Embracing God's Call Through Our Imperfections

If you remember the story of the transfiguration, Jesus is there and it's in Luke chapter nine and Jesus is there in his radiant glory and standing with him or Moses and Elijah and the disciples are just aruck by this this happening. And Peter says to Jesus, "Let's build three tents. Let's make people know what happened here." And the scripture literally says, literally says, you can look it up in Luke 9, that Peter did not know what he was talking about. He had no idea. He thought, "This is this is awesome. This people should know about this. Let's build some tents. Let's remember this. Is so cool." [00:13:21]

But when Jesus said or when the Bible says when Peter doesn't know what he's talking about, it's the nice way for the Bible to say, "Sit down, Peter. Sit down." Then another time, the disciples are on this boat and the storm is raging and they're afraid because they might sink and they see this image coming across the water and they think it's a ghost. And then they realize that it's the Lord walking on the water. Can you imagine seeing someone walk on the water? [00:14:03]

Like a lot of times we read the Bible and we don't really think about what the Bible says. Here is a dude that you've been hanging out with who you know his name, you know his mom, you know his dad, you know his brother, you eat with him, you sleep with him, you walk around with him, you probably told jokes with him. And here he comes walking on the water. That's pretty amazing. I would fall out if I saw someone walking on the water. [00:14:41]

But Peter, what does he say? Lord, if that's really you, let me come out there. And Jesus says, okay. And Peter gets out of the boat and starts getting that way and all of a sudden realizes, oh man, I'm walking on water and boom, right in. Lord, help me. And there's Jesus to save him. Peter's like, "Hey guys, watch this. I got this." And as soon as he stepped, I don't think he took more than one or two steps if I'm completely honest with you. And boom. Now he goes in. [00:15:15]

Now he goes in. Then at the last supper in Matthew chapter 26, Jesus says, "You will all fall away. You will all run away." And Peter, they're all like, "Oh, I wouldn't do that." Peter, he gets in Jesus' face and says, "Even if everyone else fails, if they bail out on you, I will die for you." And Jesus replies to him, "Before the rooster crows three times, you will deny me three times." And we know what happened. [00:15:56]

But like Peter, when I fall flat, Jesus still comes through. If you would open your Bibles with me or your Bible apps to John 21. We're going to read verses 1-8. After this, that's the resurrection. Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberius. And he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin, Nathaniel of Canaa in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. [00:21:20]

Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." Now, all this stuff has happened and Peter is down and out because he's betrayed Christ. His life is on the line. And he goes back to what he knows. Like, I got to do something. I know. I'm going to go fishing. They said to him, "We'll go with you. Who doesn't like to go fishing?" They went out and got in the boat, but that night they caught nothing. [00:21:41]

So here Peter's lived this life of I got this and he decides I'm going to go fishing. But they catch nothing. That's how the story started. Jesus calls from the shore. Throw the net on the other side. He said to them, sorry I stopped reading. Jesus said to them, children, have you caught any fish? They answered him. No, he said to them. So no, he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. [00:22:16]

So they cast it and now they were not able to to haul it in because of the quantity of fish. That disciple when whom Jesus loved John therefore said to Peter, it's the Lord. When Simon Peter heard it, he was that it was the Lord. He put on his outer garment for it was for he was stripped for the work and he threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish for they were not far out from land but went about but about a hundred yards off they here they were in this familiar situation. [00:22:36]

Here comes Jesus. He shows up like he always does. Cast your nets on the other side. Boom. God grants God God shows up even when we fall flat. Same miracle, different Peter. This isn't a reset of the sense of pretending in the failure didn't happen. Instead, this is Jesus reminding Peter that he had called him to this and before he was perfect, he was still being called. [00:23:00]

Peter hadn't attained it. He was trying to do it in his own power. Jesus still called him even when he was trying to do it in his power. You may feel like you've blown it too badly to be of any use to God. You've probably failed him too many times. But like we sang earlier, uh he'll never fail us. He'll never fail us. He's been the fourth man in the fire time after time. [00:23:21]

Maybe you feel like your church has missed its moment. But Jesus doesn't show up at the beginning. He shows up over and over. After we fail, he's there to pick us up. When we're on empty, he's there to fill us. When we're tired, he's there to give us rest. And he fills us over and over again. His mercy is never ending. And his grace is new every morning. [00:23:44]

Jesus invites us to the fire not to shame us but to heal us. Verse 15. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you?" He said to him, "Tend my sheep." [00:27:14]

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything and you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted. But when you were old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." [00:27:34]

This is said, this he said to show by what kind of death he would glorify God. And after this saying, he said to him, "Follow me." So, what's going on here? First of all, Jesus, the last time Peter had been near a charcoal fire, he was denying Jesus. That the Bible tells us he was warming his hands. And now Jesus had built a fire to cook breakfast. [00:28:00]

Jesus isn't there rubbing it in. He's walking Peter through a process of restoration. Peter had denied Jesus three times and now pet Jesus is walking Peter through this restoration. Now, I am not a pastor who's like, "We're going to open the the Bible uh dictionary and we're going to look at the Greek and the Hebrew, but sometimes you have to." So, what's going on in the Greek? [00:28:23]

So, the first two times Jesus uses the word apo meaning a deep sacrificial love. It's this uh agape love, the the kind of love with which God loves us, an unconditional love. Peter, do you love me unconditionally the way God loves you? And Peter replies with Lord, I love you. And he uses the word fileo, which is a brotherly love, a friendly love. [00:28:46]

The word Phil, the city Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. The fileo is there in that. Lord, you know that I love you like a friend. The third time Jesus says to Peter, "Peter, do you love me with a brotherly love?" And Peter says, "You know I do." Peter's grieved not just because Jesus asked him three times, but because Jesus changed the word from agape to file. [00:29:08]

Now, here's what's really cool. God has a place that he wants us to be, right? right in his will where he wants us when he wants us how he wants us but sometimes we are not there because we said I got this and then we realize how much we don't got this and so God and here we see this says here's where I want you here's where I want you but he always meets us where we are to help us get to where he want and that three time That process was you blew it. [00:29:32]

Jesus meets Peter where he is not where Peter pretended to be. This is great. Also notice Jesus commands to him flight change. First he says feed my lambs in verse 15. This means care for the young and the vulnerable. the people who cannot protect themselves. Then in verse 16 he says tend my sheep which is guide and protect those who are maturing in their faith. [00:29:59]

And then thirdly he says feed my sheep in verse 17 which means nourish the whole flock. Make sure that the whole flock is being cared for. This whole idea is not just forgiving and forgetting. It's restoring the calling. [00:30:22]