S2 - 3 Fires in Peter's Life
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“The Fire of Discipleship”
John 21:1-24
Background: We have now seen the fires that Peter has endured to truly be effective for the kingdom of God. With the “Fire of Devotion”, Jn 13:37-38
Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. 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 thrice.
Peter offered to lay down his life for his Savior. After this he had to endure the bitter “Fire of denial”. Three times he denied Christ and then went out and wept violently after the realization of his sin hit him in the face. In the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas, Peter did what he vowed never to do.
Principle: Never say never. We never know what we will do when situations present themselves.
Commitment of discipleship:
I. There are so many theological teachings within this text that we are only going to skim the surface to get the jest of the message and how Jesus rescued Peter from himself.
a. Peter had been cut to the bone in a sense by what he had done against Christ.
i. He was so devastated that he quit the ministry all together and went back to fishing.
II. Commitments are not to be taken lightly.
a. We should not take our commitments nonchalantly, especially to the Lord
b. Jesus is more committed to us than we could ever be to Him.
c. When we fail miserably, Jesus still seeks us out.
III. Fire w/ coals (9)
a. Same type of fire that Peter was beside when he denied Christ.
i. Again, so many theological issues and word plays in the Greek to give the true essence of what is going on in this passage.
Lessons for Peter
I. Humility
a. Boastful about his commitment to Christ.
i. I Peter 5:5-6
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
II. Love
a. We are to love with all of our capacity and everything we have
i. I Peter 4:8
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
III. Courage
a. John 21:18-19
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
i. Peter had to be reinstated for ministry and given confidence in Christ. .
ii. “Peter do you love me?” Three times was to do this.
iii. Jesus knew what would happen shortly with the Day of Pentecost when Peter would stand and proclaim the gospel and lead the early church.
IV. Death
a. Eusebius cites the testimony of Clement
i. Peter was crucified upside down after having to watch his wife crucified first.
ii. He was crucified upside down because he wasn’t worthy of dying the way Christ was crucified.
Conclusion:
Peter had to go through a lot to be effective for Christ’s kingdom. He was one of the closest with Christ during His earthly ministry. Seemed to fall the farthest by denying Christ 3 times when it mattered most. Christ redeemed Peter and reinstated him for ministry here on earth.
There are some here today that were once closer to Christ than you are today. Maybe you have done something so seemingly terrible that you think Jesus could never forgive you of that sin. You are so wrong that Satan has his hold all over you.
Christ always loves and pursues us. He never leaves us where we are at, and He wants to restore you to a right fellowship with God. Peter gives encouragement in
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.