What a wonderful thought and what a wonderful line that each of those verses ends with.
"If ever I love thee, my Jesus, 'tis now," that right now we love Him more and more each and every day.
And it's a wonderful thing to gather together with our family in Christ and to sing those wonderful songs each and every week.
As Kevin said earlier, we're so thankful that all of you have taken time this morning to be with us and to worship the Lord together with us.
If this is your first time with us or the first time in a long time, we'd like to just have a record of your visit. There is a visitor's card in the seat just in front of you. If you would take that and just fill it out with your name or whatever information you'd like to give, just drop that in the box there in the foyer.
We'd love to be able to communicate with you a little bit more and are so thankful that you took time to be with us this morning.
I want to give a couple quick updates and announcements, and then we'll move into our prayer time this morning.
First of all, our Bible studies began this past week, Wednesday night at 7 for the ladies and then just a general Bible study on Thursday morning. What a wonderful time that we had together. I know the ladies had a wonderful time. They had, I think, 36 or 37 ladies signed up, and they're with them. I think we've got 22 or 23 on Thursday morning. Just wonderful groups, and we had a great time together in those Bible studies.
If you would like to be a part of those, we'd love to invite you to come out and join us for those. Again, that's Wednesday night, ladies at 7, and then just a general Bible study, men, ladies, whoever is able to, on Thursday morning at 10. Both of those Bible studies are focused in the book of Psalms, and it's just a wonderful time to study the book of Psalms together.
Quick announcement that I want to make this morning. We made this announcement in Sunday school, but just as a reminder for everybody, we are beginning our new Sunday school curriculum, not next week, but the following week.
For our adult Sunday school classes, we're going to split into two different studies, and you're welcome to join either study that you would like to. We're going to divide those just by that topic. I think the first one that we've got up on the screen is "Humbled and Hopeful," a study in the book of Job.
Abram Beck and I will be teaching that one, alternating our weeks, "Humbled and Hopeful" in the book of Job. Then we'll have a second study that'll be "Supreme," putting Christ first. That's a study in the book of Colossians, and Brother Tim Goodman and Brother Dave Clark will be heading that up and studying through the book of Colossians for the next quarter or so.
There are two sign-up sheets in the foyer for those. The reason we've got sign-up sheets out there is twofold. Number one, we want to make sure everybody gets a book. There are some already ordered. We ordered a stack of each of those. Those are in the connection point. Also, we want to make sure that these classes are divided about as evenly as we can. We don't want to have 30 in one class and five or six in the other.
We want to make sure that we divide this about as evenly as we can, and so we'll do that through a sign-up sheet there in the foyer. If you do, put your name down on that sign-up sheet. You're more than welcome to go ahead and grab one of those books from the connection point and take that home with you.
We'll be starting that not this coming Sunday but the following Sunday after that. We're excited to be able to start those studies together.
Here, we're going to go ahead and go to the Lord in prayer this morning, be in prayer for our service, and be in prayer for all the Lord has in store for us.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for just a wonderful opportunity it is to gather together with our family in Christ, to gather together with our brothers and sisters, to share that joy of fellowship together.
I pray that you would allow us, as we go throughout this week, to be encouraged, to be comforted, to be guided, and just to be pushed forward by the fellowship that we experience here this morning, the teaching that we have from your word, and just the wonderful testimony and music that we'll hear.
I pray that you'd be with our service this morning. I pray that you'd be with everything that we do and everything that we say. May we honor and glorify you through it all. I pray that you would speak to each and every heart who's here. I pray that you would guide us and draw us closer to you this morning.
In your name, I pray. Amen.
Alright, let's go ahead and take our Bibles this morning to the book of John in chapter number 21.
The book of John in chapter number 21. Last week we went through what we've been talking about, and as we saw on the screen, the table. Now we're going to see something different here.
I thought I'd get a reaction out of some of you if I put this up here. Are you Pentecostal? It's a Baptist church. How can we say that? How can we use that word?
What we're going to talk about over the next couple of weeks is not a denomination and not a theology necessarily, but we're going to talk about those days following the resurrection of Christ. Because I think they're very important times and very important things for us to be able to think about.
Very important for us to be able to recognize what it is the Lord did in the life of the disciples to prepare them and put them in a place where they were ready for that day of Pentecost. For that day where 3,000 people came to know the Lord and the Lord began to multiply the church and began to do a great work through the book of Acts as we'll read about.
But today we start in John chapter 21. We look at a unique story, I think, in Scripture. Because if we look at the book of Acts, if we understand the events that have happened and led up to this, if we're in John chapter 21, we talked before Easter, John 14 and John 15 specifically.
We talked about the Last Supper, the last time Christ would ever meet together with his disciples and the final instructions that he gave to them, the final encouragements that he gave to them. And much of it was about take your eyes off of what's happening right now and look to the future, right?
That regardless of what happens in your life, regardless of what's going on at the moment, you have a hope of eternity. That's what John 14 tells us, right? Let not your heart be troubled. Don't worry about what's happening right now. He said, but I go to prepare a place for you. There is an eternity that is waiting for you past this place.
Then we saw, again, Christ live through example. We saw his servant leadership in the sense that he went to each person around that table and he began to wash their feet. Not just the feet of those who had followed him and those that were good to him and loyal to him and faithful, but he went and he washed the feet of those who would betray him.
He washed the feet of those who would deny that they ever knew him. And it gives us an example of how to live our life. He gives us an example of how we are to live. He's sending out his disciples not to be kings and rulers over the world, but instead as leaders that are supposed to serve those who are around them.
Now, we went through last week and we talked about the death of Christ and we talked about how he was taken in the garden, how he was beaten, he was tortured. And by the time he made his way to the cross, the Bible and the scripture teaches us that he was unrecognizable.
Not unrecognizable as Jesus the Messiah, but unrecognizable as a human being. You didn't know that it was a man. He endured all this. He was crucified on the cross. He was put into the ground. And three days later, he rises from the dead. And that's what we celebrated last week on Easter.
But now we have a time of uncertainty for the apostles. We have a time of uncertainty. Many of them believe right away that he was risen, that he was resurrected. Peter and John go to the tomb and they, and isn't it amazing in the book of John? I don't know about you, but it's fun to look at these things.
It's in the book of John only that's recorded that Peter and John run and they race as soon as they hear that Jesus is risen. They run to the tomb and it's only in John that John specifically points out that he beat Peter to the tomb. He ran faster than, anyway, I don't know. Those kinds of things are fun for me.
John has to make sure he points that out for all of history and all of eternity. Everybody knows John's faster. But anyway, so they go to the tomb, they find him, they find that he's resurrected and that the tomb is empty.
And then we see over the next several days and throughout the next several weeks, Jesus is going to appear. He appears again and again to his apostles and to his disciples. He appears to 11, or I'm sorry, to 10. We know that Judas isn't there and we also know that Thomas is gone as well.
And remember, Thomas hears that Jesus is resurrected and that he's appeared, but he won't believe it until he can put his hands in the wounds of Christ, which he's later given an opportunity to do. But what we see is Jesus appearing to his apostles, appearing to his disciples, showing them that he is resurrected, that he is alive, but he also has something for them to do.
And here in John 21, we're going to specifically look at the way that Christ gives Peter an instruction for what's supposed to happen next. We talked about Peter a couple of weeks ago. If we know anything about Peter, he's the one that's always talking, isn't he? He's always got something to say.
He's always got something that he needs to, it just seems like it can't stay inside, can it? He's got to say it. It's got to come out. And sometimes he puts his foot in his mouth and sometimes he doesn't say the right things, but we know that his heart is in the right place. His desire is to defend Christ. His desire is to share the gospel. His desire is to continue to follow the Lord.
But we're going to pick up in John chapter 21. Jesus has already appeared to his disciples, but it seems that at least Peter and a few others don't quite know what to do next. Because we'll read in the beginning of this chapter that Peter says, "I don't know what else to do. I'm going to go fish." That's what I know. That's what's comfortable for me. That's the life that I live. That's everything that I know. So I'm going to go fish.
And let's pick that up in John chapter 21. Let's read in verse number one. And the Bible says this. He says, "And after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. And on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples.
Simon Peter saith unto them, 'I go fishing.' They said unto him, 'We also go with thee.' They went forth and entered into a ship immediately. But that night they caught nothing. And when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."
And this is a familiar story because nearly the same situation and scenario has happened before. This is almost exactly what happened when Jesus first met Peter three and a half years ago. This is the same story. Peter's gone fishing and he finds Peter the next morning. And what's happened? Peter hasn't caught anything. He hasn't caught any fish.
And Jesus performs a miracle and Jesus does the miraculous. But what we see here is we see that Jesus is getting Peter's attention because Jesus has something for Peter to accomplish. There is something great that Peter is about to be a part of and to partake in.
And of course, we know, having the ability to look back at these events, to know that the day of Pentecost is about to come. We're about to understand that the Holy Spirit is going to come down and fill these men and they're going to experience what it's like to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for the very first time.
And they're going to see thousands and thousands saved. We also know that they're going to go throughout their life and be persecuted and eventually killed for their faith and for what they believe. And Jesus takes this time in chapter 21 to really hammer home a few issues that Peter in particular has here.
So let's go and let's read down further in the chapter in John chapter 21 and let's go down here to verse number 15. So the miraculous has happened and he gathers back together with his disciples in verse 15.
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" And he saith unto him, "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." He said unto him, "Feed my lambs."
And he saith unto 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."
And he saith unto him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" And 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."
We're stopping to address these few verses for just a moment. Jesus goes to Peter, and he's there with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee, and they've made their dinner and they've eaten, and now Jesus turns his attention to Peter.
And he asks Peter a simple question. He said, "Peter, lovest thou me more than these?" There's a lot of speculation as to exactly what Jesus means here. I think more than likely he's talking about this life. He's talking about the life of Simon Peter that he had always known.
The life of Simon Peter the fisherman. He asked Peter, he says, "Do you love me more than you love this life of fishing and catching fish and living your life in this way?" Peter had a, what probably was a very comfortable, a very average and normal life before Christ came.
And as soon as Jesus comes to Peter and he calls him to be his disciple, everything changes. Peter now faces persecution that he had never faced before. He now faces pressures in his life that he had never faced before.
And so Peter has a challenge that's awaiting him. He has a question to answer. Is he going to go back to what's easy? Is he going to go back to the things that he knows and the things that are comfortable? Or is he going to continue to follow Christ?
And he asks him this question. He said, he asked him, "Peter, lovest thou me more than these?" And what's Peter's answer? He said, "Of course. Of course I love you more."
Now, what we don't see because we read this in our English language, the words that Peter and Jesus are using are two different words. Jesus is asking Peter, he said, "Do you have this devout and devoted love for me?"
And essentially in our English vocabulary, Peter answers back to Jesus. He says, "Oh yeah, yeah, I like you a lot." Now, I don't know about you, but that'd be a little different. If I went home to my wife and I say, "I love you so much." And she says, "I like you too. You're alright. You're fine."
She might, I don't know. Who knows what happens when we get home, but I'm going to get myself in trouble. I should move on. But that's what's happening between Peter and Jesus.
That's what's happening between Peter and Jesus. And we don't see that because of the language that we read it in, but that's essentially what he's doing. They're using two different words that are on two different levels.
And Jesus is asking Peter, he said, "Are you devoted to me enough to the point where you would give your life and where you're going to sacrifice everything that you have to follow what I ask you to do?"
And Peter says, "I followed you for three years. Let's see what happens next." And he gives him the instruction. What is the instruction that Christ gives to Peter afterwards? He says, "Feed my sheep, feed my lambs."
He said, "There's something that I want you to do. There's something that's prepared for you." And when we look at this chapter, and when we go to the first and the beginning of the second chapters of the book of Acts, the question that we're really looking at, and we put this on the screen here, is we're looking toward that day of Pentecost.
We're looking towards the great things that the Lord is trying to do. And the question is, are we prepared for that? Are we prepared for the Lord to do great things in our life? Are we prepared for the Lord to do great things in our church?
Are we prepared for the Lord to use us in great ways that we didn't expect? If you're looking at Peter on the Sea of Galilee fishing, after he says, "I don't know what else to do," Peter is not expecting to preach to crowds of thousands and to see 3,000 people get saved in a day.
Peter is not expecting this. Peter's also not prepared for it. He's not ready. But the Lord is going to use these chapters to prepare him and to get him ready and get him to that point.
And I think what we're looking at here is we're looking at Peter and Jesus asks him this question, "Do you love me? Do you truly have that devotion and that care? Are you truly committed to this?"
And I think if we're looking at our life, if we're saying, "Are we ready for the great things that God is trying to do in and through us?" Now, we're not talking about the fact that God is going to somehow make you wealthy and somehow give you perfect health. That's not what we're talking about.
We're talking about the fact that God is trying to use you in your life. Sometimes God uses the toughest things that you go through to be the greatest glory that's shown to Him. Sometimes God uses those trials and difficulties, and that's what God is trying to do.
Every one of the men that He is addressing right now are going to be killed for their faith except for one. And they're going to try to do that. Every one of them are going to lose their life.
And so when Jesus asks for this commitment and when He looks toward the future and says, "Are you prepared for what's coming? Are you prepared for the Lord to do great things in your life?" He is not saying, "Are you prepared to be healthy and wealthy?"
He's not asking for that. He's saying, "Are you ready to be used? Are you ready for God to do great things in and through you?"
And so as we look at these disciples and the way that Christ prepares them for this moment, we first see the commitment that's tested. We see Christ come to Peter and say, "Are you committed to this? Is this something that you're going to do for now and then maybe not later? Is this something you did for three years because I was in front of you, but now that I'm going to be taken back to heaven, you're going to kind of give it up and it's going to be just a time and a phase in your life?"
He said, "Are you committed to this?" And when I look at this and when each of us look at this passage of Scripture, I think it's important that we answer that question for ourselves.
This faith that we have, how grounded and settled is it? How important is it? How valuable is it to us? How dedicated are we to it? Understanding that we live in a world and a culture and a society that really, if we're going to be honest, we don't face very much pressure as a Christian in America today.
Now that pressure increases over time and that pressure has changed over even the last few years. But we don't really face that much persecution. We're not in fear of our life because of what we believe. There is very little that we face today that compares at all to what Christians throughout the centuries have faced throughout the world.
But we look at ourselves and say, "Where does our commitment level stack up against others?" And that's what Jesus is asking Peter. He says, "Are you devoted to this? Are you committed to this? Or is this just simply something that you're interested in for the moment?"
And Peter says, "I'm committed, I'm devoted." And he asked him three times. Three times he comes to Peter and he says, "Peter, do you love me? Do you love me more than you love these?"
Finally, that third time, Peter gets frustrated and he says, "You know everything there is to know. You are God. You know what I think. You know what I feel. Why do you keep asking me this question?"
It's frustrating to be asked the same question over and over again. I have an almost two-year-old at home, so I know all about that. I've already answered that question. I told you.
But that's what Peter's facing. Jesus keeps asking him the same question. He keeps giving the same answer. He says, "I don't know what else you want me to say. I don't know what else you want me to do."
And Jesus says, and he tells Peter, he says, "You have a responsibility." He is going to place onto Peter the responsibility, as he puts it, "to feed my sheep, to feed my lambs."
As we look at the responsibility that the Lord has placed in our lives, it's to feed the sheep. It's to feed the lambs. God has placed around us people who are in need of our help. Sometimes that's physical help. Sometimes it's financial help. Sometimes it's spiritual help and guidance.
God has placed a family around you that God has given and God has called you to be that spiritual influence in their life. God has called you to be the one who spiritually feeds and helps continue to grow those young lives.
As we look around on a Sunday like this, I love the first Sunday of the month where we get to have the kids in with us. And I think, I was just telling somebody last week, every single time that we have the kids in here with us on a Sunday morning, I think we see more and more attention.
We see kids really, really getting into the service and what's happening here. And I know that that's difficult for some young kids. It's difficult for some of you older people too, isn't it? And it's difficult for all of us.
But we see the opportunity that we have. We look around the room and we see the children that God has placed and entrusted in our care as a family and as a church. And God says, "These are the lambs that I've given you. These are the sheep that I've given you to feed."
He says, "Your responsibility is to be that shepherd. Your responsibility is to go out to care and to guide and to feed. This is what the Lord has called you to do."
And He tells Peter, He says, "Peter, this is not about you. This is about you growing up those that the Lord has placed in your care."
Let's continue to read in this passage, John chapter 21, and let's start here in verse number 17.
And 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."
Verily, verily, I said to thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself and walkest wither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thine hands and others shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said unto him, "Follow me."
And Jesus gives Peter some, Peter didn't quite understand what it meant at the time, but some really difficult news. He says, "Peter, there is a time in your life where you were young and you were strong and you had it all together. You could kind of do things on your own.
There's going to come a day where people are going to come and they're going to take you and they're going to take you to places that you don't want to go." He's telling Peter there's going to be a time in your life where you're going to be taken and you're going to be killed for your faith.
And as we know from history, Peter is taken eventually and they're going to crucify him. And what does Peter say? "I'm not worthy for that." And they crucify Peter upside down. And what a terrible and awful death that Peter experienced.
What Jesus is telling him here is again, this is going to take sacrifice. This is not about you being great and wonderful and everything being happy and wonderful in your life. He said, "This is about you dedicating yourself to something that is greater than you. To something that is greater than your life and your problems.
It is about committing yourself to what the Lord is trying to do in the world." But as soon as this message is given to Peter, as soon as he hears about the fact that his life is someday going to be taken from him and he's going to have to suffer for his faith, here's what he does.
Look here in chapter 21 in verse number 20. And Peter turning about seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following. And again, just like I said, John talked about himself outrunning Peter. This is another thing that John does. He calls himself in the book of John the disciple whom Jesus loved.
The disciple whom Jesus loved following in verse number 20, which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, "Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?"
Verse 21. And Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, "Lord, what shall this man do?" Here's what Peter does. Peter's just been told that his faith and his commitment to the gospel is going to cost him his life. He is going to die for what he believes in.
And so what does he do? He turns around and he looks at John. Again, the disciple whom Jesus loved. The one who's just as close to Christ as Peter is. And Peter says, "What about him? What is he going to do? I'm going to be taken. I'm going to be killed and they're going to take my life because of what I believe in. What are you going to ask him to do?"
And it's human nature, isn't it? It's human nature for us to look at what God has called us to do. To look at the challenges that we're going to face. To look at the difficulties that arise in our life and automatically look around at everybody else and say, "Well, what about that person? Why don't they have to go through it? Why don't they have to struggle the way that I have to struggle? Why don't they have to go through the things that I have to go through?"
And Jesus gives Peter an answer here. He tells Peter, we're going to read it in just a second. He said, "I know this is a natural tendency for you. I know this is a human reaction to say, 'Hey, things in my life are bad. Things in my life are tough. Why doesn't everybody else have to experience the same thing?'"
Because that's our natural tendency, isn't it? One of two ways. When something bad goes on in our life, we either look at God and say, "Why do I have to do this?" Or we look around and say, "Why don't they have to do this?"
That's who we are. It's our human nature. But Jesus goes to Peter and after he's asked this question and we read down again in verse number 21, we'll start there. He says this, "Then Peter, I'm sorry, verse number 21, Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, 'Lord, and what shall this man do?'"
Verse 22, "And Jesus saying to him, 'If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.'"
And he says, "Peter, turning, looking to John," he says, "If you're going to ask me to die, what are you going to ask him to do?" Jesus says, "If I want him to live forever, if I want him to live his life out until I come back, what is that to you? Follow me."
And he gets back to the original question that he asked Peter or the original command that he gave to Peter. He said, "Peter, your instruction is to follow me."
And if we look at that simple phrase, "Follow me," when the Lord asks us to follow Him, it has nothing to do with our circumstance. It has nothing to do with those who are around me. He says, "You individually make your choice to follow me."
It doesn't matter what anybody else does. It doesn't matter what's going on around you. The command is given to you and you individually. You get to make that choice.
And we look at this opportunity that Peter is about to be given. Peter doesn't know that Pentecost is coming. Peter doesn't know and understand that he's going to be used in such a great way.
But he's given a choice and he's given an opportunity. Jesus comes to him and he says, "I'm going to ask you for everything. Follow me. Don't worry about what everybody else does. Don't worry about what's going on around you.
Don't worry about what I ask that other person to do. You make this choice and this decision for yourself."
And as we look at that in our hearts, in our lives, I think about that. I think about the children and the teenagers that we have in this room. Those that were given the privilege and the opportunity to grow up in a church like this.
To hear the gospel for themselves. To hear the truth and to be under preaching and teaching on a weekly basis. Understand the command to follow me is not a command just to your family as a whole. It is a command to each and every one of us individually.
And as we look at the children and the young people that the Lord has given to us, they have to answer that question. They have to answer that call. Will they follow on their own?
It's not about whether mom and dad are in church. It's not about whether grandparents were there every week next to us. It's about whether we individually have made the choice to follow Christ.
And he's given us this instruction and he's given us this opportunity. And as Peter looks and he says, "If I have to die for you, what's John going to do?" And Jesus says, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because your instructions, because your command has nothing to do with what he does.
It has nothing to do with what I ask him to complete for me." And Peter doesn't yet understand what's waiting for him, but he's being given the instructions.
As we think about this chapter, this is what Christ is doing. He's helping us to prepare and to get ready for the great things that He is trying to do. He is trying to do great things in our life, but we have to be prepared and we have to be ready for that.
We saw at the beginning of this chapter, He asked him, "Do you love me? Are you committed to this? Is this something that just happens now and then you'll forget about it later? Or do you truly commit to the faith that I have given to you? Feed my sheep."
The responsibility, it's not about me. It's not building up what I can build. It's not about gaining and accumulating what I can. It is about giving to others. It's about finding those in need.
It's about helping those that God has placed in the circle of influence that I have. And then as Peter in his own human nature looks around and says, "What about him? You're asking me to do something so difficult. Why don't you ask them to do something?"
Jesus says, "It's not about you and them. It's not a competition. It is not about whether your problems stack up against their problems. It is about whether or not God is enough to carry you through what He has asked you to do."
As we see Peter continue on and react to this, let's go down in verse number 21 again in chapter 21. Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?"
And Jesus saith unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me."
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus saith not unto him, "He shall not die," but "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"
This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
As we finish this morning, I want us to stop and look at something. We look at what Peter asks. Peter says, "If you're going to ask me to die, if you're going to bring such trial and difficulty in my life, what are you going to ask John to do?"
We want our problems to stack up against everybody else's problems. If I have to go through it, why don't they have to go through it? Why do they get the advantage? Why does everything seem to go their way?
And Peter's right. Peter is going to be crucified upside down for the faith that he has in the gospel. He's also right in the Bible. He's right in the fact that John is the only one of the apostles. He's the only one that is not going to be put to death for his faith.
You understand, John is given a very different way of responsibility. See, they're going to try to kill John. They're going to try to put him to death, but it won't work. And he's going to suffer with those injuries and those afflictions and those burns for the rest of his life.
And eventually, because they couldn't put him to death, they're going to exile him. They're going to put him by himself on the island called Patmos. And John is going to live out the rest of his life on that island in exile, away from everything else that he knew, away from everyone else that he had in his life.
And God is going to use him not to preach to the 3,000 at the day of Pentecost like Peter will see be used so greatly in the book of Acts. John is going to be used to write books of Scripture.
He's going to write this gospel. He's going to write the three books of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John. He's going to write the book of Revelation. He's going to do all of this because God has placed on him a certain responsibility.
And it is important for us to understand that God has not called all of us to the same path. He's not called all of us to the same difficulties. He's not called all of us to the same purpose. But God has that plan and that path.
And He's preparing us and He's getting us ready. He's getting us ready to do the work that He wants to do in the world. We see here in just a few days the day of Pentecost will come. Thousands will be saved. The gospel will spread around the world from that day forth.
God will come down and He will indwell us with the Holy Spirit and that amazing work. But it all begins with the preparation that we see here in John 21.
Are we ready for that? Do we have the commitment? "Lovest thou me more than these?" Do we understand that this life is not about us? It's not about accumulating. It's about giving.
It's about giving the wisdom and the experience. It's about giving of what the Lord has blessed us with. And then understanding that it is not about us versus somebody else. It's not about us.
It's not our problems weighed against their problems. It is us following the simple command, "Follow me." It's all we're asked to do. It's simple, but it's not easy.
The path that John would follow, the path that Peter would follow, both would cost them dearly. But the command is simple and straightforward. Will we follow the Lord?
Let's bow our heads and close our eyes this morning. And as we look at these few verses that we've read from the book of John, I pray that the Lord has spoken to our hearts.
I pray that there's something in these passages that God has used to prick us, to encourage us, to be more devout in our faith, to be more aware of the ways that the Lord wants to use us in the world, to stop our comparisons one to another, or simply to make that commitment that we will follow Him.
And as we go to the Lord in prayer this morning, I'll just ask a couple of quick questions and then we'll have a time of invitation.
How many of us would say this morning that we know for sure that we have a home in heaven someday? It's such a wonderful blessing to know that we have our eternity settled.
How many of us just by a raise of our hands would say, "I know that that's the case for me. I know that I have a home in heaven. I know that I'm saved." Would we raise our hands together?
Thank you so much. You can put your hands down. Now with every head bowed and every eye closed, I would ask the same question for those who just don't know that for sure.
How many of you would say this morning, "I don't know for sure that I have that home in heaven that Jesus talks about in John 14. I don't know that for sure, but I would like to know."
Everybody's heads are bowed and eyes are closed. If that's you, would you just quietly lift up your hand and then put it right back down? If that's you.
Thank you so much. For the rest of us, I hope that the Lord has spoken to our hearts this morning. And as we go to a time of invitation, I'll give just a few moments if we'd like to use the altar or pray there at our seats.
Let's take this time to speak with the Lord about what He has spoken to us about.
Let's stand together this morning, and as we stand and as the music plays, we'll take just a few moments of invitation this morning.
Let's sing that chorus together. "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided, no turning back."
You may be seated this morning. Men, if you'd come forward to help with the Lord's Supper.
As we move forward in our service this morning, as we do on the first Sunday of each month, as we observe the Lord's Supper, we've talked much about this here in the last few weeks leading up to Easter.
This is the time that the Lord came and spoke with His disciples, gave them instruction, comforted them, and assured them that eternity was in store for them.
And as we look back here at this time of communion, this is our opportunity to look back, to be thankful and grateful for what the Lord has done for us, thankful and grateful for the way that He has shed His blood, given of Himself, and paid the debt for our sins.
And we'll read these verses here from 1 Corinthians 11, starting in verse number 23. He says, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He break it and said, 'Take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.'"
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He come."
And this is our opportunity, as we do once a month, to remember the Lord's suffering for us, to remember what He gave for each and every one of us.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Let's go to the Lord in prayer this morning, and then we'll distribute the elements.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your sacrifice for us. For the way that You gave of Yourself not because You had to, but simply because You loved us.
Thank You for showing Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy to each and every one through Your sacrifice on the cross. I pray that we would take this time to thank You, to be grateful, and to remember all that You've done for us.
In Your name, I pray. Amen.
And when He had given thanks, He break it and said, "Take ye, this is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me."
As we thank the Lord for His broken body, ask for Brother Dave Landis if you would pray for us this morning.
"This do in remembrance of Him."
As we thank the Lord for the blood that He shed and the cup that it symbolizes. Tim, would you pray for us this morning?
Amen.
"This do in remembrance of Him."
We're so thankful that you decided to join us here this morning. We're excited this morning that we have Brooklyn to be baptized.
We're going to ask her if she would make her way onto the back to get ready for that. In just a moment, we'll have a baptism this morning, and we're so excited that the Lord is working in the hearts of so many of our young people towards salvation.
We're so thankful for that. If you would, just stand with me this morning. We're going to sing out "Family of God."
If we've got the words this morning, we'll sing "Family of God."
There we go.
You can hear me now? Alright, good.
Well, we're so thankful, as I said, the way that the Lord has led in so many of the young people in our church's lives to help them to recognize and understand their need for the gospel and the power of Christ and His death for salvation.
And we're so excited this morning that Brooklyn got that settled last week, and we're so thankful for the way that the Lord has worked in her life.
So Brooklyn, this morning, have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?
Alright. You can hold my wrist right there.
Well, upon your public profession of your faith in Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Buried in the likeness of His death, raised in the likeness of His resurrection.
Let's give her a hand. Good job.
Alright. Well, we are so thankful that you took your time to be here this morning. We will have a service again tonight at 6 o'clock.
So if you're able to be here, be with us. We're going to take some time, pray over our prayer list, and it's a wonderful time together with our church family.
If you would, stand together with me this morning. We're going to be dismissed in a word of prayer.
Brother Dave Flandes, would you close us in a word of prayer this morning?
on Apr 08, 2024
