Giving
Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
The biblical teaching of stewardship involves more than the practice of tithing faithfully and bringing generous offerings.
“Stewardship Includes Everything” is what we will be discussing over the coming weeks.
Today we are talking about The Courage to Say Yes.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, You have given first to us.
Though we can never repay you, we do rejoice that we can bring our gifts to you.
As you take our offerings and use them to bless your world, we thank you that we can be partners with you and with one another in touching the people of the world.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
John 21:21-22 NKJV
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
Scripture Reading
John 21:15-22 NKJV
Jesus Restores Peter
15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 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.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
The Beloved Disciple and His Book
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
Introduction
I have discovered over time that the key to answering many of the questions concerning my life as a Christian is knowing when to say yes and when to say no.
Courage to say no is not always easy to come by, but having the courage to say yes when you are called to give your best may be even harder than saying no to the dark temptations of life.
Our text today confronts us squarely with the challenge to say yes.
- Peter wanted to say yes but it was difficult because he had failed before.
- Biblical background.
Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?”
Three times He asked the burning question.
At first glance it appears that Peter indeed said, “Yes, Lord, I do love You.”
But a closer look at the Greek text reveals that Peter was avoiding commitment.
Jesus had asked him, “Peter, do you agape me?”
“Do you have the highest spiritual devotion me?”
Peter replied, “Lord, I know that I phileo you”
“I have warm brotherly affection for you.”
Perhaps Peter remembered his heartfelt but unkept promise, “I will lay down my life for you”.
He had talked more than he could perform.
Now he was more sheepish in his response.
He wanted more than anything to serve his Lord, but how could he say, “Yes, I will love you,” when he failed so miserably before in the hour of his Lord’s crisis?
So when Jesus asked Peter the third time, “Do you love Me?” He used Peter’s word, phileo.
Peter must have been pierced to the heart by Jesus’ willingness to accept what Peter could say even if it was not all his Lord had a right to expect from him.
Peter’s dark failure in the night of his Lord’s agony haunted him.
But Jesus would not leave Peter in his defeat.
He needed Peter’s yes at the level Peter was willing to begin.
So with great tenderness our Lord gave His broken servant a new task.
“Feed my lambs,” Jesus said to him.
“Tend My sheep.”
B. Illustration.
Many people won’t go to church even when they admit they have a need for it.
Often it is because they feel they have failed to live up to their commitment to God from the point of their salvation.
They give up making promises to God, or in fact any promises at all.
They are left in failure because they would not hear the call of Jesus to leave their failure behind and follow Him.
C. Application.
Many people have made commitments to serve Jesus Christ as a missionary, a Sunday school teacher, as a deacon, or as a faithful steward of the possessions God has given.
And many have failed to keep their commitments.
If you are one who has failed before, what would Jesus say to you?
I believe He would ask you, as He asked Peter, “Do you love Me? Then do My work, follow Me and feed My sheep.”
2. The courage to say yes must not depend on another person’s response.
- “What about this man?”
The disciple John was closely watching this exchange between Peter and Jesus.
Peter turned to John and then back to Jesus and asked, “What about him?”
I know that feeling.
Weary and doing all I can do, I sometimes get discouraged because of others around me who seem to do so little.
Jesus replied, “What is that to you, Peter? Follow Me.”
It is irritation to be around people who are always willing to cruise by on someone else’s work.
Some of us grow weary in well doing and are tempted to judge the inadequate or faithless response of others as justification for our reluctance to say, “Yes, Lord. You can count on me.”
B. It is time to act.
This church would be full if we are inviting people to come on Sunday’s.
I know some of us are inviting people, but most aren’t.
Some people you ask won’t come, some might.
What is stopping you?
Are you embarrassed by your church?
Are you embarrassed by your faith?
Are you embarrassed by your God?
It doesn’t matter whether someone is homeless or a multimillionaire, God loves them, and in this house they will be all treated the same way, with love.
3. The courage to say yes is necessary if we are to be victorious.
- No victories can be won unless we learn to say, “Yes, I am available to serve.”
In our church we are faced with a remarkable challenge.
If we were less brave, or if our cause were not so crucial, we might be tempted to run and hide, or maybe take time away from our church responsibilities.
B. God has called us to be His church right here, right now.
We need to say yes to His call to make a difference in this community and throughout the world.
Jesus has the heart of a shepherd.
He seek lost sheep.
Frightened or hungry sheep are the object of His special care.
So when Jesus asked Peter to take care of His sheep, He was calling him to join in the task of the Great Shepherd.
Great causes do not move forward without great commitment.
It is a risk when we set on the journey to do more than we have ever done before.
There is always the possibility of embarrassment if we fail.
But we can never know the glory of victory if we are unwilling to risk defeat.
We as Christians must believe that if God is in the task, it does not matter who is against us.
We must nurture the flock to maturity in Christ.
We must search of ran open place in the Hearst of others where we can enter in Christ’s name.
Single adults who are afraid that life will never make sense must be reached by this church.
Families who are holding on by their fingertips must be reached by this church.
Young people who are desperate for assurance that they are loved must be reached by this church.
Conclusion.
When Jesus asks, “Do you love Me?” Commit yourself to caring, sharing, giving, and loving!
Although it is not easy to say yes, don’t hold back.
He will give you the courage to say yes because He believes that you, too, can follow Him.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
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So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
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