Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20061001.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XLVI: Heeding Christ's Call To Be Dedicated To A Bible Exposition Ministry In The Local Church
(John 21:1-19)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

What and where is the Christian ministry focus to which a Christian should commit himself in the view of the risen Lord Jesus?

That is a loaded question, for lots of ideas and suggestions come our way on this subject as we can detail (as follows):

(1) I have heard many suggestions my 30 years in the pastorate on becoming more involved in efforts aside from what I do:

(a) One minister urged me to become less involved in my church ministry and more involved in local prison ministries.

(b) An area Christian radio station has repeatedly asked me to record devotionals for them to air providing the content of the recordings meet their approval!

(c) A missionary we support once publicly told this body that you should send me to a Third World country that I might use my Bible language skills there in Scripture translation!

(d) People have seemingly endlessly suggested I attend seminars or get involved in some Christian work project elsewhere or take time to listen to speakers on the Trinity Broadcast Network or develop one kind of outreach or another that other pastors do!

(2) You face similar calls yourselves. An endless stream of ads come your way about attending this conference or that seminar on Christian living or ministry or about a new Bible study group that is starting up in this or that Church or private home, leaving you wondering where the Lord wants you to serve Him, and why!



So, we pose the question: "In view of all the needs in the world and all of the suggestions I face from others on the matter, WHERE is the BEST place and WHAT is the best MINISTRY in which a believer like me should be committed as the RISEN LORD JESUS CHRIST sees it?!"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "HOW and WHERE should I invest my life BEST to promote Christ's cause as He, the RISEN LORD JESUS would view it?!"
  1. Before the cross, Jesus predicted that after Peter had failed Him and repented, he was to strengthen other believers, Luke 22:31-32.
  2. This was applied in John 21:1-19, showing Christ's EXALTATION of a BIBLE EXPOSITION ministry in the LOCAL CHURCH:
    1. After He arose, Jesus met with Peter and six other men to motivate him to want to be dedicated to SERVING Him, John 21:1-14:
      1. Jesus appeared to some disciples after He arose and when they had fished all night and caught nothing on the Sea of Galilee, 21:1-3.
      2. He thus told them how to catch a lot of fish (21:4-6), an event that exposed His identity and highly motivated Peter to don his outer clothes, jump into the sea and laboriously swim nearly 100 yards to Jesus, John 21:7; Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to 21:8!
      3. On the shore, Jesus further motivated Peter to heed Him, 21:8-14:
        1. A fire of hot coals with fish on it was waiting for the hungry, tired, wet men, and Jesus asked them to add some of their own catch to His fire, symbols of camaraderie, John 21:8-9, 10.
        2. In working his net for the fish, Peter found it held 153 large fish, and yet the net was unbroken, revealing greater grace than what Jesus had shown in a past miraculous catch, Jn. 21:11; Lk. 5:6!
        3. Then, Jesus used his nail pierced hands as a slave to serve food to these men who had deserted Him, an act of great grace that motivated Peter all the more to heed Him, Jn. 21:13; Mk. 14:50!
    2. After motivating Peter to heed Him, Jesus called him to disciple His flock by focusing on Bible exposition in the local church , 21:15-17:
      1. Jesus' John 21:15-17 threefold question-followed-by-commission of Peter's was given to reinstate him as Christ's servant in front of the others due to Peter's past three denials of the Lord before them.
      2. As such, this threefold question-followed-by-commission exalts a Bible exposition ministry in the local church, John 21:15-17:
        1. Out of love for Him, Jesus told Peter to "feed my little lambs," or Boske ta arnia mou, John 21:15; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 412; Robert C. Trench, Synonyms of the N. T., p. 84-86.
        2. This "feed" term (boske) recalls Jeremiah 3:15 where God promised to raise up shepherds after His own heart to "feed, graze" (ra'a) His people [Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 708; Th. Wrdbk. of the O. T., v. II, p. 852] with "knowledge" [day'ah, or factual information (Ibid., Kittel; B. D. B., Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 395)] and "understanding" [hashcayl, "an intelligent knowledge of the reason behind a fact that is known" (Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., Th. Wrdbk. of the O. T., v. II, p. 887)]. Thus, in John John 21:15, Jesus meant for Peter to expound basic truths of Scripture for new converts ! (for Christ's "little lambs")
        3. Out of love for Him, Jesus urged Peter to "shepherd my sheep," or Poimaine ta probata mou, John 21:16; Ibid, Trench. This "shepherd" term (poimaine ) meant pastoring others, immature or mature, by showing how to apply such insight to life.
        4. Out of love for Him, Jesus urged Peter to "feed my sheep," or Boske ta probata mou, John 21:17; Ibid. This phrase meant expounding Scripture to ALL believers , immature or mature!
        5. This theme of discipling new and maturing converts BY WAY OF two-thirds Bible exposition and one-third pastoral application of that expounded Scripture to life refers to local church ministry, for the local church is the body God uses in today's era to do this (1 Tim. 3:15; 1:3), and Bible exposition is to be the Church's key focus (2 Tim. 4:1-4 and 1 Tim. 4:13-16)! As Trench wrote: "whatever else . . . may be superadded . . . the feeding of the flock, the finding for them of spiritual food, is the first and the last; nothing else will supply the room of this . . . How often in a false ecclesiastical system, the preaching of the Word loses its preeminence; the boskein (Bible exposition). . . is swallowed up in the poimainein (pastoring) which . . . becomes no true poimainein (pastoring) because it not a boskein (Bible exposition) as well . . . " (Ibid., p. 86)
    3. Then, in giving this commission, Jesus revealed Peter was to heed it even at the price of his death by crucifixion, cf. John 21:18-19!
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as Savior to be saved, Jn. 3:16. (2) Then, like Peter, may we see Christ's CALL to disciple His flock in the LOCAL CHURCH via Bible exposition, and give ourselves in our gifting at ALL costs to support and to foster it!

Lesson: Jesus called Peter out of LOVE for Him at ALL COSTS to use TWO-THIRDS of his focus EXPOUNDING SCRIPTURE to ALL BELIEVERS and ONE-THIRD of his focus showing HOW to APPLY it, a call picturing BIBLE EXPOSITION in the LOCAL CHURCH!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

The Lord confirmed the truth of this message last Monday, September 25th, the day before I was scheduled to begin to prepare it, and this confirmation has since then clearly affected my ministry!

Though it was my day off, I felt impelled to come down to the Church last Monday to continue painting the Church's west wall. The weather was great, only a few men had then helped with the job, God had always shown He wants us to keep the Church plant in good shape, and I knew Dave Slate who started the project would be encouraged!

Well, as I neared the end of what I could reach to paint from Dave's platform, Mike and Pam Terwilliger drove up. He had seen me as he drove past the Church, and returned to ask my advice on meeting a special need in an unsaved party he was about to counsel.

I quickly laid the paint brush down, opened up the office and loaned Mike a book with a short chapter on addressing this need, and drove him home so he could read it prior to his important meeting.

After returning to finish the painting job and later thinking about all of this, I realized the Lord had used these events to highlight again the importance of Bible exposition in my ministry. Yes, I had properly painted that day in a pastoral effort to exemplify the need to keep the Church presentable and to edify Dave; however, God had used my interaction with Mike to make me put the paint brush down in recollection of the greater priority of the work of Bible exposition!

That's a key reason why I'm going to end my ministry in the Men's Leadership Support Group after finishing our lessons there on Titus (around December). You see, in that effort, I am just expounding Scripture and applying it, what I do in our regular services anyway, so I must get BACK to focus on those REGULAR ministries that I not detract from them in quality by my involvement in this added ministry!

For a similar reason I will no longer work the C D recorder -- doing so has distracted me from my focus on delivering the Word, so another arrangement must occur for the production of those recordings!

So, may we see the LOCAL CHURCH as the risen LORD'S KEY FOCUS of ministry, a ministry that uses TWO-THIRDS of our effort EXPLAINING the BIBLE'S CONTENT and ONE-THIRD of our effort showing HOW it APPLIES in LIVING!

For ME, I must keep focused on Bible exposition. For YOU, it means supporting this focus and using it in your own life!