1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,400 Hey, I need to ask you something. 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:09,560 Have you ever messed up before? I think the answer, if we're all 3 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:11,840 honest, is yes. There's not a single person 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,160 who's watching this right now who can honestly say I have 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,760 never messed up. So if that is you, you need to 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,080 pay attention right now because we are going to look at how the 7 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,760 Lord Jesus Christ deals with failures by looking at the life 8 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,320 of Peter. So I've got 3 headings for you 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,400 today. My first heading is 1 Maverick, 10 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:37,120 my second heading is 2 fires, and my third heading is 3 11 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,960 questions. 1 Maverick 2 fires 3 questions. 12 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,400 OK firstly 1 Maverick. Let's be honest, Peter was a non 13 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,520 conformist. He was unpredictable. 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,680 He'd blow hot and then he'd blow cold. 15 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,280 And that's exactly why you and I love him, because he reminds us 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,400 of ourselves. He's not this polished guy who 17 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,360 got everything right. No, Peter made many mistakes. 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,000 Peter was the first one to open his mouth. 19 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:05,800 He was the first one to get aggressive. 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,240 Do you remember when he chopped off the high priest ear, 21 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,320 Malchus's ear? And it was the first one, as 22 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,040 we're going to see in a moment in John chapter 21, to get wet. 23 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,800 But I wonder, I wonder how many of you listening right now are 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,960 like Peter and you concern yourself with what others are 25 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,680 doing. I mean, have you ever asked the 26 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,080 question, why is it that Peter denied the Lord in the 1st 27 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:31,680 place? How did he get into this 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,440 situation? Well, I think the answer is in 29 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,360 John chapter 18 and verses 15 to 16. 30 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,400 So if you've got a Bible there, just turn to John chapter 18. 31 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,680 I'm going to read verses 15 to 16. 32 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:48,520 And Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. 33 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,160 Now that disciple was known to the high priest and went with 34 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,640 Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood at 35 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,960 the door outside. Then the other disciple, and 36 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,200 it's believed that this disciple was John, who was known to the 37 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,240 high priest, went out and spoke to who kept the door and brought 38 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,560 Peter in. So did you notice that here 39 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:16,680 we've got Peter, OK, and he's trapped outside John who the 40 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,840 early church. And I think as well, John is the 41 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,040 disciple who goes through, but Peter is left outside. 42 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,640 Peter is shut out. And here's the question, why did 43 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,000 that happen? Was it a chance? 44 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,800 Was it just an accident? Or could it be that the Lord was 45 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,600 saying something to Peter? Peter, you go through that door 46 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:41,080 right now and you are going to make a big mistake. 47 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,760 Peter, this door is shut for a reason. 48 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,520 And if you go through it, bad things will happen. 49 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,960 Wonder how many times there's been a door that's been shut in 50 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,600 your face and you couldn't accept it. 51 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,640 Even though when you went through that door bad things 52 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:59,480 happened, you still you could not accept it. 53 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:01,480 That's what happened to Peter here. 54 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,520 It was almost as if he was saying, OK, well, if John is 55 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:06,480 going through, I've got to go through. 56 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,000 John can't be the only one who's loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. 57 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,000 Wherever John goes, I need to go to. 58 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,160 I need to be near to Jesus. I cannot accept no for an 59 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,760 answer. I hesitate to say this, but I 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:21,760 can't help but wonder, was Peter a little bit jealous of John? 61 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,240 Do you think he was? I can't help but wonder that. 62 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,240 I mean, look at John chapter 21 verse 21. 63 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,720 At the very least, he he was nosy towards John. 64 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,440 Look at what he says in in that famous verse. 65 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,160 Peter seeing him that's John said to Jesus. 66 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,200 But Lord, what about this man? Oh, how relatable. 67 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,360 Isn't that relatable for you and me? 68 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,480 You know, we're all busy bodies, aren't we? 69 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,200 At times? We always want to know what 70 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,840 about John? What about his bank accounts? 71 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,520 What about his business plan? What about his retirement 72 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,160 scheme? What's going on with John? 73 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,200 Tell me more about John now. If you are a busy body, if you 74 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,720 are someone who is a little bit nosy, I think Jesus has a 75 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,520 message for you and I. And it's this. 76 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,400 Forget about John, forget about Jane. 77 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,680 Stop looking sideways all the time and look upwards to me. 78 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,440 You see, you and I were called to be runners in a race, aren't 79 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,000 we? Now, who's at the end of the 80 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,240 race? What's the prize for the race? 81 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,480 Well, the Bible says it's Jesus Christ, and here we are. 82 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,920 We're running in our race. But the problem is you, aren't. 83 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,600 You keep looking into my lane and I keep looking into your 84 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,520 lane and we keep taking our eyes off Jesus and we keep getting 85 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,920 distracted. Friends, we mustn't do this. 86 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:42,080 The apostle Paul once said take care of yourselves, and aren't 87 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,200 you enough trouble in and of yourselves to be worrying about 88 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,560 John or Jane or all these other people? 89 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,000 Now there's one accusation about Peter that I think is totally 90 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:59,080 false. Peter might have been many 91 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,080 things, but no one could ever say Peter was a coward. 92 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,440 No, he's quite the opposite. He was brave and he was loyal. 93 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,440 Who was it who first said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come to 94 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,120 thee on the water? When the other disciples were 95 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,360 scared in the boat, Peter bravely was the one to take the 96 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,760 first step to walk on the water. Who is the one who was there who 97 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,880 was ready to risk his life to protect the Lord Jesus Christ? 98 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,600 Who was the one who didn't abandoned Jesus when the mob 99 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,320 came out of all of their clubs? It was Peter. 100 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,560 You know, it's absolutely critical that we understand just 101 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,720 how much Peter loved the Lord Jesus Christ. 102 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,720 You see, we're always so quick to point the finger at Peter, 103 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,480 and yet we forget that the only reason Peter denied the Lord is 104 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,600 because he loved the Lord so much. 105 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,800 He was only in that situation in the 1st place because he did 106 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:52,760 what the other disciples failed to do. 107 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,760 You see, there was a point when, as the Bible says, strike the 108 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:58,720 shepherd and the sheep will scatter. 109 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,960 And here we have the disciples. They're running down the Mount 110 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:03,840 of Olives. They're running away as fast as 111 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,160 they can. And there came a point when 112 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,600 Peter decided he too would stop running. 113 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,960 He'd stop running on that mountain and he'd turn around 114 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,400 and he'd risk his own life and he'd go back to help the Lord 115 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,520 Jesus Christ. And it is there when he fell 116 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,760 into trouble. And then, of course, there was 117 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,880 that beautiful answer from Peter. 118 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,920 You remember all the disciples started to leave Jesus. 119 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,080 And Jesus looked at the remaining disciples and said, 120 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,760 will you also leave? What did Peter say? 121 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,960 Where else would we go for? You alone have the words to 122 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,680 eternal life. OK, secondly, 2 fires. 123 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,320 Now I can hear exactly what some of you are saying. 124 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:49,120 You're saying Joe, there's not 2 fires in John chapter 21. 125 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,680 There's only one fire. Where's this second one? 126 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,200 Well, before I reveal to you fire #2 let's have a look at 127 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,720 fire number one first and let's see if you catch it. 128 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:03,600 John 21 verse 9 says this. Then as soon as they had come to 129 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:08,560 land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and 130 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,880 bred. So take this into your mind now 131 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,160 and stop me if I get something wrong. 132 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,640 Here we find Peter and he's trying to get some kind of 133 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,760 relief from activity. You and I, we've all been there 134 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,680 before, haven't we? You know, when we've had a 135 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:27,120 bereavement or we're mega stressed and we think, listen, I 136 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,280 can't just sit around. I can't just sit on my hands. 137 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,960 I've got to do something. I've got to find some way of, of 138 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,800 keeping my mind busy. Well, I think that's exactly 139 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,480 what Peter was doing here. I think he felt inadequate, he 140 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,920 felt useless. I've really botched up. 141 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,760 I've really made a mess. So he is the leader. 142 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,920 What does he do? He leads the other disciples 143 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,160 back into secular work. Now here's a question for you 144 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,200 all. I wonder when was the last time 145 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,640 you did an all nighter? Hopefully it wasn't last night, 146 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:00,800 otherwise you're going to be really struggling to stay to 147 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,680 stay awake in this message. But when was the last time you 148 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,240 did an all nighter? We've all done them before, 149 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:07,760 haven't we? You know what it feels like? 150 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Your face is sickly pale. You've got big bags under your 151 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:12,920 eyes. You know you're playing Nodding 152 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,080 Donkey. You feel that cold clammy 153 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:16,680 feeling. It's horrible when you've done 154 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,080 an all nighter. Well, here we see the disciples 155 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,480 have done an all nighter. They've got their Nets, they've 156 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,200 thrown it into the water, they've pulled it back in and 157 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,160 nothing. They've got their Nets, they've 158 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,000 thrown it into the water, they've pulled it back in and 159 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,080 nothing. They've got their fishing Nets, 160 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,960 they've thrown it back into the water, pulled it back in and 161 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,960 nothing. They've done this all night, all 162 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,799 night and they've caught nothing. 163 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,280 How frustrating. And then Jesus appears and I 164 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,160 absolutely love this because this shows us just how human the 165 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,200 Lord Jesus Christ really was. He was fully God, but he was 166 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,000 also fully man. Jesus Christ asked the question 167 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,920 that we always ask fishermen, we always ask this question. 168 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,480 Have you caught anything yet, lads? 169 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,960 And what was their answer? Nothing. 170 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,880 Can I ask you a personal question right now? 171 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:13,160 I wonder if there's anyone listening right now who's ever 172 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,920 tempted to feel like Christianity in some way has 173 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,880 clipped their wings or they feel like, you know, if I wasn't a 174 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,480 Christian, I'd be able to do so much more, you know, I'd be able 175 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,160 to have so much more fun. I'd have so much more success. 176 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,880 I've got all these ideas, but but Christianity in some way is 177 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,480 pulling me back. Well, here we see the apostle 178 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,520 Peter, we see Peter himself, and Peter decides to go out on his 179 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:39,320 own. He decides to do his own thing. 180 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:41,560 The Lord God didn't send him to go out fishing. 181 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:45,280 He did his own thing. And did Peter have success when 182 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,600 he decides to go his own way? No, he caught 0. 183 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:55,000 So if you are a Christian worker, if you're in any kind of 184 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,480 Christian service, this is just for you. 185 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:02,200 They get to shore and there we see the Lord Jesus Christ and 186 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,520 the Lord has a fire and he's got some fish on it. 187 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,600 Now here's a question for you. Where did Jesus Christ get get 188 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:11,720 those fish from? Because they weren't from the 189 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:13,120 net of fish that they've just caught. 190 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,760 As you know, Peter's pulled in this, this massive net. 191 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:17,720 They've all brought all of this fish to shore. 192 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,160 But these fish weren't the ones that Jesus had. 193 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,880 Where did he get them from the Lord of all creation. 194 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,960 Did he go and buy them at the market or did he make them 195 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:27,920 appear? Because he can produce anything 196 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,320 from nothing. That's what God can do. 197 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,880 So here we have Jesus and he's got breakfast of the disciples. 198 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,120 Why is this important to us as Christian workers? 199 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,400 I'll tell you why, because it shows that the Lord Jesus Christ 200 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,960 cares about his workers. And there's a message here for 201 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,240 you and I. You and I need to feed before we 202 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,840 can give out. You know, if you're always, 203 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,360 always giving out, if you're doing all of this service, all 204 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,240 of this preaching, all of this ministry, helping others, and 205 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,000 you never take in yourself, what's going to happen to you? 206 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,840 You're going to become starving, hungry, you're going to become 207 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:05,400 empty. You're going to have no energy. 208 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:08,360 But on the flip side, however, if you're the kind of Christian 209 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,160 who watches Christian YouTube videos all day long, you listen 210 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,400 to sermons, you, you read in the word, you read good Christian 211 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:19,120 books, you listen to worship CDs, you're always taken in, but 212 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,680 you never give out. What's going to happen to you? 213 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:24,440 Well, you're going to get bloated, aren't you? 214 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,200 You're going to get lethargic. So it's just simple maths. 215 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,440 We take in to give out, we take in to give out, we feed on the 216 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,600 word of God. So we've got something to give 217 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,880 out to the people and that's a lesson that you and I all need 218 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:38,760 to learn. So over to you. 219 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,200 Have you guessed the second fire yet? 220 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,360 Well, do you think it's any accident that Jesus lit a fire 221 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,600 in front of Peter? Could it be he was saying to 222 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,000 Peter? Peter, when you look at that 223 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,040 fire in front of you, does it ring any bells? 224 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,080 Come on Peter, let's go on a trip down memory lane. 225 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,160 As you look at this fire, what do you see? 226 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,080 When you look into those flames? Does it remind you of anything? 227 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:08,720 The fact is, this guys, Peter denied the Lord when he warmed 228 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,840 himself up on a fire in the courtyard of the high priest. 229 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,760 And it is true, isn't it? Is there anyone who would 230 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,680 disagree with this statement? The world's fires do offer us a 231 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,720 temporary warmth, don't they? The Bible doesn't hide from 232 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,760 this. The Bible says that sin has its 233 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,040 pleasure for a season. It doesn't pretend that sin is 234 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,440 is very exciting and pleasurable for a time. 235 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,720 But as Peter found out, everyone who warms themselves up on the 236 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:38,760 world's fires, it will always, always, always lead to regrets. 237 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,640 So again, I'll ask you another personal question this very 238 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,360 week. What fire have you been warming 239 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,320 yourself up on? Have you been warming yourself 240 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,800 up on the fires of this world or have you warmed yourself up on 241 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,320 the fire of the Lord Jesus Christ? 242 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,120 Many of you know that before I did YouTube work, I was an 243 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,360 evangelist. I worked as a youth evangelist 244 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,120 for an organization called Young Life, National Young Life 245 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:11,160 Campaign. And I also was involved with 246 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,640 United Beach Missions, which I still go on now. 247 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,400 So if you are a young person and you're watching this, especially 248 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,200 in the UK or Europe, I highly recommend you do a United Beach 249 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,520 Mission. But over the years of doing 250 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,080 youth work and making videos, I've I've seen a trend that 251 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,000 seems to happen with a lot of young people. 252 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,600 You'd do a beach team and he'd get these young people and 253 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,680 they'd wake up early and there they would be in the word of 254 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:36,320 God. They were, they were so zealous 255 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,800 for the word of God. They had a zeal about them that 256 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:40,600 they desired to get the gospel out. 257 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,880 They were keen. They wanted souls to get saved. 258 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,200 They were lovely young Christians. 259 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:47,200 And then something happened to them. 260 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:52,040 They went to university. Now please, please, please don't 261 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,840 misunderstand me. University can be a wonderful 262 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:56,840 thing. I met my wife at university. 263 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,680 It can either make a person but it can also break them. 264 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:03,200 So they'd go to university or they would get into a 265 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,320 relationship with a non believer and then what would happen? 266 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,440 Over time, they would slowly start warming themselves up on 267 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,920 the world's fires until what happened eventually they grew 268 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,080 cold to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we don't see them 269 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,160 anymore. We don't see them on beach teams 270 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:21,880 anymore. I'd go on social media and 271 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:23,800 they'd be in the nightclubs doing all kinds of things. 272 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,760 They join the communities that are so very different to the 273 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,080 Lord Jesus Christ. They'd be openly against 274 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:30,480 Christianity. Why? 275 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,000 Because they weren't careful of what fires they warn themselves 276 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,120 up on. I guess many of you would know 277 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,960 the name Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, A Victorian 278 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,240 preacher, I think it was in the Victorian era. 279 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,000 He was a great, great man of gods. 280 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,960 And one day after he was preaching one of his messages, a 281 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:54,120 young lady came up to him and said, Mr. Spurgeon, I have a 282 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,920 problem. You see, I want to follow the 283 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,800 Lord Jesus Christ. I love the word of God. 284 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,840 I love being in church. But the same time, there's this 285 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,760 other part of me, this, this pull, and I look out all the 286 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,840 fancy things in the world, all the exciting pleasures, and I'm 287 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,480 drawn to that. I want that, but I also want 288 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,080 Jesus at the same time. Well, Spurgeon looked at the 289 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,080 woman quite sternly and said, Young lady, you need a very, 290 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,760 very hard lesson to be taught to you what I want you to do. 291 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,360 And this is the time before motor cars, before we had cars 292 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,640 like we have today. He said, we need to go outside 293 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,720 and I want you to find a carriage and I want you to put 1 294 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,640 foot on the carriage and then put the other foot on the 295 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,680 pavement. And then I want you to say to 296 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,960 the driver, drive on. Well, the girl looks at Spurgeon 297 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,280 as if he's got 3 heads and says, Mr. Spurgeon, if I do that, I'll 298 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,400 fall on my face within a few seconds, straight into a puddle. 299 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:55,200 And Spurgeon said, ah, so it is, young lady, you cannot have one 300 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,800 foot in Christ's Kingdom and 1 foot in the devil's Kingdom, 301 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,640 because if you do that, sooner or later you'll fall flat on 302 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:08,280 your face. Hey, this next part's a little 303 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:10,520 bit important, so you might just want to catch this. 304 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,320 But three times we see that Peter denied the Lord Jesus, 305 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,200 don't we? But I often wonder if the 306 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,200 initial challenge was more blunt, more direct, I think it 307 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,080 would be a different story. I mean, imagine now I sit down 308 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,800 with any of you Christians, I look you straight in the face 309 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,720 while we're drinking our coffee and I say, do you love Jesus? 310 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,760 Do you love Jesus? What would your answer be? 311 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,600 You'd say, of course I do. He's I love Jesus, He's my 312 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,000 saviour. And yet that was not how the 313 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,320 question was phrased to Peter. It wasn't as blunt as that. 314 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:52,080 It was way more subtle. It was your accent. 315 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:58,040 That sounds familiar or sorry, didn't I see you the other day 316 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,000 in the garden? Or I think you're one of his 317 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,400 disciples. And here we have Peter, who's 318 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,800 demoralised and weakened and Satan, who's the master of 319 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,760 manipulation, takes him down inch by inch subtly. 320 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,560 And we hear stories of this. We've got, you know, people in 321 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,880 the church, deacons who they wanted to serve God, they loved 322 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:20,839 God, they wanted to do everything for him. 323 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:24,480 And yet there was a young lady that came up to them and wanted 324 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,480 counsel and feelings started to develop. 325 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:31,600 And then until one day they ran away from their wife with this 326 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,160 other woman. You've got stories of, of rich, 327 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,520 high flying businessmen who again, they had a heart of gold. 328 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,760 They wanted to make lots of money to fund ministry to, to do 329 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,160 lots for the Kingdom. And yet because of the stress of 330 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,960 their work, they started to pick up the bottle and the bottle got 331 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:53,440 a grip of them until eventually they could not put it down and 332 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:58,120 they lost everything. Or even way more ordinary, 333 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,320 you've got the lovely Christian man or woman whose parents were 334 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,560 elderly and they had to spend so much time looking after these 335 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,040 elderly parents that they missed church meetings. 336 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:09,800 They they stopped reading their Bible. 337 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,400 And years went by caring for these elderly parents until one 338 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,600 day they came down and they looked at their Bible and they 339 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,600 thought, do I even believe this stuff anymore? 340 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:24,160 Oh, my dear friends, be wary of the schemes of the devil, the 341 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:25,640 collapse. When it happens, it looks 342 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,920 instant, but it's way more subtle because the devil, he 343 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,440 takes your tree with his axe and he just chops it down inch by 344 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:39,000 inch until eventually here you come crashing to the floor. 345 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,600 And people say, where did that come from? 346 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,360 I never imagined that would happen to that person. 347 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,240 How did that happen so suddenly? Well the reality is it didn't 348 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,560 happen suddenly. It happened eight years ago when 349 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,680 that man or that woman compromised on an issue that 350 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,960 they once held so very dear. OK, lastly, 3 questions. 351 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,960 Now I'm going to say something and I don't think anyone wants 352 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,360 to admit to this, but it's OK. It's just me and you now. 353 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,920 No one else will know if you say yes to this, but I wonder how 354 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,080 many people listening to my voice right now have ever 355 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:16,880 watched the Jerry Springer show or in my country it was Jeremy 356 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,080 Kyle Show or Trisha. Have you ever watched that trash 357 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,640 trashy daytime television before? 358 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:24,520 Just nod your head shyly if you have. 359 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,160 I'm sure you have. Well, what happens in them shows 360 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,360 very often is they have a lie detector test, don't they? 361 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,320 And here you've got this contestant who's been accused of 362 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,080 something and they put him under this lie detector. 363 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:38,360 They, they put things on the fingertips, they put something 364 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,360 on the head. And by listening to the way that 365 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:44,080 person breathes, the way they, they sweat their heartbeat, 366 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,200 somehow this test can tell whether that person is telling 367 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,360 the truth or not. And here you've got Jerry 368 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:52,520 Springer or Jeremy Kyle. And they ask them three 369 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,000 questions. And very often the contestant, 370 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,200 the person in the chair, when the results come out, they say 371 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,080 I'm innocent. I promise you I'm innocent. 372 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,800 I'm telling the truth. The lie detector test is broken. 373 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,520 It's it's all a scam. And you watch it and you watch 374 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,880 their reaction. You kind of think, I actually 375 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,600 think the lie detector test is actually accurate. 376 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,800 Well, here we are. Very interestingly, we have 377 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,880 Peter. And if you like, he's put under 378 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,560 a sort of lie detector test. The Lord Jesus Christ asks him 379 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,880 three questions. And yet here's the catch, this 380 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,000 lie detector test has 100% accuracy. 381 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,480 Why? Because you cannot pull the wool 382 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,920 over Jesus eyes. Just look at John chapter 21 383 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,240 verse 15 with me. So when they had eaten 384 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:41,560 breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonah, do 385 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,800 you love me more than these? He said to him, yes Lord, you 386 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:51,200 know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. 387 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,760 Did you see that here he calls him Simon Peter. 388 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:02,120 Here we find the Lord Jesus Christ calling Peter by his old 389 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:04,800 unconverted name. It's almost as if he's saying, 390 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,360 OK, Peter, you're acting but like your old self right now, so 391 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:10,520 I'm going to call you by your old name. 392 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,920 But I was quite taken aback the first time I saw this. 393 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:19,760 Not only are there 2 fires in John chapter 21, but there are 394 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:24,120 also three questions. Three questions because Peter 395 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,400 denied the Lord three times, so he asks him three questions. 396 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,920 So may I go deeper? What was this threefold 397 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,080 question? It was this. 398 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,920 Do you love me? You see, Peter's actions had 399 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,680 called his love for the Lord into question. 400 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:45,520 Did he ask him, do you love the church? 401 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:47,400 No. Did he ask him, Do you love 402 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:48,480 Scripture? No. 403 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,040 Did he ask him, Do you love the people of God, prayer, creation? 404 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:51,760 No. What did he say? 405 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:57,800 He said, do you love me? So guys, can I ask you very, 406 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,400 very plainly right now, do you love him? 407 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:07,360 I mean, do you really, really love the Lord Jesus Christ? 408 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,280 If the lie detector test was put on your life and that very 409 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,040 question was asked to you, what would the results come out as? 410 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:17,720 Oh, you might be earnest. You might preach on street 411 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,240 corners like me. You might teach in Sunday 412 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:21,960 school. You might listen to sermons all 413 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,320 day long. But do you love him? 414 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,880 You visit the poor, you cook, you show hospitality, you have 415 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,120 outstanding church attendance, you listen to worship CDs all 416 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:33,280 day long. And we admire this zeal. 417 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,280 But do you love Him? You know, it's so strange, but I 418 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,840 do think there is a zeal which fuels an awful lot of our 419 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,480 activity in Christianity. And it's this, it's the opinion 420 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,120 of others. You see, I care what you think 421 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:51,080 of me and I'd expect you probably care what other people 422 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,720 think of you. And this zeal, don't get me 423 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,760 wrong, it's achieved great things for the Lord. 424 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,360 It's it's filled churches, it's filled missions, it's even cast 425 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,600 out devils. But when it's all said and done, 426 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,520 if we're doing all of this activity and we have not yet 427 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:09,080 loved, we're just like 1 Corinthians 13 says we're just a 428 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,480 clanging instrument. We're just a musical instrument, 429 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,800 all noise, but no love. Does that sound harsh? 430 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:19,160 Well, Jesus raises the bar even more. 431 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,840 He says, do you love me more than these? 432 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,120 Now, for years theologians have argued, what are the these that 433 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,720 he's talking about? Is he talking about these 434 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,840 fishing Nets, these boats? Peter, do you love me more than 435 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,320 your recreation, than your work? Or is he talking about do you 436 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,480 love me more than these disciples? 437 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,560 You see at one time? Peter, you're going to stand 438 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,520 there and say, listen, when all these other guys, when all of 439 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,520 these deny you, I won't deny you. 440 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:47,200 I am the one who loves you the most. 441 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,920 Lord, I love you more than all these other disciples. 442 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,080 Peter, can you really say right now that you love me more than 443 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,640 these? And it has made me think, do I 444 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:03,200 love Jesus more than my work? Do I love Jesus more than my 445 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:08,080 YouTube channel? Someone put that to me very 446 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,440 recently in a comment. It wasn't a kind comment, but it 447 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,320 made me think. They said Joe Kirby just loves 448 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,960 his YouTube channels too much. Made me think, do I love Jesus 449 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,840 more than my YouTube? Do you love Jesus more than your 450 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:23,520 work? Do I love him more than my 451 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,800 hobbies? You see, Do I love him more than 452 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,320 than the things I do that I spend my time with? 453 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,720 Because that's how we'll see what we love, is it not? 454 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,280 Do I love him more than my family? 455 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,840 Than my children? Than my spouse? 456 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:39,960 Well again, I can promise you this. 457 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,000 I can tell what you love by watching what you do. 458 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,920 You see, surely if you love someone, you want to spend time 459 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,560 with them. So when was the last time you 460 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,640 opened the Bible without a pastor or even without a Bible 461 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:56,600 study, without someone else leading you to do it? 462 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:58,600 If you love someone, you want to be with them. 463 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,440 You want to learn about them. When was the last time you read 464 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,800 Scripture and you prayed? If you love him, tell him. 465 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:07,600 Do you tell him that you love him? 466 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,400 There's nothing Jesus loves more than to hear his children say, I 467 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,120 love you, Lord, I really love you. 468 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:19,120 And here's the big one. Do you Does the way you live 469 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,760 show that you love him? Jesus Christ once said, finish 470 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,760 the sentence. If you love me, keep my 471 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,200 commands. So what does your love for 472 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,600 Christ say about you late at night, all alone with your mouse 473 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,160 on the computer, on your phone, no one's in the house, on the 474 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,320 Internet? What does your love for Christ 475 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,880 say in that moment? What does your love for Christ 476 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,120 say about you when a customer comes into your business and 477 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:48,520 they pay you with a nice wad of cash and after all, you give 478 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,400 enough to the tax man, You give all this money to the government 479 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,880 and they're spending on use of stupid, dumb things, especially 480 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,080 in the UK, they're spending all of our money on silly things. 481 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,680 Why would I, why would I give that to the tax man? 482 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:06,280 And yet Jesus says pay your taxes, give to Caesar what is 483 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,880 Caesar's? What does your love for Christ 484 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,160 say about you when here you are, you've been single for so many 485 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:18,040 years, you're on your own and a nice, attractive, unbelieving 486 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,360 man or unbelieving woman asks you to go on a date. 487 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,080 They're not a Christian. And the Word of God says do not 488 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,400 be unequally yoked. What does your love for Christ 489 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,880 say in that moment? Are you going to be faithful to 490 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,160 the word of God? Well, I don't want anyone to 491 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:34,600 leave here without remembering Peter's answer. 492 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,360 Just jump over to verse 17 with me, please. 493 00:26:44,250 --> 00:26:49,720 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love 494 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,320 me? Peter was grieved because he 495 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,520 said to him the third time, Do you love me? 496 00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:01,040 And he said to him, Lord, you know all things, You know that I 497 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,600 love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my 498 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,000 sheep. So I have to be impressed with 499 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,160 the same question over and over. Peter responds with the same 500 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,480 answer. Now what we have in our versions 501 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:18,000 of the Bible is I love you. That's a strong way of putting 502 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,320 it. But actually the what Peter said 503 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:23,840 was actually quite a lot less. It's almost as if he's learnt 504 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,480 his lesson. He's not going to speak in 505 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,240 hyperboles. I love you more than all of 506 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:28,880 these. I love you so much. 507 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:30,840 I will never deny you. I'll never. 508 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:35,120 He's pulled it back a bit and the actual word is more closer 509 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,520 to this. I like you a whole lot, Jesus. 510 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,800 I have a fond affection for you, Lord. 511 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,160 I have a 60% love for you, Jesus. 512 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,480 And this is the bit that I just find so beautiful. 513 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,840 Here we have the Lord Jesus Christ as we've just read, who 514 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:53,960 knows all things. You cannot pull the wool over 515 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,080 his eyes. And he says, in other words, 516 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,160 Peter, now you're being honest with me. 517 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:00,040 OK, now you're being honest with me. 518 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,760 You have this 60% love for me. As you say, I can work with 519 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,720 that. And now I'm going to give you 520 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:09,200 one of the highest callings. I'm going to make you into a 521 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,960 shepherd, feed my sheep. Why does he say that? 522 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,400 Well, I think the message is quite clear here. 523 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,800 He's saying, listen, if you love me, if you love Jesus, you'll 524 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,960 look after my sheep, OK? But I'm not going to trust 525 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,920 anyone who doesn't love me with my sheep. 526 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,640 And that's really a message for any preacher, any pastor. 527 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,320 We've got to love the people we preach to. 528 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,400 And I hope those of you listening right now, you know 529 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,520 how much I love you. You know how much I see it as a 530 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,520 privilege to share the Word of God with you. 531 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:47,760 It's a tremendous privilege. But here we have one shepherd. 532 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,720 All the rest of us are under shepherds. 533 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,160 But here we have the chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, 534 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,360 who we must love. And it's not just the guy at the 535 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,800 front or the guy on a YouTube channel who's a shepherd. 536 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,360 We're all called to be shepherds. 537 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,640 We've all got people in our family on believers, sheep who 538 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:09,320 need care and they need love. So yes, Jesus Christ, he was 539 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:13,000 called the Good Shepherd, but he also has another name very 540 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,560 close. And what's that? 541 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:18,720 He's the Lamb of God. Now I don't know if this story 542 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:23,480 is true, but let me tell it to you, Arizona. 543 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,720 Is anyone from Arizona listening right now? 544 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,840 Well, there was a little boy about 5 or 6 years old, and he 545 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,360 was running in a field in Arizona and out of nowhere a 546 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,440 rattlesnake appears, a poisonous rattlesnake. 547 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,800 The little boy is paralysed with fear, he's so scared, and the 548 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,520 rattlesnake lunges up ready to strike. 549 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,960 At that very moment, before the rattlesnake strikes, out of 550 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,560 nowhere, a lamb appears and takes the snake bite. 551 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,640 The snake slivers off into the distance, and the lamb falls 552 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,200 down as though it's dead. The little boy, crying his eyes 553 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:03,880 out, cuddles the lamb, crying. This, this lamb, it laid down 554 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:08,320 it's life for me. But then, unbelievably, the lamb 555 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,680 stands up absolutely fine. Now as I said, I don't know if 556 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,320 this story's true, but there's one thing I do know that is true 557 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,000 and I challenge any of you to Google this right now. 558 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:22,840 Inside the blood of sheep is an anti venom that can overcome the 559 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:27,000 poison of a snake bite. So much so that in Wales, where 560 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,280 near where I'm from, they have loads of sheep and they have 561 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:34,040 sent sheep's blood over to a university in Arizona to be used 562 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,400 as anti venom. Isn't that incredible? 563 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,880 The Lord God makes no mistakes with his creation, does he? 564 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,040 There's lessons through it all, isn't there? 565 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,960 And what's the lesson here? Here you and I are. 566 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,440 We're like that little boy. We stand there scared. 567 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,200 Here we have sin ready to lunge at us. 568 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,080 The devil is ready to lunge at us. 569 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,200 Death is ready to lunge at us. But the Lord Jesus Christ comes 570 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,800 in the way, that Lamb of God, and he takes the snake bite for 571 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,120 us. He dies on the cross, paying the 572 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:07,040 price for all of our sins so that you and I can be forgiven. 573 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:11,000 And everyone looks at that lamb. He went into a tomb. 574 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,560 The devil, all the enemies of Christ, they looked at him, they 575 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:16,440 laughed, they thought it was over. 576 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:20,440 But out of nowhere, on the third day, he rises from the dead. 577 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,720 Why? Because he is the King of kings 578 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,800 and there is an anti venom in his blood that can overcome the 579 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,600 snake bite of sin, the snake bite of death. 580 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,720 The very one who rose from the dead right now can remove the 581 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,360 sting of death for you and me and give us eternal life if we 582 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,920 trust in Him. Have you trusted in Him? 583 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,520 Have you put your trust in the Lamb of God? 584 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,760 I hope you have. Here we have Peter. 585 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,520 He'd made a mess. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the 586 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:51,160 one who can read our hearts and minds, he saw he'd made a mess, 587 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,640 but he also saw that Peter loved him deeply. 588 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,000 And so you and I, we may have made a mess. 589 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,400 We may have made a mess this year, today, whenever it is. 590 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,360 But the Lord God knows in your heart if you love Him and he's 591 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,360 willing, just like he did with Peter, He's willing to restore 592 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,080 you and restore your dignity. But you've just got to come to 593 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,280 him and receive his love and his forgiveness. 594 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,240 Before you go, I just want to say again, thank you to those of 595 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:18,680 you who've got one of these mugs. 596 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,040 It really blesses me. I will be putting the pictures 597 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:23,720 up in our next video when I'm a bit more organized. 598 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:28,440 Thank you to everyone who praise everyone who supports us in in 599 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,680 various ways. Couldn't do it without you. 600 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,960 Hopefully we'll see you again for another cup of coffee if you 601 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,360 want to watch one right now you feel like you've not finished 602 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,240 your coffee? Well you better check out this 603 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,360 video here. God bless you all and thank you 604 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:42,160 for watching.