-confidence, these are big pitfalls that will take the gigantic, goliath among us spiritually and put us down as if he is a nobody. Never be self-reliant, that is a great snare.
Conversion smashes down our self-confidence. It crushes our arrogance and pride. But those things are still there, but they are great pitfalls in a believer's life.
When you think of lambs, they do not have horns, so to be a proud Christian is not the right term. But every time you and me succumb to sin, it is a denial of the Lord. That is why, never take sin in a shallow way. Sin is serious. You don't need to drink a glass of poison for it to take effect, a drop can kill. You don't have to say I can taste this and I can have this, that tiny thing I can have, it may be legitimate, but it can kill you, that is why we should leave no room for sin in a believer's life.
As I read the Bible, I find that rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest sin a man can commit. We read it in 1 John 5, rejecting Christ is as if you are saying God is a liar.
1 John 5.10
10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
If someone hear questions a man walking on water, a man resurrecting from the dead, those are the doubts that Satan injects into our thoughts, but the greatest sin is unbelief. I wish there is a way to redeem the 22 years before I was converted, rejecting Christ is terrible.
Coming back to John 21, look at v3.
John 21.3
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Peter's first idea is to go back to his job, his career as a fisherman. It was Peter's initiative to go fishing. But remember in Luke 5, Christ met with Peter asking him to do the same action again, where Peter in great humility said "I am a wretched sinner, depart from me". In Luke 7, John also recognises that it was the Lord, and Peter runs to him. When he heard that Christ rose, Peter ran again.
John 21.12
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
I am amazed with this text, the disciples should be inviting the Lord. Even in Luke 24, Christ broke the bread for the disciples. Here, the disciples are not providing, they should be having fish and bread on that occasion, but Christ invites them.
Here Christ meets with Peter, and John is there. The silence, they probably cannot talk because of what Peter has done. This is where Christ opens in v15 and the interview begins. I am sure you know the text, a lot of ink has been spilled about this conversation, the interview of Peter by Christ, there are great scholars who tell us the difference between different Greek words, but I will not overbear you. But remember that Peter and John did not converse in Greek, no matter how the original is, we do not need to be concerned with how the Greek is different.
Is it bad to ask a man who denied the Lord 3 times, 3 times if he loves the Lord?
Before we even mention the first time, look at how Christ introduces him - "Simon, son of Jonas". His old nature is reminded of.
Application - never trust in your temperament. I have met believers who get angry and say this is my culture, really? Don't blame anyone. Conversion should touch our temperament. Peter who offended the Lord Jesus Christ is the one to whom the Lord Jesus Christ comes to. Peter denies publicly, and Christ restores publicly.
The three questions are a gift of love to Peter from the Lord.
No matter where you are tonight in your spiritual state, unconverted, backslidden, a young believer, a seasoned believer, there is sufficient grace available for you and me. Fill every gap and void with the love of Christ.
John 21.15
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Here is the Lord asking Peter - do you love me more than these?
Application - do I love the Lord more than my career, my pleasure, my siblings, my parents, this world? None of us need a lecture about self-love. How much I love myself is a reality, but to love the Lord is the greatest charity. Fondness vs affection.
I feel like I am like Peter in his backsliding state, I wish for better words to express "love". We can say I love ice-cream, but how can I say to the Lord "I love I love, dear Lord". How much do I love? And how do others see how much I love the Lord. Spurgeon used to say that your cat would know. Your testimony is always important, your testimony in work, in uni, let Matthew 5.16 be your text
Matthew 5.16
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The second time Christ asks in v16
John 21.16
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
We are like sheep. It is not an exalting name, but a wonderful title.
The third one is in v17.
John 21.17
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Peter was grieved, don't think that he was irritated.
Psalm 51.17
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Peter's heart was totally contrite, now a man who feels every thing the Lord tells. Christ was not asking him 3 times to get information from Peter, he was asking for Peter's sake. In the same way God asked in the garden where Adam was? He wanted Adam to come forth, but they went and hid, from the piercing eye of God. God sees a black ant on a black stone on a black night. He needs nothing special in his heart. Our love is so small and shallow. Christ asks for Peter sake, not wanting information from Peter.
In John 2.23-24, Christ needs no information from everyone because he knows the heart of man.
John 2.23-24
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
In v18-19, the Lord says to Peter "follow me", reinstated and recommissioned.
I want to give you 5/6 important things about restoration. Maybe backslidden:
These lambs are not the lambs of the church or the lambs of the pastor, the pastor is a lamb too, but of the the Lord.
In closing, the threefold question to Peter I believe were not just for Peter, but for each one of us. Do you really love the Lord Jesus Christ? I could have said from Rev 12.11
Revelation 12.11
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
One of the churches we planted in Mali, the man with whom we started the plant with, he owns a hotel. The Islamists came and said to him, you deny the Lord Jesus Christ or we slaughter you. I am not inventing, he said he would never do that. They left him that time. They then came and asked the same question, they slaughtered himself in front of his wife and children, leaving his body in the streets. This is a persecuted man, his life taken in front of his family, to be a Christian, is to be willing. Peter was better equipped for the mission given to him. Paul calls him in Galatians 1 and 2, a pillar of the church.
Time for application, about love.
Love is the supreme test of Christian life. There is a verse I fear, reading it with tears. 1 Corinthians 16.22
1 Corinthians 16.22
22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
That is one of the most terrible verses in the Bible. So do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Any who does not love, is Anathema. If a man does not believe, we read that he is already judged.
Love for the Lord must the basis of all our service. We are not slaves like Islam, but sons who call God abba Father. Your outreach, your testimony, your care for others, your fellowship for others, your shaping of others, we do them joyfully. We read in 1 John 5, that Christ's commandments are not irksome or heavy. Sin is burdensome, but not the commandments of Christ. Christ bore the punishment we could not bear. Are you someone dragged to church on Sundays? Psalm - I am glad when I enter the house of the Lord.
The church is not just about love. Some go to church because they want to socialise. Yes there is love in church, but we want to love the Lord Jesus Christ first. Christ in you is the hope of glory. The church is the place for transformed hearts. There is feeding here, there is following here, and there is learning here. We want to learn and be fed because we are sheep.
Because we are lambs, we all need care. We care for one another. You know the text, it is 2 Peter 3.18. People who have been Christians for 40/50 years, they think that they have graduated, but the older you get, the more you see you do not know the scriptures, so we all need the milk of the Word. We are told to have that diet from the pure milk of the Word, Hebrews 5 says to the believers, don't eat meat, but milk. Pray for growth in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every sheep and lamb belongs to the Lord. You belong to the Lord not yourself. 1 Cor 6.19-20 - we belong to the Lord. Peter learns the lesson in 1 Peter 5.1-3, and he instructs how the pastors should lead, not for filthy gain, but because they love.
The Lord deals with us one by one. He saves us one by one, and deals with us one by one, and gives us new tasks when he restores us.
The Lord requires our total commitment. We follow him lovingly.