Follow Me Anyway

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In September of 1962, President John Kennedy made a speech to a group of people in Houston, Texas, where he talked about the Apollo program that intended for Americans to be the first to put a man on the moon. And when he gave this speech, he was defending the Apollo program against people in that time who said, well, you know, this is going to be too costly. It’s going to be too difficult.

if it can be achieved at all, is it really worth it? And so he spoke to this group of people wanting to defend the Apollo program. And in one of his more famous speeches, here’s what he said.

Every time I hear it, every time I read it, I hear it in his accent. So I’m going to try not to slip into that accent because it would just be a train wreck. But here’s what he said.

But why, some say the moon. Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain?

Why 35 years ago fly the Atlantic? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Sometimes the easy choice is to look at something difficult that lies ahead of us and run the other way. That’s the easy choice.

As a matter of fact, in most cases, that’s the easy choice. When we come up against difficulty, just forget it and just run and do something else. When often the better choice is to look at the difficult task, to look at what’s challenging us and decide we’re going to do it anyway.

More often than not, the hard choice is the right one. It was true of the Apollo program and it’s true of our Christian life. As a matter of fact, I’d suggest to you it’s more true of our Christian life even than the Apollo program.

I told you last Sunday that I wanted to spend a few weeks talking to you about some of Jesus’ final words. We’re not going to go through everything, but some of the things that he spoke to his disciples between the time that he rose again from the dead and the time that he ascended back to his father because those final words that he gave us, they were the final words of his earthly ministry, but they became the very beginning of our earthly ministry. They are our most basic marching orders.

And so today I want to pick up where we left off in John chapter 21. And in the next few verses, we’re going to see how Jesus challenged Peter, or excuse me, how Jesus warned Peter about some of the challenges that Peter was going to face in his walk with Jesus. Jesus told him, here are the challenges coming up.

It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be unpleasant, but do it anyway. So if you would turn with me to John chapter 21.

and if you’re able to without too much difficulty, would you stand with me as we read together from God’s Word just a few verses this morning. We’re going to start in John 21, verse 18. And Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished.

But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This he spoke signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me.

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who had also 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 until I come, what is that to you?

You follow me. And you may be seated. so last week we studied the first part of this story how Peter was restored to ministry that whole conversation where Jesus asked Peter three times do you love me and each time Peter said yes Lord you know I love you and Jesus would tell him in some way shape or form to take care of Jesus’s sheep and he did this to to give Peter a chance to reaffirm his love those three times corresponding to the three times that he had denied Jesus right before the crucifixion.

Now by doing this, Jesus welcomed Peter back into his service, but he also gave him marching orders. He told him to go out and do something. That’s what we talked about last week, caring for Jesus’s sheep in his stead, doing the things that Jesus would do if he were still physically present and how he’s called us to participate in that work also.

Now the restoration was the easy part. Telling Peter, you’re welcome back into ministry. You’re welcome back into serving.

You’re welcome back into this relationship. That was the easy part. The hard part was now to go out and carry those things out, especially in light of the difficulties that Peter was going to face in doing so.

Because when we follow Jesus, the world’s not always going to like it. And the world’s not always going to make it easy on us. And so he knew, Jesus knew that Peter was in for some difficulties.

And so Jesus began to prepare him. And he talked about how Peter was a pretty independent guy by nature. Didn’t like people to tell him what to do.

Didn’t like people to wait on him necessarily. He wanted to do it himself. I get that.

I feel guilty if somebody, you know, comes and cleans up after me or I don’t even like being waited on in restaurants. We go places where we do it ourselves. And plus you don’t have to tip as much when the kids leave a big mess.

anyway but I’d rather take care of myself and do it myself and don’t tell me what to do and that’s so I understand Peter’s Peter’s issue here Jesus said you’re used to to you know going out where you want to go and you walk where you want to want to walk and you pretty much do your own thing and he said but it’s eventually it’s going to get to a point where it’s not going to be that way anymore he said when you’re old he said there’s a time coming he told him this in verse 18 that there’s a time coming when Peter was no longer going to be in the driver’s seat of his own life. Actually, I’d submit to you that at this point, if he’s following Jesus, he’s no longer in the driver’s seat of his own life. But there was going to come a time where he was at the mercy of people who didn’t care much about him and didn’t care much about Jesus.

And it was going to lead to some places Peter didn’t want to go. Because he told him, when you’re old, you’ll stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you don’t wish to go. He said these things wouldn’t always be pleasant.

He said that he’s going to places he wouldn’t want to go. Following Jesus was not always going to be pleasant. And the Apostle John, who wrote this story down, clarified what Jesus meant here.

He said that his relationship with Jesus would lead Peter to martyrdom. He said when Jesus talked about Peter being girded up and his arms being stretched out, that he was talking about the kind of death that Peter was going to die.

and I read this week that there were all sorts of commentators who said well it may be about that it may not be excuse me it’s right here he said John said he was talking about the kind of death that Peter was going to die and we know from history that and from tradition that Peter was crucified I don’t think he was looking forward to that but there came a time where it was going to cost him it was going to cost him dearly it was going to lead to consequences he didn’t want but Jesus said follow me anyway in verse 19 he told him it was going to be hard it was going to be unpleasant he was not going to like every bit of it but he said in verse 19 follow me anyway now I’m adding the word anyway but the implication is there as he says here’s what it’s going to cost but follow me now Peter still kind of reeling from this revelation Peter’s kind of flailing here for some kind of answer to make sense or make himself a little more comfortable with this reality of what Jesus has just sprung on him Peter looked at John and asked Jesus well what about him in verse 21 what about that guy over there and Jesus response was essentially what about him what what is what does John have anything to do with what I’m telling you about Peter what Jesus did or did not have in store for John had nothing to do with the instructions he had just given Peter.

You know, I’ve noticed this a couple times just this weekend. I’ve told one of the kids to do something and they’ve said, well, I was just X, Y, and Z. You know, whatever it was because it’s happened a few times.

And finally, I started looking at him and saying, cool story. I still told you to do whatever this was. What you’re saying has no bearing on the instructions I just gave you.

And that’s what Jesus was, that’s what Jesus basically told him. If I tell John to do something different, what does that have to do with you? you know I told you what’s going to happen with you I told you what I expect from you regardless of what happens with John Jesus called Peter to follow him even unto death and if Jesus wanted John to remain there intact until the second coming it had nothing to do with Peter and so John goes on to say that there’s a rumor that sprung up among the Christians that that John would live until the second coming and and John says no that’s that’s not what Jesus said he just said if I want him to, it has nothing to do with Peter.

His message to Peter was very, very simple. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing.

He said, you follow me. He ended verse 22 by talking about John and saying, but you follow me. Even if it’s hard, you follow me.

Even if nobody else is, you follow me. Now, like I said last week, Jesus in this conversation was talking specifically to Peter. We need to understand that.

We need to try anytime we read the Bible to understand the context, what was going on in the story, what the words meant to them, what they would have understood, because it’s so easy 2,000 years later in a completely different culture to pluck a verse out of context and twist it until it says whatever we want it to say. All sorts of false teachings have been based on just that practice. We don’t want to do that.

We want to look at it and say, what was Jesus saying to them? What would they have understood? Okay, so we need to understand this was a conversation between Jesus and Peter, but like I told you last week, there are still implications for us.

There are still principles here that we can learn and we can apply to our own lives here 2,000 years later. What Jesus told Peter holds true for us as well. A disciple is meant to follow Jesus no matter what.

As disciples, we are meant to follow Jesus no matter what. I know what you’re probably thinking. Well, what about this?

What about that? I’m right there with you. There are times that, you know, it’s easy to say this from the pulpit and then I get out, you know, Monday through Saturday and try to live this.

And I think, gee, I wish I hadn’t said that Sunday morning because now I have to do it. And it’s so much harder to do it. There are areas where it’s not always fun to say, yes, Lord, I’m going to submit to you in this area.

It’s not always fun to do that. It’s always best. It’s not always fun. It’s not always what the flesh wants.

but we’re called to follow him no matter what even if it’s difficult even if it’s unpleasant even if it’s not what we want to do that means that if you and I want to be his disciples we need to follow him no matter what and one of the greatest obstacles to this we see right in this passage as as Jesus is dealing with Peter one of the greatest obstacles to that kind of commitment is what about ism what about-ism. It’s when we look around at others and we ask, what about? What about so-and-so?

What about this? What about that? It happens in politics.

So-and-so did something wrong. Oh, yeah, well, what about your guy? Well, wait a minute, we’re dealing with a separate issue.

But both sides do that. Well, what about this? And we never get anything discussed because we’re too busy playing.

Well, what about that guy? It happens in parenting. Oh, believe me, it happens in parenting.

Any of you who’ve ever raised children know that it happens. You go clean your room. Well, what about my sister?

What about your sister? Go clean your room. By the way, it happens.

What about my brother? What about-ism keeps us focused on what somebody else is doing, what somebody else is getting to do, or what somebody else is getting away with, instead of focusing on what we’re supposed to do. And it’s a distraction.

It distracts us from doing what God has called us to do. It makes us fixate on somebody else’s dealings with God and distracts us from our own dealings with God. We do it all the time.

God wants us to do something and we get fixated on other thoughts. We think, what about the difficulty of it? We think, God, I know you called me to do this, but it sounds hard, right?

I don’t want to do it because it sounds hard. God, I know you want me to tell my neighbor about Jesus, but what about my fears? What if they’re kind of mean looking?

He wants us to do it anyway. I know God wants me to be honest as a Christian, but what if it costs me? You know what?

It does cost us. Especially if no other time, it costs us every April 15th to be honest like God wants us to, right? God, do I have to follow you here?

Yeah, even if it’s difficult. We think, well, what about my brother or sister and what they’re getting to do or what they’re getting away with? God, I know you’ve called me to go to missions in Alaska.

But what about my brother who’s serving in Hawaii? What about him? Charlie’s brother’s a missionary in Hawaii.

People are jealous of him. She’s been to Hawaii. I haven’t, but it sounds like it doesn’t sound like any place I want to go.

Sounds hot. Hot. Yeah.

Hot and expensive. Anyway, I’d rather go to Alaska, but some people are jealous. God, I’m stuck here in Oklahoma and you’re calling people to serve in Hawaii.

What’s up with that? Yeah, because I’ve got plans for you in Oklahoma. So we can’t let ourselves get so distracted by what God’s called our brother to do.

Even if it looks like they’re getting away with something, or even if it looks like they’ve got it easy, that’s what Peter was thinking about John. Well, what about him? Why is John so special?

By the way, John didn’t necessarily have it all that easy either. Yes, Peter was martyred, and I don’t want to detract from the horror of that. But John outlived Peter in exile under persecution and on the run.

The martyrdom that Peter suffered was a horrible thing. But then it was over and Peter got to be with Jesus. John lived on for about 30 more years under intense persecution from the Roman Empire.

We just don’t know what our brother and sister is dealing with. So instead of worrying about what they’re doing or what they’re supposed to be doing, we need to just focus on what God’s called us to do and follow Jesus. Because you see, the ultimate goal here is not to have an easy, carefree life.

Sometimes we do people a disservice when we tell them, come to Christ and everything will be great. Or when we give testimonies, I’ve heard people say this, I came to Christ and things have been great ever since. Why didn’t I get signed up for that package?

You know? I missed out on that one. And so sometimes people will come to Christianity thinking it’s the answer that’s going to make everything perfect and carefree and wonderful.

And that’s just not the case. Our goal as Christians is not to have an easy, carefree life. If that’s what you’re signing up for, go somewhere else.

And I don’t mean get out of the church. I just mean Christianity is not what you’re looking for. The goal for us as Christians is to glorify Jesus with our lives and grow closer to Him.

And sometimes that’s not going to be easy. Sometimes that’s going to cost us. And we’re not going to accomplish that unless we consistently follow him.

And so today I would ask you, is there something God has called you to do that you’ve left undone? Is there something that God’s called you to do that you’ve left undone? Are you letting whataboutism stop you from following him in every area?

Is there something God’s called you to do that you’ve put off because you’re saying, well, what about so-and-so? What about my brother or my sister at church and look at what they’re getting to do and you want me to do that? Is there something you’ve left undone because it sounds difficult?

Is there something that God’s called you to do? Something in your walk with Christ, either a ministry or some behavior or attitude that needs to change. Something that He’s calling you to do in your walk with Christ that you’re looking at saying, no, thank you, God.

That doesn’t sound like fun. And I’m not knocking you for that. We all do it.

But is there something today that even as I’m bringing you this from God’s word, that the Holy Spirit’s saying, hey, hey, knock, knock. You remember this? Is there something that you’ve left undone?

I’m not asking you to tell me out loud, but I’d tell you this morning, deal with the Lord about it. And if there’s some area where he’s called you, follow me. And you’re standing there like Peter, wanting to ask more questions.

I don’t think God minds if we ask questions to try to understand, but when we ask questions to try to wiggle out of what God’s called us to do, that’s a whole other matter. Sorry, another is not a word. That’s a whole different matter.

Is there something that He’s called you to do that you’re still standing around saying, what about John? Or what about the cost? It may be hard.

You may see that others aren’t enduring the same difficulties you are. Let me tell you, whatever God’s calling you to do, it’s going to be worth it in the long run.

I may have told you before that I’m the last person I think if I was looking at it on paper I’m the last person I think if I were God that I would have called to be a pastor for a number of reasons and I kind of argued with God about it for a little bit I had my own plans I’ll tell you what they were but you’d laugh I had my own plans I had my own plans for life but I kind of argued with God about it I didn’t want to be a pastor I didn’t mind preaching but I didn’t want to be a pastor you know what I finally decided stop arguing with God and just do what he says long time ago and I’m so thrilled I can’t believe I get to do this I have I not in the last two weeks asked you is this for sure real or am I am I having some big long detailed dream I can’t believe that that God lets me do this let me tell you it’s not always easy either and I know you all have jobs and things in your life that that are difficult too.

But I’m telling you, the job of the pastor is not always easy. And yet I look at it, it’s been worth it to follow him where he’s called. Whatever God is calling you to do today in your walk with Jesus, whatever that you’ve been putting off, it’s worth it to say yes to him.

And we have to look, we have to look at the challenges, we have to look at the difficulties, be aware of what it’s going to cost, Count the cost, as Jesus would say. And then resolve that we’re going to follow him anyway. We’re going to do it anyway.

Not because it’s easy, not because it’s fun, but because Jesus is worthy to be followed. That’s what makes all of this worth it. Not that everything you do.

When I said it’s worth it, I don’t mean that everything’s going to turn out pleasant every time. I mean, Jesus is worth it. And growing closer to him and the intimacy that comes from serving him and obeying him and walking with him, that is worth it.

Because Jesus is worth following. John Kennedy’s idea was that all the sacrifice was worth it if they could reach the moon because it was a goal worth reaching. I’m telling you, it’s all worth it to follow Jesus because he’s worth following.

And if we can grow closer to him, if we can love him, if we can walk with him, there is no better use of our time each day. There’s no better use of the time that we have on this earth. There is no better use of our time and our energy than to follow Jesus anyway, to glorify him and to grow closer to him.

I mean, look at what he’s done for us. Look at someone who recognized our lostness and our sinfulness. Look at someone who saw us in the pit of our sin and our hopelessness and didn’t owe us love, didn’t owe us consideration, didn’t owe us forgiveness.

He owed us nothing except death and separation and hell. That’s all he owed us. And yet he loved us enough, not because we were lovable, but because he’s loving.

Look at somebody like that, who not only loved us in spite of ourselves, but came and sacrificed himself to pay for our sins in full so that we could be forgiven, so that our slate could be wiped clean, so that we can have eternal life with the Father. Look at someone who loved us that much and who sacrificed that much for us and tell me he’s not worth following. Any little sacrifice we can make to follow him is worth it because he’s worth following.

And if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior before today, you need to understand that we were separated from God. We are separated from God by default because of our sin. Anytime we have disobeyed God, whether it was in word, in attitude, in action, in thought, it’s sin and it’s offensive to God.

And we are separated from God because of it. And we had no hope of rescuing ourselves from that separation from spiritual death and from eternity in hell. Jesus came and paid the price in full.

Jesus went to the cross where he was nailed to it. He shed his blood and he died in our place. He died in your place so that you could be forgiven.

And this morning, there’s no amount of good that you can do. Going to church doesn’t get you closer to God. Doing good things, giving money, they’re all nice, but they don’t move you any closer to God.

Only because Jesus Christ died to pay for your sins in full can you be forgiven and have a relationship with the Father. And Jesus paid for it in full, And He offers it if we will simply admit that we’ve sinned against Him. If we will trust Jesus Christ as our one and only Savior, believe that He died for us and rose again, and then ask God’s forgiveness.