WHAT IS THAT TO YOU? YOU FOLLOW ME!
John 21:18-22
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Gifts from Heaven
1. A kitten climbed a 15-foot tree in a pastor’s front yard and climbed all the way to the top, and started crying loudly. The pastor’s children asked him to save it, so he pulled the tree over sideways, further & further, then lost his hold, and the tree snapped back, flinging the kitten over the house. They checked the backyard but didn’t find it. “I guess the Lord took it to heaven,” he told them.
2. A week later he saw a neighbor lady he knew buying cat food. “I thought you hated cats,” he said. She said, “I do, but my kids kept pestering me for one. Finally, I said, ‘Let’s kneel here in the yard and pray. Lord, if you want us to have a cat I ask that you drop one from heaven.’ As soon as I said ‘Amen’ – would you believe it – a kitten fell right out of the sky at my feet! What could I say?!”
B. TEXT
“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.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:18-22
C. WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?
1. Peter had denied the Lord 3 times at Annas’ house. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to five apostles & 2 disciples at the Sea of Galilee. He called Peter out on his 3 denials, asking him 3 times if he really loved Him. Peter was humbled, repented, and the Lord told him to feed His sheep (Jesus was reinstating Peter to his apostleship).
2. Then Peter & Jesus went for a walk, during which Jesus told Peter how he would die by crucifixion. Peter noticed John following them and asked the Lord what was going to happen to John. Peter was comparing his destiny with John’s destiny. Jesus answered, “What is that to you? You must follow Me!”
D. MAIN IDEA
There are many people and situations that tempt us to take our eyes off of Jesus, to compare ourselves. Today we’re going to be looking at 4 things that distract us from following Jesus.
I. COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHERS
A. TO OTHER BELIEVERS
1. Peter had just been assigned a mission from Jesus; his path was clearly marked out before him. Was this the time to get distracted with what other people’s missions are?
2. The ExB version (21:22) translates Jesus’ words as, “That is not your business...You follow Me!” GW says, “How does that concern you?” Clearly, our business is to follow Jesus as He leads us, not to focus on what other people are doing. As Paul said, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” Rom. 14:4.
B. WALKING IN HIS STEPS
1. To follow Jesus means to walk in his steps. Austin Mansfield told about his military assignment, “When I was being taught how to clear a minefield our instructor told us to step precisely in the footprint left by the person in front of us. The concept was simple: since the person in front of us stepped on a spot that didn’t set off a landmine, the only spot guaranteed to be safe was the ground under that footprint. Stepping anywhere else meant risking death.
2. The person at the front of the patrol is called the “point man.” His job is to identify the safe places to walk. Everyone else’s job is to walk where he walks and step where he steps. Jesus is our point man; we’re supposed to step where He stepped!
II. WHEN THERE’S ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES
A. FAITH OVERCOMES CIRCUMSTANCES
1. All the people of faith in Hebrews 11 had adverse circumstances – ones that contradicted what God was telling them to do.
a. Abraham & Sarah – too old to have kids;
b. Gideon – only had 300 soldiers Vs. a million;
c. Noah – it had never rained before, only misted.
d. Widow – had to turn cup of oil into an oilwell!
e. Andrew – feed 8,000 people with a boy’s lunch.
2. The more impossible it looks, the better God likes it, because then only He can get the credit. SO WE SHOULDN’T LET CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE OUR FAITH!
3. Imagine Peter – he has this shortage of money to pay his taxes. The Lord tells him (a professional fisherman) to go fishing for his tax money. Peter must have had a lot of reasons why this wouldn’t work:
1). Fish don’t bite in the middle of the day;
2). Jesus gave no directions on where this ‘bonanza fish’ could be found;
3). Peter’d never heard of a fish with money inside;
4). Who is the numbskull who’s feeding money to fish?
5). Fish usually aren’t stupid enough to swallow heavy pieces of metal! THIS WAS WAY OUTSIDE OF CRAZY!
4. But Peter didn’t try to rationalize his way through this – he simply trusted in God and it worked!
B. FAITH OR GROWTH MINDSET?
1. Dr. Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, conducted a groundbreaking study that revealed something simple—but profound. She discovered that people generally have two mindsets: fixed and growth. A fixed mindset believes your abilities, intelligence, and potential are set in stone. “I’m either good at this or I’m not.” Failure? That’s the end of the story.
2. But a growth mindset sees things differently. It says, “I may not be there yet—but I can learn, improve, grow.” Failure? Faith says, “Even if I’ve failed before, I can try again. God’s not done with me yet.”
3. Do you feel blocked from God’s best because of circumstances? Do your problems look big, and God looks small? Then you may be looking at God through the wrong end of the binoculars.
4. ADOPT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE! There was a huge storm and a father remembered that his little girl was upstairs alone. Thinking that she might be frightened by the thunder and lightning, he ran up to her room to find her with her face pressed against the window. She said excitedly, "I think God's trying to take my picture!"
5. So when you see adverse circumstances, listen up, because you’ll probably hear Jesus saying, “What is that to you? You follow Me!”
III. SIDETRACKED BY COMMON INJUSTICES
A. HYPOCRITICAL CHRISTIANS
1. Some Christians (or leaders) may fail to live like Jesus. They are hypocritical, compromising weasels. They may push themselves forward, pull strings, brag about themselves, write books and draw crowds.
2. When we start looking at other people, Jesus is saying to us, “What is that to You? You follow Me!” Does a few people’s disobedience make the Gospel of none effect? Does it rob the Gospel of its power or Christ of His Lordship? Of course not! So don’t get your eyes on them!
B. OTHERS PROSPER & YOU DON’T
1. Other Christians may succeed & make a lot of money while you struggle and live on a day-to-day basis. They may live in big houses and drive fancy cars, and you never seem to get ahead. Should this keep you from following Jesus? No!
2. Sometimes it seems like other people’s prayers get answered while yours seem to be forgotten. God’s delays are NOT God’s denials! Joseph waited 17 years to see God’s promises come true. Sarah waited 25 years!
3. God says, “What concern is it of yours? You follow Me!” (AmpC) “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls” Rom. 14:4.
IV. SEEING OUR LIMITATIONS
A. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
1. God often calls people to do something for Him and all they can see is their limitations.
a. "I'm not educated enough,"
b. "I'm too young/ I'm too old."
c. "If I obey God, people will think I'm weird."
d. "I'm too busy; family, job, stuff to maintain."
e. “I'm not good enough." LOOK AT PETER:
2. Peter knew he was a goof-up. He had trouble forgiving, he was a bragger, he over-reacted, he presumed things – he could see all his limitations. There were a lot of reasons he wasn’t worthy to be a servant of God.
3. Many people God called expressed their feelings of unworthiness; Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul, Ananias. You may be thinking the same thing. But Jesus tells you to get your eyes off of your limitations; “What is that to You? You follow Me!”
B. DON’T LET YOUR PAST DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE!
1. Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” Phip. 3:13-14.
2. Instead of letting our past be a stumbling block, God wants you to turn it into a SPRINGBOARD, A LAUNCHING PAD for your future!
3. How could God use Mary Magdalene? Jephthah? Saul of Tarsus – after all they’d done? God changed their lives from a curse into a blessing. You may feel like that thornbush on Mount Horeb – worthless, useless, desolate – yet God used it to light a fire that begin the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage! (And to bring the knowledge of God to all the world!)
4. It wasn’t the bush itself that was of value, it was GOD’S PRESENCE on it THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE! And when we let God set us apart and put His Spirit on us, what people will see is God’s power, not us! PTL!
5. Jesus said, "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen You and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit" John 15:16
6. If we stay in the place of prayer, God will clothe us with His presence and power.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
1. In a small village in Malawi, Africa, there lived a 13-year-old boy named William Kamkwamba. His family, like many others, was facing the worst famine in decades. Crops were failing. Food was scarce. People were starving. School fees became impossible to pay, and William was forced to drop out.
2. But he didn’t stop learning. He began sneaking into the local library, where he found a science book with a picture of a windmill on the cover. It said a windmill could generate electricity and pump water. And that gave William an idea. What if he could build one?
3. He gathered scrap metal, old bicycle parts, pieces of plastic—anything he could find. People laughed at him. Called him crazy. But William had faith in what he could not yet see. He believed he could help his village.
4. After weeks of effort, he finished his windmill. It stood 16 feet tall and looked like a twisted collection of junk. But when he turned it on… the blades spun. The light flickered. Electricity flowed. And then, water.
5. His windmill powered a pump that began irrigating crops—bringing new life to dry ground. William’s faith became a literal life-saver for his community. [Source: Wikipedia]
B. THE CALL
1. You have a path, believer, and that path is yours and yours alone. It's defined by Jesus and his will for your life. He is there with you.
2. THERE’S A WORK ONLY YOU CAN DO. Jesus has a work for me to do and a different one for you. And He gives you a grace to do it! Will you trust Him for that grace and do what He’s given you to do?
3. Call to salvation and to answer Jesus’ calling.
[This message has some thoughts of John Piper & Bryce Morgan]
