First Baptist Church of Westwood Lake
Restored
John 21:15-17 KJV
Mistakes will make us or break us! We often fear failure! The fact is that failure can become a friend if it leads us back to Christ. We came to Christ in the first place because of failure.
What Caused Peter to Fail?
1. Self Confidence and Self Reliance
- Simon Peter boasted to the Lord that "all of these fellows may deny you Lord, but not me. I’m the one man that you can count on"
- He was so proud and arrogant that he was in the garden fighting with physical weapons
- He took his eyes off the Lord and started putting his eyes on himself
2. Prayerlessness
- Jesus called Peter and several others in the garden to pray with him and to stay with him in that time of agony, but Simon Peter fell asleep
- Jesus said "Could you not of wait with Me for one hour?"
- Our self confidence leads to our lack of dependence upon the Lord and prayer
- We try to fight the culture battle with physical weapons rather than spiritual weapons
- The way we will win is on our knees
3. He Followed at a Distance
- His overconfidence and his prayerlessness led him away from his Savior
- Psalm 1 says "Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly"
- The way to spiritual success in your life is to follow Christ as nearly and dearly as you can
4. Rebellion Against God
- The moment he denied Christ the third time, warming his hands by the fire, he knew he was in rebellion against God
- The consequence of rebellion and denial of Jesus Christ is misery in the heart
- The most miserable condition of all is to know Jesus Christ and yet deny or fail Him in some way
Jesus gives 3 Tests
John 21:15 KJV
Peter's First Test
"Go feed.." was the thought of caring for, watching over, looking after
"..my lambs" were the young, new converts to believe in Jesus
"Go feed my lambs" wasto be concerned for their spiritual growth and welfare
John 21:16 KJV
Peter's Second Test
He used the same word for "love," "...do you love me?..."
Peter answers in the same way, "...you know that I love you..."
Peter is reminding the Lord to look at his past behavior
Again Jesus tells Peter to "...feed my sheep"
John 21:17 KJV
Peter's Third Test
Jesus used a different word for "love" this time. It was the word Peter had used when answering Jesus, which was a word for human care and affection. "Peter, do you really care about me, do you really care for me?..."
This time Peter answered in a way that left no doubt as to his love of and loyalty to Jesus