Prove it to me! (Luke 22.54-62, John 21.15-19)
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Scriptures:
Luke 22.54-62, John 21.15-19
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance.
When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.”
But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.”
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
And he went out and wept bitterly.
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.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt 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.
Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.”
(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Intro:
Freedom family.......
Sometimes we can OVERCALCULATE our love!
(pause)
And anytime we overcalculate in this way.........
..........it can be devestating to us
.....especially when we were so sure in our hearts of something.
(pause)
And usually this overcalculation comes with a mindset that suggests......
..........that would never happen to me
..........or I would never do anything like that
(pause)
But the reason why that mindset is so dangerous is because..........
......it causes us to LET our GUARD DOWN.........
......and we become susceptible to things that we would not normally be responsive towards.
(pause)
And usually........
........we don’t figure out our mistakes until AFTER the damage is done.
(pause)
I wonder if there’s anybody who is tired of finding out you messed up......
......after you messed up?
(pause)
And I don’t think it’s because we don’t KNOW there is a possibility that danger is up ahead...........
........we see the warning signs
.......we have not underestimated the situations
.......but we have OVERCALCULATED how our hearts would respond to those situations.
(pause)
I remember hearing my grandmother tell somebody in a conversation.......
“Don’t never say what you wont do!”
............because until you’re in that situation
.......you really don’t know what you would do
(pause)
But what I have learned is that……………….
instead of saying what we would never do
(slight pause)
It’s better to say,
God help me not to OVERCALCULATE.........
and then Lord......
keep working on me so that I am strengthened in areas where I am weaker than I think I am........
(pause)
And sometimes that means God has to show us the hard stuff........
God has to show us our weak areas.........
........but this is not embarrasment
.......this is exposure
(pause)
And......
.......anytime God sheds light on our lives
........it’s meant to improve the live
(pause)
Remember last week…………I told you………..
..........that God was willing to love until it hurts……………
even from a Cross position…………..
(pause)
And in today’s text......
we get to see something very special through the life of Peter regarding the love of Christ and the heart of Peter
(pause)
Look at it now…………..
Luke 22.54-57 (Summarize)
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
According to the text………………..everything starts out good in verse 54…………..
Because at this point Peter’s heart is still pulling him in the same direction of Jesus in spite of what he might face………
(pause)
And to me.......
There’s nothing quite comparable to watching love drive somebody through danger………..
(pause)
Because at that moment..………..
the willpower is greater than the logic…..
You’re not thinking at that point about the danger………..
You’re simply doing what you got to do to fulfill what your heart desires…………..
………and this is why we got to pray that our hearts are stayed on Jesus
Because........
......if our heart shifts negatively and starts following something dangerous that is not attached to Christ
.......not only are we walking towards danger
......but there’s no way to get out of the danger once we get there.
But if our hearts are running after Christ........
......if something dangerous shows up
.........we’ve got something that can get us out!
(pause and expound)
The bible says……….
Peter’s feet are moving at a slower pace…………..
as not to catch up with the Jesus he is following………..
but he is still close enough recognize the chains that are restricting the steps of the savior…….
and locked around the skin on the wrists………..of Jesus
(pause)
And I wonder if there’s anybody in here that has ever......
started off good…….
(pause)
Your first steps were your best steps………………
you did good for a week or two………….
because you were tracking the fresh steps of what is important to you………….
(pause)
You were like a hound dog…………….hot on the trail…
………and everything about you was moving in one direction……………
(pause)
But just when you were getting used to pursuing the right thing………..
somebody or something…… threw you off……………
and you overcalculated.......
causing our actions to start messing up everything……………
(pause)
Freedom......
Some of us do great initially…………even under pressure
(pause)
But I wonder if anybody understands the fact that........
..........life is not just about starting a journey
.........but life is about continuing a journey.
(pause)
Watch this...........
(slight pause)
Because the text says that they lit a fire…………..
and Peter sat down among them………….
(pause)
And now.......
I believe that the reason Peter is sitting down among them…………
.........is to blend in with who they are…………
(pause)
But he quickly finds out……
…..that there is a problem with this type of planning…….
(pause)
Because when the flames of the fire that are kindling and crackling in the wood………
begin to shift into his direction……………
.....and now they can see Peter’s high cheekbones
......his brown eyes
.....his broad shoulders
(pause)
And now everything Peter is trying to hide
is now being highlighted!
(pause)
And that’s when one of the sisters that were sitting next to Peter…………
.........leaned over and turned her head to the side and blurted out in my spiritual imagination………..
“You look like one of Jesus’s boys…………”
(pause)
And when I thought about it……
…………I don’t know what made Peter believe that he could blend in…………
after standing out…………
(pause)
You see…………….one of the things about Jesus………..
is once we start really hanging with him, and growing through discipleship…………..
.........if we ever try to go back……….
we won’t look right……….
(pause)
And…………when folk look at you…………….
because you have been with Jesus……………
somebody is going to eventually pick up on the anointing……….
and God’s glory and say……………..
(pause)
“Wait a minute……………now Peter………..
.........you look like you’re in the wrong place….”
(pause)
And that’s why we………
can’t blend in the way we want to…………
because even when we OVERCALCULATE
........it doesn’t change who God is in our lives!
(pause)
And........
we’re walking around conflicted………
and everybody else can see us…..but us!
(pause)
Look at somebody and holler………….
“You getting ready to stand out!”
(pause and optional expound)
Look at it now……………
Because the text says………..Peter denies it……………….
“Woman…………I don’t know him…..”
(pause)
In other words…………
Peter is ready………….to do whatever it takes………..
to disassociate himself with Jesus………..
(pause)
And sometimes in our minds……….
we believe that we have justifiable reasons as to why we do what we do………..
(pause)
Because in Peter’s mind……………
he has to tell this woman……….
he does not know Jesus…………
in order to protect himself…………
(pause)
Now first of all Freedom..........
this woman………..
works in the house of the high priest all the time…………..
(slight pause)
So.........
she knows the kind of attire that is worn by all of the soldiers…………..
(pause)
And here Peter is…………..
trying to blend in………..
while looking extremely different………….
saying to this woman,
“Woman………….I don’t know him…”
(pause)
But I wonder if Peter even notices…………….
that he is not dressed like who he is trying to blend in with……………..
(pause)
And I wonder if you and I………….
really notice that we’re trying to act one way…………..
but our heart is moving in a different direction…………..
(pause)
And………..according to the text………..
after Peter is identified by this servant girl……………
here comes somebody else………….saying
(pause)
“Peter, You’re one of them……………….”
(pause)
And Peter denies for the second time……………………
and this time he’s a little hotter with his temper…………..
because……….
nobody’s listening………to his claims……….
(pause)
And he can feel…………..things intensifying around him………….
and instead of searching himself………..
he is beginning to see everybody else as the problem….
(pause)
Because…………sometimes………..
we can be dead wrong…………and start getting defensive…………….
(Long pause)
Freedom......
How in the world………..is it…………
That…..we can know…………..we lying………….
(slight pause)
and get mad when somebody say we aint telling the truth………….
(longer pause)
Now…………..that’s when you know you messed up!
When………….you’re dead wrong…………..
but can’t nobody tell you nothing…….
.....that’s shownuff messed up!!
(pause and optional expound)
Peter says…………
“That aint me…………..”
I know I’m from Galilee……………………
I know…………I look like Peter…………..
but for the third time…………..
“That aint me……………”
(pause)
Notice…………….how adamant Peter is……………….
to challenge everybody else…………..
And then also notice…………..
that as soon as Peter gets all the way into his third time of denying that he knows who Jesus is that,
a rooster starts crowing in verse 60……….
(pause)
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.
And when the rooster starts crowing ………
……Peter’s mind went back…………….to what he heard from the mouth of Jesus……………
“You will deny me three times………….before the rooster crows…”
(pause)
And there’s nothing worse…………than when you see yourself in your ROOSTER experience……….……………
(pause)
Look at it now………….
Because as soon as Peter makes eye contact with Jesus………
……….his mind goes back………………
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
(pause)
And this is where we see the discipline of God magnified……
………because without saying a word………….
Jesus hits Peter……………..harder than a Mack truck………
….going 95 miles per hour………..
(pause)
The bible says that,
With a look………………
……Jesus’s non verbal communication said……………..
(pause)
“Peter..........
What are you doing?”
(pause)
And sometimes family......
God has to use something.....
God has to look at us a certain way......
And sometimes.....
God even has to speak to us in some way that suggests.....
“What in the world are you doing!”
(pause)
And........
.........I know in Peter’s mind this is the worst time to be asked this question.
He has to be thinking..........
......of all the times Jesus would look at me
He would look at me right in the moment.........
..........that I’m at my worst!
(pause)
Freedom family........
Isn’t that what happens to us........
Isn’t it when we are in the height of our denial..........
Is it not when we are at the MAXIMUM of our MESS........
that somebody who loves us........
..............looks at us and asks the question.......
“What are you doing?”
(pause)
But may I suggest to us today that............
This is actually not BAD TIMING!
(pause)
Because..........
.........Discipline is not meant for embarrasment
........but for elevation!
(pause)
And watch this...........
.......because if you don’t have anybody in your life that can give you this kind of look that Jesus is giving Peter........
.........you’re in more trouble than you think!
(pause)
SOMEBODY.........
.........got to be able to give you a look that gets your attention!
Look at somebody that rode with you and tell them........
“I hope you got somebody!”
(Expound on the power of love convicting us of our wrongs…….)
(pause)
Freedom family........
when we look at Luke’s gospel………
……and then we look at Johns gospel………
……..we are able to discover how Jesus can look at us with disgust……
……and then turn around at the same time and see us in our destiny…………….
(pause)
Because the same Jesus that saw Peter when the rooster crowed…………..says in John 21.15 …………….
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.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
“If you love me………………..Feed my sheep…..”
(pause)
Now, notice………
……that Jesus asks Peter this question
“Do you love me?”
……………….3 times…..
(pause)
In Lukes Gospel......
Peter publicly denies Jesus three times………
And in John’s Gospel
……..Jesus in all of his redemption………
………..pulls Peter out of the pack………
….by asking him this question publicly 3 times….
(pause)
I thought about this scenario and I woundered.......
What if Peter’s “John’s Gospel experience” is God’s way of applying mercy to his life after his “Luke’s Gospel experience?”
(pause)
And Freedom........
What if........
God asking us “Do you love me” was really God’s way of saying..........
“You overcalculated...........”
But.........
this is not meant to intimidate you.......
(slight pause)
But I’m trying........
to bring “RESTORATION”
“So Peter........
........let me ask you again,
Do you love me?”
Gk - Agape - meaning to prove one’s love
(pause)
And watch this......
because in Luke’s Gospel.........
Peter didn’t prove he loved God
And Freedom.........
there have been some times where we fall short by not proving our love for God with our actions.......
........there have been some times
........when we have denied our Savior
(pause)
But thank God for mercy..........
(slight pause)
.......that turns right back around in John’s Gospel and says,
“After you have messed up not one time.........
.........but 3 times..........
(pause)
I’ll give you not one time........
but I’ll give you 3 more times........
.......to PROVE you love me
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination……………
I see Jesus telling Peter……….
“Peter,
I didn’t ask you this to embarass you!
(slight pause)
And.....
I didn’t even ask you this to make you keep going backward to look at your mistakes.......
(slight pause)
But the reason I keep asking you this.........
........is so that you can be RENEWED in your mind!
(pause)
Now............
PROVE it to me!
........show me how much you love me!
(pause)
Peter here’s your chance............
If you love me.......
Feed my sheep!
Freedom......
I’m not so concerned with the exact act of what Jesus is telling Peter to do.
But I believe the more important thing that Jesus is saying is that........
Peter......
........I need you to understand that there is nothing that you could do wrong
........that I can’t REVERSE!
(I’m closing now......)
But I feel something getting ready to be..........
TURNED around!
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear God saying.......
I know you OVERCALCULATED.........
.......but I can still COUNT higher than YOU!
(pause)
So you may have messed up 10 times.......
.......but guess what
........I can count to 11!
(pause and expound)
And I don’t know who I’m preaching to.........
But somebody listening to me.......
........ feels like after your failure
.........there’s no coming back from this.....
(pause)
.......but according to what we just read about Peter
...........not so
Because if anybody should have been cut off........
Peter should have been cut off.........
(pause)
But Jesus says.......
Peter I’m not going to cut you off........
......I’m going to PROVE to you that I love you enough to give you another chance!
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear God saying.......
You can always come back!
[Look at somebody you rode with this morning and say,
“You can always come back!”]
.......I just need you to,
Receive Mercy
and then........
Walk in Love
(pause)
COMPLETION