WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.179 Brilliant. Thanks, guys. And we trust and we pray that God would bless the reading of his words to our benefit and his glory. 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:13.460 Emerson, guys, you've disappeared already. There we go. Folks, come with me to John 21. 00:00:14.419 --> 00:00:20.620 This is where we're going to be today. So let me encourage you to have these verses open in front of you. 00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:28.440 Let me make an observation about our lives. Our lives are full of questions, aren't they? 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:34.980 They're full of questions. We get little questions in our lives. See if you click with any of these. 00:00:35.300 --> 00:00:41.039 We get the times when we ask, what time is the bus? What time is the bus? 00:00:42.660 --> 00:00:46.240 Did you keep the receipt? Did you ask that one over the last few weeks? Did you keep the receipt? 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:52.799 What time do the shops open? What's for dinner? What shall we watch? Did you pay that bill? 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.920 Did you remember to set up that direct debit? We get these little questions in life. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:01.039 And then at times in our lives as well, we get the big questions in life. 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:07.159 I know there's big questions that we get. Will you marry me? Will you come work for us? 00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:11.000 Shall we move area? Will we move house? 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:15.500 We get these big questions in life. We'll probably get a big one this year, I'm sure, as well, 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:18.599 that we got at the end of last year. Who will you vote for? 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:24.280 We get these big questions in life. In fact, while we're there, I wonder, in your heart of hearts, 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:29.320 think to yourself, last year as you look back on it, what was the single most important question 00:01:29.320 --> 00:01:34.180 that you were asked last year? It's a big question, right? Get in your mind. What was the single most 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:40.939 important question that you were asked last year? And then come with me to John chapter 21, 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:47.120 and let me introduce you to the most important question that you and I will be asked this year. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:56.719 So come with me to John 21, and we get this question in the context of this conversation 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:01.060 that Jesus has with this man, Peter. And here's the question that Jesus asked him really simply, 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:08.599 verse 15, if you've got it there on the screen. Simon, which was his name prior to meeting Jesus, 00:02:09.980 --> 00:02:16.960 Peter, that's the name that Jesus gave him, meaning rock. What does he ask him? Do you love me? 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:24.180 There's the question, do you love me? And it's not a particularly complicated question. I mean, 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:29.540 if you're somebody who's interviews people, you get in trouble for asking this kind of question 00:02:29.540 --> 00:02:33.939 because it's a closed question, right? You can only answer it yes or no, really. It's not a 00:02:33.939 --> 00:02:37.420 particularly complicated question, but here's the thing. It's a massive question. It's a defining 00:02:37.420 --> 00:02:43.060 question. It's the kind of question that says, what is your life all about? It's a cracking 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:48.500 question to ask ourselves. The Lord Jesus would ask us as we step into another year. 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:54.039 And if we're to understand why it's such a big question, we've got to get inside this man, 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:59.439 Peter's life, and get to understand him a little bit. You see, this guy, Peter's been following 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:05.099 Jesus for something like three years. At this point in the story, in John's gospel, right at the end, 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:11.180 he's witnessed some incredible stuff. He's witnessed some miracles. He's heard teaching, 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:16.040 and he's never heard anything like it. He's seen the crowd's reaction. They're astonished 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:21.280 and amazed at Jesus's words that no one has ever taught with authority like this man. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:26.300 And he's witnessed the reactions of the crowd good, and he's witnessed the bad as well. He's 00:03:26.300 --> 00:03:31.159 witnessed those who walked away and wanted nothing to do with Jesus. In fact, if you look earlier in 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:38.079 John's gospel, John chapter 6, we get this episode where this crowd have gathered to hear Jesus' 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:44.780 teaching. And Jesus, at the end of his teaching, he's calling on them to respond to him and put their 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:50.460 faith in him. And the crowd look at each other and say, who can accept this teaching? And one by one, 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:55.719 they begin to fade away. And Jesus turns to his 12 who are still there, and he asks them directly, 00:03:55.719 --> 00:04:02.840 are you going to go as well? And who's at the steps forward? It's Peter. And he says those words, 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:08.500 which are utterly incredible. He says, where else will we go, Lord? Where else are we going to go? 00:04:08.579 --> 00:04:16.399 Because you have the words of eternal life. And then fast forward a little bit in John's gospel, 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:20.560 we also get the episodes where Jesus says he's going to go to the cross, and Peter says, no, 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:26.360 I'm going with you. I'm going with you. And Jesus says, no, you're not. Right? Three times that 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:34.579 cock is going to crow, and you're going to deny me each time. And the thing is that Peter, as he 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:40.920 watches Jesus go to the cross, he's sitting, standing by a charcoal fire. He's witnessed Jesus go, 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:48.019 and what happens? Are you one of them? Are you with him? No, I'm not. Again, he's asked, are you with 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:53.039 him? No, I'm not. Are you with him? No, listen, I'm not with him. And in the cock rows, just like Jesus 00:04:53.039 --> 00:05:03.439 said, it would. John's gospel, Jesus dies for the sin of the world, of his people. And he rises, 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:12.000 God installs him as this heaven's glorious king, seated in God's holy hill. And Jesus appears to 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:17.259 his disciples. And again, he appears to them in this episode in John 21, and they're having breakfast 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:22.120 together. And they have this conversation with one another. The risen Lord Jesus with 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:28.120 his 12. There's 11, I guess, at this point. And here's the conversation. Here's the context 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:33.399 in which he asks this question. Now, think about this for a minute, okay? If you were Jesus 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:40.699 at this point in the story, what would you be tempted to do or ask? Right? Got a weird 00:05:40.699 --> 00:05:45.279 sense of humor. Here's what I would have done if I was Jesus, right? Every time somebody asks 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:49.000 me a question around that charcoal fire, around that fire when I'm having breakfast, 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:55.439 I would have been tempted to answer, cock-a-doodle-doo, and scratch my ear with three fingers and 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:01.319 just glare at Peter, right? And just repeat the exercise again and again and again to kind 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:08.599 of, do you remember that? Right? Who's laughing now? But thank goodness that Jesus is not like 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:16.400 us. Okay? He's not like us. It's not what he does. Here is Peter, and here is him being 00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:24.640 asked three more questions around a fire. Quite deliberate, I think. Jesus trying to get this 00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:31.660 three times denial in Peter's mind, and then Jesus trying to get this three times denial out 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:41.000 of Peter's heart. Here is Jesus doing some deep soul work in the life of his chosen servant. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:44.480 You know, we always talk about, don't we? We talk about the question behind the question. You 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:48.920 got that one before? Right? What's the question behind the question? What's really going on here? 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.120 Jesus asked him, do you love me? Here's what I think the question behind the question is, 00:06:53.120 --> 00:07:02.899 is, do you know who I am? Do you get it? Do you understand what I have done for you? Peter, 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:07.759 do you understand, rest in this, that I am the one, we were singing it earlier, I am the one who chose you. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:15.160 Right? I am the one who has served you. Remember that episode where you tried to wash my feet, 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:20.319 and I said, no, no, no, no, you don't understand what's going on. I need to wash you. I've died for 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:26.079 your sin on the cross. I've taken the wrath of God that you deserved on me. I am the one who's died 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:31.899 for you. I am the one who has loved you. I am the one who intercedes for you. I am the one, 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:38.980 as Neil prayed earlier, who holds you, who keeps you, and I am the one who teaches you. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:44.219 That's who I am, Peter. That's who I am. I am the one, as John said at the beginning of his gospel, 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:50.820 I am the one in whom is found grace and truth. And you have to say Jesus' response is so 00:07:50.820 --> 00:07:56.680 counter-instinctive to us, do you not? Right? So counter-instinctive. I find this as a parent, 00:07:56.780 --> 00:08:00.420 so often the words out of my mouth, right? See, when the girls have done something that I told 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:05.140 them not to do, and it happens exactly as how it said it would be done, right? When doors get slammed 00:08:05.140 --> 00:08:08.180 and fingers get caught in the door, right? Do you know the first words out of my mouth aren't, 00:08:08.260 --> 00:08:11.840 come here and have a hug. First words out of my mouth so often are, I told you that would happen. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:19.299 I told you that would happen. I'm so thankful as I reflect on this, that Jesus is not like me. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:27.299 He's not like us. You know, I remember the company that I worked for before starting here, 00:08:27.719 --> 00:08:35.419 I had to log every seven minutes of my day, right? Every seven minutes of my day, who I worked for, 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:40.740 how long, what case I worked on, who the client was, how long I spent in it. And at the end of the year, 00:08:40.740 --> 00:08:45.659 what would happen is I used to get your yearly review, and at your yearly review, you sat around 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:49.879 the table with two of the partners and slam, you got a document slammed in front of you, and that 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:55.200 was your key statistics for the year, right? And based on your key statistics, you got a good, 00:08:56.220 --> 00:09:03.460 you got an okay, or you got a could do better. And I was thinking this week, praise God that Jesus 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:09.000 isn't like a boss who slaps my spiritual statistics on the desk in front of me at the end of this year. 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:17.400 You know how long I've prayed, how much I've read my Bible, how I've served his people, my evangelistic 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:21.560 attempts, and he slams it in front of me, and he gives me a rating, and he says, why did you not do 00:09:21.560 --> 00:09:28.300 better? Why did you not do better? Because where would we be, friends? Where would we be if that was the 00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:32.679 case? Where would we be if he was this kind of saviour? You know, particularly those times in life, 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:38.299 like we read that reading from Isaiah 42, the description of who this Jesus will be, 00:09:39.099 --> 00:09:46.379 that a bruised reed he will not break, a flickering flame he will not blow out. Those times in life 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:52.159 when you and I are fragile, tearful, doubting, and delicate, and those times in our lives where we're 00:09:52.159 --> 00:10:00.199 on the floor and we're out of resources, that he doesn't stoop to condemn, that he stands by to lift 00:10:00.199 --> 00:10:08.799 up, that Jesus Christ is a strong saviour who is never in the business of doing anything other 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:18.199 than unfailingly loving his people. I love the old hymn by Annie J. Flint. You can google her story if 00:10:18.199 --> 00:10:21.319 you want, a woman who went through incredible suffering. She wrote this in the old hymn, 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:27.460 his love has no limits, his grace has no measure, his power no boundary known unto men, 00:10:27.680 --> 00:10:34.900 for out of his infinite riches in Jesus he giveth and giveth and giveth again. 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.120 Jesus asked Peter, do you understand who I am? 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:47.220 Isn't it interesting that given the role that Jesus knows that Peter's going to play in the capital C 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:51.860 church from this point on, that the last conversation that these two have before he ascends 00:10:51.860 --> 00:11:00.240 to heaven is not 10 ways to grow your church, right? It is not five steps to a successful and happy life. 00:11:00.300 --> 00:11:07.680 It is not the seven most strategic cities to reach if Christianity is to go global, right? 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:12.620 You go to our bookstores, you will find tons of books like that. That's the conversation we've been 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:21.679 tempted to have. But Jesus has the conversation, wants to base in Peter's mind, establish that he 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:28.279 loves them. Because when all else fades in Peter's life, when all else goes, Jesus wants him to know 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:38.539 that he loves them. Grace, forgiveness, wholeness, newness. All things given to Peter and all things 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:44.439 given to those ever since who by faith have become children of God, who have trusted Jesus as their 00:11:44.439 --> 00:11:52.039 Lord, King, and Savior, given to us by the Savior who loved us first and served us first as he gave 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:58.879 himself for us. Now this time of year, you know, there's a word that's front and center in all of 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:05.219 our minds. TV clock with this one, right? And it's the word do, right? Anyone made New Year's 00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:10.200 resolutions, we've all made them, right? We all love this game. I think as we look out in 2020, 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:15.040 right? I heard somebody describe it as the year of the optician, which I thought was quite funny, 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:21.440 right? Year 2020. Some of you will get that, some of you, right? Looking out in the year 2020, 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:27.340 thinking what's our lives going to be about this year? What are we going to do this year? Some of us 00:12:27.340 --> 00:12:30.960 will say, right, we're going to exercise more. Some of us will have said we're going to eat better. 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:36.120 Great things, right? For some of us, we'll have had faith-related resolutions that we want to do, 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:41.080 right? We want to read our Bibles more. We want to serve in the church more. We want to attend 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:46.280 things more. We want to pray more. Cracking things, folks, really good things, but 00:12:46.280 --> 00:12:49.019 they are things that we most likely will fail at. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:56.699 And this passage invites us, before we attempt to do, to grasp the done. 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:01.899 In other words, before we talk about what we will do for Jesus, 00:13:03.199 --> 00:13:07.399 it seems to me that Jesus here is way more concerned about the answer to the same question 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.759 that he asked Peter all those years ago. Do you understand who I am? 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:20.100 Do you love me? Right? Do you love me? Yeah. I was thinking about it. Somebody tweeted this week, 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:24.319 and I thought it was a wonderful thing as a parent to say, I want my girls to know that I'm way more 00:13:24.319 --> 00:13:33.899 excited about Jesus this year than I am about football. And the Lord Jesus excites me more than a goal does, 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:40.419 right? So what we want, Jesus says, do you love me? Maybe you're not a Christian here today, 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:46.240 and I want you to know that you will not find a love like this anywhere, right? Christmas is a 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.479 wonderful time for many. Recognize that it is a really difficult time for many others. 00:13:51.659 --> 00:13:58.459 As we've gone back into situations where we've met brokenness and hurt and death and pain, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:02.099 and we come away thinking that was anything other than Hollywood told me it would be. 00:14:03.719 --> 00:14:09.000 And yet here is a Savior, here is a King who stands and offers you himself today. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:15.100 He's one who has loved you and given himself for you, if but you would come to him and receive 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:20.059 forgiveness. Maybe you're here today and you're a Christian. Let me ask you, is your soul deeply, 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:24.440 deeply, deeply satisfied with the deep love of Jesus? 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:35.179 Are you resting in that love that he has for us? That God's love for us is not based on our performance. 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:41.939 God's love for us is based on the fact that we are found in his Son, and because we are found in his Son, 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:48.319 he loves us like he loves his Son. I do not need to qualify for that love. I do not need to perform for that love. 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:54.620 I simply, by faith, need to reach out to Jesus and accept that love as I become his adopted Son. 00:14:56.599 --> 00:15:01.279 You know, many of us will have used the famous Bible reading plan written by Robert Murray McShane, 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:07.519 who was a Scottish pastor decades, years ago. And I love it. It's a wonderful Bible reading plan. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:11.459 You get through the Bible in a year, but his heart in it, right, was for his congregation, 00:15:11.959 --> 00:15:17.860 that they would feed themselves daily on God's word. That God's spirit, as God's word was opened, 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:24.939 and as we encounter the risen Jesus there, would feed our souls. His heart for his congregation was 00:15:24.939 --> 00:15:28.179 that they grow. And I love what he writes in the introduction. He writes this, 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:41.079 That's what it's all about, isn't it? We get stuck into the word as we know this God better. 00:15:41.359 --> 00:15:47.439 We know him better. It's true, isn't it, that in our darkest times, we need our deepest theology. 00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:52.899 Who is this God? Who is he? Do you remember that song we used to sing at Sunday school? 00:15:52.899 --> 00:16:01.819 Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. How? Because the Bible tells me so, 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:08.919 which I always want to add, and the cross proves it so. Yes, Jesus loves me. Friends, are you resting 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:14.860 in that love today? You know, let me hit you with a radical thought, right? I've got all your attention 00:16:14.860 --> 00:16:20.980 with that. Radical thought. Maybe this year, some of us need to, New Year's resolution, maybe some of us 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:28.440 here this morning need to do less and rest and know Jesus more. 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:35.580 Jesus asked Simon, son of Peter, do you love me? And Peter says, you know I do, Lord. 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:41.899 You know I do. And it's from that base that Jesus goes on to talk about how that love for him 00:16:41.899 --> 00:16:44.920 is going to express itself in Peter's life. 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:48.519 Right? Is it in passionate singing? No. 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:52.879 Is it in fanatic reading? No. Is it in diligent serving? No. 00:16:52.959 --> 00:16:58.319 According to Jesus, love for him will express itself in Peter's life in two very ordinary ways. 00:16:58.439 --> 00:17:00.839 Here's the first one. By loving his people. 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:05.680 Right? So when Jesus says to Peter, verse 16 and 17, if you've got it there, 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:08.180 feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:09.519 He's talking about his people. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:16.279 Those who he loves. And just as a slight pause here at this moment, do you see how much Jesus 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:22.579 loves his people? How much he loves his people? Those people that he purchased for himself 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:31.240 by his blood at the cross. Jesus loves them. He loves you. And he wants Peter to care for his 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:38.339 sheep. Look after them, provide for them, visit them, stoop beside them, listen to them, know them, 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:43.879 love them, love them, all things that they have known as Peter follows the example of Jesus himself. 00:17:44.159 --> 00:17:45.740 And so here's the pastoral equation. 00:17:47.159 --> 00:17:50.759 Love for Jesus equals love for his people. 00:17:52.959 --> 00:17:56.539 I remember reading that biography, I think it was last Christmas, I read it actually, of John Newton. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.359 John Newton was the English minister and author of the song Amazing Grace. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:09.219 And the people in his neighborhood saw how he just loved people, just loved people, 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:14.559 to the extent that they gave his home a nickname. And I love this, right? They nicknamed his home 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.939 and they called it the Asylum for the Afflicted. 00:18:19.399 --> 00:18:25.599 As they saw how this guy just loved people. I mean, that is true biblical hospitality, isn't it? 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:31.359 It's not dinner parties. It's hospital. Hospitality. There it is, right there. 00:18:31.919 --> 00:18:35.719 Friends, I must say that some of the most encouraging stories I had from last year, 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:38.379 as I reflected on a couple of weeks off in the year gone by, 00:18:38.719 --> 00:18:40.799 the ones that encouraged me most, the stories, 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:44.480 are the ones that I heard of the behind-the-scenes visits, 00:18:44.659 --> 00:18:48.799 where many of you went and just visited and cared and loved people. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.059 I didn't even know about it until somebody told me. 00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:56.500 So encouraging to see that. Where does that come from? 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.440 That comes from a deep love for Jesus. 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:03.539 Jesus says, feed my people, which I think particularly in the context 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:08.879 is going to mean Peter bringing the sheep to the green grass 00:19:08.879 --> 00:19:12.359 that is the word of God and allowing them to eat and to live. 00:19:13.639 --> 00:19:16.500 Right? As God's spirit brings the spiritual nourishment 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:21.799 to the hearts of God's people through God's word. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:25.460 Feed my sheep with the word. 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:29.039 Lead them there. This is the job of every pastor, every elder, 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.480 to bring the word of God to bear in our lives. 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:34.839 You know, I find it that the more that I go on in this job, 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.839 every one-to-one that I do, I take my Bible, 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:41.859 and I've found that the passages that I share with people 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:43.579 aren't the textbook ones, right? 00:19:43.619 --> 00:19:46.000 Not a doctor, not just like there's a prescription, 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.539 there's a prescription, there's a prescription of a verse, right? 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:51.660 It's the ones that have encouraged my soul that morning. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.000 The ones that I have nourished, 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.240 that God's spirit has brought to bear in my own heart, 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:00.559 and just bringing it, sharing it with somebody. 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:03.940 At the end of the day, just one sheep telling another sheep, 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:04.759 look at the shepherd. 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:07.460 But maybe that's something you could do as you meet together, 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:09.000 as we meet together out with Sunday, 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:11.160 maybe potentially on a Sunday, but out with Sunday, 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:13.940 just bringing the word of God to bear in each other's lives. 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:19.940 Helping each other, pointing each other to the great shepherd. 00:20:20.820 --> 00:20:24.660 You see, love for Jesus in Peter's life is going to mean loving his people, 00:20:24.820 --> 00:20:28.640 and secondly, it's going to mean dying to self, carrying his cross. 00:20:30.120 --> 00:20:33.299 So Jesus tells Peter what the future was going to look like for him, 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:34.680 verse 18, if we've got it there. 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:39.480 So Peter is going to follow Jesus, speak for him, live for him. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:41.600 It will mean that he will be persecuted. 00:20:42.840 --> 00:20:44.360 His life will be cross-shaped. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:45.440 That's the end. 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.400 What's Jesus talking about? 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:50.539 John tells us, adds his own comment, verse 19, 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:52.440 that this is about Peter's death. 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:58.560 Church tradition tells us that Peter probably died by crucifixion 00:20:58.560 --> 00:21:01.700 during the great fire of Rome in 64 BC. 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:02.840 That was his end. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:04.420 That was his life. 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:08.600 To die to self, Jesus calls him to do here. 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:10.720 It was a German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:14.559 the man who was killed in the concentration camp in Germany 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:15.600 for opposing Hitler. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:18.500 He wrote this in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:20.519 really simply, when Christ calls a man, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:22.539 he calls him come and die. 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:26.420 Certainly true for Peter. 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:30.759 And it's true for many Christians around the world today. 00:21:30.860 --> 00:21:34.019 We can just look up Joshua Project or Operation World, 00:21:34.100 --> 00:21:34.800 anything of that online. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:36.060 You'll see the statistics there. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.120 But for us who, by the kindness of God, live where we do, 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:44.539 it's unlikely to mean death by crucifixion, 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:47.060 but the call is exactly the same. 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:53.980 To die to self for the sake of following Jesus Christ, 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.740 the pearl of great price. 00:21:56.940 --> 00:21:57.679 What does this mean? 00:21:57.720 --> 00:21:59.919 Well, this is going to mean, I think, in our lives this year, 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:03.740 making Jesus' agenda, our agenda, 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.500 making his goals, his priority of making disciples, 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:09.960 of taking the gospel to all nations, to all peoples, 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:11.519 our goal. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.440 Our own holiness, I say to people, 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:16.000 it's going to mean saying no to things, 00:22:16.080 --> 00:22:18.279 it's going to mean saying yes to things, 00:22:18.360 --> 00:22:19.779 the things we look at online, 00:22:20.580 --> 00:22:22.680 how we talk about and view others, 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.200 our ambitions, our projects, our homes, 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:27.380 how we spend our money. 00:22:27.580 --> 00:22:31.100 It's all of these things that God, by his Spirit, 00:22:31.860 --> 00:22:34.080 holistically transforms us, 00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:36.700 as those who have been given new hearts, 00:22:38.320 --> 00:22:40.360 as God's Spirit holistically transforms us 00:22:40.360 --> 00:22:42.940 more into the image of Jesus Christ, 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:47.000 and as our whole lives increasingly begin to display 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.140 his lordship over every area, 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:52.400 because that's the essence of true discipleship. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.460 And I was encouraged by these words of the Apostle Paul, 00:22:55.580 --> 00:22:57.279 I have been crucified with Christ, 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:00.279 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:02.400 the life that I now live in the body. 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:05.820 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.919 and who gave himself for me. 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.159 Jesus begins by asking Peter, 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.059 do you love me? 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.839 And you see how he ends, verse 19, 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:19.179 by summoning him. 00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:21.559 And he says, follow me. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.299 You know, just as we close, 00:23:25.379 --> 00:23:27.259 let me just tell you about something 00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:28.700 I was up to over the holidays. 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:31.279 We're back at my mom and dad's, 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:33.159 and we went with the girls to the country park 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:34.880 near where they live, 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:37.779 and there was a forest in this country park 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:39.259 with tons of fallen trees. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.680 And what we did, 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:42.460 just to try and do a little bit of 00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:43.720 father-daughter bonding, 00:23:43.800 --> 00:23:44.340 what we did is, 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:45.519 Chloe and I, I'm a four-year-old, 00:23:45.560 --> 00:23:46.440 we went into the forest 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:47.840 and we started to build a den. 00:23:49.080 --> 00:23:50.019 All right, do you want to see the den? 00:23:51.040 --> 00:23:51.240 Okay. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:53.600 Caveat, four-year-old, okay. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:55.140 Here's the den. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:57.100 All right. 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:00.340 Classically, I've built that up way too much, 00:24:00.340 --> 00:24:00.680 haven't I? 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:01.440 But that's our den. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:02.900 It's the den that we built. 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:03.560 The thing is, 00:24:03.560 --> 00:24:04.400 you don't see in the picture, 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:06.100 that's our third attempt at doing the den. 00:24:07.560 --> 00:24:07.920 Right? 00:24:08.300 --> 00:24:08.620 Built. 00:24:09.580 --> 00:24:11.580 A different tree, first of all. 00:24:11.820 --> 00:24:12.740 Build, build, build, build, build. 00:24:13.220 --> 00:24:13.540 Crash. 00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:15.680 Second time, 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.580 build, build, build, build, build. 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:17.860 Crash. 00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:20.660 And after two goes at this, 00:24:21.080 --> 00:24:22.100 and Chloe almost getting hit 00:24:22.100 --> 00:24:23.019 by the trees, 00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:25.360 the branches that were falling, 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:27.380 we recognized that the key to this, 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:28.840 and took this on myself 00:24:28.840 --> 00:24:31.220 as the responsible adult in this situation, right? 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.339 The key to this was finding a tree 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:34.079 that could hold it. 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:36.559 So the third time, 00:24:36.620 --> 00:24:37.819 we found a tree that was actually 00:24:37.819 --> 00:24:39.059 much better than the tree 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:40.019 that we've been building at. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:40.660 And what did we do? 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:41.819 Build, build, build, build, build. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:42.920 Stand. 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:46.000 Now here's the thing 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.700 as I look out on 2020. 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:51.220 Increasingly, as you go on in life, 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:52.160 you realize you don't have a clue 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:53.220 what's going to happen, do you? 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:54.440 You don't have a clue 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:55.100 what's going to happen. 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:55.900 The Lord does, 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:56.900 and that's what our trust is. 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:57.839 He knows what's going to happen. 00:24:57.939 --> 00:24:58.339 We don't. 00:24:58.679 --> 00:24:59.220 But here's the thing 00:24:59.220 --> 00:24:59.859 that we do know. 00:25:00.879 --> 00:25:02.439 We live in a world that says, 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:03.919 lean your life here. 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:05.980 Okay? 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:07.619 Trust these things. 00:25:08.699 --> 00:25:09.319 Base your life 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:10.099 on that relationship 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:10.919 with that person. 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:12.699 Base your life 00:25:12.699 --> 00:25:13.139 on the fact 00:25:13.139 --> 00:25:14.099 that you might get those grades 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:14.939 to get that job. 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:15.919 Base your life 00:25:15.919 --> 00:25:16.279 on the fact 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:17.439 that you might get that promotion. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.159 Base your life 00:25:19.159 --> 00:25:19.519 on the fact 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:20.500 that your kids 00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:21.779 might get into that school. 00:25:21.939 --> 00:25:22.539 Base your life 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:23.059 on the fact 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:23.759 that you might get 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.959 that promotion at work. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.799 And all these things, 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:27.779 our wayward hearts 00:25:27.779 --> 00:25:29.259 are drawn to these things 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:29.940 and we're tempted 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:30.980 to lean the weight 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:31.680 of our lives 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.319 on these things 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:34.200 that say it's safe 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:35.160 to build here. 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:36.600 Friends, let me just say 00:25:36.600 --> 00:25:37.380 if that's you today 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:38.019 and think about it 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:38.539 on your life, 00:25:38.620 --> 00:25:39.200 we're all tempted 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:39.960 to do this. 00:25:40.620 --> 00:25:42.140 Is that all these things, 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:43.400 if that tree 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:44.559 is not named Jesus, 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:46.200 if you lean your life 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:46.900 against it, 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:47.920 one way or another, 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:49.539 it will fail you 00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:51.539 or it will fall from you. 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:55.099 And here is the call 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:56.460 of Jesus 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:58.079 to Peter 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.639 and to us 00:25:59.639 --> 00:26:00.700 to lean 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:02.259 the whole weight 00:26:02.259 --> 00:26:03.379 of our lives 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:05.539 on who he is. 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:07.139 The saviour 00:26:07.139 --> 00:26:08.000 who loved me 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:09.539 and who gave himself 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:10.180 for me. 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:10.700 Christ, 00:26:10.859 --> 00:26:11.480 the sure 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:12.599 and steady 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:13.460 anchor 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:14.799 of the soul. 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:15.879 There is the most 00:26:15.879 --> 00:26:16.779 important question 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:17.319 that you and I 00:26:17.319 --> 00:26:18.059 have to think about 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:18.599 this year. 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:20.920 Do you love me? 00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:23.980 I stand amazed 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:25.659 in the presence 00:26:25.659 --> 00:26:27.319 of Jesus the Nazarene 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:29.720 and wonder 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:30.960 how he could love me, 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:33.619 a sinner condemned 00:26:33.619 --> 00:26:34.319 unclean. 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:36.059 How marvelous, 00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:38.220 how wonderful, 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:39.299 and my song 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:40.200 will ever be, 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:42.000 how marvelous, 00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:43.220 how wonderful 00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:45.480 is my saviour's 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:47.220 love for me. 00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:50.180 let me pray 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:51.799 for us, 00:26:51.860 --> 00:26:52.279 but maybe just 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:52.940 in the silence 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:53.700 of your own heart 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:53.940 now, 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:55.400 and as the spirit 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.079 of God moves 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:56.720 amongst us 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:57.279 and puts maybe 00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:57.819 his finger 00:26:57.819 --> 00:26:58.539 on a few things 00:26:58.539 --> 00:26:59.019 in our lives 00:26:59.019 --> 00:26:59.620 today as we 00:26:59.620 --> 00:27:00.799 respond to the word, 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:01.900 why don't we just 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:02.339 have a moment 00:27:02.339 --> 00:27:02.839 of silence 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:03.440 and let me just 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.059 encourage you 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:04.759 to bring your own 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:05.500 prayers to God 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:06.180 and then I'll pray. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:10.039 so loving 00:27:10.039 --> 00:27:10.420 father, 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:11.080 we thank you 00:27:11.080 --> 00:27:11.960 for this reminder 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:13.680 today 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:16.600 of just 00:27:16.600 --> 00:27:17.200 how much 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:18.380 you love us. 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:22.260 thank you father 00:27:22.260 --> 00:27:22.820 that we do not 00:27:22.820 --> 00:27:23.400 need to doubt 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:23.940 that but we 00:27:23.940 --> 00:27:24.700 need to simply 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:25.680 look to the cross 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:26.760 and see the saviour 00:27:26.760 --> 00:27:27.640 who loved us 00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:29.480 and by the work 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:30.220 of your spirit 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:31.380 I pray that he 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:32.040 would come and 00:27:32.040 --> 00:27:32.980 help us to know 00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:33.800 that love more 00:27:33.800 --> 00:27:34.500 in our lives 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:36.220 and that that 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.320 love that the 00:27:37.320 --> 00:27:37.940 Lord Jesus 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:38.900 would never cease 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:39.880 to thrill us 00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:41.980 and it would 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:43.120 never cease 00:27:43.120 --> 00:27:44.000 to be conformed 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:44.980 to his image 00:27:44.980 --> 00:27:46.760 and this is our 00:27:46.760 --> 00:27:47.420 prayer knowing 00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:48.260 that you hear us 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:49.039 confidently 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:49.859 because we pray 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:50.640 in his name. 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:51.720 Amen.