Preparing For A Decade of Destiny I

They're giving Jan a break today and much needed. John 21. Are you there? Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way, Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples were together. I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, well, we'll go with you. And so they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. And he called out to them, friends, haven't you any fish? No, they answered. He said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. Does this sound strangely familiar? Remember Luke chapter five, same story, same kind of a story. And when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. And then the disciple whom Jesus loves said to Peter, it is the Lord. And as soon as Simon Peter heard him say, it's the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him, free taking it off and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. And when they landed, they saw a fire burning coals there with a fish on it and some bread. And Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you've just caught. Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, isn't that a strange detail? But even with so many, the net was not torn. And Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? They knew it was the Lord. So Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. And when they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these? Yes, Lord. He said, you know that I love you, feed my lambs, Jesus said. And again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you truly love me? And they answered, oh, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep. I want to thank you once again, as I did last Sunday morning, for your faithful prayers for me over the past weeks. And I have to say that the Lord is now seemingly answering some of those prayers that you prayed early on, prayers for revelation. You can call it jet lag or heartburn or what I ate the night before, but every morning for the last week, I've been getting up at 4 o'clock. Almost as though I had an alarm set. Marvelous thing about 4 a.m. is nobody's moving. I'm not supposed to be anywhere. The phone doesn't ring. Even the animals think I'm losing it. But I'm spending time with the Lord, synthesizing the things that I believe he spoke to me on my trip. But most importantly, I believe he's speaking to me because we stand at a very exciting and challenging time as a church. Do you know that in January 1990, we'll be approaching our ninth birthday? I think nine years is about how long it takes for a church to find its true identity, to find the things that are really important. And we've discovered that the presence of God and the community of the saints are the most important things that the church can experience. How many of you want to have an experiential faith? You don't just want to believe it. You want to you want to know it. You want to experience it. Even our Saturday night services, if you've visited a while and said, well, that's not for me, I want you to come back, consider that we're going to be moving in the direction of knowing those things that God has said is who we are as a church. I also believe the Lord is speaking to me right now because of the tremendous importance of the property next door. You may have thought, well, I'll go away and see all the needs in India and come back and just say, well, Chuck, the property, let's give our money away. I'm all the more convinced that as we get established as a congregation, a firm generational church, we're going to see more resources poured in than you can imagine to funnel to the nations of the world. And I also believe the Lord is speaking to me because you matter to God and your care is so important to you. And our elders have never been more unified in the care that they're to bring to you. And so as I'm waiting before the Lord in these early hours of the morning, this passage of scripture came powerfully to mind. It's funny this week, I know the staff has been wondering what the heck am I going to preach about? I've changed the title three times and yet it's all the same message. The message has to do with preparing for the next decade. One futurist that I read this week said that the next 10 years will have more change than the previous 30 combined. I turned that around a little bit and I said, Lord, I want you to use me more in the next 10 years than the previous 30. And we'd like to make that your prayer as well. Make these next 10 years more fruitful in God than your previous. But dear ones, many people will not be prepared. Many believers will not be ready to take full advantage of the opportunities that God is giving. And there's a question you need to answer. Before you'll know if you're ready to step into the fullness of what God has for you. In this next decade, you know, when we were flying in the aircraft, when we go into another nation, before we'd land, the stewardesses would hand out these little slips asking you some very important questions. In the nation of Singapore, it's a serious violation if you're caught selling drugs. And so right on this little form, it says, do you have any drugs? Of course, you put no. The penalty is death. It's very important that you answer that question correctly. I want to say to you, the question that we're going to look at today can also be a matter of spiritual life and death for many of us that are here. It's a question that came up in a strange sort of way in India. I was wondering, how will I really know if these brown skinned people were truly Christians? I mean, it's very possible in these third world countries to have a people do anything you want, but just pay them enough money and they'll do anything. And it would have been conceivable and not unheard of for the mission that had sponsored my trip to get some people together in a village and say, look, here's some rupees. When these white Americans come in, I want you to jump and dance and have fun and look like you're happy because then they'll send us a lot more money and keep the mission going. Those kinds of things have happened. And I said, how will I really know that in this nation of 330 million Hindu gods that this group of people that I was with really knew the one true God? What questions could I ask? I didn't speak the language. Would it be in the building that we sat in? No, because the buildings were nothing like we think of church. Would it have been in the banners on the wall? No, because I couldn't read them. How about the songs we were singing? Strange music. Well, how about it just, you know, the big crowds that might be there? No, crowds could come for any reason. What was the question? What could I ask to really know that these people loved God, the God that you and I know? That question has been evident in the heart of Jesus for centuries. It's the same question that I'm going to ask you about the 1990s, and it's found right here in this passage of scripture. I want to talk about the person who received the first expression of that question, Simon Peter. Peter was a man like many of us feel, a man of failure. Do you know when this story took place? It was just a few days after Jesus was raised from the dead. Do you know that Peter recognized that he had failed Christ like no one else, that he had fallen to the very bottom, that he had made promises that he didn't keep, that he had said things that weren't true, that he had literally denied the God that he said that he loved. He was a broken man. I want to pause right now and say that there's some of you here today that have failed promises, that broken loyalty. You know, you've hurt God. I want you to hear what Jesus says to Peter because he's saying it to you today as well. You see, Peter knew that things were bleak, and so he said, well, I'm just going to go fishing. Now, most people who report on this passage say that he literally is making a statement of the destiny of his life. I'm just going to go fishing. And he gets out there and true to form, same as Luke chapter five, doesn't catch a thing. Can you imagine that? Doesn't catch a thing. And Jesus directs him in and throw the net on this side and in comes this tremendous catch. The amazing thing to me is that Jesus blessed Peter. You know, did it make sense that he wouldn't catch anything? Wouldn't you expect Jesus to say, sirs, you're right, Peter, you know. But instead he blessed him. And I want to submit to you today that many of us also have experienced great blessing from God. Peter represents us in our failures, but he also represents us in our successes. And that's when Jesus asks him this critical question. He says, Peter, Simon, Peter, do you love me more than these? Now, if you've heard sermons on this before, you've heard messages on this, you may have always said, well, what is the, who are the these? Well, it's the other disciples. For the first time this week, I believe the Lord showed me something different. I believe the these that Jesus is talking about are the fish. Do you love me more than these, more than the blessing? See, later on, Jesus said, don't compare yourself to John. He's saying, Peter, you've experienced the blessing. You've got it in hand. Do you love me more than these? And that is the critical question I want to ask you today. Do you love me more than these? You know, the church in America is loaded down with these things. I can put a few statistics. Do we have those statistics, please? Do you know that 99% of all giving in the church in America is spent right here? We spend it on ourselves. We have more, much more, and most of any people in the world. Next, there's one minister for every 230 people in America, and one for every 450,000 people in unevangelized countries. Next, 99.9% of all TV and radio is consumed by Christians. In other words, the last of the world are not listening. Don't think that we're going to win the world by broadcasting. 99% of all Christian literature, the Bibles that you have holding your hand, the books that you read, the tracts, 99% are read by Christians. Ooh, aren't we doing great things writing more books for more Christian history? And on and on it goes. You see, we have become a church, a people of consuming blessing. The average person gives $1.50 per week consuming God's blessing. Feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you? Doing better than that. Isn't that a staggering statistic? Dear ones, we have to see that Jesus is at our door today, and he's asking us a question. Do you love me more than these? The answer to this question will determine what your next decade is going to be like. It will determine the future of our church. Do you love me more than these? You know, 95% of all Americans would say they believe in God. 33% would say they're born again. I wonder what they would say if Jesus stood in front of them and said, do you love me more than these comforts, more than this posh setting, more than the blessing of prosperity and health and the gifts of the spirit and the privileges, do you love me? And if I were to ask you today, how many of you don't put your hand up, but how many of you would say, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Well, Jesus would put us on the spot and say this. He would say, feed my sheep. Take care of my lambs, feed them. This is the evidence that Christ gives for truly loving him. It's not your ability to worship the Lord and speak praise. It's not your ability to memorize scripture or to speak in tongues if you do. Or to teach the kids or give some glorious exposition of scripture. It's not the things that we normally equate. I said, no, when the Lord asked me that question, do you love me more than these this week? I said, well, Lord, you know that I love you. I mean, I'm the pastor. I'm in church every day. I have quiet times every day. I give my tithe and again my tithe. The Lord said, so do the Pharisees. Feed my sheep, take care of my lambs, feed my sheep. How do you know if you really love Christ? It isn't just a doctrine that you believe. It's not because you have your name on the North Way directory. Reading this morning in the book of Revelation, did you know it says to five of the seven churches, Jesus says, I know your deeds? Not I know your doctrine, not I know your worship style. I know your deeds. Let me take you back to that little village now. When I showed up in this scene, I said, Lord, how am I going to know? Well, the service began. About 150 people packed into this little building. It was just packed with people, men on the one side, women on the other side with the kids. You know, anytime a kid made a sound, it was boom, you know. And I listened. They sang some songs. Never heard singing like that. Then they had a presentation. They gave out some awards to some people who had done some things. Wow, that was something. Then the pastor got up and gave a message and he went on. And I guess it was a good message. I couldn't tell you. Just kept going on and on. Then they had some special music, which I brought home for the praise team to work on. We just need to make a few adjustments. But all of those things that happened could have been staged. Then someone stood up spontaneously and asked to come up and give a testimony and told through the interpreter, told of the fact that that week, the hurricane that had come through, maybe you read about it, a hurricane hit right along the villages where we visited. If my slides came out, you can't imagine the devastation. And they said how when the hurricane hit, how the other Christians in their village had rallied around and pulled together and shared what they had. And then another one stood up and said, he lost one of his little hand tools that was necessary for his employment and someone else had given him theirs. Then another woman stood up and she said, you know, on the way to church today, the spirit of God led me to go to this little hut to pray for a man who'd been sick for four days. And I went in and I prayed in Jesus name and the man was healed. And people all clapped and I said, this is tremendous. And the man stood up and he said, that's true. I'm the one that was healed. I began to sense in my spirit. These people know God. Then following the testimonies, it came time for the offering. And it's a strange thing because you figure in a nation like this with no income to speak of, the average income is $300 a year. Most of these people had very few clothes on. The women did their best with the little saris to kind of, you know, be bright and colorful, but it was very shabby. And when the offering baskets went by, they were little cloth pouches on the end of a stick. And watch with amazement as every single person put something. It took about 10 minutes to take the offering because every person put something in. Then we had communion, which I'll tell you about another time because it was so profound. Following communion, I couldn't believe my eyes because they took another offering. And I leaned over to our interpreter, I said, what are they doing? He said, he's taking an offering for the poor, a thank offering. And I heard Jesus saying in my spirit, take care of my sheep, feed my lambs, feed my sheep. I knew that these people really loved God because they took care of each other. They sacrificed and they gave freely. Now you may ask yourself as I did, why would they do that? I talked to the pastor afterwards and I said, why are these people generous like this having so little? You know what he told me? He said something that I haven't really quite fathomed yet. He said, number one, these people give because they have come out of darkness into a light that they never knew existed. The Hindu religion is so dark. When we sang today, shine Jesus, shine. The darkness over that country is indescribable. These people have come out of a personal darkness into a personal light. And so they're giving thankfully. But number two, we said they also give because they discovered that when they give, God gives back to them. And they won't let anyone rob them of the privilege of giving. And he said, we learned this lesson the hard way for one of our churches started and people from the West gave the money to raise up the church and to equip the church. And that church split and died because the people didn't give. And I said, Lord, please teach us the simplicity of that principle. That's the essence of living is in the giving. It's in the caring. The Lord spoke to our church in our first few weeks and he said to the leadership, I will send you all that you will care for. I thank God for being so simple that even slow people like us didn't miss it. The problem is, folks, with this many and more and more, it takes you and you and you and you and you and you and you. To care. So what does this mean? Following last night's message, one nice thing about having three messages, I get a lot of time to readjust. I said, Lord, what does this really mean to us? Is this just another message that maybe will inspire a few and the rest will kind of say, well, I love God, no big deal. I can't tell you what God would say is your response. And I'm not asking you today to make something up just so you can say, well, I try. I want to say this, though. One thing it means to me is that no matter how spiritual I get, no matter how blessed I become, I'll never, ever, ever relinquish my responsibility to care for you. We will always be, I will always be a person, we'll always be a church that loves individual people. That may mean for you in your home group. Now, obviously, just like I'm married to one woman, but I can love all the women in Christ. You may have a home group that's your focus of care and love and attention. Feed my sheep, Jesus says. It may mean for you that if you have some gifts with children, you spend some time with our kids, loving them, feeding the lambs of God. If that verse means anything, it means take care of our children, does it not? It may mean for you that you spend your Sunday afternoon going to the hospitals and visiting the sick and the needy. It may mean for you that you give up your Saturday evening and come down to the banquet and serve. It may mean for you that you sacrifice some choice blessing that you are storing up for the sake of the property that we believe we're going to acquire. All I know is that Jesus said, don't just say you love me, feed my sheep. Take care of my sheep. Feed my lambs. I was praying at the end of my trip. We had a wonderful guide on my trip to the villages and his name was Jerry, sort of. I never got the names right. We'll call him Jerry. Very intelligent man, had his master's degree, but was limited in what he could accomplish in India and yet was satisfied serving the Lord. And the thought crossed my mind, what if Jerry would come to North Way? And what if Jerry would ask the same question that I asked about his people? What if Jerry would say, how would I really know if they loved Jesus? And I thought, would he see it in the building? Maybe, maybe not. This building could be anything. Well, would he see it in the banners? Maybe, but he couldn't read them. Would he hear it in the music? Maybe, but he wouldn't understand very much of it. But last Wednesday night, if Jerry had been here, he would have known that we loved Jesus. He would have heard the testimonies to the people that had been helped by other people in the body. He would have heard the Buranti family saying that when cancer struck their family head on, they saw Jesus in the hands of their home group members and friends and loved ones. He would have heard and seen and experienced the presence of the Lord. By God's grace, in 1990 and beyond, we're going to grow deeper in love with Christ and show to the world more than we ever have that we love him by our love for one another, by feeding his sheep, taking care of his lambs, by feeding his sheep. Let's stand for prayer. Heavenly Father, I would ask you in these closing moments of the service to be very specific in the hearts of everyone who would have ears to hear. Lord, it needn't be a burden, but it can be an opportunity. Lord, maybe it would begin by just one here today reaching out to another, extending a word of concern or interest or care. Maybe it would begin, Lord, by someone giving something that they hold dear. I ask you, Lord Jesus, open our hearts, fill us with what you want to bring out of us. Give us eyes to see what you want to do in us, in Jesus. Let's sing this together. Soften my heart, Lord. Soften my heart, Lord. Soften my heart, from all indifference set me apart. To feel your compassion, to weep with your tears. Come soften my heart, oh Lord, soften my heart. Let's try it one more time. Soften my heart, Lord, soften my heart. From all indifference, from all indifference set me apart. Set me apart. To feel your compassion, to weep with your tears. Come soften my heart, oh Lord, soften my heart. So we can say that we love you. I love you, more than anything, I love you. More than anything, I love you. Lord, I give my life to you. I love you, Lord, sing it. I love you, Lord, more than anything, I love you. More than anything, I love you. Lord, I give my life to you. So I'll praise you. I'll praise you. You're the Holy One. You're the Holy One. I'll praise you. You're the Holy One. Lord, I give my life to you. Lord, I give my life to you. Keep our heads in prayer for just a moment. I want to ask you today to let your faith now give expression to the will that's in you. If the Lord, through the course of this morning and particularly during this message, just began to stir something and maybe had gotten a little cold about your expression of your love for Him. If you're hearing Jesus say to you today, do you love me? And you want to say, Lord, you know I love you. I want to take care of your sheep. I want to feed your lambs. Get me back on the path, Lord. Go ahead and lift your hand right now and tell the Lord that, would you? Lord, I want that. I want to be refreshed in that. Go ahead, all around the room. Go ahead. Lord, I want that today. I don't want to lose sight of the simple things. I want to care for your sheep. Thank you. You may put your hand down. I'd like you to look up for just a moment. Just in case today, in the event that you've come and maybe as a regular part of the church or maybe just as a first-time visitor, you knew that if honestly you stood before God, you'd have to say, Lord, I don't know if I love you. I don't even know you. But I want to know you. I don't think it's possible for you to have been through this service and not sensed His presence. But that isn't enough. You don't assimilate a relationship with God. You choose. Being around other Christians doesn't make you a Christian. Being born into a Christian home does not make you a believer. You need to decide. Jesus made it very simple. He said, if you simply repented, that is, turn from your sin and accept my forgiveness, you'll be born again. I'm going to give opportunity in this service for anyone who would like to say that today. And I'm sure there's several of you who would like to. And here's how we'll do it. We're going to pray in a moment. And you'll just simply say, Lord, receive my life today. I want to know you. I want to love you. I want to be there in front of your throne, received by you on that last day. Let's bow our heads, please. And if that's true for you today and you're here today and you want to say, Pastor Jay, I'm not sure I understand what it all means, but I want to know God in my own life. I want to know Christ today. Pray with me right now. The simple prayer, Heavenly Father. I open my heart to Christ. Lord, all the failures, all the denials, all the broken promises, all the sin. Even as Peter, I put it down now. And I receive grace by faith. I receive new life. In Jesus name. Now, your head is bowed. Everyone in the room is alike. But if you just prayed or that was the essence of your prayer, that's what your heart is saying today. And you want to know that God has heard your prayer. Because I'm going to ask you to do all around the room. I'm going to ask you to lift your head in a moment and let our eyes meet. You're just yours and mine. When my eyes meet yours, you're going to sense in your heart that God's heard your prayer. That you are his child. That he knows you and loves you. Wherever your head is bowed, I won't embarrass you. I'll just acknowledge wherever you stand. Every head is bowed. You lift your head right now and let our eyes meet. If you want to know Christ personally today. If you just pray with me. Let me see your eyes, okay? Over here in this section, wave at me. If I miss you, I'll agree wherever you stand. Is there anyone here? Your eyes meet mine, wave at me. I see you, ma'am. And I agree in Jesus name. Anyone else over here? Let me see your eyes right in this moment. I need Christ in my life. Here in the center section now. Wave at me as I glance over the room. Anyone at all? I need the Lord. And here on the left. I believe there was someone. Wave at me again if I didn't see you the first time. Yes, sir. Okay. You receive the knowledge, the assurance of Christ's love in your heart today. Anyone else? Just wave at me. I need the Lord. Yes, ma'am. Is that why you're looking at me? Yes. God bless you. It's an important decision that the Lord hears today. He loves you very much. One last time. Wave at me if I missed anybody. I need the Lord today. I don't want to miss him. Father, we thank you right now for the power that's in Jesus name. To hear every prayer today. Everyone said amen. Please be seated.