You Must Follow Me

All right, well this morning we come at last to the final chapter of the Gospel of John

and our final sermon in this book.

We began this series on December 22nd, 2019, so that's about three and a half years ago.

And if I got the count right, this morning's message is my 106th message in the Gospel of John.

And what a journey it's been.

I really do hope and pray that you have been blessed to see and to hear things about Jesus

that you've maybe never heard before, never thought of, and I hope those things have touched you.

This is the good news according to John.

Let's hear how John ends his telling of the story of Jesus.

Last Sunday we heard about how Jesus appeared to the disciples on two different occasions.

The first was on the evening of the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

He appeared that evening to all the apostles minus Thomas.

And then John told us about how one week later he appeared to them another time, this time including Thomas.

Let's pick up the story in John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.

Now some of you may have a different translation which says the Sea of Tiberias.

The one on the screen has a footnote that says, yeah, it is Tiberias in the original language,

but that's just another name for the Sea of Galilee in case anyone's wondering.

So if you recall, what the other Gospels record for us is that the morning that Jesus rose from the dead,

the angels appeared to the women and they told them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee

and that they would see Jesus there.

Now Jesus appeared to the disciples before they went to Galilee.

He appeared to them in Jerusalem on the night that he rose from the dead,

the night of the day that he rose from the dead.

And we don't know for sure exactly when the disciples left to go to Galilee,

but shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, they head back up north to the region of Galilee

where Jesus' hometown of Nazareth was and where many of the disciples' hometowns were there as well.

And much of the story of Jesus took place in that region.

And the sense that we get from this is that with these resurrection appearances of Jesus,

Jesus would often appear, but then he would leave.

Leave.

And then he would appear again on another occasion and then leave.

He didn't just stay with them and walk from place to place with them.

So you can imagine that the disciples are pretty excited having seen Jesus alive

as they make this three or four day journey back up towards home in Galilee.

But we also imagine that they wondered,

how will we meet up with Jesus when we get there?

Where will we find him?

Well, John tells us that it happened this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as Didymus, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee,

the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

That's seven in total.

I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them.

And they said, we'll go with you.

So they went out and got into the boat.

But that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them,

friends, haven't you any fish?

No, they answered.

He said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some.

When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,

it's the Lord.

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, it is the Lord,

he wrapped his outer garment around him, for he had taken it off,

and jumped into the water.

The other disciples followed in the boat,

towing the net full of fish,

for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.

When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread.

Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you've just caught.

So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153.

But even with so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast.

None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them,

and did the same with the fish.

This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples,

after he was raised from the dead.

So John's the only one that tells us about this meet-up moment with Jesus in Galilee.

And we get the sense that the disciples arrived there in Galilee,

and with nothing else to do, maybe just Peter decided to do what he always did,

to go to work, go fishing,

let's get some food on the table.

And the other six disciples who were with him decide to tag along.

But after fishing all night, they caught nothing.

And then, in the morning, all of a sudden they see this guy on the shore,

and he's calling out to them, like often happens between fishermen,

if you've ever been out to the lake.

You know, you guys catch anything?

Nope.

Nothing.

But then, put your net down on the right side of the boat,

and you'll catch some.

This is the kind of advice that most fishermen chuckle at,

as if the other side of the boat will make any difference.

And yet, amazingly, all of a sudden, the net is so full of fish,

so much that they can't pull it up into the boat.

Yet, it was John who realized what was happening first,

even before Peter.

It's the Lord, said John.

And when Peter hears this, he realizes it for himself,

grabs his outer garment, jumps into the water, swims to shore,

and what does he find?

But here's Jesus on the shore, and he's got a fire going.

And there's some fish on it, and there's some bread.

He's cooking breakfast for the disciples.

Jesus says, bring some of those fish that you've just caught.

Let's eat.

And so Peter does.

He goes, he gets the net, he drags it on shore after they arrive in the boat,

and they start counting out these fish, and it's 153 large fish.

If you include Jesus, that makes eight.

So that's about 19 each.

A lot of fish.

And they sit down, and they have breakfast on the beach together.

I love this story.

Why did Jesus choose to reveal himself,

to appear to them in Galilee in this way?

Some people, you know, look at this and wonder,

like 153 fish, that's it?

Well, that doesn't seem very impressive.

Last time, the boats were sinking.

Why did Jesus this time seem to do like an inferior miracle?

But, you know, the more I've thought about this,

I don't think it was really about the number of fish.

I think the purpose of this miracle was different.

It wasn't to blow all the other miracles out of the water.

I think the purpose of this miracle was to be a sign,

but a different sign from the other signs.

This sign, this miracle was special because it was personal.

What made it special, what made it personal,

was that it was almost an exact repeat of that awesome miracle

Jesus had done three years earlier,

which marked the beginning of their following Jesus.

If you look back at that in Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5 · chapter mention

the parallels between this that Jesus did here

and what happened three years ago are striking.

In both cases, they fished all night and caught nothing.

In both cases, Jesus gives some advice

to the professional fishermen

that ordinarily would seem laughable.

In both cases, there's this miraculous, massive catch of fish.

And as we'll see in a few minutes,

in both cases, Jesus will tell them the same thing afterwards.

Follow me.

Maybe it's easy for us today to miss just how special,

how meaningful this miraculous sign

would have been to these men,

these fishermen in Galilee.

When Jesus did it the first time,

that was the day that they dropped everything.

They left their jobs as fishermen behind

and they began following Jesus full time.

This wasn't really a miracle for the masses.

This was a miracle specifically for the men in the boat.

Only Peter and maybe James and John

knew what Jesus had said to Peter in the boat.

Let down the nets for a catch.

Back in Luke 5.

Probably only Peter and James and John really cared

that they'd been out the whole night

and hadn't caught anything.

So this was almost, I think, kind of like an inside joke.

You know, remember that time that Rabbi Jesus

told you, Peter,

the experienced fishermen that you are,

to let down the nets for a catch.

And you begrudgingly humored Jesus,

only to find out that Jesus

was much more than you thought possible.

That was the turning point miracle.

That was the special personal sign to Peter

and to James and to John,

the fishermen,

that this Jesus indeed was the Messiah

that they'd been hoping for.

And so that's why I think Jesus does it again,

almost like a secret handshake,

something that only they would recognize

and fully appreciate.

It was like a deja vu miracle.

I mean, think of this from the perspective

of Peter and James and John.

There they are.

I mean, they're excited that they saw Jesus alive,

but there they are again,

sitting in a boat all night long.

I wonder what they were thinking.

Like, you guys remember the last time

that this happened,

when we fished all night long

and caught nothing?

Yep, that was the day

that everything changed.

And now, suddenly,

there's this guy on the shore

giving us some laughable advice

on how to catch fish.

Can you imagine the excitement

in their hearts

when after putting the net down

on the right side of the boat,

they catch the mother load again?

But this time,

the excitement wasn't just about the fish,

the catch.

Peter doesn't even seem to care about the fish.

He and John

immediately see what the sign points to.

Jesus is here.

That's him on the shore.

And I love how Peter

just jumps out of the boat

and swims for shore.

It's like he doesn't even care about the fish.

You guys deal with the fish.

I'm going to see Jesus.

It was the deja vu miracle.

And not just the catch,

but also the catching of nothing

the night before.

And God's thinking about this, you know.

Fish kind of have a mind of their own.

They're just creatures.

This wouldn't have had

nearly the same effect

had Peter been out all night

and, well, they caught six or seven.

But, you know,

some of those fish,

all they had to do

was swim over here.

Oh, there's a net.

They're caught in it.

And Peter got something last night.

So, you know,

I think even part of the miracle too

is that they got nothing

the night before.

It was as if Jesus and his father

wanted to set up this whole thing

the same way

as it happened three years earlier

so that there could be

no doubt in their minds

that, yes,

this man on the shore

really is Jesus,

the resurrected Christ here.

Let's notice this detail

in verse 12.

Jesus invites them

to come over and have breakfast

and John says,

none of the disciples

dared ask him,

who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

These are kind of

interesting remarks.

It seems that,

on the one hand,

they wanted to ask,

who are you?

And yet, on the other hand,

John states quite clearly

that they didn't

because they knew

it was the Lord.

Well, what are we to make of this?

I think we should take John

at his word.

They knew it was Jesus.

Not they thought,

not they suspected.

They knew it was Jesus.

And yet, at the same time,

it was like there was

something inside of them

that just couldn't believe

that this was really happening.

I mean, we kind of say

the same sort of thing

when something really

wonderful happens

that's totally unexpected.

We'll say something like,

I just can't believe

that this is happening.

Is this really happening to me?

And I think this is

the same sort of thing.

They wanted to ask Jesus

almost like,

is it really you?

And they didn't

because they knew.

You know,

people don't come back

to life from the dead

very often.

So this was something else

for them to experience.

Here he is,

cooking breakfast for them

on the beach.

Let's go on with the story.

Verse 15.

When they had finished eating,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

Yes, Lord, he said.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said,

feed my lambs.

Again, Jesus said,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me?

He answered,

yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

Jesus said,

take care of my sheep.

The third time

he said to him,

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me?

Peter was hurt

because Jesus asked him

the third time,

do you love me?

He said,

Lord,

you know all things.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said,

feed my sheep.

What an interesting exchange

between Jesus and Peter.

If you've ever heard

teaching on this before,

you've probably heard

that there's some

changing up of the Greek

word for love

in this conversation.

It starts with

Jesus asking if Peter

loves him with that

Greek agape love.

And finally,

the last time,

it progresses towards

the phileo love.

Maybe you've heard

some of that.

Well-meaning preachers

have sprung off of that

into all kinds of stuff

about the differences

between agape love

and phileo love.

And you've got the,

you know,

the agape love.

That's kind of God's

unconditional love

towards us.

And then you've got

phileo love,

which is kind of more

our human brotherly love

towards one another.

Well,

as time goes on

and we get better

at studying

the Greek language

of the Bible

and we develop

better tools

for analysis

and more Christian

men and women

have put their time in,

it seems to be

the consensus

among scholars today

that actually

that whole hard line

distinction between

agape and phileo

was maybe a little bit

overstated in the past.

As it turns out

from careful study,

they're basically

just near synonyms

overlapping in meaning

and in fact,

John actually uses them

interchangeably elsewhere

in the gospel.

It's a stylistic choice

probably,

not to be

too repetitious.

So we don't want

to get distracted

from the main point here

and kind of go off

into this nuance here.

It seems as if

Jesus is simply

asking him three times,

do you love me?

And Peter's giving

his answer.

But what's the main thing

in this conversation?

What is it really about?

Why does Jesus ask

three times

the same question?

And what is it

that Jesus

is asking Peter

to do?

Well, let's start

with some

sanctified imagination.

Imagine that you

are Peter

and you're sitting there

around this fire

eating breakfast

and Jesus

looks you in the eye

and he asks you

this very personal

probing question.

Do you love me?

Do you love me

more than these guys do?

What thoughts

and feelings

are going on

in your mind

as you

are singled out

in the group

and asked about

what's really

in your heart?

If I'm Peter,

I'm thinking back

to what happened

in the garden

that night

that Jesus

was arrested.

I'm thinking about

how I talked

the talk.

I made great boasts.

I'm willing to die

for you, Lord.

But then I'm remembering

about how the moment

of testing came

and I denied

even knowing you

three times

and you caught me

red-handed

right in that moment.

And then I'm thinking

back to the day

that you rose

from the dead

and the women

told us

and I didn't believe them.

And then I ran out

to the tomb

and I saw that

the tomb was empty

and I still didn't believe it.

John over here did,

but I didn't believe it.

So it's like,

what can I say

in this moment

to affirm my love

for you, Jesus?

Well, Peter doesn't go

through all that

in his out loud answer.

Instead, he just says

what he believes.

He says,

Jesus,

you know

what's in my heart.

You know

that I love you.

Three times

he says the same thing.

Lord,

you know

that I love you.

Peter knows it's true.

He knows he loves Jesus,

but how do I convey that?

Well,

you know,

all along through the story,

Jesus has been the one

that's really known

what's going on

inside of me,

inside of others.

It's been so obvious.

He's said it

again and again.

And so that's what he says.

You know,

Lord,

you know

that it's true,

that I love you.

And the third time,

Peter,

he explains a little

more fully.

He says,

Lord,

you know all things.

You know all things.

You know

that I love you.

So this answer

of Peter's

is actually

full of faith.

Faith that Jesus,

the very Son of God,

knows all things.

Even the depths

of Peter's heart.

It's like he's saying,

if I didn't love you,

I wouldn't even be able

to hide it from you.

You know

all things.

You've been right

about me

all along,

what's going on

inside of me

the whole time.

It's a deep,

personal,

probing question.

It's a little

unusual,

perhaps,

to be asked

something like this

on the spot

in front of others.

But then it gets

a little bit awkward

because Jesus

asks it again.

And then it gets

even more awkward

because Jesus

asks it a third time.

In fact,

John tells us

that with the third time,

Peter was hurt.

The word there

literally means

grieved.

something about

being asked

that third time

stung.

Likely,

Peter didn't know

why.

Jesus was asking

him repeatedly

and now this

third time,

is it because

he doesn't think

I'm sincere?

Does he doubt

my love for him?

Is he asking

this because of

what I said

and did

that night

when I betrayed,

I denied him?

I mean,

this might have

been somewhat

humiliating

for Peter

in front of

all the others.

Why three times?

And then,

on top of all that,

there's this

unexpected thing

Jesus says

after each time.

Feed my lambs.

Take care of my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

This is kind of odd.

What is this all about?

Jesus gives this

directive to Peter

three times

and again,

there's a little bit

of stylistic variation

there.

There's feed my lambs,

take care of my sheep,

feed my sheep,

but I think it's all

driving at the same thing.

But what an odd thing

to say

in this moment.

You know,

I think there is a reason

in Jesus' heart

for why three times.

I'm not sure,

however,

that any one of us

can really put words

to that

with 100% confidence

that this is why

Jesus did it.

Almost every Christian

I've ever talked to

or heard about this

seems to have

this intuitive

understanding,

and I have it too,

that just as Peter

denied Jesus

three times,

so now Jesus

gives Peter

the opportunity

to affirm his love

for him

three times.

Somehow,

these two things

are connected.

Many Bibles

in the titles

that are right

above the section

say something like

Jesus reinstates Peter

or Jesus restores Peter.

Is this a reinstatement?

Did Peter get

uninstated

when he denied

Jesus three times?

I'm not so sure

about that.

What is obvious

is that

Jesus is not

holding what Peter

had said

or done

against him

at all.

And I think

we often gravitate

towards that.

Look,

the Lord

has forgiven him.

That's obvious.

But there's more here.

Jesus is

giving him

a job to do.

Neither is this

an opportunity

for Peter

to prove himself.

Some people

have kind of

spun it that way too.

or somehow

to make right

what he had done.

Listen,

confessing three times

that he loves

Jesus

doesn't change

what he did.

It doesn't make it right.

It doesn't

atone for it.

What Jesus did

on the cross

is what atoned

for it.

And so

why does Jesus

do this thing

three times?

I'll be honest.

I don't know

100%

that I can put

the words to this.

All I can say

is two things.

First,

it sure adds

a lot of weight

to this

charge

that he is

giving Peter.

Three times,

feed

my sheep.

Take care

of my lambs.

Feed

my sheep.

Look after them.

It's as if

Jesus is

saying him,

don't miss

this,

Peter.

Hear this.

Then go back

and underline it.

Then go back

and highlight it

bright yellow.

This is what I

want you to do,

Peter,

from now on.

Look after

my sheep.

Take care of them.

Feed them.

Be a shepherd

to them.

The second thing

that seems clear

enough here

is that Jesus

is somehow

connecting

Peter's love

for him

with this job,

this command.

It's almost

as if the flow

here is

because you

love me

truly as you

do,

do this for me.

Feed my sheep.

Take care of them.

Look after

those who

belong to me

in the days

ahead

as I leave.

Show your love

to me,

Peter,

in this way.

Let's move

on.

Verse 18.

Jesus goes

on after

this conversation.

He says,

Very truly,

very truly,

I tell you,

when you

were younger,

you dressed

yourself

and went

where you

wanted,

but when you

are old,

you will

stretch out

your hands

and someone

else will

dress you

and lead

you where

you do

not want

to go.

Jesus

said this

to indicate

the kind

of death

by which

Peter would

glorify God.

Then he

said to

him,

Follow me.

So Jesus

starts to

talk about

what the

future holds

for Peter

and he

does it

with this

contrast

between

young and

old,

between

being free

to do

whatever you

want or

do as

you please

and being

restricted

and being

led where

he does

not want

to go.

Jesus

says that

he will

stretch out

his hands

and John

makes it

clear that

this was

talking about

how Peter

would die.

In fact,

it's possible

that John

is writing

this over

three decades

later and

that at the

time of his

writing,

Peter had

already died

and so John

may be even

making a

statement about

how Jesus

was right.

This is

fulfilled.

Look at

how we all

know Peter

died at least

in the day

that John

wrote this.

Some think

that you

will stretch

out your

hands

refers to

stretch out

like this

crucifixion.

Others think

that it means

to kind of

hold them

out to be

bound with

chains and

then led

away to

some kind

of execution.

We don't

really have

a lot of

strong sources

outside the

Bible that

speak of

Peter's

death but

tradition holds

that he was

martyred in

Rome about

three decades

after this.

One source

about 150

years later

says that

Peter was

crucified and

we don't

know if

that guy

had some

inside

information or

some good

sources or

if he was

just looking

back at

what John

wrote here.

Another idea

that you may

have heard is

that Peter

was crucified

upside down

because he

thought he

would be

unworthy to

be crucified

in the same

manner as

Jesus and

unfortunately

that seems to

have crept up

quite a lot

of years

after as

almost like a

legend and

some of the

sources that

point to that

are pretty

dubious in

some of the

other things

that they

report according

to scholars.

So this is a

sobering moment

for Peter.

First he's

probed,

then he's

charged

repeatedly,

and then he's

told in a

somewhat ambiguous

metaphor how

his story is

going to go,

how his life

is going to

come to an

end.

But notice the

word John

chooses here.

there's one

word that

just flips

this whole

thing on

its head.

Jesus said

this to

indicate the

kind of

death by

which Peter

would glorify

God.

Yes, it was

going to be

hard, it was

going to be

awful, but

for Peter it

would be a

death that

would bring

praise to

God.

not like

how he

denied,

not like

how he

said I'll

lay down

my life

for you,

but then

didn't,

but then

down the

road you

will lay

down your

life for

me.

You will

bring praise

to God.

At this

point,

Jesus says

to him,

follow me.

Peter turned

and saw that

the disciple

whom Jesus

loved was

following them.

This was

the one

who had

leaned back

against

Jesus at

the supper

and had

said,

Lord,

who is

going to

betray you?

So at

this point

it seems

that Jesus

asks Peter

to go for

a walk,

using that

same language

of three

years ago,

follow me.

He gets

up and he

starts going

and it

seems that

John kind

of tags

along behind,

probably

listening in.

Again,

there's that

parallel to

what happened

earlier,

just kind

of leaving

the fishing

stuff behind

and going.

Here,

they're

walking

along and

there's a

bit of a

conversation

that takes

place here.

So Peter

sees that

John is

following

and when

Peter saw

him,

he asked,

Lord,

what about

him?

Jesus

answered,

if I want

him to

remain alive

until I

return,

what is

that to

you?

you must

follow me.

Because of

this,

the rumor

spread among

the believers

that this

disciple would

not die.

But Jesus

did not say

that he

would not

die.

He only

said,

if I want

him to

remain alive

until I

return,

what is

that to

you?

This is

the disciple

who testifies

to these

things and

who wrote

them down.

we know

that his

testimony

is true.

So there's

this interesting

little conversation

between Jesus

and Peter

as they walk

along with

John kind

of following

behind.

Peter's just

heard something

about how he

is going to

die.

But now he's

curious about

John's story.

How is it

going to go?

What about

him?

Is it going to

be the same

for him?

And Jesus

gives quite the

answer here.

If I want

him to

remain alive

until I

return,

what is

that to

you?

You must

follow me.

What a

loaded answer.

John tells

us that

because of

this answer

the believers

started spreading

all kinds of

rumors about

John living

until the

return of

Christ.

But John

graciously

reminds his

readers that

Jesus didn't

say that.

That wasn't

the point

that he

was making.

It was a

hypothetical,

rhetorical

question.

Like,

Peter,

if I have

a totally

different plan

for John

than for

you,

what concern

is that of

yours?

You must

follow me.

In other

words,

Jesus is

basically saying

each person

may receive

something

different and

unique from

God.

But for

each one

of us,

we must

follow Jesus

with what

he gives,

with the

way that

he leads,

with the

circumstances

that he

allows and

brings.

Don't worry

about someone

else's lot

in life.

Focus on

your own

following of

Jesus.

Peter,

don't compare

yourself to

him.

Keep your

eyes on

me.

Follow

me.

You know,

I got

thinking about

this too.

It's quite

something that

Jesus is

calling Peter

to follow

him just

a couple

weeks before

he goes

up.

Jesus

wasn't

looking for

people to

just walk

around behind

him in

Galilee 2,000

years ago.

He was

looking for

people to

give their

lives to

following Jesus

as their

Lord,

king,

obeying

his

commands,

devoting

their

whole

lives to

him in

whatever

unique

circumstances

that God

gives.

For Peter,

it was going

to look a

certain way.

He would

glorify and

bring praise

to God in

this particular

way that

Jesus said.

But for

John, it

might be

totally

different.

For you

and me,

it might

look totally

different.

Finally,

we come

to John's

last words.

Verse 25.

Jesus did

many other

things as

well.

If every

one of

them were

written down,

I suppose

that even

the whole

world would

not have

room for

the books

that would

be written.

This is

John's way

of saying,

you know,

I could go

on and

on and

on about

Jesus and

all this

from my

three-ish

years with

him.

time and

space didn't

permit me to

include everything

in this

account.

What John

is saying is

that this

account of

Jesus'

ministry that

he's just

given us,

all 21

chapters of

it, it's

just the

tiny tip of

the iceberg

of what

happened with

Jesus.

As we draw

this series to

a close,

let's consider

one more time

how John

has already

said he

wants us

to respond

to all

this.

First and

foremost,

above all,

Jesus performed

many other

signs in the

presence of

his disciples

which are

not recorded

in this

book,

but these

are written

that you

may believe

that Jesus

is the

Messiah,

the Son

of God,

and that by

believing you

may have

life in

his name.

This is the

main application

of the whole

story.

If there's

only one

thing that

God wants

you to

do in

response to

this account

of John,

it's this,

it's to see

the things

that Jesus

did and

said and

believe that

he is the

Son of God,

the Messiah,

and the

promise comes

with it.

If you do,

Jesus promises

that you will

find eternal

life,

life forever

with God.

that's his

gracious gift.

And so I

leave you with

that question.

Do you

believe that

Jesus is the

one and the

only?

I know many

of you already

believe that with

all your heart.

So there's a

couple other

things that this

passage can

point us to,

or ways that it

speaks to us.

There's this

question that

Jesus asked

Peter, and I

want to encourage

you to imagine

for a moment

Jesus asks

the same

thing to

you.

What's your

answer to

it?

Do you

love me?

Do you

truly love

Jesus?

Being a

Christian is

about more

than just

belief.

It's about

love.

It's about a

relationship

with Jesus.

Jesus.

Yes, he is

the teacher

and the

master and

the king,

but it's a

relationship

that's

characterized by

love where

you love

him, and

he loves

you.

How would

you answer

his question

were he to

ask you that

same thing

today?

Do you

love me?

Finally, do

you hear Jesus

call to

Peter, but

not just to

Peter, also

to you?

that call,

follow me.

There's a

particular story,

path, future

that Jesus

has for each

one of us

as his

followers.

And sometimes

we might

wonder, why

is mine

going this

way and

somebody else's

looks so

good?

Theirs is

going that

way.

Why can't

I have what

they have?

hear Jesus'

words to

you.

If I have

something quite

different for

them, what is

that to you?

You must

follow me.

Each of us

by the wisdom

and kindness

of God has a

unique way

that we get

to bring glory

to God with

our lives,

that we get

to praise his

name.

something special,

how we

will highlight

God's

goodness,

God's grace,

God's power

in ways that

won't be true

of every other

person.

And so when

the going is

tough, I want

to just encourage

you, don't

turn away.

Keep following

Jesus.

Keep your eyes

fixed on him.

He is the

good shepherd

word and he

will lead us

through.

Let's close

this series by

asking for God's

help to do

this.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, we

give you

thanks for

this awesome

thing that you

have preserved

for us over

the centuries,

this glimpse

into what

happened when

you broke

into our

world and

turned everything

upside down

and spoke

to us the

good news

and did

the good

news, died

for us,

rose again.

I pray that

you would stir

up faith in

our hearts,

that where it's

not there, it

would be there,

that where it's

there, it

would grow

stronger.

And I pray

that each one

of us would

be able to

answer this

question and

say truthfully

from the

heart, Lord

you know

that I love

you.

Help us

to follow

you.

Lead us.

We pray

this in

your name,

in the name

of Jesus.

Amen.

I'll invite the

worship team to

come up.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.