The Best Is Not Behind You!

Hey, this is Stephen Furtick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. Everybody clap your hands if you love the Lord Jesus Christ. Driving to church today thinking about all the awesome things that God has done. on days just like this I get kind of excited when I think about what the Lord is going to do what he's still going to do and from that place of faith I want to preach a message today from John 21 verses 13 through 25 and I invite you to be seated as I read them because I want to take my time no no it's not a trick you'll think I'm trolling You think now I'm going to fuss at you for sitting down on the word of God.

But as I thought about the scripture, I thought it is too nutritious and rich for me to rush through it. So if I'm worried about your feet hurting or your back being tight while you're standing, I might rush. But I just want to take our time today from John 21, where we were last week. But we continue this week.

from a sermon that I preached called cooked. Did you like that sermon? Did you get something out of it? Did you take home leftovers? I try to preach with that Tupperware anointing where you have something that you can take with you to work or to school or to the challenges in your life of the next week. And this week we're picking up from the next verses in this story, which I have never preached before. And I think I've been intimidated by these verses because they feel so personal. But today we're going to give it our best shot. I want you to think of this not as a presentation, but a conversation. In this conversation between Jesus and Peter, maybe you'll hear the Lord speak to you as well. John chapter 21, verse 13 through 25.

I could preach off these first two words. Jesus came. How many times has he come to you? After they'd fished all night and caught nothing, Jesus came. After he showed them where to cast the nets for a catch, Jesus came. Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. Now, I saw that phrase, he took the bread and gave it to them, and I was comparing it to other times where it says Jesus took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. So I was surprised that it just said he took the bread and gave it to them. And I was praying about that. And I realized that the reason it doesn't say he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. It just says he took the bread and gave it to

them is because this bread was already blessed and already broken. See, he'd already died on the cross for their sin and he'd already risen from the grave. And so, if you want to, touch three people and tell them, it's already blessed. It's already blessed. Wouldn't that make a good sermon? It's already blessed. It's already blessed. I don't have to be broken because he was. I'm already whole. I've got some things that are still in progress in my life, but the bread he gives is already blessed because he's already been broken. So anyway, that's not what I'm preaching about today.

That's what I preached about last week. So, Jesus came, took the bread, gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Verse 15, let's go. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than these? I used to think when he said these, he was talking about the fish that they just caught. Like, will you leave the fish to follow me? That's not what he's saying. He's talking about the other disciples because Peter had this competitive streak. And when Jesus was going around the Passover meal, we call it the Last Supper, Jesus was saying, you're gonna all fall away. And Peter said,

even if they all do, not me, because he was comparing himself. But see, now Jesus is trying to move him from position to purpose. Okay, how do you rank against all of them to are you willing to follow what I reveal to you? It's in another way of saying it, a shift from status to service, which you're about to see. So he said, do you love me more than these? But notice how Peter has been humbled in a good way by his failure. He denied Jesus and it looked like it ruined his life. But sometimes when you say ruined, God says ready. Because the thing that you think would disqualify you is actually the thing that developed you. So when Jesus says to Peter, do you love me more than these? Peter responds back, yes, Lord,

you know that I love you. But he doesn't say anything about these. Because he's learned that it is very dangerous to compare yourself to anyone else. So he passes the test. Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, feed my lambs. Again, Jesus said, again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Now, this time he leaves off the Vs, not asking you to rank yourself on the standings of how much you love me or who's the best. That's the disciples would sit around and argue about stuff like that. I'm the one he likes the best. No, he loves me more. No, I'm going to sit at the right hand. And so Jesus is moving him from status to service. That's a great shift to make when you're in high school. or

you have to make it later in life. Because if you live high school as a popularity contest, you will carry that dysfunction into your adulthood. And then you will make bigger messes trying to prove to people who aren't even paying attention how valuable you are when God has already showed you that. And so he's getting down to the issue of your identity in your life. And your identity is not determined by where do you stack up against anyone else. So he said, Simon, son of John, second time, do you love me? And he answered, verse 16, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. A little frustrated this time.

Jesus said, take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Now Peter was hurt on that third time. He was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? He was hurt, but watch this. This is not the pain of punishment. This is the pain of preparation. And sometimes we confuse the two. Sometimes God is doing something in our life and Peter's like, man, I know I made a mistake, but do you keep having to ask me this? Like, Jesus sounds like an insecure girlfriend. You know what I mean? Like, do you love me? Like, no, no, do you really love me? Like, do you love me, love me? But Jesus is an insecure. Jesus, in fact, is stabilizing Peter because he knows that there

is something ahead that will require him to get his identity down deep, not from what he does, but from who he is. Okay, so he said, do you love me a third time? And Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? And he said, Lord, you know all things, ginosko in Greek. It's a knowledge that's based on experience. Lord, you know everything.

Come on, I don't know what you're playing this game about going back and forth. Do I love you? You know all things. You know where I messed up. You know I'm also the one who let you use his boat. You know I'm not perfect. You know all things. You know I love you. And Jesus said, feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, 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. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, two very important words for you today, follow me. Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom

Jesus loved was following them. This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and said, Lord, who is going to betray you? When Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him? Jesus answered, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. Because of this, the rumors spread among the believers that the disciple would not die. Now, back in these days, they had church gossip.

We progressed past the point of Bible times. They had rumors in the Bible days. And it says this funny phrase, but Jesus did not say that. I'm going to do a series on that. Jesus did not say that. How many things can we put in that category? Jesus did not say that. Your grandmother said that. Jesus did not say that. Your religious dogma said that. Jesus did not say that. Your overactive imagination said that. Jesus did not say that. Your feed said that. Jesus did not say that.

An influencer trying to sell you some protein powder said that. Jesus did not say that. A politician said that. Jesus did not say that. Okay. Jesus did not say that series coming 2028. Jesus did not say that he would not die. He only said, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?

Now I could have stopped at verse 19, but I wanted to hit 24 and 25 to give you my title. This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. He's talking about himself. Y'all know I'm telling the truth. I'm the one he loves. I'm John y'all. And then verse 25, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose even the whole chat GPT would not have room for the books that would be written. Beautiful scripture. Let's clap our hands for the word of God one more time. I got a word for you today. The Lord said to tell you the best is not behind you. The best is not behind you. And I need you to reach around.

This can be the last time you talk to your neighbor today if they have bad breath. But tell at least three people, the best is not behind you. Tell three people. Put it in the comments. The best is not behind you. I don't care what the medical diagnosis said. The best is not behind you. I don't care what class you're flunking. The best is not behind you. I don't care who won't text you back or who blocked you.

The best is not behind you. The best is not behind you. So it's an interesting text because Peter is standing at the intersection of a great blessing and a great question. And the great blessing is much more than the catch of fish. It is the resurrected Christ. So the resurrected Christ is standing over a griddle, cooking a breakfast for the disciples who failed him in his moment of need. This is great grace. And in this moment, of blessing, Peter has questions. Not only the question that Jesus asked him, do you love me? Do you love me?

Do you love me? Three times. Remember, not to punish Peter, but to prepare Peter. How many times did Peter deny Jesus? How many times did Jesus reaffirm who Peter was? God knows that if you don't process this last thing with him, you will drag that mistake into your next opportunity. And like Peter dragged those fish on the shore, Jesus didn't want Peter dragging his failures into the next season. So he asked him three times, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? And then he gave him something to do, feed my sheep. I would suggest though, that it is not only Jesus who is asking questions in this passage. I think there are questions that Peter is asking as well What do I do next?

What do I do now? And am I still needed? And I boiled it down to one question that I want to give you that I think goes on in a lot of our minds. Is the best part of my life already over? I know that's kind of a heavy thing to just break out on you before you've had your bagel. But Jesus pulls up to the breakfast table with Peter and says, I need to talk to you about something. I've got something for you to do.

It is an insidious question. It doesn't always surface in that same way. You may think it in a much simpler way, like, did I already have the most fun I'm going to have in my life? Because when I thought about this message, the best is not behind you, I thought, I don't want to leave everybody under the age of 40 out of this sermon just because I'm in midlife crisis. Do you know what I mean? And I remembered something very funny. It made me laugh this morning during worship. I've been asking this question, is the best part of my life already over since I was 25.

And the reason it made me laugh, do you ever look back and laugh at something that you thought and you just kind of laugh at yourself that you even thought that? I was 25 years old, we had not even moved to Charlotte yet and I was leading worship and recording an album and I was writing songs in Shelby, North Carolina and I had an amazing worship team and an amazing band that we recorded the album with. But I remember when I left that recording that night, I went home and I wanted to cry because I knew we were coming to start this church. The reason I wanted to cry is because I thought to myself, I probably just worked with the best musicians I'm ever gonna work with to create music. Isn't that funny? I mean,

how laughable is that? Y'all give it up for the baddest worship team on the planet. I was laughing today. I was watching Nick play that bass. He did something on the bass. Sometimes you don't know if it's just a good low E string or the Holy Ghost, because they're so good up here. You don't know. Was that the Lord, or was that just Nick? I don't know.

They're so good. I was watching our worship team today, and I was laughing how I was grieving something at age 25. Yeah, that was probably peak right there. and then to think that the Lord would let me do ministry with these beasts, with these assassins, with these mercenaries of musical acuity and ability. I like to think that the Lord was laughing at that. So when I thought about the best is not behind you, I thought, I've been thinking that since I was 20. I've been thinking that since I was 15. Y'all, in many ways, my life peaked at age 15. I was at a Green Day concert. Billy Joe Armstrong, the lead singer of Green Day, called me on stage to play his Fender guitar. I was 15 years old. I went home that night and said, well,

that's it. It doesn't matter who I marry, how many kids I have, how beautiful she is, how much money. I will never... have a moment that cool. Do you know how cool I was going to school the next day when I played with Green Day? They talked about me on the radio that morning. I was driving my Chrysler Laser to school. I didn't know whether to smile or cry, because I thought, this is it. It will never … It's all downhill from here. I was 15.

November 30, 1995. I peaked. You ever wonder, have I peaked? There are no real people in the center section of this room. I'm bringing my message to a new audience. Do you ever wonder, have I already achieved all I'm going to achieve? Have I done the best I'm going to do? Did you wonder that when you got married?

Do not make eye contact during this specific sermon point. There can be a little bit of a reality shock, or what do you call it? A little bit of a A rude awakening when you start thinking, okay, all right, being married is awesome. It's fantastic. It's going great. I love having to consult somebody about all of my plans, whether budgetary or entertainment related. It's going great. Maybe single was the happiest. Now let me try this side of the room. I can't find a real... Or you have kids, and you're like, dang, I wonder if like … I mean, I love them. I'm going to raise them. I'm not going to throw them out, put them up for adoption, send them to Compassion International or anything like that. But

I kind of wonder, was that like the best part of our marriage before? I don't know. When we could just go on a date without having a major global summit planning meeting about the care of these terrorists. I mean, blessings from the Lord. Did we peak? Was that like the best? We were so in a hurry to get pregnant.

Did we peak before you were pregnant? And of course, I say all this jokingly. Of course, we know that you appreciate every season of your life equally, and you never think these things. But hypothetically, if you had a friend or a relative who was struggling with this issue, is the best part of my life already over? I walked out to Graham after he won his state championship in wrestling, and Gavin and the Goose were out there on our porch, and it was like 1130 in the morning.

And they had the JBL boombox Bluetooth playing something silly. And they were all out there with their shirts off, eight-pack abs, just looking amazing out there. Eight-pack abs and making pancakes. And I looked at those boys and I said, y'all don't know right now, but this is peak. When you got an eight-pack and pancakes, that's peak. This is probably peak. I mean, take a picture. I'm going to take a video for y'all because this is probably about the happiest day of your life. Fresh off a state championship with pancakes on a grill you didn't pay for where I'm paying the electricity and you're doing the eating and you got the abs and this is probably peak.

And Peter has to be wondering, Is my peak behind me? Because it was amazing when he was calling me to walk to him on the water, and I did it. and John's like for a minute and Peter's like but at least I got out the boat John that was peak Peter man walking on walking on a word one word was enough to get him to come one word But it's been a while since that water walking episode.

Now he's the disciple who denied the Savior by the fire. Did I peak? And it was amazing. One day we wanted to send the crowds away. Jesus said, feed them. And we fed them. And it was amazing. We all got a doggy bag. I wonder, was that peak because he won't be here with us forever? Is the best part of my ministry behind me? I've talked to creative people before who say that the number one thing that they wonder after they succeed is, is this my last one?

They can't even enjoy the success. I've talked to people who have put out movies that you've seen, and on the day they should have been celebrating, they were stressed because, is that the last good one I'll ever make? Do I have another one in me? Do I have the energy to handle this promotion even if it comes? Is my best behind me? You think it's just in seasons of failure. It's not. It's in seasons of favor too.

That you look back on a previous version of yourself. I mean, my God, do you remember when I used to preach three times every weekend? Did I peak? Because I'm not preaching three anymore. I'm preaching this one, but it's three times as long as when I used to preach three. So everybody's getting the same treatment. But there's a part of me that has wondered how many times in this ministry, like, was that as good? as it's going to get. Did I peak? It must have been a relief to Peter, and perhaps it will be a relief to you, that after his failure, around about the age of 30, we place Peter at this moment in his life. Jesus tells him, purpose doesn't peak. Can we put that as a subtitle for the message? Purpose doesn't peak. Yeah,

your bench press number might decrease, but purpose doesn't peak. It might be a little harder to take the pounds off, but purpose doesn't peak. College might be the time in your life when you had the most fun, and now you're sitting here. You know how it is? You're sitting here now looking back on something, and you're like, why didn't I know how blessed it was when I had it?

I didn't know it was blessed when I had it. I was 15 years old. That was peak. All I had to worry about was Fortnite. Now I'm working this job, man. I got FICA, where I used to have Fortnite. Did I peak, and I didn't even appreciate how good it was? I didn't even know that was momentum. I didn't even know it was just easy for me to get up and get down and do stuff and do this and do that and remember. I used to be able to remember stuff. I used to be able to order off a restaurant menu with no flashlight. Now, every time I'm sitting down, I didn't even know that was the favor of God when you didn't need your flashlight. So it must have been a relief to Peter to hear Jesus say, I still got food for you. I have three points

to this message. Let's hustle and we'll get through it. Everybody shout the first point, say food. food. I love verse 15 because there's a blessing and a question in verse 15. There is a blessing and a question. Blessings come with questions. You've got to learn that you can be blessed and have questions. you can be blessed and have confusion. You can be blessed and still have broken places in your life. Peter is not yet put together, but he is going forward in the strength of the Lord, and so can you. Verse 15 says it this way.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Then Jesus said, very important, feed my lambs. Now let's make a sandwich out of this verse since we're talking about food. He starts off feeding Peter. So Peter eats. But then after Peter has eaten, Jesus says, now I've got someone that I want you to feed. God has called you to eat and to feed.

And if you are not doing both of those things in your life, you are going to end up in a ditch on either side of the road. Because there comes a time where God will make breakfast for you and God will supply for you. And I need about 300 witnesses to wave at me if God has supplied for you in a season of your life where your nets were empty, but somehow he gave you your next meal.

And so the next meal is on me, God was saying, but the mission is on you. Because I've got something for you to do, and it's important that you are eating and feeding. Everybody say it. Eat and feed. Eat and feed. So Jesus says, here's the bread, already blessed, already broken. Eat it. The bread represents him. The fish represents provision. And after they have finished eating, Jesus starts talking about feeding. God promises that in every season of your life, listen to me, there will always be something to eat and there will always be someone to feed.

When you are eating and not feeding, that's a problem. When you are feeding and not eating, that's a problem. You have to eat and feed. This is the rhythm of grace. You have to take in and give out. You have to receive from the Lord and respond to the Lord. If you're not doing both of those things, you will feel like your best is behind you, but your best isn't behind you. You just stopped eating or stopped feeding. Which one speaks to you in this season of your life? There have been times in my life where my discouragement was a byproduct of my disobedience. Not always, but there have been times when I'm stuck in this, I've peaked, I don't have as many friends as I used to have. You know, a lot of times in ministry,

I'll be honest with you about pastors, we can make ourselves martyrs sometimes. And we can be like, it's so lonely in ministry. Bro, it's lonely in life. Ministry doesn't make you lonely. Life makes you lonely. But how many times in my life has God given me something to eat, but because I eat and don't feed, I feel all alone.

Maybe it's just me, but if I'm not eating and feeding, I run into one of two problems. I don't need to break this down a little bit more. Say, break it down if you want me to explain it. All right. Eat is what God gives me, and then feed is what I give the world out of what God has given me. Or eat is when I sit with the Lord and let him encourage me. Feed is when I open my mouth and encourage somebody else. And when I have been most discouraged in my life, I either wasn't eating and I was trying to feed, or I wasn't feeding and all I was doing was eating. And it's got to be both. It's got to be both. Or you'll start saying like, oh, my best days are behind me. No, your best days aren't behind you. You just aren't stewarding

what God put within you. So are you eating and never feeding? That's going to make you weak because you're never exercising what God gave you. Are you eating and not feeding? Okay, I'll say it. Come into church, and you're the first one to leave and the last one in your seat. Then you go all weak, and you feel weak because you don't exercise what God gave you.

You think the best is behind you. The best is not behind you. It's just inside of you. You can't sit on your gift and then ask God to do something that he gave you to do for you. Because God will cook for me, but he will not carry me. He calls me to follow. I could preach a whole sermon about this. because there have been times not out of condemnation for you, but out of concern for you.

I'm concerned that you think God hasn't blessed you and that you are not managing the blessing that he gave you because you don't know that he gave you so much. God feeds you, and he gets you through something. The first thing you need to do as you're going through it is to help somebody else go through it like God helped you go through it. That's the first thing you have to do. After you've dried your tears, look for your Kleenex and pass it to somebody else. God has called all of us to eat breakfast, but he has called all of us to feed sheep. You think this is a pastor's verse? This is a people verse.

This is for you in your school. This is for you in your family. When you're always eating and never feeding … Ah, but there's another problem too. Some of us are always feeding but never eating. That's why I love verse 15. He didn't tell Peter what to do next until after he had breakfast. Because you can't hear God good when you're hungry. I said you can't hear God good when you're hungry. You're making decisions on an empty stomach. You're making emotional decisions. You're running around trying to fix stuff on an empty stomach. So Jesus says, sit down and eat. Have breakfast with me. That's a daily meal. That's not a one-time. Oh, I had breakfast back in 2019. this daily dependence on the Lord. He says,

I have food for you. And ain't it crazy, Lindsay Newton, that while Peter was thinking about his next meal, Jesus was already thinking about his next mission. We are meal-minded people, but we have a mission-minded God. Prove it to you from John chapter four. The woman at the well has left and she went to go get all of her friends.

the disciples, including John and Peter, come back and say, Jesus, do you have anything to eat? And in the ultimate Jesus troll, he says, I have food to eat that you know not of. And they go, who door dashed? Who brought him lunch? No, it's not my food, Jesus said, is to do the will of him who sent me.

You see it? He said, I'm eating while I'm obeying While I'm preaching, I'm eating, so I'm eating, and I'm feeding, and I'm eating, and I'm feeding, and you get in trouble when.

You're just eating, eating, eating, bless me, bless me, bless me, do it, do it, but you never feed. but you get in trouble when you're feeding, feeding, feeding, feeding, but you never eat.

So, Jesus said, I do the will of my Father. I don't have time for all of the agendas of men, because I do the will of my Father. Eat something this week. Eat something bigger than a granola bar. Eat something more substantive than a protein shake. Eat this word. Take it and make it yours, and then feed somebody.

Your future is in who you are willing to feed. Not just what I need God to do for me. Hey, worship leader, you're burned out. Write another song. Or do like our team did and go in the hospital while we're on tour and sing to sick people. Because I know you're hungry. So feed, and you can eat. And eat, and you can feed. All eating, no feeding, you get weak.

All feeding, no eating, you get weary. Either way, you got to learn. what to do with the food. So, Peter says, I love you, Lord, and Jesus says, good. Feed my sheep. Yeah, but they bite. Feed them anyway. Yeah, but they're teenagers. They don't appreciate me. Feed them anyway. You're not feeding them for them. You're feeding them because you love me. Do it for God. I don't know.

I love how this is coming out. Is it helping you? I just feel so absolutely conversant. I feel like I'm in a bathrobe and slippers and just talking to you, but it's fully closed. It's closed. It's in a double knot. Double winds are not. He said, let's have breakfast. I got something for you to do. Now, I always pictured this like Jesus was saying all of this in front of all the other disciples because, you know, Peter, wow, he goes on to be basketball analogy point guard of the New Testament church in Jerusalem, at least, and, and He transcends that and takes it to the Gentiles. But funny thing about it, the way that God used Peter to get the gospel to the Gentiles, he was up on a roof praying and he was hungry. True story.

Acts chapter 10. And the Lord showed him a vision and it was a sheet and it had all of these unclean animals on it. And Peter looks at it and the voice from heaven says, arise, Peter, kill and eat. And he's like, no, Lord, I don't eat that. I eat clean. And so look what the Lord had to do. He brought down the vision again and again, three times, three times. He denied Jesus three times. Jesus reaffirmed the love and the mission that he had for him three times.

And the sheep came down from heaven three times. And Peter still thinks we're talking about a meal, not a mission. So if we're going to talk about food, we've got to talk number two about future. Because Jesus has something pretty difficult for Peter to hear. And this is where I don't know how much to make this like a seminar versus a sermon. He says, and I want somebody watching this online, put my points in the chat, would you?

Put food and then put future. Those are the first two points. He says, feed my sheep, verse 18, very truly I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself. And you didn't even feel any tightness in your hamstrings bending down to tie your shoes. And went where you wanted. But when you are old, and see, this is where you lose a certain part of the church. I don't need to hear this right now. He said, 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. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he said to him, follow me. Now, I've got to save a little time for that passage, but let

me point out one thing. Peter's not dead yet. And so Jesus is saying, now, when you're old, you're going to lose control. See, we think that the older we get and the more mature in God we get, the more control of our life we have. I can't wait till I get my driver's license. I'm going to go wherever I want. But how are you going to pay for the gas? We got to talk about that because I've been paying for that gas. I've been doing a lot for that gas, but you don't even know about it right now because you are immature. And so the more you mature into the mission that God has given you, the more that God grows you up, the more you realize that gaining faith means losing control. And we don't like that equation because we want more faith, but more

faith always means less control. And so Jesus starts speaking to Peter about his future. He says, I've got some things for you to do. You are going to feed my sheep. Think about a guy who looked like he was at his peak when Jesus rose from the grave. He hasn't even preached on the day of Pentecost yet.

He hasn't even gone to the temple gate called Beautiful. and raised a man up who was crippled, laying there begging for alms when him and John walked up and said, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. All of that was in Peter's future, but he didn't know that yet. All of that is in Peter's future, but Jesus doesn't share that with him. Jesus does not share with Peter, and you're going to take the gospel to the uncircumcised. You are going to revolutionize the way this message is seen. You are going to break barriers. You are going to shatter boundaries. You are going to stand before the Sanhedrin and defiantly declare with courage that it is right for us to obey God, not men. You are going to raise a little girl

from the dead. You are going to be one of the chief emissaries of the gospel. He doesn't say any of that. He just says, follow me. Follow me. That's all God's going to give you right now in your life. That's all he's going to tell you. Two words. Follow me. Let me tell you about your future. Let me tell you a strategy about your future, rather. This is what I have learned walking with God. Hold loosely to your future and follow closely to to the one who holds your future. Should I say it again? Back section. All right.

Hold loosely to your future and follow closely to the one who holds.

Your future, because he's already there. Because he already knows. Lord, you know all things. You know what's best for me. You know who needs to leave right now. You know who needs to reject me right now. You know who needs to accept me right now.

You know the experiences I need right now. You know the situation I need to be in right now, not just for my own good but for your glory. Lord, you know. So I'm holding loosely my future. I didn't see myself unemployed at 34, but I'm holding loosely my future. I didn't see myself single again at 61, but I'm holding loosely my future. I didn't think I was going to have another panic attack. I hadn't had one in four years, and it came back. But I'm holding loosely to my future and following closely behind Jesus. That's all you get. Two words. Follow me. Well, that's better than he had when he was walking on water. That day, he only got one. Come. Jesus made it clear this time.

Follow me. Not your broke friends. Follow me. Not your dysfunctional family patterns. Follow me. Not your sinful flesh that's going to have you doing stuff that you know is beneath your high calling. Follow me. Let me make this clear. Not follow what somebody said about what's in the Bible. Open your Bible and eat this food and get a word and follow me, because I'm with you. Come here, Graham.

Come here, Abby. I want to illustrate. I have an illustration that I think will make this so real for us today. All right? Y'all sit down and watch my kids. Come on all the way up on the stage. me verse 19 is amazing, because it calls to follow me, but the next two words in the passage to me make verse 19 an even more stark contrast. I want to see if I can get this across. No, we did not work this out in advance, so this could be a total disaster. I'm not preaching this three times today, only one time, so even if this doesn't make sense, y'all clap and say amen and write down notes like it does, all right? Don't let my kids watch me fail in this pulpit. All right, for this illustration, Abby

is going to be Jesus. I knew you'd like that. Come here. Jesus and Peter take a walk away from the other disciples, and I'll show you how I know that in a moment, because sometimes the Lord pulls you aside to give you your purpose. You hear me? So how are you going to hear it if your phone's always on? If you are always reachable to people, how will you be accessible to God? So he said, hey, Peter, you love me? You know I love you. I'm the best, Lord. Well, I mean, there's John. But, you know, he don't really do anything, Lord. He just leans back on your breast at the supper. I feel like Peter was probably pretty He probably has some feelings about John because, you know what I mean? Like, even look at verse 21. I

saw this. It said, no, before that, please. Yeah, Peter turned, saw the supper, and Jesus loved him and followed him. This is the one who leaned back against Jesus at the supper and said, Lord. And so Peter has to be a leader, and John gets to be a leaner. It is the pressure of being called. Sometimes you make mistakes, and you're like, yeah, but the reason I'm yelling at my kids all the time is because I'm with them. So, if I could just lean back like you, and then the fun uncle gets to come over for Christmas, I could be the fun uncle too if I only had to see you once a year. I bet I could be loyal too if I could just lean on Jesus.

But Peter was called to be a leader. And so he pulls him aside and he says, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? It's going to be rough. There's going to be different seasons of your life. And man, there's going to be seasons to this. There's going to be, there are going to be seasons. When I said my title, the best is not behind you. If you think that means it's going to be easy, You've been watching too much TikTok and reading too little truth. I did not say it would be easy. I said he would be with me. This is the picture. Please get this. Please get this. So you're Jesus, right? I'm Peter, right? Okay, I'm just making sure. All right. So he says, follow me.

And then Jesus is walking. Okay. And then verse 20, Peter turned. So now we've got a problem. Let me do this again. Peter, I got something for your future. I got a new thing for you to do. I got a new season. I got a new anointing. I got a fresh wind. I'm not done with you yet. The Lord is speaking to you. Okay. Yes, I love you, Lord. Yes, I love you, Lord. This is a reversal of Peter's regret where God is turning his mistake into a mission.

God is turning your mistake into a mission. I got something for you to do. It's not going to be easy, but I'm going to be with you. I'm going to be leading you. You just got to stretch your hands and go where I send you. And by the way, when you're old, this is going to happen. There are 30 years of beautiful ministry Peter has that Jesus doesn't even mention. You have no idea what God is planning for you, but the entire thing hinges on verse 19, where the last two words Jesus says is, follow me, which is why I was surprised by the first two words of 20. Peter turned Is this why you feel lost?

Is this why you feel stressed? Is this why you have stomach ulcers worrying about things that are beyond your control? Is this why you are now looking at your future saying, I don't know if there's anything good left in me. I don't know if I can do it again. I don't know.

It's impossible for you to follow Jesus when you're facing John. Because the moment that Peter turned and faced John, verse 20, he put Jesus behind him. So, now he's looking at John, and John is like, and I'm the one who leaned my head on his own and suffered.

Verse 21, Peter is like, Lord, what about him? Is he the best? Am I the best? Is he the best? I mean, Peter is walking with Jesus, the author of life, the shepherd of the stars, the guardian of planets in space, the speaker of the constellations.

The one who was in the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and.

The Word was God, and he's taking a walk with the Word, who knows all things, who upholds all things, from whom and through whom and by whom and for whom all things are created. He is walking with the best, and he turns his back and puts the best behind him. So, I came to say today, turn around the best is not behind you.

I said the best is not behind you, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising his shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. High-five 12 people and say,' I' ve got the best.

I've got the best. I've got the best.' So, why would I be stressed about what's next when I'm walking into tomorrow with the one who's already in it? He's already in it. He's already got it. He's already cooking. He's already coming. He's already crucified. He's already resurrected. So, I'm already blessed. Just like that bread, I'm already blessed.

I'm already blessed. I can face my future, because number three, I have to focus. I have food. Don't sit down. I'm closing this bad boy, because right now I want the best worship team on the planet to come up on this stage. In just a moment, when I minister this sermon, they're going to sing, Because He Lives. I can face tomorrow. See, I can follow Jesus if I face him, but if I'm facing John, people. Now I had it in my mind to teach all of the ways that we turn our backs on God's purpose for us in order to compare ourselves to others. I had a whole list that I was going to give you.

But the Lord said when I got to that point, they don't need the list. They got the picture. And they know exactly what it is. Come back, baby. You're doing so good. You should be Jesus more often. You know this is going to be bragging rights. He loves me the most. He let me be Jesus. You know, Graham's getting a lot of attention in ministry right now.

I got to let Abby be Jesus for a minute. Because Jesus said to John something so important, or he said to Peter something so important. He said, John is my job. The people you compare yourself to, That's my kitchen. You get out of my kitchen, you stop scrolling to see where they went on vacation and pop a tent in your living room and have a Capri Sun and drink it until you get juice drunk and stagger around the room saying, I'm blessed in this staycation. Stop trying to follow Jesus' face in John. Do you know how many times I almost wrecked my ministry looking in my rearview mirror? Oh, you've got to do this now in ministry.

You've got to do that in ministry now. You've got to do that in ministry now. I don't have to do anything but get my hair cut, study my Bible, drink my coffee. Three cups today. Can you tell? Three cups. The third one was big too. Can you feel it? I don't have to do anything but two things. Follow me.

That's all I have to do. If I follow him, he'll feed me. If I follow him, he'll take care of me. If I follow him, I can preach on Pentecost. If I follow him, I can raise to 10. If I follow him, I can cast out devils.

If I follow him ….

I can face tomorrow. God sent his son. God sent his son.

And they called him Jesus.

He came to love. Receive it. Heal and forgive. If everything he did was written, the world couldn't contain the books. Do you think your best is behind you? This is what he did. That's the evidence. Come on. Let me preach the hymn to you. An empty grave is there to prove that he's not through with you.

He's not through with you.

The best is not behind you.

Hey, hey, hey. I probably already worked with the best musicians I'm going to work with God was laughing watching Zeke up here singing like that. Do that again. Do something crazy. Do something crazy. Do you see what I'm saying? The best is not behind you.

How do I know it? Sing the chorus.

That's how I know my best is ahead.

That wrong stone told me my best is ahead. And heaven is my home.

And Jesus is my reward. Because I know, I know.

I know He holds my future And life is worth the living church My life is worth the living church I've got a reason to live. I've got a reason.

To live. Hey, I hope you enjoyed the podcast. And if you did, make sure to share it and subscribe so we can get you all of these new messages as soon as they're available. I also want to take a moment and thank all of you who are a part of Elevation. Whether you support us financially or serve with us or just share these messages, it's because of you that we're able to reach people all around the world.

And if you want more information on how to be a part of Elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again for listening. Make sure to leave a review, share the message, and subscribe. God bless you.

The Best Is Not Behind You!

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