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John 21.
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I want to speak this morning,
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the Lord helping me,
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on Jesus restores Peter.
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Jesus restores Peter.
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John 21:15-23.
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Lord, help us now.
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John 21:15-23.
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"And when they had finished breakfast,
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Jesus said to Simon Peter,
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'Simon, son of John,
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do you love Me more than these?'
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He said to Him,
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'Yes Lord, You know that I love You.'
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He said to him, 'Feed My lambs.'
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He said to him a second time,
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'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?'
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He said to Him,
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'Yes Lord, You know that I love You.'
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He said to him,
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'Tend My sheep.'
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He said to him a third time,
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'Simon, son of John, do you love Me?'
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Peter was grieved
-
because He said to him the third time,
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'Do you love Me?'
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And he said to Him,
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'Lord, You know everything.
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You know that I love You.'
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Jesus said to him,
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'Feed My sheep.
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Truly, I say to you,
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when you were young,
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you used to dress yourself
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and walk wherever you wanted,
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but when you are old,
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you will stretch out your hands
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and another will dress you
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and carry you where
you do not want to go.'
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This He said to show by what kind of death
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he (that is Peter) was to glorify God.
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And after saying this, He said to him,
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'Follow Me.'
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Peter turned and saw the
disciple whom Jesus loved
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following them,
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the one who had been
reclining at table close to Him,
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who had said, 'Lord, who
is it that will betray you?'
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when Peter saw him, he said to Jesus,
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'Lord, what about this man?'
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Jesus said to him,
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'If it is My will that he
remain until I come,
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what is that to you?
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You follow Me.'
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So the saying spread abroad
among the brothers
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that this disciple was not to die.
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Yet, Jesus did not say to him
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that he was not to die,
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but if it is My will that he
remains until I come,
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what is that to you?"
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During the 40 days
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between the resurrection
and the ascension of Christ,
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where was Jesus?
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Well, He was not as commonly thought
-
on earth continually for
40 days in Jerusalem.
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He's now after the resurrection
what has been called
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the Heavenly Man in Paradise.
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And He will now over 40 days
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make appearances in and around Jerusalem.
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He appears to many.
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That is, He surprised
unannounced appearances.
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He just pops into locked rooms.
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He just suddenly appears here and there.
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Two guys walking on the Emmaus road,
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grieving, sharing,
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suddenly this Stranger appears,
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starts walking with them -
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He's making appearances.
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Resurrection appearances.
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The Gospels say that when they
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were in the upper room at one point,
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He came and stood among them.
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How many appearances were there?
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After the resurrection,
before the ascension?
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Well, 14 are mentioned in the Gospels,
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in the book of Acts, Galatians,
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and 1 Corinthians 15.
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Different days and different times
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the Lord appeared.
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First to Mary Magdalene,
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second to some women
returning from the tomb,
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third to Peter, fourth appearance
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was to the two on the Emmaus road,
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fifth appearance was
to 10 of the disciples
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in the upper room,
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the sixth appearance was 11 of them -
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remember Thomas wasn't
there the first time -
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11 disciples in the upper room,
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the seventh appearance
is this one - John 21.
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The disciples fishing on
the Sea of Tiberius.
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This is here in John 21.
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And there are six more,
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including appearances to James,
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Stephen, Saul of Tarsus,
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and John on the isle of Patmos.
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And then the biggest group
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Paul interestingly mentions
in 1 Corinthians 15,
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how the Lord appeared to over 500
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at one time.
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So here in John 21 is His 7th appearance
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where the disciples are fishing,
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they've gone fishing.
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And virtually all of this
chapter of John 21
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records this appearance,
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this event, this experience
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of the Lord with the disciples
-
and particularly with Peter.
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The entire scene - He comes to all of them
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and He's on the shore, they're fishing,
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He says come, let's have
breakfast together.
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And they recognize that it's the Lord.
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So this account is about Him
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appearing to all of them,
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but then He's got His eye
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particularly on one of them.
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And the entire scene is especially meant
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to restore Peter fully,
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where Peter knows it -
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and not only where he knows it,
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where he feels it
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and he experiences full restoration.
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You know, I'm a baseball fan.
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My son was a good baseball player,
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and Philip Neeley and I,
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we have an annual trip
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to watch one pro baseball game.
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I enjoy baseball.
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We usually talk more about the Gospel
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and the kingdom
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than we do watch baseball,
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but I like baseball.
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A triple in baseball is more rare
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even than a home run.
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Well, Peter had a triple denial of Jesus.
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And remember he went out and did what?
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He wept bitterly.
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If you documented all of Peter's
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major responses to the
Lord Jesus in 3 years,
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where he was right or he was wrong,
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where he was victorious
or he was a failure,
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at the calming of the sea in the boat,
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his response was:
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"Depart from me, Lord,
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for I am a sinful man."
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That's a victory.
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That's a right response.
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And then he says later
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when the Lord asked him:
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"Who do men say that I am?"
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"Peter, what about you?"
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"You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God."
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Victory.
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Right.
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"Flesh and blood have
not revealed this to you.
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My Father in heaven revealed this to you."
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And then, Peter turns around
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this same hour when the
Lord has told them plainly
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He's going to be rejected,
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He's going to suffer and die.
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Peter takes Him aside, and Mark says
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that Peter began to rebuke Him.
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And the Lord interrupts
him and rebukes him
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and says, "Get behind Me, Satan!"
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Failure.
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Peter's failure.
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Walking on the water,
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sinking in unbelief.
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Failure.
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Discussing who's going to be the greatest.
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Failure.
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Self-confidently affirming:
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"I will never fail. I will never deny You.
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Even if everyone else does, I will not."
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Failure.
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He denies the Lord three
times with an oath,
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failure, failure, failure.
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Seven of these nine times were failures,
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like a necklace that you
might have stringed together -
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two nice pearls with seven
ugly thorns on the necklace.
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Well, the pearls are nice
and they're wonderful,
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but it would be better if there
weren't the ugly thorns, right?
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What would that final massive failure
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of denials do to Peter's heart?
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And where did it leave him spiritually?
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We don't know.
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The Gospel writers don't
give us an insight.
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They don't give us details.
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They don't give us Peter's
testimony about it.
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But what happens in the heart and mind
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and emotions and in the soul
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of a believer who stumbles so much?
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Who fails?
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Who in weak moments
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makes wrong choices?
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And is not even themselves?
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And they sin so miserably?
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You know, if the other disciples
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had been around the fire that night
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with Peter warming himself
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and had heard Peter,
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they would have all been shocked.
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Perhaps if they had been there
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he would have been strengthened
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to not deny the Lord, but he does.
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What does a Christian experience
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within the walls of his own heart
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and his own thoughts?
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All Christian experience - good or bad -
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involves and never lacks
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true human emotion, feelings.
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The human drama of experiential realities
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that go on that God sees,
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that you experience,
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and nobody knows it's going on
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when it's happening.
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Wounded, hurting, reeling, doubting.
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What all was Peter experiencing?
We don't know.
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What is certain is this:
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All Christian experience -
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both victories in obedience
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and failures in sin -
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all Christian experience has woven into it
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the human fabric of every real
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human emotion, struggle, and battle.
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Anger.
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Fear.
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Frustration.
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Weak moments of compromise.
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An unrenewed mind
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that in moments doesn't view things right
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and you believe a lie.
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Deep feelings.
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The pull of wrong desires.
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When you know it's wrong
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and you're pulled more toward it
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than away from it.
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Defeat in your heart by wrong choices.
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Hope and sadness,
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small and big consequences.
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Small and big compromises.
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And the sadness with feelings
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of defeat and failure.
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A believer can be left
in such a condition.
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It's like getting the breath
knocked out of you severely.
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You can't function.
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You can't even think clearly for awhile.
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You can't respond,
you can't talk about it.
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The heavens are brass.
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Your mind is clouded
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with feelings and thoughts and struggles.
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You don't even know how to see reality.
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You're left stunned and passive
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and unable to do
anything except feel pain.
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So Peter's condition -
probably some of this
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and much of this in there
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after the resurrection.
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When he realizes the Lord is raised,
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he's astounded, he's amazed.
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You know he had joy.
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But he had to still have baggage.
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And isn't that the process
of sanctification
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when the Lord saves us?
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Sanctification is the Holy Spirit
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dealing with all our baggage.
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A lot of baggage.
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Still regrets that will
hinder Peter's future
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had to have been there.
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If not, why would Jesus
pull him aside here
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not to remind him of his past,
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not to say, hey Peter, remember the fire?
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Remember what you did?
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Remember when our eyes met?
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Remember, Peter?
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The Lord didn't do that.
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Not to remind him of his past,
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but to call him to the future
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and heal him with His love.
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That's what's involved here.
That's what's going on.
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How does the Lord do this?
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There is nothing more beautiful and wise;
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there is no more beautiful and wise
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approach in the Bible
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of personal restoration and revival
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than the Lord's dealings with Peter here.
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What is the Lord's approach and process?
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Well, it's wonderful. Look at v. 12.
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Let's go to IHOP (breakfast restaurant).
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Let's have breakfast, guys.
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What was Peter thinking?
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Apparently, he and the Lord
had not had a sit down yet.
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They had not been able to discuss things.
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And Peter it seemed -
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we don't know what was said -
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but here's a post-resurrection
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restoration breakfast party.
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And they're just going
to eat together first.
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What an approach! It breaks the ice.
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Let's have breakfast.
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This is relational. This is time together.
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And after a fellowship
meal with all of them,
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and an atmosphere of welcome
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and acceptance and peace,
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Jesus then turns His attention one-on-one,
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He turns His heart and His attention
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to Peter for one-on-one ministry.
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And we're going to see beginning in v. 15
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the Lord's call of Peter not to look back,
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but His call of Peter to go forward.
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Onward, upward, out of the lowlands
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of a blistering defeat.
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The higher ground of love and grace.
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What does the Lord say
to Peter to restore him?
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First of all: Love Me.
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Verses 15-17,
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"When they had finished breakfast,
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Jesus said to Simon Peter,
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'Simon, do you love Me more than these?'
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'Yes Lord, You know I love You.'"
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Verse 16,
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"Simon, do you love Me?"
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"Yes Lord, You know I love You."
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Verse 17,
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"Simon, do you love Me?"
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Peter was grieved, but he said,
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"Yes Lord, You know everything.
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You know that I love You."
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Why this broken record of love?
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Peter had a triple denial,
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and here the Lord hits a triple too.
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Do you love Me?
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Whatever failure you've had -
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distance or last week -
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the Lord's word to you right now is:
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Do you love Me?
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Do you love Me?
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Isn't it obvious that Jesus is
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gently blowing on the embers
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of Peter's wounded heart
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to rekindle a mutual love relationship?
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Breakfast is finished with all of them.
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And He sits down with Peter:
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Peter, do you love Me?
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Do you love Me more than these?
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Now what did He mean by that?
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More than these things?
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No, obviously, that's
not what He's saying.
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Do you love Me more
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than you love these other disciples?
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That's not it either.
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It's this: Do you love Me
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more than these other disciples love Me?
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Why would the Lord do that?
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Because Peter, remember,
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had confidently boasted days before:
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If they all forsake You, I won't.
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I'm further along in my
sanctification than these guys are.
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I'll never do it.
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I'll die with You before I deny You.
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Peter confidently stated he would have
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devotion that exceeds theirs.
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Well, you know, it didn't
take death to deny Jesus.
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It only took a servant girl by the fire
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glancing at him and then
taking a second look
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and realizing: Hey, you were with Him!
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You're one of them!
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It only took that for Peter suddenly
-
to deny the Lord three times
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even with an oath.
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That's all it took.
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Peter didn't have the devoted
love he thought he had.
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He wasn't as far along as he thought.
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He didn't see that he
was yet capable of this.
-
He thought more highly
of himself than he should.
-
He boasted of greater love,
-
but he failed the first test.
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And even did what others did not do.
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He denied the Lord three times.
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So certainly, the Lord is
saying to Peter and to us:
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Peter, what about your love for Me now?
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Do you still believe you love Me more
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than the others love Me?
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What's the Lord doing here?
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He's doing heart surgery on Peter here
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to begin the healing balm
-
of restored love.
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It would be hard and humiliating
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to be in Peter's place
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because those feelings
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and human thoughts and emotions
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of how does the Lord really view me now?
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We've not really yet talked about this.
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It's hard to look Him in the eye.
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Because He looked at me after I denied Him
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and that look has haunted me ever since.
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How could I have done it?
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What a fool I was!
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What a failure I've been!
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Where do I stand now?
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Do the other disciples
even want me around?
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Do they trust me?
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Things can't ever be the same.
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As the song says,
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that was then, but this is now.
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What all did Peter feel?
-
Well, we're not clear, but what is clear
-
is wounded Peter wasn't healed yet
-
and Jesus is healing him here.
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In light of his denials, his humiliation,
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his seeing his own heart,
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his tears of repentance,
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where does his love for
the Savior stand now?
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Now, how is loving the Savior
-
when you've sinned against Him
-
and you've failed Him so much?
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Restored love is the need.
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And isn't that the need for all of us?
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Always.
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And it's always the remedy
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for restoration and for
being turned again.
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The Lord Jesus Christ here
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loves Peter tenderly,
patiently, and perfectly,
-
and not only wants Peter to know it,
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He wants Peter to love Him right then.
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That's why He's saying:
Do you love Me, Peter?
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Come on, give Me your love.
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Give Me your heart afresh.
-
He wants Peter's love
restored so Peter will be healed.
-
Now after the third question
(Peter, do you love Me?),
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Peter is grieved.
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What kind of grief was this?
-
It was not the grief of
embarrassment or hurt feelings.
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It was the grief of a sad, tender heart
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who had failed his Lord.
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Feelings of loving sorrow
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mixed with longing for the Lord.
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Christ is drawing Peter
with cords of love here.
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A threefold cord of a question of love.
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Christ - the goodness of God
-
is bringing Peter fully back
-
and it's painful. It's painful.
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This is Gospel surgery at its best.
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Someone said, "Gospel
surgery's always free,
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but it's not always easy."
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Lee Dodd in our church weeks ago
-
one Sunday morning speaking about Peter,
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he said, "It's as if Jesus is applying
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the healing ointment of His love,
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but it's going to sting a bit."
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Have you ever had a nurse
or a doctor tell you that?
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Now this is going to hurt a little.
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The Lord Jesus' questions
were stinging a bit.
-
So Jesus is going for Peter's heart,
-
and guess what, He's going to get it.
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He's going to get it fully back.
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Peter, where does your love
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stand with Me now?
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Because love is stronger than death.
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Love is stronger than a denial.
-
Love is stronger than a failure.
-
Love's stronger than you blowing it
-
and not knowing if you can recover.
-
Could Peter now truly say or not:
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If ever I love Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
-
Peter must face it and answer it.
-
Do you really love Me, Peter?
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Not just with human sentiment
-
and human love, but with divine love.
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The call to love Him.
-
Secondly, verses 15-17.
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The Lord says to Peter,
-
"Shepherd My sheep."
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"Shepherd My sheep."
-
The Lord is not only restoring
Peter's love for Him,
-
He's restoring Peter's
call to future ministry.
-
But don't you think Peter felt inside:
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I'm done.
-
I'm disqualified.
-
How could I?
-
Who could ever listen to me again?
-
Who could ever trust me again?
-
Isn't it profound in a way
-
that the triple denier of Jesus
-
becomes the Apostle to the Jews?
-
I think that's pretty amazing.
-
The Lord links the
threefold call to love Him
-
with a threefold call to
now shepherd His sheep.
-
If you love Me, feed My lambs.
-
If you love Me, tend My sheep.
-
If you love Me, feed My sheep.
-
Now the word "tend" there
-
means to act as a shepherd toward them
-
in all that it means.
-
In every way it means to shepherd
-
and care for them, you do that.
-
If you love Me, this is My
love expressed through you.
-
Tend the sheep.
-
To feed means just that.
-
Give them the rightful nourishment
-
for spiritual health and growth.
-
So, Peter's sermon at Pentecost
-
is the fruit of this exhortation.
-
1 and 2 Peter is the fruit
-
of this exhortation:
-
Peter, feed My sheep. Care for My lambs.
-
Two words used about the sheep here:
-
The first one (sheep)
-
is not the older, more mature sheep.
-
It's the younger smaller sheep.
-
They're not lambs, but they're younger,
-
smaller sheep.
-
Distinct from the older, bigger ones.
-
Peter, you are to give special care
-
to the smaller sheep
-
who have growing needs.
-
You love Me? You care for
these smaller sheep.
-
This is the word "lambs."
-
My lambs - young, new converts.
-
The word is only used in the plural form
-
in the New Testament.
-
These smaller sheep
-
and even the little lambs -
-
your love for Me involves your heart
-
having endearment to them,
-
tenderness toward them,
-
care for them - loving, tender care
-
of My sheep and My lambs.
-
My young ones are of a
special concern to My heart, Peter.
-
And if you love Me,
-
you take care of My sheep.
-
I want them on your heart.
-
Your love for Me is real and applied
-
especially toward the care of My sheep.
-
This says something that's major:
-
Love for the Savior
-
that translates into
real love for His sheep
-
is the first requirement of a pastor.
-
Love for the Savior
-
that translates into real
love for His sheep
-
is the first requirement of a pastor.
-
For every Christian also
-
toward their brethren,
-
because we cannot love God
-
whom we haven't seen,
-
if we don't love the brothers
and sisters we do see.
-
Love Me, Peter!
-
Shepherd My sheep.
-
Third, v. 18-19.
-
Die for Me.
-
You're going to die for Me.
-
When you were young,
-
you went about wherever you wanted -
-
you could go fish, you could come in,
-
you could go wherever you want to,
-
you were independent, you were free.
-
When you're old, it's going
to be a different story.
-
Others are going to gird you
-
and they're going to take you
-
where you in the natural realm
-
would not want to have to go.
-
They're going to take you
where you don't want to go.
-
And John's commentary: This He said
-
signifying to Peter
-
what kind of death he was going to die.
-
Peter's here called to be a martyr.
-
Peter's crucifixion is affirmed
-
in the early centuries
-
by Eusebius, Tertullian, and others.
-
And it's prophesied by Jesus here
-
and it's commented on later by Peter
-
in 2 Peter 1:14.
-
"Since I know that the putting
off of my body will be soon
-
as our Lord Jesus Christ
made clear to me."
-
In two epistles, Peter is shepherding,
-
feeding, tending to the sheep
-
and the lambs in love as his last ministry
-
before he knows where he's going.
-
Called to die as the Lord died.
-
Now we're all called to live unto the Lord
-
and we're all called to be willing to die,
-
and some will be called to die.
-
But whether we live or whether
we die, we're the Lord's.
-
But Peter, this is in your future.
-
So love Me, feed My sheep, care for them,
-
and then, you're going to die like I died.
-
God is glorified in the death of martyrs.
-
If you've never read "Fair Sunshine,"
-
get it and read it.
-
Two ladies in that book -
-
maybe they were both Margaret's -
-
do you remember?
-
One was about 60,
one was a teenager or 20's -
-
two Margaret's.
-
They were caught
-
by the persecuting authorities in Scotland
-
for attending a church
meeting or for owning a Bible.
-
They took them out in the sea
-
and the chained the older one
-
out in the water
-
so she would be drowned
first with the tide.
-
They chained the younger one
-
in a little more shallow water,
-
but it was strategic -
-
so she would have to face
-
and see her sister in the faith die first.
-
And they died victoriously.
-
Some are called to die.
-
Peter's called to die here.
-
Love Me.
-
Feed My sheep.
-
Die for Me.
-
Fourthly, verse 22.
-
Really, 21, "When Peter saw him
-
(that is John) he said to Jesus,
-
'Lord, what about this man?'
-
Jesus said to him,
-
'If it's My will that he
remains until I come,
-
what's that to you? Follow Me.'"
-
Verse 23, "So the saying spread abroad
-
among the brethren..."
-
Here's bad hermeneutics;
-
here's bad Bible interpretation.
-
The saying spread among the brothers
-
that this disciple was not going to die.
-
So it went viral.
-
Things could go viral in that day too.
-
The saying spread abroad
among the brethren
-
that John wasn't going to die.
-
He was going to live till
the Lord comes back.
-
"Yet Jesus did not say to him
-
that he was not going to die,
-
but He said 'if it's My will
-
that he remains until I come,
-
what is that to you?'"
-
The fourth truth in being a disciple:
-
Don't misunderstand the Lord's teaching.
-
Don't misunderstand the Bible.
-
They were guilty of bad hermeneutics here,
-
wrong interpretation of one statement.
-
And it's amazing that even
though John clarified this,
-
Augustine even into the
4th and 5th centuries,
-
Augustine said there were those
-
in the Christian world that still believed
-
John was somewhere in hiding alive
-
and wasn't dead yet.
-
Heresy is hard to kill.
-
Heresy often begins right from Scripture.
-
Deceiving spirits, misinterpretation,
-
misunderstanding of Bible verses,
-
listening out of carnal curiosity
-
to bad teachers.
-
I spoke to a Jehovah's Witness recently,
-
in recent weeks,
-
and I said I've got a question for you.
-
Why is it that you don't believe
-
Jesus was bodily raised from the dead
-
even though the Bible
clearly shows that He was?
-
He was physical. They touched Him.
-
And his answer was this:
-
Well, He couldn't have been that
way when He went to heaven.
-
It had to be spiritual
because the Bible says
-
flesh and blood shall not
inherit the kingdom of God.
-
What a proof text of heresy!
-
So we must take heed how we hear.
-
We must take heed what we hear.
-
We must understand and understand
-
and be clear so as not to be misled
-
or mislead.
-
That's why John puts his commentary here
-
so we won't misunderstand
the Lord's teaching.
-
Fifthly, v. 20-22.
-
The Lord tells Peter:
-
Keep your eyes only on Me.
-
Now where do you find that?
-
Well, notice what the
Lord had said to Peter
-
at the end of verse 19.
-
"Follow Me."
-
Follow Me - but what did Peter do?
-
The next sentence says
-
he turned and saw John.
-
The Lord has said, "Follow Me."
-
Peter turns and sees John.
-
Peter is distracted about
God's will for John.
-
Think about it, here's this big context
-
of the Lord restoring Peter in love,
-
calls him again to shepherd the sheep,
-
tells him how he's going to die,
-
and then the Lord says, "Follow Me."
-
Wouldn't that be enough for now?
-
Well, apparently not,
-
because Peter turns and looks at John
-
and says what about him?
-
What about him?
-
Why did Peter do that?
-
It may have been if he realizes
-
he's going to die, he was close to John,
-
he wonders is this his fate too.
-
What are You going to do with John?
-
What about John's future?
-
And Jesus in essence said:
-
What about John?
-
Was I talking about John?
-
Is My business about
John's future your business?
-
Or as we would say:
-
This is on a need-to-know
basis and guess what?
-
What is that to you?
-
Follow Me.
-
See, we're called not to be
distracted by others,
-
and Christ called us -
-
especially by those we love
-
and are closest to.
-
We're not to be distracted by others
-
and their calling, God's will for them,
-
their situations.
-
And Peter was distracted
-
with a viewpoint, an attitude,
-
nosiness, meddling, wondering
-
about what was not his business.
-
How easy is it for people to become
-
a distracting hindrance to
our single-eyed devotion.
-
Our minds can so easily be
-
on other's path more than our own path.
-
If John's future was
Peter's responsibility,
-
Jesus would have mentioned it to Peter.
-
He did not say:
-
Peter, here's your new commission.
-
Love Me, feed My sheep, die for Me,
-
and oh, here's information about John
-
because you're responsible for him also.
-
He didn't say that.
-
Jesus restores the fallen Peter,
-
reaffirms his calling,
-
and has to rebuke the nosy Peter.
-
Peter should leave all distractions alone
-
because they weren't his.
-
What is that to you?
-
What business is that of yours?
-
And how often do we need to hear this?
-
Well, I don't think that church over there
-
is quite doing right.
-
What's that to you?
-
You follow Christ.
-
Well, I don't think they
have the right view
-
of which translation of the Bible to use.
-
What's that? That's none of your business.
-
You follow Christ.
-
Well, I think they're too young
-
to be going to the mission field.
-
How much are we carnally curious
-
about other people's issues
-
when we haven't even
fully dealt with our own
-
and we aren't fully obeying Christ
-
as to what He's shown us to do?
-
Jesus declines to
satisfy Peter's curiosity.
-
It is no business of Peter's
-
what's going to happen to John.
-
Even if the Lord wills
for John to stay alive
-
even to His return,
-
why would Peter even need to know that?
-
He doesn't need to know.
-
He doesn't need to know
anything about John.
-
How much do we need to know
-
about God's purpose and will for others?
-
Even those we're closest to?
-
How much do we really need to know?
-
Elders and pastors need to know.
-
Church leaders need to know more,
-
oftentimes for the protection.
-
But generally speaking,
-
how much do we need to know
-
about God's business
in other people's lives?
-
What is that to you,
O thou nosy Christian?
-
Mind your own business.
-
Keep to your own stuff.
-
You know, one of the greatest examples
-
of this mistake is Josiah.
-
He reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.
-
He became king when he was 8 years old.
-
At 16 years old, the Bible says
-
he began to seek the Lord seriously.
-
He began to seek the God of David.
-
And he began purging Jerusalem
-
of idols and carved images.
-
One of the best kings in Israel's history.
-
And 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles
gives his record.
-
He kept the Passover in Jerusalem.
-
He appointed priests to their offices
-
and encouraged them in the
service of the house of God.
-
He put the ark in the temple
-
that Solomon built.
-
He cut down the altars of Baal.
-
And he was present himself
-
when his men cut those altars to Baal down
-
the Bible says.
-
He told the priests: Consecrate yourselves
-
and prepare for your brothers to do
-
according to the Word
of the Lord by Moses.
-
The singers, the sons of Asaph,
-
were under Josiah's leadership in Israel.
-
And the Bible says,
-
"...No Passover like it had
been kept in Israel
-
since the days of Samuel the prophet."
-
2 Chronicles 35 summarizes Josiah's life.
-
The rest of the acts of Josiah
-
and his good deeds
-
are written in the book of the kings.
-
But you know what?
-
You remember his major misstep.
-
One big misstep cost him his life.
-
He didn't apostatize
and worship the Baals.
-
He didn't love like Solomon
-
loved a bunch of strange women
-
and let them pull his heart away
-
to false gods like Solomon did.
-
What did Josiah do?
-
He didn't mind his own business.
-
He began meddling in
affairs that weren't his.
-
He began to pick a fight with a dog,
-
but the dog didn't want to fight him.
-
But he picked the fight
-
and the dog had to fight him.
-
2 Chronicles says after
Josiah prepared the temple,
-
he heard about Neco, the king of Egypt,
-
who was going to war with someone
-
over near the Euphrates River.
-
And it's not Josiah's business;
it's not his battle.
-
He doesn't have a bone to pick.
-
Israel's welfare is not at stake.
-
But he couldn't leave it alone.
-
Josiah goes out to meet Neco
-
basically to pick a fight
-
when Neco wasn't coming to Israel.
-
And the Bible says, "Neco
sent messengers to Josiah,"
-
and said this: What do we
have to do with you, O king?
-
What do we have to do with each other?
-
I'm not coming against you this day
-
but someone else.
-
Listen, I'm in a hurry. Stop!
-
Because God is with me,
-
lest He destroy you.
-
And here was Josiah's mistake:
-
The Bible says, "Nevertheless,
-
Josiah did not turn away from him."
-
He did not listen to the words of Neco
-
from the mouth of God,
-
but instead he came to fight,
-
and the archer shot Josiah
-
and he died and was buried.
-
And the Bible says all Jerusalem
-
and all Judah mourned for Josiah
-
and Jeremiah the prophet
-
lamented his death.
-
Neco was saying:
-
What is that to you?
-
You worship Jehovah.
-
What is that to you?
This isn't your fight.
-
You're not called to meddle here.
-
Watch meddling.
-
A dear favorite preacher
of mine said one time:
-
Watch out for meddling.
-
Don't meddle in what's not your business.
-
Don't be concerned about stuff
-
that's not for you to fix.
-
You follow Christ.
-
You stay focused on Him
-
and don't let people -
-
even those you love the most -
-
distract you from steadfast,
-
single-eyed obedience.
-
What is that to you, Peter?
-
You follow Me.
-
And that's the final thing
the Lord said to him.
-
Not only: Love Me,
-
feed My sheep,
-
die for Me,
-
mind your own business,
-
but "Follow Me."
-
And the Lord says it twice here:
-
Follow Me.
-
And then at the end He says,
-
"You follow Me."
-
Just follow Me.
-
Love Me,
-
care for My sheep,
-
follow Me, feed them, love them,
-
watch out for them,
-
don't let anyone mess with My bride,
-
shepherd My sheep.
-
Follow Me.
-
And in closing, let's just think about
-
a couple of thoughts here.
-
First lesson is this:
-
Restoration for a backslider -
-
restoration for a failed disciple.
-
Restoration and not defeat
-
is Christ's purpose for every one of us.
-
You may have come here
-
out of a recent fall, out of defeat.
-
Maybe for months, you've
been in bad state.
-
Disappointments, failures,
-
secret things.
-
The Lord Jesus Christ says to you
-
this morning in your condition:
-
Love Me!
-
I want your heart's love.
-
Love Me.
-
Forget the past.
-
I'll clean you up.
-
I'm going to have those shepherd you,
-
care for you.
-
You may be the weakest lamb.
-
Just love Me. That's where you start.
-
Just love Him.
-
Just love Him.
-
Restoration, and not defeat,
-
is God's purpose for every child of God -
-
the younger sheep
-
down to the weakest lamb.
-
Secondly, failures don't disqualify you
-
necessarily from future growth
-
and future ministry.
-
Some failures will put people
-
properly out of the ministry.
-
But that's a small category, isn't it.
-
But failures - the worst of them -
-
don't disqualify you
-
from being restored in the love of Christ,
-
from following Him,
-
and being a blessing to love others
-
because you love Him.
-
Thirdly, it's the Gospel alone,
-
the love of Christ alone for His own
-
that is the healing remedy for anyone
-
who has fallen.
-
Backslider, I'll say what
Spurgeon said one time.
-
He lifted up his voice and said
-
there's a backslider here today.
-
Come back home.
-
And I say that to you today.
-
Backslider, love Him.
-
Follow Him.
-
How deep the Father's love for us!
-
Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus.
-
Let's sing that.