Sermon Brief
Date Written: May 22, 2008
Date Preached: May 18, 2008
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Graduation Day
Sermon Title: Graduation Day – A Time to Move Forward!
Sermon Text: John 21:15-19
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, 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.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Introduction:
When we first meet Peter we find him by the sea and we see that he is a fisherman. Jesus comes by and calls Peter to follow Him. Peter leaves his business, his livelihood, and his family to follow Jesus.
A little later we find out that Peter thought he knew what he was doing when he dropped everything to follow Jesus, he thought he had things all figured out!
This is because Peter and the disciples believed Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah, and that meant Jesus was going to overthrown the Romans and set up a new kingdom. Peter wanted to be a part of what he thought Jesus was going to do!
However, Peter found out very soon what Jesus was doing, and Jesus was not heading down the road that Peter had expected! What Peter had expected was NOT coming to pass and we find Peter and the other disciples had to make a choice! Follow Jesus or turn back!
During his time as a disciple of Jesus we find Peter sticking his foot into his mouth and finding himself in trouble a lot because he believed he could do things on his own, and he did not submit to Christ!
But here in our passage this morning we find that even though Peter failed Jesus over and over again, he is restored by Jesus and ultimately goes on to become one of the great early church leaders!
In chapter 21 of the book of John we find Peter graduating from being a disciple with his own desires and goals to a full-fledged apostle dedicated to the spread of the Gospel of Christ!
We find that Peter was ready now to move out from underneath the safe umbrella of serving with Jesus… and he became a servant who was willing to serve Christ even after Jesus resurrected to heaven.
Peter graduated and became what Christ had always intended him to be!
Today graduates, you stand at a crossroads in your life. Ever since you have been born, Christ has been calling you to come to Him. Some of you have come, and some of you have sat on the sideline, and some of you have rejected Him.
Many of you have your own expectations in life, and you have your own preconceptions of what you are supposed to be doing in life! You may have even started High School or College with all your own dreams and desires and thoughts about what you would accomplish.
But you soon found out that doing things YOUR way and seeking only after what you desires was not going to work. That is because the teachers had their own lesson plans and there was structured work scenarios that you had to adhere to… and when you tried to do it your way… instead of theirs you failed!
But here you stand today and even though you may have failed on occasion, you have been ‘restored’ [so to speak] and you are ‘graduating’ to the next level of your life.
You are leaving the safe haven of High School or college to move out into the world! And like Peter after Christ restored him, you are going out into the world with the teachings and instructions of you have been given, but you will be separated from those who have mentored you and taught you!
Today I want to share with you that Jesus wants you to ‘feed His sheep’… Jesus wants you to ‘tend His lambs’… Jesus wants you to live for Him, and totally submit to His calling on your life, just like Peter did that day on the beach some 2000 yrs ago!
And what many people don’t seem to realize is that it doesn’t matter where you are in life! It doesn’t matter what you have done up to this point! Surrender to Jesus and He can use you! Jesus wants you to serve Him, Jesus desires you to work in His kingdom to help it to grow by sharing Christ with others around you! Jesus wants YOU!
It seems as if the life of Peter is a microcosm of humanity in general. When we start out our life, 1st…
1. We think we can do anything!Matt 26:33, John 13:37
You see, Peter believed in his heart that when he left everything behind to follow Jesus… he felt that he would great things! He thought that because Jesus was the long awaited Messiah that great things would be thrust upon him!
Peter thought that he would be taking his place in the new kingdom of Israel when Jesus came into His kingdom! Peter fully believed that Jesus was going to shake the very foundation of the Roman government and that Israel would be able to shake off their captors and then establish a new earthly kingdom that would be led by Jesus!
Now this may sound surprising to you but this is what ALL the disciples thought at first when Jesus called them into service! We find that Peter seemed to be the one full of self confidence! In fact, when we look at Peter we find him to be a little arrogant and mouthy.
We find Peter opening mouth and inserting foot on many occasions in Scripture. Peter once even was brave enough to rebuke Jesus when Jesus was foretelling about His death on the Cross… Look at Matt 16:21-23 (NKJV)…
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
But it seemed as if Peter didn’t learn his lesson there, later on Peter believed that his devotion to Jesus was enough to get him through any trial or persecution… He truly believed he would not fail or falter! Look with me at 2 verses… Matt 26:33 and John 13:37
33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Matt 26:33 (NKJV)
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” John 13:37 (NKJV)
Peter believed he could handle anything that came his way… he believed that it was his strength that would carry him through and would keep him true to Christ!
But that is the exact reason why we find Peter stumbling throughout most of his time with Jesus here on earth… Peter had been a fisherman, and his physical strength was what he had always relied upon!
Peter had always been courageous and unafraid… and so he believed he could face anything… and Peter never grasped the concept of leaning on Jesus!
Graduates, today I know that you are sitting there in your pew and you have your own preconceptions and realities about how your life is supposed to turn out! Right now, it is very possible that you only see things thru YOUR OWN eyes, and don’t see it thru God eyes!
In passage for this morning, I want to point out that Peter was suffering and was ashamed because he had found out the hard way that he could NOT make it on his own power! Peter found out that without leaning on Christ he was going to fail!
And friends, here is the beautiful picture I want to paint for you this morning. No matter how much of a failure you have been, no matter how much you have turned your back on Jesus, no matter how terrible you have been… if you will turn to Jesus… if you will submit to Him…
He will take you under His arm just as He took Peter…and Jesus will console you just like He did Peter and Jesus will restore and save you… just like He did with Peter! Why? It is all because of His love for you!
Life is a greater challenge than we ever expect it to be. Like I said earlier, today you are at a crossroads… today you are going to admit that you cannot do it on your own… OR today you are going to continue to be stubborn, thinking you have the power to do it on your own!
But if you will not surrender to Jesus, you are going to fail! You are going to fall! But Jesus loves you and wants you to be a part of His family and He desires to lead and guide you with His love for you!
Today are you willing today to allow Jesus to love you? Are you willing today to allow Jesus to wrap His arms around you?
I am sure that morning on the beach that Peter wanted to see Jesus, and he was thrilled that Jesus had raised from the dead, but I can imagine that Peter was ashamed because he had failed Jesus!
Peter had abandoned Jesus at His darkest hour… Peter had betrayed Jesus and had denied Him in public! Peter wanted to see Jesus but felt unworthy, felt ashamed of what he had done!
Today you may be in the same boat as Peter, you may have done some things that you are ashamed of and you don’t think that you have anything to offer to God, but I want you to know that Jesus wants you to be a part of His kingdom!
Even when we fail and falter, Jesus is there, and He loves us with a love that goes beyond our performance… He loves us with an unconditional love that loves us in spite of our failure!
We generally start out in life thinking we can do anything under our own power, but life happens and we then…
2. Realize we can do nothing! Matt 26:40-41,45,70,72,74-75
We find that Peter had failed Jesus even before he betrayed him… look at these verses!
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Jesus was at His lowest moment here on this earth, His human nature was crying out to God to let this cup pass from Him, and He had asked His disciples to pray with Him about it… but even at this critical time, Peter failed Jesus… Peter fell asleep!
Peter promised a lot, but could not deliver…he made many brash and bold predictions but refused to submit to the Lordship of Christ!
When we make brash and bold predictions without proper guidance, leadership, and experience, we are bound to fail and falter, just like Peter did!
Peter made some pretty bold predictions about himself and his love for Jesus, but we find that the reality of the matter was that when the chips were down, Peter collapsed!
Peter had NO chance to live up to his claims of faithfulness under his own power and Jesus knew this! Jesus knew that Peter was trying to live out his calling on his own power, and He knew he would fail!
Graduates, you can look back at your life in high school or college and I bet you made some pretty bold and brash predictions about yourself, didn’t you? You probably said, “I am going to make this…” or “I am going to accomplish that…”
But, sadly many of you failed to see the need to cling to your mentors and instructors to help you achieve those goals… and you went off on our own, attempting to do it under our own power!
And that is when you failed… that is when you faltered! That is when you found out that you could not stand up to the pressure on your own! Jesus wanted Peter to know that the battle was more difficult than he believed it to be…
Today I stand before you as a High School graduate, a college graduate and a seminary graduate… but for me to say that I did it all “my way” would be a lie because I had leadership and guidance from the godly people in my life and by God himself.
I could not have made it through these trying times had it not been for Christ and His guidance and leadership. Peter found himself struggling and hurting because he tried to do things on his own!
And today you may have found yourself struggling as well because you have tried to do things YOUR way… you have tried to do things as per YOUR desires, and you have failed and you have found nothing but misery!
God does not desire misery for us, but deliverance and salvation! But God does demand our allegiance and devotion! We must submit to His plan… to His purpose… to His way of doing things, and when we do we will find peace and joy, and we will succeed in our endeavors with Christ!
Peter totally missed what Jesus was all about, Peter relied on his own wisdom to lead and guide his decisions when he was following Jesus. We find that leaning on his own wisdom and following his own internal desires as his guide, led Peter to a bitter time in his walk with the Lord!
Look with me to Matthew 26:74-75 where Peter realizes that relying on his own strength has failed him:
74 Then he [Peter] began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.
As Christian students I know that you have found yourself in that same situation. You have found yourself sorry and dejected because you have done something you know you shouldn’t have done! You have relied on your own judgment and wisdom when you should have been relying on God!
The Bible is very clear about wisdom and what kind of wisdom we must seek… we cannot seek earthly wisdom as it is folly and leads only to destruction! But we are to seek godly wisdom! Proverbs 3:5-8 says it best!
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. (NKJV)
When we learn to look to God for our wisdom, and for those decisions we must make, we are going to find a support system like no other!
That leads me to my final point this morning and that is that we must understand that…
3. In Christ we can do everything! John 21:17; Phil 4:13
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”
It is here where we find Peter had graduated from Jesus school! But it had not been an easy 3 ½ years. Peter bore the scars of trying to do things his way! But this morning on the beach, Peter saw Jesus for who He was! A humble servant Savior!
He saw Jesus on the beach cooking breakfast for them in an act of humility and love! Peter heard Jesus tell them where to cast their nets for a good catch (since they had NO success the entire night)!
Peter experienced Jesus providing for his physical needs and then Peter experienced the love of Christ in a very special way… Peter experienced the forgiveness of God when Jesus took Peter aside and took care of his spiritual needs.
Jesus did NOT condemn Peter for his denial, but encourages Him to feed His sheep, to love the flock, but to feed these sheep who need the wisdom of God!
Graduates today you may be struggling in your walk with Jesus. In your life there has probably been times when you may have denied Christ a few times to try just so that you would fit in…or to avoid persecution and ridicule, just as Peter did... but I want you to know that just as Jesus was there for Peter and loved Him… Jesus is there for you as well!
Jesus is ready to pick you up in His arms and love you with such a love that you will never again seek another love! The love of Christ is perfect and wonderful!
Jesus loved Peter back into a leadership position within the 1st century church. And we can know that regardless of what life throws our way, regardless of how much we fail… Jesus will be there and if we will lean on Him and submit to him there is nothing we cannot do in His name. Paul had the right idea when he said…
Phil 4:13 (NKJV) - 13 “I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.”
Conclusion:
Today you graduates stand on the border of a new world and a new life! You are facing the unknown, whether it is that you are going to college or that you are going out into the world to work and become the person God has called you to be… it is an unknown commodity to you!
Today you have graduated from one chapter of your life to the next! And today I want you to know that Jesus is there for you! Jesus wants to guide your steps; Jesus wants to direct your path!
You may be at the point in your life that you feel you have strayed too far from God, that you have lived TOO bad of a life, that you have nothing left to offer Him! Well I stand here today… an illustration of God’s patience and love!
I ran from God, I muddled through life for 23 yrs before I accepted Christ, and after I accepted Christ I ran from Him for another 12 yrs before I fully surrendered to Him! Now to me that is great patience on the part of God!
There were times in my life where I thought I was TOO far gone… and I felt I had nothing to offer God. But God is gracious and when I finally turned to Him, in His grace and mercy He loved me, restored me and then began to use me in His Kingdom for His glory!
Graduates…you are valuable to God! It is His desire that you submit to His calling on your life! So this morning I call on you to come forward and repent before the Lord! Repent and submit to Him today! Your life is important to God, because it can be used to glorify His name!
Like Peter, you may have traveled down paths you shouldn’t have, but Jesus still loves you and is willing to forgive and restore you to good favor before God and restore your witness for Him and restore your zeal for the kingdom!
Won’t you come and surrender to the calling of Christ on your life! Won’t you come and submit to God fully and completely!
But this invitation is not just for those graduates here in our midst, this invitation goes out to everyone here! We all need to submit and surrender our hearts… we all need to turn to Jesus for guidance and direction! Won’t you come today and give it all to Jesus…
The invitation hymn this morning is “Just as I Am” and the message is that you can come to Jesus regardless of where you are in life… as Parker comes to lead us in that hymn I pray that you will come and surrender to Jesus today!
