Come to LIFE this Easter Holidays

Father God, we thank you that you are a gracious God.

We thank you that in your infinite wisdom,

you have revealed to us what we need to know

so that we may trust you

and live lives that are joy-filled and strengthened by you.

We ask for the ability to hear you speak today.

We ask for the humility to recognise failures within ourself.

And we ask for the security to be able to confess them confidently,

knowing that your love is sufficient.

Amen.

Have you wondered why John's Gospel finishes here?

It feels like it would make more sense

if it finished at the end of the chapter before.

Jesus has died.

Jesus is risen.

Jesus has told his disciples that they've got a job.

He's commissioned them.

So why this extra story?

Why not skip to the bit where Jesus gets on a cloud

and goes up to heaven and that be the end of it?

Why Peter?

Why here?

Well, we know that Peter is a disciple, but he's not just any disciple.

Peter is one of Jesus' three closest confidants.

He's the one who uttered the famous declaration,

you are the Christ.

He's an act first, think later kind of guy,

and he gets things done for Jesus.

On the night of Jesus' arrest, when Jesus is explaining that all will scatter once he is arrested,

Peter boldly and confidently declares,

all else may fall, but I will follow you.

Even if I have to die, I will follow you.

Peter is so confident in his conviction,

in his fortitude,

in his self-discipline,

to resist temptation,

to endure hardship,

even death,

that he stands boldly declaring

that his commitment and his love for Jesus

is greater than any other disciple.

He is so confident

that he fails to heed the warning from Jesus

that this very night

he will deny Jesus three times.

But for all his confidence,

mere hours later,

not once,

not twice,

but three times,

Peter denies Jesus.

And as he says it for that third time,

he locks eyes with the one that he calls Saviour.

And he is overcome with guilt and sorrow.

Confidence that turns out to be false confidence

makes our failures all the more painful.

As Christians,

we tend to rock back and forth in our Christian life

between a sense of bravado and invincibility

and at other times,

a sense of crippling guilt or failure.

At points in our lives

where we feel like we're travelling well,

resisting sin,

reading our Bibles,

there is this confidence.

We have dealt with the issues.

It's past now.

We can move on to what's next.

But the problem, of course,

is when we stumble back into those sins

that we've dealt with.

Those sins that we've told God

are now done and finished.

How did this happen?

We ask ourselves.

I promised God I was done with that.

The guilt can be truly suffocating.

Can become a barrier

in our relationship with God.

Something that we try and carry ourselves

because we feel like we let God down.

We failed to keep our word.

Remember that when we get to this episode in John,

Jesus has already appeared to his disciples twice.

Peter got to see him both times

when Jesus met with the disciples

behind closed doors.

And it must have been really encouraging

for Peter to hear the words from Jesus,

peace be with you.

But how could he forget what Peter did?

Was Peter even still worthy to be called

one of Jesus' followers,

let alone a disciple or a leader in his church?

I mean, he might have been able to push that night

and his failure and his mistake

to the back of his mind.

But now, on this morning,

on that night,

he stood warming himself around a fire.

On this morning,

he sits at a fire with Jesus.

On that night,

he denied Jesus three times.

On this morning,

he will answer three questions.

It's quite possible

that the stretch of beach

that they're eating breakfast on

is the same stretch

where Peter first met Jesus,

where Peter first heard the words from Jesus,

follow me.

Peter.

But since then,

in his hour of testing,

Peter has failed.

Peter must have been feeling

a deep sense of inadequacy

as he sat there eating.

There's not a lot of conversation

in the passage.

The disciples are almost at a loss for words.

It says they know he was the Lord,

but they didn't know what to say to him.

Maybe Peter felt a bit like he did

when he first met Jesus,

when he fell to his knees and said,

get away from me, Lord.

I'm a sinner.

Maybe that's even how you sometimes feel.

Inadequate.

Inadequate to resist temptation.

Inadequate to point others to Jesus.

Inadequate to call yourself a Christian.

You know that you've failed.

You know that you'll fail again.

And maybe every day

you have this question ringing in your mind,

this uncertainty hanging over your head.

Will Jesus still love me today?

Even after all of these mistakes.

Maybe the overarching emotion for you

in the Christian life

is guilt and fear

rather than joy and freedom.

The feeling that there is no way

you can do what's required today.

That even before you begin,

you know you're going to fall short.

But that's kind of the point, isn't it?

I mean, whether you feel self-confident

as a Christian,

whether you're in that bravado

and invincibility stage right now,

or whether you sit there

and just want to hide in your room

and hope that nothing bad happens,

wherever you are,

you are inadequate.

What God asks you to do is beyond you.

Whether we're talking about obedience

or a ministry like what Peter will embark on,

you are inadequate.

Peter is inadequate.

And yet, Jesus chose Peter.

He called him out of the fishing boat

to be a disciple,

to be a disciple maker.

Peter's initial interaction with God

made it clear that he was inadequate.

Peter knew it as he fell on his knees,

as he stood in the presence

of his perfect saviour, Jesus.

He knew he didn't belong somehow.

There's no surprises here for Jesus.

And the same is true of you and me.

God knew what he was signing up for

when he called you to follow him.

Jesus died for you

while you were still a sinner,

not after you had sorted yourself out.

And what Jesus is doing in this story

is not heaping guilt on Peter.

He's not harping on about his failures.

He's showing him the absolute sufficiency

of what he has done in his death and resurrection.

See, somewhere along this journey,

Peter has somehow forgotten how he started.

He's begun to think that it's his responsibility

to be good enough for God,

to be capable enough for this ministry.

He started thinking it's about his character

and his commitment and his ability and his goodness.

And you and I do the same thing.

We hear the gospel.

I'm saved by grace,

by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It has nothing to do with me.

But then a month later,

or two years later,

or ten years later,

we start to take responsibility for things

that are not ours to carry.

We start to feel this burden

to have to be good enough

to get God's love,

to please him,

to maybe deal with some of the sins

we've done again

that we said we wouldn't do anymore.

Grace becomes our first step on our path

instead of the foundation

that empowers and holds up

everything that we do

as followers of Jesus.

But the forgiveness and love

offered in Jesus

is unconditional.

It's irreversible.

There is no failure that you can do

that will undo

what Jesus achieves

in his death and resurrection.

When Jesus calls you into his family,

he stamps you permanently

loved,

adopted,

forgiven,

paid for,

precious,

redeemed,

permanently,

irreversibly.

It cannot be undone.

And then by grace,

he empowers you to do

whatever it is that he needs you to do.

Jesus isn't yelling at Peter.

Peter.

He's showing Peter something

that Peter needs to be reminded of

and maybe we need to be reminded of as well.

Love

is the only issue.

Heart

is the question

that Jesus wants to ask Peter

three times.

See,

you will fail

if you try and be good enough for God.

I can tell you that

with absolute confidence.

You will fail

if you try and do things for God

in your own strength.

because apart from God,

you can do nothing.

Not even be a Christian,

let alone be a part of his mission

to transform the world

with the hope of the gospel.

Love

is the question

that Jesus takes to Peter.

Not,

how's your preaching going?

Not,

have you got a plan

for church planting?

Do you love me?

Peter's heart

is the issue here.

even though Peter

has failed

and will fail

to express that love

in perfect obedience,

it's the only question

that Jesus asks.

Peter is about

to become

a significant leader

in the early church.

He'll ultimately

be crucified

for his ministry.

He will preach

the famous

Pentecost sermon

which will see

thousands of converts.

so Jesus

is using

Peter's failure

to remind him

that if he tries

to do any of this

in his own strength,

he will fail.

But,

with the power

of God,

all things

are possible.

With the power

of God,

a failure like Peter

can be used

to unleash

God's ministry

on the world.

To unleash

the life-changing

hope of the gospel.

Peter gets offended

by the third question.

He rightly

protests,

Jesus you know.

And Jesus does know.

He knows Peter's heart.

He knows everything.

But that's the point.

These questions

aren't there for Jesus

just to double check.

These questions

are there for Peter.

Jesus is graciously

wiping clean

the guilt for Peter

from his three denials.

He doesn't have to.

The cross is sufficient.

But this encounter

is Jesus showing Peter

that your failures

are not the main issue.

Here your heart

is the main issue.

You will fail.

You will be inadequate.

But if your heart

loves me,

no amount of action

from Peter

counts for anything

if he doesn't love Jesus.

And even though

it's true and right

to say that love

will often

and maybe even usually

express itself

in obedience,

love is not made up

of action.

Jesus knows Peter's heart

and even in his failures,

Peter is held secure

in the love

that God has for him.

This episode is essential

because it makes it clear

that Peter's acceptance

and God's love for Peter

will never be conditional

on Peter's ministry

or his spiritual success

or his ethical success.

John writes later

in his letter 1 John,

we love

because he first loved us.

The love that undercuts

our love for God

is his immovable,

unchangeable,

irreversible love

shown to us

in the death

and resurrection

of Jesus.

The essential ingredient

in our love for God

is his love for us.

Peter's inadequate love

becomes adequate

through the gracious

transforming power

of God's love for him.

Hear that again.

Listen and reflect

and soak in this truth.

God requires a love

from you

that you are incapable

of giving

and so by his

unshakable

and unchangeable love

he empowers you

to love him.

Even your failures

to love God

are covered

by the sufficient love

from God.

God's love triumphs

over our failures.

It restores us.

It renews us.

It redeems us.

It empowers us.

It reinstates us

when we fail.

And it gives us

the strength required

to do what we cannot do

on our own

to love and serve God.

This episode

is about giving Peter

one last bit of preparation

before he embarks

on this massive task

that he's faced with.

He is called

to feed Jesus' sheep

to nourish

and encourage

and support

a flock

of new

and scared

Jesus followers.

For him to do that

he must first

know himself

the security

and sufficiency

of Jesus' love

as well as

his own inadequacy.

Peter must

be stripped

of all self-confidence

and be left

basking

and rejoicing

in the adequate

and overwhelming

love

of God.

God is about

to give a key job

to perhaps

the most spectacular

failure

of the disciples.

Maybe

barring Judas.

Peter is the one

who in the presence

of Jesus

denied his

Saviour

three times.

this is

the failure

par excellence

and yet

the love

of God

washes him

clean

embraces him

as a child

and sends him

out empowered

to change

the world.

I believe

it was the grace

of God

to Peter

and to us

that Peter

failed so monumentally

at this point

in history.

This episode

at the end

of John's Gospel

isn't out of place

it's perfect.

Because if

Jesus can

and will

love Peter

even after

this failure

even after

staring him

in the eyes

as he denied

him

what else

is there

that Peter

could possibly

do that's

worse?

There is

almost no

possibility

for Peter

now to

doubt God's

love.

love.

He has

stood

face to

face with

his

saviour

in his

moment of

failure

and been

re-embraced

as a dearly

loved child.

When things

seem difficult

for Peter

when he's

discouraged

when he has

a big fight

with the

apostle Paul

when he

wounds

some of

the

Gentile

believers

because he's

reverting back

to Jewish

customs

God loved

him when

he failed

here so

Peter will

know that

God's love

will remain

secure.

That God's

love will

endure no

matter what

happens.

And you

and I can

know too.

When we

stuff up

when we

let Jesus

down when

we stumble

in sin

when we're

greedy when

we're self

seeking when

we say a

harsh word

when we're

dishonest

God's love

is bigger

and more

powerful than

any failure

that you

can bring.

We no

longer have

to worry

about whether

or not

God's love

can stand

firm in

the face

of our

failure.

This side

of the

cross,

this side

of the

risen Jesus

we hear

the words

of Romans

8 echo

loud.

For I

am convinced

that neither

death nor

life,

neither angels

nor demons,

neither the

present nor

the future

nor any

powers,

neither height

nor depth

nor anything

else in

all creation

will be able

to separate

us from

the love

of God

that is in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

This story

makes it

abundantly

clear that

there is

security

in the

gospel.

There is

security for

us in

the love

of God

even in

our imperfect

and at

times

straight up

disobedient

state.

God's

love is

sufficient.

God's

love is

secure

and so

there is

permission

for us

to fail.

There is

permission

for us

to be

real about

who we

are.

Perfection

and ability

are not

required

in God's

family.

we do

ourselves

and we

do each

other a

disservice

when we

pretend

that we

have

things

in

hand

when

deep

down

every

one

of

us

in

this

room

without

exception

is

struggling

with

sin

right

now.

We

do

ourselves

and we

do

each

other

a

disservice

when we

take

credit

for

that

which

God

does

through

us

because

deep

down

there

is

nothing

that

we

can

contribute

apart

from

what

God

has

provided

for

us.

The

joy

of

the

gospel

life

the

joy

of

the

Christian

community

the

joy

of

the

church

is

that

we

have

the

joy

of

honest

confession

we

don't

have

to

pretend

we

are

all

inadequate

and

yet

God

loves

us

and

empowers

us

to

do

what

we

are

incapable

of

doing

ourselves

like

Peter

we

just

have

to

love

God

and

lean

on

him

when

was

the

last

time

that

you

felt

so

secure

in

God's

love

that

you

were

able

to

acknowledge

weakness

or

failure

to

someone

in

this

community

is

this

a

community

that

is

safe

for

anyone

to

walk

in

and

be

transparent

about

who

they

are

and

their

failures

or

are we

claiming

victories

and

confidence

that's

not ours

to

claim

are we

setting

an

expectation

a

standard

that is

not

fair

and

not

real

for

people

who

would

walk

in

to

hear

the

gospel

of

Jesus

I

wish

that

I

could

tell

you

that

I'm

good

at

this

but

I'm

not

I

take

far

too

much

confidence

from

my

ability

to

stand

in

front

of

a

group

of

people

and

speak

or

to

plan

an

event

or

to

run

a

meeting

and

that

pride

in

me

leads

me

to

judge

what

I

see

as

weakness

in

those

around

me

what

that

means

is

I'm

horrified

about

admitting

my

own

failures

because

I'm

quick

to

jump

on

them

and

other

people

this

story

tells

me

God's

love

holds

me

in

spite

of

my

weakness

nothing

I do

for him

or his

kingdom

is

mine

it's

his

it's

his

strength

it's

for

his

glory

and

when

I

am

too

embarrassed

to

admit

my

own

weaknesses

all

I

do

is

heap

that

pressure

onto

other

people

as

well

the

great

encouragement

from

Peter

is

he

failed

spectacularly

and

his

savior

went

back

and

had

breakfast

with

him

just

to

make

sure

he

knew

that

he

was

still

secure

in

God's

love

we

are

secure

therefore

we

are

safe

and

it

is

the

invitation

of

God

for

us

to

therefore

be

honest

for

this

to

be

a

place

where

anyone

can

walk

in

regardless

of

their

history

regardless

of

their

mistakes

and

know

that

in

Jesus

there

is

a

love

that

is

bigger

and

stronger

than

any

of

that

the

other

grace

here

in

this

story

is

that

God

shows

us

the

danger

and

the

hopelessness

of

fighting

in

our

own

strength

Peter

has

shown

that

humanly

speaking

he

has

nothing

to

offer

if

Jesus

leaves

this

to

Peter's

ability

and

his

conviction

and

his

fortitude

then

we're

going

to

just

get

more

denial

episodes

in

spite

of

Peter's

enthusiasm

and

confidence

and

bravado

unless

God

works

through

him

it'll

count

for

nothing

Peter

and

we

are

drawn

by this

encounter

to be

people

who pray

first

and act

second

people who

depend on

God

who

recognize

that we

need

God

and then

empowered

by him

can go

out

head

strong

and

confident

in the

work that

God can

and will

do

through

us

the

grace

of God

is that

you are

not

required

to have

the

ability

to do

what

God

wants

you

to do

you're

simply

required

to ask

him

for the

ability

and the

strength

everybody

knows

about

Peter's

failure

he has

a reputation

as the

disciple

that

denied

but what

that does

is help

him

come to

God

empty

handed

and ready

to be

used

we've got

to try

and understand

what the

disciples

were going

through

at the

end of

the

gospel

even

though

Jesus

told

them

what

would

happen

the

resurrection

took

them

completely

by

surprise

and so

these

men

are

scrambling

to

process

everything

that

Jesus

has

said

to

them

in

the

last

three

years

about

who

he

is

about

what

it

means

to

follow

him

about

the

mission

that

he's

just

given

them

and

the

life

of

a

Christian

is

starting

to

take

on

fresh

clarity

for

the

disciples

yes

they

will

be

world

changers

yes

they

will

be

leaders

among

God's

people

yes

they

will

care

for

the

poor

they

will

be

self

sacrificial

they

will

put

others

first

many

of

them

will

die

for

this

cause

but

it

is

only

by

God's

grace

and

the

provision

of

his

strength

and

his

patient

love

for

them

that

they

can

offer

anything

even

the

breakfast

that

they're

eating

with

Jesus

in

this

story

is

kind

of

a

snapshot

of

the

Christian

life

Jesus

provides

them

with

a

miraculous

catch

of

fish

by

the

time

they

get

to

the

beach

Jesus

already

has

the

fire

going

there's

already

fish

cooking

there's

already

bread

ready

to

go

and

yet

he

still

says

this

in

verse

10

bring

some

of

the

fish

you

have

just

caught

Jesus

doesn't

need

their

fish

there's

already

fish

cooking

and

he

provided

the

fish

that

they're

about

to

contribute

the

life

of a

Christian

the

life

of a

Christ

follower

is

not

about

being

perfect

or

skillful

or

even

moral

the

life

of a

Christian

is

about

being

dependent

on

the

immovable

consistent

unchanging

overwhelming

love

and empowering

of God

at

its

core

the

Christian

life

is a

life

that

is

secure

in

God's

irreversible

love

stable

and

empowered

by God's

Holy Spirit

and

consciously

and even

joyfully

inadequate

within

itself

let me

pray

father

god

please

give us

such

confidence

and

security

in

your

love

that

we

feel

no

need

to

pretend

give

us

the

security

to

willingly

and

honestly

and

joyfully

confess

our

sins

to

one

another

trusting

in

your

forgiveness

please

strip

away

self

sufficiency

strip

away

the

things

that

we

trust

in

that

aren't

you

and

glorify

yourself

in

our

weakness

empower

us

to be

a light

for you

in this

world

for Jesus

sake

Amen