Jona Lawson - Class 5: Feed My Sheep

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Well, thanks very much for that reading and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our second last study of the life of Peter. I want to start with a question in our study today, and that is, is there anyone here who has never, ever made a mistake before?

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   Just double checking. I thought maybe in Adelaide there might be one or two that never made a mistake. All right. Of course, the answer to that question is no, isn't it? Because all of us make mistakes. And unfortunately, the reality of life is that we will continue to make mistakes for the rest of our life.

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   And maybe some time at some point, maybe this happens to all of us at some point upon our journey, we're going to make a really big mistake. And maybe that mistake will be so monumental that we won't be able to get rid of that mistake tomorrow, or we won't be able to erase that mistake next week.

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   In fact, that mistake will be with us for the rest of our life. And when we make that mistake, and maybe you've already made one, it's easy in that moment to think that the mistake that I've made is so big or so public because everyone knows about it, that because it's so big and so public that I can never, ever recover from that mistake that I've made.

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   Well, I think the story of Peter has been put in the record of the Bible to help us with that problem. Because you could make a bigger mistake than what Peter made. After having been told that you would deny the Lord on his most important night in all of history, that you would go and deny him all the same.

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   And that you wouldn't just do it once, you would do it twice and then three times. Could you make a bigger mistake than what Peter did?

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   And could that mistake be more public than what Peter's mistake was? We all make mistakes and often our mistakes are just between ourselves and God. Sometimes they're between ourselves and others. Peter's was printed on the pages of our Bible for everyone for all time to read about.

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   You can't get more public than that, can you? And Peter carried that for his whole life. But what Peter's story teaches us is that it's not so much the mistakes that we make in life, because we will all make them and continue to make those mistakes. The most important thing about the mistakes that we make is the recovery and the reaction that we make when we make them.

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   And that's what the proverb says, doesn't it? For the righteous falls seven times and rises again. And that's Peter's story. You see, Peter rises again. He's a man who will be forgiven. He will be a man who recovers. And it's actually his recovery and his reaction to the mistakes that he makes that actually is his finest moment.

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    And to track Peter's road to recovery through his repentance and through his forgiveness and through his returning again to the work of the Lord, I found really helpful. And I think the Lord has put it there for us to be helpful for us. Because one day you or one day me might need to make our recovery.

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    And hopefully when we have to do that, we can think about Peter's story and the way that he came back. Let's go to Matthew chapter 26, where we left Peter the other night in the very last verse of that chapter.

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    Where we leave him, we see him at his darkest moment, don't we? When he's just left the Lord's side. And verse 75 of Matthew chapter 26 says that he remembered, didn't he, the words that Jesus had said to him as the cock crew. And when he remembered all of the things that Jesus said, it says that he ran out and he wept bitterly.

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    And sometimes tears are necessary. Sometimes sad reflection upon our behaviour is helpful. And that's what Paul says in Corinthians. He says, for sadness is intended by God to produce repentance that leads to salvation. And that word repentance there, which Paul refers to, means a reversal or a turning again of our behaviour.

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    And sometimes tears can be helpful to reflect upon the mistakes that we made. But Paul goes on also to say, when he talks about sadness, that it should only be for a season. We should not plummet down into the depths of depression forever because of the mistakes that we make, but we make a reflection in sadness on the mistakes that we've made for our God and then we move on.

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    And that's what Peter did. And what did he do next? Well, he had three days, didn't he? Before the Lord would rise. And it says there in verse 75 that what Peter started to do was he remembered the words of Jesus. And that word remember means to, it means to run over or recollect or gnaw or chew upon the words that Jesus said.

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    And that's what we do, isn't it? When we make mistakes, like when we do something wrong, even when we have a car accident or something happens, we go back over the events of that situation over and over and over again in our mind to see what went wrong and to see how things perhaps could have been different.

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    And that's what Peter would have done for those three days. He would have gone over and over and over and over again in his mind, the events of that night to try and work out what had happened and what had gone wrong. But you know beautifully, what he did in doing that was he discovered that his Lord had left him some clues to think about.

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    And Jesus had done this deliberately to help in his recovery. He thought about and went over in his mind all of the things that he probably didn't even realise the Lord said, but went over and over and over again in his mind what the Lord had actually said to him that night. And he thought about some things.

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    And the Lord had left him some clues. The Lord said to Peter in John chapter 13, you will follow me afterwards. You're not ready yet, Peter, but afterwards you will be ready to follow me. And as Jesus, and as Peter thought back upon those words, what did those words mean to him? But that Jesus saw for him a future.

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    That he wasn't washing his hands of Peter, but there would be and could be an afterwards for Peter. The Lord said to him in Luke chapter 22 and verse 32, he said, I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith will not fail. Your faith will not fail, Peter. And when Peter thought upon the words that Jesus had said to him that night, what he saw was that the Lord saw in his failure, not a complete collapse and removal and rejection of his faith, but lapses,

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    stumbles, hiccups on the journey, but that his faith could still be preserved. And when he thought about that, and when he thought about what he knew of his Lord, what he'd come to know over three years of that man, what did he think about? He saw a man who was loving, didn't he?

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    He thought about that moment when he went walking on the water, when he bit off more than he could chew. And when he stumbled and when he fell, and when his concentration got taken away from the Lord's eyes, and he started to drown.

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    And he reached up to the Lord. Immediately the hand was there. Because that's what his Lord was like. He was a compassionate man. Full of love.

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    And Peter would have been reassured by this. Jesus said, when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. And Peter would have gone over that word, wouldn't he? Converted. Trying to think about what that meant.

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    And the word simply means in the Greek, turn again. And the Lord was reaching forward into the future when he said that, to appeal to Peter, that what Peter needed to do, once he'd now reached the depths of these despair, was to turn again, to get back up. And continue his walk.

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    You know, it's easy when you fall flat on your face. And when you make such a grave mistake in your mind, to isolate yourself. To remove yourself. And Peter could have been excused for thinking that, couldn't he? He might have thought, I never want to see my brothers or sisters again, because I'm so embarrassed.

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    And it can be a natural feeling for us to isolate ourselves in times of trouble and mistakes. But the proverb says this, Whoever isolates himself, seeks his own desire. He breaks out against all sound judgment. Getting back up and returning again to the walk is essential for our recovery. And it was essentials for Peter.

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    Because look what the Lord said to him. When you are converted, strengthen your brethren. I need you, Peter, to get up because I've got a very specific purpose for you to do. You need to get up and strengthen your brethren. Because you know what? Peter wasn't the only one that night that had fallen flat on his face.

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    Every single one of the disciples had forsook the Lord and run out and pretended that they never knew him. And Jesus said, I need you, Peter, to get up and help your brothers. And didn't Peter have the perfect set of skills now for what he'd gone through? To be able to say, I understand what you're going through.

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    I understand that you've forsaken your Lord. Look what I did. And there was no better man placed, was there? To reach his hand out with compassion. To his brothers.

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    And work together to come back to the Lord. Jesus said, the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. And that was a quotation from Zechariah. Just quickly come to Zechariah chapter 12. Sorry, back chapter 13.

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    And Zechariah chapter 13, where the Lord quoted this from is about a prophecy about Israel. When they would be scattered. And it says in verse seven of Zechariah chapter 13, awake, Oh, sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow. Say of the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

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    And I will turn my hand upon the little ones. That's what was going to happen to Israel. They were going to be scattered. And that's what happened to the disciples. They were scattered as a result of what happened that night. But look what verse nine says was the purpose by which God was going to scatter Israel.

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    I will bring a third part through the fire. And I will refine them as silver is refined. And I will try them as gold is tried. And they shall call upon my name and I will hear them. And I will say, it is my people. And they shall say, the Lord is my God.

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    And what that verse is telling us is that the reason why God was going to scatter Israel was not to crush them or destroy them, but to refine them and to make them better. And that's what Jesus was doing for Peter. And Peter came to understand that later. He said this in first Peter chapter one, this in this rejoice, though for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found.

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    And the point that Jesus was trying to make to Peter was the purpose that you've gone through this trial that night is not so I can crush you and destroy you,

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    but to refine you. And improve you. And Peter came to understand that. That that's why all those things had happened to him that night. And then finally, he remembered that Jesus said this, after I am risen again. And just at the back of Peter's mind, in remembrance of that, he thought, maybe there's an opportunity for me to see my Lord again.

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    And so from the depths of despair over those three days, he pulls himself up and out of that. And he scrambles back to find his brothers.

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    But there was another man too, that ran out into the night that night. just come to back to Matthew chapter 27. Because it's important that we look at this as well. There were two men that ran out into the night, ashamed of what had happened. And the other man is found in verse three of Matthew chapter 27.

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    It says, Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, he repented himself. So Judas was in the building as well, watching the trial, wasn't he? And he saw all of the things unfold, like John did, and like Peter did.

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    And when he saw that Jesus was condemned, this is not how it was supposed to work out. And we don't know exactly what Judas thought and how the night would pan out, but he'd hoped that what this was going to be was that Jesus was going to come to glory. He never thought that he would be condemned.

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    But when he saw that he was condemned, Judas remembered in his mind, what Jesus had said just two days earlier. He'd said this, and look at the detail that he gave. He said to the 12, I'm going to go now and be delivered to the chief priests, and they're going to condemn me to death.

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    And they're going to mock, and they're going to scourge, and they're going to spit on me. And then they're going to deliver me to the Gentiles.

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    And then I'm going to be killed. And then I'm going to rise again the third day. And you know what? Judas watched all those things happen on that night when he was in that priest's house. He saw the chief priests and elders take from his delivery. He saw them condemn him and make him guilty of death.

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    And then they smote him, and they buffeted him, and they spat on him, just like the Lord had said. And then they delivered him to Pilate. And all of a sudden, Judas realised what was happening.

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    And the next one was that he was going to be killed. And look what he does. He tries to change it. He tries to turn it around. He tries to pretend that it didn't happen. And he says there in verse 3, and he repented himself. The word is different to the repentance that Peter made.

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    The word doesn't mean to turn again. It means to care afterwards. And see, that's the difference between what Peter did and what Judas did. Peter turned again and realised the errors of his ways.

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    Whereas Judas just regretted it. Because it didn't turn out as he wanted. And he tries to change it. Look, verse 3, And he brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. And he said, I've sinned. I've betrayed innocent blood.

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    And they said, what's that to us? And they turned him away. And there was no way now for Judas to stop this. His Lord was going to be killed.

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    And then what's the very next thing if all of this had happened? What's the only other thing that's going to happen after that? He's going to rise again.

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    On the third day, And I'm going to see him. And what does Judas do? Well, verse 5 says this. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple.

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    And he departed. And he went and hanged himself. Why did Judas do that? Why was he so afraid to go and meet and see his Lord again? And he said, And the reason why, and this is an important lesson for all of us to learn. The reason why is that Judas, although he'd been with the Lord for three years, he misunderstood the character of the Lord.

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    You know, he says in those verses, in verse 4, he says, I have sinned. And you know what? That's exactly what the prodigal son said. He said, when he looked at his behaviour and realised his situation, he says, I have sinned. But what did he then say?

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    I'm going to go to my father. I'm going to go back home. And why am I going to go back home? Because even though I've made all these mistakes and done these terrible things and made these terrible decisions, one thing I know when I think about my father, I know what he's like.

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    He's a man of compassion. He's a man of love. And I've seen how he looks after his hired servants. And I know, despite what I've done, that he welcomed me back in his home.

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    But Judas didn't know that. He misunderstood his Lord. And he thought his Lord was more like what that one talent man thought. You remember? When he hid his talent in the earth and he said, I knew, Lord, that you were a hard man.

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    And that's what Judas thought. And so as a tragedy of this story, this man goes and hangs himself. Because Judas thought that he could never be forgiven for what he'd done. And that was not true. God is like the father in the prodigal son story, a loving father, a merciful, loving, heavenly father who is ready to forgive and welcome us back into his home the very moment we come to him.

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    Our understanding of our God is essential, isn't it? Let us never forget that story. When we find ourselves in a similar situation, let's always remember what our Lord is like and what his father is like.

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    And so Judas runs out into the night. But Peter, he gets up and goes home. And he makes his way back to that upper room. And where does he go? We find him on the third day with John. And I think that's awesome to think about. Because he had done this terrible thing.

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    But yet he thought, I can go to John and I can share with John what I've done. And doesn't that show how important it is to develop really good friendships in our life? Because you know what? One day you're actually going to need them. Like Peter needed John. And he was able to go to John.

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    And he would have embraced John, his friend, wouldn't he? And told him about what had happened. And John understood. And they were there together. Until the first day of the week. And on the first day of the week, suddenly there was a knock at the door.

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    Very, very early in the morning. And these men, I can imagine Peter, had probably been almost asleep or couldn't sleep for three entire days as he tossed and turned about the things that he had to think about. But early, early in the morning, on the first day of the week, there's a knock at the door.

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    And it kept on coming. And then one of them got up finally and went to the door. And who was it? It was Mary Magdalene because she got up extra early on that morning and she'd gone with a whole lot of other women all the way around this part of the walls of Jerusalem.

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    And she'd gone to the tomb to embalm her Lord Jesus on that morning and to add spices to his body. But he wasn't there, was he? And as soon as Mary walked into the tomb and saw her Lord was not there, she raced back as fast as she could through the streets, around the walls.

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    She's got to tell Peter and John. And she says, our Lord's not there. His body's gone. And Peter and John ran as fast as they could. We're not going to go to the record, but John chapter 20 is quite a funny record because it says that both of them set out in the, like equal as they ran, but Peter fell behind.

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    John was keen to tell us all that he was much fitter than what Peter was. And they raced as fast as they could to that tomb. And when they got to the tomb, John didn't go in. He couldn't bring himself to launch in to see what he was going to see. But Peter wasn't like that, was he?

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    When Peter arrived, he stumbled, stumbled unfit, you know, got there about sort of 20 or 50 metres after John and he arrived at the tomb. He didn't care. He just went straight into the tomb.

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    And the Lord wasn't there. And all he saw was napkins folded. And although John, when he came in, he looked and he perceived and he understood straight away that the Lord must have risen.

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    Peter didn't know yet. And he wondered what had happened. And they made their way all the way back here to the upper room. Let's just go to Luke chapter 22 or 24.

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    When they arrived back to the upper room, Mary had stayed behind. And it was then that Mary was the first to witness her Lord alive again. And then after her, some of the other women saw the Lord alive as well. And they raced back to the upper room to tell the rest of the disciples and Peter and John about what had happened.

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    And the record is in verse 10 of Luke chapter 24. And it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James and the other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And by this point, some of them told them that I have seen the Lord. And verse 11, they said, and their words seemed to them as idols tales and they believed them not.

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    And the disciples just couldn't even believe what the women were talking about. But Peter was listening very carefully. And they said something to him that the Lord had specifically told those women. And it pricked up Peter's ears.

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    The angels had told the women this. Go, tell his disciples what you've seen and tell Peter specifically that he's going before you to Galilee. You imagine Peter as he's there listening to what the women were told by the angels and some of them who'd seen the Lord themselves. And when they revealed that information, they would have told Peter and they told you specifically, Peter.

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    We were told to tell you particularly by the angels themselves. And I imagine when Peter heard that information, he would have run back to the tomb.

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    Especially after he'd heard that the Lord had been seen of some of them. And perhaps verse 12 is the second time that he returned to that tomb. Then Peter arose again and he ran unto the sepulcher and stooping down, he beheld again the linen clothes that laid by themselves. And he departed, wondering in himself at that which had come to pass.

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    And the record tells us that it was around about this moment. And we don't know the details specifically. But it was perhaps some time when Peter was looking around the tomb or looking around the garden that the record says that the Lord appeared to Simon as well. And Jesus designed it that way, didn't he?

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    That he would come and meet this man after all that had happened that night. And you know what? We don't know anything about that encounter.

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    We don't know anything that was said. We don't know anything of the conversation. But isn't that beautiful that we don't? Because isn't that what the Lord said?

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    When a brother does something against you, when he trespasses against you, when he denies you, when he sins against you, go to him alone.

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    And just talk about it alone with him. You and him. And that's what the Lord did with Peter. Just turn to Matthew chapter 18 where Jesus talks about that advice.

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    And we'll start in verse 12. How thank you, said the Lord, if a man have a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,

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    does he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek that one which went astray? And isn't that what the Lord's been doing?

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    As the master shepherd? When just one of his little sheep, Peter, went astray, he used all of his forces and all of his power to work with that little sheep and to bring him home.

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    And if so be that he finds it. Verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which would have gone astray. Even so it is not the will of your father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

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    Moreover, if your brother trespasses against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. And if he shall hear you, you've gained your brother. And that's what the Lord did beautifully with Peter. He gained him. He brought him back. With all the skill of a shepherd, he brought that little sheep home.

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    And I think that's a beautiful exhortation for all of us. I found it very powerful for myself. Because you know what? At some stage, at some time in life, maybe off into the future or maybe it's right now, you're going to get yourself lost.

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    And you're going to feel far away. And when that does happen and you feel distant and you feel like there's no way back, remember this story and remember how much Jesus worked and his father worked to bring that little sheep home as a master shepherd did.

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    And look like Peter did for the clues that our Lord will give us in our life to lead us back to him and to bring us home again. Because that's what Peter did as he returned to his Lord. And then the Lord said to Peter, I want you to go back to Galilee and I'll meet you there.

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    And I'm going to teach you just one more lesson that you need to learn when you go back to Galilee. And so that's what they did. The disciples and Peter made their way back up to Galilee after witnessing this amazing set of events which had happened to them over that Passover week. And you can imagine when they made their way back up the River Jordan and they finally got into the Jordan and they saw the Sea of Galilee for the very first time.

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    It must have been an amazing feeling as they looked across that water and they saw the fishing boats and all the things that were so familiar to them. They would have been reminded of all the times that they'd spent with Jesus over the last three years. All the amazing things, all the miracles that he'd done.

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    All the lessons that they'd learned. Many of them happened around that lake. And then in John chapter 21, Peter says, I'm going fishing. And it must have been great for Peter and the other disciples to get back onto the fishing boat and go out into the breeze of the ocean with the sea in their faces and to reflect on all the things that had happened.

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    And then this amazing thing happens. They go out all night like they usually did fishing and they caught nothing. And they came back the next morning disappointed that they'd caught not one fish and they go to the shore and there's this man on the shore that they don't recognise and he yells out to them, children, all you've got to do is put the fishing net on the other side of the boat.

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    And so for some reason, they listened to this guy and they put the fishing net on the other side of the boat and they let it down and all of a sudden there's this pull on the nets and the nets are full with fish and John knows straight away and he says to Peter, that's the Lord.

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    And Peter jumps out of that boat and he races to the Lord as fast as he can because he's already seen the Lord, hasn't he? He's already been reconciled with the Lord and he races across that water as fast as he can to meet his Lord. The Lord's on the beach. He's got bread and he's got fish and he says, come, sit down and dine with me.

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    And that miracle contained within it a summary, didn't it? A reminder to Peter and all the other disciples of all of the things that had happened to him, all the lessons that he'd learnt over the course of the last three years. He remembered the multitude of fishes. He remembered himself throwing himself into the sea and running to the Lord and try to walk on water.

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    He remembered the coals of fire in the courtroom of the priest. He remembered the fish and the bread, the 12 baskets left over, ready for the disciples to pick up and take on and feed more people.

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    And he remembered the night with the Lord dining with him that last time. And Jesus brings all these lessons together to teach Peter one more lesson. And he says to Peter in verse 14, this is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was risen from the dead.

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    This was the third time that Peter had seen the Lord. And the lessons in Peter's life had always come in threes, hadn't they? There'd been three callings and there'd been three warnings and there'd been three denials and now the Lord will push upon Peter three calls to service now. And so he says to Peter in verse 15, so when they had dined after they'd eaten their fish, he said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah and he'd used that expression, hadn't he?

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    Right when he first met him, Simon, son of Jonah and he takes him all the way back to the start. Love us, thou me? Now if you haven't coloured in the two types of love that are used in these three verses, it's worth colouring in, right? There's two different words for love in the Greek.

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     There's agape, which is these two mentioned here in the yellow and that love is the strongest love that could be expressed in the Greek. It means a self-sacrificing love, someone even prepared to give their life for another.

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     And then the other love in blue is philio, which is a friendly, affectionate love. And Jesus asks Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? And who were the these that he was referring to but the other disciples? Do you, Peter, love me more than these other disciples? Because you can remember when Peter had just a few weeks earlier professed that he loved the Lord more than anyone else, even the other disciples.

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     and Jesus reminds him of that night. But Peter's different now. And Peter says, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. You know, Lord, that I have an affection for you.

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     But I'm not prepared now. to say that I'm loving you and I'm going to give my life for you because I've seen what I'm like.

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     But I do have an affection for you, Lord. And you know that. Now, I don't think what the Lord here is doing in these three questions that he asked Peter, I don't think he's trying to rub in that night to him and say, see, Peter, right, I know I've forgiven you, but I want you to watch and look at again.

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     There was an important lesson which Peter had missed that night in the upper room which he needed to now bring his attention back to because it was a lesson that was essential.

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     And so he draws Peter's attention back to that night when he'd made that great statement. Let's just quickly come back to John chapter 13.

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     You remember when Jesus was trying to teach the disciples in those precious moments that he had that Peter kept interrupting him because he didn't understand and he missed one of the most important verses in all of the scripture in his interruptions and that comes in verse 34 of John chapter 13. he said in verse 34 of John 13 a new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you and that you also love one another and by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another three times he emphasised that to the disciples in that upper room how important was this the new commandment which will eclipse all of the old commandments before them is to love one another to love one another to love one another Peter love and what did Peter think at that point when Jesus had told him that the first time what did he think that love meant well Peter thought didn't he that showing love to his Lord in that moment in the upper room was to do some amazing heroic act above anyone else and what they were doing to prove that he loved the Lord that's how I'm going to show you that I love you and Jesus says that's not love if you really love me if you want to show that you love me and prove that you love me love each other show it in your love to each other as I have loved you and hadn't Peter been given a first class lesson in how the Lord loves he'd shown him what

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     love means he'd shown him how to look after people he'd shown him how to love and Jesus says this is it here this is the final lesson Peter this is the defining principle of discipleship this is where it's all leading he says this is how people will know that you are my disciples one principle above all else the defining characteristic of your discipleship Peter is going to be love and that's where all my training and all my leading has been trying to lead you to is love and that's where the Lord's trying to lead all of us to love and Paul talked about love didn't he in 1 Corinthians 13 and he said if you might have all other things you might have amazing knowledge or faith that could move mountains but if you don't have love then I am nothing and so Jesus teaches as the final lesson three times he teaches Peter how to love Simon son of Jonah do you love me sorry do you love me more than these yes Lord you know that I love you if you love me Peter show it to me in feeding my lambs and that lamb is like a little lamb and what Jesus was saying to Peter was I need you to demonstrate your love for me by going to those who have never heard about the truth before who were lost out there in the world and if you truly love me Peter you will show your love by sharing my message with them and that's a challenge for us as well isn't it to show our love for the Lord by teaching

109. 49:19

     and showing others that's real love and then he says Simon son of Jonah do you love me yes Lord you know that I love me then tend my sheep and that's a different expression tend means to shepherd and the sheep there is not a little sheep he's an older sheep and Jesus was saying to Peter Peter if you love me and you want to show that you love me and that you've learnt all the things which I've tried to teach you then be a shepherd in the meeting look out for people in the meeting like I looked out for you and if you see someone going astray or if you see someone in trouble shepherd that sheep Peter and look after that sheep that's what the Lord was challenging Peter to do and he challenges us to do the same likewise if we love our Lord it'll drive us to look after those in our meeting to care for them to shepherd them to love them and then finally the third time Jesus says to Simon Simon son of Jonah do you love me and you'll notice that this time he doesn't use that self-sacrificial agape love but he says to Peter do you Peter even love me with a friendly affection and why did Jesus do that this time the third time but to challenge Peter and to drive that man into action and to test him one last time because you can imagine couldn't you if Jesus had asked Peter that question in the upper room what would he have done he would have argued with the Lord and said of course I love

110. 51:26

     you Lord I'll prove my love to you but what does Peter say Peter was grieved he reflected and he thought about that night and how he said that he would give his loyalty but he wasn't ready but he says to the Lord Lord you know everything you know that I love you and I'm prepared to trust in your judgment from this point on you see Peter here now is a changed man isn't he he's a humble man no longer is he superior to others no longer is he overconfident about his ability in his own self but there's a confidence in this man in the judgment of his Lord and not his own judgment you see the tough lessons that were inflicted upon Peter that night had been learnt and Peter was now ready and did you notice what the record calls him it calls him Peter and never again is he called Simon because his training is complete he's now ready to lead because true leadership is not about arrogance it's not about pushing yourself above other people it's not about self confidence it's not about saying you can't do it but I can true leadership has always been for God has always been for God's leaders about humility and about service and about love and Peter now had learnt those lessons and he was ready to lead three lessons that Peter learnt over the course of those couple of weeks one was the enormous power in forgiveness and he would never forget that for the rest of his life he was a man for the rest of his life who was full of compassion for

111. 54:11

     others because what had been done for him he learnt the lesson about turning again and that's a lesson we all need to learn and never forget that the Lord wants us to turn again and we might have to do that in our life over and over and over again sometimes just like the proverb said the righteous man rises again seven times and then 70 times seven if need be and finally love is the end point that we're all aiming at that's where all our discipleship is leading that is the defining principle that defines what discipleship is love