The passage that we've read together this morning records for us what I might call the reinstatement or the restoration of Simon Peter. This 21st chapter of John's Gospel represents a new beginning for one who had gotten his eyes off the Lord. This passage of the Word of God records events that took place on the occasion of Christ's third appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. We are told that in verse 14 of the chapter. Now it's very clear to me as I read through this portion of scripture that this appearance of the Lord Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee had very special significance for Peter. If you just read on the surface of this portion, you see that the Holy Ghost draws attention all the way through to Simon Peter. It is Peter who is referred to in verse 2 as the first of the seven disciples who joined together to go on a fishing expedition. And verse 3 shows us that Peter is the instigator of this fishing expedition. Simon Peter said unto them, I go a fishing. And the rest of them joined him and said, we also go with thee. We see in verse 7 that the disciple whom Jesus loved, and that's a beautiful title for the writer of this gospel, John the Beloved. And you'll notice too that it does not say the disciple who loved Jesus. It says, the disciple whom Jesus loved. And he said to Peter, it is the Lord. And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, and he covered himself up and cast himself into the sea. He was anxious to get to the Lord Jesus. Verse 11 shows us that it is Simon Peter who draws the net to land that is full of great fishes. And it is in verse 15 and onwards that we see the Lord Jesus, while he was speaking to all of the disciples, have specially in mind Simon Peter. When they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me. This portion shows Christ taking a special dealing with one man. This is a man who has denied the Lord. This is one who has forsaken the Lord. We know that is true of all the disciples, for they all forsook Him and fled. But Peter, particularly, is singled out as one who, in a most heinous way, denied the Lord Jesus Christ with oaths and curses. And in that way, Peter had, in a sense, forfeited his right to the office of an apostle. And right here in John chapter 21 we see the mercy and the grace and the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ in dealing with this one who has gone away from Him. And right now the official reinstatement of this man to the office is to take place. This represents a new start for Simon Peter. Now it's very interesting to notice The first thing that the disciples saw as they approached Jesus at the shore. Look at verse 9 of John 21. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there. This particular phrase is only used one other time in the New Testament. It's also in the Gospel of John. Chapter 18 and verse 18. And there we read and the servants and officers stood there who had made a fire of coals for it was cold and they warmed themselves and Peter stood with them and warmed himself. How do you imagine Simon Peter felt when he approached the shore? There he saw standing on the shore the Lord Jesus Christ right beside a fire of coals. The last time Peter had looked at a fire of coals, he was standing in the palace of the high priest. It was at that fire of coals that he denied his Lord with oaths and curses. And now as he saw that fire of coals and the Lord Jesus standing beside it, surely he must have been pricked in his heart. Surely he must have been grieved. and felt ashamed as he thought about his cowardly denial of the Saviour. I believe that the Lord did this deliberately. Everything that the Lord does is deliberate. Everything that the Lord does is with purpose. And here he is restoring Peter. Without even saying a word, Peter is put in his heart. And the interview that followed at that fire of Coles have special reference to Peter. And I want today, with the Lord's help, to look at that interview and seek to glean some lessons from it, for in that we have the restoration of Simon Peter. First of all, I want you to notice with me the personal challenges that the Lord Jesus issued. Personal challenges to Peter. Yes, there were seven disciples there, Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, The two sons of Zebedee, James and John, and two other disciples who are not named. But the Lord singles out Peter. There are many of us here this morning in the Lord's house, but we know that the Lord has a word for the individual. The Lord speaks to us on a personal basis. The Lord dealt with Peter by asking him some searching questions. He challenges him personally and individually. Now I want you to notice these personal challenges and the wisdom of Christ in asking these particular questions. Now the Lord asked three questions of Peter in verses 15, 16 and 17. Look at verse 15. When they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these." Verse 16, He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me. And then verse 17, He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me. The Lord asked him this personal question, concerning his love for Christ or whether such love even existed. He asked Peter about his love for him exactly the same number of times that Peter had denied the Lord. And this is no coincidence. The Lord knows what he's doing. The Lord knows how to lay bare our hearts before him. And here the Lord asked Peter three times Simon, lovest thou me? As if to highlight Peter's denial of him, for we know that before the cup did cool twice, Peter had denied the Lord thrice, three times. When he was asked, Do you know this man? Art thou also one of his disciples? We know that he said, always in the negative, No, I do not know him. Now the Lord is asking Peter, Do you love me? And he asked him three times, and it had the desired effect, didn't it? Verse 17, halfway down the verse, we read Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? He was convicted, he was pricked in his conscience. Oh, the skill of the master in restoring Peter to a place of usefulness. Not once do we find the Lord mentioning directly His cowardly denial. We don't find the Lord saying, Peter, look, remember the fire of Coles? Remember what you did in the high priest's palace? He never said that. He just spoke the fire of Coles. Let that speak for itself. I think the Lord many times in dealing with men did not condemn them directly, but He spoke to them in such a way that by their conscience they condemned themselves. That's what he did here with Peter. He uses great skill. Never mentions the fact that he denied him three times, but yet he asked the question, lovest thou me? Three times. And Peter was convicted. There's always a temptation for the preacher to use the pulpit as coward's castle to say a lot of things to the people, but he might not say to them one on one. It's always a temptation to cut loose at times in the Pope. But I don't think it's always necessary, very rarely is it necessary for the preacher to directly mention our shortcomings and our sins in order that the Spirit of God might convict us. Often times just the Word of God itself points out our sins and we are ashamed. I remember when I was the minister in Mount Marian, there was a young man who stayed behind one Lord's Day night And at the door, trembling, with tears running down his face, he said, I need to be saved. And so we went to a room at the back of the church and we spoke together. He cried out to the Lord for mercy. And just out of curiosity, I asked him afterwards just what it was in the message that night that had gripped his heart. What was it that spoke to him that night? And he said, well actually it was nothing in the message. It was the scripture reading. He said, God dealt with my heart as you read the word of God. No wonder Paul said to Timothy, give attendance to reading. That's the public reading of the word. To reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. And that's a humbling thing when somebody says to you, it wasn't the message, it was the word of God that you read. But that just reminded me of the comment of Robert Murray McShane, where he said, Brethren, it is not our comment upon the Word that saves, but the Word itself. The Word itself. God uses His Word. And the Lord very often, in His Word, points out our sins, and we're convicted by our own conscience. Now notice how the Lord also asked Peter if he really had more regard for him than had the other disciples. Look at verse 15. I've heard some weird and wonderful explanations of what the Lord was referring to here when he said, love us thou me more than these. One preacher I heard of actually said that the Lord was referring to the bones of the fish that they had just eaten that were sitting there on the fire of coals. I don't know where he got that from, but that is not what the Lord was speaking about. I think it's a very simple explanation. When the Lord asked, lovest thou me more than these, the Lord was pointing to the other disciples. You see, Peter's boast had been, and you can read this in Mark chapter 14 and verse 29, Peter's boast had been, although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Lord, if these other fellows all run away, I will not run away. I will stick by you, Lord. We know what happened. That was seen and shown to be an idol boast. And the Lord is teaching Peter from past experience not to make rash statements, not to make rash promises. Yet all should forsake thee, yet will not I. And maybe today there's one here and you're saying that not with your lips but in your heart. And you're saying, well, Lord, I could never do such and such a thing. I would never stoop to such and such a thing. The Bible says, Let him that standeth take heed, lest he fall. Peter made an idle boast, and the Lord showed it to be idle. Now he asked them the question, Peter, do you really love me more than these other disciples? The wisdom of Christ in asking these questions. We note also in these challenges, these personal challenges, the way Peter was addressed. I think this is significant. The Lord always did use the term Simon in speaking to Peter, but notice how he phrases it here in verse 15 and 16 and 17. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? If you go back to the beginning of John's Gospel, to chapter 1, And verse 42, something happened there. We have a wonderful illustration in this portion of personal evangelism, even evangelism within the family. Because Andrew was one who found the Lord Jesus, and the first thing he was interested in doing was to bring his brother to Jesus. But it says in verse 42, he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone, or Peter. Simon the son of Jonah, your name will be called Peter. Now the Lord does not call him in John chapter 21 by the apostolic name of Peter but he calls him by his old name Simon son of Jonas the name Peter was given because he confessed Christ thou art Peter And upon this rock, this great confession of my deity, I will build my church. But having denied the Lord with these oaths and curses, the Lord calls him by the old name, Simon, son of Jonah. Oh, what a stinging rebuke that would have been to this disciple of the Lord. And by implication, the Lord is showing him that he has left the office of an apostle. By denying the Savior, he's turned his back on Christ. Simon, son of Jonah. That was a challenge. And then consider the words which are used to describe Peter's feelings in this chapter. There are two Greek words that are used here describing love or affection. In this passage, one Greek word signifies a feeling of regard, but the other refers to a close love and affection. The first two times that the Lord asked the question, Lovest thou me? He employs what we might call the lesser word, the colder word. And what he was saying was this, Peter, do you merely have a feeling of regard for me? But every time, all three occasions, Peter uses the same word. And he answers with the warmer term. Lord, it's not just an affection, it's not just a feeling of regard that I have for Thee. I have love and close affection for Thee. And I believe that the Lord Jesus was implying by his question that Peter may have left his first love and grown cold. And maybe I'm talking to somebody this morning, and that's exactly where you're at. You're not where you used to be with God. You're not living for God the way you once were. You don't have the same zeal. You don't have the same love for Christ that you once had. You've grown cold. Peter then twice affirmed that he really did love the Lord. And Christ, in the third instance, seems satisfied with his claim, and he uses the warmer term. Peter, do you really have a deep love and affection for me? Simon, son of Jonas, love us thou may. And the convicted Peter confesses afresh the divinity of Christ as the omniscient God. For he says, Lord, thou knowest all things. And I want you to know this morning in this service, that's true. The Lord knows all things. The Lord sees your heart. Maybe there's a child or a young person here. You're from a Christian home. And your parents believe or would like to believe that you're really saved. But you know in your heart of hearts you're not saved. You've never truly come to Christ. You've never been born of the Spirit. You have never repented in truth. toward God and toward Christ. You may be able to pull the wool over the eyes of others, but the Lord Jesus knows all things. He knows the hearts of all. Every one of us here today have to recognize that Hebrews 4.13 is true, that all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Lord, Thou knowest all things. Lord, You know the state of my heart today. Nothing can be hidden from Thee. You know exactly where I'm at spiritually today. And Peter says, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. Can you say that today? With all your heart, can you say, Lord, You know all things. Lord, You know that I love You. But not only do we have here personal challenges, but there are particular charges that the Lord makes or that the Lord gives. Particular charges, the Lord in reinstating and restoring Peter as an apostle, the Lord gave to him two charges. We read of this in verse 15, 16 and 17. The Lord charges him to feed the sheep. He begins in verse 15 by saying to him, feed my lambs. Isn't it interesting that most preachers would put it the other way round? They would say, well we need to feed the sheep. And well as far as feeding the lambs, we'll leave that to the Sunday school teachers and to the children's workers or to the parents. And of course all of those have a part to play. But the preacher is to feed the sheep. And the preacher is to feed the lambs. And I want the children in my congregation, and in any congregation that I preach to, to realize that this service is for you. That this service involves you. This is not a time just to let mum and dad have their time. For the older people, this is for you. God will speak to you through His Word. Even as a child, the littlest child should be able to understand what is being said. I remember hearing a preacher once who was, I heard a tape recording, he was preaching to preachers. He said, you know a lot of you fellas are only interested in the young people when you see them at 14, 15, 16 years old sitting at the back of the church writing little notes to one another and chewing gum and sticking it to the back of the pew. Then you become really interested in the young people, because you want to call them down from the Pope, tell them to behave. They said, I'm afraid in the majority of instances, until they were 15 or 16, you really didn't have anything for them in the service. You didn't direct any of your comments to the children. You never made the young people, the lambs of the flock, feel that what was being said was being said to them as well as to the rest. And I want you to know today, the young people that are here, this message is for you. God will speak to you through His Word. Listen. to what the Lord has to say. Peter, feed my lambs. Again, there are two Greek words for feed in this portion. One refers to feeding or pastoring, shepherding. The other to ruling and superintending the flock as well as feeding. And here I believe the offices of a true pastor are outlined. The minister is God's under-shepherd, and it is his task to feed and to oversee the flock, to guide the flock of God. The two functions of a pastor are instruction and government. And in the original, the word for feeding is used twice, and the word for governing and ruling is used once. which shows us that the most important task of the preacher is to instruct and to teach his people. The elders at Ephesus were exhorted to feed the flock of God over which the Lord had made them overseers. We know that the Church of Rome has elevated its ministers to a place of rulership over the people. Popery and priestcraft makes government the chief function of ministers. The Pope who claims succession from Peter is unlike Peter in that Peter's chief task was to feed and to instruct God's people. Just read 1 Peter chapter 5 where you find that he addresses the elders who was also an elder that they might feed the flock of God. But notice how the ministers are to have a ministry for the lambs as well as the sheep. How we must think of the children and the young people as well as the more mature. To each we must give their portion of meat in due season. He was to feed the sheep. Another particular charge given to Peter, however, was to follow the Saviour. Verse 19. At the end of the verse it says, And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, unto Peter, Follow me. And what sweet words they would have been to Peter. Follow me. It was necessary for the Lord to repeat His call to Peter after he had gotten away from the Lord. We do remember in Matthew 4 verse 19 the words of Christ to Peter and to others. What did the Lord say? Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And now the Lord gives that commission afresh to Peter. He saith unto him, Follow me. The Lord has to tell us, doesn't he, sometimes the second time what we're supposed to be doing. We don't always hear it the first time, or we don't always follow through the first time. I think of Jonah, how that Jonah was told, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But then we read, in mercy and in grace, and the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. If you've gotten away from the Lord, if I'm speaking to one today, you're cold at heart, you've come in here this morning without a great deal of interest really in the things of God, but more out of habit than anything else. The Lord would say to you afresh today if you were truly His, follow me. Follow me. But notice thirdly in this chapter the powerful conclusions. There are powerful conclusions that we may draw from this portion where the Lord is dealing with his child. And there are certain points that we could mention that are on the surface of this portion. I think one thing that is a powerful conclusion from this event is that the essence of Christianity is love to Christ. It is not, do you love the church? Now, you may well love the church. You may well love the gates of Zion. You may well love the music ministry and even the preaching. I read in the Scripture of one called Herod who loved the preaching of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a tremendous preacher of the Word of God. The Lord Jesus said that there had not arisen a greater prophet than he. And Herod heard him gladly. Love to hear the preaching. But he wasn't a Christian. He wasn't saved. It's not, do you love the church? It is not, do you love the ordinances? It is not, do you love the music? Do you love the preaching even? But Jesus said, lovest thou me. I ask you today from this platform, do you really love the Savior? Do you love Christ? For this is the test of the genuineness of conversion. The Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 22 said, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Let him be damned in the lowest hell. Our Lord cometh. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, you see it is love to Christ that determines whether in fact you are a Christian. And when you are a Christian, it is love to Christ, or rather it's the love of Christ for you that motivates you to live for Him. It is not because the preacher says you ought to do this, you ought to do that, you ought to do the other thing, or you ought not to do this, or you ought not to do that or the other thing. It is because of the love of Christ for you. It motivates you. Paul said that, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14, For the love of Christ constraineth us, and there the love is Christ's love for us. And we love Him because He first loved us. Somebody says, why should I be faithful to the work of God? Why should I put myself out? Why should I sacrifice to do anything for God? Well, anyone who even asks that kind of question, they would have to put a question mark over whether they know the Lord. C.T. Studd. who left a great career in cricket in England to go as a missionary, said, if Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice that I could make for Him would be too great. Love for Christ. Love us by me. That's what the Lord is asking this morning. Do you love me? Do you love me? The essence of Christianity is love to Christ. I think another powerful conclusion that we draw from this portion is that the expression of love to Christ is obedience. How do we prove our love for Christ? Jesus is saying to Peter, Lovest thou me? If you love me, Peter, feed my lambs, feed my sheep, if you love me. Prove that love for me. By doing what I tell you to do, are you doing what the Lord tells you to do? Mary, the mother of Jesus at the wedding of Cana said, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. The expression of love to Christ is obedience. There are far too many in the day in which we live who say that they love Jesus. Lord is their profession of love for Christ. And yet when it comes to obeying this book, they want no part of that. They find fault with the Scripture. They find fault with the injunctions of Scripture and the precepts of Scripture. And they say, well, we will not really have this man to rule over us. Yes, we would like to have him as our Savior. We would like to have a fire insurance policy that we cash in at death so that we don't have to go to hell. But they don't want to obey Christ. The Lord Jesus said in Luke chapter 6 verse 46, And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? You say He is your Lord, you say He is your Savior, you say that you're saved, that you know Christ, but yet you do not want to obey His Word. Why call ye me Lord, Lord, says the Lord Jesus, and do not the things which I say. The things that the Lord says are in this book. We are Bible Christians, I trust. If we are, we will want to obey the Bible. We need to be serving the Lord as well as saying that He is our Lord. Remember also the words of Christ in John chapter 14. It's also very clear. If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, John 14, verse 21, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. Verse 23, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words. Very clear, isn't it? Say you love the Savior. The expression of that love is obedience. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? To obey, the scripture says, is better than sacrifice. When I think of what the Lord Jesus has done for me, how can I think that anything would be too much for me to do for Him? What about you today? Do you know Christ? Do you love Christ? The Lord by me knows all things. by noest, but I love thee." I trust that will be your testimony today, and that you will follow Christ, that you will do what He says. We often sing about him trusting his brother, what he says we will do, where he's from we will go. Never fear when we cut and we go thick. I think too often our singing is superior to our practice. Very often, when we spend these things, we let the words slip past our lips and we lose it. And we forget what it is that we're doing. We're saying, Lord, I trust you, and I will tell you, talk about me. But in reality, these words seem to have nothing to do with it. I think it was very beautiful, those gazelles, and looking at them, and interacting with them. who told us on one occasion that he was at a missionary convention and he heard a variety of speakers and one of the speakers who was there was a missionary to Brazil and he talked about laying in his hammock at night in his little hut and the rats running in to the hut and sometimes making their way over the top of his hammock and Bill Wood said Lord I'll go anywhere But please Lord, don't call me to Brazil. I couldn't take that. I mean, I hate rodents. What did the Lord call them? The Lord called them to Brazil. What He says we will do, where He sends we will go. Never fear, only trust and obey. May God write this word upon our hearts this morning, for His name's sake. Amen.