Do You Love Me?

Giving honor to My God, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and this great pastor and his wife. I bring greeting to you from My home Church of New Hope MB Church of Hammond, IN where my pastor is Herman Polk Sr.

Let the redeemed say so! Has anyone here been redeemed? It is good to be in the house of God one more time.

There is a word from the Lord.

Matt. 4:18–22 NKJV

 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Matt. 16:13-19 NKJV

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

John 21:15-17 NKJV

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

My three points of this message is:

Meeting Christ

Accepting Christ

Commissioned by Christ

What loving Christ should look like; action

Before getting into the meat of the message, its important to first define love. The meaning of love have been so convoluted and misunderstood for so long that many of us don’t understand its true meaning. Amen

John 3:16 tells us that Jesus was sent to die for us because of what? You guessed it. LOVE

Roman 5:8 further clarifies that God knew we were sinners in other words: drug addicts, liers, thieves, whore mongers, prostitutes, manipulators, fornicators and or gossipers and sent Jesus to save us anyway. Why? you, guessed it; LOVE

Just in case you still didn't get it, He sent Paul the Apostle to explain it to us in great detail in 1 Corinth. 13:4-8. It say what love is and is not.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

I simply define Love as “putting somebody else’s wants needs and desires before your own.” Can you break any of the ten commandments if your putting somebody else’s needs before your own? No, of course not. Who here wakes up and says “ I guess I want somebody to lie on me today? I want somebody to cheat on me today. I want somebody to hurt me today. Anybody in their right mind does not want to be hurt. Everything identified in 1 Corinth 13:4-8 defining love is either building somebody up or making them feel good. Anything that does not do this is not Love; also defined in 1 Corinth 13:4-8.

In summary: Love might begin with a deep emotional feeling but more importantly it is reflected in action.

James 2:18-20 Basically says that your actions should reflect what you believe. If it doesn’t then you don’t believe what you say you believe.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Amen!

Do you Love me?

This is merely a rhetorical question from God to each one of us. Our message today will use Simon Peter’s story to shed light on our own story. Amen

Lets look at our first set of scriptures:

Matt. 4:18–2216 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

My first point is

“MEETING CHRIST”.

This texts describes the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John the baptist had already announced his coming and prepared the way for him. Now was the time for Jesus to fulfill his purpose. He started by gathering his intimate 12 disciples. Simon and Andrew would be two of them.

If we look at this, we will see Jesus displaying love to Simon and Andrew without having met them. How so? Did he put their needs or wants before his own? Absolutely. Stopping just for a moment to invite them to join him was love. Why?

#1 because he didn’t have to do it.

#2 Jesus knew that they both needed Him (as we all need him) and should he choose to follow him, his life would be forever changed.

How many of us met Jesus when we were in a time of need? Did you know how bad you needed Jesus when he called you out of where you were? Did you decide to follow Jesus?

Whether you decided to follow Christ or not at that very moment; that was your first encounter with God. I would go on the limb and say that most of us ignored the first encounter or MEETING, the 2nd and maybe even the 3rd time. There may be someone here or viewing that this their first time meeting Christ. If so, God bless you. We are glad to have you. It is my hope that you make a decision to accept him as your savior and follow him. Amen! If this is you, hold tight. your in for a ride. Amen. The God I proclaim is awesome! Amen!

So not only did Jesus display Love, he also made a promise. What did he promise? To make them fishers of men. While they didn’t know what that meant at that time, Jesus did.

In fact, if we look at Mark’s account of this story, we will find that Jesus identified Simon as Peter during this same encounter.

Wow. So Jesus knew before he even met them what his plans for him were. Amen! That’s a great place to shout. Why? Because Jesus knows the plans that he has for you. It may or may not be an apostle, teacher, preacher of evangelist but he definitely has something. In fact, he tells us in:

Jeremiah 21:11 (NKJV)

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Do you know that every gift you have comes from God? That right if you can cook, clean, dance, sing, fix repair or sew. It all came from God. Just like Jesus already knew that Simon’s fisherman skills were really for fishing men. Do you also know that those gifts were not for you? That’s right they are for God. Primarily to be used as tools to build the kingdom. It may be for evangelism or directly in the church. Yes, you can benefit from it and even provide for your family, but the primary purpose is to serve.

The reason why many churches are suffering is because its members are sitting on their gifts. Amen!

God has a question for you today;

DO YOU LOVE ME?

Do you love me enough to use the gifts I gave you for building my kingdom?

Do you love me enough to give me a reasonable portion of your time, talent and resources?

Lets look at our 2nd set of scriptures:

Matthew 16:13-17 NKJ

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

My second point is:

“ACCEPTING CHRIST”

At this point in the text, we have Jesus in the last period of his ministry. Jesus had just finished performing the miracle of feeding 4,000 with a few fish and 7 barley loaves of bread.

This was just before Jesus would begin preparing them for his death. Jesus’ questions was: “Who do men say that I am?”

So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

I believe that if you asked that same question today, you will get overwhelmingly similar answers. If fact I would say more and more people are found doubting their faith. Why? Because of all that is taking place in the world, government and the most of all the Church.

Poll indicates that 64% of Americans identify themselves as Christians but only 34% are connected to religious services or denominations. I believe that 30% are a combination non church goers and internet church affiliates.

The popularity with the internet allows so much misinformation to be put out there. Those who do not have a strong foundation in God and his word find themselves being swayed. These are people who typically only believe the part of the bible that suits them. Those who don’t attend church services regularly, may be only internet members and certainly don’t study the word on their own. These are the ones have build their house (faith) on sand. When I talk to these people, they self justify not trying to do all that God expects and even commands. One of the most popular ones I have been hearing lately is not physically attending church services. Yes, the pandemic can be blamed for much of this but not all of it. There were already a large group of people who identify as Christians that had decided to be t.v. members of churches they will never attend. To have pastors they will never see or ever talk to. How can a pastor take care of or look after sheep that they don’t know exist? How can you use your physical gifts to help build the church if you never attend one? How can you encourage and be encouraged by like minded individuals (other members) if you never see anyone? How can the elders of the church lay hands on you if your sick if your never there or they don’t know your sick?

The War Story

A young boy went to his dad and asked a question. He said dad why is it that the things I want to do that are good, I don't do them and the (bad) things I don't want to do I find myself doing them. The father said “Son in each one of us there is a spirit of good and a spirit of evil. They battle everyday to control us." The boy said “okay but dad, who wins the battle”. The dad responded “the one you feed”.

How do we feed the the good spirit? All of those things many of us avoid......

1. Spending time in prayer 2. Connecting with like minded people (church) 3. Serving others with our gifts and talents

We feed the evil spirit by not feeding the good spirit. Amen!

The three things God will hold you accountable for is how you used your:

1. Time

2. Talent (spiritual/physical gifts

3. Resources (money)

One other reason is that the Church community has allowed the world to influence the church instead of the church influencing the world. Why? Because we either don’t know the word or we are seeking things or images for ourselves. We have become a world of “I”s.

The gospel story is about individuals collectively serving others by leading them to a common cross. Jesus sacrificed himself for us, not for himself! He had and still has everything. He does not need us for anything but will use those who are willing.

At any rate, Peter had the right answer. The answer that Jesus himself never actually revealed but as Jesus put it “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

I believe this was the first account of salvation through Christ! Acts 16:31 says “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved”

Through his faith, Peter Accepted Christ. What about you? Have you accepted Christ, or are you just following him?

Jesus continues:

Matthew16:18-19

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Notice Jesus officially addresses him as Peter not Simon. Peter, in Hebrew is Petros which means little rock. Jesus was saying that Peter would be the little rock that Jesus would use to build the church community on the Big rock which was him.

Remember this was not anything new. Jesus knew these plans before he even met Peter. In order for Peter to be able to do this he had to:

Follow Jesus

Believe who Jesus was and is today

This brings this to my 3rd point COMMISSIONED BY CHRIST

God is saying Peter I have all of these great things for you to do, but none of it to come to flourishion until you accept me. As soon as Peter accepted him, looked what happened. God starts to commission him.

The same is true for you today. God already has plans for you and a job for you. He is merely waiting for you to follow him and accept him as our Lord and Savior. Perhaps your following him but have not accepted him.

God has already demonstrated that he loves you! Do you love Him? If so, you are also a little rock that is capable of building your ministry of the foundation of the Big Rock; Jesus Christ.

There is somebody here now or watching not that's been waiting for God to move so that you can do what you know he has called you to do. You already have accepted him as your Lord and savior but the problem is, you have to get out of the way. Its not about you its about Him. Yes, your blessings will be a bi-product of what he will build through you but it cant be the focus. Jesus said “ I will build” not Peter. Peter is an instrument, a tool or a willing vessel.

There are enough “I”s running around. You have been called to serve!

Amen

Jesus has a question for you;

DO YOU LOVE ME?

Do you love me enough to accept me?

Do you love me enough to allow me to guide and direct you?

Do you love me enough to let me use you?

John 21:15–17 (NKJV)

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”

And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

My last Point is:

WHAT THE lOVE OF CHRIST SHOULD LOOK LIKE; ACTION

Peter decided to follow Christ, he accepted him, he was commissioned by him, now what?

I started this message by talking about the meaning of Love as defined by the bible and summarized by me. Love might begin with a deep emotional feeling but more importantly it is reflected in action.

In our final series of scripture Jesus could not have said this better.

He gave Peter commands only after he affirmed his love. This was not a request, this was not an innuendo, this was not a hint. This was a command. See love requires action. What Jesus commanded was for Peter to stop what he was doing to do exactly what Jesus needed him to do; Be the vessel for Christ who will build his church.

Lets not forget that this was the same Peter that denied Jesus 3 times. This was the same Peter that rebuked Jesus. This was the same Peter that cut off the ear of the solider. This was the same Peter that said he would never leave Jesus and that he would die for him (Matthew 26:35).

So like each one of us, Peter had his faults. But just Like Peter, we can be forgiven and redeemed. We can still fulfill our purpose.

Jesus has already paid the price for you. He defeated death and sin on the cross. He allowed them to beat him beat him all night long. The marched him from judgement hall to judgement hall. They pierced him in his side. His head fell in the locks of his shoulders and he died.

They layed him is a borrowed tomb. He laid there all night Friday night, all day Saturday but early Sunday morning, he, rose! He rose will all power in his hands. That same power he extends to us. That power of sin and spiritual death. We no longer have to fall victim to sin. The devil has no power over us.

Now all you have to do is accept him. You do this by believing. Peter demonstrated it for us. Who do you say God is? Is he your Lord? Is he your Savior? Is he you Father? Is he your teacher? Is he your Protector? If not, come...........

This may be your last opportunity. tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Is there anyone here who wants to accept Christ?