The Faithful Friend for the Fallen
John 21:18-24
18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
Intro:
1. All have sinned and have fallen short is what the Bible teaches. Our righteousness is as filthy rags.
2. What leads us to fail the Lord and to fall? Carnality – which is being more concerned with the things of the flesh and this world than the Spirit and the things of God.
3. The person we are studying this morning is Peter who denied the Lord three times after he said he never would forsake the Lord.
4. May I suggest that Peter had fallen into a carnal state of mind that led to his failure. How? He was more concerned about his flesh and the possible politics against him than he was about confessing the Lord and continuing to follow the Lord.
5. I see church people who are so carnally minded, and it concerns me for them because I know it can lead to a fall!
** Understand something though. Even though I see your carnal followings, faults, and failures, I will still pray for you, preach in love to you, and be your friend.
6. Let me list some words that defines what carnality is even more. Write them down and see if these things are in your life that takes your attention off of Christ and puts your attention more on the carnal.
a. Preoccupation (the shows, sights, sounds, speeches, sports, scandals, scoop) We get so preoccupied with these things that we take our mind off of God.
b. Pride c. Pleasures d. Possessions e. Power
f. Politics g. Positions h. People Pleasing
j. Privileges k. Postings
7. We really do fail God in so many ways don’t we?
8. No wonder we are not close to God. We go to church with drudgery and toil. We do not have a hot burning love for the Scripture, Songs, Sermons, Sanctuary, and the Saints.
9. Have you failed the Lord and fallen? There is a Faithful Friend for the Fallen!
10. Look at what Peter did after he had failed the Lord so miserably.
Body - The Faithful Friend for the Fallen
I. Peter’s Failure
** In Matthew 26 - Peter denied the Lord three times.
A. The Place of His Failure
1. The Place was Wrong
a. He kept company with the Servants
Mt. 26:58 58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
b. He kept company with the Schemers
Mt. 26:59 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
2. The Path was Wrong (He followed the Lord afar off, and soon was not following the Lord at all. Some of you have been guilty of following the Lord but at a distance. Think back to some people that used to go to church here, and they then started following the Lord at a distance. Today they are not following the Lord at all.)
3. The Profanity was Wrong
Mt. 26:74 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. (When we get away from the Lord, our looks, love, and language will change.)
B. The Pain of His Failure
Mt. 26:75 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
**No Peace of God – No Presence of God – No Power of God
**Sin is a criminal that kills you, steals from you, and destroys you!
C. The Price of His Failure
1. He lost fulfillment!
a. His life is no longer filled with Joy
b. He life is no longer filled with Jesus
2. He lost fellowship!
a. He is lonely.
b. He is lacking.
c. He is lost. (He does not know what to even do.)
**Peter is going to find out that even though he is a failure, he still has a faithful friend.
II. Peter’s Foolishness
John 21:3 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing.
A. The Choice
1. He feels he has no other Care.
a. He goes back to his old life.
b. He goes back to his old love.
**Where would you go if you turned your back on God? You would go back to that old life and those old loves.
2. He feels he has no other Career.
I think Peter feels . . .
a. Useless
b. Unworthy
**Sin will make us useless and unworthy, and he made his choices based on his condition.
**But even though Peter failed, he still had a faithful friend.
B. The Company
John 23:3b They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
1. Backsliders will take some Friends with them.
2. Backsliders will take some Family with them.
C. The Consequences
1. Their Time was Wasted
2. Their Trip was Wasted
**Their time and trip lasted all night, but they had nothing to show for it!
**You will prosper little to nothing and produce little to nothing when you are not where the Lord wants you to be.
III. Peter’s Friend
John 21:4 4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
**Peter and the disciples did not know who He was or why He was there, but the Lord sure did know who they were, where they had been, why He was there, and what He was going to do for them!
A. Jesus Found Him
(Peter is different when Peter’s friend finds him.)
1. Notice, he Admits -
He has nothing to offer. (He has no meat to offer.)
2. Notice, he Adheres –
He stopped doing things Peter’s way and started doing things the Lord’s way.
3. Notice his Ambition -
As soon as he heard it was the Lord, he swims to shore to get to Him as fast as he can!!
** When Jesus shows up on the shores of you sinful sea, admit, adhere, and have the ambition to get to Him as fast as you can!
B. Jesus Fed Him
Jesus fed him Friendship, Fellowship, and Food.
C. Jesus Freed Him
1. Peter’s Confession (He loves the Lord.)
2. Peter’s Commission (To Follow and To Feed)
**Thank God for a friend like Jesus who can forgive us of our failures.
IV. Peter’s Future
A. Notice the Interrogation concerning Peter’s Future
1st Disciple’s Question: John 21:20 Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
2nd Disciple’s Question: John 21:21 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
** I like what the Lord said to these men. He said, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”
**To the first disciple he is saying, it really is none of your business. This is between me and him so whatever I tell him what is it to you?
**To the second disciple (which is Peter) He is saying, “Just follow me.” You are forgiven and now you just need to follow me.
B. Notice the Instruction concerning Peter’s Future
Peter’s Future would have to be a life of . . .
1. Sacrifice (John 21:18)
If we are going to follow God, we do not get to decide where we go and what we do. The Lord makes those decisions once we are His! Some people are too carnal to make sacrifices for the Lord.
2. Service (John 21:19)
He whole purpose was to serve God so that God got all the glory. If your goal is to get self-glory instead of giving Savior-glory, your service is in vain!
3. Surrender (John 21:19c)
Peter was told to follow Christ. You must surrender to Christ to follow Christ.
Close
1. “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
2. Have you sinned against God?
3. Have you betrayed the Lord and turned your back on Him through your preoccupations, pride, pleasures, possessions, power, positions, politics, people pleasing, privileges?
4. Every time you sin, you betray the Lord.
5. However, the good news is that He is a Faithful Friend for the Fallen!!
6. What does your future look like? Will you draw nearer to God today and forsake all others? Or, will you resist the bidding of the Holy Spirit and follow afar off until you are seen no more because you went astray?
7. The Lord is on your shore. He is ready to feed you, fellowship with you, and be your friend. Get off that boat that is getting you nowhere and producing nothing and get to Jesus!!
8. Don’t you think you have been fishing in the wrong pond for way too long?
There is a Faithful Friend for the Fallen, and He is here right now to answer your prayers!
