Allen Jackson - Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus - Part 2
We talk about grace, because the purpose of grace and mercy is to bring you to repentance. The goal of grace and mercy is not a get out of jail free card, it’s the recognition that you deserve punishment. And God suspended it to give you an opportunity to repent. So when we show grace or mercy, it’s not to extend license, it’s to invite one another to repentance. To help one another become more fully devoted followers of Jesus, we want to be a community of people who are growing in our lives with the Lord, not just reciting our resumes. I’m grateful for the God stories we can tell about what he’s done. They help us plot a trajectory towards the future.
We can learn that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he’s the God who brought the plagues on the Egyptians, and he parted the Red Sea, and he met Moses on Mount Sinai, and he parted the Jordan River, and he helped David overcome Goliath, and he met Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, and he’ll meet us on Highway 99. But the purpose of all of those things is so we can chart a course for what’s next. And I want to use Peter as a bit of a case study. And this is just the highlights; it would have taken several sessions to have done this in detail. I chose Peter because I think he’s a familiar character and you’ll know many of his life events, and you can fill in any of the blanks that we don’t have time to do together.
In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus recruits him. It’s the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. It’s the beginning of Peter’s relationship with him, «Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They’re casting a net into the lake, they were fishermen. And Jesus said, 'Come, follow me, I’ll make you fishers of men.' And they left their nets and followed him». That’s the beginning of the story. They’ve got a family business, they walked away from it. Please understand Jesus is intended to be disruptive. I don’t know of any approach to Scripture that suggests you could choose Jesus as Lord of your life and it not be disruptive. It’ll disrupt ungodly habits, it’ll disrupt ungodly patterns, it’ll disrupt ungodly relationships, it’ll make you uncomfortable.
If Jesus in your life has not brought some disruption, you need to give him a bigger place. He’ll rewrite your story. «Well, pastor,» this is pretty cool. Jesus, Jesus asked Peter to come follow him. He tagged him, he said, «Listen, come follow me». You’ll notice he didn’t call the rest of these clowns. I’m pretty special. If only the story were that simple. John 18, we’re scrolling way ahead. They’re in Gethsemane by this point. Peter’s been with Jesus for three years, oh, and he’s done some stupid things. You know, he argues with the rest of them over who’s the greatest. They’re on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus is under great stress, he knows what’s going to happen. It’s his last trip to Jerusalem before his passion begins, and he said, «When we get there, I’m gonna be betrayed and arrested. And I’ll be tried and condemned to death and crucified».
And Peter says, «Oh no, Lord, never». Jesus, «Get behind me, Satan». That’s not a compliment, «Peter, shut up, you’re full of the devil». Well, well, well, can you see the other guys rolling their eyes? «There he goes again». Well, in your notes, it’s John 18, they’re in Gethsemane. He’s had three years with Jesus now. And they come to arrest Jesus and Peter stands up for him, seems commendable. Peter draws a sword, struck the high priest servant’s ear, he cut off his right ear. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t aiming for his ear, fair enough, «And Jesus commanded Peter,» the language is harsh, «Peter, put your sword away! I’ve told you what was going to happen. What are you doing»?
It wasn’t very many minutes before this where Peter and James and John have been asked to pray with Jesus, and they keep going to sleep. And he wakes them up, he says, «Couldn’t you stay awake and pray for a few minutes»? And now Peter’s awake and they’re arresting him and so he’s going to defend him. And Jesus said, «Peter, what are you doing»? Well, most of us will be offended, «Well, you just can’t be pleased. I’m too sleepy for you. I’m too assertive for you. Make up your mind». In fact, if you’ll follow, I mean Peter’s a pretty good example. Follow him through the gospels. Watch the consistent coaching, the reprimands, the invitations, the times Peter’s just babbling. His mouth typically engages at least 60 seconds before his brain. He’s becoming a follower of Jesus. Well, you know, he denies. Jesus says to Peter, «I prayed for you. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, and I’ve prayed that your faith wouldn’t fail».
I don’t like that prayer. I mean, I know it’s Jesus, but wouldn’t you rather Jesus said to you, «You know, I just prayed that Satan would leave you alone». Well, yeah, «I pray that Satan wouldn’t be able to touch you». No, «I pray that your faith wouldn’t fail. You got a road to walk». You know, our journey through time is not easy. I don’t like that. I mean, just to be perfectly honest, I want to make a profession of faith, be baptized in water, filled with the Holy Spirit, and then have no more problems. I want to be a man filled with so much faith and power, wisdom and insight, that I have revelatory understanding of every day, and I can avoid traffic better than is a ways guided trip, don’t you?
«Peter, I prayed that your faith wouldn’t fail,» and before the sun comes up, Peter denies Jesus three times, with profanity and others of the friends watching. So post resurrection, they’re back in Galilee. It’s, «Early in the morning,» you’ve got it, it’s John 21, «Jesus is standing on the shore and the disciples don’t know that it’s Jesus,» which has been kind of a common occurrence. «So he called out to them, 'Friends, do you have any fish? ' 'Nope.' Aren’t you fish? 'Well, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll find some.' And when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish». Now they’ve had this experience with Jesus before, but John seems to be the only one with the memory at the moment.
When that happens, John says, «'It’s the Lord! ' And as soon as Peter heard John say it,» Peter didn’t have the under… John did. Peter jumped out of the boat, that’s what it says. They’re 100 yards from shore. And Peter, but we shouldn’t be surprised, Peter’s jumped out of the boat before, «Lord, if that’s you, tell me to come to you». «Well, come on». So John said, «It’s the Lord»! Peter jumps out of the boat. He leaves the guys with the fish, the net’s so full of fish they can’t get it in the boat. He didn’t care, it’s the Lord. Verse 15, «When they’d finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? ' 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you' 'Then feed my lambs.'»
He repeats it three times. There’s a little chapel built on that northern end of the lake to commemorate that, the reinstatement of Peter, the restoration of Peter. Peter’s still learning to be a more fully devoted follower of Jesus. He’s followed Jesus for three years, folks. Jesus tagged him, he took him, he was on the inner circle, he was on the Mount of Transfiguration. I mean, he’s been entrusted with opportunities that the other disciples weren’t, and yet Jesus is still inviting.
You see, I think we have an arrogance, «Well, I’ve made a profession of faith and I’ve been baptized and I’ve sat in this church, there’s really very little left for me». Peter walked with Jesus. He ran to the cemetery and saw an empty tomb. Peter was in the room in John 20 when resurrection after evening, Jesus stepped into the room and said, «It’s me, I’m back». Now Jesus is saying, «Peter, we got a little business we need to talk about. Are you prepared for Jesus to have that kind of conversation with you»? More fully devoted followers of Jesus. We need to stop thinking this is somebody else that needs more devotion, somebody else that needs more revelatory insight.
The day of Pentecost, Peter gets tagged to deliver the message. Thousands of people in Jerusalem are baptized, accepting Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, Peter, his first public sermon post resurrection. Peter’s involved with the healing of a beggar in Jerusalem and the whole city is stirred in Acts chapter 3. In Acts chapter 10, Peter has a vision. He’s in Jaffa, it’s a port city. It’s the same city where Jonah went to get on the boat to run from God. At about noon, Peter goes up on the roof. It’s verse 10, «He was hungry and he wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. And he saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down from heaven».
It’s filled with all kinds of unclean things, foods Peter’s not allowed to eat by the kosher rules. «And a voice said, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' And Peter said, 'Surely not, Lord! I’ve never eaten anything impure or unclean.' And the voice said a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' Happened three times,» he needed to see it more than once. This is a complete transformation of how he understands the world. Think of the things that you imagine you couldn’t eat or drink, or they would diminish your godliness. Now I’m not saying you have to be ungodly, but there’s probably something that comes to mind. If you were seen in public eating or drinking something, somebody would roll their eyes. And God is saying to Peter, don’t call that unclean. And at that same time, there’s a knock on the door. You know the story, it’s the people from Cornelius’s house, another Roman centurion.
And so Peter goes with them to their house, «And Peter begins to speak:» in verse 34, and he said, «I now realize how true it is that God doesn’t show favoritism». Up until this moment in time, up until this event, I promise you, Peter understood he was God’s favorite, that his people were God’s favorite, they were the chosen people, they’re the covenant people of God. We’re not like everybody else. God has identified with us; he’s the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our forefathers. He’s not the god of the Philistines or the Edomites, or the Hittites or the Perizzites. He’s the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, «We’re special».
And Peter’s standing in a Roman centurion’s house, in a pagan Roman city, in the middle of it with a temple to a Roman god, and he said, «I now understand that God does not show favoritism,» what’s happening? Peter’s becoming a more fully devoted follower of Jesus. He’s learning, he’s growing; his worldview is being tremendously challenged. See, I don’t believe you can participate when God is moving unless you’re willing to grow and to change. And we tend to imagine that our assignment is to insulate the status quo. The strongest voices for truth that we’re hearing right now are not emanating from churches.
There’s some exceptions, but in general. They’re coming from the most unlikely places. We have ungodly people, people who have not lived godly lives, saying out loud, boldly, brazenly, «You should not be stealing». Do you think maybe the pulpits would have been saying that? God is moving. Are you willing to become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus? «I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but he accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right». Peter got in deep trouble when he goes back to Jerusalem. They were so mad at him. He’s going to lose his place of leadership. «You went into the home of gentiles. You can’t do that! We have witnesses. You were so brazen, you took people with you». He says, Peter says, «Well, let me tell you what happened. I had a vision three times. These clowns are knocking at the door, they’d seen an angel».
I mean he tells it in such supernatural terms, it’s like, and what should I do? Now wait a minute, this is Peter, he had three years with Jesus; he walked on the water, he picked up basketfuls of pieces of bread, he was on the Mount of Transfiguration, he preached the sermon on the day of Pentecost, he organized the baptism of thousands of people in Jerusalem. He prayed for the lame man at the beautiful gate who was healed, the whole city is stirred. Before acts 12, Peter’s shadow falling on people is causing them to be healed, and he’s standing back in the middle of the believers in Jerusalem and he said, «I’ve been so wrong. God’s not a respecter of persons. He doesn’t show favoritism».
It is a story of an individual, not just being recruited, not just invited in. But it’s a lifelong journey of transformation. Are you ready for one of those? We’re going to have to turn loose of our self righteousness. «But we’ve done all of our», I hardly think we have completed all of our go business. I don’t think we’ve exhausted the learning curve. If Jesus had three years with Peter and entrusted him with a leadership role in the church in Jerusalem… In chapters later, Peter is still being invited to the next seminar on expansion of his faith. You and I might have an opportunity to learn something, helping one another to become more fully, devoted followers of Jesus.
We tend to think of our journey and of what we’ve done, «Well you know, for years I volunteered». Oh, when did the backsliding begin? «Well, you know, many years ago, I had a very dramatic encounter with Jesus». «Well, how wonderful. How dramatic was it this week»? «Well,» I got to hush. My time’s up. 2 Peter, it’s very near the end of his life. He’s pleading, there’s a pleading tone to this. He knows his life is about done. He says it in these verses, «My brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure».
Listen, the language is assertive. It’s a language of attentiveness and a language of effort. It’s a language of development. There’s nothing in what Peter’s saying that would cause you to be complacent, to be passive, to imagine that there was… didn’t require focus. «Be all the more eager to make your calling sure. If you do these things, you will never fall». He’s holding out the potential you could fall. If you’re not doing these things, you will fall, he says. «And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’ll always remind you of these things. I’ve said these things to you before». I’m going to say them to you again. «I’m always gonna remind you of this,» he said, «even though you know them, and even though you’re firmly established in the truth that you now have. I think it’s important to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body».
My body’s a tent, it’s transient, «It’s because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. The Lord Has shown me I don’t have long. I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things». Peter says, «Listen, my strength is failing. I’m about done, but I will make every effort to help you if I can». It seems to me that he’s going to run all the way through the tape. I don’t hear any sense of smug, self-righteous satisfaction.
Church, God has called us to such a time as this, to be men and women with a desire, a passion, a commitment, a determination to become more fully devoted followers of Jesus, to attract and lead other people to that experience, to invite people to be more committed, to be sanctified, set apart for the purposes of God, to learn to worship him in new ways, not just the ways I enjoy, but to truly worship the Lord in ways that are transformational. I want to be a more fully devoted follower of Jesus, and I want to invite you to that tonight, to allow Jesus to be disruptive in your life. «Pastor, I’m born again». Yes, yes, absolutely, yes, but the disruption’s not over.
Father, thank you. Thank you for your Word, thank you for this community of believers. What I see you gathering men and women not just from across our city or our region but from across our nation, men and women who regularly present and say, «We want to know Jesus better,» but we need your help. We have limits and we need your help, but we offer ourselves tonight as living sacrifices. But we don’t want to conform to the fundamental principles of this world, we want to be transformed, more fully into your image. Holy Spirit, help our minds to be renewed. Help us to say no to ungodliness and yes to godliness, to be willing to address our old carnal nature, to crucify our self that demands its own way so that your way might be fulfilled in us. I thank you for it. I praise you for it. I thank you Father for outcomes that only you could bring. The harvest fields are white and Lord, we are willing but raise up others to step into the harvest fields with us. That we use the influence you’ve given us in ways that are pleasing to you. When we acknowledge our inadequacies, our weakness, our frailty, we’re easily distracted and we grow weary, but Father, we want to be pleasing in your sight. Holy Spirit, help us. We thank you in advance for all that you will do. In Jesus’s name, amen, hallelujah.