July 1, 2018
Evening Service

In the first part of this chapter we looked at the forgiveness and restoration of Peter and then applied that to our lives.  God has a plan set for us to be restored and even strengthened when we fail.  Peter’s denial of Jesus was a terrible failure on his part, but God took something terrible and made it beautiful.  Through Peter’s weakness, God made him stronger.  After meeting Jesus, Peter’s life was never the same.  He was changed and was able to accept the gift of forgiveness and restoration Jesus gave him and begin a new and fresh walk with Him.  We are all offered the same gift, but what really matters is what we do with it.  Do we start a fresh new walk with Christ or just return to the same old lifestyle as before?  Let’s see how Jesus challenges Peter, and us to simply follow Him.

John 21:17-19 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him a third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”  (18)  “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. But when you grow old, you shall stretch forth your hands and another shall gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”  (19)  He spoke this signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

·        After the third time Jesus questioned Peter’s love for Him, He then prophesied what his future would look like.  Notice He did not tell him that his life would end with an easy retirement and a home on the beach.  He tells Peter that in his old age he will be imprisoned and be taken places he doesn’t want to go and even die for his faith.  The phrase “stretch forth your hands” refers to death by crucifixion, which history tell us that Peter was crucified upside down because he felt he was unworthy to die like his Savior.

·        Just as we take vows when we are married stating that we are committed to this person “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in times of plenty and in times of need” so is our walk with Christ.  We can’t become a Christ follower and expect a life of “health and wealth” or take a “what is in it for me” attitude.  That is not what following Jesus is all about.  Peter was invited to follow knowing that his walk would end with imprisonment and death.  He followed anyway.  Making a choice to follow Christ means no matter what the cost you are committed to following.   We are not promised anything other than Jesus will walk with us along the way and have our eternal home ready when we arrive.  He will not leave us when times get tough and will bless us with what we need in the moment.

·        I just continue to picture myself sitting with Jesus around the fire when He looks at me eye to eye and says “Follow Me.”  Those eyes are full of love, hope and peace.  I will trust them with my life and quietly answer “I will.”  I say that because I know He loves me.  He loves me enough to die a terrible and humiliating death to pay for my sins and allow me a chance to accept that gift and set my future full of the hope of heaven.  I will give my all because He gave His all for me.  I have chosen to accept His invitation to me to follow Him simply because I love and trust Him more than I do myself.

·        Peter’s initial reaction was probably just like ours would be.

 

John 21:20-22  Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following (the one who also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, “Lord, who is he who betrays You?”)  (21)  Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”  (22)  Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

·        Isn’t that what you would say?  “Hey what about this guy over here, is he going to suffer the same as me?”  We all want life to be fair, equal and have everyone carry the same load as we do.  The truth is life is not that way.  We all have our own story including our own struggles, pains and heartaches that are really unique to us.  Our struggles sometimes are similar, but no one has the exact same story as you.  God created each of us with our own fingerprints and DNA unique to everyone else.  So are the burdens we are asked to bear unique to us.  We however endure exactly what God has planned for us.  Often we venture out of God’s will create our own heartaches, but even then God uses those to form our story.  We are committing to follow Jesus on a personal level regardless of what is required from our neighbor.  He is in control of your life as well as in control of your neighbor’s life. He is the Potter and we are the clay.  Paul described this conflict of looking at others like this to the Roman church.

 

Romans 9:19-21 You will then say to me, “Why does He yet find fault? For who has resisted His will?”  (20)  “No, but, O man, who are you who replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him who formed it, “Why have you made me this way?”  (21)  Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor?

·        That is exactly what Jesus is telling Peter here.  The invitation to “Follow Me” does not come with any guarantees other that “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  You might be called to minister to the homeless in Chicago while I may get called to a beach ministry in Florida.  It is God that is guiding it all.  The invitation did come with a time of questions.  What if??  Our commitment is to follow in good times or bad and will be unique to each of us.  Jesus spelled out this cost of discipleship like this in Luke.

 

 Luke 9:22-26 The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.  (23)  And He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.  (24)  For whoever will save his life shall lose it, but whoever will lose his life for My sake, he shall save it.  (25)  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost?  (26)  For whoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words, the Son of Man shall be ashamed of him when He shall come in His own and in His Father's glory, and that of the holy angels.”

·        First Jesus tells us of His commitment to our relationship and then He explains ours.  He explains our part like this as He asks us to “deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Me.” Denying ourselves means to place His will ahead of our own.  We willingly surrender ourselves over to Him.  That is what it means to follow Jesus.  Once we decide to accept His invitation we pick up our cross daily and follow Him.

·         What is your cross, what has He asked you to bear?  Each of our crosses is different as we each have our own unique story.  Do some carry more than others?  Absolutely!  We are not told to look around, but to pick up our own cross and follow Him.  Is this easy?  Not always, life as a Christ follower can be very difficult but it is worth it in the end.  It can get tiring but Paul encourages us in the Galatian letter to not lose hope but keep on going.

 

Galatians 6:9-10 But we should not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.  (10)  Therefore as we have time, let us do good toward all, especially toward those of the household of faith.

·        There is no place to quit we have work to be doing.  We can take great contentment in knowing that God is in control of our lives and He is using us as a tool to fulfill His will.  A commitment to follow Jesus is a long term one that ends the day we take our last breath on this earth.  Keep your eyes on the prize; heaven is only a short time away.  Don’t give up; don’t ever give up.  You are needed on the front lines of the spiritual battle that is being waged against the church.  There is a work for you to be doing; there is a cross for you to carry.  Choose to follow and never look back because the One who called you is faithful to the end.

 

Heavenly Father thank you for the invitation to follow You, and please help us to have the courage and strength to stay on course until the end.