Turn with me back to John 21.
Let's have one more word of prayer. Dear Lord, if it be Thy will,
would You help us this morning Would You cause us to forget
about every single thing that's on
this earth? And would You feed our souls,
we pray. We ask this, Lord, for Christ's
sake. Amen. Some of you have had the opportunity to entertain guests in your home. It's a wonderful thing, isn't
it? You've prepared nice meals for
some people that you love to come to your house and sit down
at your table and have a nice dinner together. And I know because
I have seen my wife do it, Some of you
men are a big help in the kitchen, and I am not one of them. But I've seen her entertain. And I know that usually you have
to start pretty early, if not even sometimes the day
before. You have to prepare whatever food is going to be cooked, get
it ready. You set the table. Usually the house needs to be
clean. That's why you start the day before. A lot of work goes into that
preparation. A lot of work. Hours and hours
has to go into it. For everybody to show up at your
house and sit down together and devour it in minutes. Right? Preaching is the exact
same way. It's the exact same way. The
joke is preachers only work three hours a week. Preachers only work three hours
a week. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. The truth of the matter is, if
God has called a man to deliver a message, then God has burdened that man
over what is going to be delivered. The quality of it? Man, I'm telling you the truth. The quality of it? The presentation
of it? The savor of it? Does it have
enough salt? Salt is good. Is there something sweet for
us to finish with? I'm telling you. Is there enough? I think about that every time.
After I finish a set of notes, my first question is, is that
enough? Is everybody's belly going to be full? It's a great labor. And it's a happy labor. In praying for this message,
These verses of Scripture were just pressed on me. I couldn't
stop thinking about them. We've been in John, but I had
to skip ahead. Tonight, we're going to be somewhere and I couldn't
help it. I had to skip ahead. It's a day of skipping ahead.
Look at verse 15, John 21, verse 15. So when they had dined, Jesus
saith to Simon Peter, 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,
feed my little ones, young, feed the young. 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. Feed the young ones, feed the
old ones. 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. God's servants have been
given a charge by God himself. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. By God's grace,
my prayer is that as long as he would have me to
be here, However long that is, He would keep giving us sheep
food. We call on Him for these messages.
We pray for these messages. Lord, speak to us. It all must come from Him, every
bit of it. I don't make the food. I just
serve it. That's all I do. I just serve
it. Lord, give us sheep food. That's what we want, is sheep
food. My prayer is that we, myself included, would be a well-fed
flock. That's my prayer. Not a well-whipped-into-shape
flock. Not a well-penned-in flock. Pack them in there tight. A well-fed flock. Go with me to 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5 verse 2 says, 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. I have a margin right there and
it says, over ruling, ruling over. Neither ruling over God's
heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief
shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away. Our Lord didn't say, Peter, if
you love me, bring my flock under bondage. If you love me, discipline my
sheep. He didn't say, Peter, if you
love me, you bring my flock back under the law. Bring them back under rules,
regulations, do's, don'ts. If you love me, Peter, you will
shear my sheep. He didn't say that. He said,
Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. I will hedge them about. You
know, all the hedging about comes from God Himself. My Spirit will
do all the convicting. Are God's sheep convicted? Buddy,
you better believe it. Did He say, Peter, you make sure
you convict. Now, he said, when my spirit
comes, it'll do all the convicting. I will lead them. I will protect
them. I will provide for them. You
just hand out the food that I provide. Just hand out the food. He didn't say, Peter, if you
love me, I want you to go around and determine who is my sheep
and who isn't my sheep. He said, if you love me, feed
my lambs. Put the food out there. Just put the food out there.
You don't have to whip goats, Peter. Nowhere, aren't you so
glad, nowhere in this Word of God does it say, if you love
me, you'll start whipping goats. No, He just said, feed the sheep. Feed the sheep. Well, because
I have been called to this charge, There are some questions that
come to my mind. The first one is, what do sheep feed on? What is sheep food? What nourishes
them and sustains them and fills them and satisfies them? What do you feed them with? I think about everybody in here
knows the answer. All of God's sheep know, they know what fills
their being. But that's the first question
that popped into my mind. How, what do you feed them? The next question is how do you
feed them? I'm sure you've had somebody ask you to take care
of their pet while they go out of town. Poor Rebecca and Megan
are constantly asked, would you come to our house and feed our
cats? After a while, you get used to
it, but the first time, you know, the response is, well, what are
the instructions? How do you feed them? How often
do you feed them? How much do you feed them? When I first moved over to Rocky
Mount, Paul had a dog named Abner. He
was a great dog. And I had just gotten there and
he went out of town and he asked me to feed Abner. And so he showed
me where his bowl was, where his food was. It was about that
deep, it was a big, it was a big bowl. It was in a kind of like
a barn shed thing he had behind his house. There it is. I asked him, how much do you
give him? How much should I put in there?
He said, you keep pouring until it starts running over the sides.
He said, I love him and his bowl runneth over. Go with me over to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55 verse 1 says, Ho, every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money Now, do they have to pay anything for this? When I
go get food, I have to pay for it. Do they have to pay anything
for this? No. It's all been paid for. It's
paid in full. Just set it out. He that hath no money, come ye
buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness." Well, you feed them like that and they're going to
get fat. Yeah, I know. I know. You just keep feeding
them and you just keep feeding them and you don't ever take
it away and they're going to get fat. I know. You let them eat as much as they
want. If they come back still hungering and thirsting for righteousness,
fill them again. Peter, do you love me? Feed my
sheep. As often as they want, as much
as they want, let them delight their souls in fatness. Is that
not amazing? I think that's amazing. Now,
our first question was, what do God's sheep feed on? Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter
3, toward the New Testament, a few pages. Jeremiah 3. Jeremiah 3 verse 15 says, And I will give you pastors according
to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Knowledge and understanding of
what? Just any knowledge and any understanding?
Go over to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4, look at verse
4. But He answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." God's sheep feed
on the Word. And what does John 1,1 say? In
the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and
the Word was God. God's sheep feed on Christ. They feed on Christ. They feed
on a knowledge of Christ. You know what I want to learn
about when I come here? Christ. They feed on an understanding
of Christ. So many places, so many people,
bless their hearts, they're attending places right now that are doing
seminars and studies on different issues in the home and in the
marriage and with the children and we're going to learn about All I want to know about and
all I want to understand is Christ. If I understand Christ, the home
will be fine, and the marriage will be fine, the kids will be
fine. God's sheep feed on Christ. They feed on Christ. It's what
nourishes them, and it's what sustains them, and it's what
fills them, and it's what satisfies them. Christ. Lord, feed us with
Christ. That's my prayer. That's my prayer. I can't help but with each message
that passes, wonder if God is going to send me another one.
Does that kind of sound crazy? It does to me. I've been called
to a position by God And God is the one who feeds us and God
will send us His message by God's grace. But my flesh, my, my,
my, no faith, right? My flesh sits there and says,
is the Lord going to send me a message this week? Lord, feed us with Christ. Feed us with Christ. Go with
me over to Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34 verse 1 says, And the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds
of Israel. Against them. Prophesy and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds Woe be
to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? You eat the fat, and you clothe
you with the wool. You kill them that are fed, but
you feed not the flock." Now how have they not fed the flock? What are they doing to not feed
the flock? Look at verse 4. The diseased
have you not strengthened. This flock is a diseased flock. You know that? Diseased with
sin. You know what God said? Strengthen
them. Strengthen them. Peter, Satan
hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. And
I am going to let him have you for a little while. in order
to prove to you your own disease. But after I bring you back, after
I show you your sin, strengthen thy brethren. Isn't
that what he said? Strengthen thy brethren. Verse
4, the disease have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that
which was sick. What are they sick over? Guilt. Shame. When they see their own sin,
they're literally just sick over it. Have you ever done anything
that you're just sick over? It just makes your stomach hurt.
Oh, I'm just sick over it. Peter, if you love me, bring
before their eyes the Son of Righteousness with healing in
His wings. If you love me, show them the
one who has redeemed their life from destruction with his own
blood. That sin they hate, gone. Show them the one who has forgiven
their iniquity and will remember their sin no more. Show them Christ. Feed them with
Christ. But woe unto the shepherds that
don't feed the flock. Verse 4 says, The diseased have
you not strengthened? Neither have you healed that
which was sick? Neither have you bound up that
which was broken? Neither have you brought again
that which was driven away? Neither have you sought that
which was lost? But with force and with cruelty
have you ruled them? He just wanted to rule them. And in doing so, you starved
them. Oh my God! Don't let me be one of these
under shepherds. It's a fear of mine. It is a
fear of mine. Keep preaching Christ. Just keep
preaching Christ. Look at verse 7, ìTherefore you
shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, saith the Lord
God, surely because my flock became a prey and my flock became
meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd,
neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds
fed themselves and fed not my flock, Therefore, O ye shepherds,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold,
I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their
hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more, for I will deliver
my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep and seek them out. I'm going to come find them.
Verse 14, ìI will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the
high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There shall they
lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon
the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that
which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and
will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which
was sick. I will do all these things. That's the great shepherd talking.
What do God's sheep feed on? They feed on Christ. They feed
on His Word. Does that not put some hope in
you? Can you not see glory as we read that? Can't you just
see glory? They feed on His promises. They
feed on the hope of being with Him. That's what they feed on.
It's what nourishes them and sustains them and fills them. Fill me now. Fill me now. Lord Jesus, come and fill me
now. It's what satisfies them. Lord,
delight my soul in the fullness of the love and grace and mercy
of Christ. I want to delight in that. Well, in our text, Peter was
fed. All right? Let me show that to
you. Go back to John 21. John 21 verse 1 says, ìAfter
these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the
Sea of Tiberias, and on this wise showed He Himself. There
were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael
of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of
His disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them,
ìI am going fishing.î Now their Lord was crucified,
and the sheep were scattered. And Peter was not saying, I'm
bored. And I'm going to go do something
to get my mind off this for a little while. What he said was, I am
quitting the ministry. That's what he said. I'm quitting
the ministry. I'm going back to my old job.
I'm going to start my business back up. That's what he did for
a living. Verse 3, Simon Peter said unto
them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go
with thee. We're all going to do the same
thing. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and
that night they caught nothing. Without the Lord, a man can do
nothing. Absolutely nothing. The end of
verse 3 says, ìThat night they caught nothing, but when the
morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples
knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, ìChildren,
have you any meat?î They answered Him, ìNo.î And He said unto them,
ìCast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find.î
Now over the course of that night, How many times do you think they
had thrown the net on the right side of the ship? How many times? I mean, they toiled all night. They tried everything. They threw
the net everywhere. You know they did. What made
the difference this time? The Word of God. I think about religion. Man, there are some people who
go through the motions well. I mean, well. There are some
people who probably read more of this Word than I do. I mean, they don't miss a service. They really don't have a bad heart like I do. You
know what I'm saying? All of the sudden, one day, to
a sheep, something makes a difference. And you know what it is? The Word of God. It's the Word
of God. Right here, they're throwing
their nets, and now this is not about form. A good throw. It's not about ritual. It's not
about their own ability, their own works. It's not about their
own decision. I think I've decided I'm going
to throw the net on the right side of the ship now. This was about obeying the commandment
of Almighty God. Verse 6 says, And he said unto
them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall
find. They cast therefore, and now
they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, that's John, saith
unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that
it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, for he
was naked, and did cast himself into the sea." He just said he
was leaving the ministry of Jesus Christ. He was going to go back
fishing. He's holding a net with 153 fish
in it. He hears it's the Lord, and now
he drops it all and throws himself into the ocean. Verse 8 says,
ìAnd the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were
not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits, dragging
the net with fish. As soon then as they were come
to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon
and bred.î Thatís how it is with salvation. A sinner is out in
the middle of nowhere. trying to accumulate his own
works, throwing nets, toiling, rowing, working, nothing to show
for it, nothing to show for it. But when the Master calls, and
when the sinner comes, he finally sees that the work is finished.
The fire is already made. The fish is already cooked. The
bread is already served. Come and dine. You know what?
That's what the gospel says. Come and dine. Come eat. Let him that is a thirst come. Whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely. That's the gospel. Verse 9, ìAs
soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire and coals there,
and fish laid their own and bred. Jesus saith unto them, ìBring
of the fish which you have now caught.î Simon Peter went up
and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, a hundred and
fifty-three, and for all there were so many, yet was not the
net broken. Jesus saith unto them, ìCome
and dine.î And none of the disciples durst ask him, ìWho art thou?î
knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh and taketh
bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. Whoever comes to be
fed will be served by the Lord himself." Well, then, Mr. Preacher, what's
your role in this thing? I really don't have one. I really
don't have one. I'm just a sheep coming to be
fed like everybody else. If Christ does not serve this
meal, none of us will be fed. None of us. Verse 13, Jesus then
cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples
after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these? Was he talking about Andrew and
James and John? Do you love me more than these?
Was he talking about the other disciples? No. Peter just said, I'm giving up
on the ministry of Jesus Christ. And I'm going to go back after
this world. And there's a net laying right
here with 153 fish in it. And there's a boat that has been
pulled up onto the sand. And there's a whole ocean that
can offer him the world. And he said, Peter, do you love
me more than these? Ask yourself that question. I
mean, really. Everything this world has to
offer you. Do you love Christ more? If by God's grace a sheep can
say, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. That will strengthen a diseased
heart. It really will. That will cause
a broken heart to say, I believe Christ died for me. And the reason is because I do
love Him. I believe by God's grace only,
not by my work, but by God's grace only, I believe I love
Him. I really do. And if His Word is true, and
it is, The only reason I love Him is because He first loved me. If I love Christ, then it means
Christ loves me and He loved me first. If He didn't love me,
I wouldn't love Him. Verse 15, ìSo when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, ìSimon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me
more than these?î He saith unto him, ìYea, Lord, thou knowest
that I love thee.î He said unto him, ìFeed my lambs.î He saith
to him again the second time, ìSimon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me?î He saith unto him, ìYea, Lord, thou knowest that
I love thee.î He saith unto him, ìFeed my sheep.î 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? Oh, did he become grieved. Oh, man, he became so grieved. The reason is because when the
Lord said it the third time, Peter remembered something. Do you have a margin in your
Bible? The third time? Does yours say chapter 13, verse
38? Turn over there. John 13, verse 38. Jesus answered him, wilt thou
lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me three times. They said, you're one of his
disciples. Peter said, nope. And then he watched his Lord
hang there. And then he watched his Lord
suffer and die. How many times did Peter say
in his heart, why didn't I say yes? You think that was ringing over
and over in his mind? Oh, why didn't I say yes? Yes! They said, ìYou were with him. We saw you with him.î Peter said,
ìNo.î Thatís why when John said, ìItís
the Lord,î he jumped in. He couldnít stand it. He was
so sorry. ìIíve denied my Lord. I have
denied God. Godís going to put me in hell.î
Thatís what he thought. I have forsaken the truth Himself. Why didn't I just say yes? They said, your speech betrays
you. You are one of them. Peter started
cussing. Three times he denied his Lord. So the Lord in mercy said, Peter,
do you love me? Yes. Peter, do you love me? Yea, Lord, I do. I do. Peter, do you love me? Lord, thou knowest all things.
You know that I love you. I know what I said, but you know
that you have put a heart in me to love you. The Lord said, then quit the
business of going back to fishing. You are not an outcast. Go feed
my sheep. Just go feed my sheep, Peter.
Peter heard the voice of his Lord say, You are mine. And that's all I want to hear
every single time I come to this place. That is what feeds my
soul. When I hear that I am His and
He is mine, I'm fed. When He speaks directly to my
heart and says, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you,
I'm fed. When I hear Him say, Come unto
Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I promise I'll give
you rest. I'm fed. When my soul hears him say, your
warfare is accomplished, your iniquity is pardoned, and you
have received of my hand double for all your sins, I'm fed. And I say just like Mephibosheth,
who am I? Who am I? That you should look
on such a dead dog as I am. My bowl runneth over. Do you love me? Yea, Lord. Then you preach Christ. Preach
Christ. Lord, feed us with Christ. I've been called to preach, but
thanks be to God, I've been called to hear. I want to hear it too. Feed us with Christ. Just feed
us with Christ. Alright, let's stand together. Turn to 162.