Follow Me
John 21:18 "fVerily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou ggirdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 hThis spake he, signifying iby what death he should hglorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, k Follow me.”[1]
I. Conformed
A. Sure
B. Sufficient
II. Confused
A. Sad
B. Surprised
III. Content
A. Shadowed
B. Surrendered
Introduction: If this were the last year of Jesus’ earthly life Jesus’ time here in His glorified post resurrected body would be over. This past Thursday is observed by most to be Ascension Thursday.
Where do we go from here? That was no doubt the question that was on the minds of the eleven and it was on my mind last Sunday afternoon. Where are you taking me now Lord? What scripture is to be exposed next?
Tuesday was a very good day for Pilot Jim Brady. I had a successful check ride with my flying off-spring so to speak. If you were to ask Brad Womble why he’s a pilot he would say my name. Of course that is not true but it is neat to know that God used me to put the love of flying into someone else who has taken aviation way beyond what I even wanted even for myself.
Before we flew Brad filled out my logbook and signed it which is the certification itself. He met me at the door of his hangar and introduced me as the guy who started him flying to some friends. After a few minutes he said, “let’s go flying.” He took control of the radio and talked to ATC for clearance and they recognized his voice. Again he told the controller that he was flying with the guy who started him flying. Most of the controllers there have had flight instruction from Brad so they know him well.
We flew and as we turned for final approach he said it sure felt good to fly with someone who makes him comfortable. When we landed I looked at him and he was looking down at the floor. He said he was thinking about that first day and how at home he felt.
When the check ride was over we taxied up in front of his hangar and he said to leave it running. He stepped out on the wing and shook my hand and away I went. Yes, it did feel comfortable. I looked at that professional pilot and saw a twelve year old boy.
That night I thought I would sleep like a baby. All night long I tossed and turned wondering what to preach today. Where was I to go next? Finally around five in the morning it was like a voice shouting, “Follow Me.”
Last week we covered the scripture of Jesus explaining Peter’s conclusion here in this life and there we stopped. It is sort of like getting a check ride and the examiner certifies you to fly and then you say to yourself, “OK, now what?”
Jesus was there with them. They had a nice meal there on the beach. He explained to Peter how his life would end up. Is that it? What’s next? What do I do now? It is an extremely personal question. Later on Peter would attempt to ask about what would happen to someone else and Jesus chastised him for taking the attention off of himself.
I was feeling pretty bad that night. God will tell me what’s next. He always does! The more I wondered the more I worried and then finally I was up at my laptop with the light on in my little room. Rachael and Buddy got up too. They couldn’t help it. Neither could I.
Scripture: The scripture today is John 21:18-19. Please stand if you can for God’s written word.
Prayer: Please be seated.
Message: “When thou wast young, thou ggirdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest.” That day Brad was looking at the floor of the plane but Brad was back to that day when he was twelve years old. He made up his mind that day so many years ago that if he did that which he wanted to do he would have to conform himself into a mold. He didn’t know much but he knew that he was going to need to be vigilant and dedicated to learn how to fly.
The next time I saw Brad he was at the airport again working the line. He was filling up fuel tanks and tugging the planes or whatever he was required to do to make wages for flying lessons. He was young. He girded or dressed himself in proper clothes to work around airplanes. Brad learned where to walk and where not to walk. He was sure of what he wanted and he had sufficient resources to get what he wanted to do.
We are talking a bunch about Brad but we could just as easily be talking about most everybody here today. God gives us the means and the desire and the drive to prepare ourselves for the role that we will fill. Sometimes we fill many roles in this life. Sometimes we are fishermen. Sometimes we are husbands. Sometimes we are parents. For whatever God is going to allow us to do we walk whither we wouldest when we are young and are preparing for our future.
“But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” There is a lot here in this second part. Jesus promised Peter that he was not going to die a young man though Jesus did die a young man.
Jesus followed up by telling Peter to follow Him but Peter would not follow Jesus by leaving this life as a young man. We each have a unique path that we are to take yet we all have the same instruction from Jesus that Peter had if we are disciples of Jesus. Follow Me!
When you are young and sure of yourself and conformed to the pattern that you have chosen for your life, everything seems to just fall into place. What happens when someone or something comes and upsets the apple cart?
A retired pastor was in the assisted living center. He had been a Pentecostal preacher but now he refused to come out when they had worship services in that place. The man was full of bitterness and disappointment.
God answers prayers that He puts into us with The Holy Spirit. In that way when we pray for them to be answered it has nothing to do with how hard or insistent we are when we pray; if we are observant to the Holy Spirit, when we pray we will be in God’s will and He will hear and answer in His will.
Often people are caught up in so-called charismatic faiths. They have more faith in their requests than faith in God’s will. When God fails to hear because they are not praying in His will they lose their faith. They wind up confused.
Instead of being sure in their faith people who wind up in the care of others are often very surprised and often angry over their situation when they feel they have lost control of their own situation. They do believe that God is Sovereign and when they get surprised because they are not getting their way they get angry with God. Who do you rely on then???
When Jesus was in the middle of the courtyard being beaten, was He surprised? When they nailed Jesus to the cross was He surprised? When Jesus cried out to God and asked why God had forsaken Him was He angry and surprised? What did Jesus do in those times? What did He tell Peter to do? Follow Me! Follow Jesus because Jesus always has and always will follow the will of Our Heavenly Father. What are we to do? Jesus said, “Follow Me!”
Jesus had given Peter a great gift of knowing that he was going to live to be an elderly man. “Follow Me” was not a directive for when Peter was young and nor was it a suggestion for Peter when he got older. Jesus says the same thing to us all who are searching for contentment.
“Follow Me.” Stay so close behind Jesus that you are shadowing Him or walking so close behind Jesus that you are sheltered in the shadow of His presence. Don’t follow from a great distance where you have to have binoculars to see Jesus. Stay close!
If Jesus takes a turn to the right and you see something to the left that is attractive, stay surrendered to His will and not your own. You might see someone who seems to be having an easier time than you are.
When Jesus is heading to a place of trial what do you do? When it was Jesus’ time of trial He went headlong into it even as Peter insisted that he would prevent Jesus from suffering. When the going got tough Peter got going and even denied knowing Jesus.
When we follow Jesus there will be times of testing and trials for us too. In Jesus’ time of testing He prayed for another way that He could stay obedient to God The Father without feeling the rejection. There was no other way.
Jesus wanted His friends, including Peter, to simply stay awake and watch while He had a quiet time of prayer for spiritual strength. He had already surrendered to His Father’s will but Jesus wanted to know that His friends had his back. Sometimes they don’t.
Sometimes you will find yourself in a place where nobody can help even though you want them nearby. It is then that we really understand surrender. It is so easy to find yourself in a place where you have not even come up to your own expectations and the blame game begins. If I could have done this alone by myself this would not have happened but it did happen and now there is nobody to blame and I can’t accept the guilt. That’s what we like to think.
Jesus really is guiltless. The guilt that Jesus carried on the cross was my guilt. How can we know what He did for us and not accept the blame when things don’t work the way we planned?
Surrender! Not only when you are wrong but even when you know that you are right and it turns out wrong. Surrender! Jesus said “Follow Me.” Never in Jesus’ instructions to Peter did Jesus say defend yourself. In fact, when Peter said that he was going to prevent anyone from attacking Jesus, Peter was told to stand down. Surrender!
Is there ever a time to not surrender? Is there anything worth not surrendering? There is a time to not surrender and The God that loves you will let you know what is worth standing for. His name is Jesus.
So what did Jesus do when he heard of his great gift? John 21:20 “Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple lwhom Jesus loved following; mwhich also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?" [2]
Peter still had much of Simon left in him. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem before making a move but Simon Peter was still ready with his insistence even after all that he had been through. What about that guy! I hear what you’re saying to me but I’m more interested in what others have or will have than what I’ve been promised. What about John!
Prayer:
Invitation: John 21:22 “Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he ntarry otill I come, what is that to thee? kfollow thou me.” [3] Jesus says to us, “Mind your own relationship to Me!” Follow Me!
If you keep your eye on somebody else’s prize you will never see your Savior. Follow Jesus! He is the greatest gift that has ever been given to you. He is greater than salvation and greater than heaven. Walk in His shadow and the light will not expose your weakness.
Walk where you only see what others are doing and the exposure will blind you from seeing what Jesus could have for you. If you want to trip and fall down, watch the pastor and his wife. Watch the other people here. If you want to walk in confidence of His mercy and grace for you then follow Jesus. If you have been doing otherwise now is the time to reset your focus on Jesus as I intend to do. Respond as we sing…
f Comp. ch. 13:36.
g ver. 7.
h Comp. ch. 7:39. & 12:33.
i 2 Pet. 1:14.
h Comp. ch. 7:39. & 12:33.
k ch. 13:36. Comp. Matt. 4:19. & 16:24.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 21:18–19). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
g ver. 7.
l See ch. 13:23.
m So ch. 13:25.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 21:20–22). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
n 1 Cor. 15:6. Phil. 1:25 in the Gk.
o Matt. 16:28. 1 Cor. 4:5. & 11:26. Rev. 2:5. & 3:11. & 22:7, 12, 20.
k ch. 13:36. Comp. Matt. 4:19. & 16:24.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 21:22). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
