This week, Michael reassures us that regardless of the current events on the world stage, God is still Sovereign
overall. The Almighty Lord orchestrates His Will behind the scenes. What men
meant for evil, God meant for good. The word of God is truth regardless of the
affairs of men and the events unfolding within God's timeline.
In the meantime, God exhorts
us to look after the flocks of His people that He's called us to
shepherd. According to the Apostle Peter, “feed the flock of God which is among you. Taking the oversight thereof,
not of constraint, but willingly. Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind.” Peter himself had to learn the meaning of discipleship following
his Lord Jesus Christ. Through perseverance in the trials of life, Peter
learned to trust in the Lord with all his
heart and lean not to his own understanding. God's word teaches us by
example that regardless of trials and tribulations, God is our sufficiency in
all things.
John 1:41 records Peter's
introduction to Jesus by his brother Andrew. Peter was a fisherman from
Galilee, an "everyday man" who had no distinctive worldly
credentials. However, God uses earthen vessels, like Peter and like us,
so that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Peter learned
to be a disciple by following in his Master's footsteps. Jesus taught Peter by
repeating important life lessons in groups of three. Peter denied Jesus three
times and then Jesus asked Peter three times "Do you love me?" Peter
eventually learned what it meant to love his Lord. Three is the number of
completeness. God completed Peter as a “man of God” with trials of three so
that Peter could come to understand that God alone is our sufficiency and that
we are complete in Him.
Jesus asked Peter the most
important question: "Who say ye that I am?" The answer to this
question will reveal the heart of a true man of God. Peter answered, "You
are the Christ, the son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you Peter, son of Jonah, flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you but my father which is in heaven."
Before Jesus' crucifixion,
Peter said to Jesus, "Even if the
whole world denies you, I'll never deny you." His heart was to
serve his master but his confidence was in his own ability. Jesus reproved him
saying, "before the cock crows
twice, you shall deny me three times". God will break our hearts
for what breaks His. After Peter had denied his Lord the third time, Jesus
caught Peter's eye. Peter turned away in shame and guilt, went away and
wept bitterly. A broken and a contrite
heart God will not forsake. He picks up the threads of our broken
hearts and weaves them together again.
There were three "I
love yous" and three commissions that Jesus gave Peter after the resurrection.
Peter had returned to his fishing business. Jesus met him and his crew on
the shore of the Sea of Galelee. Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me with the (agape – heavenly unconditional) love of God
more than these?" He pointed to Peter's fishing nets, his boats,
and his crew and asked "do you love
me more than these?" Peter said, "I love (phileo – brotherly
love) you. I'm fond of you." Jesus said, "feed my young
lambs." Jesus asked again, "Peter
do you love (agape) me?" Again Peter answered, "I love you like a brother." Jesus
said, "feed my sheep." The third time Jesus asked, "Peter
do you phileo me?" Peter said, "Lord you know all things, you
know that I love (phileo) you the only way I know how." Jesus said,
"feed my flock." Jesus
knew what was in the heart of a man. Peter had a heart to serve his master but
he needed to learn that his calling was not to be a fisher of fish, but a
fisher of men. Jesus knew that even though Peter did not yet understand
the spiritual “agape” love of God, he would eventually understand God's
unconditional love when he received God's Spirit, the "power from on
high" at the day of Pentecost.
The world considered Peter
an unlearned and ignorant lowly Galilean. However, at the day of Pentecost he
received the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter preached the first message of
salvation to the church at the temple in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. The
crowds were perplexed by his powerful and eloquent words because they
recognized his accent as an uneducated Galilean. Then they took note that
he had been with Jesus. Later Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit and wrote two
epistles by revelation of his Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's continue Micheal's message on the Apostle Peter's example in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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