A Restoration Story (Part 3)

I want you to think about some of the personalities in the Bible that you know well.

Don't answer out loud, but Old or New Testament.

Think, this person, that person.

With the exception of Jesus, whoever came to your mind,

they are, were flawed people, weren't they?

Just about all of the people you read about in Scripture,

I'm talking about the major ones.

Abraham, Moses, David.

The Bible lets you see how they failed God at times.

And it was serious.

It was terrible.

But God never gave up on them.

And God worked in their lives to bring them back

and to restore them to a right relationship with Him.

That's something that all of us needs to be thankful for.

When you read the Bible, you're reading about flawed, sinful, imperfect people just like us.

That's who God works in and through to accomplish His purpose in this world.

That means He can work through us.

But when we do fail Him, when we do fall,

what we need to understand is if we will come back to Him humbly,

repentant, seeking His forgiveness, He will always take us back.

He'll always forgive, cleanse us, and give us a fresh start.

Because He's in the restoration business.

I want you to turn back with me to John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

where we've been looking at a restoration story now.

This will be the third week.

This is going to be the final week.

We've looked at how the Lord restored Peter

after his unbelievable fall

on the night that Jesus was arrested.

Peter denied that he even knew Jesus three times.

But the Lord brought him back.

And we've been studying that.

And let's look at it one more time.

John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

Let's read this event.

It takes place.

Jesus and seven disciples

around a breakfast campfire

beside a lake.

Verse 15.

When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me more than these?

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.

He, that is Jesus,

said to him the third time,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me?

Well, Peter was grieved

because he said to him,

The third time,

do you love me?

He said to him,

Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him,

Feed my sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

when you were young,

you used to dress yourself

and walk wherever you wanted.

But when you are old,

you will stretch out your hands

and another will dress you

and carry you where you do not want to go.

This he said to show

by what kind of death

he was to glorify God.

And after saying this,

he said to him,

Follow me.

Well, Peter turned and saw the disciple

whom Jesus loved following them.

That's John.

The one who also had leaned back against him

during the supper

and had said,

Lord, who is it that's going to betray you?

When Peter saw him,

he said to Jesus,

Lord, what about this man?

And Jesus said to him,

If it is my will that he remain until I come,

what is that to you?

You follow me.

Two weeks ago,

we looked at how the Lord's

in the restoration business,

how he didn't let Peter stay

in that fallen condition

but brought him back.

Last week,

we looked at how the Lord's restoration

is both relational and practical.

Jesus restored Peter

to a real loving relationship with him.

That's why there's such an emphasis

on the word love.

Jesus asking him,

Do you love me?

But also,

Jesus restored Peter

to his place of leadership

among the disciples

and restored him

to the ministry

or the service

that Jesus had for him.

We spent last week

looking at that restored relationship.

Just note very quickly,

a true relationship with the Lord

is built on the foundation of love.

A true relationship with the Lord

is built on a foundation of love.

His love for us,

our love for him.

Restoring Peter to this loving relationship

with himself

was Jesus' first priority.

That's why I ask him three times,

verses 15, 16, and 17,

Do you love me?

What we see in this

is that God puts a priority

on our relationship with him.

Certainly, God wants us to obey him.

He wants us to serve him.

He wants us to do his will.

But God wants us to do that

because we love him

and we want to please him

like a little child

wants to please their parents.

Now, I said little child.

You remember when you were real little?

Three, four, five maybe?

And it was your desire

to please your parents.

You liked to get their attention.

You liked for them to watch you

because you wanted to show them something.

You were wanting to connect with them.

That's what that's all about.

You have a relationship with them.

You love them.

You want them in your life.

You want them to approve.

You want to bring a smile to their face.

God wants us to do his will.

He wants us to serve him

because we really and truly do love him.

He's our heavenly father.

And we want to bring a smile to his face

by what we do for him.

But let's move on in that passage.

Jesus did more than just restore Peter

to a loving relationship.

Jesus recommissioned him.

Let's look at it now.

A true relationship with the Lord

involves committed service.

Peter was recommissioned by Jesus

to this special ministry

that Jesus had for him.

Notice how Jesus did it

in verses 15 through 17.

Each time Peter expressed his love for Jesus,

Jesus told him to take care of his sheep.

Notice that.

Feed my lambs.

Tend my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

Peter was called and gifted by the Lord

to be a leader in the early church.

He was a great preacher and teacher.

You can read through the first 12 chapters

of the book of Acts and see all that.

You see, he was a leader.

He made a difference in Jerusalem

and the outlying areas

as that new church started

and was beginning to flourish.

He was also used of God to preach.

Thousands of people believed,

became Christians under that kind of preaching.

But every Christian is gifted

to serve the Lord in some kind of ministry.

It may not be the kind of ministry that Peter had.

You know, if our relationship with the Lord is healthy,

we'll have a desire to serve Him

in the ways that He has gifted

and equipped us to serve Him.

If we have a right relationship with the Lord,

we will want to be involved in serving Him

as we are able to serve Him.

But we'll do it differently.

That's what I want to emphasize here.

Now, we're not all called to do the same thing

because we're not made the same.

We have a different gift and skill set.

You have a different gift and skill set

from the person sitting beside you

wherever you are seated this morning.

But we all should want to serve the Lord

as we can

if we really have a loving relationship with Him.

Now, if you're not involved in some kind of ministry right now,

when I say this,

the way we serve Him,

it varies.

Some people do it publicly.

Some people serve the Lord faithfully,

but nobody ever sees them.

Some people are involved every Sunday,

maybe singing in the choir,

playing an instrument,

teaching a Sunday school class.

Some people are involved less frequently

because what they are gifted and involved in,

it doesn't need to be done every week.

We're not talking about how much you serve

or anything like that.

The question now is,

are you serving the Lord

in some way

as you ought to,

not like somebody else?

If you're not,

why is it?

If you're not serving Him,

my first guess is,

the problem,

the source of the problem is,

there's something missing

in your relationship with Him.

I'm not saying that you're not a Christian.

I'm saying something is not exactly right

because if you're really

in fellowship with Him,

sensitive to His Spirit who indwells you,

aware of the gifts He's given you,

you're going to want to please Him

by doing what it is that

you know He wants you to do.

So if you're not serving Him,

what's wrong?

What needs to change?

You talk to the Lord about it

and ask Him to help you,

maybe to have a greater desire

or maybe to show you

what it is you need to be doing.

If your relationship with Him is good,

it's close,

you're going to want to serve Him

out of your love for Him.

But it may not be easy.

Now some ministries are.

Some things people are involved in

that are needed to be done,

it doesn't take a whole lot of time,

it doesn't take a whole lot of sweat,

if any.

And I'm not minimizing that.

But some Christians

are called to very difficult service

and Peter is at the top of the list

in the difficult service he was called.

See, Peter did more than just preach and teach.

He did more than just lead people

who loved him and wanted to follow him.

Peter served the Lord in such a way

that it eventually required

or led to his painful death.

And that's what verses 18 and 19

is talking about.

Look back in verse 18.

Jesus described Peter's younger days

basically as just a life of freedom.

Look at it.

When you were young,

you used to dress yourself

and walk wherever you wanted.

But Jesus describes Peter's later years

in opposite terms.

Look at it.

But when you are old,

you will stretch out your hands

and another will dress you

and carry you where you do not want to go.

Now he's not talking about,

Jesus is not saying,

Peter, when you get old,

you're just going to be old and decrepit

and people are going to have to lead you around.

That's not what he's talking about

because verse 19 tells us

what Jesus was talking about.

Look at it.

Jesus was explaining

that Peter's going to die a martyr's death.

It's a parenthetical phrase.

This he said to show

by what kind of death

he was to glorify God.

Commentators say that describing death

as a way of glorifying God

was a standard Christian way

for describing martyrdom,

dying for your faith.

They also point out that that phrase,

stretch out your hands,

in this kind of context,

talking about death,

is a reference to crucifixion.

The New Testament does not tell us

how Peter died.

In fact, the New Testament

doesn't even tell us he died.

But early church tradition tells us

that Peter was put to death

because of his faith,

that he was put to death

by crucifixion.

Now, obviously,

all Christians are not required to die

as a part of their service for the Lord.

I personally have never known

of someone who had to die

in order to be faithful to the Lord.

But thousands of people

have died in the 21st century

all because they were Christians,

they were open about their faith,

and when persecution came,

they didn't renounce the Lord.

We have all read about

Christians who have been executed

by such terrorist groups as ISIS

just recently,

recent past.

That's happening.

It's always happened

throughout the history of the world.

It is still happening.

But most of us,

unless you leave this country,

we're not going to be called upon

in all likelihood

to have to die

as a result of being faithful to the Lord.

But the Lord does call us

to be willing to die,

to have that kind of commitment to Him,

that we're willing to die

if necessary.

Jesus made it clear on many occasions,

the way that He talked to His disciples,

the way that He had talked to people

who were sort of inquiring

about what it took to be His disciple.

Jesus gave very strong statements

about what it meant to follow Him.

Look at one good example in Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And He said to all,

that is Jesus,

if anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross daily

and follow me.

You see, Jesus,

He never watered down the message

that following Him

would not be costly.

Jesus never said anything

like Joel Osteen would say.

Jesus never talked about

this health and wealth,

that if you really have

the right kind of faith

and you really trust God,

He's going to make you healthy,

He's going to make you wealthy.

That's garbage.

That's trash.

That is absolutely,

100% contrary

to the teaching of Scripture

about what it means

to live as a Christian

in this world.

Some of the most godly people

who've ever lived

have suffered physically,

have suffered economically.

They've had a hard life.

And the reality is

the Bible does not promise

that it won't be that way

for you and me.

To follow Christ

requires a total commitment

to Him,

to knowing, loving, serving Him

regardless of what it takes.

How can a person do that?

How can we do that?

Well, the Apostle Paul

explains what motivates

Christians to give their life

in service to the Lord.

He's explaining himself,

he's explaining

how we can do this

in 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Look at it.

He says,

For the love of Christ

controls us.

Christ died for all

that those who live

might no longer live

for themselves,

but for Him

who for their sake

died and was raised.

You see,

Paul was motivated

by the love

that Christ demonstrated

in dying on the cross

to pay the penalty

for his sins.

And because he knew

the Lord gave his life

for him,

because he knew

that Jesus loved him

that much,

he loved Jesus

in return.

He gave,

Christ gave his life

for him,

Paul gave his life

back.

There was love

both ways.

That's what motivated

Peter as well.

That's what will

motivate us.

us.

Having a loving

relationship

with the Lord

is the key

to faithfulness.

Some of you

have read

of a famous

missionary

named Hudson Taylor.

He gave his life

in mission service

in China.

On one occasion

he was introduced

to a group

of Christians

as a great missionary

who had given

his life

to the Orient

because he loved

the Chinese.

Well, Taylor

when he got up

to speak

he shook his head

and answered

thoughtfully

this,

no,

not because

I loved

the Chinese

but because

I loved

God.

Now,

he did love

those people

but the reason

he left home

and family

and an easier

life

was because

he loved

God

and he

believed

that God

had called

him to

serve him

in China

and so

because he

loved God

and he wanted

to please

the God

that he

loved

that's why

he did

what he

did

and we

can relate

to that.

I want you

to think

with me.

we can relate

to this idea

of doing

things

that we

don't want

to do

but we

do it

for the

one

that we

love.

A lot of

people in

this room

you have

sat up

at the

hospital

or maybe

in a home

maybe at a

hospice house

you have

sat up

with someone

who

didn't have

it all

together

and they

were trying

to take

the IVs

out of

their arm

they were

trying to

get up

out of

the bed

they did

not cooperate

but you

stayed there

standing up

part of the

night

maybe on

the edge

of the

chair

part of

the night

you stayed

there and

did all

that

not

because it

was fun

not because

you wanted

to do

that

make that

person stay

into bed

hold their

hands back

now you

didn't want

to do

that

but you

loved the

person you

were caring

for enough

to be willing

to do

that

you did

something that

was hard

you did

something that

was uncomfortable

you did

something that

caused you

great stress

not because

of anything

you got

out of

it

joyfully

emotionally

but because

you loved

the person

the parent

the grandparent

the friend

that you

were trying

to take

care of

I'm going

to guess

that some

of you

work a job

that you

don't really

like

I know

some people

work a job

that they

basically

just hate

and the

reason they

work that

job

is to make

a living

for the

people in

their home

that they

love

they don't

get up in

the morning

and go to

work because

they enjoy

what they

do

they get

up and

go to

work

because

they love

the people

that they

are going

to support

you see

we do

understand

and we

do

things in

our lives

that are

hard

that are

painful

sometimes

that we

absolutely

don't want

to do

we never

choose to

do

but because

we're

motivated

by love

for a

person

we do

whatever

it takes

and so

if we

have the

right kind

of relationship

with the

Lord

we should

be willing

to do

whatever

it takes

to be

faithful

to him

and as

we have

this right

kind of

love for

him

and put

forth that

effort

the Lord

is going

to give

us what

we need

to remain

faithful

that's what

Paul talked

about in

Colossians

Colossians 1:29

chapter 1

verse 29

see Paul

talked about

he was

motivated by

his love

for Christ

Christ's

love for

him

but look

what else

he said

here

to this

verse

from the

New Living

Translation

that's why

I work

and struggle

so hard

depending on

Christ's

mighty

power

that works

within me

the Spirit

of God

lives within

us

and it's

the Spirit

of God

who gives

us the

desire

and the

ability

to hang

in there

to be

faithful

if we

want to

be

because we

love our

Lord

let's look

at one

more lesson

in this

restoration

story

sort of

switching

gears

a little

bit

here

our

Lord

calls

us

to

focus

on

the

ministry

he

has

assigned

to

us

not

the

ministry

he

has

assigned

to

others

that's

what he's

talking

about

verses 20

through 22

at some point

after this

breakfast

Jesus and

Peter got up

and took a walk

down the beach

well Peter

noticed over his

shoulder I guess

that John

was walking

along behind

them

and so he

asked Jesus

the question

look at it

Lord

what about

this man

I want you

to think

Jesus had

just told

Peter

you're going

to die

a martyr's

death

how would

you feel

when you

heard that

for the

first time

well

Peter

now

he wants

to know

what's going

to happen

to John

who also

has a close

relationship

with Jesus

you understand

what Peter

is doing

Peter

now

is

going

to compare

himself

what he's

got to do

with John

and what

Jesus has

in store

for him

but I want

you to look

at how Jesus

responds

if it is

my will

that he

remain

until I

come

what is

that to

you

you follow

me

Jesus

is being

very blunt

here

he's saying

what I have

in store

for John

is none

of your

business

makes no

bones

does he

you just

do what I

told you

that's what

Jesus

is saying

if I

want him

to stay

alive

until I

come again

you're

going to

die

Peter

but if

it's

my will

that he

stay

alive

and healthy

and well

until I

come back

what's

it to

you

you don't

worry about

him

you take

care of

you

that's

what he's

saying

in effect

Jesus

is telling

Peter

M-Y-O-B

mind your

own

business

Jesus

was not

telling

Peter

that he

shouldn't

care about

others

but he

is clearly

telling him

not to

compare

himself

or his

ministry

assignment

with other

people

this is the

lesson we need

to learn

don't we

personally

on a

personal

level

we are

tempted to

compare

ourselves

with other

people

and we

sometimes

like to

grumble

and complain

we might

say something

we might

think it

Lord

I am

trying to

be faithful

I'm trying

to live a

faithful life

I'm trying

to do

what I

know

you want

me to

do

I'm being

faithful

in my

giving

I'm being

faithful

in serving

you

but I'm

struggling

and my

neighbors

who are not

Christians

who don't

really care

about you

they seem

to be

just

having it

great in

life

no

struggles

why

is this

happening

we like

to grumble

and complain

sometimes

we like

to whine

like a

child

demanding

equal

treatment

I will

never forget

the time

when my

son David

who was

about four

or five

years old

and Michael

was two

or three

and Lisa

had them

both in

the bathroom

getting them

ready to go

somewhere

and in all

the confusion

she said to

David

uh oh David

I just

brushed

Michael's

teeth

with your

toothbrush

and David

quickly shot

back

well I'm

using

his

so intent

so intent

we are

sometimes

to have

everything

equal

to make

sure someone

is not

one up

on us

we say

and do

foolish

and immature

things

that happened

many many

years ago

Lisa and I

still laugh

how a little

child

would say

I'm going to

use somebody

else's

toothbrush

don't you

think

really and

truly

don't you

think God

is our

heavenly

father

looks at

some of

the things

that we

do

some of

the foolish

things that

we do

and say

don't you

think he

laughs at

us

because we

do things

just like

that

and we

don't

understand

just how

immature

how crazy

it is

you know

in our

church

ministry

if you're

involved in

the life

of the church

in some way

we can be

tempted to

think that

my gifts

and my

talents

and my

abilities

that's what's

most important

we may even

suddenly try to

minimize the

value of other

people's

ministries

their gifts

or even worse

we would never

say it

but we might

sometimes smile

when they fail

or when they

don't do so

well

whenever we

think like that

we need to

call it

what it is

it's pride

it's selfishness

it's jealousy

it's envy

whatever it is

the root cause

is sin

and you know

God hates

sin

Chuck Swindoll

helps us to see

that when we

compare ourselves

with others

or complain

about our

differences

we are really

criticizing

God

and the way

he works

look at what

Swindoll says

God's calling

is personal

and his leading

is unique

all Christians

enroll in the

same school

but our

individual curricula

is vastly

different

because we have

different needs

different gifts

and different

callings

our coursework

is tailor made

to match

we're not

cookie cutter

Christians

although we're

cut out of

the same

dough

we're not

cut out

in the same

size

or shape

as even

our closest

friends

or co-workers

we are all

predestined

to become

like Christ

that's what

it says

in Romans

8 29

the route

God takes

us to get

there however

varies

significantly

from one

person

to another

instead of us

looking around

at someone else

this morning

criticizing

or comparing

let's close

this out

by just

looking

at ourselves

how would

you describe

your relationship

with the Lord

right now

do you really

and truly

have a relationship

with Him

as your

Savior

and Lord

if you don't

do you want

one

if you do

you can have

one

if you'll

admit

your need

the fact

that you

don't have

a relationship

with God

admit your

sin

and truly

repent of it

change your

mind

humble yourself

before God

grieve over it

turn from it

and put your

trust in Jesus

that when He

died on the

cross

He died

to pay the

penalty

for the sins

you've committed

if you'll

believe that

when God

raised Him

from the dead

that was God's

way of saying

I've accepted

His sacrifice

if you'll

put your

faith in Jesus

call upon Him

to save you

He will

He'll forgive you

He'll give you

a fresh start

a new start

right now

so call on Him

now

if you have

a relationship

with Him

as a Christian

is it healthy

right now

are you really

enjoying a close

personal

relationship

with Him

if you're not

would you like

to

if there's

something that

has interrupted

broken your

fellowship with

Him

admit that to

God

confess that

come back to

Him

humbly again

trusting in

Christ

the penalty

for your

sins

has been

paid

recommit

yourself

to living

in fellowship

with Him

in obedience

to Him

do that

right now

you know

if you have

a right

relationship

with the

Lord

you're enjoying

good fellowship

just thank

Him

thank Him

for the

grace that

He's showing

you

thank Him

for the way

that He is

working in

your life

right now

final thought

final question

are you

serving the

Lord with the

gifts talents

and abilities

He has given

you

are you

serving Him

without

comparing yourself

someone else

are you

serving Him

without

complaining

if a change

needs to be

made in that

make that

ask God

how He wants

you to serve

Him

ask God

to give you

the right

attitude

but what I

want everyone

in this room

to understand

is

our Lord

is in the

restoration

business

and if you

have a

relationship

with Him

that is not

right

it can be

repaired

or if you

don't have a

relationship

it can begin

right now

either way

whatever your

need is

call upon

Him

trust Him

obey Him

let's pray

together

Father

show us

now

how we

as individuals

should respond

to Your

Word

to Your

message

give us

wisdom

give us

a desire

help us

to obey

You

as You

speak

now

let's just

all be

still and

quiet

and listen

to the

Lord

and do

what He's

telling us

to do

during the

next few

minutes

I'll be

at the

front

here

if you

would like

for me

to pray

with you

I'll be

here

I would

love to

do that

you come

but listen

to the

Lord

do what

He says

in these

next few

minutes

o

an

6

2

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

b

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o