John 21:15-22

July 8, 2012   John 21:15-22 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." 16 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." 17 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. 18 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." 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" 20 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?") 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"  22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."   We are familiar with this passage. We always focus on the part where Jesus tells Peter to feed His sheep. Today we will focus on the part where Jesus tells us to "follow me." Jesus in his ministry said "follow me" many times. Matthew 8:22, 9:9, 19:21, Mark 2:14, John 1:43. But here in this passage he is telling Peter that even though he will no longer be with them, he is told to follow him with the same purpose. What did Jesus mean by "follow me?" Is it the purpose he meant or the method to follow? Was heaven the purpose, to follow Jesus to heaven? Or is to learn about Jesus, or is it to believe in Jesus? What do you think he means by "follow me?" If heaven is your purpose then you must decide how you will attain it. If the world is your purpose then you must live accordingly. If you decide to attain heaven but live for the world, then you will not achieve your goal. What is your goal? Is it heaven, is it the world, is it Jesus? In our daily life, we have many moments where decide things continually about what we must do, but also there is a greater purpose that overshadows our entire life that will decide how we choose in our moments, because in the end we will have to answer to God. When things are cheap we use the things once and get rid of them. The more expensive the product we cherish it and use it well to keep it for a long time. If you call on God, he will work in you to make you worthy of him through trials. It is during these trials that you must persevere in order to be what God desires to make of you. It is good to learn the word of God, but if there is no change in your life then it is useless. What good is a fruit tree that does not bear fruit? Will you not cut it out and throw it away? Have you not done so in your homes? If Jesus comes to you to see if there is fruit and if there is none, he will get rid of you. Even of you try to maintain a perfect garden things will happen that will get in the way of everything from being perfect. In your spirit, as you try to live according to what is taught, Satan will come and try to ruin everything that you have worked for. How alert do you think that you must be to maintain and cultivate what you are trying to do? You must first get rid of the sin in your life. You must acknowledge your sin confess it to God and repent. If you do not acknowledge your sin then you do not see it keeping you from God though it is. You cannot get rid of your sin because you study the bible or spend time reading it. Even if you only knew one verse, it is living the life and doing all that you can to live the life that is taught in the bible. You do not see that every time you get angry and lash out at those around you, you are uprooting everything that you are trying to plant and grow. When you move a tree from one place to another, it will not immediately bear fruit. It will take time. Because you say you will change, or that you will follow Christ, it does not happen suddenly. There will be trials and difficulties. But with determination and perseverance your are to continue in faith and not lose sight of what is happening to you. Peter was told that he was going to die following Jesus. If I say that I am going to follow him, I must decide to relinquish my life and surrender it to him and do so until the end. When you were married or will get married you have goals about what you will do. You decide how much money you will make, what you will do for your children and how you will raise them. When you decide for the welfare of your children do you consider the sacrifice that is required to raise them? There is much more sacrifice, effort and unity required if you want to raise your children according to God's way. If there is any disagreement among the parents then you will not be able to do so. Did you get married to make money? Did you get married just to have a spouse? In faith, if you are not united you cannot make a good family. If you truly want to be one in Christ, with that one purpose, you must believe in what you are doing and follow the path that is set before you. Noah's family. How was it for his family? Do you think that his children had friends? Do you no think that they were ridiculed for over 100 years? How could his family achieved what they had done if they were not one? They were united in God's word and did not care about what they world said to them. When you decide to follow God the world will try to stop you and ridicule you, but you must decide what you will do. If Isaac did not see his father as the person he was, could he have obeyed Abraham and laid on the altar to be sacrificed? The life you live is teaching you children how to be. Isaac understood that in life you are to surrender all to God, because he saw his father live that way. If the is anything in your heart that satisfies you more than God then you will not be able to follow Him. Noah's family communicated well. They all understood that the word of God was the focus. It is this central point that allows the family to be one. David was anointed as king and was given the opportunity to be king by killing Saul, but David did not do it according to his purpose but waited for God to do his will in his time according to his purpose. Are you to live your life and make decisions how you want or how the bible teaches you to do? Did Paul go and do as he pleased? Paul could have stood behind his citizenship but stayed quiet and suffered beatings and being jailed. Why did he do so at the other time and say he was a citizen? It was so that God could use him to save the people around him according to His plan. If you are living your life so that you can sit in your throne and be raised up then to must asses what Jesus means by "follow me." Do you think that Jesus wants you to follow him to attain riches? When David tried to bring the Ark back he did it his way and Uzzah died. While the Ark remained in transit at the home of Obed Edom he was blessed by God. When David was to bring back the Ark the second time he did it the way God had taught them. God is not calling you to do what you want and for you to be lifted up. If you decide to overcome your problems by doing it your way, will God be glorified? The bible teaches us if we try to solve our problems through our own wisdom we will not be successful. If God tells us to say yes, but we say no , then we will not succeed. Jesus did not call Peter to be lifted up for himself but that through his death that God would be glorified. If God is calling you, then there is a path that he wants you to follow. Is it for you to be rich and praised by others? It may not be so. If God desires at he be glorified by following him unto death, then shall I say yes to Him or no to him. You cannot be victorious in your spiritual doing things the way you want. If the path I am to take is to follow Jesus, then are the blessings I seek for this present life or the after life? To follow Jesus and to go where he is, is then to live for the after life. If I do not succeed in my spiritual battles here, and I lose all the spiritual battles with Satan then I cannot go to heaven. Unless I surrender my will and ask Jesus to help me because I cannot do it on my own, I will never be able to follow Jesus. You can only overcome by doing it the way that Jesus teaches. If you have received the calling to follow Jesus then are you going to say yes to Him or no? If you decide yes, then there is only one way and that is obedience to his word. Unless I die, I cannot go on this path nor succeed. I must obey and die to myself. May you live a precious life that bears the fruit of obedience.   Sermon by pastor KyungJin Park Translated by Miguel Park http://cafe.daum.net/truelightchurch1004