All right, well this morning we come at last to the final chapter of the Gospel of John
and our final sermon in this book.
We began this series on December 22nd, 2019, so that's about three and a half years ago.
And if I got the count right, this morning's message is my 106th message in the Gospel of John.
And what a journey it's been.
I really do hope and pray that you have been blessed to see and to hear things about Jesus
that you've maybe never heard before, never thought of, and I hope those things have touched you.
This is the good news according to John.
Let's hear how John ends his telling of the story of Jesus.
Last Sunday we heard about how Jesus appeared to the disciples on two different occasions.
The first was on the evening of the day that Jesus rose from the dead.
He appeared that evening to all the apostles minus Thomas.
And then John told us about how one week later he appeared to them another time, this time including Thomas.
Let's pick up the story in John chapter 21.
Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.
Now some of you may have a different translation which says the Sea of Tiberias.
The one on the screen has a footnote that says, yeah, it is Tiberias in the original language,
but that's just another name for the Sea of Galilee in case anyone's wondering.
So if you recall, what the other Gospels record for us is that the morning that Jesus rose from the dead,
the angels appeared to the women and they told them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee
and that they would see Jesus there.
Now Jesus appeared to the disciples before they went to Galilee.
He appeared to them in Jerusalem on the night that he rose from the dead,
the night of the day that he rose from the dead.
And we don't know for sure exactly when the disciples left to go to Galilee,
but shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, they head back up north to the region of Galilee
where Jesus' hometown of Nazareth was and where many of the disciples' hometowns were there as well.
And much of the story of Jesus took place in that region.
And the sense that we get from this is that with these resurrection appearances of Jesus,
Jesus would often appear, but then he would leave.
Leave.
And then he would appear again on another occasion and then leave.
He didn't just stay with them and walk from place to place with them.
So you can imagine that the disciples are pretty excited having seen Jesus alive
as they make this three or four day journey back up towards home in Galilee.
But we also imagine that they wondered,
how will we meet up with Jesus when we get there?
Where will we find him?
Well, John tells us that it happened this way.
Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as Didymus, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
That's seven in total.
I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them.
And they said, we'll go with you.
So they went out and got into the boat.
But that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them,
friends, haven't you any fish?
No, they answered.
He said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some.
When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,
it's the Lord.
As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, it is the Lord,
he wrapped his outer garment around him, for he had taken it off,
and jumped into the water.
The other disciples followed in the boat,
towing the net full of fish,
for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread.
Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you've just caught.
So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore.
It was full of large fish, 153.
But even with so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast.
None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you?
They knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them,
and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples,
after he was raised from the dead.
So John's the only one that tells us about this meet-up moment with Jesus in Galilee.
And we get the sense that the disciples arrived there in Galilee,
and with nothing else to do, maybe just Peter decided to do what he always did,
to go to work, go fishing,
let's get some food on the table.
And the other six disciples who were with him decide to tag along.
But after fishing all night, they caught nothing.
And then, in the morning, all of a sudden they see this guy on the shore,
and he's calling out to them, like often happens between fishermen,
if you've ever been out to the lake.
You know, you guys catch anything?
Nope.
Nothing.
But then, put your net down on the right side of the boat,
and you'll catch some.
This is the kind of advice that most fishermen chuckle at,
as if the other side of the boat will make any difference.
And yet, amazingly, all of a sudden, the net is so full of fish,
so much that they can't pull it up into the boat.
Yet, it was John who realized what was happening first,
even before Peter.
It's the Lord, said John.
And when Peter hears this, he realizes it for himself,
grabs his outer garment, jumps into the water, swims to shore,
and what does he find?
But here's Jesus on the shore, and he's got a fire going.
And there's some fish on it, and there's some bread.
He's cooking breakfast for the disciples.
Jesus says, bring some of those fish that you've just caught.
Let's eat.
And so Peter does.
He goes, he gets the net, he drags it on shore after they arrive in the boat,
and they start counting out these fish, and it's 153 large fish.
If you include Jesus, that makes eight.
So that's about 19 each.
A lot of fish.
And they sit down, and they have breakfast on the beach together.
I love this story.
Why did Jesus choose to reveal himself,
to appear to them in Galilee in this way?
Some people, you know, look at this and wonder,
like 153 fish, that's it?
Well, that doesn't seem very impressive.
Last time, the boats were sinking.
Why did Jesus this time seem to do like an inferior miracle?
But, you know, the more I've thought about this,
I don't think it was really about the number of fish.
I think the purpose of this miracle was different.
It wasn't to blow all the other miracles out of the water.
I think the purpose of this miracle was to be a sign,
but a different sign from the other signs.
This sign, this miracle was special because it was personal.
What made it special, what made it personal,
was that it was almost an exact repeat of that awesome miracle
Jesus had done three years earlier,
which marked the beginning of their following Jesus.
If you look back at that in Luke chapter 5,
the parallels between this that Jesus did here
and what happened three years ago are striking.
In both cases, they fished all night and caught nothing.
In both cases, Jesus gives some advice
to the professional fishermen
that ordinarily would seem laughable.
In both cases, there's this miraculous, massive catch of fish.
And as we'll see in a few minutes,
in both cases, Jesus will tell them the same thing afterwards.
Follow me.
Maybe it's easy for us today to miss just how special,
how meaningful this miraculous sign
would have been to these men,
these fishermen in Galilee.
When Jesus did it the first time,
that was the day that they dropped everything.
They left their jobs as fishermen behind
and they began following Jesus full time.
This wasn't really a miracle for the masses.
This was a miracle specifically for the men in the boat.
Only Peter and maybe James and John
knew what Jesus had said to Peter in the boat.
Let down the nets for a catch.
Back in Luke 5.
Probably only Peter and James and John really cared
that they'd been out the whole night
and hadn't caught anything.
So this was almost, I think, kind of like an inside joke.
You know, remember that time that Rabbi Jesus
told you, Peter,
the experienced fishermen that you are,
to let down the nets for a catch.
And you begrudgingly humored Jesus,
only to find out that Jesus
was much more than you thought possible.
That was the turning point miracle.
That was the special personal sign to Peter
and to James and to John,
the fishermen,
that this Jesus indeed was the Messiah
that they'd been hoping for.
And so that's why I think Jesus does it again,
almost like a secret handshake,
something that only they would recognize
and fully appreciate.
It was like a deja vu miracle.
I mean, think of this from the perspective
of Peter and James and John.
There they are.
I mean, they're excited that they saw Jesus alive,
but there they are again,
sitting in a boat all night long.
I wonder what they were thinking.
Like, you guys remember the last time
that this happened,
when we fished all night long
and caught nothing?
Yep, that was the day
that everything changed.
And now, suddenly,
there's this guy on the shore
giving us some laughable advice
on how to catch fish.
Can you imagine the excitement
in their hearts
when after putting the net down
on the right side of the boat,
they catch the mother load again?
But this time,
the excitement wasn't just about the fish,
the catch.
Peter doesn't even seem to care about the fish.
He and John
immediately see what the sign points to.
Jesus is here.
That's him on the shore.
And I love how Peter
just jumps out of the boat
and swims for shore.
It's like he doesn't even care about the fish.
You guys deal with the fish.
I'm going to see Jesus.
It was the deja vu miracle.
And not just the catch,
but also the catching of nothing
the night before.
And God's thinking about this, you know.
Fish kind of have a mind of their own.
They're just creatures.
This wouldn't have had
nearly the same effect
had Peter been out all night
and, well, they caught six or seven.
But, you know,
some of those fish,
all they had to do
was swim over here.
Oh, there's a net.
They're caught in it.
And Peter got something last night.
So, you know,
I think even part of the miracle too
is that they got nothing
the night before.
It was as if Jesus and his father
wanted to set up this whole thing
the same way
as it happened three years earlier
so that there could be
no doubt in their minds
that, yes,
this man on the shore
really is Jesus,
the resurrected Christ here.
Let's notice this detail
in verse 12.
Jesus invites them
to come over and have breakfast
and John says,
none of the disciples
dared ask him,
who are you?
They knew it was the Lord.
These are kind of
interesting remarks.
It seems that,
on the one hand,
they wanted to ask,
who are you?
And yet, on the other hand,
John states quite clearly
that they didn't
because they knew
it was the Lord.
Well, what are we to make of this?
I think we should take John
at his word.
They knew it was Jesus.
Not they thought,
not they suspected.
They knew it was Jesus.
And yet, at the same time,
it was like there was
something inside of them
that just couldn't believe
that this was really happening.
I mean, we kind of say
the same sort of thing
when something really
wonderful happens
that's totally unexpected.
We'll say something like,
I just can't believe
that this is happening.
Is this really happening to me?
And I think this is
the same sort of thing.
They wanted to ask Jesus
almost like,
is it really you?
And they didn't
because they knew.
You know,
people don't come back
to life from the dead
very often.
So this was something else
for them to experience.
Here he is,
cooking breakfast for them
on the beach.
Let's go on with the story.
Verse 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.
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.
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.
What an interesting exchange
between Jesus and Peter.
If you've ever heard
teaching on this before,
you've probably heard
that there's some
changing up of the Greek
word for love
in this conversation.
It starts with
Jesus asking if Peter
loves him with that
Greek agape love.
And finally,
the last time,
it progresses towards
the phileo love.
Maybe you've heard
some of that.
Well-meaning preachers
have sprung off of that
into all kinds of stuff
about the differences
between agape love
and phileo love.
And you've got the,
you know,
the agape love.
That's kind of God's
unconditional love
towards us.
And then you've got
phileo love,
which is kind of more
our human brotherly love
towards one another.
Well,
as time goes on
and we get better
at studying
the Greek language
of the Bible
and we develop
better tools
for analysis
and more Christian
men and women
have put their time in,
it seems to be
the consensus
among scholars today
that actually
that whole hard line
distinction between
agape and phileo
was maybe a little bit
overstated in the past.
As it turns out
from careful study,
they're basically
just near synonyms
overlapping in meaning
and in fact,
John actually uses them
interchangeably elsewhere
in the gospel.
It's a stylistic choice
probably,
not to be
too repetitious.
So we don't want
to get distracted
from the main point here
and kind of go off
into this nuance here.
It seems as if
Jesus is simply
asking him three times,
do you love me?
And Peter's giving
his answer.
But what's the main thing
in this conversation?
What is it really about?
Why does Jesus ask
three times
the same question?
And what is it
that Jesus
is asking Peter
to do?
Well, let's start
with some
sanctified imagination.
Imagine that you
are Peter
and you're sitting there
around this fire
eating breakfast
and Jesus
looks you in the eye
and he asks you
this very personal
probing question.
Do you love me?
Do you love me
more than these guys do?
What thoughts
and feelings
are going on
in your mind
as you
are singled out
in the group
and asked about
what's really
in your heart?
If I'm Peter,
I'm thinking back
to what happened
in the garden
that night
that Jesus
was arrested.
I'm thinking about
how I talked
the talk.
I made great boasts.
I'm willing to die
for you, Lord.
But then I'm remembering
about how the moment
of testing came
and I denied
even knowing you
three times
and you caught me
red-handed
right in that moment.
And then I'm thinking
back to the day
that you rose
from the dead
and the women
told us
and I didn't believe them.
And then I ran out
to the tomb
and I saw that
the tomb was empty
and I still didn't believe it.
John over here did,
but I didn't believe it.
So it's like,
what can I say
in this moment
to affirm my love
for you, Jesus?
Well, Peter doesn't go
through all that
in his out loud answer.
Instead, he just says
what he believes.
He says,
Jesus,
you know
what's in my heart.
You know
that I love you.
Three times
he says the same thing.
Lord,
you know
that I love you.
Peter knows it's true.
He knows he loves Jesus,
but how do I convey that?
Well,
you know,
all along through the story,
Jesus has been the one
that's really known
what's going on
inside of me,
inside of others.
It's been so obvious.
He's said it
again and again.
And so that's what he says.
You know,
Lord,
you know
that it's true,
that I love you.
And the third time,
Peter,
he explains a little
more fully.
He says,
Lord,
you know all things.
You know all things.
You know
that I love you.
So this answer
of Peter's
is actually
full of faith.
Faith that Jesus,
the very Son of God,
knows all things.
Even the depths
of Peter's heart.
It's like he's saying,
if I didn't love you,
I wouldn't even be able
to hide it from you.
You know
all things.
You've been right
about me
all along,
what's going on
inside of me
the whole time.
It's a deep,
personal,
probing question.
It's a little
unusual,
perhaps,
to be asked
something like this
on the spot
in front of others.
But then it gets
a little bit awkward
because Jesus
asks it again.
And then it gets
even more awkward
because Jesus
asks it a third time.
In fact,
John tells us
that with the third time,
Peter was hurt.
The word there
literally means
grieved.
something about
being asked
that third time
stung.
Likely,
Peter didn't know
why.
Jesus was asking
him repeatedly
and now this
third time,
is it because
he doesn't think
I'm sincere?
Does he doubt
my love for him?
Is he asking
this because of
what I said
and did
that night
when I betrayed,
I denied him?
I mean,
this might have
been somewhat
humiliating
for Peter
in front of
all the others.
Why three times?
And then,
on top of all that,
there's this
unexpected thing
Jesus says
after each time.
Feed my lambs.
Take care of my sheep.
Feed my sheep.
This is kind of odd.
What is this all about?
Jesus gives this
directive to Peter
three times
and again,
there's a little bit
of stylistic variation
there.
There's feed my lambs,
take care of my sheep,
feed my sheep,
but I think it's all
driving at the same thing.
But what an odd thing
to say
in this moment.
You know,
I think there is a reason
in Jesus' heart
for why three times.
I'm not sure,
however,
that any one of us
can really put words
to that
with 100% confidence
that this is why
Jesus did it.
Almost every Christian
I've ever talked to
or heard about this
seems to have
this intuitive
understanding,
and I have it too,
that just as Peter
denied Jesus
three times,
so now Jesus
gives Peter
the opportunity
to affirm his love
for him
three times.
Somehow,
these two things
are connected.
Many Bibles
in the titles
that are right
above the section
say something like
Jesus reinstates Peter
or Jesus restores Peter.
Is this a reinstatement?
Did Peter get
uninstated
when he denied
Jesus three times?
I'm not so sure
about that.
What is obvious
is that
Jesus is not
holding what Peter
had said
or done
against him
at all.
And I think
we often gravitate
towards that.
Look,
the Lord
has forgiven him.
That's obvious.
But there's more here.
Jesus is
giving him
a job to do.
Neither is this
an opportunity
for Peter
to prove himself.
Some people
have kind of
spun it that way too.
or somehow
to make right
what he had done.
Listen,
confessing three times
that he loves
Jesus
doesn't change
what he did.
It doesn't make it right.
It doesn't
atone for it.
What Jesus did
on the cross
is what atoned
for it.
And so
why does Jesus
do this thing
three times?
I'll be honest.
I don't know
100%
that I can put
the words to this.
All I can say
is two things.
First,
it sure adds
a lot of weight
to this
charge
that he is
giving Peter.
Three times,
feed
my sheep.
Take care
of my lambs.
Feed
my sheep.
Look after them.
It's as if
Jesus is
saying him,
don't miss
this,
Peter.
Hear this.
Then go back
and underline it.
Then go back
and highlight it
bright yellow.
This is what I
want you to do,
Peter,
from now on.
Look after
my sheep.
Take care of them.
Feed them.
Be a shepherd
to them.
The second thing
that seems clear
enough here
is that Jesus
is somehow
connecting
Peter's love
for him
with this job,
this command.
It's almost
as if the flow
here is
because you
love me
truly as you
do,
do this for me.
Feed my sheep.
Take care of them.
Look after
those who
belong to me
in the days
ahead
as I leave.
Show your love
to me,
Peter,
in this way.
Let's move
on.
Verse 18.
Jesus goes
on after
this conversation.
He says,
Very truly,
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.
Jesus
said this
to indicate
the kind
of death
by which
Peter would
glorify God.
Then he
said to
him,
Follow me.
So Jesus
starts to
talk about
what the
future holds
for Peter
and he
does it
with this
contrast
between
young and
old,
between
being free
to do
whatever you
want or
do as
you please
and being
restricted
and being
led where
he does
not want
to go.
Jesus
says that
he will
stretch out
his hands
and John
makes it
clear that
this was
talking about
how Peter
would die.
In fact,
it's possible
that John
is writing
this over
three decades
later and
that at the
time of his
writing,
Peter had
already died
and so John
may be even
making a
statement about
how Jesus
was right.
This is
fulfilled.
Look at
how we all
know Peter
died at least
in the day
that John
wrote this.
Some think
that you
will stretch
out your
hands
refers to
stretch out
like this
crucifixion.
Others think
that it means
to kind of
hold them
out to be
bound with
chains and
then led
away to
some kind
of execution.
We don't
really have
a lot of
strong sources
outside the
Bible that
speak of
Peter's
death but
tradition holds
that he was
martyred in
Rome about
three decades
after this.
One source
about 150
years later
says that
Peter was
crucified and
we don't
know if
that guy
had some
inside
information or
some good
sources or
if he was
just looking
back at
what John
wrote here.
Another idea
that you may
have heard is
that Peter
was crucified
upside down
because he
thought he
would be
unworthy to
be crucified
in the same
manner as
Jesus and
unfortunately
that seems to
have crept up
quite a lot
of years
after as
almost like a
legend and
some of the
sources that
point to that
are pretty
dubious in
some of the
other things
that they
report according
to scholars.
So this is a
sobering moment
for Peter.
First he's
probed,
then he's
charged
repeatedly,
and then he's
told in a
somewhat ambiguous
metaphor how
his story is
going to go,
how his life
is going to
come to an
end.
But notice the
word John
chooses here.
there's one
word that
just flips
this whole
thing on
its head.
Jesus said
this to
indicate the
kind of
death by
which Peter
would glorify
God.
Yes, it was
going to be
hard, it was
going to be
awful, but
for Peter it
would be a
death that
would bring
praise to
God.
not like
how he
denied,
not like
how he
said I'll
lay down
my life
for you,
but then
didn't,
but then
down the
road you
will lay
down your
life for
me.
You will
bring praise
to God.
At this
point,
Jesus says
to him,
follow me.
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?
So at
this point
it seems
that Jesus
asks Peter
to go for
a walk,
using that
same language
of three
years ago,
follow me.
He gets
up and he
starts going
and it
seems that
John kind
of tags
along behind,
probably
listening in.
Again,
there's that
parallel to
what happened
earlier,
just kind
of leaving
the fishing
stuff behind
and going.
Here,
they're
walking
along and
there's a
bit of a
conversation
that takes
place here.
So Peter
sees that
John is
following
and when
Peter saw
him,
he asked,
Lord,
what about
him?
Jesus
answered,
if I want
him to
remain alive
until I
return,
what is
that to
you?
you must
follow me.
Because of
this,
the rumor
spread among
the believers
that this
disciple would
not die.
But Jesus
did not say
that he
would not
die.
He only
said,
if I want
him to
remain alive
until I
return,
what is
that to
you?
This is
the disciple
who testifies
to these
things and
who wrote
them down.
we know
that his
testimony
is true.
So there's
this interesting
little conversation
between Jesus
and Peter
as they walk
along with
John kind
of following
behind.
Peter's just
heard something
about how he
is going to
die.
But now he's
curious about
John's story.
How is it
going to go?
What about
him?
Is it going to
be the same
for him?
And Jesus
gives quite the
answer here.
If I want
him to
remain alive
until I
return,
what is
that to
you?
You must
follow me.
What a
loaded answer.
John tells
us that
because of
this answer
the believers
started spreading
all kinds of
rumors about
John living
until the
return of
Christ.
But John
graciously
reminds his
readers that
Jesus didn't
say that.
That wasn't
the point
that he
was making.
It was a
hypothetical,
rhetorical
question.
Like,
Peter,
if I have
a totally
different plan
for John
than for
you,
what concern
is that of
yours?
You must
follow me.
In other
words,
Jesus is
basically saying
each person
may receive
something
different and
unique from
God.
But for
each one
of us,
we must
follow Jesus
with what
he gives,
with the
way that
he leads,
with the
circumstances
that he
allows and
brings.
Don't worry
about someone
else's lot
in life.
Focus on
your own
following of
Jesus.
Peter,
don't compare
yourself to
him.
Keep your
eyes on
me.
Follow
me.
You know,
I got
thinking about
this too.
It's quite
something that
Jesus is
calling Peter
to follow
him just
a couple
weeks before
he goes
up.
Jesus
wasn't
looking for
people to
just walk
around behind
him in
Galilee 2,000
years ago.
He was
looking for
people to
give their
lives to
following Jesus
as their
Lord,
king,
obeying
his
commands,
devoting
their
whole
lives to
him in
whatever
unique
circumstances
that God
gives.
For Peter,
it was going
to look a
certain way.
He would
glorify and
bring praise
to God in
this particular
way that
Jesus said.
But for
John, it
might be
totally
different.
For you
and me,
it might
look totally
different.
Finally,
we come
to John's
last words.
Verse 25.
Jesus did
many other
things as
well.
If every
one of
them were
written down,
I suppose
that even
the whole
world would
not have
room for
the books
that would
be written.
This is
John's way
of saying,
you know,
I could go
on and
on about
Jesus and
all this
from my
three-ish
years with
him.
time and
space didn't
permit me to
include everything
in this
account.
What John
is saying is
that this
account of
Jesus'
ministry that
he's just
given us,
all 21
chapters of
it, it's
just the
tiny tip of
the iceberg
of what
happened with
Jesus.
As we draw
this series to
a close,
let's consider
one more time
how John
has already
said he
wants us
to respond
to all
this.
First and
foremost,
above all,
Jesus performed
many other
signs in the
presence of
his disciples
which are
not recorded
in this
book,
but these
are written
that you
may believe
that Jesus
is the
Messiah,
the Son
of God,
and that by
believing you
may have
life in
his name.
This is the
main application
of the whole
story.
If there's
only one
thing that
God wants
you to
do in
response to
this account
of John,
it's this,
it's to see
the things
that Jesus
did and
said and
believe that
he is the
Son of God,
the Messiah,
and the
promise comes
with it.
If you do,
Jesus promises
that you will
find eternal
life,
life forever
with God.
that's his
gracious gift.
And so I
leave you with
that question.
Do you
believe that
Jesus is the
one and the
only?
I know many
of you already
believe that with
all your heart.
So there's a
couple other
things that this
passage can
point us to,
or ways that it
speaks to us.
There's this
question that
Jesus asked
Peter, and I
want to encourage
you to imagine
for a moment
Jesus asks
the same
thing to
you.
What's your
answer to
it?
Do you
love me?
Do you
truly love
Jesus?
Being a
Christian is
about more
than just
belief.
It's about
love.
It's about a
relationship
with Jesus.
Jesus.
Yes, he is
the teacher
and the
master and
the king,
but it's a
relationship
that's
characterized by
love where
you love
him, and
he loves
you.
How would
you answer
his question
were he to
ask you that
same thing
today?
Do you
love me?
Finally, do
you hear Jesus
call to
Peter, but
not just to
Peter, also
to you?
that call,
follow me.
There's a
particular story,
path, future
that Jesus
has for each
one of us
as his
followers.
And sometimes
we might
wonder, why
is mine
going this
way and
somebody else's
looks so
good?
Theirs is
going that
way.
Why can't
I have what
they have?
hear Jesus'
words to
you.
If I have
something quite
different for
them, what is
that to you?
You must
follow me.
Each of us
by the wisdom
and kindness
of God has a
unique way
that we get
to bring glory
to God with
our lives,
that we get
to praise his
name.
something special,
how we
will highlight
God's
goodness,
God's grace,
God's power
in ways that
won't be true
of every other
person.
And so when
the going is
tough, I want
to just encourage
you, don't
turn away.
Keep following
Jesus.
Keep your eyes
fixed on him.
He is the
good shepherd
word and he
will lead us
through.
Let's close
this series by
asking for God's
help to do
this.
Let's pray.
Father in
heaven, we
give you
thanks for
this awesome
thing that you
have preserved
for us over
the centuries,
this glimpse
into what
happened when
you broke
into our
world and
turned everything
upside down
and spoke
to us the
good news
and did
the good
news, died
for us,
rose again.
I pray that
you would stir
up faith in
our hearts,
that where it's
not there, it
would be there,
that where it's
there, it
would grow
stronger.
And I pray
that each one
of us would
be able to
answer this
question and
say truthfully
from the
heart, Lord
you know
that I love
you.
Help us
to follow
you.
Lead us.
We pray
this in
your name,
in the name
of Jesus.
Amen.
I'll invite the
worship team to
come up.
Amen.