In The Garden
"Power of Loving" Pt 6
The Call of Friendship
Series: The POWER of Christian Living
Pastor Wayne Clabaugh

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Scripture: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30,31 (KJV)

I don't think there is a greater example of love and friendship than what Jesus displayed when He came to Peter following the Resurrection and asked him, Peter, do you love me?"

Was it that Peter was embarrassed? Was it that he was angry with Jesus? Why did Peter answer in such a way saying, "Yea, Lord, You know that I love you", having a tone of distance and despair. 

All of a sudden that same Peter who once said, "I would sooner die than to betray you, became a man that sounded defeated and lost and completely unsure of His Mission in Life. Yet, nothing had changed for Jesus - so He begin searching Peter's heart. Oh, it wasn't that He didn't know what was there welling up within Peter's soul, ready to burst. He knew Peter was hurting and He had to get him past that hurt to "the bottom line". So he asked again, "Peter, do you love me?" Again Peter answered "Yea Lord I love you."

Jesus wasn't satisfied at his usage of that word in the Greek. It was merely the kind of love that two everyday chums would have after a day of fishing. That was a FAR CRY from the WORDS THAT RUMBLED DEEP DOWN IN PETER'S Soul when he answered another question Jesus asked him saying, "Peter, whom do you say that I am?" Peter said, "Thou Art The Christ the Son of the Living God!" There wasn't anything close to the kind of confidence now, and he needed Peter to know he was still that same man. Remember, it was THAT confession that made Jesus say, "Upon this ROCK will I build my church". That "ROCK" wasn't PETER, it was his confession, oh I hope you got that this morning. The Church of Christ isn't just the mortar of some fancy church building. In fact, there are some things going on in some of those churches that I'm afraid our Lord would never approve of. The CHURCH OF CHRIST my friend - is in your EVERYDAY CONFESSION: even in the good times and the bad.

So Jesus, intent on getting Peter's feet back on that foundation asks him one more time... "Peter, do you love me". This time, Peter's response was, "Yea Lord you know that I Love thee." Ah... there it is! The reality of the bottom line had STOOD RIGHT UP in Peter and when he said he loved Jesus this time... there was surrender and rejoicing and a final call: "Feed My Sheep."

Oh What Love!!! He had just placed the commission of a body of men and women in the hands of Peter and said, I NEED YOU! I'm counting on you!

Now how many can honestly say that you have never stepped aside from the Lord and just felt as though any good you possibly ever give, was over? I know I certainly have. I can remember when the doctors told me that there was really nothing they could do at one point in my life... told my wife to just make me comfortable. I was too young! This wasn't the way things were supposed to be. I spent a few hours feeling sorry for myself and never understanding it all, a little afraid of what might be ahead, when it hit me...if this was all there is and I lost everything that this world had to give - even had to leave my precious wife of so many years... I still had Him. I still had Jesus. I knew where I was going. What was my life all about anyway?

Oh friend, Jesus came along side me during that time and He said, "Wayne, do you love me?" "Feed my sheep". There was no, "GET UP OUT OF THY BED AND WALK!" He gently gave me a choice, but He let me know His call was still as ALIVE as the day He first called me! PRAISE HIS NAME!

Friend, do you need to know that kind of renewal in your life today? Do you need to have Jesus speak to you verbally and tell you that He NEEDS YOU? Maybe he has just done that through these old lips of clay from Missouri! Will you... Feed His Sheep?

Let's pray:

Father, How many times I have been recycled and recalled and rerouted, yet you never let me go. You never gave me any peace about my life being over nor that I had fought the good fight and finished the course as our dear Brother Paul once wrote. I'm glad that you kept after me and that you raised me up after I made the choice to get up, and you healed me and you rekindled the flame in my heart once again to get busy for you. Thank you Lord. Keep me always in the center of your will - always doing what I can to win souls for thee, and to be an encourager in the faith. In Jesus' Name, Amen.