Up Next: own it
Up Next: • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 27:25
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· 145 viewsEveryone can have moments of indecision. Moving to the next step of faith sometimes requires looking at the maze before us, relying on God, and moving forward.
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This week we move along in our ‘Up Next’ series. We have been considering what it means identify and move toward whatever the next step in faith may be. And we have noted in the last few weeks that everyone here is at a different point in our journeys of faith; which means that everyone here may have a different kind of ‘up next’ moment in front of them.
The challenge, then, has been for each one of us to consider for ourselves what the ‘up next’ moment might be. I cannot give one answer here that applies to everyone; each one of you needs to figure this out for your own step of faith. But what I can give you in this series of messages are a few guiding principles from the Bible that can help us narrow in on what the next step of faith might be in front of you.
We started this series by talking about the way in which we can sometimes only see the next step. And sometimes we don’t take that next step forward because we cannot see all the steps, we cannot see the whole plan laid out in front of us. Sometimes we shy back from taking that next step forward when the only thing we can see is just the next step.
Last week we took a closer look at obstacles and barriers that often get in the way of our next steps forward in faith. And we noted that so often the barriers in our path of faith are obstacles of our own making. Often it might be our own excuses and our own fears that put up walls and keep our life of faith stuck in one place.
Each time we leave with the same question. What’s holding you back? What is it that is truly keeping you from taking that next step forward in your ‘up next’ moment? Let’s dig a little deeper into that together here today.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
We’re picking up a story in John’s gospel that comes right after the disciples make a miraculous catch of fish. Jesus has already risen from the grave and has appeared to the disciples more than one already. But even so, it is Peter who first makes the choice to go back to his former career of fishing—the job he did before Jesus called him to be a disciple. But at the same time, it is also Peter who is so excited to see Jesus back on the shore that he jumps out of the boat and swims ashore to see Jesus. Peter is the impulsive one who always seems to open his mouth first without thinking. Peter always seems to be the one who jumps into action one step ahead of his brain. Peter is kind of this collision of rash and impulsive activity.
One Question
One Question
Jesus asks Peter: Do you love me?
And it is Peter who is the only participant in this conversation with Jesus in these few verses we picked up today from John 21. It’s a pretty simple and quick chat. Three times Jesus asks Peter a question, and three times Peter gives the same reply. There is no mistake about what is going on underneath this connection. The three questions of Jesus are undoubtably meant to remind us of the three times Peter denied even knowing Jesus when he was on trial in the courtyard of the high priest before his execution.
three times - draws connection to Peter's denial of Jesus
I’m sure the scene has not left Peter’s mind. After all, the gospel writers do not say he strolled away from the courtyard denial with a shrug. Peter ran out weeping bitterly. Jesus told him ahead of time it was going to happen. Peter emphatically protested and assured Jesus he would never do such a thing. Jesus replied and said to peter that was going to happen three times that very same night. And worst of all, Jesus was right there in the same space right across the courtyard within view of Peter.
I can see what is happening in Peter’s mind. Alright, of all the disciples, Judas is just the worst; but Peter is right behind that. The scene of Peter’s denial of Jesus is one of those moments you wish could be taken back or deleted from the record. But it doesn’t work that way. In fact, not only is the denial story in the record, it is one of the few stories that all four gospel writers include. Something about this scene of Peter denying his master is central to the gospel story itself. John makes that abundantly clear to us with his narration of this breakfast scene on the beach after the resurrection.
Peter, the one who blew it and failed as a disciple of the rabbi, is the one who Jesus particularly calls out to reinstate and recommission as the leader of his church. Peter, who in his own mind has thrown away any chance of ever being a disciple again, is extended an all-inclusive backstage pass ticket right back up to the front.
And it all comes from Jesus with one question.
When it comes to taking that next step forward in faith we tend to ask all kinds of questions along the way. Is my faith strong enough? Am I smart enough? Do I know enough about the Bible? Am I a good enough person? Am I pious and moral and ethical in my behavior? Have I made too many mistakes? Have the failures of my past disqualified me?
questions Jesus does NOT ask:Are you smart enough?
Do you know the Bible well enough?
Are you a good enough person?
Do you contribute anything worthwhile?
Is your faith strong enough?
I’ll bet you Peter was running these questions through his head. He had the opportunity to show Jesus his ultimate devotion to the rabbi as a disciple, and in that moment he completely flunked. As we catch up to Peter and Jesus having this little chat after breakfast, if Jesus would have asked any one of those questions as a basis for Peter taking the next step as a disciple, the answer would have absolutely been NO. On any one of those questions, Peter would have been stuck without any ‘up next’ moment at all.
Does your ‘up next’ moment look like that? I’ve hinted at this over the past few weeks. Maybe your next step is public profession of faith. Maybe your next step is joining membership at this church. Maybe your next step is signing up to be a mentor. Maybe your next step is joining a small group or a Bible study. Maybe your next step is volunteering to serve in one of our ministries—to teach a class or lead a group.
And what holds you? Is it a question in the back of your mind of maybe not being ready yet, or not being good enough, or not having anything valuable to contribute? Is that the kind of question you are putting between you and the next step forward in your faith? Do you think those are the kinds of questions Jesus would place in front of you as a criteria for measuring your leap ahead in faith? Well, it’s not. Jesus does not ask these questions. He did not come down on Peter with questions like this, and he does not come down on us with questions like this either. In fact, of all the things Jesus could have placed in front of Peter in that moment, there was only one question that mattered.
Do you love me?
You see, the next step in faith has nothing at all to do with being smart enough or good enough or pious enough. Moving forward in your faith comes down to only one simple measurement. Love. I think Peter needed to be reminded of that. Maybe that love which first drew him to follow Jesus had been pushed and buried under a pile of other concerns which had crept in the way. It happens. It happens that way with us too. How quickly you and I forget that the only measurement God uses to connect us with himself is love. How quickly we forget that this is a connection of love that does not even have to begin with us, it is a love that comes from and begins with God. Love is the basis and the foundation of faith. It is love that unites us in faith with Jesus.
The question comes to Peter in a personal way. It comes in a way that shows us God’s love is personal. It’s not that Jesus loves religion. It’s not that Jesus loves ministry. It’s not that Jesus loves churches. Jesus loves people. Jesus loves you. Faith is built on that. Faith is not built on religion. Faith is not built on ministry. Faith is not built on churches. These are all things God uses, but they are all empty and meaningless without love.
One Response
One Response
And so the response of faith that moves us forward is a response that acknowledges love as the only foundation of what unites us together with Jesus. Peter acknowledges it. Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Take away all Peter’s failures. Take away all his impulsive blunders. None of those things matter because of the love that unites him to Jesus. In this one moment when Peter thought he had lost all hope of ever being counted as a follower of Jesus, he is reminded by Jesus of the one and only thing that matters.
three times - feed my sheep
And so, Jesus gives Peter the same response to each of the three questions. Each time, Jesus uses the shepherd metaphor and tells Peter to feed / tend / care for his sheep. The language is symbolic and rather vague. Perhaps this is on purpose. Jesus could have given Peter step-by-step instructions for what he wanted Peter to do next as a disciple and apostle. But that would be a message that is specific for Peter alone. John captures this story in a way that leaves the door open for a more broad application. Something about the words of Jesus to Peter apply to us here today as well.
love comes with a responsibility
Jesus had said before in his teachings that he is the good shepherd. In fact, often in the Old Testament God is compared to a shepherd who cares for his sheep. Jesus is handing off some of that responsibility here to his followers. You see, love comes with a responsibility. Love shows its value in that way. I have a love for my family. And that love comes with a commitment and a responsibility that I share together with all of them. We care for one another. We provide for one another. Your family is not a job that you get paid for, it is a commitment that comes out of love. Love carries a responsibility that way.
responsibility calls for action
Jesus follows up his affirmation of love with Peter with a response that reminds Peter of the task and responsibility that comes along with that love. Essentially what Jesus is doing here is reinstating Peter to his place as a disciple and an apostle by recommissioning him to the task of loving the flock under his care. Love calls for a response that way. It calls for the kind of action that engages the mission of that love. Love moves us to action.
The next step in faith, then, is something that uses love as the springboard for action. Our faith and the actions of our faith come out of love. This is worth noting because sometimes we get that wrong. Sometimes we see faith as an obligation. We see it as something that has been assigned to us, like an assignment in school. You have to write an essay, and you really Donny have much choice in the matter, and—oh by the way—there will be a grade. Isn’t it true that sometimes we approach the action of our faith in that way? It is an assignment that has been given to us and we don’t have much choice and we’re going to be graded.
But that’s not love. Faith is an action that is supposed to spring freely out of love. The next step of faith that is placed in front of you, then, is not something that ought to be done out of obligation, but rather out of desire. The response of love that we give to God in our faith is a response that we give freely in love and gratitude to our savior. It is a responsibility that is given to us by the love of Jesus. And it is a responsibility to which we respond in love and gratitude.
One Outcome
One Outcome
And since this call to act upon our faith is something that comes in such a personal way. Since it is something that springs from love. Since it is an action that is not forced as an obligation. This step of faith ultimately has to be something that we own. No one is forcing it. No one else is managing your faith. God, in his love, has given you a freedom of new life in righteousness, and it’s up to you to own it.
ownership: because I belong to God, Jesus partners in my faith
Responsibility works that way, doesn’t it? The only way in which you truly demonstrate responsibility for your actions is if you take personal ownership for what you do. God does not treat us as remote controlled robots. He created us as beings with a free will. And with the gift of love and salvation that we have in Jesus, with the gift of his Holy Spirit to guide us, we have in Jesus everything we need to step forward in faith. We can claim that, you and I. We can take hold of the righteousness of Jesus that has been given to us by his sacrifice on the cross and we can step forward in faith because of that gift of grace we have been given by God through Jesus.
But when we take a step in partnership with Jesus, it is an ownership that only comes our way because because God, in fact, embraces us as his own. Isn’t this exactly what we say in the very opening of the Heidelberg Catechism? I am not my own, but belong to my faithful savior Jesus. Here is what Jesus told his disciples about that ownership as recorded in John 15
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The apostle Paul says it this way in Romans 8
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
my 'up next' moment is not mine to take alone
This step of faith that is yours to take is not really yours to take alone. It is a faith that comes to you as a gift from God, and it is yours to take and embrace wrapped completely in the love of Jesus. The response of love that has been given to us by Jesus is a response that is given for you to take completely held in his loving care. Jesus has made ownership of your faith a shared responsibility. He has made you a co-heir of his inheritance from the Father. He counts you as one of his family. And it is time to recognize that. It is time to recognize who we are in Jesus. It is time to own that identity.
Like many of you, I grew up in a Christian home and learned all about God through the Bible when I was young. And like many of you, there came a point in my life where I had to step out from under the faith of my parents and stand up to make it my own. I had to own it for myself. This isn’t something I believe because someone else said so, this is something I believe because I have faith—I own it. And through the years since, in all the ups and downs, Jesus comes and repeatedly reminds me that I do not own this path of faith alone. His love holds my faith secure every step of the way.
Jesus’ love holds my faith secure every step of the way
Today, then, wherever your faith is at; whatever step may be placed in front of you as the ‘up next’ moment in your walk with God; it’s time for you to own that. It is time to be secure in that. It’s time to claim a personal identity in that faith that comes from a personal relationship of love from Jesus.