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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip. I got a note last week. Put on my desk from One of our gals in the Sunday School Department. Don't know how old Isabella is, but this is from her. It says skip.
I have three dogs, one goat. One beta fish and two hermit crabs. I love them so much. Please pray for them. And so I did.
Now life doesn't get much simpler than that. It's just so simple. Little Isabella doesn't have a mortgage to worry about. She doesn't have to worry about running a business or raising kids. She just has a few very important pets.
that she loves and she wants prayer for. Very simple. Oh, that our lives were that simple.
Now they're not for a number of reasons. But perhaps Part of the reason is we tend ourselves to complicate things. We go from simple to complex, we get involved. in decisions and activities that They just add more stress. There's one thing I have discovered about God is that he is pretty.
Simple. Straightforward. Here's ten commandments, he would say. Here's my top ten list.
Now We One Satisfied with Ten Commandments. Do you know that the Jews Decided to look at that differently, and they made ten categories of commandments. and say that there are six hundred and thirteen commandments. Not ten, six thirteen. 365 of which are negative, 248 of which are positive.
We go from simple to complicated. We do it with What Jesus said. Probably the simplest prayer you'll ever find is what we call the Lord's Prayer: Our Father in heaven, holy, hallowed is your name, your kingdom come. 56 words. It covers all of the major areas of life.
It's so simple, it's so straightforward, yet it's so comprehensive. Fifty-six words. A simple prayer. Compare that to United States government Document setting the price of cabbage, which is 26,911 words. From simple to complicated.
Somebody once suggested that the Lord's Prayer would be very different if a theologian would have written it. In fact, If just the phrase Give us this day our daily bread were written by a theologian, it would sound like this. We respectfully petition, request, and entreat that due and adequate provision be made this day and the date hereinafter subscribed for the satisfying of these petitioners' nutritional requirements and for the organizing of such methods of allocation and distribution, as many as may be deemed necessary and proper to assure the reception by and for said petitioners of such quantities of baked cereal products as shall, in the judgment of the aforementioned petitioners, constitute a sufficient supply thereof. Yeah. I like, give us this day our daily bread a whole lot better.
Winston Churchill said, All great things are simple. And so we come to the last paragraph, the final words. Of the Gospel of John, and the final words John records that Jesus said. And once again, we find that Jesus. Keeps it very simple.
He takes Peter and he reinstates him. A wonderful conversation. of taking a man who has fallen and denied him. and resurrecting his hope. and telling him of his future usefulness to him.
But But Peter wants to complicate it. And Peter, it seems, wants to poke his nose in someone else's business. And so after breakfast, after Jesus has told Peter about his future and given him. The shepherding duty of his sheep. We come to verse twenty of chapter twenty-one.
Then Peter 2. turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following. We know that to be now unmistakably John, Who also had leaned on his breast at the supper and said, Lord. Who is the one who betrays you? Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, But Lord, what about this man?
Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Then Jesus went out Then this saying went out among the brethren that This disciple would not die, yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die. But if I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony.
is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which. If they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books. that would be written Amen.
Now that's good advice for Peter, and it happens to be great advice for us. And because it's the final paragraph, let's look at these as final instructions. Final instructions. Four. Final instructions as we leave the journey through the Gospel of John for final instruction as we march forward into the future, into our life.
And we're going to view them this morning in terms of warnings. Things to be careful about, things to be careful of. They're very simple. They're very practical. The Bible always is.
First and foremost, Be careful where you look. Be careful where you look. We're told in verse 20, then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following. and a description is given.
Now let's just back up in the story. And let's just be reminded what's happening here. Jesus Christ has come to the Sea of Galilee. Early one morning, when seven of the disciples are out in a boat casting their nets to fish. They don't know that the stranger on the shore is Jesus.
Until the stranger shouts out. Hey, have you guys caught any fish? And they go, no. He says, cast your nets on the other side. They do, and the net is full of fish.
At that point, it is John, the author of this book. Who says That's the Lord. At that time, Peter gets up, puts his robe back on. He was just in shorts. puts his robe back on, jumps.
off the boat, into the lake, swims ashore to be with Jesus. At that time, there's a breakfast setting. There's a conversation with Peter eye to eye, heart to heart. It's beautiful. But I do find it interesting, and I just want to suggest to you that perhaps.
Perhaps there was A friendly, gentle Competition between John. And Peter. And I say that. for a few reasons. Number one, John writes down for us.
He records for everybody to read for years afterwards. That it wasn't Peter who recognized the guy on the shore was Jesus, it was John. And he told Peter. And the reason Peter even launched out into the deep is because John said that's the Lord. He writes that down.
Also, if you go back a couple chapters in this same book, On Resurrection Sunday, There was a resurrection marathon between John and Peter. They both ran to the tomb. Remember that? John got there first and he wrote it down.
So you would know I, John. Beat Peter in that race. Not only that. On the same day, they're both looking into the tomb. John discovers that the empty grave clothes must mean a resurrection, and it says, John.
believed. Not Peter. And he wrote it down. All of those instances were recorded.
Now we have here sort of the reverse of that. This time, Peter saying, What about him? Looking at John. Also, let me just add something to the mix. Even before they were called as disciples, There must have been some competition because we read that Peter and Andrew, together, the brothers, had a fishing business on the Sea of Galilee.
So did John and James and his dad Zebedee. They had their own business.
So they have been competitors in business. for a long time. That may just be me, but let's just throw that into the mix. That these humans who love each other Probably had been, even in a friendly manner, some. rivals before.
But look at verse 20. It says, Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple.
Okay, up to this point. Peter's eyes have been locked on Jesus. As Jesus says, Peter, do you love me? Then feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. It has been a wonderful time of fellowship, a wonderful time of connectedness that Peter has with Christ.
But then Then Peter is distracted. And he must have seen John out of the corner of his eye, or just thought about him, and he turned and he noticed him. He got his eyes off Jesus and is looking at John. After all, Jesus just told him, Peter, his future. But he notices John.
Now this is where our problems begin. Is when we get our eyes off of the Lord and on to other people or circumstances. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Before Pastor Skiff continues, check out this special resource for your family this Christmas. Here's Nate Heitzig.
Teaching my kids about Jesus is one of the greatest privileges of my life. And I wanted to create a book that connects the story of Christmas and Easter in a way that kids, parents, and grandparents will truly cherish. In Christmas Under the Tree, you and your family can experience God's love seen through a unique perspective. And my hope is that this story becomes a treasured family tradition for years to come. Request your illustrated book and audio experience at connectwithskip.com slash offer with your gift of $25 or more to ConnectwithSkip Heitzig.
Again, that's connectwithskip.com slash offer. or call 800-922-1888. Let's return now to today's message. As long as we're gazing heavenward, no problem. Everything is good.
We get it. Life is in perspective. Once we glance earthward, it's all over. And so let's say you come to church one day and Boy, the worship music and the song choice really spoke to your heart. Those words resonate.
And boy, you're so close to the Lord. You're pouring out your heart to Him. The message was right from God's heart to your heart. You're applying it, and life is good. But then you go out to the parking lot and you get behind the wheel of your car and you see that long line of cars.
And it's not the same. And then you pull out onto Wasuna Road or onto the freeway, and that beat-up old Ford cuts in front of you. And you see that. You turn and you're seeing that now, or you go to the restaurant and you see the waiter totally. neglect you or you go home and your kids Are disrespectful to you, or your husband berates you, or you see that police officer pull you over on the road and give you a ticket.
And it's different now. You're looking not at the Lord, you're looking around, and those circumstances get to you. You know, anytime you look around at this world, you can get pretty distressed. I don't know what your daily routine is, but a lot of you will grab a newspaper in the morning, first off. Bad form.
Why go to the bad news first? And I say bad news because is it ever good news? Do you ever read front page article? Man loves his wife for a lifetime, never leave each other. They're always at, never read something good.
It's always some scandal, some war, some horrible thing.
So great, all the everything's good in the world. Corey Tin Boom put it this way: look around and be distressed. Look within and be depressed. Look to Jesus. Be at rest.
The Bible in Hebrews says, Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, and Paul, or not Paul, but the writer of Hebrews, whoever that was. Was talking about living the Christian life in such a way as you're running a race.
Now, if you want to lose a race, you look around. Can you imagine trying to be on the track and make progress where you're looking at who's running next to you and looking behind to see who's coming behind you or looking up at the Grandstands? Yeah. You want to keep your focus. Back in 1961, Arnold Palmer Was at the Masters, and he tells the story.
He said that He was ahead by one stroke. It was the last hole. of the tournament. He had a great T-shot. He felt really good about the game.
He walks out onto the fairway to make his second shot, On the last hole, And he notices that in the gallery there's a man, an old friend of his that he recognizes, who motions to him to come over to the gallery.
So Palmer did it. and he said that's where I lost the game. The man put out his hand and said, Congratulations, but Palmer said, I knew then that I had lost my focus. And the next few shots proved it. His second shot was over the green in the rough.
And then he missed the putt, and he lost the masters. Because he lost his focus. We always lose when we lose our focus. Spiritually speaking. and we get our eyes off the Lord.
Be careful where you look. Number two, be careful what you consider. Verse 21, let's see what Peter considers. Peter, seeing him, Said to Jesus, But Lord.
Okay, now just stop there. The Lord Jesus has just predicted to Peter that he's going to live a very fruitful life to old age and then be martyred in the end. And after Peter denying the Lord, this was good news to Peter. I'm going to be able all the way to the end to be faithful to the Lord. The ending doesn't sound all that good to me, but The Lord has made this prediction about me.
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, but Lord. What about this man? That is, what about John? Tell me about his future. You've told me about mine.
What about this guy? And Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Good old Peter. Peter loved the Lord.
But Peter was still Peter. I have a friend who says, people change. But not that much. And Peter had his ups and downs, and he's coming along, but he keeps reverting back to Peterdom. Always being Peter, always saying those things, always wanting to do those things.
So, at some point in this glorious conversation, it's inevitable that Peter goes: no, wait a minute, what about this guy? And his focus now is on John, and he's Caring about and concerned for and careful over what's going to happen to John. Boy. How much like Peter are we? We're so prone to think about.
somebody else and want to run their lives. want to meddle in their affairs. We want to manage what that father or that daughter or that pastor or that deacon does. Paul said in Second Corinthians ten, concerning a group of people measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, They are not wise. And we do that a lot, don't we?
We compare ourselves with others. Or look what she's wearing.
Well look at that hairdo.
Well look what they're driving.
Well, look where they live.
Well, look how they look. Constantly comparing and worried about. what they're doing rather than what we're doing.
Now it's interesting that Peter asks the question, what about this man? Jesus never answers him. He didn't say, okay, Peter, let me tell you what's going to happen to John now. He didn't even get there because it's none of his business.
Now you want to know what happened to John? You want to know what happened to this man who was so intimate and so close and seemed to Peter like he had it made. He's the guy who was so close and put his head on the chest of Jesus at the Last Supper? What happened to him is he was arrested. Irenaeus tells us, he's one of the church historians, Irenaeus was the disciple of Polycarp.
Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, so we're just one generation removed. Irenaeus said John was arrested, taken to Rome. They tried to kill him a few different ways, one of which was to boil him in oil, and according to the story, he didn't die.
So they shipped him off to the island of Patmos, A prisoner colony, the worst place the Romans could think of to banish somebody. No vegetation. Hard life. And they stuck him there.
Now, you think of that next time you're prone to look at somebody and compare yourself and say, How come they're so blessed and I suffer so much? Stop your private pity party. Because you have no idea what that person is. Facing or will face in terms of his or her own personal suffering. Think back to this.
Verse twenty-two. If I will, that he remain till I come. In other words, if I wanted to live till the rapture, it's none of your beeswax. Don't concern yourself with John. Peter You want to know a great text of Scripture for this?
A little short one: 1 Peter or 1 Timothy 4. Verse 16, listen to it. Take He'd Two. Thyself. Take heed to yourself, or as the Phillips translation puts it, keep a critical eye on your own life.
Some of us like to look around There's Joe. He's not as committed as I am. There's Pete and Sally. They don't work as hard as I do. They do the glorious stuff.
I do all the hard work around here. You get into that. It's hard to get out of that. I have a friend who gave me a link to a YouTube video of a pastor. Who got up on a Sunday morning, it was an Easter morning.
to a packed congregation. And just laid into them, berated them. Calling them out name by name. Fred, you've been so unfaithful in your Sunday school class, you're fired. You're a wretch.
Calling people, I know what you're doing behind your husband's back. You've talked about that. Just calling everybody out. And angry and mad, and berating them. And I think the Lord wanted to slap them upside the head and say, What is that to you?
You follow me. And I've learned something as a pastor, as a teacher, as a leader: that when it comes to Judgment Day, I face Jesus Christ, I'm not going to be responsible for how you did it. I'm going to be responsible for how I did it. as well as the words that I taught on how to do it.
So We shouldn't be so concerned. Disciple, yes. Help, yes. Bring along, yes. But ultimately it's their responsibility.
Not yours. A.W. Tozer has a wonderful illustration about 100 pianos. He said, if you took 100 pianos in one room and you tried to tune each piano to the other piano, they'll be grossly out of tune. If, however, you tune all 100 pianos to an outside source, a tuning fork.
They will automatically be in tune with one another. He said it's the same with Christians. Get 100 worshipers, have them all focus on Jesus, they're automatically in tune with each other. If, however, you bring them down to the level of We need a unity conscious meeting. You're not going to do it.
The key is just Focus on the Lord. Eyes on the Lord. Be concerned about the Lord's will for your life, not the Lord's concern and will for their life. We're so glad you joined Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Don't miss Christmas Under the Tree, a special resource to help your family center on Jesus this season.
It's yours when you give $25 or more to help take the gospel to even more listeners through this program and the ministry of Connect with Skip Heidzig. Call 800-922-8888 or go to connectwithskit.com slash offer. And while you're online, Be sure to sign up for Pastor Skip's weekly email devotional and stay encouraged all year long. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect the Skiff Heitzig Weekend Edition. Make it connect.
Make a connection at the foot of the crossing. Cast your burdens on his wood. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
