Follow Thou Me

Pastor Peter Linnecar shares about the life of the disciple Peter, his denial of Jesus and about the moment when Peter knew that he was ‘accepted in the beloved’. Sometimes circumstances in life cause you to think that you have blown it, but you are accepted in the beloved and Christ came to give you His life. The call to ‘Follow thou me’ is still the same commission today as it was for Peter all those years ago.

1 Peter 5:6 – 7

This was written by the apostle Peter later in his life and when you read his letters, everything he refers to he has experienced and he knows. So when he writes, casting all your care upon the Lord, it’s true. There were times in Peter’s life where he was ecstatic, he was so caught up with everything, especially on the Mount with Jesus and at times he’d said to Him, “I’ll do anything for you”.

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John 13:36 – 38

When Peter spoke to Jesus he meant what he said. He wasn’t something on the outside and different on the inside.

Luke 22:54 - 61

Suddenly the words He’d spoken to Peter became vibrant. He’d said, “Lord, I’ll follow you wherever you go”. But Jesus knew what was going to happen and told him that he would deny Him three times and then the cock would crow.

As he denied Him the third time Jesus turned and looked at Peter, not in a ‘I told you’ so sort of way but He just looked and Peter remembered what Jesus had said.

Luke 22:62

“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly”

Inside Peter thought, that’s it, that’s the end. Sometimes in your life, you promise so much and then it goes wrong. For Peter at this point, he thought that was the end of everything.

Throughout his life, I think Peter remembered this point, where he really thought that was the end. There are some people that have got to a stage in their life, where they think they’ve had it. We are involved with a living God who wants to be your heavenly Father and your Lord. It does not matter what your natural circumstances of life are doing, God is your heavenly father and He cares for you.

Peter was weeping, thinking he had blown it: what Jesus had said was true. It did not matter whatever else he tried to remember of the things Jesus had told him, at that point you could not have talked to Peter – he was in despair, thinking “That’s it, I’ve had it”.

After Jesus had risen from the dead, he came to the disciples again.

John 21:1 – 14

It was the same disciples who had the miracle in Luke 5: 1 - 11, when the fish appeared from nowhere. Now Jesus refers back, as it were, with a similar miracle but this time the nets didn’t break. He called the disciples to the shore and Peter was now sitting round the fire with Jesus, knowing what he had done before in denying Him and it bugged him. The disciples did not know what to say, it was strange – here was someone they had seen nailed to a cross, buried and now here He was, large as life, sitting with them and eating.

John 21:15 – 19

Three times He asked the question, here is the parallel, and three times he denied Jesus, and now it’s as if each question that He asked him was removing that guilt that Peter had felt ever since denying Him. As Jesus asked those three questions, “Do you love me Peter?” Peter knew he was accepted. He was accepted in the beloved. Sometimes in your life there are circumstances where you think you’ve blown it. I want to confirm to you, you’re accepted in the beloved. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, to give you His life.

It’s interesting that Peter said, “Thou knowest all things”. He knew that was true because he had thought back many times to what Jesus had told him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice”. Then it happened and he did deny Him and he had been trying to figure out a way forward. He’d seen Jesus die but now in His resurrection life He was operating a recovery programme for Peter. God’s major recovery programme was for you and me on the cross. God was recovering you from yourself in His resurrection. In your first birth you’re against God and you denied Him. You thought you’d do things your way. It does not matter what you have done, however contrary you were against God, you are in the position you are in now because God is confirming to you, despite everything, despite the cause and effect of some things you have done in your life, He loves you, is going to provide everything for you and the solution is already on its way.

In verse 15, “Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” Jonas means dove, gentle, the spirit.

John 21:19 – 22

This is where it gets very personal. Jesus is saying to you, personally, “Follow thou me”. You don’t have to worry about another person. Obviously we care for one another, but keep your focus and don’t be a busybody in other people’s lives. John’s destiny was directed by God. God has a specific purpose for each one. As each person zeroes in and focuses on this very thing, where Jesus says, “Follow thou me”, there are going to be people who will blossom to fulfil what God has for your life.

It’s not freedom to do what you want. I want to do what pleases Him, and that’s it. His life is inside you. God is saying to you, “Follow thou me”. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. The previous years in your life have not been wasted. Nothing has been wasted. Everything has been for a purpose.

Peter’s character was totally different from John’s. Jesus was saying to Peter, “You are going to do things different to John”. Later John wrote the book of Revelation, they were different characters and you are different from the person next to you.

Romans 14:7 – 9

He’s your Lord and Saviour. When Jesus said those words, Peter gradually allowed in his mind that he was accepted again. If you read the sermon at the beginning of Acts when Peter speaks to the people, he knew inside himself that he was accepted in the beloved.

I’m sure a lot of knife problems and gang warfare are because people do not feel accepted anywhere. As the weeks and months go ahead we will reach out to others in need. God will bring across your path people that you can share with. You’ve got to share it. It’s what God has done for you inside. He cares, and He took the trouble to make sure that you’re accepted.

1 Peter 5:6 – 11

Think about your situation. Cast all your care upon him, for He careth for you. His name is above every name. No other name, but the name of Jesus.

If you adopt a mode of thinking in bitterness, it will destroy you. The flip side of that is that you set yourself in your mind to realise who God is. He’s our loving heavenly father. Cast all your care upon him, for He careth for you.

1 Peter 5:6 – 7

The Good Shepherd

There is a huge contrast between those shepherds who are concerned only for their own interests, and the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Whatever our needs in life, if we hear His voice, we will find that He has already prepared the way.

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees after healing the man who was born blind. When the man returned after being healed Jesus had moved on, but later Jesus came and found the man again.

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John 9:36 - 41

Jesus told the Pharisees that if they were blind, they would have no sin, but because they claimed to see, their sin was still inside them. The Pharisees were kidding themselves. They didn’t see. The man born blind could now see and wanted to know the person who healed him.

The Pharisees were in positions of importance, linked to the Temple, teachers of the law, and they lorded it over other people. When Jesus spoke about shepherds, the Pharisees would have known what the Old Testament taught on the subject.

Ezekiel 34:1 - 4

The prophets – the shepherds – were only out for themselves.

Ezekiel 34:5 - 16

Ezekiel 34:23 - 24

Verse 23 prefigures the verses we will now look at, where Jesus said “I am the good shepherd.” There is one shepherd, the bishop of your souls. When He said that, the Pharisees and the others knew the background. There were shepherds who only lived for themselves. Their lifestyle was paramount; the people were not. Everything was geared to them, not to the people. God said, “I will seek them, will feed them, will provide for them.”

John 10 shows that what Jesus said resonated with His hearers.

John 9:41 – 10:5

Remember the context. He has just told the Pharisees that they were fooling themselves, convinced that they knew what they were doing and how to preserve their lifestyle. They said they saw, and therefore their sin remained, because they didn’t admit their need, they didn’t admit what was inside. The sheepfold - four walls with one door – anyone who doesn’t come in by the door is a thief. This would have hit the Pharisees between the eyes.

Jesus is far more interested in you than you know. He knows each of you by name, and He wants you to be aware that He is the Good Shepherd, that He does provide and has made every provision for your well-being.

John 10:6 - 7

Before it was a case that you had to go in through the door. Now He is saying He is the door.

John 10:8 - 9

This was a revolutionary thought to the people who were listening. Jesus was ascribing to Himself who He was. He was describing Himself. From our perspective, we can look back and see how things worked.

It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written yourself off, thinking you’re not good enough, thinking that your problems are too difficult to solve. He’s saying He is the door. You are safe – safe from the consequences of your sin, safe from retribution, safe because you have Christ’s life in you. Some of you have written yourselves off, but I want to confirm God is saying to you, “I am aware of you more than you know.” He loves you. Some of you have have wondered but He has heard your prayers and does hold your future in His hands.

The freedom will be there to go in and out to find the pasture. The sheep will be cared for. It even goes to the point where if the sheep were in danger, the shepherd would give his life to care for the sheep.

John 10:10

In verse 9, a man will be saved, go in and out and find pasture. By contrast, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. What a revolutionary thing Jesus was saying! And the Pharisees were listening.

John 10:11-16

There’s a direct link back to Ezekiel. And Jesus now extends this to include both the Jews and the Gentiles.

John 10:17-18

You’ll be saved, go in and out, find pasture. Sometimes, people ask about God’s guidance, and what is the right way for a person’s life. God is interested in you. And He’s so careful to get it right for you. He’s so careful that He’s sorted things out in advance for the best – the best way to fulfil the destiny He has for your life.

Isaiah 30:18 - 21

You’ll hear His voice. His sheep know His voice. You may think “But I’m not important. God won’t speak to me like that.” Why not? We’re talking about anyone here, you don’t have to be something special. He knows what you’re facing, and He knows that if you keep going forward, you’ll hear a voice saying ‘This is the way’.

In 1978 I went for a financial job in London. An agency sent me to see a Mr Low at National Mutual. They said the agency had sent me to the wrong company by mistake. I said, “Well, do you have a job?” And that’s how I got the job. God wanted me in National Mutual. If you’re moving, the rudder of a ship can be effective. If you’re stuck in dry dock, it won’t. You have to go forward, and you can trust God to sort it out. He specialises in providing for you because He loves you.

Psalm 37:4 - 5

Delight yourself in the Lord. “But my heart’s wicked”. How does that stack up? You’re a Christian. You’re delighting yourself in God. So He’ll create in your heart that desire which He will then meet. Everything will tie in. You have abilities and skills. Delight yourself in Him and He will give thee the desires of thy heart.

Psalm 37:5

Ephesians 2:10

He knows the future. Your times are in His hands. And your voyage of discovery in life is to rejoice in the provision of God for you in ways you never expected. He loves you. If any man hear His voice, he will find pasture.

1 Peter 5:6 - 7

Humble yourselves. Don’t make out that you see if you don’t. Be honest. Realise God is listening to you on the inside, and He has the answer already.

John 10:27 - 28

He’s talking to the Pharisees here as well. No matter what anyone says, no man will pluck you out of Jesus’ hand.

John 10:29

God is greater than all. There is no way He’s not in control and making provision for you.

John 10:30

I don’t know how you got here today or what you were thinking. Possibly you were wondering about your future. Jesus says to you today, “I am the door. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture.”

He gives eternal life, which you experience now.