Broken Resolutions | Sunday, January 2, 2022

Hey there, my name is Pastor Jason. Welcome to Cross Connection Church Online today. It's good to see you guys—well, sort of see you; I'm looking at a camera, but trusting in faith that you guys are there. I know God has something really exciting for us today, so let's dig right into the Word here.

We're going to be in Luke chapter 5. We're actually going to be kind of all over the place, but we're going to start in Luke chapter 5. So, flip there in your Bible, get there in your app, and be ready. I'm going to pray, and then we're going to get started.

Heavenly Father, we just pray that you would bless us today, that you would give us wisdom and discernment, and that you would give us understanding. Father God, help us to walk through things that are not always comfortable. Lord, be with us as we look in the face of our own issues, our own mortality, and our shortcomings. Help us to emerge through the other side, Lord Jesus, seeing you closer and understanding your love for us. So, Father God, we give this time to you and pray that you would work in it. Thank you, Jesus. We pray these things in your name. Amen.

All right, like I said, we're going to be in Luke chapter 5, verses 1 through 8 to start off with. It begins, "One day Jesus was standing on the shores of Lake Gennesaret while people pushed their way up to him to listen to the Word of God. He saw two boats pulled up on the beach, and the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Jesus got onto one of the boats; it belonged to Simon, and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd. When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.'

'Master,' Simon said, 'we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.'"

So, Jesus is there preaching, and there's a crowd pushing up against him, making it hard to be heard. He sees the boats and decides to use the natural features to aid in his speaking to the group so they can hear him. He asks, "Hey, would you guys mind if I get in the boat, push out a little bit, and teach the crowd?" Peter has no issue with that. It's kind of like, "Hey, awesome! This itinerant rabbi with this huge crowd wants to speak."

He wants to use our boat. Great, awesome. We're not doing anything. Maybe we'll make a couple of shekels out of the deal; who knows? But then, when Jesus finished, He says to Peter, "Hey, push the boat out further to deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch."

It's one thing to use my boat to preach from, but now you're going to tell me how to fish, is probably going through Peter's mind. He tells Him, "Master, we've worked hard all night long and we've caught nothing." Now remember, Peter is a fisherman. He's been a fisherman for as long back as he can probably remember. He's probably good at it because they have a fishing business and they're still afloat. Pardon the pun.

But here comes this guy, teaching the crowd, and He says, "No, no, no, put your boat back out and let down your nets." The fisherman knows that if he was going to catch fish at this time of day, he would be out there at this time of day. He catches fish at night because that's when the fish are there. His attitude kind of comes through in the answer: "All right, but if you say so, I'll let down the net."

So they let them down, and they caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break. They motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that the boats were about to sink. They pushed the boat out, okay, fine. They threw the nets out, and all of a sudden, there were so many fish that they couldn't believe it. They were starting to sink.

What was the response of Jesus to Peter's unbelief? His response to Peter's unbelief was blessing beyond measure. Peter was blessed more than he could even comprehend. When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man."

It is the blessing, the tangible communication of the love of Jesus, that reveals to Peter who is actually in his boat. In Romans chapter 2, verse 4, we read that it's the kindness of God that leads to repentance. The kindness of God that leads to repentance.

But Peter's response was to distance himself from Jesus when he said, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man." Peter recognizes that he's a sinner, and as a sinner, he feels the shame, the judgment, and the condemnation that sin produces. This is the most insidious characteristic of sin. After we have done this sinful act, whatever it was, in this case, Peter being arrogant...

Towards God, our flesh begins to revel in the longer-lasting effect of sin, sending us on a track towards isolation, shame, and condemnation. If we follow this track, we'll end up in a place where we hate ourselves and push away everyone and everything that is good. Peter recognizes his sin and distances himself from God. He says, "Get away from me; I am a sinful man."

The effects of sin—this is point one if you're keeping track—outlast the act of sin and, if unchecked, will isolate and ultimately destroy us. Peter assumes that Jesus doesn't want to be near a sinner. We assume that our sin repels God. But God loves us even when we're sinners. Nothing can separate us, the Bible tells us, from the love of God. Our sin does demand a sacrifice, and that sacrifice was utterly horrific. However, Jesus endured the cross so that we could find grace, not condemnation. Jesus pulls sinners close instead of pushing them away. We would expect Him to push away, but He instead pulls us close. If your sin is pushing you away from Jesus, you're listening to the wrong voice. You should listen to Jesus, who wants you to come closer.

Jesus responds to Peter in this initial interaction. The first time they interact, Peter says, "Get away from me; I'm a sinner." Jesus responds to Peter by giving him a mission. In verses 10 to 11, it says, "Don't be afraid," Jesus told Simon. "From now on, you will be catching people." Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.

I think it's ironic, isn't it, that on the day they have this earth-shattering catch—where they've never caught this many fish before, this is insane—that's the day they quit. That's the day they're like, "Yeah, okay, we're done being fishermen; we're going to follow Jesus."

Then we see some more events that happen in Peter's life. We see Peter when Jesus asks, "Who do men say that I am?" They say, "Oh, they will say you're this, they say you're that." Then Jesus asks Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," and Jesus is like, "Yay, right on."

Next, we come to Matthew chapter 14, where we see Peter walking on water. We know the story: they're in the boat, and Jesus is still on shore while they are in the boat.

There's a big storm, and the wind and the waves are crashing. All of a sudden, here comes Jesus walking across the water to them. They think he's a ghost, and they're terrified. They say, "Oh no." Peter says, "Lord, if that's you, tell me to come out there with you." Jesus replies, "Come." To his credit, Peter gets out of the boat and, for some period of time, walks on the water towards Jesus. While he has his eyes on Jesus, he is walking on water.

However, when he suddenly notices that the wind is strong and the waves are big, everything becomes scary and crashing. He starts to sink and cries out, "Lord, save me." Jesus grabs his hand, pulls him up, and they get in the boat. Jesus says, "Oh, you of little faith." This is kind of the place that we live as followers of Jesus Christ. We exist in that tension between walking on the water and sinking in the sea. One moment, we are walking on water, and things are going great; it feels like we are in sync with Jesus. The next minute, it feels like we are sinking, dying, and in need of help. This is a great picture of what it is to walk with Jesus.

Now, let's jump forward a little bit in Peter's life. We will be in Luke chapter 22, verses 31 to 34. This is when Peter makes his big declaration, and then Jesus pushes back a little bit against it. It's something to think about, especially since it's January 2nd. Through the magic of video technology, we have New Year's resolutions. We have made declarations about what we are going to do, what we are not going to do, and all these different things. Keep that in mind as we walk through this.

In verse 31, at the Last Supper, Jesus is talking and says, "Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." This conversation takes place directly after the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest. The irony is incredibly strong here. They are discussing who is the greatest, and Peter, probably based on what we know about his character, was likely talking the loudest about being the first. Jesus responds with, "Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you, you in particular, you by name."

He wants to sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

See, Jesus warns Peter that Satan is actively seeking to attack him. Notice the term Jesus uses: "sift you like wheat." Sifting is the process of violently separating the wheat berry from the rest of the head of wheat. It appears from the text that when Jesus says, "when you have turned back," Satan's plan will be successful, at least in the short term. Notice also that Jesus doesn't ask for Peter to be spared from Satan's plan, but rather that his faith may not fail.

Part of the sifting process is removing the inedible portion of the wheat plant, preserving the nutritious, life-giving portion, and making it available for the feeding of the body. Jesus also has a long-term plan for Peter. While Satan had his plan, Jesus has a longer-term plan. He says, "When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." The plan is to use the process—the sifting, the failure, the denial—all of it to produce a Peter who will provide strength, health, and life to his family.

However, like ourselves, Peter grossly overestimates his abilities and his commitment. In verse 33, Peter says, "Lord," he told him, "I'm ready to go with you, both to prison and to death." This is all spoken out of Peter's pride. Pride is the main thing that keeps us from growing and developing. It blinds us to our weaknesses and inflates our view of our strengths. Pride tells us that we are invincible, infallible, and indestructible.

But the truth is this: pride makes us ignorant of our weaknesses, prone to stupidity, and leads us on a path toward sure destruction. Let me say this again: pride tells us that we are invincible, infallible, and indestructible. The truth is pride makes us ignorant of our weaknesses, prone to stupidity, and leads us on a path toward sure destruction.

Jesus responds to Peter's declaration in verse 34: "I tell you, Peter," he said, "the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that you know me." Unfortunately, Peter's pride prevents him from profiting from Jesus' warning. He can't even hear it.

How often do we inhabit the same story where our pride prevents us from hearing what Jesus is actually saying to us? We start out with, "I would never," and you can fill in your own blank here. We all have something that fits: "I would never say this," or "do this," or "act this way," or "not do this thing," or whatever it is. If you think you don't, just wait; probably by the end of the day, you will.

See, the human default is failure. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, we have been a people whose main characteristic is failure. At best, our path represents an EEG graph, like a heartbeat going up and down, over and over again. This is a fact we often try to ignore or hide, pretending that somehow our successes exist while our failures do not. This is one of the big lies of social media, where people present their successes and hide their failures.

But the thing that we forget is that there is fellowship in failure. When we can acknowledge that yes, we are fallible human beings, it opens us up to fellowship not just with God, but with each other. The Pharisees were popular because of their position; they were not popular because of their attitude. If you were a sinner, you did not find fellowship with the Pharisees; you found condemnation. We are called to not be that way. They called Jesus the friend of sinners, and He illustrates this over and over again. In failure, in admitting our failure, there is fellowship.

So, moving on to verse 54, this is the big one. This is where Peter... well, we'll read through it. Verse 54 says, "They arrested Jesus, they took Him away into the house of the high priest, and Peter followed at a distance. A fire had been lit in the center of the courtyard, and Peter joined those who were sitting around it."

When one of the servant women saw him sitting there at the fire, she looked straight at him and said, "This man too was with Jesus." But Peter denied it, saying, "I don't even know him." After a little while, a man noticed Peter and said, "Hey, you're one of them too." Peter answered, "Man, I am not." About an hour later, another man insisted strongly, "There isn't any doubt that this man was with Jesus; he's also a Galilean."

But Peter answered, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about." At once, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed, and the Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter. Peter remembered that the Lord had said to him, "Before the rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don't know me." Peter went out and wept bitterly.

For Peter, the bottom completely drops out. He does what he never thought he would do, and he does it three times. Peter, who in his pride made bold declarations about his commitment and dedication, even to the point of death, now denies that he even knows who Jesus is—three times. Once to a servant girl, twice to other guys who are just standing around a fire. You can feel the anguish in this passage that Peter goes through.

It's a great thing that we never do dumb things like this. We would never fail this way. We would never relapse. We would never cheat. We would never lie. We would never gossip. We would never lash out in a temper at our spouse, kids, parents, co-workers, or other people driving. We would never do any of this. Until we do. Then we are left in that same place as Peter—isolated, broken, and full of self-loathing.

We tend to think that the real danger is failing. Sometimes, in our arrogance and pride, we assume that we are free from the frailty that besets the rest of the human race. We applaud our successes and, like the Pharisees, look down on those who don't live up to our lofty examples—until it is us who fails. Then the real danger looms over us: the desire to hide, to isolate, and to, like Peter, head out into the darkness and marinate in self-hatred.

The combination of the enemy, our own flesh, and the world proceeds to hammer on us or sift us, as it were. Remember what Jesus said back in verses 31 and 32: "Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you turn back, strengthen your brothers."

Jesus does not see Peter's denial as a failure because He says, "Your faith may not fail. I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail." This is vitally important and pivotal. Peter fell, but he did not fail in Jesus' perspective.

Jesus knew that Peter would deny him. He was not surprised or shocked. Jesus did not condemn or damn Peter. Instead, He warned him and, even in His warning, gave Peter a mission: "And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Jesus was looking forward to Peter's next success; He was not dwelling on his denial.

The third point in our outline is that God's desire for us when we sin is that we would repent and get back on mission. Let me repeat that: God's desire for us when we sin is that we would repent and get back on mission. When we indulge our flesh's desire to punish ourselves, we waste the time that God has given us. We need to repent and get back on mission.

If you have your Bible in front of you, flip over to John chapter 21. In John 21, starting in verse 2, we read that Simon Peter, Thomas (called the twin), Nathanael from Canaan of Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two of the other disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." They told him, "We're coming with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. He called to them, "Friends, you don't have any fish, do you?" They answered, "No." Jesus told them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you'll find some." They did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish.

Haven't we seen something like this before, brothers and sisters? Fishing all night and catching nothing, then being told by someone who is not a fisherman to try it differently in a way that seems completely nonsensical. Suddenly, there is a massive load of fish. This is where the disciples start to catch on.

In verse 7, the disciple whom Jesus loved—remember, this is John—said to Peter, "It is the Lord." When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied on his outer clothing (which he had taken off) and plunged into the sea. Since they were not far from land, about a hundred yards away, the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.

See, when Peter hears that it is the Lord, he puts on his outer garment and jumps into the sea. Now, imagine what is flashing around in Peter's memory.

Maybe it's the first day pulling the fish in. Maybe it's walking on water, his Savior pulling him up out of the depths, time spent with Jesus walking, talking, healing, and feeding people. Peter's own denial, seeing Jesus crucified, running into the empty tomb, and there he is on shore. Peter grabs his clothes and leaps out of the boat for the last time as a fisherman because there's nothing left in that boat for him. His future is waiting on the shore.

In verse 9, it says, "When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it and bread." Jesus told them, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught." So Simon Peter climbs up and hauls the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

See Jesus, who is there on shore with his fire, already had fish on the fire, but he says, "Bring some of your fish." This shows Jesus demonstrating that their efforts are important. Even though Jesus doesn't necessarily need them, they are allowed to work with him. This is instructive for us. Jesus doesn't need us, but he gives us the blessing of taking our efforts and merging them with his efforts to produce life for the world.

In verse 15, it says, "When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, son of John, 'Do you love me more than these?'" Peter replied, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Jesus told him, "Feed my lambs."

Now, something that we need to realize is that there's more going on here than English allows us to see. This is hearkening all the way back to the night of the Last Supper. Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these others do?" Remember, their argument was over who was going to be the greatest. Jesus is essentially asking, "Do you love me more than the rest of these people do?"

However, as I mentioned, there's more than we can see in English, even in the King James Version. Jesus asks Peter, "Do you agape me more than these?" Do you love me unconditionally with a holy and divine love more than those around you? Peter responds, "You know I love you as a friend or a brother." He is aware that he cannot claim a perfect self-sacrificial love, so he answers accordingly.

When Jesus asks, "Do you love me perfectly?" Peter replies, "I love you like a brother." Jesus then says, "Feed my lambs; show that love in how you feed my lambs." A second time, Jesus asks him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

Yes, Lord, he said to him, you know that I love you. Shepherd my sheep. Peter, do you agape me a second time? Jesus is no longer asking Peter if he loves him more than the rest of the people around. Now it's just about Peter and Jesus. Peter, do you love me? Do you love me with a perfect, holy, self-sacrificial love? Peter responds, yes, Lord, you know that I love you as a friend or a brother. He says, shepherd my sheep. This is broader than a call to just feed the lambs; this is a call to leadership. But notice it's not over Peter's sheep, but Jesus's sheep. It's a call for stewardship.

Then he asks the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? This is the first time that Jesus changes his question in this way. He asks Peter, do you love me as a brother? He changes the word love from agape to phileos. Do you love me as a brother? Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, do you love me as a brother? He said, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. He uses the same word again, I love you as a brother or as a friend. The third question grieves Peter, likely because it mirrors Peter's denials. His response is adamant: you know everything, Lord. You know the doubts, you know my failings, you know the love that I have, you know my consciousness of my own frailty. You know all of this; you know that I love you.

Jesus responds and says, feed my sheep. Three times Peter denied Jesus. Three times Peter is commissioned by Jesus in the presence of the other disciples. Those who had witnessed his failure were now witnesses to his restoration. And once again, the call is clear: feed my sheep.

Then he goes on in verse 18 and says, truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will tie you and carry you where you do not want to go. He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, follow me. See here, Jesus gives Peter a gift. He tells Peter how he will die. He says, you will die like me.

You will, in fact, follow me to death. Not in your own pride and bravado like you claimed before, but you are going to follow me into that same death as a co-laborer with me, Jesus tells him. You couldn't get there alone, but we can go there together.

Like walking on water, like feeding the 5,000, like healing, like preaching, and any number of things that Peter and Jesus did together, Peter would continue on with Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The gift that Jesus gives Peter here is knowing that at the end, Jesus will still be with him. Peter will be welcomed with open arms as a beloved brother. Jesus closes the thought with two words: follow me. All the way back from the beginning, Jesus started with "follow me." Right here now at the end, it says, "follow me."

As you and I move through life, as we see our resolutions fall, as we see our successes and failures, remember Jesus is with you and calls you and me the same way. He says, "follow me."

The response, this is point four in your outline, the last point here, and we're going to wrap things up shortly. It's always dangerous when a preacher says that. Point four in your outline: the response that God is looking for from us when we sin is to repent and to follow, not to weep and to wallow.

What do I mean by that? What God is looking for from us when we sin is to repent and follow Him. When we spend time weeping and bemoaning our sin, feeling guilty, crushed, isolated, and alone, and feeling like we deserve nothing, that does not produce anything godly. Repent and follow God. Don't wallow in your guilt. Don't wallow in this place where it feels better to feel how bad we are. Get out of that. Get your head out of that place. Follow Jesus.

It would be great to end here. It would be like, okay, follow Jesus, wrap it up, call in the choir, and we could all...

Be assured in Peter's restoration that he would be a better person, that he wouldn't do or say anything wrong. We could hope that we, too, could reach that place where we wouldn't fail or fall short. Everything would be golden, and we could frolic in fields of flowers, resplendent in our own righteousness. Just like a Hallmark movie or a Christmas movie where everything is perfect at the end, and it's "God bless us, everyone." That would be great to end there, wouldn't it?

It would be great to finish out here and say, "Thank God, Peter is there to remind us that we are, in fact, still human." To be human is to fail, even when we love God, even when we are loved by Him. After this interaction with Jesus, where Jesus restores Peter and speaks to him in love, telling him to follow Him, Peter receives the gift of knowing that Jesus is going to hold on until the end. He is going to be there.

Immediately, Peter looks at John and asks, "What about this guy over here?" Jesus reminds Peter to focus on himself. He says, "What is that to you? You follow Me." That same thing echoes in my head all the time. While I might appear wonderful and holy and godly—well, maybe not—but I am forever looking around at other people. "What about that guy, Jesus? I mean, look at the way he drives. How in the world?" Jesus responds, "What is that to you? You follow Me."

"Yeah, but look at this guy over here. I mean, if he would share a little..." Jesus interrupts, "No, no, no. What is that to you? You follow Me."

"But what about my wife, Lord?" Jesus replies, "What is that to you? You follow Me."

If you remember nothing from the rest of this message, I hope that this echoes in your head for the rest of your life: "What is that to you? You follow Me."

Jesus' sacrifice pays the debt of sin, but it doesn't make us stop sinning. With God's help, we can hope for a greater time between failures, but we will not be freed from our flesh while we still walk on this earth. Peter goes on from here to have great successes and a few more failures, some of which are publicly recorded for all of history. Thank God ours aren't most of the time, right? In this, Peter is a great example for us.

As we venture into 2022 together, rest assured that we can know without a doubt...

Few key truths stand out. First, God loves us. Second, we will fail; therefore, we must repent and return quickly. Third, God loves us. Fourth, we will succeed at things. Fifth, God loves us. Awesome! Sixth, we will fail again. Seventh, God loves us. The message of the cross is the same: Follow me.

Brothers and sisters, I pray that as we head into 2022, we would have more successes than failures. I pray that your life would be marked by an amazing increase in the knowledge of the love that Jesus has for us. Do not, however, be surprised when you fail. Jesus was not surprised. You did not break God's plan, whether it was a little white lie or losing 67 months of sobriety. Jesus is not surprised. You are not thrown aside. His desire for you is that you would repent quickly and follow Him. The message of the cross remains the same: Follow me.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I am tempted at times to look at my own life and remember only my failures. For some reason, Lord, it seems like my failures are super clear, while my successes get cloudy. Thank you, Lord, that you do not see me as an amalgamation of those failures. Thank you, Lord, that you see me clothed in the blood and the righteousness given to me by your Son.

Lord, I pray that you would help us to do better. Help us to grow closer to you, Lord. Help us to stay in your Word and in fellowship, Lord God, in obedience. When and where we fall short, Lord, remind us that you were not surprised and that we have not destroyed your plan.

Your plan, and we are not disqualified. But, Lord Jesus, you wait for us with open arms, saying these same two words to us again: "Follow me." Help us to follow you well, Jesus. We pray these things in your name. Amen.

God bless you guys. I pray that you have a fantastic 2022. Remember, Jesus loves you. God bless you. Bye-bye.