A Restoration Story (Part 1)

When you hear someone talk about a restoration project,

what comes to your mind?

Maybe trying to restore a house, an old house,

or a classic car,

or maybe just a piece of furniture,

an antique piece of furniture.

When you think about a restoration project,

does trying to restore a fallen or broken person come to your mind?

You know, when it comes to restoration projects,

from God's perspective,

He is concerned with restoring people,

fallen and broken people,

bringing them to Himself.

We see a good example of that

in the way that Jesus restored Peter

in John's Gospel, the 21st chapter.

If you would, go ahead and turn to John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

As you're turning,

I want to remind most of you and tell some of you,

Peter failed the Lord terribly

as the leader of his disciples.

After Jesus was arrested,

before He was crucified,

Peter actually denied that he even knew Jesus,

not once,

but three times.

After His resurrection,

Jesus reached out to Peter

to restore Him,

to bring Him back into a right relationship with Himself,

and in the process,

with the other disciples.

We see how Jesus reached out

to restore Jesus,

or to restore Peter publicly,

here in John chapter 21,

John 21 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 15.

Now before we read what happened

in this restoration,

let's put it in context.

Chapter 21 begins with

seven of Jesus' disciples

going fishing on the Sea of Galilee,

and they fished all night

and caught nothing.

But then as day began to break,

Jesus was on the shoreline,

and He called out to them.

They were close enough.

He called out to them,

cast your nets on the other side of the boat.

That's where you're going to catch fish,

and they did,

and they caught 153.

As this was taking place,

they were hauling their nets in,

they recognized who Jesus was.

They recognized it was the resurrected Jesus

calling them,

and so they did all they could

to get there as quickly as they could

to be with Jesus.

Well, when they got to Him,

they found that He had prepared a breakfast for them.

He had a charcoal fire burning

with some fish already on it,

told them to bring some of their fish,

and they had a great time together.

Jesus,

seven of His disciples,

around an open charcoal fire,

eating breakfast,

life was good.

But then,

Jesus looked at Peter

and began

the restoration process

in front of the disciples.

Let's read it in verse 15.

John 21.

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.

He said to him the third time,

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me?

Peter was grieved

because he said to him the third time,

do you love me?

And he said to him,

Lord,

you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him,

feed my sheep.

We're going to begin this morning

a message about restoration.

We're going to come back next week

and then a third week

and see all the dynamics involved

in Jesus reaching out to Peter,

him coming back,

him being recommissioned.

And then the third week,

we're going to learn something

about minding our own business.

But today,

let's look at how the Lord

graciously works

to restore

his fallen people

to loving fellowship

and then useful service.

Our Lord is in the,

first thing I want us to say,

our Lord

is in the restoration business.

This is what we're going

to focus on today.

Our Lord,

the Lord Jesus.

He is in the life

restoring business.

Note that Jesus

initiates

this restoration session.

They're on the shore together,

having breakfast together,

and all of a sudden,

they've eaten,

they're sort of relaxing probably.

Jesus looks at Peter

and says what we've just read.

Peter

had failed Jesus terribly

and there was absolutely

no excuse for it.

You think about it.

Peter has spent three years

living with Jesus,

listening to Him teach.

Peter had had the advantage

of being with Jesus,

being taught one-on-one

in their group

of disciples,

their twelve.

Jesus had chosen him

to be the leader of the band.

Jesus had made Peter

a part of His inner circle

along with James and John.

Peter had all kinds

of advantages

in his own personal relationship

with Jesus,

but it didn't do him any good.

He still failed his Lord

when his Lord needed him most.

Peter failed Jesus,

but Jesus was not going

to fail Peter.

Jesus was going

to restore him,

bring him back,

because that's what Jesus does.

That's how much the Lord

loves and cares

about His people.

You know,

once the Lord calls

someone to Himself

and does this work

of regeneration

to make us His child,

puts His Spirit in us,

He's never going

to let us go.

He's never going

to let anything

take us from Him,

and Jesus emphasized

this Himself

on several occasions,

but here's one good example

in John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

Look at it.

Jesus is talking.

All those the Father

give me

will come to me,

and whoever comes to me,

I will never drive away.

For I have come down

from heaven

not to do my will,

but to do the will

of Him who sent me.

And this is the will

of Him who sent me,

that I should lose none

of all those

He has given me,

but raise them up

at the last day.

For my Father's will

is that everyone

who looks to the Son

and believes in Him

shall have eternal life,

and I will raise them up

at the last day.

Paul describes this

in terms of

how nothing

can ever separate us

from the love of Christ

in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

We're not going to look

at it this morning,

but I'd encourage you

sometime.

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

is one of the great

chapters of the Bible,

and toward the end,

beginning in verse 31,

Paul writes about

how nothing under the sun

can ever separate

God's child from God.

How nothing can ever

separate us from the love

of Jesus Christ.

Nothing.

It is emphasized.

God loves His children

enough that He's going

to do whatever it takes

to take care of us,

to bring us back

to Himself at some point

if we ever walk away from Him.

God loves us enough

to discipline us.

The book of Hebrews

talks about this.

One of the best examples

is Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12:5

verses 5 and 6.

Look at what the writer

says about God.

My son, do not regard lightly

the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved

by Him,

for the Lord disciplines

the one He loves

and chastises every son

whom He receives.

Here's the thought.

As a child of God,

He loves you so much,

He's not going to let you

ruin your life.

He'll let you mess up

a lot of things.

But sooner or later,

God is so going to work

in the life of His child

to humble you,

to break you,

to bring you to the point

where you will willingly

come back to Him

just as we see

in Peter's life.

Jesus reached out to Peter

in love,

but Jesus didn't make it easy.

This breakfast around

the campfire,

it was not something

like a positive experience

like you have

at some of your camps.

Everybody holding hands,

smiling,

and singing together.

This was tense.

This was a stressful scene.

Here's some reasons

why we should think that.

The fire that Jesus made

would have brought back

terrible memories for Peter.

Look back in verse 9

here in John 21.

It was a charcoal fire.

That's the same kind of fire

that Peter was warming himself by

when he denied knowing Jesus.

John brings that out.

All the Gospel writers

don't bring out charcoal fire,

but John does.

Look in chapter 18,

verse 18.

It says,

Now the servants and officers

had made a charcoal fire

because it was cold,

and they were standing

and warming themselves.

Peter also was with them,

standing and warming himself.

And that's the setting

when Peter denied that he knew Jesus.

Maybe Jesus was reminding Peter

of how he tried to blend in with a crowd

instead of standing out

as a real disciple of Jesus.

Maybe that's why

Jesus made the charcoal fire,

had Peter sitting around it

with the other disciples

to bring back the memories

of the night

when he denied his Lord.

You know,

this is something that

we can identify with

if we'll stop and think for a moment.

I'm talking about failing the Lord.

Aren't there times

when you as a Christian,

you're in some settings,

and maybe there's a discussion

about how God wants us

to live in this world.

Maybe there's a discussion

about some issue,

some matter,

and the Bible's clear

about how a Christian should live,

and there's a discussion going on,

but you purposefully remain quiet.

You don't say a word

because you don't want to call attention

to the fact that you're a Christian.

You don't want people

to start talking about

what the Bible actually teaches

because you don't want

to get their wrath.

You don't want them

to give you a hard time

about that narrow-minded teaching

that they know the Bible teaches.

Sometimes we can get

in situations as Christians.

We don't do exactly like Peter did

and deny Jesus.

We just keep our mouth closed.

We just make sure

that we don't speak up

and identify ourselves

as belonging to Him,

as trusting Him,

as trusting God's Word.

So sometimes,

our just being quiet,

our just sort of backing away

can be just as much

a denial of Jesus

as what Peter did.

Second thing that made this

such a tense situation

is the name by which

Jesus addressed Peter

would have troubled Peter.

Look at it.

In verse 15,

and it's all three,

15, 16, and 17,

all three verses,

Jesus called him

Simon, son of John.

Nothing wrong with that

except this.

Simon was His given name.

Calling him Simon, son of John

was a formal way

of addressing Peter.

The problem is,

that's not the name

Jesus gave Peter.

That's not the name

Jesus usually used

in talking to Peter.

That word Peter,

that name,

that's what Jesus gave him.

His name's Simon.

Peter, though,

we know him by that name.

When Jesus called him

to be His disciple,

His follower,

He gave him this nickname,

Peter,

which means rock.

But in this setting,

after Peter denies Jesus,

Jesus deliberately calls him

Simon three times.

Jesus refuses to call him

Peter three times.

It seems obvious

that Jesus was reminding Peter

of His human weakness

and His inability to be a rock

on His own.

Don't you understand

human weakness?

Don't we understand

that very well?

That's why we give in

to temptation, isn't it?

We do that.

We're tempted.

We know the right thing.

We know what God

wants us to do,

but we just,

we don't seek His help.

We don't seek His way

of escape.

And so we just

sort of do the best

we can,

we think,

and in just trying

to do our best

without His help,

we fail.

Just like Peter,

we find that trying

to live a Christian life

in our own strength,

it just doesn't work

because we are weak.

When my boys were little,

and my grandchildren now,

especially my grandson,

Will,

I tease them about

being weak

and their inability

to beat me

in some of the things,

some of the games

we play.

And I call them,

I used to call my boys,

I call Will sometimes

things like rabbit

or flea

to tease him

because he's weak,

because he can't

beat me.

Now some of y'all

wimpy thinking people,

you're thinking,

oh that's going to

destroy his self-esteem.

Wake up!

Huh?

That's right.

You may be some kind

of manby-pamby,

but my boys

and my grandchildren

aren't.

He can take it

because he knows

I'm playing

and I do that

because I know

the days are numbered

when I'll be able

to ever beat him again.

Just like I can't

even remember a time

when I could beat

my own boys

at anything.

Well when it comes

to living a faithful

Christian life,

if we don't seek

the Lord's help

and strength,

we'll find out

that we are weak

like rabbits

and flees,

we will fail

from our own

human weakness

just like Peter.

Let's look at

one other thing

why this was

a stressful,

tenseful situation.

The presence

of the other disciples.

All this takes place,

there's Jesus and Peter

and there's six

other guys,

six other disciples,

six that Peter

has previously led

and so Jesus

asked him

in front of them,

do you love me

more than these?

Now imagine that.

Here's Peter,

he's already feeling

very uncomfortable,

he has failed Jesus

in front of everybody,

everybody knows it

and all of a sudden

Jesus looks at him

in front of these

other guys,

do you love me

more than these

other guys do?

Why in the world

you think,

would Jesus

say something

like that?

Well not too many

days earlier,

Peter didn't have

a problem

lifting himself

up

as being superior

to his peers.

Jesus

had told Peter,

warned him,

you're going to fail,

you're going to fall,

you're going to deny me.

Peter wouldn't have it,

wouldn't believe Jesus.

Here's what Peter said,

look at it,

it's in Matthew chapter 26,

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

after Jesus had warned him,

Peter answered,

though they all fall away

because of you,

I will never fall away.

Peter had said that

in front of the other guys.

So now,

this confrontation,

this restoration,

it's got to take place

in front of these

other guys.

But let's be honest,

no one wants to be

called out for their sin,

for their failures

in front of other people.

But when it happens

before others

or against others,

restoration has to

include other people.

Listen,

when we just

blow it

before God,

we can confess

our sin to God,

the restoration

can be just

between Him and us.

But when we sin

against somebody else,

we sin in a way

that's made known,

people know about it,

the restoration

will have to include

those people.

When you've wronged

somebody else

in order to really

be right with God,

you seek His forgiveness

and also,

you go to the person

you've wronged

and you say to them,

I'm sorry.

You ask them

to forgive you.

That is a part

of restoration

when other people

are involved

and Jesus

made Peter

answer His question

in front of these

other guys.

This is an important

reminder that God

takes our sin

seriously.

And if we are

serious about

wanting to be

forgiven,

wanting to be

brought back

in a close

relationship with God,

we've got to learn

to take sin

seriously too.

Peter did.

Here's something

I want us to know,

a new thought here.

Peter actually did

understand all this.

He did have some time

with Jesus

before this encounter

on the seashore

by the fire.

Remember,

after Jesus

was arrested,

he was first

taken to the home

of the high priest

to be questioned.

Well,

the Scripture says

that Peter

followed from a distance

and was just

outside the house

where Jesus

was

when he denied

knowing Jesus

for the third time.

Luke

records what

happened like this.

It's in Luke

Luke 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

Notice this.

Peter said,

Man,

I do not know

what you're talking

about.

And immediately,

while he was still

speaking,

the rooster

crowed

and the Lord

turned

and looked

at Peter.

You think about that.

Here Peter is.

Jesus is somewhere

over here

being questioned.

He's arrested.

He's being questioned.

It looks bad.

Peter is over here

warming himself

by the fire

trying to be

incognito,

not be,

wants no one

to notice.

But people notice.

They notice his accent.

They notice

he is one of them.

And they question Jesus.

Not once,

not twice,

but three times.

And all three times

Jesus or Peter

denies.

I don't even know

the man.

Now just think.

Peter's here.

He's mad.

He's afraid.

He's telling people,

I don't know the man.

As he's speaking,

the rooster crows

and as he glances

this way,

his eyes meet

Jesus' eyes.

He's crushed.

Think of the,

think of the shame,

the humiliation.

He has betrayed

Jesus

and Jesus

heard him.

Jesus saw him.

His eyes

were on him.

Peter was broken.

And Luke goes on

to tell us that

in verse,

same chapter,

verse 61.

And Peter remembered

the saying of the Lord

how he had said to him

before the rooster crows today,

you will deny me

three times.

And he went out

and he wept

bitterly.

Peter was broken,

humbled.

He repented of his sin.

Now,

just because he went out

and wept bitterly

doesn't mean

he was repentant.

He could have just had

an emotional breakdown

because he betrayed

his friend

and when he got over it

just went all about his way.

But that's not what happened.

Peter went out

and wept bitterly

because he truly was

broken and repentant.

And after the resurrection,

Jesus appeared to Peter

on several occasions

and at least one time

there's a special meeting

between Jesus

and Peter.

Luke tells us about it

in Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Look at it.

Two of the disciples

made this statement.

The Lord has risen indeed

and has appeared

to Simon.

Paul says that Peter,

that Jesus appeared

to Peter specifically

in 1 Corinthians chapter 15

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

about verse 4 or 6.

What we see here

in John 21

is more like

Peter's public restoration.

Not only to a loving

relationship with Jesus,

a renewed relationship

with Jesus,

but Peter is being restored

to a place

of leadership

among those disciples

again.

Now,

as stressful

and as painful

as this experience was,

we need to note

that Peter,

he didn't hold back

in this situation.

Peter was a willing

participant

and he shows

that he had already

had an encounter

with Jesus

that changed him

by the way he responded.

Look,

Peter did not hesitate

to profess

that his love

for Jesus

was greater

than the other disciples.

Look at it,

verse 15.

When they had finished

breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon,

son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

That's hard

in front of these guys.

He said to him,

yes, Lord,

you know

that I love you.

That had to be hard.

Peter had failed Jesus.

He had failed

his friends.

He was a pitiful leader

in their eyes

at this point.

But one of the goals

that Jesus had

for this breakfast

was to restore Peter

to a right relationship

with his fellow disciples

and to this place

of leadership

among the disciples,

which we know

later on

as we read

in the book of Acts,

he did take the lead again.

Even though it would have been

uncomfortable for Peter,

he swallowed his pride

and he cooperated

with Jesus

in this public

restoration process.

Here's what we need

to think.

When the Lord

is working in our lives

to restore us,

we must make sure

that we don't allow

pride to be

a stumbling block

to our being

fully restored.

Lord,

sometimes God

may convict you

to make some changes

in your life

and in making those changes

you've got to talk

to some people.

You've got to admit

some past sin,

some past problems.

You've got to seek

to be reconciled,

to be right with them.

Or you've got to make

some major changes

that you've got to explain

to somebody

why you're making the change.

And your pride is such,

I don't want to talk about it,

this is personal,

this is private,

it's none of their business.

Well, it is

if it previously

involved them.

It is if that's what

the Lord's prompting

you to do.

And Peter did it.

He swallowed his pride

and he spoke up

and listened to,

did what Jesus said

in front of these

other guys.

Peter also demonstrated

his changed life

by the way he

humbly responds

to Jesus'

repeated question.

Look at it.

Verses 15, 16, and 17.

Three times

Jesus asked Peter

the same thing,

basically.

Do you love me?

And three times

Peter responded

the same way.

Look at it.

Verse 15.

Yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

Verse 16.

Exactly the same.

Yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

Verse 17.

Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Peter's showing

a lot of humility here.

Peter does not boast

of his love for Jesus.

Peter does not even

respond to Jesus

with a simple,

yes, I love you.

Peter appeals

to the all-knowing mind

of Jesus.

Peter doesn't have this

boastful confidence

in himself anymore.

So he looks at Jesus

and he says,

you know

that I love you.

And Peter is emphasizing

the you part,

you, Jesus, know.

See, Peter's actions

lately had not revealed

any love.

So he can't point to that.

So Peter,

listen to this.

You think about this

personally.

Peter actually says

to Jesus,

you know my heart.

So you know

that I love you.

How comfortable

would you be

to answer that question

as Peter did?

If the Lord

just asked you

right now,

do you love me?

Would you feel

comfortable,

confident

to say to Jesus,

Lord,

you know

that I do.

You know what's in me.

You know how I think

and feel.

You know

that I love you.

Truth is,

the Lord does know

everything about us.

He knows right now

if we truly love him,

how much we love him.

He knows if we love him

more than anything

or anyone.

Here's something

we cannot forget.

If we don't love Jesus

more than everyone

and everything

in our lives,

we have a problem.

It's a sin problem.

You see,

there's one thing

Jesus made clear

throughout his ministry.

I've got to be first.

You've got to love me

more than your parents,

your children,

your spouse,

even your own life,

Jesus said.

And Jesus even said,

if you don't,

you cannot be my disciple.

Look it up in Luke chapter 14,

Luke 14 · chapter mention

beginning about verse 25,

if you have any doubts.

Our love for Christ

must be first.

It must be supreme.

Or there's something wrong.

Right now,

let me ask you,

is there something

that you love more than him?

If there is,

just be honest

and admit it.

But admit to the Lord

that's not right.

That it's sin.

That you know

it's not pleasing to him.

And ask him

to change your heart.

Ask him to so work in you

that you want

to love him

more than anyone

or anything.

I want us to be honest

as we wind this up.

If Peter could experience

spiritual and moral failure,

so can we.

Peter had a lot more advantages

than we do.

He was actually

with the Lord.

Peter saw more,

heard more.

But he failed.

But the good news is

just as the Lord

restored Peter,

the Lord will restore us.

God does not,

never gives up

on his broken

and fallen people.

God will work

in all kinds of ways

to bring us

to a point

of humbling ourselves,

confessing our sin,

and coming back to him

in a renewed faith,

renewed commitment.

If you are away

from the Lord

right now,

I want you to know

he wants you

to come back.

If you are

a child of God

and there's something

in your life

that you know

it's not pleasing to him,

maybe there's something

you've been dealing with

for a long time

and you just sort of

try and put it to the side.

It could be

that the thing

that's bothering you

is so much

bothering you

that you can't sleep.

It may be

it's so bothering you

that you're

you're just so

eaten up with guilt

you're mean as a snake

to everybody around you.

If you're a Christian,

if you are truly

a child of God

and dwell by the Spirit

of God

and you're separated

from God,

you will never

rest easy.

you will never

know real peace

and contentment

in your life

until you come back

to him.

God wants you

to come back.

God's making your life

miserable to the point

it's like discipline

to bring you back.

My question to you is

will you come back?

And you can come back

right now.

Just admit to God

whatever it is

he's dealing with you about.

Confess your sin.

Grieve over it.

Turn from it.

Say yes

to whatever

he's telling you

to say yes to.

Make a new commitment

of your life

to Jesus Christ

as your Savior,

your Lord.

You're trusting him

that he paid the penalty

for your sins.

You're trusting him

that his perfect

righteous life

has been credited

to you

because you're

trusting in him.

Come back

to a right relationship

with God

based on your

relationship with Jesus.

Your renewed

commitment to Jesus

as the Lord

of your life.

If you're not

a Christian

admit that

to God

that right now

you don't have

a relationship

with him

but if you want one

turn from your sin

put your trust

in Jesus.

Have confidence

when he died

on the cross

he took your place

paying the penalty

for your sin

so call upon him

to save you now.

Our Lord

loves

to restore people.

If you are broken

fallen

or away from him

for any reason

he would love

to restore you

now

if you will come

to him.

Let's pray together.

Dear God

show us

what we need

to do

personally

right now.

Help us

to do that.

and in an attitude

of prayer

you listen

to the Lord

and you just

obey him

do whatever

he's telling you

to do.

I would be happy

to pray with you

here in front

in the next few minutes.

Let's listen

to the Lord

and do what

he's telling us

to do

right now.

good

and