Amen. So open your Bibles tonight to the Gospel of John chapter 21. I have not forgotten that we haven't completely finished John yet. I want to begin reading in verse 13 of John 21. Jesus then cometh and taketh bread and giveth them and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had died, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He sayeth unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He sayeth unto him, feed my lambs. He sayeth to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He sayeth unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He sayeth unto him, feed my sheep. He sayeth unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou wouldest. For when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee. and carry thee whither thou wouldest not this fake he signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this he saith unto him follow me my title this morning is the return of Peter. The return of Peter. I take this title because Jesus said in Luke 22, Simon, Simon. Satan hath desired to have thee that he may sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen your brethren. The word converted means to return. A turning, a repentance, a change of direction, a reversal. Now. Conversion is not an ongoing experience when we think about coming to faith in Jesus Christ for the first time, when one of God's people is regenerated and they come to faith in Christ, that is a conversion experience that is a one time experience. But from that point on, like in the case of Peter, we are returning. returning and turning, we are coming again and again to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so in this sense, Peter has reached the point through the words of Christ that he is. returning to the Lord Jesus Christ and Christ is strengthening him so that he's ready to strengthen and encourage and establish the brethren. This word is used in many different ways. The English word conversion in the book of Acts to turn and to return in Acts 15. Paul told Barnabas, let us go again and visit the disciples. To go again means to return, simply means let's go back, let's return again to the place where we came from. And then Peter uses the Greek word when he says, you were a sheep going astray, but now have you returned to the shepherd and bishop of your souls? And so all of us need a restoration, a returning continually to Jesus Christ. We need renewal. We need, as Psalm 23 says, he restoreth my soul. Something in our experience we need time and time again and to be used of God. Like Peter, to strengthen others, albeit not in. an apostolic office, but yet with your spiritual gifts in the church of God and the kingdom of God to be used of God means that Jesus is going to strengthen your faith to Jesus is going to bring you through similar processes, similar experiences so that you may keep returning to the Lord Jesus Christ as he draws you and he equips you to strengthen the brethren. Now, there are three things I want us to note in these passages we read tonight. the return of Peter by way of confidence. Secondly, the return of Peter by way of grief. And then thirdly, the return of Peter by way of weakness. First, by way of confidence. Now, this is the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. And the number three is no mistake with Jesus Christ when it comes to Peter. It was three different times that he called Peter to follow him early in the ministry. One of those would have been the call to the apostolic office. But three times he told him to follow him. One time he left his net. The next time he forsook all to follow Jesus Christ, and the third time he called Him to be an apostle. of Jesus Christ. It was three times that Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, watch and pray. And he found Peter asleep three times. It's three times that Jesus Christ is going to ask him, lovest thou me? It's three times that Peter will respond because it was three times that Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is using these questions to bring Peter back to a full return. not where he was in self-confidence, but with a confidence in Christ. The first question is designed to note that fact in verse 15. So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? That's exactly what Peter had claimed, wasn't it? Although all may be offended this night, yet not will I be offended. Now, can't you see Peter pointing to the other disciples? All these may be offended tonight. Others may depart from you. But I will not be offended. I am ready to die for you, Jesus Christ." In other words, Jesus, I love you more than these. And so Jesus poses the question very directly, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these other men here with you around the fire eating the fish and the bread? Peter's problem was that of self-confidence. We see some of that in chapter 21, although now his confidence is a confidence in Christ. He's the first one to jump out of the water to go see Jesus. He's the first one when Jesus says, bring of the fish you have caught, he goes and he takes of the fish and brings them to Jesus Christ. He's usually the first one to speak, as he did on the Mount of Transfiguration. And he says, let us make three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for you, Lord. And God spoke and said, this is my beloved son. Hear ye him. Peter was often impetuous and quick and hasty. He was a man of great self-confidence. But in order to strengthen the brethren, he needs to become a man of great Christ-confidence. No longer a self-confidence, but a confidence in Jesus Christ. You can see now his confidence in Christ by his answer to the question. Three times he draws attention to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He would not say directly, I love you, Jesus. But his answer is designed to tell Jesus that by resting on Jesus love and Jesus knowledge of his love. He saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love you. As if to say, Lord. You know how weak I am. I know that I failed you. And you know better than myself that my love for you is not what it should be. But you know that I love you. Oh, how stabilizing it is for us to rely upon, stand upon, and have confidence in the love of Jesus Christ for us, in the knowledge of Christ for us, in His grace for us, which is unending, unchanging, immovable, rock solid, So that even on that days when you feel like your heart is condemning you, when you feel like your conscience is pressing upon you, maybe in a way that it shouldn't be. Because sometimes as God's people, we can feel a guilt that we shouldn't feel, and sometimes we should feel guilt that we don't feel. But Peter is going to be strengthened by the experience in his return to the Lord by coming to the place where he's no longer looking to his own ability, his own confidence, his own self. As he often did, as we see through those periods of three years as a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, he now is going to rest more fully, more confidently on Jesus' knowledge of him and Jesus' love for him. John, the same apostle that writes the gospel, And 1 John chapter 3 speaks about this confidence more than once in this epistle when he wants to tell us about the confidence in the knowledge of God, His love and what He knows. Turn to 1 John chapter 3. Verse 18, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Let's not just love with our words only and say we love Jesus and say we love our brother. Let us love in deed, action and in the truth of God. And the result will be hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. Now, some people approach this epistle And they come away with a lack of confidence because they see those texts that are designed to confirm our salvation. And they end up looking at themselves and becoming introverted and walk away with a lack of assurance. But John writes this letter that you may know that you have eternal life. And that you may assure your hearts before him. But John is not going to give us a false standard whereby to assess things. He wants us to assess it in light of the truth of Christ, his knowledge, his love and his power. The problem is all too often I'm looking at my love, my deeds, my faith, something about me and I lose confidence. But John always wants to direct our faith to look at Jesus Christ and make the adjustment in our life by what we see in him, which will help us to see our weaknesses and failures. So he says, I want you to be assured of the truth and your hearts before him that is before Christ. Verse 20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Now, in one sense, your heart could be your conscience here condemns you because you're not loving indeed in truth, you're just loving in word, and that's the case. That's a good guilt. That's something we need to look to the cross and confess our sins and turn from it. But also sometimes because your conscience is not infallible, it's not a completely reliable guide. It's not that we should always let conscience be your guide. Conscience must be informed from the word of truth. And so there may be times when your conscience is giving you guilt and maybe it's a misplaced guilt. So how would we know if our conscience is fallibly telling us you're condemned, you're condemned? We go back to the word of truth. So he says this. If your heart is condemning you in a way that is not accurate, God is greater than your heart and your conscience. And he knoweth all things. He knoweth all things. Now, that's what Peter's resting in in our text. Lord, you know all things, you know, That my love is not what it should be. Now, how would that give Peter confidence? And what kind of love does God expect? How could you find confidence with a God that says, love me with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength? And Peter says, I just I don't have that kind of love for you. You know my weakness. You know that what's lacking in my love. And yet Peter is supposed to have a confidence now to go out and strengthen the brethren with a confidence that says. I don't measure up. What kind of measure of love does God require? The kind of love that Peter has, is that the kind of love that God accepts, what kind of love will God accept as his throne of judgment, what kind of love will God say, you know, I think that's good enough, you've loved me as good as you could come on into the pearly gates and. Rest with me. You see, John's point. in John 21 and here is that we know that God knows all things. The first thing we know about God in Christ is that his love is infallible. His love is eternal. We know God. Which is another way of love in John's theology, because he says we love God because he first loved us. We know God because he first knew us. And so we're resting in his knowledge of us, his love for us. And we know because of Christ's love for us, his love measures up to the standard of God. His righteousness measures up to God's standard. And so it's not that I need to look at my love and say, how much love will God accept in order to be right with God? Jesus has made me right with God. And so it's not about the degree of my love. It's about pursuing love, walking in love, as John says, continuing in love and continuing in good. And John makes a similar statement with the word confidence in First John, 228, when he says this, and now little children abide in him that when he shall appear, we may have confidence. And not be ashamed before him that is coming, just have confidence of the coming of Christ. Now, what kind of love do you think you could look to in yourself and have confidence when Jesus comes? He says, you know what? You have been loving enough all your life to meet the standard. I can't say that. And you can't either. But verse 29 helps us have this confidence. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of God. And if you're born of God, you're righteous already. You have faith in Christ and his righteousness has been imputed to you. And so he is righteous for you. And therefore, your confidence is not in the degree of your love. Your confidence is not in the degree of good deeds you've done. Your confidence is that Jesus knows all things. He knows. How much you've loved, but he also knows it was his love, his life that counts for yours, and that's Peter's confidence now, you know, in the past, he was looking to himself. And now he's looking to the knowledge of Christ, the love of Christ, the righteousness of Christ. And in that now he has the strength. To strengthen the brethren. He now has the confidence to strengthen the brethren, how would you like someone to give you confidence by talking about their confidence in themselves? That's not going to get you very far. You think Peter is ready now to say to the Christians as he strengthens them and writes those epistles, say, brethren, if you just do it like I did, what you need to do is pull yourself up by the bootstraps. When the going gets tough, the tough get going and you just need to keep pressing on. That never has helped me. Never has. I know my week. I know I can't keep going on. I know if I look to myself, there's no way that I could keep running the race. But the Bible doesn't say look to yourself to run races. Look to Jesus Christ. Look away from yourself. Peter now is ready to strengthen other Christians with the strength that God supplies because. He knows that Jesus knows all things and knows that He truly loves him, even though that love is lacking. Jesus, how could you accept such a love as Peter's that's lacking? Because God has accepted Peter on the basis of the love of Christ and the deeds of Christ and the righteousness of Christ. That's how you're accepted. That'll give you a soft pillow to lay your head on at night. Has your conscience ever said to you, you know what, I'm just not doing enough deeds, I'm not doing enough good. You know, brother, so and so, he's so much better than I am. And then you start taking that to the place where you're really thinking that you need to do enough good so God would love you. You need to do enough deeds so God would accept you. You need to do enough righteousness so God will have you. Now, when we see that there's deeds lacking in our life, what needs to happen? We need to confess, repent and return and start doing the truth that Jesus calls us to. But not by expecting or thinking that somehow that deed is going to make a difference with God. It won't. You can't do enough deeds. You can't love enough. You can't be right enough on your own. You can't be strong enough. You can't talk enough. You can't have a knowledge of the truth enough. What you need is a perfect savior that became your penal substitution, which means in a law room, law courtroom, he was your. Penalty for you, he bore the penalty, you don't have to bear the penalty, there is therefore now no condemnation that are in Christ Jesus and never will be no penalty whatsoever. For those who are in Christ, the wrath of God has been absorbed on your behalf. So this is how we know we are of the truth. And when your conscience condemns you rightfully, confess it. If it condemns you wrongfully, go back to the Word of God and it says these things about Christ. And when you find your stability in His love, His righteousness, His knowledge, the upshot is that it will make and produce deeds in your life. You see, we're not negating the fact that the Bible tells us to do good works. We're talking about how they come. See, if you look at yourself, they won't come. You'll be fearful. You'll be distressed. You'll be in despair. I'm not doing enough. But if you find the joy that's in Christ's righteousness, then they start flowing. Like we said this morning, when you're with God, then you're with Christ. And when Christ is with you, his righteousness is for you. And when it's for you, you don't have to pay that debt. It's been paid. You can't pay that debt. And in that joy, John says in first John one for what happens. You start bearing fruit, you start doing good deeds, you start doing good works. Oh, beloved, it makes so much difference of how you think about what you're doing and how you're relating and having fellowship with God. Peter was having fellowship with himself because, by and large, he was self-confident. I love you more than these guys. I don't know about them, but I'll never do that. So Jesus says, Peter, do you want to confess that again? Are you still that confident? He basically says, no, I'm not. You know, you know that I love you, Lord. And so in 1 John 3, verse 21, then he says, Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. If our conscience is condemning us and we look to Christ's love and his righteousness and his knowledge to help our conscience, then when our conscience does not condemn us because we have a clear sight of Christ, how much more then do we have confidence toward God? So Peter is returning. He's returned. And now he's resting in the love of Christ. He's resting in the ability of Christ. He's resting in Christ like the true vine. And Peter is a branch for which he draws the life giving sap. of the life of Christ day by day to do anything good and beloved, if we try to do anything good on our own without faith in Christ, without a branch to a vine, God says you're relying on yourself and it's sin rather than faith. And so be encouraged with Peter that. We may have confidence in Jesus Christ, the second thing in John, Twenty one is that this return happens by way of grief. The third time. That Jesus asked this question, it was grieving. To Peter. And so John records. In verse 17, Peter was grieved because he had said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith, feed my sheep. He was grieved. The word grieved is to experience pain or sadness, sorrow. Now, beloved, that was Jesus intent. was to cause grief for Peter. That's the whole reason he said it three times. He was aiming at Peter having sorrow because godly sorrow work with repentance. So Jesus so loves Peter that he's going to give him short term pain so they can experience long term peace. We do that all the time just in the world we live in. We will take medicines and take shots and go through procedures that hurt. Some of the terminology and things I've been hearing lately of some of the brothers in the church going through makes me a little bit apprehensive about growing older. When Brother Jesse told me they chiseled his vein, I thought, I never heard of chiseling a vein. I thought you gently poke it or you just kind of easy push the stuff out. But chisel a vein? Never would have used that word. Chisel. But the short term pain We're trusting is going to give Brother Jesse a long term health, longer term health. So we do that all the time. Jesus wants us to have short term pain and grief to experience the outcome of that grief, which is a return to him. Now, you can do one of a few things when you experience. A guilt that is good. It's not your conscience fallibly informing you. It's what the word of God says is truly a guilt you should own. You can just deny it. Say, well, you know, I just I'm just having a bad day. And, you know, my this this feeling of guilt I have is just it's just something that's that's not true. And you ignore it. Secondly, you could redefine sin. That's what some people do. You try to use different terminology and they say, well, I'm just sick. I've got a disease or, you know, it wasn't exactly the best thing to do in this case. Could have done something better. All kinds of words that our culture will bring in for people who commit sin. And we adopt the words of our culture sometimes. We say, well, I've got a disease. What's your disease? I can't stop saying evil things about people. Well, no, the Bible says that's sin. Say, I'm sick. I've got a sickness that I need some help with. What's your problem? Well, I can't stop looking at images that are not good for me. Well, the Bible calls that sin. And so if we don't call it sin, guess what? You don't have a remedy. And you don't have a savior to deal with it. But the best thing you can possibly do is say it's sin because there's a remedy for sin and his name is Jesus Christ. When Christians are convinced that they don't have sin, when the Bible clearly says they do, what happens? Long term pain is what they're after. a departure from Jesus Christ rather than a return through a short, short term grief. Paul writes about this in his epistle to the church at Corinth when he said he was he wrote to make them sorry for their attitude and for their sin against God. So Second Corinthians chapter seven, he says these words for though and verse eight, for though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent. Though I did repent or I perceived that the same epistle had made you sorry, though it were but for a season. At first, he was sorry, but then he decided, you know, it was the best thing because your sorrow was just short lived. short term pain Paul saw was long term benefit for the church of Corinth. Now, if Paul doesn't write the letter, Paul says, you know what? It's just not my place to tell them that. I mean, I know I'm an apostle, but, you know, I don't think they're going to listen and they're too far gone. And anybody would look at that church and say this church is going downhill. Now, would you have applied for membership at this church? So, you know, I want to be a member of Corinth. Let me tell you what's going on here. OK, I think I'll go somewhere else. But, you know, Paul never told anybody to leave that church. It was reported to me in the house of Chloe. You never told Chloe, you know what? Run. He said, no, love these people. Work through it, love them. So it made you sorry for a season, a short while. Jesus made Peter sorrowful, grieved for a short season so that he could gain something in the process. Verse nine. Now rejoice, not that you were made sorry. That wasn't my joy. I know sometimes you You meet people and you think they're just happy that I'm sorrowful. That was not Paul. I didn't rejoice because you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance, turning, change, returning to Jesus Christ. For you were made sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow work is repentance to salvation. Not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. There is a sorrow of the world that does not have God as its aim or Jesus Christ. There are people that are sorry all the time. There are people that feel guilt all the time, but their guilt is not associated with sin against a savior. It's associated with hurting a person. And that's that's not saying that's a bad sorrow to not feeling the pain because you hurt someone when a society gets to the point where they can just run over people and treat people with evil and never feel any guilt. The conscience is not functioning as God designed it. The conscience is vanishing. But for a believer, it's more than just I'm sorry I hurt you. It's a sorrow directed Godward, or it could be just the sorrow of the world. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry that happened. I'm sorry I got called. I'm sorry that I'm in jail. I'm sorry that I got hurt by what I did. Paul says it's godly sorrow. So verse 11, for behold, this self same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort, a godly manner or a God word sort. It was a sorrow, a grief and a pain that Peter felt connected to whom Jesus Christ. What was the biggest pain that Peter was experiencing? It had nothing to do with a human being. It had nothing to do at this point with a consequence, although he got some. He lived with some things that he didn't forget. It had one thing to do with it was against the Savior that he desperately loved. It was the pain of sinning against Jesus, the one who died for him, the one who loved him, the one who knew him, the one who was his wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. He had sinned against His Savior. What was David's greatest pain? In the sin against Bathsheba and against Uriah. Having Him slain. And against the people of Israel for which he received great consequence. The death of a child. Warfare would not depart from his own household. His greatest, greatest pain above everything was I've sinned against God, my savior. I have despised God. That must be the aim of our repentance. That must be the focus for it to be a godly sorrow, Peter is grieved because he knows he has not loved Jesus as he should. He knows he was self-confident. He knows he ran from Christ. He knows that he left him. He knows all about his sin, and it grieves him. Beloved, it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, not even the threat of hell. Nobody repents because of hell alone. The threat of hell can move us in the right direction. Jesus uses that often in his teaching. He reminds us of the reality. of what's coming to unrepentant people that can move us and start us down the path of repentance. But it's the goodness of God that leads us and moves us to repent. It's Jesus Christ that moves us. It is God himself that we have so defamed and belittled with our sin. If we don't call sin, sin, then it will not produce a godly soul. The Holy Spirit is going to use his word, his truth about Jesus, the son of God, to prick our hearts and to bring us to the place of repentance and what pricked the hearts in Acts chapter two. Was it, man, you've ruined the traditions. You have messed up your family life. You've ruined all your Israelite friends and all that you've done. No, you crucified the man that died for you. And it pricked them. And it produced what? Repentance, returning, change, conversion and joy. All because of a message Peter preached. Now look at the upshot of their repentance that's going to work out in Peter's life too. Verse 11. You sorrowed after a godly manner. What carefulness it wrought in you. Carefulness is eagerness and earnestness. You see, true repentance is going to produce some things in someone's life. There's a false repentance. I'm sorry, I've sinned. Pharaoh said that. I've sinned against the Lord. But it never produced this stuff in his life, which means it was just a false repentance. John the Baptist said, bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. There'll be a fruit in your life. It may take a while to express that. And so we're not waiting for people to show that fruit before we restore people, before we accept forgiveness and give forgiveness and seek repentance, says forgiven. But there should be a fruit that's coming out of the life of someone who has experienced godly sorrow, eagerness for God's glory, eagerness and earnestness to serve God. Yea, what clearing of yourselves apology is the word to give an answer, except now it's no longer a defense of self. We've done that right. What do you mean is sin? Was her fault was his fault. We are good at giving a defense apology, but here now the apology to give an answer to give a defense is an answer of a confession of sin. You confessed it. They answered rightly. Their godly sorrow brought what? We've sinned against God and are no more worthy to be called his son. Yea, what indignation against their own sin and against sin in general it brought. Yea, what fear, fear of God it brought. Yea, what vehement desire, a longing for Paul himself, which they had pushed aside. They longed to see Paul. Now it was a longing to honor God. Yea, what zeal, passion for God's glory, yea, what revenge in all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter, not a revenge on other people, but a revenge on their own sin, a wanting to put it away, a wanting to to trust God, a wanting to serve again. And so they prove themselves to be clear. What was the proof of the clearance? It was a godly sorrow that led to some activity. in their life. Peter, you can tell when he writes his epistles, Peter, you can tell him the book of Acts is a man that returned to Christ with a true, genuine sorrow. He's grieved, but his grief is a short season, a short term that led him to a long term restoration and peace with God. But that's a perpetual process, isn't it? Repentance should be that godly sorrow that we find from God's word. We've offended God. We've sinned against God. And then that sorrow should lead us to restoration, should lead us to more fruit bearing, should lead us to more joy in Christ because we find that we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. See, what is God requiring when you sin? A year to make it right. Is it requiring so many good deeds and so many acts of love before you get forgiveness from your father? No, just confession. Agreement with God. Peter is agreeing with Jesus now. He's grieved. I've sinned. And now he's agreeing with the remedy. It's Jesus Christ. It's the knowledge of Christ. It's the love of Christ. And then lastly, he's going to be restored. He's going to return through weakness. Because that's where Christ is bringing him to in his conversion experience, in the sifting of the devil. He's going to pray that his faith does not fail. And when it doesn't fail, And when you are returned, the experience of that return and what Christ is after in Peter's life is for him to strengthen others, to strengthen others. So after the questioning of Jesus and Peter's response, because Jesus designed for Peter as an apostle to shepherd the sheep, to be an oversight of the sheep, to feed the sheep with the word of God in the apostolic office, what he needed to do that was confidence. What he needed was restoration through grief. And now what he needs to be very weak. to be very weak in order to do so. And so verse 18 says, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, you girded yourself. You walked wherever you wanted to walk. But when you shall be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee, whither thou wouldest not. Now, he spake this signifying what death, Peter, was going to glorify God. And that's what death should do, shouldn't it? Your death and my death should glorify God. It's not the case for every single Christian, but it should be a moment in time at the end of life that our life is going to glorify God. Now, Jesus here doesn't say exactly how he's going to die, and some say he was crucified upside down. That's not in the scripture. That's what many people have said through writings that have been written, extra biblical writings may be true. You can't hang your hat on that. But we do know this. Jesus is expressing something about Peter that he would be weak where he was once strong in himself. Now he would be weak and he expresses it by a willingness to stretch forth his hands and let someone bind him and carry him and lead him to a place that he would not choose normally himself. Now, it doesn't mean he's fighting and kicking, saying, I don't want to die that way because that wouldn't be glorifying to God. When you stretch forth your hands, you're putting out your hand saying, take me, Lord, where you want me to go. Take me to the death you've designed for me. Take me to the place you want me to go. Now, when Peter was young, he was self-confident and. A proud burly fisherman. And he just simply went where he wanted to go and did that which he pleased. But Jesus said now through this experience, he would become weak so that the strength of Christ would be seen and known through Peter and he would glorify him in his death. You know, Peter. Spoken. or wrote, rather, in 1 Peter chapter 5 about humbling yourself into the mighty hand of God. When I think he's using terminology about this very chapter, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, he tells the elders of that day, feed the flock of God and take the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre's sake, but with a ready mind. Peter was ready to take the oversight of the flock of God. Peter, as an apostle, was willing, ready and confident in what? In Jesus Christ. How? Through humility, weakness. There's no place for self-confidence in a pastor or church members. We need to battle that. Peter's not saying, Brethren, just be confident and feed the flock of God. He says, Be humble under the mighty hand of God. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves to the older. Yea, every one of you submit yourself to one another. Be clothed with humility, a lowliness, a weakness that Peter came through to through this experience. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. And then he says to resist the devil, who's like a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour. And who is it that the devil so easily devours? God resisted the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. When we become self-confident, like Peter was, what happened? The devil came in and rustled him up and chewed on him. Spit him out. Now, the only reason Peter's faith didn't fail is because the intercessor Christ prayed that it did not fail. But in Peter's pride and self-confidence, young men, what happened? He fell. He fell because the devil preys on proud men and women. And as J.C. Ryle writes in his book, Thoughts for Young Men, young men, your greatest, greatest threat at young age is pride. Of course, I can say that from experience, and it doesn't just go away because you hit your 40s and 50s. The greatest threat for young men is self-confidence and pride. Be aware of that, because the devil is seeking to devour you and to chew you up with his jaws. So Peter comes to the place of weakness. He writes about his own humility and he says, be clothed with humility, clothe yourself with it. Put it on every day. Humbleness of mind, lowliness, meekness, long suffering. Be humble as a pastor. Be humble as a church member. Yea, the younger submit yourselves. Every one of you yield to one another or the devil will chew you up and devour. And then Peter says, but the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that you suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you." Peter uses the same Greek word for strengthen the brethren in Luke 22 that he does in 1 Peter 5, 10. See, the return of Peter was also the perfecting of Peter. How is God going to perfect you? How is God going to make you more complete? How is God going to bring you to greater weakness, greater confidence in Christ? It's through. grief and sorrow of repentance, but it's also so through trial and hardship and challenges and difficulty as he continues to push out the self-confidence and show us our weaknesses so we can get lower and lower and lower so that we can look up and see Christ higher and higher and higher. So he says it's a short season. He's called you to glory. So the calling ensures that all that are called all get to glory. Those that are called are justified and those that are justified are glorified. So the called affectionately by God make it to glory and on the pathway from the calling to glory is a pathway of perfecting through what? The jaws of the devil. The persecution of the Roman Empire, which is the backdrop of first Peter, the whole epistle. through suffering according to the will of God, 1 Peter chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 3. If you suffer according to the will of God, through suffering, through trial, through pain, Peter's going to suffer in his death. But he's going to come to the place of weakness that he's relying upon what? The God of all grace. He's relying upon the God of all grace. He knows that he's been called. He knows that he's headed for glory by the righteousness of Christ. And now he knows that God is just perfecting him. God is perfecting him. And Peter wanted to strengthen you today, you tonight in 2012 on this day. He wanted to perfect you and to tell you that God is going to perfect you the very same way that he did Peter. Maybe the devil is going to sift us, maybe there'll be other ways which we are tested and tried so we can discover more of our self-confidence, more of our weakness and more of those things we need to grieve over. And through that process, we find Peter writing that God is making us more like Christ so we can have more joy in Christ and so that we then would be able to strengthen one another. You know, you could go talk to somebody who has simply head knowledge and they could tell you about what to do and how to handle the situation from Scripture, which is fine. If that's all we have at a certain point of life, then that's good. But when you're sitting across from someone who knows the Bible, but also knows the experience of the ways of God through trials, There's something about what they're saying and telling you that they can enter into and they can know what you're dealing with. Now, that's not required. A person can help and encourage straight from scripture. But God is going to bring through you through trials and process so that when you strengthen the brethren, you're using a word that you experience comfort from yourself by the trial that you went through. Second Corinthians chapter one. Paul says the God of all comfort that comforts us in all of our trials. What does he do? He brings you through the trial so that you could comfort other people with the same comfort that you received of God during your process of being perfected. That's how God works. Paul says my suffering. My being perfected was so that when you're suffering, I can comfort you with the same comfort that I received of God, and where did he get that from a word spoken? From Scripture, from a truth spoken. from someone else. From God speaking to him through the truth. And now God was equipping Paul to be better able to comfort others when they went through the same struggles. Some for which you have gone through. Some for which you could help someone and strengthen them in their race in looking to Jesus Christ. Not by saying, this is what I did. Not by saying, this is what I think you should do. But by saying, this is what God did through His Word. How that strengthens us to know. You mean God came to you? Yes, and he said he's going to do the same. Maybe a different way, but his truth is it abides still. He's going to be with you and help you through the trial. And so Peter writes. First and second, Peter, as a result. Largely upon not only the Holy Spirit that inspired him, but through you can see his experience. through the trials he went through and through this return to Jesus Christ. So the return of Peter was by means of confidence, confidence in Christ. Secondly, it was through grief. So the grief that we experience through repentance and sorrow or the grief of trial, God is using the pain and the grief and the sorrow to bring about a turning again and again to bring about a drawing closer to him and then by weakness. Peter would stretch out his arms and somebody else was going to carry him. And we look in Scripture, we find that Jesus in Isaiah 40, when it talks about the Messiah, He gathers the lambs in His bosom and He carries them all the day long. He carries. So Peter just needed to rest in the power and sufficiency and the supremacy of Christ. But to do that, He had to come to the place of what weakness, lowliness, humility, because nobody is going to climb up into the arms of another if they think I can carry myself. That's what Peter thought. But now he knows I need somebody to carry me. Do you? Let's pray.