Restoration
Mustang – my Dad did something right. (photo)
John 21:15-19
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
18 1 tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go.
But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.”
16 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God.
Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
Jesus met His disciples on the beach (photo -Jesus by fire) where He had already prepared breakfast for them. This scene must have stirred Peter’s memory and touched his conscience.
Surely Peter was recalling that first catch of fish and even the feeding of the 5,000 with bread and fish.
(photo -Peter by fire) The “charcoal fire” would remind him of the fire at which he denied the Lord.
Peter messed up by the fire in the courtyard. (John 18:18) Peter denied the Lord three times at that charcoal fire. Peter needed restoration. And Jesus could provide it.
(photo – Jesus w/ Peter)First Jesus loving allows Peter to dry off, get warm, satisfy his hunger and enjoy personal fellowship. All this before his spiritual needs are dealt with.
This is a good example for us to follow as we care for God’s people. Certainly the spiritual is more important than the physical, but caring for the physical can prepare the way for spiritual ministry.
It is good for us to remember the past; all of us have taken things (and even people) for granted and we have things to confess. We all need restoration.
Remember the Good old days – we could go to a restaurant, a sporting event, a play, we could go to church!
The virus is keeping us from these wonderful things today. But it is much worse when we cannot enjoy real life because of something else that blocks our way, SIN!
Peter followed Jesus for three years and he sinned.
We follow Jesus and sometimes sin too.
When we mess up, and sin, we need restoration too.
The Path to Restoration
- Confess the sin in prayer to Jesus.
Peter and the Lord had already met privately and no doubt taken care of Peter’s sins. Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15 state that Peter had a meeting with Jesus on Easter Sunday.
The Path to Restoration
- Do you love me?
The key issue is Peter’s love for the Lord. This is the key matter for us today. Do I love Jesus?
CharChar -” I love you” and then “I love you more” and then “I love you to the moon” and then to “infinity and beyond”!
Jesus asked Peter “do you love me more than these?” The question probably meant, “Do you love Me—as you claimed—more than these other disciples love Me?”
Peter had boasted of his love for Christ and had even
contrasted it with that of the other men.
“I’m ready to die for you.” (John 13:37)
“Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert
you.” (Matt. 26:33)
These statements tell us that Peter thought that he loved
Jesus more than the other disciples loved Jesus.
Peter did love Jesus and was not ashamed to admit it.
He did later die for that wholehearted belief.
The Path to Restoration
- Serve. Feed my sheep.
Both the lambs and the more mature sheep need feeding and leading, and that is the task of the spiritual shepherd. It is an awesome responsibility to be a shepherd of God’s flock!
We toured a little last week. We made the rounds of some of the flock. (Sorry if we missed you)
I loved going to some of our people’s homes and seeing them. Several said: “We see you”, but I got to see them. We drove the Mustang and we saw many of the kids and gave some rides. It was great!
The enemies want to destroy the flock, and the shepherd must be alert and courageous.
1 Peter 5:2
2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.
The Path to Restoration
- Follow.
Pastor’s cannot lead without following Jesus.
All of us are asked to give our lives to God.
We DIE to ourselves and live for Jesus.
When a person has settled the matter of death, then they
are ready to live and to serve!
We can only follow Jesus if we follow all the way to death
and new life.
Romans 6:13
13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body (total self) as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
Restoration: Symbol of hope, renewal of faith. Confess, Love, Serve, Follow
That Mustang is a symbole for me of somthing good that my day did. This helped Restore my relationship with my dad. Jesus restored me and helped restore my relationship with my dad.
Jesus restores Peter. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. He lived the rest of his life for Jesus. He died for Jesus because that day on the beach, Jesus restored him. He can restore you.