PREPARED TO SERVE

Introduction

-{John 21}

-Oftentimes when we start a new job we go through some sort of training and preparation so that we are able to do the job successfully.

~A long time ago I was a probation/parole agent in Wisconsin, and before I began the job, I was sent to some training in a classroom to learn the intricacies of the Department of Corrections and laws that would pertain to what I would be doing. But there was also some hands-on, self-defense training.

~Then I was hired as supervisor at a county correction facility. I then had to go through state training for certification which also involved classroom training, and a whole lot more self-defense type training. Since it was a newly built facility, I had to go through training on how the different parts of the building ran and the like.

~Interestingly enough, I had jobs that involved carrying pepper spray. But, at the time, in order to carry pepper spray for a state job you yourself had to be pepper sprayed so you’d know the effects. When you pepper spray someone some of it blows back on you, so you just need to know what it’s like.

~Needless to say, I did not enjoy that part of the training. If I can make a suggestion to everyone, don’t get pepper sprayed if you don’t have to.

-Whatever type of training you go through, it is to prepare you to fulfill your calling, do your job effectively, making sure you are equipped to handle what is going to come your way.

-As much as that is true for an earthly job, it is also true for the ministry that God has called you to. You will be prepared to serve God in the way He desires, where He desires, at the time that He desires.

-The passage that we are looking at today, Jesus has risen from the dead and is fellowshipping with His disciples. But Jesus then pulls Peter to the side to deal with him and to prepare him mentally and spiritually for the grand task that Christ has for Him to accomplish.

-In a similar way, the Risen Lord through the Holy Spirit will prepare us for our ministry in His service. Of course, we have to have a willing heart to serve Him at all, obedient to the call on our lives—a call that everyone has, just in different capacities. So, may we join Him in the effort of preparing to serve Him.

READ JOHN 21:15-25

John 21:15–25 ESV

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, 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.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, 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 everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

-How does the Risen Christ prepare us for His service?

1) Jesus restores and refines

-I had preached on vv. 15-17 a while back when I preached on Peter’s denial of Jesus during Jesus’ trial. Peter was accused three times of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and three times Peter denied that he was, calling down curses on himself and even denying he even knew Him.

-Peter was devastated over what he had done—he denied his Lord, he denied his teacher, he denied his friend. And this spiritual and emotional issue of Peter’s had to be dealt with because it was a stumbling block in Peter’s life and would be a stumbling block to doing ministry. Peter could not let go of the guilt and shame and it messed him up.

-Peter was not in any shape to fulfill the calling that Jesus had placed on his life. Peter was called to be a fisher of men and Jesus had slated him to lead the disciples during the birth of the church at its inception. But Peter was carrying a lot of baggage that needed to be dealt with first.

-No doubt, Peter had failed, but Jesus didn’t just toss him to the side. The Risen Lord had a plan for Peter, so the Risen Lord was going to get Peter into position to fulfill his calling.

-What this would entail for Peter was being restored to fellowship with Christ and refined so that he would be more effective for his ministry.

-Peter denied the Lord three times, so three times Jesus confronts him, asking the question DO YOU LOVE ME? Jesus was not wondering if Peter actually loved Him, but Peter himself may have been doubting it. Jesus needed to confront the wound that Peter had from his failure and heal it. You don’t heal by tiptoeing around the issue. Jesus comes in and deals with it directly so that Peter can move past it. Yes, it might involve poking a sore spot, but there is no healing otherwise.

-Jesus deals with the issue at hand to restore fellowship, but he also uses the time to do some refining. Peter learned the hard way that his boasting got him into trouble. As much as this was a restoration process, it was also a process of humbling—Peter had to be knocked down a few notches in his own eyes, and yet still reminded how much he is loved and how much the Lord wanted to use him.

-The Lord works to restore us when we are down or have failed or are wounded, but He also wants to shape us into who He wants us to be to be the most effective for the ministry to which He called us.

~We are reminded of what Jesus had earlier told the disciples:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1–2 ESV)

-Jesus restores, but He also prunes—He refines us so that we will produce even more spiritual fruit than we would have before. This way we are prepared to serve Him in the capacity He has seen fit.

-Our restoration and refinement first begins through salvation—believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. But then the sins and wounds and failures and problems are dealt with, and then that which hinders us from effectiveness is chipped away. It’s not done out of spite or anger, but out of love.

-I was given this perspective about the refining:

For roses to be beautiful it requires careful pruning. Pieces of a living plant have to die for there to be healthy growth. It cannot just grow wild and still be healthy and beautiful. We cannot simply “celebrate growth” in the plant. Growth in Christ requires careful pruning as well. Pieces of us that hinder our growth and walk with God have to die if we are to become the person that God wants to use in His service. We are not merely cutting stuff away, but also making room for intended growth.

-And so, restoration and refinement both have to do with Christ dealing with the things in our life that hinder our effectiveness. It is not always a pleasant experience, but it is healing to the soul; it is preparation for the work.

-You may not be having effective ministry because of something—it may be an old wound, it might be a failure before the Lord, it might be some trauma that hasn’t been dealt with, it might be fear that you can’t let go of; you may also be dealing with habits and sins and attitudes that hinder you. But the Risen Lord will restore and refine you so that you can do a great work for Him—if you entrust yourself to Him. Pray that you might be able to do that.

2) Jesus pushes for commitment

-Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, and three times Peter responds in the affirmative. The way that John wrote it in the original languages, Jesus uses the verb agapao the first two times and phileo the last time, with Peter answering phileo all three times.

~While many scholars believe it is just a matter of using synonyms, I have a tendency to think that the Holy Spirit inspired the different words for a reason, however slight the difference.

-Agapao is related to agape which is a sacrificial, committed love, while phileo is more of an affection (Philadelphia comes from phileo {love} and adelphos {brother}=the city of brotherly love)

-With these questions, I don’t think that Jesus was trying to call Peter out or to make him feel small but used them to restore and encourage Peter as well as to push for commitment. Peter, do you agapao me—love me with full commitment? Peter responds that of course he has a deep affection for Jesus—but he is unsure he is as committed as he thought he was because of his failure.

~But, in spite of where Peter thinks he lands (or should land) on the commitment scale, Jesus calls him to be committed to the work anyway.

~Peter, whatever you may think your level of love and commitment is, I am calling you to FEED MY LAMBS and TEND MY SHEEP. Peter, commit yourself to the ministry in spite of what you might think your level of commitment to me happens to be.

-Here’s the thing—no human being loves Jesus as much as He deserves to be loved, and no human being is as committed to Christ as they ought to be. We are to love the Lord our God with everything that we are, and not a single human comes close to that. Despite our failure, Christ still calls us to commit ourselves to serve Him in our gifted ministry.

~That third time Jesus comes down to Peter’s level—do you phileo me, and it hurt Peter that Jesus had to ask a third time and it may have hurt Peter that Jesus changed the wording. But even so, Peter responds you know I phileo you, and Jesus still calls to a commitment to serve Him—THEN FEED MY SHEEP!

-Peter was to be the leader among leaders who would increase the church and help them to spiritually grow in Christ. Despite the feelings of failure and inadequacy, Jesus tells him to fulfill his calling, take care of the lambs and sheep.

~And on top of this, it was a commitment to follow Jesus wherever He might lead Peter. In vv. 19 & 22 Jesus tells Peter, FOLLOW ME. Jesus is returning to the original calling that He gave to Peter and Andrew and James and John. When He found these men tending their boats and nets, He gave the call: FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN

-And so, now the call goes out to all followers: FOLLOW ME in spite of your feelings, FOLLOW ME in spite of your failures, FOLLOW ME in spite of your fear—I have a ministry for you, and so commit yourself to my service and I will guide you to where I want the work to be done…

3) Jesus controls our destiny

-I mention this because we often shy away from fully committing to ministering for the Lord because we are afraid where it will lead us. We’re afraid Christ will not protect us or He might take us away from our comfort zone or something.

~I mean, if I actually commit to serving the Lord, He might send me to Africa or Asia or something. Now, we pastors often use a cliched truth that it’s better to be in Africa in the will of God than in America outside the will of God—and that’s true, and most people would agree, but it still doesn’t move us toward greater obedience.

-But we have to realize something—Christ knows what our future holds and is sovereign enough to determine what our future holds, and He is with us every step of the way, even if it means dying for the cause—something that we American Christians never want to think about, but is a reality faced by most Christians in history and most Christians in other parts of the world.

-So, consider the next part of the conversation that Jesus has with Peter. Jesus tells Peter that when he was young, he girded himself and went where he wanted, but there would come a day when someone else would gird him and carry him where he didn’t want to go, And John tells us that Jesus was indicating to Peter the kind of death that he was going to die for the cause.

~Tradition has it that Peter was crucified under Nero—but he didn’t feel worthy to die like his Lord, so Peter told the Romans to crucify him upside down which is even more painful than normal crucifixion.

-By saying this, Jesus demonstrated that Peter’s life and ministry were completely in Jesus’ control—and it would lead to martyrdom. But that’s OK, because Jesus had Peter in His hands—Jesus controlled Peter’s destiny (and He controls ours as well)

~The psalmist tells us:

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:16 ESV)

~When we were born and when we die and everywhere in between are providentially controlled by Christ. So, why wouldn’t you live those days for Him, because we are not only called to live well, we are also called to die well.

-God help us when we think that Jesus exists for our comfort, when He says to follow Him completely even if it means your physical death. I mean, look at what Jesus says to Peter. This is the way you are going to die, and then He says FOLLOW ME!

-Our days and our destinies belong to Jesus—so live like it. Stop getting so worked up about minor things. Stop getting offended at a drop of a hat. Your life was given to you for Jesus, not for yourself.

~Christians need to stop being a bunch of whiny crybabies because they’re so wrapped up in themselves and their feelings, and start living for Jesus to the fullest even if it means your death, because it is better to die in the will of God than to live outside of it. That is why Jesus tells us:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24–25 ESV)

-It is not a bad thing for Christians to die because we go see the Lord. But between now and then, Jesus controls every step—so live and serve and minister like you actually believe it.

4) Jesus narrows our focus

-Jesus and Peter may have been taking a stroll along the beach during this conversation but tagging along somewhere behind them was John. So, after being told how he was going to die, Peter looks back and asks Jesus: WHAT ABOUT HIM? WHAT’S ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH JOHN? WHAT IS JOHN’S DESTINY?

~Jesus said to Peter that if He (the one in control) wants John to live until He returns, that is completely up to Jesus. But what happens to John is none of Peter’s concern.

-In essence, Jesus tells Peter MIND YOUR BUSINESS! What happens to John is up to Jesus, not Peter. Peter’s only concern was to be about Peter. Peter needed to narrow his focus to himself and his own obedience or disobedience.

~Peter, you concern yourself with your ministry—how you are obeying Me while you are fulfilling your calling. Peter, it is not up to you what I do with John. Peter needs to look to Peter to keep Peter in line.

-American Christians love to be up into everybody else’s business. They love to criticize and quick to give their opinions when they’re not even doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Jesus had something to say about that:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3–5 ESV)

-If you’re not even following the Lord in obedience to the calling He placed on your life, then you need to deal with yourself first. MIND YOUR BUSINESS! Narrow your focus to accomplishing His will in your life—and then do the work wholeheartedly.

Conclusion

-Christ has gifted each of us in a way to serve Him in some sort of ministry, and He does what He has to do to prepare us for that ministry. Life situations are sometimes on-the-job training. But ultimately, it equips us for the call.

~Jesus restores and heals where it is needed and refines us to make us better. But He is calling for commitment. Do you love Him and does that love lead to service? It’s easy to say I LOVE JESUS but do nothing about it. So, we give ourselves over to Him, knowing He controls our destiny—so we focus ourselves to be obedient to His call on our lives.

~Sometimes the preparation feels like we’re being sprayed with pepper spray, but it equips you to deal with reality. Life in this world often times feels like you’re being sprayed with pepper spray.

-Christian, are you serving the Lord where He has called you or are you a typical American Christian who goes to church once a week and does nothing else for Him any other time.

~Christian, maybe you want to come to the altar to pray that God grants obedience to service. Maybe you want to pray for clarity on what His calling is on your life. He has a calling on your life, and He wants to prepare you for it, but are you willing to step in obedience.

-But the first step of preparation is to be saved…