Life Serving Christ
Series: THE TRIUMPHANT LIFE
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 28th April 2019
00:00:00 --> 00:00:12 he feared the moment they next spoke he had betrayed their relationship broken promises
00:00:12 --> 00:00:21 that he had spoken that he would always be at their side but he had lied betrayed and fled
00:00:21 --> 00:00:28 there was love and trust and trust and a close relationship and all of that
00:00:28 --> 00:00:37 was broken but now he stands before them with the pain of his betrayal and fear before his eyes
00:00:37 --> 00:00:45 what was going to happen what will they say it might sound like a husband and wife relationship
00:00:45 --> 00:00:53 one potentially confronted with adultery but it's not i'm referring to peter the disciple who had
00:00:53 --> 00:01:01 promised jesus that he would stand beside him no matter what and yet peter betrayed him he said
00:01:01 --> 00:01:08 he didn't know who he was three times before he fled back to his old life to his old job of fishing
00:01:08 --> 00:01:17 and yet now as we come to this final chapter of john's gospel peter is standing before jesus
00:01:17 --> 00:01:27 is reconciliation possible can one like peter who has hurt jesus so much come back and what does
00:01:27 --> 00:01:34 jesus have in store for one like him this is a fear that some of us may have felt you know i fled from
00:01:34 --> 00:01:41 jesus i've done things which bring shame to me before god am i out of his good books is there
00:01:41 --> 00:01:48 forgiveness is my relationship with god damaged forever today we're going to see how peter is
00:01:48 --> 00:01:55 treated by jesus and what can happen to those who feel far from him because of their actions or decisions
00:01:55 --> 00:02:02 so let's pray as we jump into john 21 dear heavenly father we thank you for your word to us today
00:02:02 --> 00:02:10 we thank you that you are a god who reconciles and heals broken relationships lord and we thank you that
00:02:10 --> 00:02:19 you reconcile our relationship with you father give us ears and hearts to hear and be changed today lord
00:02:19 --> 00:02:27 amen please have your bibles open john 21 we're going to be starting in verse 15 uh have your app open
00:02:27 --> 00:02:33 on your phone take notes or follow along on the screen john chapter 21 from verse 15
00:02:33 --> 00:02:41 when they had finished eating jesus said to simon peter simon son of john do you love me
00:02:41 --> 00:02:48 more than these yes lord he said you know that i love you jesus said feed my lambs again jesus said
00:02:48 --> 00:02:55 simon son of john do you love me he answered yes lord you know that i love you jesus said take care of
00:02:55 --> 00:03:02 my sheep the third time he said to him simon son of john do you love me peter was hurt because jesus
00:03:02 --> 00:03:08 asked him the third time do you love me he said lord you know all things you know that i love you
00:03:08 --> 00:03:18 jesus said feed my sheep back in chapter 18 peter had denied jesus three times during jesus's trial
00:03:18 --> 00:03:25 and before his crucifixion and interestingly jesus doesn't refer to him as the name that jesus gave
00:03:25 --> 00:03:32 peter jesus gave him the name peter which means rock but now jesus is calling him simon son of john
00:03:32 --> 00:03:41 it's a it's a subtle reminder that peter has fled jesus he's fled as a follower of jesus
00:03:41 --> 00:03:52 but here with this threefold questioning of his love jesus is reconciling peter's relationship
00:03:52 --> 00:03:59 his threefold profession of love is undoing his betrayal in a very symbolic way
00:03:59 --> 00:04:07 and jesus questions his love do you do you love me more than these now we don't know what these are
00:04:07 --> 00:04:14 the these could be these other disciples do you love me more than these others love me or it could be a
00:04:14 --> 00:04:19 reference to the fishing gear that lay right next to him do you love me more than the career that you
00:04:19 --> 00:04:29 went so quickly back to and the third time peter is asked about his love he is hurt really jesus
00:04:29 --> 00:04:36 i've just i've just answered you twice didn't you hear me and all that peter can do on that third
00:04:36 --> 00:04:47 request is just to appeal to jesus's knowledge you know jesus you know that i love you you know my heart
00:04:47 --> 00:04:55 and while peter is hurt here at jesus's insistence there is actually something really wonderful here
00:04:55 --> 00:05:01 much like when the apostle paul is saved in the book of acts it's a wonderful reminder that even
00:05:01 --> 00:05:10 those who have hurt jesus can be reconciled even the worst who've tried to run and those who have
00:05:10 --> 00:05:17 betrayed jesus are still loved by him it's really wonderful because it shows that it's nothing to do
00:05:17 --> 00:05:25 with peter and it's all to do with jesus he is the hero of this story he is the one who lived the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:32 perfect life who died a brutal death who has been raised and now he has come to fix this relationship
00:05:32 --> 00:05:40 with peter this interaction between peter and jesus reminds us that we have a god who is in the business
00:05:40 --> 00:05:47 of reconciling of bringing people back together of healing ripped and torn relationships
00:05:47 --> 00:05:55 it holds out a hope that a damaged relationship with god himself can be redeemed
00:05:55 --> 00:06:04 confrontation isn't always easy but jesus directly confronts peter confess do you love me
00:06:04 --> 00:06:11 and for peter here there is no hiding he can't get around this question for him to get rid of his sin
00:06:11 --> 00:06:20 and his shame he needs to confess so that he can move from shame to joy and this is that that moment of
00:06:20 --> 00:06:28 joy when a sinner comes to jesus and realizes what his amazing love looks like and re-orients their
00:06:28 --> 00:06:36 whole life to love jesus more the joy that there is reconciliation for one who has betrayed and hurt
00:06:36 --> 00:06:44 god himself now a bunch of you will be going up to katoomba next weekend and uh what's one of the
00:06:44 --> 00:06:55 highlights of going to to kick anybody maccas good any other highlights of the weekend
00:06:55 --> 00:07:04 the weather hopefully it might be cold anything else any night in particular saturday night james
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 case and tell me what happens on saturday night
00:07:06 --> 00:07:19 there's this wonderful opportunity where the gospel is preached and many people respond and it is
00:07:19 --> 00:07:28 joyful this is a joyful moment our hearts should leap for joy when we see one such as peter one such as
00:07:28 --> 00:07:35 me be reconciled we should be standing up and cheering and weeping and shouting for joy because
00:07:35 --> 00:07:43 one who was dead has been made alive this gives hope to the one who has drifted away who is is
00:07:43 --> 00:07:48 questioning jesus the one of us who who acts like jesus doesn't even care
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 because there is reconciliation
00:07:51 --> 00:07:59 we do run the risk of making jesus just one of the things we like instead of the one we love
00:07:59 --> 00:08:04 above anyone else to realize that there is more to life than the pursuit of pleasure
00:08:04 --> 00:08:11 or things or experiences and there is one unique individual who has made this life worth it who says
00:08:11 --> 00:08:18 do you love me do you love me more than these things in your life your job your family your career
00:08:18 --> 00:08:27 jesus is going to keep asking us do you love me do you love me more than these all throughout
00:08:27 --> 00:08:34 our lives now in the past i've i've shared my pain and my grief and my dollar my idolatry
00:08:34 --> 00:08:40 over a particular tv that i bought i bought a tv it was damaged by one of my beautiful children
00:08:40 --> 00:08:48 beyond repair uh and i still haven't gotten over it uh my my gut still drops when i walk into my
00:08:48 --> 00:08:55 garage and i see this tv i get anxious when i walk through the shops and i think about buying a new one
00:08:55 --> 00:09:05 the question for me is do i love jesus more than a tv yes but i am still in danger of idolatry and so i
00:09:05 --> 00:09:16 haven't replaced that tv yet peter who had betrayed jesus who had fled him is reconciled he is restored
00:09:16 --> 00:09:25 and it is a wonderful moment but jesus has more in store for peter than just a reconciled relationship
00:09:25 --> 00:09:34 because he has been saved to serve peter has been saved to serve three times jesus asked peter if he
00:09:34 --> 00:09:40 loved him and three times he asked him to care for those who would come after and to follow jesus
00:09:40 --> 00:09:46 jesus asked him do you love me so feed my lambs do you love me so take care of my sheep do you love me
00:09:46 --> 00:09:55 so feed my sheep jesus is not just concerned here for peter jesus is genuinely concerned for this
00:09:55 --> 00:10:01 fledgling fledgling little church and so peter is directed to a shepherding ministry
00:10:01 --> 00:10:08 because a commitment to jesus is a commitment to the wider church and we don't come to jesus on our
00:10:08 --> 00:10:15 own and follow him but we come to jesus as as the groom who has a bride the church
00:10:15 --> 00:10:22 loving jesus is going to look like loving other people and so we don't just come to church on our
00:10:22 --> 00:10:30 own we actually meet together as a group a church a gathering and it's it's up there the joy of all
00:10:30 --> 00:10:37 people we love treasuring jesus with other people and so for peter loving other people is going to
00:10:37 --> 00:10:43 look like shepherding them feeding them the word the word of jesus nourishing them defending them from
00:10:43 --> 00:10:50 attacks and seeing the sheep grow as they follow jesus peter has gone from a fisherman and now he is a
00:10:50 --> 00:10:58 shepherd now the word shepherd here is where we get the word for pastor not the food but the uh the
00:10:58 --> 00:11:07 title the role of a leader in a church they're the pastor to to walk with to guide to protect to feed
00:11:07 --> 00:11:14 the sheep years later peter would write about uh the work of a shepherd in one peter five
00:11:14 --> 00:11:22 let me read from one peter chapter five to the elders among you i appeal as a fellow elder and a
00:11:22 --> 00:11:28 witness of christ's suffering who also will share in the glory to be revealed be shepherds of god's
00:11:28 --> 00:11:33 flock that is under your care watching over them not because you must but because you are willing
00:11:33 --> 00:11:41 as god wants you to be not pursuing dishonest gain but eager to serve not lording it over to those
00:11:41 --> 00:11:48 entrusted to you but by being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive
00:11:48 --> 00:11:56 the crown of glory that will never fade away so these are pastors these are shepherds who are under
00:11:56 --> 00:12:01 the chief shepherd peter was called to be a shepherd under jesus the chief shepherd the sheep weren't
00:12:01 --> 00:12:09 going to be peter's sheep as jesus said feed my sheep take care of my sheep but peter has a new
00:12:09 --> 00:12:16 responsibility for this little church now in church here there are a number of pastors
00:12:16 --> 00:12:24 we have our brother steve he is the senior pastor under the chief shepherd and so as the senior pastor he
00:12:24 --> 00:12:32 he leads us all he sets the vision he sets the theological direction and he has responsibility
00:12:32 --> 00:12:40 and accountability for all of us but there are a number of other pastors there's a number of pastors
00:12:40 --> 00:12:47 on the team people like adrian and myself and debbie people who have been employed and given a measure of
00:12:47 --> 00:12:54 responsibility who have been set aside we have our time set aside to do that but we aren't the only
00:12:54 --> 00:13:00 pastors there are many pastors there are many other pastors here there are people who are community
00:13:00 --> 00:13:06 group leaders who are pastors of their community groups there are those of us here who are leaders
00:13:06 --> 00:13:15 in kids ministry kids church in youth in boom who are pastoring their little flock of sheep
00:13:15 --> 00:13:25 there are people who are people who are pastors in a one-to-one relationship now not all of us are going
00:13:25 --> 00:13:30 to be the senior pastor of this church actually if if anybody it's probably going to be someone like
00:13:30 --> 00:13:35 caleb you know because he's young and so he's got time to kind of grow up what do you reckon caleb
00:13:35 --> 00:13:41 no thanks no thanks no you've got time for god to change your heart it's okay we don't we're not all going
00:13:41 --> 00:13:49 to be the senior pastor we don't need to be but that doesn't mean we don't get to pastor and care for people
00:13:49 --> 00:13:55 and you might be reading the bible in a one-to-one with somebody else you you might be leading a community
00:13:55 --> 00:14:02 group you you might pastor the sheep at fridays on a you uh on a friday night you might be one of those
00:14:02 --> 00:14:09 sheep who are being pastored at a friday night who are also pastoring others all of these different
00:14:09 --> 00:14:18 levels of pastoring are crucially important to the health of our church peter had his relationship with
00:14:18 --> 00:14:28 jesus reconciled and now that he is saved he serves but that's not the only role that peter would have
00:14:28 --> 00:14:36 serving god have a look at verse 18 with me jesus said to peter very truly i tell you when you were
00:14:36 --> 00:14:42 younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted but when you are old you will stretch out
00:14:42 --> 00:14:47 your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go
00:14:47 --> 00:14:53 jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which peter would glorify god having his arms
00:14:53 --> 00:14:59 stretched out led where he doesn't want to go that is a first century saying for being crucified
00:14:59 --> 00:15:08 peter is going to be crucified just like his lord jesus jesus is prophesying about his future death
00:15:08 --> 00:15:16 and his death isn't going to be the only thing like jesus's but peter's death is also going to glorify god
00:15:16 --> 00:15:25 it will somehow make god look awesome whether it's by peter refusing to recant and him saying no
00:15:25 --> 00:15:34 jesus is my lord even if you crucify me peter's death would bring glory to god now we don't know for
00:15:34 --> 00:15:41 certain when peter's death was but it's reported that he was killed in the 60s of the first century
00:15:41 --> 00:15:51 under emperor nero and so peter is called by jesus to live a life of discipleship marked by the love of
00:15:51 --> 00:16:01 jesus care of the other people in the church until the end of his life now this is so i think just on
00:16:01 --> 00:16:07 its own it's an amazing privilege that god loves us and we get to be with him for eternity not only that
00:16:07 --> 00:16:14 but we get brought into his family we get to be his children but that's not where it stops jesus
00:16:14 --> 00:16:24 actually invites people like peter like you and like me to actually serve and work beside him
00:16:24 --> 00:16:33 to work beside god side by side to bring him glory to see his kingdom grow this always astounds me that
00:16:33 --> 00:16:40 god would actually want us involved often in the mornings one of our early morning rituals
00:16:40 --> 00:16:48 is the very very important task of coffee making and one of my kids micah loves to help make coffee
00:16:48 --> 00:16:53 and so i'll often pick him up put him on the bench put the coffee machine on and his favorite thing to
00:16:53 --> 00:16:59 do is tamp the coffee if you don't know what that is it's where you get the the coffee grip guy and you put
00:16:59 --> 00:17:04 the coffee in the little basket thing and then you squash it down and micah loves doing it he's always
00:17:04 --> 00:17:11 wanting to tamp the coffee um and so he he does that uh and he's helping he's feeling part of this
00:17:11 --> 00:17:17 important daily ritual to you know motivate people to kind of keep going in the morning but i always
00:17:17 --> 00:17:23 have to fix it it's always on an angle it's always done terribly it's never quite right but that doesn't
00:17:23 --> 00:17:30 bother him sometimes just even having the kids in the kitchen can be a burden just get out of the way
00:17:30 --> 00:17:40 it'll be quicker if you watch from another room but our god isn't like that he saves us to serve to get
00:17:40 --> 00:17:49 involved to welcome people to his family to care for one another to give to the work of ministry out of
00:17:49 --> 00:17:53 what he has given us to show compassion and to love others
00:17:53 --> 00:18:01 now peter was unique jesus restored him to relationship personally and told him how he was
00:18:01 --> 00:18:06 going to serve directly wouldn't it be amazing if we had the same journey
00:18:06 --> 00:18:12 that we've been saved by jesus either through reading his word or through a message just like this
00:18:12 --> 00:18:19 and then jesus makes it look really clear what we are to do you're going to follow me forever
00:18:19 --> 00:18:24 and it's going to look like this you're going to go back to china and as a missionary and you're
00:18:24 --> 00:18:30 going to plant a church are you going to go and plant a school somewhere you go you're going to be
00:18:30 --> 00:18:36 the most welcoming person in all of chatswood and you're going to be here at st paul's
00:18:36 --> 00:18:43 at 3 30 every sunday so you can make sure every single new person that comes in is welcomed and
00:18:43 --> 00:18:49 feels part of the community and the family of god here wouldn't that be wonderful if god just said
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 this is how you're going to serve
00:18:50 --> 00:18:58 but it's not as obvious as that always maybe you've been a christian in this church for a while
00:18:58 --> 00:19:04 and you're not exactly sure what god wants you to do how should i serve i don't know
00:19:04 --> 00:19:14 i saw a basketball game uh recently the team was the milwaukee bucks uh i love their uh their mascot
00:19:14 --> 00:19:20 it's a deer and so they're saying is fear the deer because you know fears are so scary deers are so
00:19:20 --> 00:19:27 scary uh and i have this guy called janice antitunkupo and i love saying his name even though i'm pretty
00:19:27 --> 00:19:34 sure i never get it right he is their star player uh and it was great being able to cheer this guy on
00:19:34 --> 00:19:40 from the stands and whenever he got the ball everyone would cheer because this guy is the
00:19:40 --> 00:19:45 best player in the league at the moment and he does amazing stuff this guy is elite
00:19:45 --> 00:19:56 and i think church can be like this we can think that serving god is only for the elite oh you know
00:19:56 --> 00:20:01 we're gonna we're gonna cheer adrian on when he does you know he shares the gospel at esl
00:20:01 --> 00:20:07 woo yeah adrian go you good thing no cheer for adrian oh that's all right brother you know we're
00:20:07 --> 00:20:12 gonna cheer you know laura on when she's leading youth ministry yeah laura there's a little bit of
00:20:12 --> 00:20:19 cheer there you know good on you but that can be where it stops in the stands
00:20:19 --> 00:20:27 there are a multitude of ways we can serve and get involved at church from organizing to admin to
00:20:27 --> 00:20:33 leading kids uh to to youth uh and often we can get involved in areas we're passionate about music
00:20:33 --> 00:20:42 or creative things or we might just fill in in an area because there is a need jesus invited peter
00:20:42 --> 00:20:50 into a very important ministry and he invites us not to just sit on the sidelines and to watch others
00:20:50 --> 00:20:58 and cheer woo but to actually get involved to step onto the court and be on the same team as jesus
00:20:58 --> 00:21:03 and later in our service we're going to have an opportunity to get involved uh just grab grab your
00:21:03 --> 00:21:08 card out for me for a moment uh hopefully you received one of these when you came in if not our
00:21:08 --> 00:21:15 our snazzy red vested people will will get one to you we're going to have an opportunity to respond a
00:21:15 --> 00:21:22 little bit later in three areas how we uh what to think through what is getting in the way of us
00:21:22 --> 00:21:29 loving jesus how we need to commit to serving and where our heart needs work and so we're going to
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 spend some time looking at that later just wanted to flag that for you now brothers and sisters
00:21:32 --> 00:21:43 but even when we are saved even when we are serving there can be issues there can be a cancer of
00:21:43 --> 00:21:53 comparison have a look with me at john 21 verse 19 then jesus then he said to him follow me peter turned
00:21:53 --> 00:21:59 and saw that the disciple whom jesus loved was following him this was the one who had leaned back
00:21:59 --> 00:22:06 against jesus at the supper and had said lord who is going to betray you when peter saw him he asked
00:22:06 --> 00:22:14 lord what about him peter has been reconciled he betrayed jesus he's brought back into relationship
00:22:14 --> 00:22:21 he's given an important ministry by jesus himself and he starts by getting jealous of somebody else
00:22:21 --> 00:22:25 the cancer of comparison starts to grow
00:22:25 --> 00:22:34 the disciple referred to as the one whom jesus loved is later identified as the author john himself
00:22:34 --> 00:22:41 he it seems had a special relationship with jesus he was really close and peter gets jealous okay
00:22:41 --> 00:22:49 great i've got a lifelong ministry ahead of me i'm gonna be crucified uh that's fine but what about him
00:22:49 --> 00:22:59 and i can understand the temptation here it's totally selfish though it's the it's crying out me me i don't
00:22:59 --> 00:23:05 want to miss out it's fomo what it's fear of missing out on somebody else's ministry i want something
00:23:05 --> 00:23:09 better jesus maybe you're going to give something better to them and i want that
00:23:09 --> 00:23:16 so often i think we can be like this advertising in our world certainly doesn't help us to be content
00:23:16 --> 00:23:23 with what we have always desiring for more but it's not even just things peter is not is worried
00:23:23 --> 00:23:30 he's not going to have the same ministry as someone else he's not gonna have the same influence in the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:38 church and it's easy to start thinking in terms of it's my ministry compared to his ministry but it's not
00:23:38 --> 00:23:47 it's god's that peter and we get to be part of jesus dismisses peter's concern verse 22
00:23:47 --> 00:23:55 jesus answered if i want him to remain alive until i return what is that to you you must follow me
00:23:55 --> 00:23:59 effectively jesus is saying it's none of your business
00:23:59 --> 00:24:07 in the end john would have a very different ministry to peter peter would live until the 60s
00:24:07 --> 00:24:14 and be crucified after he'd led uh many many people he'd led the church but john would have a long
00:24:14 --> 00:24:20 life he wouldn't die until over 100 ad and he would write down the good news of the gospel
00:24:20 --> 00:24:29 so that we have it in our bibles and so what if he lived a long life one of them was going to glorify
00:24:29 --> 00:24:36 god in their death and one of them was going to glorify god in their life in their longer life
00:24:36 --> 00:24:44 peter is almost caught with a cancerous growth in his heart i'm constantly challenged by other
00:24:44 --> 00:24:50 christians and it tempts me to sin like peter comparing myself to them you know they might
00:24:50 --> 00:24:58 know the bible so well they're a prayer warrior they're compassionate and they're a just a better
00:24:58 --> 00:25:04 christian than me now it's good to be encouraged by one another but not so that a cancer of comparison
00:25:04 --> 00:25:12 grows because it can fester it can make us think i'm not good enough i'm not loved by god as much
00:25:12 --> 00:25:22 as them i'm not as good a christian if only i were better god calls us to love jesus to love jesus more
00:25:22 --> 00:25:31 than ourselves and my ministry because it's an amazing privilege that god invites us to be on his team
00:25:31 --> 00:25:39 to work beside him i hear about the players who play with the the elites the greats like janice
00:25:39 --> 00:25:46 enter to him good boy i'm sure it would be easy for the regular good player to get jealous of the
00:25:46 --> 00:25:53 excellent player but whenever i hear these people talk they're always so excited and thankful that
00:25:53 --> 00:25:59 they're on his team that they're on the experts team because they get to play with them they get to see
00:25:59 --> 00:26:09 how they go up close and they have success they get to be with them god invites us to be on his
00:26:09 --> 00:26:17 team and it's a multi-faceted team it's a it's described as a body we're a team a church with
00:26:17 --> 00:26:25 many different parts that are all required and complement each other comparison in life can
00:26:25 --> 00:26:31 encourage but it can be a cancer that spreads and hurts us so there's three questions that we need to
00:26:31 --> 00:26:40 be asking ourselves are we loving jesus what is getting in the way of us loving him who has loved
00:26:40 --> 00:26:50 us are we serving on god's team are we still on the stands or are we actually on the field serving one
00:26:50 --> 00:26:58 another and where is our heart at are we comparing ourselves to others instead of reminding ourselves that
00:26:58 --> 00:27:03 we are loved by jesus and invited to work beside him let me pray
00:27:03 --> 00:27:18 dearest heavenly father it is an amazing joy that you reconcile people like us and like peter
00:27:18 --> 00:27:24 to you that we can be in relationship with you even though we have fled we have shamed you
00:27:24 --> 00:27:34 and we continue to do that lord father you are good and you are loving and it is such a privilege that
00:27:34 --> 00:27:45 you invite us to work alongside you father help us to check our loves so that we can love you more than
00:27:45 --> 00:27:52 we love anything else in our lives lord even the ministries that you give us the service that we do for
00:27:52 --> 00:27:59 you lord father help us to serve you if we're not serving you lord i ask that many of us would step
00:27:59 --> 00:28:08 forward and be keen to serve in some capacity and lord when we serve when we are working hard to bring
00:28:08 --> 00:28:18 you glory help us not to think it is ours but it is yours help us not to have that cancer of comparison
00:28:18 --> 00:28:24 and grow in our hearts but lord help us to love you more than anything else there is lord amen