How to be a Committed Christian Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on How to be a Committed Christian Part 1. He will be reading out of John 21:15-25.

The assurance of your salvation is not the day you were baptized and it is not the day that you came to the altar and prayed a prayer and it is not the day that you went to vacation Bible school but what I want you to understand that the assurance of your salvation is that within your heart you love God.

Jesus initiated the restoration of Peter. What an amazing thought. This is Pastor Mike Sanders and that’s something I want you to consider today. We welcome you to our program. We’re excited that we have this opportunity to share God’s Word with you and as we consider John chapter 21 we recognize that Jesus Christ is always restoring.

You know sometimes others have said that we’re most hard on those that are in the family of God and the truth is we need to show compassion understanding and restoration and do everything we can to restore our brothers and our sisters in Christ back into the family of God and so today that’s what the message is going to be is learning how to be a committed Christian and if ever this was a need it is today and I hope today as we study God’s Word together that we can grow on our commitment to the Lord.

If you have your Bibles this morning I want you to join me in the Gospel of John. John chapter 21 and we’ve come to the final section of our text in the Gospel of John. The final set of verses. Verses 15 through 25 and I want you to note right at the outset that in verse 15 of John 21 that the Bible says this so when they had dined Jesus said unto Simon Peter Simon son of Jonas love us thou me more than these.

What an incredible statement that is made because when we understand the the significance of what Christ is saying to Peter. He is reminding Peter that he has not forgotten him. Peter had betrayed the Lord.

He had denied the Lord. And yet Jesus Christ took the initiative to reach out to Peter. If you were with us last week, you’d know that Peter went fishing and he took the whole disciples with him. They kind of got off mission and they were kind of going back to the old way of life.

But Jesus Christ would not give up on Peter. And he says to them while they’re out on the sea of Galilee, have you caught any fish? Not because he didn’t know that they hadn’t caught fish, but because he wanted them to acknowledge the futility.

of their own self -reliance. To understand that they in and of themselves cannot fulfill all that God has for their life and that they of themselves cannot live a life that is purposeful and meaningful apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so Jesus invites them to come and dine with him. And here in verse 15 the scripture says in such a beautiful way, so when they had dined. I want you in your mind, if you will, to kind of envision this group of disciples that is discouraged, definitely Peter defeated, feeling like he has made a mess of his life in that he’s let down his savior, that he is let down all the ambitions and expectations that he had of himself in following the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was Peter who said, Lord, I will never forsake you. It was Peter when they came to arrest Jesus, pulled out his sword and wildly started swinging it and going for the head being such a bad shot took off the ear of a man.

It was Peter who was bold and brash. It was Peter who rebuked Jesus in front of the disciples when Jesus was teaching them that he would die on a cross and rise again the third day. It was Peter who kind of just put himself out there as this man who was totally committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, but all that came crumbling down the moment that he denied Christ.

there is no doubt that Peter was beating himself up and yet the scripture says again so when they had dined in this moment the disciples gathered with Jesus he has invited them to fellowship he is inviting them to restoration he is inviting them to once again to connect with him not ostracizing them not telling them I told you so not holding it over their head not beating them down but he says come and dine with me and while they’re eating what is it that our Savior is doing he is recommissioning Peter and the disciples he is helping Peter to understand that Jesus is the purpose for living and that Peter’s life will be most fulfilled as a servant of God.

This was a lesson that was essential to the life of the apostle Peter, a lesson that he would never forget, a lesson that he would carry with him all the days of his life. Peter, which means small stone.

Jesus said to Peter in Matthew chapter 16 that Peter, his name was no longer going to be Simon von Jonas, but is going to be Peter, meaning small stone. And upon this rock, not the rock of Peter, but upon this rock, the rock of Christ, the rock of the Father, which had been revealed to Peter.

But Peter would be an important living stone in the early church. He would be a foundational, Jesus being the cornerstone. Peter being part, along with the apostles, a foundational stone, Ephesians chapter 2, if you want to read that later on your own.

But Peter being this important part of the early church, and now Peter was understanding that he would be this rock. He would be this person that God would use so miraculously to help launch the inauguration of the church.

A new chapter in Peter’s life. And the Bible tells us that when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these. This morning, I want to talk to you about how to be a committed Christian.

There are two types of Christians in this world. There are casual Christians and committed Christians. There are Christians who are certainly okay with Jesus and they just want enough Jesus to get them out of hell.

But this idea of radically changing their life and being on mission and totally devoted follower of Christ, making impact for the cause of the Lord Jesus in this world, that is not something that they want.

There are those who are committed, who are all in a hundred percent. They view everything from the prism of the fact that God is reaching out to this world and that he is accomplishing his great redemptive story in lives, in helping to build this great church that will one day stand and bring worship before the throne of God.

and will give glory to the name of God. And this is what I’m challenging us to be, that as we enter into the year 2020, people say, Pastor, what is your vision for 2020? I have specifically stayed away from sharing any particular vision in 2020.

First of all, I enjoy always not doing what is expected. Look at that, that’s Pastor Mike. Number two is I would like to say simply that our vision is Jesus’s vision. And our vision certainly involves many wonderful things, but it is at the heart of reaching our community for Christ.

And in order to do that, it is going to require committed Christians. And what is it that should be our vision for 2020? It is that each one of us would be a committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we would be fully devoted, that we would put our hand to the plow and not look back, and that we would be more passionate, more devoted, more committed to the cause of Jesus Christ than ever before,

because this, my friends, is exactly what Jesus is calling Peter’s life to be. So I want you to learn three things on how to be a committed Christian. Number one, you must love Christ more than anything.

You must love Christ more than anything else, for you will note again that Jesus said, Simon, son of Jonas, love is thou me more than these. What is it that… that are these other things that Peter was engaged in, his business, his fishing, his things that he was gonna go back to in his life, and Jesus Christ recommissioning Peter, not giving up on Peter, he says to Peter, do you love me more than at boat?

Do you love me more than making money? Do you love me more than the business that you have? Do you love me more than anything else in this world? To follow Jesus means he’s number one in your life. Anything short of that is living in disobedience to God.

I want you to understand this morning, church, that when Jesus calls us to follow him and he calls us to love him that we are to love him more than any relationship in this world and A man asked me one time.

How is it that pastor? I should love Jesus more than my wife And I said you’ll never love your wife Like you ought to love your wife until you love Jesus Christ number one in your life and Sometimes it’s hard for us to grasp that in the natural mind in the carnal mind But spiritually there is nothing that aligns our love like when we love Jesus more than anything in this world And so Jesus Christ is to be preeminent and the primary mark of a true believer is to love God You see I always want people to understand that the assurance of your salvation is not the day you were Baptized and it is not the day that you came to the altar and prayed a prayer and it is not the day that you went To vacation Bible school or it’s not the day that you signed a card and I’m not against any of those things And if you need to do those things do those things But what I want you to understand that the assurance of your salvation is that within your heart?

You love God See first John is All about the assurance of our salvation You’re struggling with am I really a Christian go to first John? And what is it that John challenges us with in that? He helps us to distinguish that who we love Determines who we belong to for if we love God and if we love God’s people Then we have truly passed from death unto life.

We have truly been born again or if we love the world and the things of the world then that is only evident that our salvation is not real. Paul put it like this in 1st Corinthians chapter 8 verse 3 he said if anyone loves God this one is known by him.

Who do you love this morning? And I’m not just saying like who do you love like ice cream? Do you love ice cream? I’m not talking about that kind of a love I’m talking about who’s number one in your life.

Do you love Jesus more than these things? Do you love him more than these things? Whatever those things are in your life that are hindering your relationship and fellowship and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you love them? Do you love them more than Jesus? And if you do It is either manifesting a major disobedience in your heart or it is manifesting a heart that truly does not believe in Christ. For the Bible says, if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

Does Jesus know you? Does He know you because of your love for Him? Jesus calls Peter as they are standing by the seashore to look at the fish that He caught, to look at His career, to look at His passions.

And He is saying to Peter, do you love me more than these things? What is it that Jesus wants? What is it that He wants from you? He wants you to love Him preeminently. He wants you to love Him more than these things.

He wants our best love. He is saying, do you love me more than these? He wants our confession in our hearts. God, we love you. When is the last time you told Jesus that you love Him? And when is the last time that you showed Him that you loved Him?

Jesus looks at Peter and He says, do you love me? Do you love me? He wants Peter to confess it. He wants Peter to show it. He wants Peter to manifest that he truly loves Him. Now look at the text. Jesus says, do you love me more than these?

In the Greek, it is the Greek word agape, unconditional, love, supreme, divine, love. Do you love me? Number one, do you love me? I’m your number one love in your heart. Is that the way it is, Peter?

Then he goes on in verse 16. Simon, son of Jonas, love is thou me? We get annoyed when people repeat themselves, don’t we? We get annoyed when people keep asking us the same question, but Jesus said to Peter, do you love me again?

Again, the Greek word agape. But Jesus is not done. He asks him again. He says in the third time, verse 17, Simon, son of Jonas, love is thou me? There is a distinct change in Jesus’s question. For he had been asking Peter, do you agape love me?

And finally, the third question is Peter, do you phileo love me? In the Greek language, there are four different types of words that are used to describe love. and Philaeo being that brotherly love. You’re familiar with Philadelphia, which is the city of brotherly love, at least it used to be, amen?

I mean, I’m not against you if you’re from Philly, okay? And I don’t want you to hurt me after church, but I’m just saying that it was designed to be this city, and it came from the idea of brotherly love, and that’s why it’s called Philadelphia.

And so Jesus uses that Greek word, Philaeo, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Even at the level of brotherly love. Now, let’s look at Peter’s answers to all three of these questions. For when Jesus asked him in verse 15, son of Jonas, love us thou me more than these, here’s what he said.

He said unto him, yes, Lord, you know that I love thee. And Jesus said, Peter, do you Agape love me? Peter said, yes, Lord, you know that I Philaeo love you. That’s why Jesus asked him again. Peter, do you Agape love me?

He saith unto him, yes, Lord, you know that I Philaeo love you. Every time Jesus asks Peter, do you love me at the Agape level? Peter’s response was Philaeo. I love you at the brotherly level. Now, it wasn’t that Peter didn’t love him at the Agape level.

It was that Peter was struggling to say that based upon his actions, based upon the fact that he had just denied him, Peter no longer was this brash, bold person who just was out there saying anything.

And the first thing that popped in his head, but now he was being humbled. He had been humbled. And now his heart was breaking. And now Jesus invites him to dinner. And right in front of everybody, he says, Peter, do you Agape love me?

And Peter knows these guys know his life, and Jesus knows his life, and he’s like, I really can’t say that, but Jesus, you know I phileo love you. And so Jesus says the third time, do you phileo love me?

Do you phileo love me, Peter? And Peter says, he was grieved, the Bible says in verse 17, because he said unto him the third time, love us thou me. And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things.

Do you see Peter looking at Jesus? Jesus, you know me. You know my scars. You know my weaknesses. You know where I phaled you, Jesus. You know how I dropped the ball in the moment of pressure and temptation.

You know all things, Jesus. You know every heart, you know every person, you know if people are being real with you, you know if people are faking, you know. And he’s saying, Jesus, I love you. I filet all of you.

I filet all of you. And all Peter is doing is saying, look, I just wanna be honest with you, Jesus. I’m not the man I should have been. I’m not this guy who could stand in front of thousands and defend you.

I’m not this guy who said that I will never, ever deny you or betray you. I’m not this guy who would go to the ends of the earth for you because when it came down to it, you know, Lord, that I failed the test.

That’s why you and I can identify with Peter because we’ve been there and we’ve done that, right? I know some of you are better spiritually than me and others and maybe you have lived a perfect Christian life but for the rest of us that are real and honest before God, we are very much like Peter in that we don’t want to overstate the reality of what we have done and experienced.

And so we back away and I want you to note what Jesus does in this process as he is helping Peter to come to grips with loving Jesus more than anything else. So we back up into verse 15. And after Jesus said, Peter, do you agape love me?

And Peter said, I filet all love you. What did Jesus say? I feed my lambs.” And when we come to verse 16, he said again, Simon, son of Jonas, do you agape love me? He said unto him, Lord, you know I filet love you.

And he said, feed my sheep. And then he said unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, love us, or filet love me, Peter grieved, Lord, you know everything. You know everything. And you definitely know I filet love you.

You know I definitely filet love you. And he said, feed my sheep. There may have been many times in our life that our love for Jesus has failed. And that in the moment of trial and temptation, we have struggled.

We have floundered. and we have failed, but there is a clarion call to each of our hearts from our Savior that continues to ask us this question, do you agape love me? And you may feel like, pastor, I could never love Jesus like I should, and I would say to you, that is a wonderful, humble, self -awareness answer, and I’m glad you’re there, but I want you to strive to grow in your love in 2020.

I want you to go from filet love to agape love, and here’s how I want you to do it. I want you to do it by ministering out of the love that you have for God. For whatever love you have, at whatever level you have, that you in your heart would strive to grow that love and to strive to show that love in how you minister to other people.

For what Jesus is doing in recommissioning Peter and the disciples is he is helping them to understand that their love for God is the primary motivation for their service for God, and that Jesus does not give up on us when we don’t always show the max love for him as we ought, and he does not always kick us to the curb when we have failed him, and when we have come to the point and the moment of pressure that we have dropped the ball.

But there is a Savior who says, let’s regroup, let’s huddle, let’s get together, let’s fellowship, and let’s again work on that love that you have for me, and that as you grow in your love for me, that’s how you will grow in your ministry to others, and that this love for God will be what motivates you to stay at it for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the bottom line is, we do what we do, because we love Him. If you do what you do for any other reason, then that you love Jesus Christ, you will fail. This is where Peter had to get to, for Peter could no longer be motivated by his self ambition.

He could no longer be motivated by his desires to be this strong leader. He could no longer be motivated by his desire to overturn the Roman government. He could no longer be motivated to be a part of this group and band of disciples who somehow were going to change the Jewish religion and the Jewish system and they would help usher in the coming king who would sit on the throne of David.

This could not be his motivation. His motivation had to be pure love for God and a growing love for God though it was never all that it should be but praise God it was something and praise God it was growing and developing and Peter was striving to be more of what he should be in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So when we make this statement to you that you should love Christ more than anything else we recognize as Jesus did with Peter that not all of us are where we ought to be and the truth is that none of us are where we should be and we all have shortcomings and we have all failed and yet Christ is still all he is still calling us to feed his sheep he is still calling us to minister on his behalf he is still calling us to serve him out of our growing love for Jesus Christ and this is where I would challenge you that you would have a love that will not stop growing in Christ.

Peter’s final lesson before Jesus would ascend into heaven was to understand that he was no longer just a pebble but he was a rock for the Lord. Jesus restored him and would use him greatly as a mighty stone.

in the kingdom of God to help to bring about the expansion of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and I am so convinced that as we come together and learn this passage that God has a plan for each of us and then as Peter started a new chapter for some of you God is ready to start a new chapter and I hope that this message of learning how to be a committed Christian will have a plan for the Lord in a more devoted way.

May God bless us with more devoted followers of Christ. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope. worth having.