Brother Gary Sunday Morning 4/15/12

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 4/15/12

Joh 20:30  And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

Joh 20:31  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

I’ve enjoyed studying the author of the Gospel according to St John.  He wrote it when he was about 65 years old.  He was 25 when he was called by Jesus.  He lived to be about 100 years old.  He wrote very little of himself. 

When he had studied Matthew, Mark, and Luke he decided that there were a few things that they left out and penned the wonderful Gospel of John the Beloved.  He wrote this that we might believe and believing, have life.  Eternal life begins here and is never to end.  This life is life more abundant.

John was called when he was a young man.  He was related to Jesus:  if you are working with your relatives so did Jesus.  Jesus also worked with those that were not His relatives:  Have a bigger scope than just your relatives.

John walked with Jesus intimately.  He was one of the Sons of Thunder:  He was very intense and was full of zeal.  He was ‘the disciple that Jesus loved’.  Others recognized how much Jesus loved him.  Jesus loves deep.  Look around you and you can see it.

He had a brother James that was killed at a very young age in AD 44.  They tried to boil John, they immersed him in boiling oil, but thank God he didn’t fry.  God took care of him.  If you serve God He will have a way to take care of you.

He was banished to the Isle of Patmos where he was given the Revelation.  He was carried on a cot to worship when he was of a very old age.  He would whisper to those around him since he couldn’t talk with strength, “Love one another.” 

He wrote of others mostly, he wrote of himself a bit, but His emphasis was on Jesus Christ.

Joh 21:1  After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

Joh 21:2  There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

Joh 21:3  Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

Joh 21:4  But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

Joh 21:5  Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

Joh 21:6  And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Joh 21:7  Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Joh 21:8  And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

Joh 21:9  As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.

Joh 21:10  Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

Joh 21:11  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Joh 21:12  Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

Joh 21:13  Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.

Joh 21:14  This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

We see the beautiful account here where Jesus showed Himself to Peter and others.  We see again how Jesus always went before and prepared the way before them.

“When they had dined:”  Jesus fed them, they ate, and then Jesus said to Peter:

Joh 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

“Lovest thou me more than these?  Feed my lambs.”  Jesus said, “Peter I want you to love me enough that you identify with my burden and my desire.”

Lovest thou me more than these?  I have here 17 considerations of this love that Jesus is speaking about. 

It is almost a cliché of people as they say, “Oh yes, I love God.”  If you ask them if they read the bible, they say, “Oh yes.”  When you ask where they read they say, “Oh, I’ve been busy doing this or that so really I haven’t read recently.”  We would be honest if we tell them that they don’t love God if they don’t read His word.

We be ardent – we be very serious about what God requires of us.

There is an affection in this love – there probably have been relationships of people marrying and not really loving each other or having affection in their life.  It is sad when an individual tells me that they were not loved by their mother or dad, or that their mother didn’t love her grandchildren.  There is no way to describe the pain that is felt.

In order to say that we love Him we must be affectionately drawn to Him.  It is hard to be affectionately drawn to Him if we don’t know anything about Him.  Until you study the word of God and know what Jesus did for us and the price that He paid for us it is impossible to be affectionately drawn to Him.

Love Him supremely – it is easy to say, “Yes I love God more than anything else.”  Peter answered in somewhat an escape, “Oh yes, Lord I love you.”  Jesus wanted to know if he loved him with an affectionate, ardent, supreme and perfect love.

Love him perfectly – God we are not serving you just for the blessings, yet we appreciate the blessings.  We are not serving you just to miss hell. 

There is a holy passion in this type of love.  Passion is a word that is abused in our world today.  It is often associated to the sensual ungodly side of wicked individuals.  Many of them are passionate towards the lust of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life.  God is looking for men and women, boys and girls that will be passionate about serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Part of being a city set on the hill, Mt Zion, is to be passionate, having Jesus Christ as our passion. 

“Higher ground” is a song recognizing that we want to go up higher on the mountain.  We don’t want to just want to stand on a pinnacle and preach, “We’re right, we’re right…”  Just religion has no passion but for their agenda and for their mind-frame. 

This loving Christ supremely will create a holy passion that will powerfully affect one another.  In a marriage a couple may passionately want to be parents.  They have a strong desire. 

Unless you have a passion to be a father, I feel sorry for your children.  I pity children that have grandparents that don’t want to be passionate for them. 

For many their passion is what they see in the mirror.  We need a passion for Jesus.  This is a very old message.  Jesus taught it in the last few days of His life.  This thing of having a passion for Jesus changes us.  We get alive about our passion. 

There are people that are passionate about Sunday morning service, Sunday school, or Sunday night service.  We want to be passionate.  We want to be passionate about every service.  We want to be passionate about revival.

This loving Him, that is required, powerfully affects one personally.  We want to be more powerfully affected personally by this question that I am asked, “Do I love Him more, more, more?”

This passion enables the possessor of love to have a burden for the souls of the ignorant.  Do you realize how ignorant people are?  I don’t mean that in a mean way.  People know very little about the Bible.  Jesus wants people to know about the Bible.  We need to help them to know where to read in the Bible. 

Unless people love Christ, we know what is waiting to carry them away: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 

It will take loving God supremely to love the souls of the prodigal.  Some of them are really nice and are easy to love, and some of them really bug you.  Unless we love God supremely we see people only as we see them on the outside. 

I thought of Linda Wingate as I studied this message.  She and her husband were nightclub entertainers.  She wondered why no one asked them to church.  One day they had a baby that died.  They were out on a beach sunbathing and their baby upchucked and then breathed it back in.  There was a man that knew Allen Wingate and heard about it and visited with them about their soul. 

If we don’t have a passion for God then we will feel that straight is the gate and narrow the way and no one can find it, because this one is this way and the other one that way so that they can never find the narrow way.

If we don’t have the love of God so strong in our mind as a passion then we will be on mind trips all the time.  We need to have the love of God so strong in our mind: “God I love you.” 

Sister Hines had mind battles and sought Him.  He revealed to her that she needed the blood of God on her mind.  If we don’t love God supremely we just go on with our mind used up on things that do not profit.  We need to have a passion, a spiritual passion. 

Loving God supremely doesn’t mean that you and I are not going to live here 2012.  It means that we will have a passion for Him and then it is from Him that the rest of our life falls into place.  A passion for Christ delivers us from agendas.

We don’t want to be filled with agendas: our mind filled with something that brews and brews and is never answered.  God wants us to love Him and be in a large place because of a passion for Christ.

Jesus asked Peter, “How big are you?  Do you love the lambs?  Can you feed the lambs?”  The lambs are little children.  Little children need love today.  There are 170,000 abortions in America a year.  I don’t know how many children are left unloved a year.  You say, I don’t have any time for those parents, I want to help you.  You’d better get a passion for souls. 

We better get prepared for awkward situations.  Have a passion for souls.  You’ll live your life dodging people in McGowans if you don’t have a passion for souls. 

The parents are hoping that the teachers will teach their children what they want them to be taught, but don’t teach them anything that will bring conviction home.

My father told of the bitterness of his heart because of a mean aunt.  I’m not sure what the treats were, but there was always one too few.  My dad was always left out.  God give us a passion for lambs.

Feed my sheep.  There is a certain age somewhere between 25 to 45, where those sheep really need to be loved.  Bro Gyme when he lost his dad, lost his mom.  He has two sisters and two brothers drawing on him.  Church, feed my sheep. 

Some do their Christian duty, but what about the souls around them?  The aged need God.  The rich and the poor need the gospel.  We need love that compels with a holy passion.   “I’m not looking at this child to take advantage of the child.  I’m not reaching that young guy that is so strong so that he can chop wood.  No their soul! 

We live in a society that takes advantage of others.  Love takes the focus off of our selves.  We need to have a passion. 

Son 8:6  Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Son 8:7  Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

You cannot buy love.  Love is as strong as death.

I trust you feel the love of God to you from God.  I trust you feel the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of the family of God.  I trust that everyone feels the love of God in our hearts toward one another. 

May God move on our hearts with His son and Holy Spirit so that we feel the love in our hearts so strong that it becomes a passion. 

We can have a passion for many things in this life that is not sinful.  But it takes a holy passion to love God and His Word.  We need a holy passion for the Word of God, and a holy passion for Worship. 

May we have a holy passion for lambs.  There are testimonies from people that got saved because as a child someone loved them. 

Carmichael has experienced many conversions because children took the Gospel home and the parents knew that the workers loved those children.