John 21  ¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” 
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” 
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 
¹⁶Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” 
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 
¹⁷The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” 
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” 
¹⁸Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 

 

In 4 verses Peter is forgiven, restored, and promoted to start the church of Jesus Christ.

There are many commentaries that can be written on this but I am choosing to simply say this:  Jesus wants us to receive our forgiveness—to truly believe we are forgiven and loved—and to begin to show His love to the world.  He is looking for us to be a CATALYST.

 

When I was growing up playing football we had a conditioning drill that was fairly common to every team I played on—from youth football all the way into college.

 

The drill asked everyone to meet the minimum requirement so that we could see that the team was in shape…..

 

As an 11 year old, it looked like this:  The coach would come out and say that everyone had to run the conditioning drill in 32 seconds.  The more talented kids would make it easily….but there was always a chubbier kid down the way who simply could not do it…..and we would all run due to his lack of being able to finish.  More often than not, this kid was picked on and harassed…..and I am not sure that this did anything to build up a team.

 

God does not do things that way…..and praying about this—He has changed my heart as a coach on this very issue.  As a coach I am looking for a player to be a CATALYST.  

 

In the chemical world, a catalyst “accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being changed”.  My science teachers growing up would show us this by adding some liquid mixture to another stable liquid mixture and creating some type of a “cool reaction”.  

 

In coaching, it is finding and picking out a kid from the other side of the coin.  It is picking out a player or players who can do things better than the others and challenging him or them to do something great.  Instead of requiring the whole team to run a conditioning drill in 32 seconds, you ask a couple of players to do it in 24.  After all, those are the players who will truly change the game….those are the players who make the plays to win the game and change the heart of a team.  In the philosophical sense, you are training up a William Wallace (Braveheart) and asking him to change the heart of your team.

 

And this is how it is in the Kingdom.

 

If God required us to meet a minimum standard, He would have had to destroy the world.  We simply do not measure up.

 

So He sent Jesus.

 

Jesus met the standard so that we could receive Him and measure up……..and then Jesus asks men to receive the Holy Spirit and purpose to change the world.

 

It is our job to do something fantastic and change the game.  In scripture, we have several encounters that changed history:

• God met Moses at a burning bush and asked Him to go and free the Israelites. God gave him the tools, but without Moses, the Israelites stay slaves.

• God met Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace to keep them from burning up, but without Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego everyone bows down to the image of gold.

• God met Joseph in his dreams and put the plan in action to have him lead Egypt. God again saved the people, but without Joseph the people do not get saved.

• Jesus met Peter at breakfast and forgave him for abandoning Him. God saved Peter, but without Peter the church does not get started.

• Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus. On his way to punish and kill Christians Paul becomes one.  God saved Paul, but without Paul the gospel is not brought to the gentiles.

 

So I have a question for you today:  Where are you man or woman of God?  Where are you?

 

If you say no to God He will move down the list and go find someone else to carry out His plan.

 

But that is not the plan.

 

The plan is for you to be the CATALYST.

 

The plan is for you to do something great that tip the scales of the game.

 

The plan is for you to say yes to God.

 

We had a quote on the back of our t-shirts years ago that said this:

Our destiny is not a certainty; it is a God-given opportunity.  Our choices will determine our legacy.

 

You are destined to be a CATALYST…………………..but you get to decide.  What do you choose?

 

 

In The Name Of The Father And The Son And The Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J