I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John chapter 21. John chapter 21. Our Lord has risen from the grave and After he had risen, the Lord's disciples had purpose to go back to their
vocations, fishing. Now these things took place after
the Lord's resurrection. And they went fishing. and they caught
nothing all night. And the Lord had told them, cast
the net on the other side, and the net was loaded with fish. Scripture says that after these
things had taken place, The Lord was recognized by the Apostle
John. John saw him. The Lord was on
the seashore. These things had happened. And
after John recognized him, you know what happened. Peter had
jumped in the water and came. Scripture says that He had commanded
them. And all this, these things had
gone on. He told them, he said, come and
dine. That was in verse 12 of chapter
21. Nobody asked him who he was. Verse 12 says that Jesus saith
unto them, come and dine. of the disciples durst ask him
who art thou? They knew. They knew it was the
Lord. And here the Lord is meeting
with his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. With that question, I looked
at this passage of scripture a few days ago, and just as I
read and saw what was said and what was not said for a while,
and I thought to myself, oh, the guilt, the feeling of what must have
been going through these disciples' heart. They'd gone back fishing. Out there, they didn't catch
anything. The Lord now meets them. And
I can only imagine, because it's not recorded, what they considered,
what the anxiousness would be of these disciples. Just wondering. I wonder what the Lord will say. And the scripture says that as
they were on that sea, no record is given concerning
any conversation that took place after the Lord said to them,
come and dine. And they're there. The Lord had
provided the fish and the fire, the coals. And then the scripture
says, And verse 15, and that's where I wanna look. I wanna look
at verses 15 to 17. I just wanted to kind of set
the stage. They're there on the seashore. The Lord's risen. And the scripture says after,
it must have been just heart-wrenching silence for a while. And the
scripture says, verse 15, the Lord broke that silence to Peter. It says, so when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord,
Thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. Now, there is no doubt that Peter
was a believer. He was one of the Lord's disciples. And if we had no other proof
of the sincerity of Peter being a believer, Luke 22, I'll read this for you,
Luke 22, verse 31, 32. The scripture says, the Lord
said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that
he may sift you as wheat. He's desired to have you that
he could agitate you, inwardly agitate you. But I've prayed for thee, not that you've prayed, Peter,
but I prayed for you. I prayed for you that thy faith
fail not. And when thou art converted,
when you turn back from your self-confidence, strengthen thy brethren. Now
here, the Lord had already told Peter that he was one of the
Lords. I've prayed for you. Here's how
I know that he prayed for him. John 17, six, the Lord said,
I've manifested thy name, praying unto the Father, unto the men
which thou gavest me out of the world, thine they were, and thou
gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Then he said in
verse nine of John 17, I pray for them. I pray not for the
world but for them which thou has given me for they are thine.
So here the Lord is speaking to one of his own. These men that had walked with
him for years and heard him preach and now here they are and he
meets them after all that's gone before. And he's talking to him, and
the Lord spoke to Peter. Verse 15. After they had dined,
not in reproach, not in a convicting manner, he says to Peter, now this, I
want you to notice something. This passage of Scripture, I've
read this, you have too. I want us to consider exactly
what the scripture says concerning this conversation. When they
had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter. He says to Peter, the Lord had
given him a name. You're Peter, a stone. The Lord said to Simon Peter, Simon, but listen how the Lord
speaks to him. Son of Jonas, the Lord said to Simon Peter,
that's what the Spirit of God said. That's the one that the
Spirit of God says the Lord spoke to. He spoke to Simon Peter.
The Lord had told him, you're Peter, a stone, rock, little
rock. Simon, son of Jonas, That was Peter's original name. That's the name that Peter was
given at birth, and it stands in contrast to Peter, meaning
a stone. The Lord is speaking, and just
in his announcement, in his word beginning to come to light to
Peter, he said, Simon, son of Jonas, he's gonna remind Peter
of something. who you are. That's like when
the Lord was moved to speak to Jacob. Jacob. And he reminded him, he reminded
him of who he was. He's going to remind him. We're
fallen creatures of the dust and here's one of the Lord's
disciples and he's picked him out. I'm going to talk to you.
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? Now, I'm gonna say this, and
you've heard this too, there's different opinions on exactly
what the Lord was talking about when he said, lovest thou me
more than these? Some say it was the fish, some
say the boat, some say the, But I want you to remember something,
too. Peter had made some boastful statements concerning his love
for the Lord before. He said, Lord, others will forsake
you, but I won't. You can depend on
me. If there's anybody in this group
that you can rest assured. Turn his back, won't, you know,
tuck tail and run. If there's anybody here that'll
be steadfast and sure, I'm your man. I'm the one. Scripture says that the Lord
asked him, Simon, Son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? A sobering truth is found in
the wording of the Lord. The Lord asked Peter concerning
his love for the Lord. Peter, lovest thou me? Now, the word
that the Lord used And I've said this before, I don't speak Greek,
but I know what the word is because I looked it up and I know what
the meaning is because I looked that up, but I can tell you that
this is what the Lord said concerning the words, lovest thou me. Agapao. I want you to show, I want to
show you something. Hold your place right there. Just turn
a few pages back to John 13, John 1334. What was the word that the Lord,
do you love me? John 1334. A new commandment I give unto
you that ye love one another. As I have loved you, that ye
also love one another. Agapolo. This is a commandment,
this is a new commandment. That you love one another as
I love you. Agapolo. You love each other
as I love you. John 14, 15. John 14, 15. If you love me, if you agapao me, keep my commandments. If you love me, agapao. Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? Do you love me as I love you?
That's what you ask him. Do you love me as I love you?
It's a love that embraces God's will, God's choosing, God's way. No wavering, no deviation. The Lord asked Peter, That's
what the Spirit said. The Lord asked Peter, Simon,
son of Jonas, given name from his mom and daddy,
not the one the Lord gave him. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me sacrificially more than these? Do you love me with an unwavering,
unselfish, no deviating, always choosing my way, ever ready to
serve, and do that which I command? Do you love me? Do you agapio
me? And Peter, back in John 21, said unto the Lord, back in 15,
John 15, He saith unto him, yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. That word love that Peter used
right there, he did not dare use the word agapao that the
Lord used. Used the word phileo, it's a
good word. It's a word of affection, but
it's a love that is between us, friends, brethren. It's a word, and actually it
means, Lord, you know that I have a tender affection for you. Lord, you know that I love you. Lord, you know that I have heartfelt,
truly affection for you. We're frail creatures of dust.
We do love the Lord. We love him. We love him. Peter,
do you agapa o me? Lord, you know that I have a
tender affection for you. You know I do. You know I do. Someone might say, how in the
world could Peter be so insensitive to the Lord? Insensitive. Peter was brought
down to be honest. Honest. Did he love the Lord? Yes, he did. He loved him. But the wording of scripture
is the words that we rest upon. This is what the Spirit of God
said that the Lord asked him. This is what the Spirit of God
said the Lord meant. This is what the Spirit of God
said that Peter said. And this is our instruction for this
morning. Do God's people love the Lord? Yes. But do we love Him as He loves
us? Brethren, we're frail creatures. Paul the Apostle said, I see
in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.
Sin is mixed with all I do. There's a battle going on. Do
we love him? Yes, we do. Are we fallen creatures? Yes,
we are. Would any boast before the all-knowing
God that we love him without deviation? Now, what I'm doing
right here, I know that there's a new man that sinneth not. I
know that. I know that. But I'm telling you what this
scripture says and what these words are. These are the words
that the Lord used. And these are the words that
Peter used. And Peter meant them. He loved him. He loved the Lord.
Oh, the pain. The pain of honesty. Are we honest? I'm telling you, bud, I read
these this morning and I thought, I mean, the Lord's gonna, He's
gonna humble us. He's gonna knock us off our high
horse. Do you love me as I love you?
Lord, you know that I have a tender affection for you. You know I
do. I do. God's people love the Lord. But I'll tell you this, a believer
is the first one to admit, I love him, not as I ought, not as I
should, not as I will in glory, but I do love him. Lord, I do
love you. I do. Lord, compared to you,
compared to you, in hearing Peter's answer, the
Lord assured Peter of his love for Peter. Verse 15, when they had dined,
Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I have tender affection, that I do, I love
you. I love you compassionately, I
do. And the Lord said unto him, Feed
my lambs. Now, the Lord used a word there. Now, if you'll notice, I'll look
at him again, Lord willing, in just a minute. We'll talk about
it again. Feed my, feed my, feed my. Here's what the Lord said
to him. Peter, do you love me, Lord? You know I have tender, compassionate
affection for you. Feed my lambs. that Peter used. I mean, that the Lord used. I'm
sorry. When Peter said, I do have tender compassion for you.
The Lord said, feed. That particular word right there
that the Lord used when he said, feed my lambs. It's a word that
means you provide the food. Provide the food, feed. That's
word. Here again, I just looked the
words up and give you the number. It's 1006. If you want to look,
it's that word. Feed. It means provide the food,
the nutrition. Feed my lambs. Furnish the nutriment
for the flock. Preach the gospel to them. If
you love me, preach the gospel. You tell them about me, the bread
of heaven. The water of life. If you love
me, then you feed my lambs. You feed them. This is what I
want you to give them. You feed them the gospel. You
give them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you love me,
you preach the gospel to them. Verse 16, He saith to him again
the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my sheep. Now the Lord's second question
did not contain the exact words. It didn't, the Lord didn't ask
him that second question. Did he ask you, do you love me
more than these? It was as the Lord had before
heard Peter's announcement that, I won't forsake you, I'm your
man, everybody else will. He didn't say anything concerning
that more than these, but the question was confined to Peter's words and just exactly, no comparison,
didn't ask him about do you love him more than me. Simon, son
of Jonas, lovest thou me, lovest. He didn't say do you trust me? Do you believe on me? Do you
look to me? He said, Peter, the second time,
he asked him the second question. Peter, do you agapao me? Do you love me as I love you? Do you love me with a love whereby
you lay down your life as I would? I mean, these are searching questions. Faithful, faithful, faithful
love. Never ending love. Lay down your
life, love. That's what you claimed. That's
what you said, Peter. That's what you claimed that
you'd, though everybody else would deny you, I won't. That's
what you said. Do you? After the Lord asked him that
second question, saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou
knowest, you perceive, you understand, that I phileo you. Lord, I do love you, you know
that I have a tender affection for you. Lord, you know that
I approve of you, that's one. Lord, you know, and have a perfect
knowledge that I cherish you. I am deeply, deeply fond of you. I have an affectionate, heartfelt
love for you. It's a good word, but it's not
the same word that the Lord used. Peter, first time, do you agapio
me? Lord, you know that I have a
tender affection. Second time, the Lord says, Peter,
do you agapio me? Lord, you know. You know all
things. You know. Peter knows the one before he
stands knows. This is the Lord, and he's being
honest. He's being painfully honest.
The bragging that he had done before, the Lord called him to
the side and he's talking to him. After that second time, the first
time he asked him, do you agapao me? Do you love me with the love
that I have for you? Lord, you know the tender affection
that I have for you. He told me, he said, you feed
my lambs, you provide the gospel to them. The second time, the
second question, when the Lord asked him again, ask him the
same thing, do you agapao me? And same answer Peter gave. Good word again, good word. But it's not the same word that
the Lord used, not the depth of the word that the Lord used,
not the warmth of the Lord's question. Peter gave the same answer. Lord,
you know the deepness of my affection for you. And the Lord said, after
that second statement of verse 16, he saith unto him, feed my
sheep. The second word that the Lord
gave Peter. First time he told him, he said,
you preach the gospel to them. You preach me. You give them
the nourishment. That's what the word feed meant
in that first verse, verse 15. You preach me to them. At second,
in verse 16, when he said, feed my sheep, it was a different
word. The Lord didn't use the same
word. I told you again, I mean, if you jot it down, the first
time we said feed my sheep, that was 1006. Give them the nutrients. You give them the word. You preach
me. You preach me. This second word
that he used for feed, it's interpreted feed, it is. But it's a different
word. Don't jot it down. Number 4165,
if I wrote it down correctly. And though it is interpreted
feed, it means to shepherd, to shepherd, to rule, to oversee. He gives this instruction, if
you love me, first time, you preach the gospel to them. This is what I want you to say.
This is what I want you to preach. You preach me, the Lord said.
You preach me. The second time he asked him,
and Peter gave the same answer, and the Lord said, if you love
me, then you shepherd my sheep. The Lord's instruction in verse
15, feed the sheep, I mean, feed the lambs, dealt with what to
feed them. What to feed them. And then in
16, It was how to feed them, how
to do it. I couldn't help but think about
Brother Scott. I heard him say one time, he
said, you know, when you're gonna feed some chickens, I think he
was talking about chickens. He said, you can do one of two
things when you feed them. You can either take it, throw it
at them. Here, there's some corn, go get
it. All you're gonna do is scatter
them. Or he said, you can be real tender with it. Y'all ever
heard him say that? I'm sure you have. He said, you'd
be real tender. They were still getting corn,
but it was how they got it. That's what the Lord said. First
time he told Peter, if you love me, if you love me, and Peter
said, Lord, you do know I love you, I do. He said, then you
preach Christ, you preach me to him. Second time, he told
them, this is how I want you to do it. And I found this here
in 1 Peter 5, 2. 1 Peter 5, 2, it says, feed. Now here's the second word. First
word dealt with what to give them. The second word that the
Lord used interpreted feed, but here's what it means. It's how
to do it, how to do it. Feed the flock of God. which
is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not of constraint, but
willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither
being lords over God's heritage, but in samples or examples to
the flock. Peter, if you love me, feed my
lambs. You preach me to them. Peter,
you love me, this is how you do it. Shepherd them, be kind
to them. Take in the oversight. Do it lovingly. Then in verse
17, he saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? Peter was grieved because he
said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto
him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, feed my
sheep. Now again, in verses 15, 16,
the Lord had asked Peter concerning Peter's love, and he used the
word agapah. You love me? That's verse two.
15, 16. Do you love me? Do you supremely
love me? Both times, Peter answered, Lord,
you know that I have tender affection for you. You know that. That's
what the word means. Peter asked. There was no boasting
in Peter concerning the superiority of his love. He said, Lord, you
know, you know. This is what every believer's
gonna say. Lord, you know. Lord, you know. You know I love
you. Lord, I don't love you as I ought, but I do, I do love
you. And after the Lord had asked
him those two times, used those words, then this last verse for
this morning, verse 17, when the Lord asked Peter the third
time concerning Peter's love, here's what he said. First time,
the Lord asked him, do you agapao me? Peter said, Lord, you know
that I phileo you. Peter, do you agapao me? Peter said, Lord, you know I
phileo you. And then this third time, the Lord asked him, Peter,
do you phileo me? Do you have a tender affection
for me? Do you? That's when Peter was grieved.
That question cut him to the heart. Do you? Do you really? And I read that and I thought
to myself, Lord, you know. Lord, you know I love you. Just
having that question when Peter asked him, I mean, when the Lord
asked Peter, do you, do you have a tender affection for me? Do
you? Oh, Peter, without a doubt, He, I'm sure he was grieved. I mean, Peter was grieved when
he asked him that third one. Use a different word. Do you
have a tender affection? He was grieved. He was sorrowful
and he was heavy. Oh, how quickly does the Lord's
revelation to us of what we are. You think about this. I said,
getting this message, the Lord loved Peter. He loved him. Prayed for him. The Lord loved
him. But I think, Lord, oh, what mercy
and grace and compassion. Thank you for your passion. Thank
you for your long suffering. He asked him that third question,
do you have tender affection for me? And Peter's heart was
broken. And he appealed to the Lord's
omnipotence, omniscience, Lord, you know all things. You know. Oh, that painful recollection
of Peter, I'm sure, just like us, just right now, just be honest.
I'm not asking anybody to raise their hands or anything like
that, but just be honest. How often have we found ourselves
so negligent? No negligence. Oh, it's just,
I'm just tired. I'm just, you know, I'm just,
we're a believer. Do we love the Lord? Yes, we
do. Yes, we do. I'm telling you, we see ourselves
in the presence of sin. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these? Lord, you know I do. Feed my
lambs. feed my sheep, and that third
time, Lord, you know I love you. Same word, you know I cherish
you, I have fond affection, tender affection for you, and the Lord
told him, after he had said that, the Lord told him, feed my sheep. He went back to the first word,
preach me. That was the first, that was
the first feed the Lord used. First time. Peter, do you agapao
me? Preach me to the lambs. Peter, do you agapao me? Shepherd my people. Guide them,
direct them. Be tender with them. Be a shepherd
to them. They're the flock. You shepherd
them. Do you have tender affection
for me? He was grieved. He said, you
preach me to him. And that's what God's people
do. The Lord, with Peter's confession of his love, he said, you preach
the gospel to him. You preach me to him. God's people
are going to be made to see their need Christ sustaining grace,
keeping grace, keeping mercy, tender, loving care. Do you love
me? God's people do love him. They love him. They see their
frailty and they admit it. I'll admit it. Lord, I love you. Lord, I say as David said, Lord,
take not thy Holy Spirit from me. What do you think went through
David's mind when David would think back on the failings of
his life? You think back, David, King David,
a man after God's own heart. The Lord loved him. David was
kept like we, by the grace of God, are kept. I pray the Lord
bless us to our hearts for Christ's sake.