Feed My Sheep
Read John 21:15-17
Jesus didn’t come to earth for the accolades of man, but rather to take the sins of the world. Our testimony can be used in many ways, but most of all it is used to feed the people who need to hear of His faithfulness.
Earlier in this chapter of John, we read about Jesus appearing to His disciples for the first time after the resurrection. After a long night of fishing with no catches, they head toward shore. In the distance, they see a man. He calls out to them, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat!” While they didn’t yet know it was Jesus, they couldn’t help but to obey His authority, so they cast the net. Seems like it was only minutes till they caught a huge number of the largest fish in the sea of Galilee.
When they got to the shore, Jesus had already prepared a feast because He knew what they needed. He said to them, “Come and dine!” This is when they knew it was Him. After eating, Jesus sat with Simon Peter. In the past, Simon had been hot tempered and violent. He had also betrayed Jesus. At one point, he walked away from the Lord because he was full of fear. But even after all this, God is so merciful, that He forgave Simon Peter. He was living with the love of God in him.
Jesus asked Simon three times, “Simon, do you love me?” Each time, he responded, “Of course, Lord. You know I love you.” To this, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Why three times? Because Jesus was working to rewire Simon’s mind. Simon had centered his whole life around himself. As a result, he was only focused on his own desires, his needs, and his appetites. Even though he loved Jesus, he was probably lacking in loving others. God was prompting him to get out of his mirror covered box and begin to look at the needs of others.
Our relationship with God must be based on how we treat other people. The spirit of anti-Christ says, “What’s in it for me?” But the Spirit of Christ says, “I want you to take care of others.” God knows what we have need of. He knows how to make us prosper. Most of all, He knows how to take care of us. Therefore, we need to listen to Him and trust in Him.
We endure so many hard things, but they are not in vain. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning! There will be people coming through your life who need your experience and the faith that brought you through. We can’t be focused on our situations. Rather, God wants your eyes fixed on Him. Let Him take care of you so that you will be able to feed His sheep!
We love y’all and we’re praying for you. As always, we’re saving you a seat at Community Family Church!
Pastor Tom
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