From Fisherman to Shepherd

Well, good morning, church family.

This is Pastor Sam checking in with you from vacation.

My family and I very much look forward to being back with you next Sunday worshiping

together.

But until then, let me introduce to you a very special guest.

Ed Upton is the Senior Director of the Church Ambassador Network of Texas.

He is an elder at Redemption City Church in Fort Worth.

He's also served as Vice President at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth.

He has served on the staff of the Executive Committee of our Southern Baptist Convention.

He has served on the staff of two of our largest SBC churches, Cross Church in Arkansas

under Pastor Ronnie Floyd, as well as Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.

Ed pastored in a smaller town, Neosho, Missouri.

He holds his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Southern Seminary in

Louisville, Kentucky.

Ed is a man of the church.

He's a man of God, and he's one of my closest friends on this earth, one of my favorite people.

I believe his family is here with him today.

I hope he's a blessing to y'all.

I know he will be.

Please welcome my friend, Ed Upton.

What a sweet boy.

How we doing?

We good?

He's a liar.

He was not filming that on vacation.

That was in his office.

So we're going to talk to him about that when he gets home, okay?

My goodness gracious.

Are we good?

I need to know, before we start, I need to know how responsive y'all are, because I got

some questions about the sermon, and I want y'all to, will y'all speak back to me if I

ask you questions?

This is yes.

This is yes.

Okay, cool.

All right.

Just making sure.

It's a privilege to be here.

I bring you greetings from Fort Worth.

I bring you greetings from Redemption City Church, which is a church plant that Sam and

Holly helped us plant a few years ago in Fort Worth.

And that we still, we consider First Baptist Henry at a great partner with us in the gospel

work that's going on all across North Texas.

I have known Sam for a few years.

Like he said, we worked together.

And Sam and Holly, I think Eleanor and I would tell you, are some of our closest friends.

And so it is an honor to be here with you.

I like to think that everything good that Sam knows about the church, I taught him.

All the bad, I'm sure he learned somewhere else.

But it wasn't for me.

So you're going to find that out today, hopefully.

So grab your Bibles.

Turn with me to John chapter number 21.

So if you brought a copy, it's a paper Bible.

I've got a paper Bible.

If you got it on your phone, you're not going to bother me if you get your phone out.

John, you're going to bother me if you're scrolling on Facebook, but you're not going

to bother me if you get your phone out and look at scripture.

John chapter number 21 is where we're going to be today.

And while you're turning there, I want to tell you a story.

You guys like stories?

I'll tell you a little bit of a story.

The year 1514, so going way back.

In the year 1514, a middle class farming family in southern Scotland named Knox welcomed a

new baby into their family, a little boy that they named John.

John Knox grew up and when it was time to go off to college, although his family wasn't

super well off, they scraped up the money and they sent him to the University of St.

Andrews.

Sometime after his graduation from the University of St. Andrews, Knox was introduced to a preacher

by the name of George Weissart.

Weissart was, in fact, instrumental in Knox's conversion to Christ.

Knox began preaching after Weissart was martyred by the local cardinal in Scotland.

In fact, when Mary I, first came to power, she was known as Bloody Mary, you might have heard

of her in history.

Knox fled to Geneva where he studied under a man named John Calvin.

After the death of Mary in 1558, amidst a renewed Protestant insurgency in Scotland,

Knox returned to Edinburgh in 1559 and began preaching, despite a price that was thrown at

his head.

Throughout the years following, God used John Knox to see hundreds, even thousands of Scots

professed faith in Christ, Knox was known throughout Scotland as a man who feared God more than

he feared anything or anyone else.

He was known also as a man of prayer.

Another Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, who came to power later in John's life, is reported to

have said that she fears the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.

One of John Knox's more famous prayers that he prayed was simply this, God, give me Scotland

or I die.

He was known for that, God, give me Scotland or I die.

And God granted his request.

God used John Knox.

He used his insatiable desire for his country to rejuvenate the preachers in Scotland and

to start God's churches throughout the nations, thus in turn reforming the church in Scotland.

Through God's providence, John's legacy includes some 750,000 believers in Scotland, over 3 million

in the United States, and countless more worldwide, all starting with someone who simply had the

desire to see his country come to Christ.

Praying the prayer, God, give me Scotland or I die.

I think that John's life and his prayer carries implications for us today as we look at John

John 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21.

And so what I want to do is I'm going to read the passage.

I'm a big believer.

Let's read the whole passage we're going to look at together.

Then we're going to come back and let's kind of chop it up and walk through it as we go.

Good?

Yes?

All right.

So John 21, starting in verse number one, and I'm going to read.

I think it's on the screens, but I don't have the clicker.

So if it's not, just follow along in the Bible.

We've all got Bibles, right?

John 21, verse one.

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he

revealed himself in this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Canaan and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee,

and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing.

They said to him, we will go with you.

And they went out and got into the boat.

But that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that

it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them, children, do you have any fish?

And they answered him, no.

He said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.

So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because of the quantity

of fish.

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, it is the Lord.

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped

for work, and threw himself into the sea.

The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far

from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place with fish laid out on it and bread.

Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish that you have just caught.

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, 153 of them.

And although there were many, the net was not torn.

Jesus then said to them, come and have breakfast.

Now none of the disciples dared ask him, who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.

This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised

from the dead.

Verse 15.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you

love me more than these?

And he said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, feed my lambs.

He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, tend my sheep.

Verse 17.

He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

And Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, feed my sheep.

Would you pray with me this morning as we get started?

Father, we declare to you this morning that there is none like you.

There is none greater than you in the heavens or on the earth.

And so, Father, it is with that attitude that we come before you this morning,

and we ask very humbly that you would speak to us, that you would teach us.

Father, we pray that you would use this time to deepen our affections for your word,

to deepen our affections for you.

It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

All right, so John 21, right?

I want to give you some background on kind of what we're looking at in John 21,

and we're going to work through it together. You with me?

So as we get into John 21, right before we come to these men,

they're gathered by the Sea of Tiberias.

We kind of see in the chapters leading up to this the death and the resurrection of Jesus,

as well as him appearing to the disciples a couple of times.

You with me, right?

The most recent being in the chapter before this,

you see Jesus appear to Thomas, right?

Doubting Thomas.

You can, you know, put your fingers, see my wounds, put your fingers in my wounds,

and you can see that I'm real and that I'm really here.

So if you keep in mind that there's only about 40 days between the resurrection of Christ

and his ascension into heaven, which is what we see in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

you've got to believe that these guys who are gathered here by the Sea of Tiberias

are probably a little shell-shocked over the events of the last month, right?

Just a little bit shell-shocked over what's going on.

I mean, they've spent the last three years of their lives living with Jesus every day.

They gave up everything they had.

They followed him.

When he first called these men, you remember,

Jesus instructed them to leave everything behind,

their families, their livelihoods, everything, and follow him.

In fact, you see Matthew and Mark in the Gospels,

you see in Matthew and Mark, excuse me, in the Gospels,

two of the disciples leave their father, right?

They left everything.

James and John left their father to go be with Jesus,

three years with Jesus, spent watching him heal the sick and raise the dead

and comfort and encourage people,

preach to the masses about the glory of God,

all culminating in his murder at the hands of the Jews and the Romans.

Okay, so I've got to believe there's some shell-shockedness going on here.

Their heads are no doubt spinning at the events of the last 40 days.

But truthfully, if we're looking at kind of the life of these men

and what they've been through the last three years,

this should not have been a surprise to them, right?

We know that Jesus had been talking to them about his death for a while.

In Mark chapter 14, you see Jesus tell the disciples,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

you will all fall away for it is written,

I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, he says, I will go before you to Galilee.

Then in Mark chapter 16, verse 7,

Mark 16:7

the angel at the tomb instructs Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James,

to go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.

There you will see him just as he told you.

So he's telling them that he was going to meet them in Galilee.

He's giving them instruction about what is coming

and what they are to do when it happens.

So when we get into John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

it really should be of no surprise that we see these men gathered by the Sea of Tiberias

or more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee.

What is surprising here, though,

about this entire episode that you see in John 21

is the picture that's being painted for us here by John.

There is some surprise at what's going on within John 21

and within the picture that we are seeing.

So if you look back with me to John 21, verses 1 and 2,

John 21:1

I want to take a moment and we're going to walk through the passage

and we want to make some notes along the way as we go

concerning this specific picture.

There's an illustration, there's some imagery here

that John wants to make sure that we don't miss.

This verbiage that John uses to give us a very vivid picture

of what is happening with these guys.

And as we look at this, I want you to remember something else

as we walk through this passage for the next few minutes.

And this is the statement.

Words mean things.

Okay?

Words mean things.

Words that you say, words that you don't say,

words that you see in Scripture.

Words mean things.

And many times, a singular word can make the difference

when you're reading Scripture between us making up our own mind

about whatever we're interpreting going on here

versus how the Scripture was intended to be understood.

And so I want to take note of the very specific language

that John is using here to describe this scene

because I think it helps us get a clearer picture

of this little interchange that we see take place

between John and Peter.

So John 21, verses 1 and 2.

John 21:1

After this, look back with me.

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples

by the Sea of Tiberias.

He revealed himself in this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin,

Nathaniel of Canaan, Galilee, the sons of Zebedee,

and two others of his disciples were together.

So here's what we have.

Peter, six other guys are together.

Maybe experiencing a little bit of trepidation

over what they'd seen the last few weeks.

They decide to go fishing.

So the first kind of two words of this passage

set the stage for what we're going to see.

It says, after this, well, after what?

After the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

After he's appeared to the guys a few times.

But here in particular,

it's after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The disciples had returned to Galilee from Jerusalem

as instructed by Jesus.

And Jesus appears to them by the Sea of Tiberias.

And so here's where we begin to see this specific language

that will give us kind of this mental illustration

of the scene taking place.

John names when this is taking place.

He gives you specifically when this is taking place.

And he gives you names, right?

He names names of who is there.

Okay?

And so we may mention this earlier.

Sea of Tiberias is also known as the Sea of Galilee.

If you look back at John 6,

you would see this is not the first time

that John has called the Sea of Galilee

the Sea of Tiberias.

So we see they're here,

where so much of the time that Jesus had spent.

Anybody ever been to Israel?

The Sea of Galilee is,

I mean, if you ever get to go,

the Sea of Galilee was my favorite spot

because it hasn't changed in thousands of years.

It's the same as it was when Jesus walked on it.

And this is where so much of Jesus' ministry

had taken place,

so much time that he spent with them.

And it's important to note also,

this is their home.

Okay?

This is where these guys are from.

It's their home.

And so if you've ever been,

it's awesome.

You should go.

So Jesus reveals himself in this way.

And then John tells us specifically who's there.

Simon Peter,

Thomas called the Twin,

who we refer to as Doubting Thomas.

Read about it in the previous chapter.

Nathaniel of Canaan and Galilee,

the sons of Zebedee,

who were James and John.

You remember the name that they were given,

the sons of thunder?

If you ever want to call me,

I want to be a son of thunder.

Okay?

I think it's a great name.

Call me.

I want to be a son of thunder.

And then two others of his disciples

who are nameless in John 21

that John tells us.

So you've got this picture in your mind.

They're by the sea.

There's seven of them together.

They're hanging out.

They're back home.

And I want to,

as you move into verse three,

you see this phrase,

Peter tells them,

I am going fishing,

right?

And they say to him,

we will go with you.

Now,

I want to take a second

and I want to ask you to think with me

as we kind of move forward.

What does this phrase,

I am going fishing here mean?

Okay?

What does the phrase mean

when Peter says,

I am going fishing

and they said,

we will go with you?

Is this the guys out fishing,

blowing off some steam?

Or is there something else

taking place here

that we need to notice

and that we need to know about?

Well,

as we keep reading,

John answers this question

as we move through the story.

Verse three,

they went out into the boat that night

and they caught nothing.

So notice the specificity

that John uses.

How many fish did they catch?

None,

right?

They caught nothing.

There was no fish.

There was nothing going on.

Verse number four

sets the scene

for where this particular,

the time this particular scene

is happening.

So when did this happen?

Verse number four,

what time of day?

Right?

In the morning time.

So just as day was breaking,

so verse four,

just as day was breaking,

early in the morning,

notice the specificity

that John uses,

just as day was breaking,

Jesus stood on the shore,

yet the disciples

did not know

that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them,

do you have any fish?

They said no.

And he said,

cast the net where?

Keep working through.

On the right side of the boat.

This is oddly specific,

right?

This is oddly specific

for what you would normally

see in scripture.

Okay,

on the right side of the boat,

that's great.

And you will find some.

So they cast it

and the scripture says

they were not able

to haul it in

because of the quantity of fish.

Then verse number seven,

you see John

names another disciple.

He names himself,

right?

That disciple whom Jesus loved,

that's John,

the disciple whom Jesus loved

therefore said to Peter,

it is the Lord.

So when Simon Peter

heard that it was Lord,

he put on his outer garment

for he was stripped for work

and threw himself

into the sea.

And there in verse number seven

is where I think we get

our first really clear glimpse

at what is actually taking place

in this picture

that John is painting for us.

He begins to answer

the question that we asked earlier

of what does it mean

when Peter says,

I am going fishing.

John isn't really hiding

the fact here

that Peter is working,

right?

Peter's gone fishing.

He's gone back to work.

In fact,

if you remember

back in Matthew chapter number four,

when Jesus first crosses paths

with Andrew and Peter,

they were fishing,

right?

Jesus said to them,

put down your nets

and follow me.

And what does he say?

I will make you fishers of men.

Okay?

So Peter then,

after all this had gone on,

spent three years with Jesus,

the last 30 or 40 days

trying to figure out

what in the world

is happening with my life,

Peter leads these men

back to fishing

on the Sea of Galilee.

And just to make sure

that we know exactly

what John was telling us,

he continues chapter 21

in this specific imagery,

verse number eight.

The disciples came in the boat,

dragging the net full of fish,

for they were not far

from the land.

How far were they

from the land?

About 100 yards,

right?

They got out on land,

they saw what kind

of a fire in place?

A charcoal fire in place

with fish laid out on it

and bread.

So Jesus said to them,

bring some of the fish

that you have just caught.

So Simon Peter went aboard,

hauled the net ashore,

full of large fish.

How many fish?

Okay,

what?

Okay,

so let's have a conversation.

All right?

So you gotta think to yourself,

153 fish.

Are there fishermen in the room?

Anybody like to fish?

Man,

we love to fish.

If you'll,

I'll be out in the lobby

after it's over,

I'll show you a picture

of a fish my son caught

two nights ago

at this little pond.

It was great.

I mean,

it's,

you know,

we're getting to the point

in our fishing careers

where they don't want to fish

for bluegill anymore.

They want to fish

for largemouth bass

and catfish,

right?

Because you,

like,

we were talking about

this last year.

We were out at this place

over in Jacksboro fishing

and they were just

catching bluegill like crazy,

right?

And I'm just out there

fishing for bass,

you know,

and my sons are like,

don't you want to catch fish?

And I was like,

well,

sure,

but I don't want to catch

bluegill.

I want to catch big fish,

right?

And so,

just get this in your mind

if you're a fisherman.

Are there lakes to fish around here?

I'm sure there are,

right?

Texas,

okay?

Is there good fishing around here?

I need to know this.

This is good to know.

Okay,

good.

All right.

Anybody here have a boat?

Let's just keep going down this.

No?

Okay.

So,

those of you that fish,

okay,

you need to get this picture

in your mind.

They haul this net ashore

full of fish

and it says 153 of them.

Now,

when you throw a net

out into the water,

it kind of goes down.

Anybody ever,

you guys net fish?

Nobody really net fishes anymore,

right?

So,

if you ever watch the video,

they throw the net out

and they kind of cast this wide net

and it goes,

sinks down

and then they pull it up

and it pulls in like everything,

right?

It's not just large fish,

it's everything.

You're going to have,

you know,

if you're fishing on,

you know,

you're fishing at a lake

in Fort Worth,

you're going to get bluegill

and you're going to get bass

and you're going to get

probably carp

and you're going to get,

you know,

just different kinds of,

who knows,

right?

All this kind of fish,

minnows and whatnot.

And so,

they're pulling it ashore

and in the passage,

it says that they couldn't

put it on the boat

so really what they did

was they hauled it ashore.

When I was a kid,

we used to go carp fishing.

You all have carp here?

We used to go carp fishing.

I grew up in Arkansas.

We didn't eat the carp

but we caught them

because they're fun to catch,

right?

They're huge

and they would fight

and I remember

when I was a kid,

I caught one

and I couldn't reel it in

and so I turned around

and put the pole

over my shoulder

and just walked up the bank,

right?

And just pulled the carp

up on the bank.

That's the idea.

So they pull the net up

and they're kind of

dragging it up on the net

and then when you let the net go,

if you've got a net full of fish

and you just let it go

on the bank,

what's going to happen

to the fish?

They're just scattered,

right?

They're all,

they're flopping around,

they're all over the place.

So there's this imagery

that John wants us to see here

that is going on

of this, right?

It's kind of chaotic.

There's fish everywhere.

Obviously,

they counted the fish,

right?

Oddly specific,

153 large fish

that you see,

okay?

So this is

kind of this scene

with all this

kind of fish everywhere.

I mean,

that would be the definition

of slaying them,

right guys?

If you go fishing

and you catch 153 fish

in one setting

and you don't invite me

the next time you go,

I'm going to be angry

with all of you,

okay?

And I'm going to talk about you

at Redemption City Church

and we're just going to have

a bad time in Fort Worth,

okay?

That is a lot of fish.

There's something to be said here,

though,

about what's going on,

right?

And John kind of alluded to it

a minute ago.

They're not just going fishing,

are they?

They went back to work.

That's what these guys did.

They fished for a living.

They literally,

they took their ball

and they went home,

right?

Occasionally,

my boys will be playing Xbox

and one of them rage quits,

right?

You know what I mean

when I say rage quits?

Like,

they'll be losing,

like,

you know,

in a baseball game,

15 to nothing

and they're just like,

I'm done,

I quit.

Or like,

when I was growing up,

I would do that to Monopoly.

I would just rage quit,

right?

I'm out.

I don't want to,

I'm losing,

I don't want to do this anymore.

That's what these guys did.

They took their ball

and they just went,

I mean,

they'd had enough.

Jesus had been murdered.

Peter cut the ear off of a dude.

He denied Christ three times.

And what's kind of crazy here

is that we know

this is now the third time,

right?

In verse 14

that Jesus had appeared

to the disciples

after he was raised from the dead.

We had already talked about the fact

that Jesus told them what to do

after all this happened.

He told them he would meet them in Galilee,

but I just have to wonder

if these guys weren't at their wit's end.

And they just throw their hands up in the air

and they say,

I'm out.

It's too much.

It's too hard.

Jesus,

I know that you said

you would meet us in Galilee.

I know that you told us

who would be fishers of men.

I know that we spent

the last three years

of our lives watching you

and learning from you

and being discipled from you,

but bro,

I'm out.

Life is too hard.

I have bills to pay.

I got to make money

so I can live.

I'm tired of other people

making fun of me.

I've got Roman soldiers

looking to kill me.

I'm just tired.

And I think to myself,

my goodness,

have I not been there

in my own life?

Right?

My goodness,

has my life not turned out

the way that I had planned it out

15 years ago?

Am I the only one in the room?

I didn't think so.

Life is hard.

It is.

I think it's hard

to help us remember

from time to time

that this is not

where we belong,

right?

But it's hard.

It's not easy.

You know,

I had a pretty great life

in Arkansas.

I really did.

It's hard.

Following Christ

is not supposed

to necessarily be easy.

Back to our verses

for the day.

Go to verse 15.

It says,

When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

Simon, son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

And I want to stop there

just a moment.

I'm going to go back

to something I said

at the very beginning

of our time

because so often

when we're looking

at a passage of Scripture

or studying a passage

of Scripture,

just one word

can make the difference

in whether or not

we understand a passage

correctly or not.

And here today,

I want to submit to you

that that one word

I want to look at

is the word these.

You see it there?

When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

And I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

and I want to stop there

We've already answered

one question today.

These guys had quit

what they were doing,

they packed up

and they went home.

But the real question

here in the passage

that we need to answer

is what is Jesus

talking about

when he asked Peter

if he loves him

more than these?

Now,

there are a couple

possibilities

that he could be

talking about

and my whole life

I kind of thought

as I was reading

this passage

and studying it

that he was talking

about the other disciples

that were around the fire.

Right?

They had all gathered up,

there's this fire,

the charcoal fire

with fish and bread on it

and they were all together,

it was breakfast time,

they were probably eating,

there's all these fish

all over the shore

and my whole life

I thought,

man,

is Jesus saying,

you know,

Peter,

do you love me

more than your friends?

Right?

Do you love me

more than these?

Do you love me

more than your friends?

Until a few years ago

I was in a doctoral seminar

in Louisville, Kentucky

and someone interjected

another thought.

So think about this

with me for a moment.

Why would John

be so specific

about the events

of the evening

and the events

of the early morning

only to flip the script

on what he was talking about

all of a sudden

in verse 15

and all of a sudden

not be as specific

as he was being earlier.

The previous 14 verses

that we looked at

have all been about

how these men went fishing,

caught nothing,

saw Jesus,

caught a ton of fish,

laid them out on the beach

to count,

and now are sitting around,

maybe standing around

a fire eating breakfast,

the whole story

revolving around fishing.

And I just wonder

if Peter didn't look,

if Jesus didn't look at Peter

and say something

like this, right?

Remember that maybe

they're sitting around

the fire,

maybe Peter and Jesus

were walking together

and maybe Jesus

puts his arm around Peter

and he says,

hey Simon.

And that right there

would have caused

Peter to pause.

By calling him Simon,

Jesus goes back

to using his old name.

You notice that?

He goes back

to using his old name.

This must have been

terribly defeating

for Peter.

Jesus had already

changed his name

to Cephas,

which means stone or rock,

right?

And now,

in the midst of all of this,

Jesus is going back

to his old name?

Hear me church,

never,

when you are working

and trying to heal

a guilty conscience,

should you minimize

the seriousness

of the offense

or conceal the source

of the old sin nature

that we all have.

Jesus didn't do that

with Peter either.

Hey Peter,

the Simon is still in you.

The Simon is still there.

You have to fight

against that.

Right?

Jesus didn't do that.

His first word to Peter,

Jesus calls him out.

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

And I just wonder

if he said that.

He said,

hey Simon,

do you love me

more than these?

And maybe gesture

down at the fish.

All these fish,

153 large fish

on the shore.

And Jesus says,

hey man,

do you love me

more than you love fish?

Now,

why would Jesus

ask Peter this question?

I have to believe

a look of realization

came over Peter's face

when Peter concludes

that Jesus is asking

Peter this question

because,

bro,

you sure did go back home

really quick.

It's been 40 days,

man.

40 days.

We spent all this time

together

and you just went home.

Jesus says to Peter,

do you love me

more than these?

I submit to you

that the these,

they're the fish

that he's talking about.

Peter says,

yes Lord,

you know that I love you.

Jesus says to him,

feed my lambs.

Verse 16,

he said to him

a second time,

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me?

He said to him,

yes Lord,

do you know that I love you?

He said to him,

tend my sheep.

Says it a third time

in verse 17,

right?

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me?

But this time,

Peter's reaction

is different,

isn't it?

What does the scripture

say Peter is this time?

He's grieved.

I think if Jesus

was talking about his friends,

I think that's

a harder conversation.

I think,

man,

are you really willing

to give up your friends?

Are you really willing

to die for me?

Are you really willing

to give up,

you know,

your relationships

for me?

I think that's

a harder conversation.

If you're asking me

if I love you

more than I love fish,

I'm upset.

It's fish,

man.

I'm upset.

I'm bothered by that.

And obviously,

Peter is bothered by that.

It says,

Peter was heartbroken.

Peter was grieved

because he said to them

this third time,

do you love me?

Peter responds to him.

He says,

Lord,

you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him,

feed my sheep.

And I have to wonder

here in this moment

if Peter didn't realize

that he had allowed

what was comfortable

to him,

what he knew,

to completely sidetrack him

from what God

had called him to do,

which was to be

fishers of men,

right?

You remember.

Come follow me,

I'll make you

fishers of men.

But then I think to myself,

it's so easy to do that,

isn't it?

It's so easy in my life

to get so sidetracked

with what I know

God is telling me to do

or what I know

God has called me to do

that I just completely

lose sight of what

I'm supposed to be doing.

I'm focused here,

I'm focused here.

You don't understand.

God,

I've got a family

to take care of.

You don't understand

I've got mouths to feed

and my kids are getting bigger

and they eat more than I do

and I don't really know

what's going on with my life

and things are getting

more expensive

and gas is,

I don't know,

three or four dollars a gallon

and I'm just,

I don't know what to do,

right?

Insurance is going up.

It's crazy.

I've got all this stuff

going on

and it's so easy

in the hardness

of the life

that we live

to get completely sidetracked

from what God's calling us to do.

Interestingly here though

in this passage,

Jesus goes a step further

as if he hasn't gone far enough.

He tells Peter

to feed his sheep,

right?

You see that three times

Jesus said,

feed my sheep,

starting in verse number 15.

What's the significance

of this question?

Well,

it may be that Jesus

is restoring Peter,

right?

Peter denied him three times,

Jesus asked him three times,

feed my sheep,

or you know,

do you love me?

It may be some restoration,

but there may be

another reason here.

When Jesus first called,

we talked about this already,

when Jesus first called Peter

as a disciple,

he was fishing.

Jesus said he would make him

a fisher of men.

Here though,

I want us to notice

that Jesus doesn't tell Peter

to go fishing,

does he?

Jesus changes Peter's profession.

It's not,

come follow me

and I will make you

fishers of men.

Jesus changes Peter's profession

from fisherman

to shepherd,

right?

You are a shepherd now.

You are never to go back.

You are never to be this way.

You are never to be this person again.

You're done.

You will always be a shepherd.

He changes his whole profession.

Where you were a fisher,

now you are a shepherd.

And that's what I want you to do.

It's this only move forward.

That's what Jesus said.

Only move forward.

Forget what's in the past.

Right?

In fact,

you see the Apostle Paul

say the very same thing

a few years later

in his letter

to the Philippian Christians.

Brothers,

I do not consider

that I have made it my own,

but one thing I do,

forgetting what lies behind

and straining forward

to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal

for the prize

of the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus.

Move forward.

Pay attention

to the calling

on your life.

Listen to me this morning

first about his church,

Henrietta, Texas.

In the same way

that Jesus called Peter

from a life of fishing

to a life of shepherding the sheep,

in the same way

that Jesus called Paul

from a life

as an unbelieving Pharisee

and persecutor of Christians

to a life

as a missionary,

preacher,

pastor,

and apologist,

in the same way

that he called

those two men,

Jesus has called

each of us

to live our life

not for ourself,

but to live our lives

for the kingdom of God.

He has called us

out of darkness

into light.

He has called us

to share the good news

of Christ's death,

burial,

and resurrection

with a lost world

that desperately needs

that information,

that desperately needs

the saving power

that is found

in the blood of Jesus Christ,

and the question

you need to ask yourself today

is simply this.

What's keeping you

from doing just that?

I am positive

that there are people

all over Henrietta, Texas

that need to know

who Jesus is.

I'm positive.

I'm positive

there are people

all over Clay County

who need to know

who Jesus Christ is.

I'm positive

that there are people

all over Wichita Falls

who need to know

who Jesus is.

What's keeping us

from sharing the gospel?

What's keeping us

from going on mission?

What's holding us back?

Or maybe a better question

is what's your fish?

Maybe it's not actual fish.

What's your fish?

I know what mine is.

Mine's comfort.

Mine's comfort.

I don't...

I just want peace

and quiet and comfort.

But that can turn

really, really bad

for me really, really quickly.

Right?

What's your fish?

What is it?

What is keeping you

from doing

what God has called you?

What's keeping you

from walking next door

and sharing the gospel

with your neighbor

who you know

desperately needs

the message

of Christ on the cross?

What's keeping you

from going to the school

and loving on teachers

and loving on students?

What's keeping you

from going out

into Clay County

and sharing the gospel

with people

all over this county

who needs to know

the beauty

and the grace

and the mercy

that is found

in the blood

of Jesus Christ?

What's your fish?

I was reminded

the other day,

continually reminded really,

of how easy it is

to fake this life.

There's so many

other things going on,

so many other things

that are vying

for our attention,

for our thoughts.

What's your fish?

What's your fish?

What's your fish?

What's your fish?

And if the question

that I would ask

for you to ask yourself

is what's your fish,

the question that I would

posit to you today

out of John 21

is how's your heart?

How's your heart?

How's your relationship

with Christ?

What does that look like?

Do you have a relationship

with Christ?

I'm not asking you

if you were saved

30 years ago.

I'm asking you,

how's your relationship

with Christ today?

How are you doing

walking with Christ?

How are you doing

in that?

How are you doing

in living in the calling

that God has given to you?

I guarantee you

that God wants to do

a work here in Henrietta.

Matter of fact,

if you look back

over the history

of your church,

you've done it before.

Continuing to do it now.

Look at the people

in the room.

God wants to do

a work here in Henrietta

through this body of believers.

Are we really

going to allow something

with zero eternal significance

to get in the way of that?

And I'm not asking

that question to myself.

You're just,

you're here for a personal

counseling session,

so you're hearing

a personal counseling session

that I'm having with myself.

Back to our story

about John Knox

for a moment from earlier.

I just wonder

what would happen

if the rallying cry

of this body of believers

became give us Henrietta

or kill us.

One or the other.

One or the other.

God, give me Henrietta

or I'd die.

God, give me Clay County

or I'd die.

I wonder what,

I wonder what this place

would look like,

this whole area

would look like

a year from now.

God, give us Henrietta

or kill us.

So here's what I want to do.

I want you to bow your heads.

I want you to close your eyes

with me for the next few

moments together.

And I want to just

ask you some questions, okay?

I want to,

I don't really know

how y'all normally

do an invitation,

so I'm going to let you

just sit.

I think the band's

going to come back up

and sing and play

here in just a second,

but I want you to sit,

I want you to ask

some questions

and I want you

to take an inventory.

And here's my encouragement

to you with your heads

bowed and your eyes closed.

Here's my encouragement

to you this morning.

It's easier to lie

to yourself

than it is to anybody else.

Okay?

It's easier to justify

to yourself

than it is to anybody else.

So don't do that.

Okay?

Okay?

So don't do that.

Take an inventory.

And the first question

that I want you to answer

is how's your relationship

with Christ today?

How's your relationship

with Christ today?

Okay?

Do you have a relationship

with Christ?

If you don't,

I would love the opportunity

to talk with you

in the lobby

after the service is over.

Greg would too.

And the other deacons here

I'm sure would be out there

as well.

Would love to talk

with you about it.

Please,

I beg of you,

do not rest

on that you walked

an aisle 30 years ago.

How's your relationship

with Christ today?

Second question.

From the passage

we read today,

what's your fish?

What is it

that you're allowing

to keep you from doing

what God has called

you to do?

Y'all,

I am Peter.

I am.

I let things get in the way.

I let things dominate me

that shouldn't dominate me.

I have to continually

ask myself,

continually take

this inventory

of what are the things

that I'm allowing

in my life

to get in the way

of what I know

God's called me to do.

What is that for you?

What is that for you?

What is that for you?

What would it be like

if the rallying cry

of First Baptist Church

Henrietta, Texas

was simply,

God, give us Henrietta

or we die.

Father, I pray

your blessing

over this church.

Father, I pray

your blessing

over them

as they

go out

and they reach

their community

for you.

Father, I pray

that you would

give them

vigor,

that you would

give them boldness

as they go.

Father, I pray

that you would

encourage them

along the way.

Father, I pray

that this area

would become known

throughout Texas,

throughout America,

throughout the world

as a place of revival,

as a place of awakening.

Father, I'm so

encouraged by

everything that Sam

says about

this great group

of people.

I'm so encouraged.

I'm so encouraged

of how they love

Sam and Holly.

I'm so encouraged

of how they love

their city.

Father, bless them.

Father, give us

Henrietta

or we die.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.