I ask you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the Gospel according to John, chapter 21. John 21. I like to deal with verses 13
to 17. Coming up to that, I'll make
a couple of comments. The Lord, after His disciples
had purposed to go back to their former occupation, after they
fished all night, caught nothing, after He called to them, asked
them, children, have you any meat? No. After he said cast your net on
the right side of the ship, after their net was filled with 153
fish, after he was recognized by John and now the disciples,
Peter dove in and started coming to them, the others started rowing
their boat. coming to the Lord, and the Lord commanded that they
come and dine. And I thought again this morning
how comforting to hear the words of the Master in light of such
disrespect. He who knows that we are dust,
and how often we're reminded It was He who humbled Himself
for the salvation of weak creatures, frail creatures. How thankful
I am for that passage that we consider all the time. He said,
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. They're sitting there and they're
eating with the Lord and none of them dared. Scripture said,
verse 12, none of the disciples durst ask him, who art thou? They knew that it was the Lord. Verse 13, 14, Jesus then cometh,
taketh bread, giveth them, and fish likewise. Now this is the
third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that, he was risen from
the dead. He appeared to them the first
time when they were all together in that upper room. Thomas wasn't there. Eight days
later, met with them. Thomas was there. And the Lord
knew what Thomas had said. Thomas said, if I don't put my
finger in the nail prints of his hands, if I don't put my
hand inside, I'm not going to believe. And the Lord told him,
he said, Thomas, come here. Thomas then said, my Lord, my
God. And now, the Lord has met with
him for the third time. They're standing on the shore, the Sea
of Tiberias. And now we're going to enter
into a conversation that took place between Peter and the Lord. And I don't think for one second
that the Lord said this in front of the others. I think he was
speaking to Simon Peter. And this is what the scripture
says. I'm going to just read verses 15-17. So when they had
died, 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. 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. He saith to 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, the days that followed Peter's
three-time denial of the Lord. after Peter, along with the other
disciples, forsook the Lord at His crucifixion. And after Peter's
announcement proclaiming, I go a fishing, I quit, I'm done,
I'm done, no doubt, heavily was on Peter's heart,
his rebellion. The Lord, when Peter realized,
John said, it's the Lord. Peter dove in. There's no telling
what was going through his mind, his heart. He's just wondering,
what is the Lord going to say? After the Lord told him, he said,
bring the fish that you've caught. They sat down. And after that
dining, after that breakfast that they ate, the Lord speaks
to Peter. And I don't doubt for one second,
I know for a fact, I know for a fact, and I'm going to show
you, Peter knew God. He knew the Lord. Peter was a
believer. If we had no other scripture
proving the Lord's love for Peter, listen to the words of Luke 22,
31, 32. The Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat. That is to say, Satan hath desired
to inwardly agitate you to try your faith to the very verge
of being overthrown. And for a while this was evidenced. There was no doubt about it.
But the Lord says, but I have prayed for thee. I've prayed
for you. Didn't say I'm going to tell
you this, Peter, you better be praying that you don't fall. Satan has desired to have you
that he may sift you as wheat, but I've prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not. I've prayed for you. And when
thou art converted, that is, turned from self-confidence,
strengthen thy brethren. I've prayed for you that your
faith that you possess doesn't fail. There is no telling, there
is no way of knowing how the Lord has kept us from so much. Satan would desire to have all
God's sheep sift them as wheat. But the Lord said, I prayed for
you. I've interceded for you. When the Lord told Peter, I have
prayed for you. I prayed for thee. Listen to
John 17, 6. Here's the Lord praying for the
sheep. John 17, 6. I've manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were. Thou gavest them me. They've kept thy word. Verse
9. I pray for them. I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine." The Lord prays for his sheep, and only his sheep. He said, I don't pray for the
world. I'm not praying for the world.
I pray for those that you've given me out of the world. So
now here's the Lord, and he asks Peter a question. Verse 15, when
they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, you know just the title, just
the way he addressed Peter. He did not address him as Peter.
He says, Simon, son of Jonas. Simon was his name. That was
his given name, original name. And now, that name stands in
contrast to Peter, which the Lord gave him, which means a
stone. Simon, son of Jonas, son of your daddy.
I'm telling you, we're constantly in need of being reminded of
our weakness. Simon, son of Jonas, then the
Lord asked him this question, lovest thou me more than these? Now, I read a lot of comments
and commentaries on what the Lord meant. The scripture doesn't
say exactly to what he was referring, but I'll tell you this. When
the Lord was asking, lovest thou me more than these, some say
that he meant, do you love me more than these other apostles? Let me ask you this, was Peter
even qualified to answer that question? Marvin, do you love the Lord
more than Carl? I can tell you this, my answer
is going to be no. That question, referring to another
believer, is nothing more than a question that would have to
be answered with pride and arrogance and haughtiness. Oh, absolutely
I do. No. I'll tell you what I think
the Lord was referring to. They're sitting there on the
shore of the Sea of Tiberias, And they've just come in and
they've got 153 fish in a net and as the boats are there. And
that was exactly what Peter had just said the day before. This
is what I'm going back to. This is what I want to do. I'm
going back to fishing. I'm going back to what I know
to do. Here was the stuff that Peter
said, I'm going back to this. And I don't doubt for one second
that when the Lord said, Peter, I mean Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these? Now, the words in this passage
of scripture are very, very revealing. Look these up, look them up.
When the Lord spoke to Peter the first time, in verse 15,
and he asked about Peter's love, the Lord used a word, and he
said, lovest. The word that he used, and I'm
just going to read this to you because all I can do is look
the words up in the Greek because I don't speak Greek. But the
word is agapio. It's a word that we get, agape,
agape. Peter, do you agape me? Now, that word for love is known
for me, looking up the Greek, it's a word that is known from
the action that it prompts. This is what I mean. It's the
love that the Father has for the Son. It's the love that the
Son has for the Father. It's the love that the Lord Jesus
has for God the Father. Listen to this. For God so loved
the world. God so loved the arrangement. God so loved the order of men
that He gave. The word here, love, agapio,
agape, is a word that is set forth when it describes love
that prompts something. It's a love that embraces God's
will. A love that chooses His way,
a love that is actively in heart, soul, and being. A heart that
is doing that which He commands. A love of no wavering, no deviation. When the scripture says, God
so loved, That love, agape love, is a love
that is absolutely, has no bounds to it. It loves completely, supremely. And the Lord asked Peter, Peter, agape me more than these. Peter, Do you love me sacrificially
more than these? Simon, do you love me supremely
with an unwavering, unselfish, no deviating, always choosing
my way, ever ready to serve and always do that which I command? Do you love me, Peter? And the scripture says, He saith
unto him, latter part of verse 15, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that
I love thee. But it's not the same word that
the Lord used. That word there that he used,
Peter, used a word and it's a word that is actually phileo. And here's what it means. Lord,
I have a tender affection for you. Lord, you know that I have a
heartfelt affection. Lord, you know that I absolutely,
truly have a great, great desire for you. You know somebody might say,
I cannot believe that Peter would answer the Lord like that. Really? Let me ask you this. Which one, which believer sitting
in his congregation this morning, knowing that the Lord knows,
he sees the heart? Which one would answer if the
Lord says, do you love me with an unwavering, always ready to
obey, never ceasing to love. Do you love me? Which one would say, that's the
way I love you? Knowing that he knows. That's
what Peter said. Yea, Lord, thou knowest. Lord, you know. that I have a
tender affection for you. You know I do. Would anybody
boast? God's people do love the Lord. But I'll tell you what they're
willing to say right now. I don't love Him as I ought. I do not. I don't love him as
I wish I did. And I, by the grace of God, don't
love him as I shall. But I do love him. Hearing Peter's answer, the Lord
assured Peter of the Lord's love for Peter and gave him this blessed
commission. He said, feed my lambs. Peter, I want you to furnish
nutrients for the flock. Peter, I want you to preach the
gospel to them. Peter, I want you to preach me
the bread of heaven. He saith, verse 16, 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 this second word to Peter
in verse 16, the Lord doesn't use the word more of these. He's
now confining his statement and question totally to Peter's love
apart from any comparison. Simon son of Jonas, I'm not asking
you if you trust me. I know you do. Believer, you
trust him, don't you? He said, I'm not asking you if
you believe on me. There's not a believer in here
that doesn't believe. I'm not asking you do you look
to me. Here's what I'm asking you, Peter. Do you agape me? Do you love me with that love
wherewith I love you? A faithful love. A never-ending
love. A lay-down-your-life-for-me love. You claim that. Is there a believer in here that
would not at least desire to say, I'd lay down my life for
him? Peter said that. Listen to this.
Matthew 26, 35, Peter said unto him, Though I should die with
thee, yet Will I not deny thee? Likewise also said all the disciples. He saith to him again the second
time, Simon, son of Jonas, agape me. And he saith unto him, Yea,
Lord, thou knowest that I phileo you. He saith unto him, Feed
my sheep. Now here's A different word. The Lord used in that second
feed, He says, I want you to serve the body and you supply
the soul's needs. Be a minister to Him. Be an example
to Him. In verse 17, now, let me say
this as I sum this up. In verse 15 and 16, again, I
encourage you to look these words up. The Lord asked Peter concerning
Peter's love. Peter, in verse 15 and 16. Peter,
do you agape me? Do you supremely love me? In both those verses, Peter's
answer was, Lord, you know. You know. that I have affection
for you. That's what it means. You know
that. There was no boasting Peter concerning
the superiority of his love for the Lord. He's not going to own
it to be the deepest of love. Let me tell you what's happened
here. The Lord's done taken the air out of Peter's sails. Peter's
been doing a lot of bragging. I ain't gonna do this, I won't
do that. I'm not gonna forsake you. Others will, I won't. And
I'm telling you, the Lord has brought him down. Two times, Peter said, Lord,
I truly, and you know this, have a tender affection for you. I do. You know I do. But in verse
17, The Lord saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, phileo me. Simon, do you have affection
for me? And see, Peter's done said that
twice. I do. And that third time, when the
Lord asked him, Peter, do you? Do you have affection for me? I'm telling you, I read that
passage again this morning and my heart thought, do I love the Lord or no? Am I His or am I not? But if
I have not loved Him before today, help me to begin right now. Lord,
you're asking a question that I only by the grace of God can
answer in the affirmative. The scripture says that Peter,
when he heard the Lord ask him, Peter, do you have affection
for me? He was grieved. and distressed
and sorrowful because the Lord had asked him whether there was
truly any affection at all. He hadn't evidenced it, and Peter
knew it. He knew. And now Peter again
appeals to the omniscience of Almighty God, and he says, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest. that I love thee. And Jesus saith unto him, feed
my sheep. Lord, I admit it. I don't love you as I wish I
did. I want to. To will is present
with me. But how to accomplish that which
I would? That's what Paul said. How? I find not. He said, Peter, Manifest your love to me and
you feed my sheep. Promote in every way the spiritual
welfare of the members of my church. Peter, you pastor them. Watching over their souls is
one that must give account. And I don't for one second doubt
that that command right there went to the grave with Peter.
Because in 2 Peter, 1 Peter, I'm sorry, 1 Peter 5, 2 and 3,
here's what Peter said, Feed the flock of God which is among
you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly,
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being
lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. I'm going over my notes. A few minutes before everybody
got here, I jotted this scripture down. 1 Corinthians 16, 13 to 15. Here's
what Paul is saying to the church at Corinth. Watch ye. Stand fast
in the faith. Quit you like men, or that is,
act like men. Act like men, be strong. Let
all things be done with charity, with love. I beseech you, brethren,
you know the house of Stephanus, that it is the first fruits of
Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of
the saints. They have devoted themselves
to the ministry of the saints. And I thought for myself, Lord,
may it be so with me. Addicted myself to the ministry. What else matters? What else
matters? Whether I'm preaching, whether
you're hearing, we're all hearing. Lord, by your grace, Lord, give
me a heart to be addicted to the ministry. You know what addicted
means. I mean given to, given to. I cannot do anything else. A
man or woman that's addicted to something, they'll forsake
everything else for that. They're addicted to the ministry.
May the Lord bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.
Amen.