FROG Discipleship

Do You Love Me?

• Nick

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0:00 | 23:45
SPEAKER_00

Nick here. Welcome to Frog Discipleship. Today we are going to be in John 21. We are going to discuss a little bit about failure, a little bit about a very important question that Jesus asked Peter that we need to ask ourselves. Now, and that question was, do you love me? And it seems like a very simple question, but I think when we read this passage of scripture, again, this is in John chapter 21. And let me give you a little bit of a recap. So everything was taking place. Jesus has risen from the dead. He was crucified, has risen from the dead. Now, up to this point, Peter was very confident in who he was in Christ, but failure reached him more often than not. But understand this, failure does not disqualify you. Now, I want to say that again. Failure does not disqualify you. Now, yes, failure can make you feel disqualified. And Peter understood this feeling quite well because Peter made a bold decor declaration, you know, even if if all fall away, I never will. Okay, that was what his declaration was. He made this profound statement. If everyone else falls away, I never will. And then immediately failure came. And what did Peter do? He denied Christ three times. So Christ, let's fast forward a little bit. Christ has gone to the cross, he has died. You know, he is Peter is feeling, you know, just kind of distraught, not aware, not knowing. So he decides, you know, kind of uh he lost his confidence, if you will, because, you know, they had an understanding, they were expecting Christ to deliver them politically and become the king and deliver them from Roman rule and things of that nature. So Peter became very disheartened, if you will, and he he was taking his failure pretty hard at this point. So he's like, well, what do I need to do? He's like, you know what? I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna go fishing. I'm gonna go fishing, and this I can at least do that, right? Well, that was a failure as well. And that brings us to the text. You know, so they went fishing, they were in the boat, they cast, they caught nothing, you know, and I want to start in verse in chapter 20. We just start at verse 1, right? After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in the way he showed himself Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Canna in Galilee, and also the sons of Zebedee and two others. And his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. So we went fishing. He's not, he's not real confident in what's going on. And he said, They said to him, We are going with you also. They went out and immediately got into the boat. At that night caught nothing. So they went fishing all day, all night, and they caught nothing. But when the morning had come, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, Children, have you any food? They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some of them. So they cast, and now they were not able to draw in because of the multitude of fish. So here, let's just pause for a moment in this text. Peter was facing all kinds of failure, thought he would go back to his comfort zone, go back to what he knew, what he was secure in, and that was going fishing. Yet they spent all night fishing and came away with nothing. Okay. And then, now let's fast forward. Christ shows back up, appears to his disciples, they cast the net, they have a multiple more fish than they can do. Peter jumps out, runs to Jesus. Okay. And they the rest of the disciples bring in the rest of the fish. So now let's go to verse 15. So when they had eaten breakfast, so they they're eating breakfast, some of the fish in which was caught that morning, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said this a third time, Do you love me? He said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Now here are some of the things that most people miss when we read this passage of scripture. And what that is, is is Christ is asking a very important question. Do you love me? Now that's something you need to truly think about now. Now, what kind of love is Christ asking? So when we look in the Greek, we have three forms of love eros, filio, and agape. Okay? Eros is a physical, sexual love, a filio is a friendship, and then agape is unconditional. Now, what's so important to know, now, filio is a brotherly love, it's a it's a friendship love, but agape is unconditional, total commitment, sacrificial style love. Now, when Christ is speaking to Simon, do you love me? Okay, and then Peter answers and says, I love you. Christ is using in the first two times when he says, Do you love me? He is using agape. He is asking Peter, Peter, do you love me unconditionally? Unconditionally? Do you love me with total commitment? Do you love me sacrificially, you know, completely devoted to me? That's that's the kind of love Christ is asking. And Peter responds with, you know I love you. Now here's the thing. The love in which Peter responds with is not agape. It's filio, that brotherly love, that friendship love. That's why, that's why Christ asked the question again. You know, he says, Do you love? Peter says, Yes, you I love you. Christ says, Feed my lambs. He asks again, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Again, using agape, unconditional love, the second time. That's the second question. Peter again answers, Yes, Lord, you know I love you. That love that Peter responds with is the filio, the friendship style love, the brotherly love, not responding with, yes, Lord, I love you unconditional. Now, this is where the powerful truth takes place. Jesus meets Peter at his level. Now, what do I what do I mean? So Peter could not honestly claim agape love towards Christ yet, unconditional love, no matter what. So Jesus met Peter at his level, met him at Philio. That's the that's the big takeaway here. Jesus doesn't demand you to start, he doesn't demand you to start where he wants you to be. He accepts you where you're at. He meets you where you are, he meets you uh in your failures, in your weakness, in your doubt, in your brokenness. He doesn't he doesn't leave you there. That's the thing. He might meet you in your failures, he might meet you in your weakness, meet you in your doubt, meet you in your brokenness, but he doesn't leave you there. So when Christ, this this is, this is the big thing, when he asked the third time, you know, because the second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Tend my sheep. He said to him a third time, Sina, or Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said the third time, Do you love me? And he answered, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. And he said, Feed my sheep. Now, this is where the transition goes. The word love that Jesus is now using to Peter is no longer agape, it is filio. So when I say Jesus is meeting Peter where he is at, he is examining the heart of Peter. You know, do you do how do you love me? Peter is unable to love God unconditionally at this point. So Jesus being an awesome, loving, kind God, understands that. So he meets Peter where he is. Do you love me? You know, he doesn't want the church answer. He doesn't want the Sunday school answer. He wants the honest answer. And that is what Peter gave. Yes, Lord, I love you the best I can, the best I can as a brotherly love, as a friendship love. You know, I haven't got to that unconditional love. So then Jesus, Jesus does what is awesome. And he says the third time, do you love me? Well, the word shifts. It's no longer, do you love me unconditional? Okay. It's now, do you love me filio? Do you love me brotherly? Do you love me friendship? So Christ is starting to say, he started out, do you love me unconditional? He asked that twice, do you love me unconditional? And Peter gave the best answer he could: an authentic, real, Lord, I love you. You know I love you. You know how I love you. And he's right. Christ knew that Peter only loved him Philio, as much as he could with a brotherly love, not with an unconditional love. So now, at the third time, Jesus says, Do you love me? He says, Do you love me, Philio? And Peter was grieved because he said this a third time, Do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Jesus met Peter where he was. He didn't expect him to be perfect. He didn't expect him to be perfect. He expected him to be exactly where he was, and Jesus met him there. Jesus came to his level. Now, even though Jesus came to his level, the goal is not to stay there. The goal is for Peter to grow in his faith to where he learns to love Jesus unconditionally. That agape, go from filio love to agape love. That's our goal for all of us. You know, so I ask you the question again, the same question that Jesus asked Peter. I'm asking you now, do you love me? Do you love Jesus? And you're gonna say, yes. Yes, Lord, I love you. You're gonna have the same response that that Peter did. But now I need you to do a self-examination. You know, do reflect, do a heart examination. Do I love Jesus or just his benefits? Do I love Jesus or just what he can fix in my life? Do I love Jesus or just when life is easy? Has failure caused me to pull away from God? Am I hiding because I think I am a disappointment to him? Am I give Jesus am I giving Jesus my whole heart or just the safe part? Am I stuck in guilt when Jesus offers restoration? These are some questions that you need to ask yourself and examine your heart. You know, these are personally challenging questions. If Jesus was to ask you today, right now, do you love me? What would your honest answer be? Again, I don't want the church answer. I don't want the Sunday school answer. I want the authentic, raw truth. Jesus already knows. He knew Peter's raw, authentic truth. And he he was very much aware that Peter could only love him with philosophy love, friendship, brotherly love. But he, Jesus, met Peter where he was at. Yes, does Jesus desire unconditional love? Absolutely. Is that the type of love that Jesus deserves? Absolutely. But what if you're not there yet? Jesus still loves you unconditionally. And that's the thing we need to understand. The love that Jesus has for you, for me, is unconditional. Well, what if we're unable to meet him there? That's okay. He's going to meet us where we're at. If we can only love Jesus, Philio, in a friendship or brotherly love, you know, that is okay. It's a relationship before responsibility. And what I mean by that is Jesus wants your heart before your effort. Jesus does it, he didn't say stay, or he didn't tell Peter, uh, prove yourself, earn it, fix your, fix your reputation. No, no, he didn't give them ultimatums. No, Jesus came to Peter right where he was at, you know, and said, I you love me, Philio, that's fine. I'm going to meet you where you're at. And and in that moment, he's going to come beside Peter, lead, guide, and direct Peter along the way. What kind of love do you have for Jesus right now? Is it filio? If your answer is yes, because after we gave some of them heart questions, those examinations, do I love Jesus or just his benefit? Do I love Jesus or just what he can fix in my life? Do I love Jesus or just do I love him when life is easy? You know, these are some questions that you have to ask yourself and examine yourself. Where is your commitment to Jesus? Is it truly unconditional? And here's the reality, and I don't, I'm not trying to hurt feelings here. In most cases, we do not love Jesus unconditionally. We are just in the same place as Peter. Loving Christ with brotherly love, but understand that's okay. That might be where you are currently. Peter would go on to learn to love Jesus unconditionally. He became a martyr, right? He demonstrated his love, his commitment to Christ by dying as a martyr for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not saying that in order for you to have unconditional love, you have to die as a martyr. No, no, no, no. That's not what I'm saying. But I am saying you can grow from a brotherly love in Christ to an unconditional love in Christ. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Well, maybe, maybe you can only love Christ in your heart and soul, but maybe your mind and your strength you're struggling. So you're there on the filio, but now you got room to grow. Christ is going to meet you where you're at. Okay. So we we have several misconceptions when it comes to this. You know, you know, we think we can we can always fix ourselves, but you know, there's only so much you can do. You you sometimes, well, it's not sometimes. So let me let me use this example. I am not a mechanic. So my truck is currently broke down and it is in the shop. It's in the shop because I don't have the expertise on on and the knowledge of how to fix my vehicle. So I took it to my buddy John. He's a mechanic, he's fixing it for me. My point. Well, I don't have the knowledge and the know-how, so I'm going to someone who does. Well, maybe you don't have the knowledge and know-how of how to go from filliose love to that brotherly love to unconditional love. Go to someone who does. That someone is Jesus Christ. Go to him. Learn from him. He literally says, take my yoke upon you. Okay? Taking the yoke. You know, that is a reference to oxen pulling, pulling a plow, right? The yoke is the thing that goes around the oxen's head, their neck and shoulder. And he's telling us to put to put his yoke upon us. He will come beside us and help us. He will navigate for us. You know, I read this the other day and I thought it was very profound because a lot of times we we don't act in the now because we are worried about how long it will take. We live in a time of instant gratification that we want to be a hundred percent mature in Christ now. Well, I read this quote and it was it was pretty profound. It was this the compass was invented before the clock. The compass was invented before the clock. Because life is about the journey, not how long it takes to get there. My point is if you take two steps forward and one step back every single day, again, take two steps forward and one step back every day, you're still one step at the end of every day in the positive. That's what we want to achieve. God doesn't expect you to be perfect in a blink of an eye. He understands that it is a process. We struggle with the process because we want everything now. Every year during January, people go and get gym memberships and this, that, and the other, and they give it their best for maybe a couple weeks. If they're lucky, maybe three months, and they don't get the results they want, and they throw up their hand and say, I'm done. I quit. Well, you quit because, really and truthfully, in that three months, you only went to the gym maybe 10 times at most. And you're expecting results that take years. You want results that take years to be achieved in 10 days. It just doesn't happen that way. We have to realize there is a process. Let us count our blessings that Jesus will meet us where we are. And now that he has met us where we're at, maybe you're just right there where Peter was, in the brotherly love, the filio love. That's okay. Now, now's the time to grow, to try to reach that unconditional love that Christ demonstrated for you, to try to put it in perspective to where you demonstrate the same kind of love toward him. Because remember what Jesus told the disciples. Follow me, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. I will make you, not you will make you. So again, I ask you this question, the same question Jesus asked Peter. Imagine Jesus is asking you this question right now. Do you love me? Jesus doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the call. Again, he doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the call. He will restore the willing, he will qualify the call. He will make you to who you need to become if you will just follow him. Is it going to be easy? No. You cannot go uphill with downhill tendencies. If you want to go from filio love to agape love, it requires dedication. It requires your everything. So today I ask you this: the same question that Jesus asked, Do you love me? And I ask you to be honest with yourself, to have that heart check and that examination. Do I love Jesus or do I just love the benefits he brings? Do I love Jesus or do I just love the things he can fix in my life? Do I love Jesus or do I love him only when life is easy? Those are the questions. Maybe you have to ask yourself a question this Am I hiding because I think I disappointed him? I mean, goodness gracious, think about that. Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me? And Peter says, I do as a brother. As a friend. Not unconditional, but I love you. As a friend and a brother. And he asked again. And then on the third time he says, Peter, do you love me as a brother and a friend? And he says, Yes, I can do that. Stop hiding because you think you're a disappointment to Christ. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. Okay? We're all broken people. We're all under construction. Sometimes you have to forgive yourself to move forward. Jesus is willing to come and meet you where you currently are to grow you to meet your full potential. Get out of your way and allow God to do a mighty work in your life. Do you love me? That's the question you need to ask yourself. Do you love Jesus? Thank you for listening.