Am I A Committed Christian?

SERMON OUTLINE

• 💭 Consider this: Have you been tempted to compare your walk, calling, or suffering to someone else’s? How does this comparison rob your peace, contentment, and joy in Christ?
• I. The Test Of Discipleship
• II. The Focus Of Discipleship

TRANSCRIPT

Our text for this morning’s message is taken from John 21:18-23.

None of us know when we will die. None of us know what will happen in the future. If we are enjoying good health and strength today, we may anticipate that perhaps we will have a good number of years more to live. If we still have our existing jobs and resources, we may anticipate that things will remain the same as they are. But the reality is that none of us can be 100% sure.

Dear friend, what if you know exactly when you are going to die and how you are going to die? How would you respond to the events of life if you know exactly what your future will be? You are going to die in your youth. Or you are going to die a martyr’s death and suffer because of your Christian faith all the days of your life. Would you not be paralysed with fear? Or would you respond any differently if you know that things will be all right and you are going to die at a very old age?

The disciple Peter was given a very special revelation because the Lord Jesus revealed to him about his future for a sovereign purpose that we may not understand. Jesus told Peter how his life would end. And with that piece of information, Peter had the responsibility to live his life in light of what he knew.

As Christians, though we may not know the future, but we must be committed to live our lives according to the information we know from the Word of God that we may follow Christ and become more and more like Him. Our entire life is about discipleship. And we must not be distracted from our commitment to discipleship. The title of our message is ‘Am I A Committed Christian’? There are two points in our message: the test of discipleship and the focus of discipleship.

I. The Test Of Discipleship

A committed Christian is someone who will stand the test of discipleship. Let us look at verses 18-19 of John 21. Jesus said to Peter, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me”.

Here, Jesus foretold Peter’s death. There’s a saying: ‘God has appointed a day for our entrance into this world, our birth. And He has appointed a day for our exit out of this world, our death’. It is a certainty that Peter would leave this world in the way that Jesus had described for him. That was why Jesus said, “Verily, verily” (John 21:18a) which means ‘truly, truly’ from which we get the word ‘Amen’.

“When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest” (John 21:18b). When a person is young, he’s able to fasten his own belt; he’s able to go where he wants to go. Here, it means that there was a time when Peter was in control of his own actions. “[But] when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not” (John 21:18c). In other words, there will come a time when others would arrest Peter, bind him, and carry him away to be killed.

Before he died, Peter was going to be a captive of someone else’s desire. He was going to go to where he would not want to go. Many theologians believe that the phrase “stretch forth thy hands” refers to the crucifixion where the prisoner will stretch forth his hand to be bound with ropes on the crossbeam. According to tradition, Peter was crucified. Apparently, he requested to be crucified upside down because he felt that he was unworthy to be crucified as Jesus did.

Remember, Peter had denied the Lord three times (John 18:15-18, 25-27) and Jesus had just restored him (John 21:15-17). In the preceding verses, Jesus asked Peter three times, ‘Do you love Me?’ and three times Peter answered, ‘Yes, Lord. You know that I love You’. But here, Jesus wanted Peter to know that his profession of love would be tested.

Dear friend, we may say how much we love God; how much we desire to worship and serve Him. But that love has to be proven; that love has to be tested in order for it to be true. That is why trials and tribulations are meant to reveal that our profession of love and faith are true.

After this event, Peter would live for another thirty years and then die as a martyr. So, he had to live every moment of his life with this prediction hanging over his head. If this is the price I have to pay for following Christ, is it worth it? Can you imagine if you have been told in advance that you are going to die by having your head cut off by the terrorist or to be burned at the stake? Would you not be paralysed with fear? Would you not be distracted from the call to ‘feed the sheep’ (John 21:15-17)?

The only way Peter could pass the test of discipleship was to follow Christ faithfully and never to take his eyes away from Him. The fact that Jesus had told Peter of his impending death, and the manner in which he would die that he might glorify God, and then Jesus said, “Follow me” (John 21:18-19). It implies that even at the moment of death, God would still be with him. God was always with him. That is a reality that we must never forget.

In our lives, there will be times of victories; there will be times of struggles, rejoicing, and sorrow. But God is never absent from the events of our lives. God is always faithful. He is faithful to us when we were young. He is faithful to us when we are old. He is faithful to us despite our failures. He’s always there to guide and lead us. The test of our discipleship is to keep obeying the command, “Follow me” (John 21:19), regardless of what situations or circumstances that may come.

To follow Christ is to be willing to walk away from everything and everyone, and pursue Him and Him alone, and become more and more like Him. To pursue Christ is to be willing to suffer for Him. As Jesus said, “If any man will come [to] me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross… and follow me” (Luke 9:23). It is relatively easy to say, ‘I follow Christ’ in good times. But what about in difficult times? That is the real test of discipleship.

Jesus could have told Peter this piece of information about his martyrdom at the moment when He first called him to be fishers of men, or at his conversion, or during the Sermon on the Mount. But He did not do that. Instead, He chose to tell him at this very moment after having spent His entire earthly ministry with Peter. In a sense, Jesus was preparing and moulding Peter to be the person He wanted him to be. Jesus knew Peter was ready. So, He revealed to him what kind of a future and what kind of death he would be facing (John 21:18-19).

Dear friend, God knows everything about us. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows what kind of burdens we are able to carry. And He will not allow us to carry a burden or a weight that is beyond our ability. The reason why we are facing a certain particular trial today — for some of us — is because God allows it to happen. He knows that we are ready. And He wants to mould us to be the person He wants us to be.

Every day of our lives, our faiths would be tested whether in the form of the decisions we make, the persecutions and challenges we face, the issues we have to deal with. You and I must fight a good fight of faith and pass the test of discipleship. The fact that Peter followed Christ despite knowing that there would be great difficulties and ultimately death by martyrdom speaks of true faith and true discipleship. Are you willing to follow Christ only in good times? Or are you willing to follow Him, regardless of whatever situations and circumstances of life?

II. The Focus Of Discipleship

Secondly, a committed Christian is someone who is focused on discipleship. When Jesus said, “Follow me” (John 21:19), it is a personal commitment to follow Him; it is not a commitment based on others. If others follow Christ then I will follow Him. If others serve Christ then I will follow and serve Him. No, it is a personal commitment that every one of us would have to make.

As Jesus and Peter were speaking, they were walking. Verse 20 said, “Then Peter, turning [around], seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on [the] breast at supper” — Jesus’ breast or Jesus’ chest — “and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee”? This is a reference to the disciple, John.

How do we know? John 13:23 tells us that the one who leaned on Jesus’ breast at the Lord’s Table and asked, ‘Who is he that will betray You?’ (John 13:25) was the disciple, John. When we subtract from all the disciples mentioned in the Gospel of John, we know that the disciple whom Jesus loved was none other than John.

So, verse 21 said, “Peter seeing him” — that is, John — “saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do”? Peter had just been told that he would die a martyr’s death. And he asked Jesus, ‘What about him? If I were to die a martyr’s death, what about him, John?’ (John 21:18-19). Verse 22, “Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to [you]? follow thou me”. In other words, ‘Peter, I told you about your life. And you are asking Me about his life. Why are you so concerned about other people’s lives’?

God wants us to focus on our own lives, just as Jesus wanted Peter to focus on his own life. There are three valuable lessons we can learn from Jesus’ answer to Peter.

Firstly, we need to understand that whatever happens to us is determined by God. Jesus said, “If I will that he tarry till I come” which means ‘if it is My Will that he remains until I return’. You see. Whose will is it that determines the outcome of Peter’s life? Whose will is it that determines the outcome of John’s life? Is it not the Will of God? And Jesus’ Will is God’s Will. Jesus was speaking as God because Jesus is God. It was God’s Will that Peter would die a martyr’s death (John 21:18-19). And it was also God’s Will that John would go on to live a long life and be exiled to the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Both were also God’s Will.

Dear friend, whatever happens to us is determined by God. The years of our lives, the outcomes of our lives, the events of our lives are all determined by him. We may not understand many things nor do we pretend to understand those things. Why a person would die at such a young age while the other person would live up to such an old age? Why a person would suffer cancer while the other person would enjoy good health and strength? Why some are rich while others are poor? Why some are strong while others are weak?

But one thing we do understand. And that is God has determined a certain portion for you and a certain portion for me. And whatever is our portion is determined by Him. The earlier we know and understand this truth, the better it is. And we can say like the Apostle Paul, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Secondly, we need to focus on what Jesus truly meant and not be confused by what He did not mean. Verse 23 said, “Then went [forth] this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die”. It is interesting how a conversation could spread so quickly to the other people, especially a misconception, misinformation, or misinterpretation.

What happened when Jesus said, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to [you]? follow thou me”? Immediately, the people concluded that John would not die; that John would be around when Jesus returns. That is not true because even at this point in time, as we speak, we are still waiting for the Lord’s Return. That was not what Jesus meant. Look at the end of verse 23, “[Yet] Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die”. This was not what Jesus meant.

“[But], If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to [you]?” (John 21:23c). What Jesus was trying to say was: ‘Even if it is My Will that he remains until I return. How does that concern you? How does that affect you? What has that got to do with you? You follow Me. And stop looking at others’. That was the point.

You see how people could so easily misinterpret what we say and miss the point. We need to listen carefully to what the Word of God says and we also need to listen carefully to what other people say so we will not misinterpret and miss the point. It is very frustrating when the person whom we are ministering to misinterpret what we are saying. They think they understand what we are saying. But, in reality, they do not understand. Have you ever experienced that? You say something and people take it to mean another thing.

Surely, as parents, we have experienced that with our children. For example, your child says to you, ‘Dad, can I attend my friend’s party this coming Saturday’? You said, ‘No. You cannot attend your friend’s party this coming Saturday’. Then he says, ‘Fine. You don’t want me to have friends’. Did he hear you wrongly? Is that what you said? You didn’t say anything about having friends. People tend to pick and choose what they want to hear out of context. Very often, it is not a matter of ignorance. But a reflection of our sinfulness.

We must never do that with our conversation with people. How much more with the Word of God? We must listen carefully to what the Bible says. When someone is teaching us the Word of God, we must listen carefully to what the person is actually teaching us and not assume what we think he is teaching us. Jesus was focusing on the point: “Follow me” (John 21:19). ‘Stop looking around. You follow Me’. But they missed the point.

Thirdly, we need to focus on what is God’s Will for ourselves. And understand, for a fact, that what is God’s Will for others is not our concern. Not that we do not care about others, but we must not be busy bodies. Parents, have you ever told your children to do something and then their immediate reaction is to turn around and point at their siblings? ‘But what about them’? It is funny, right? How they suddenly become so concerned about their siblings, about what their siblings would do, when they themselves have been told to do something.

Peter had just been told about his future and what kind of death he will be facing (John 21:19). Instead of focusing on his own life and how he ought to deal with his own situation, he was thinking about John. ‘What about him?’ (John 21:21). That was why Jesus had to teach Peter. ‘I have My Will for John. Whatever I’ve determined for him, what is that to you? Even if I have determined that he will remain until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:22).

Perhaps, in our common language today, it means ‘that is none of your business’ in a rude way. That is God’s perrogative. Who are we to question God’s Will in regards to someone else, His Will for someone else? We be concerned about what is His Will for us.

Peter seems to have a problem with comparison. Remember, how he once compared himself with the other disciples. He said to Jesus, ‘Though all of them forsake You, Lord, I will never forsake You’ (Matthew 26:33). But that was not true. He denied the Lord three times (John 18:15-18, 25-27). And now, he did the same comparison thing again. ‘If that was my situation, then what about him?’ (John 21:21).

I believe we all have the same problem with Peter, or as Peter. We like to compare ourselves among ourselves. We do that all the time. We compare our situation with others. We compare our services with others. Why are we doing more than others? Why should we be serving when others are not serving? Sometimes, I ask a person whether or not he is able to serve in a particular ministry. And the response I get is: ‘Have you asked so and so? What about so and so’? If I wanted to ask that person, I would have spoken to him. But I came to you.

It is hard to understand how his decision is going to affect your decision to serve the Lord. It is a personal decision. It is a personal commitment to discipleship. It is not based on others. And this comparison mentality is not isolated to the service of God only. It has affected every aspect of our lives. ‘Why does he get that job? Why is she able to have a boyfriend and I don’t have one? Why is he called to the ministry but I am not called? Why is his income, his house and his car better than mine’? We start to complain that it is not fair, and the next thing we know, we are murmuring against God.

Even preachers do that. Some preachers who struggle in the ministry, and when they consider how other preachers are not facing the same kind of problems they are facing, they tend to think, ‘Why do I have to go through all these problems while they seem to be free from struggles’? Think about it, dear friend. Does it make you feel any better just to know that others are suffering? Are you such a person? If not, why are we behaving like that?

As a pastor, it is easy for me to fall into the trap of comparing myself with other pastors. I’m not exempted. And I wonder, why does God bless their ministries but not mine? I would love to have just a fraction of the impact they have on the people, but I need to realise that I’m not who they are. They may have unique gifts and abilities that I do not have. We need to know that every one of us is a special, unique individual created in the image of God, and our portions from God are all different.

I remember the testimony of how God has blessed the ministry of the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon. Everyone knows who Charles Spurgeon is, but hardly anyone knows or ever heard of John Spurgeon, his father. But without John Spurgeon, there will be no Charles Spurgeon. John Spurgeon was a godly, faithful pastor, but he had lived and died in obscurity, except only for the fact that he had a famous son according to God’s sovereign purpose and His Will. The famous son, Charles Spurgeon, was plagued with health problems and only live up to 57 years old. Whereas the obscure father outlive his son and died at 90 years old.

Both men were equally committed and faithful, but God used and blessed both men so differently. God may say to us, “Learn all you can from Charles Spurgeon, but I want to use you in the way I use John Spurgeon. Nobody may know you, but it doesn’t matter. What is that to you? That is My Will for you. Follow thou Me.” You just need to be focused on following Me. Let us all look inwardly, not outwardly, and compare with others. Otherwise, we will be distracted, if not discouraged, and soon we will not follow Christ.

Consider this. What good would it be for Peter to know that John would languish all alone in exile on the island of Patmos? What good would it do to him? What good would it be to Peter to know that John would outlive all the other 11 apostles, including Matthias, who took over Judas Iscariot? What good would it be to John for him to know that all his fellow apostles have gone to heaven to be with Christ while he is still struggling on this earth?

If it is beneficial for them to know, God will surely let them know. If it is beneficial for you and me to know, He will also want us to know. But these are things that are absolutely of no good purpose to us. And yet we always want to know. We want to compare.

Twice, Jesus gave the command, “Follow Me,” “Follow thou Me.” It was a personal call to him, and the response must be personal to him. So do not be distracted, but rather be focused on discipleship. And true discipleship is about following Christ. Whether others are faithfully following Christ or not, one day everyone would have to stand before Christ to give an account. We must make sure that we are faithfully following Christ.

Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand on the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Do you know what would happen if you put your hand on the plough and you look back or you look elsewhere? You will not go straight. You’ll be going all over the place. And that would not be pleasing and acceptable to God. Today, none of us here have the experience of putting our hands on the plough.

But by way of illustration, I once was driving the church van in Singapore, and I was putting both my hands on the steering wheel, and then I saw my friend sitting at the bus stop. And he saw the church van, and he was waving at me. So, I left my left hand only to wave back at him, and I turned to say hello. My van went off the curb and almost hit the tree, but by the grace of God, I stopped just in front of the tree.

We will not go off track when we are committed to discipleship, to serving God. It is not based on the commitments of others. It is based on our personal commitments. What is that to you? You follow Me. Follow thou Me.

So, we need to ask ourselves this question: Am I someone who is able to stand the test of discipleship? Whatever trials may come into my life, whatever tribulations may come in between my services for my God, others may give up and walk away. But I will persevere because I want to follow Christ all the days of my life.

Am I someone who is focused on discipleship? Do I understand that everything happens not by chance, nor coincidence, but they are determined by God? And God has a Will for me just as He has His Will for the rest. And I will not compare myself with what God is doing in other people’s life. Rather, I’m focused on what God is doing in my life. Am I doing what is God’s Will for me?

God had revealed to Peter how he would die, and he had a responsibility to live in light of what he knew. Do you realise that God has revealed many things to us? He has revealed our future. The Bible has recorded for us so clearly that if --- Jesus, before He comes in the clouds --- we were to die, our bodies will be buried, but our souls will go to be with Him. And when He comes, our bodies will be raised from the graves to be united with our souls in a glorified body. And we will be with Him forever and ever.

But if we are still alive when Jesus comes in the clouds, then we would be raptured to meet Him in the air, and we will be transformed into a glorified body in the twinkling of an eye. That is just how fast it is. And we will forever be with Him for all eternity. Then we will come onto this earth as glorified saints with our Lord and rule the earth for 1,000 years. And this present heaven and earth would be destroyed because they have been tainted by sin. God would create the new heavens and the new earth. And we will dwell in the New Jerusalem forever and ever.

In a similar fashion, God has already told us about our future just as He had told His disciple Peter. In light of all this information we have, how have we lived our lives? Are we able to say, “I have lived my life in light of whatever the Bible has recorded for me, and I believe it with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength”? If we have done so, then this is what it means to be a committed Christian.

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we give Thee thanks for this Lord’s Day and this opportunity to consider the conversation between our Lord Jesus and the disciple Peter. And truly, oftentimes we are just like Peter. We like to compare our situations with other people’s situations, our services with other people’s situations. And He has affected every aspect of our lives. But Thou has taught us that Thou has a sovereign Will for each and every one of us. And what Thou has for others may be different from what Thou has for us.

And we ought to be concerned not about what Thy Will is for others or what others are doing for Thee, but what Thy Will is for us and what we are doing for Thee. As Jesus said, “What is that to thee?” May these words pierce into our hearts and remain there, so that all of us, in times when we are unhappy, bitter, where we look at others, murmur and complain, we are reminded of these words: “What is that to thee? You follow Me.”

It is a personal commitment, and we want to make this personal commitment to follow Thee, to stand the test of discipleship. Whatever trials, situations, circumstances, and adversities will not stop us from following Thee. This is what it means to be a committed Christian. Help us to live such a life through the wonderworking of Thy Spirit. For we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF JOHN

The Truth about Christmas

The Truth about Christmas

John 1:9-14

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

Philippians 3:3, John 4:4-30

Message 7: Effectual Fervent Prayer

Message 7: Effectual Fervent Prayer

James 5:13-18

Search the Scripture

Search the Scripture

John 5:39

Message 4: The Path of Discipleship

Message 4: The Path of Discipleship

John 8:31

The Lord’s Sheep

The Lord’s Sheep

John 10:26-30

Message 3: Description of a Personal Relationship with God – Vine and Branches

Message 3: Description of a Personal Relationship with God – Vine and Branches

John 15:1-11

Message 4: Description of a Personal Relationship with God – Friends

Message 4: Description of a Personal Relationship with God – Friends

John 15:12-17

I Pray For Them

I Pray For Them

John 17:9

Am I A Committed Christian?

Am I A Committed Christian?

John 21:18-23