Rejected or Restored? | Sunday, August 30, 2026

Amen. Praise God. Thank you, Anthony and team. Good morning, Cross. You guys can have a seat. It is so good to see you here this morning. We are going to be in the Gospels today, so if you want to take out your Bible, please do so. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and an usher will bring you one. Open it to the Gospel of John, which is in the last third of your Bible, in the New Testament. It begins with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John. John is where we'll be today in just a moment.

Before we get into the text, I have a couple of things to ask of you. First, I would appreciate it if you could pray for me and my wife, Andrea, this week. We will be attending a senior pastor and wives retreat conference. I will be speaking at it, and both of us will be sitting on a panel discussion. You can pray for my wife; she is a little anxious about that. So, that's happening this week, and I would appreciate your prayers.

As many of you know, I am doing a lot of different work outside of Cross Connection Church in the area of artificial intelligence and with my PhD research. I have received a number of questions from various people in our church who are in industry-type positions. They may not be specifically involved with technology, but they work in management or corporate environments where there are many discussions about these topics. People have asked me if I am going to do anything with that group.

We have a slide that I want to put up on the screen. If you are in that area of work, I am planning something for October. I have a lot of things going on between now and then, but if you are in management or the corporate world and trying to figure out how artificial intelligence can be used in your work, please snap a picture of this slide and fill out the form you will find at that website. I will send you some information, and we will do something in October to keep this before you. This probably won't be the only time I do this, but I will start with a smaller group because it is easier for me to field questions and talk with people about these topics. Keep that in mind; it is separate from Sunday morning, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Now, who here this morning are the campers? People who like to go camping, lift up your hands real high. Look at all the campers! God bless you campers. Some of you have even gone on one of our camping trips that we do a couple of times a year, two or three times a year. One of the things you'll never...

See, on the camping trip, it's kind of a joke among those who know me well and those within our leadership team that Pastor Miles is not a camper. Unfortunately for my wife, she grew up camping and loves to camp. However, in the last 20 years of marriage, we've been camping once. No, come on, it's not zero times. We had that camp by the bay with them, and we camped with your parents at Lake Pal twice in 20 years. That's a good track record.

I'm not a camper. It's a bit of a joke among some people, my wife included, who might think it's a character flaw. Camping for me is like the Marriott. Does anyone else feel that way? There are my friends who agree. Some people might view it as a character flaw.

Another character flaw is that I'm not the best handyman. I'm not the best fixer-upper kind of person. Pastor Mark, Pastor Garrett, and Pastor Nick are the campers, but they're also the ones who, when Andrew and I were looking for homes, were searching for the ones with potential. I'm looking for the turnkey home that needs nothing. Those guys see the bones of a house and the potential for what it could be, while I look at it and think, "That's a wreck." I want a place that you can move into and not have to do anything to for like ten years. That would be wonderful.

The same is true with cars. Pastor Mark has shared numerous times in his messages that he loves old cars and is looking for something that needs restoration. I'm looking for an iPad on wheels that drives itself. I'm not into big restoration projects, but Mark wants the full body-off restoration, starting from scratch and rebuilding the entire thing. That's just not for me.

But do you know who loves restoration projects? Jesus. The Lord loves restoration projects, which means that Pastor Mark, Pastor Garrett, and Pastor Nick are a little bit more like Jesus than I am in that area. The Lord loves those projects where it's the person others might pass on, the one who is seen as a reject. He is the one who redeems, restores, and reforms that which is defective and damaged.

Broken and mangled. Just that reality for some of you this morning is good news right there. It’s the kind of thing that says you’re kind of locked in, even from that first point: the Lord is the one who restores. There are more than a few people here in this service this morning for whom that is true. The wrecked, the damaged, the defective, the broken. Sadly, many times for people in that place, that becomes the driving issue in their lives. It is the thing that dominates a lot of their thinking. Their failure is a big part of the very reason they ended up at church. That happens more often than you might realize.

Maybe that’s your story. I know it’s the story of a number of people. You had a conversation with someone at work, and you were sharing all the things that are just not going well. They said, “Do you want to go to church?” Many times, people stumble into church because their lives feel like they are in shambles. They show up wondering, “Am I going to be accepted in this place? If they only knew what kind of a wreck I am, if they knew who I am, they would not want me here.” That’s the very kind of person the Lord says, “That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

The Lord is the restorer. He is the one who redeems, rescues, and restores that which is broken and falling apart. Point number one, if you’re taking notes this morning: Jesus is in the business of redeeming and restoring the most wrecked and broken lives. That, in one sense, is a simple summary of the gospel right there. Jesus is in the business of redeeming and restoring the most wrecked and broken lives.

The story we’re going to look at today is one of the great illustrations of this fact. It’s a perfect place for us to finish our Fly on the Wall series. That’s right; next week, the fly will not be on the wall. I know for some of you that’s devastating. Next week is Labor Day weekend. Can you believe it’s Labor Day? But you know what that means? It means it’s time for you to get your new Christmas decorations from Costco. You can be sure they’re already out, I’m sure.

Just in case you need a 10-foot tall snowman, I’m sure it’s available for you right now. You might wonder, “Where will I store it?” Don’t worry; they will sell you a shed to put in your backyard to store it in there, too. So, you’re all set. We’re in the Gospel of John this morning.

Good morning. If you would take out your Bibles, turn to the last chapter, John chapter 21. Let's stand together, if you would. The last third of your Bible includes Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We will begin reading at John 21, verse 1.

It says there, "After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberius, which is Galilee. And in this way, he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee—James and John—and two other unnamed disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, 'I’m going fishing.' They said to him, 'We’re going with you also.' They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

But when morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, 'Children, do you have any food?' They answered him, 'No.' He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of the fish.

Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved—John, the author of this book—said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it, and he plunged into the sea. The other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, only about 200 cubits, or about 300 feet, dragging the net with fish.

As soon as they had come to the land, they saw a fire of coals there, with fish laid on it and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.'

God, I pray as we open this text today and consider it, that you would open our ears, our minds, and our hearts, and that you would speak by your Spirit. Holy Spirit, please be in this place by your power and by your grace. Use your word to transform us by the renewing of our minds. Lord, it is an awesome thing that you are able to do—transforming us by your word. You wash us by the washing of the water of the word. Jesus, you prayed, 'Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.' It is certain that more of us than not need your transforming grace and power today.

The wreck and brokenness of our lives can be transformed by You. So I pray that You do that. Open our hearts, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Now, what we just read in the opening ten verses of John chapter 21 is really the introduction to the text that I want to look at in a few minutes. However, it's important to get the context of this passage, as it is with any passage. A good rule to keep in mind when you're reading the Bible on your own or maybe in a small group Bible study is to get the context of a passage that you read. Read the verses that come before and the verses that come after, because it's so easy to misunderstand a text if you take it out of context.

The passage we are really going to zero in on eventually needs the context not just of what happened in these opening ten verses, but it also needs the context of everything that led up to this. What is happening here in John 21 is probably about a week or so after the resurrection of Christ. Of course, the resurrection of Christ occurred three days after the events of Good Friday. The night before that, Jesus was with His disciples partaking of the Passover. At that time, they were in the city of Jerusalem, surrounded by thousands, tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who had come from all around the nation to celebrate the Passover.

It was a time of great joy and rejoicing. Yet, Jesus was not joyful and rejoicing. His disciples took notice of this, and the tone of the things He was sharing with them in the days leading up to that Passover feast made them feel a little bit depressed, if you will. They could tell something was not right; He was not like He normally is. There was a sense and tone in the room that was low, which did not fit the festival atmosphere.

As they gathered together in that place partaking of the meal, Jesus said to His disciples, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 26, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night." Picture the room: you are there with Christ in the upper room, partaking of the Passover feast, a celebration for that group of people. And He says to His twelve friends, "Every single one of you is going to be made to stumble because of Me."

Me tonight. Those somber and sobering words linger in the air. Peter piped up, as he always did. In Matthew 26:33, Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Never, Lord." Jesus replied, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, before morning, you will deny Me three times, Simon." Peter answered, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You." And so said all the disciples. Everybody agreed. They all said the same thing: "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You."

Then, within hours of declaring those words, Jesus was arrested not too far from where they partook of that meal in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was taken to the home of the high priest Caiaphas, where He stood before a religious tribunal. Eventually, He was condemned and later that day, crucified.

As Jesus was being led from Gethsemane to Caiaphas's house, we read this in John 18:15: "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple." This other disciple was known to the high priest, or at least to the stewards of the high priest's home, and he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood outside the door. He didn't know anybody; his name wasn't on the list.

Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who kept the door and brought Peter in. The servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He replied, "I am not." This was the first denial.

Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. Peter stood with them and warmed himself by the fire of coals. As the story unfolds in the 18th chapter of John, the same man who just hours before had proclaimed...

"Even if everyone denies you, I will not deny you. Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you."

In the early morning hours of Good Friday, as he was warming himself by the coals of fire in the courtyard of Caiaphas, the high priest, Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said to him, "You are not also one of the disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, recognized him.

Just hours before, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and the arresting soldiers came to arrest Him, Peter pulled a sword and cut off the ear of one of them. Jesus had to fix the whole situation. So, someone said, "Hey, you sure look like the guy with the sword. Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" Peter then denied it again, this time a third time. Immediately, a rooster crowed.

Point number two: Peter's failure surprised Peter, but it did not surprise Jesus. Remember, Jesus had told him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." Peter insisted, "No, there's no way that's going to happen." So, while Peter's failure surprised him, it did not surprise Jesus.

There are two things you can be certain of that are true in Matthew 26 when Peter made his proclamation. First, Peter overestimated himself. I'm sure there is no one here this morning who has ever overestimated themselves, except perhaps every guy here. Peter overestimated Peter, and that is true.

But you know what else is true? Jesus never overestimated Peter. He knew exactly who Peter was, even though Peter didn't fully understand his own condition. This means Jesus was not disillusioned by Peter's failure, even though Peter certainly was. Jesus had no prior illusions about how strong Peter would be under pressure. Peter's conviction was genuine, but his understanding of his own strength was not.

Capacity was not enough. As it is said, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There is the person that we say we are, the person that we think we are, the person we hope we are, and then there is the person we really are when we're under pressure. There are times when we're surprised by that, and there are times when we're utterly shocked that we are not what we thought we would be.

Standing there, warming himself by the coals of fire, we read this account. This is Luke's account of the same situation. Peter denies Him for the third time in Luke 22:61. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Can you imagine that setting? He is in the same courtyard, maybe within 80 feet of where Jesus is being tried by the tribunal that is about to condemn Him to death. Peter is over here trying to listen to what's going on while having a conversation. The third time someone says, "Weren't you one of His disciples? Didn't I see you in the garden?" One of the Gospels says, "He swore, I swear I do not know the man." Then the rooster crows, and he looks, and there is Jesus. Their eyes meet. The Lord turned and looked at Peter, and then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

That's the backstory. That's what you have to keep in mind when you come to John chapter 21 and the incident that happens at the Sea of Galilee with Jesus and Peter. All of that context makes the story make sense. Without it, it just doesn't quite connect. But when you see that, you realize there is a lot going on in this story. When John is on the boat with Peter and they take in this miraculous catch, which happens often with this great fisherman who never seemed to catch a fish without Jesus's miraculous power, they take in this catch. John looks at Peter as they are probably hauling in the net and says, "That's the Lord." Then Peter jumps in the water.

Swims ashore. Now, by some accounting, I have to acknowledge that when you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they are the accounts of the story of the life and ministry of Jesus. There are enough differences in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that it causes some especially skeptical readers to be upset by the variations in the story. They say, "Well, see, it's a fabrication." But in reality, as is true with all eyewitness testimonies, the stories don't always align perfectly. So, it's hard to harmonize the Gospels.

By some accounting of the harmony of the Gospels, this is the first time that Peter sees Jesus after His resurrection. The last time was when he was warming his hands over the coals of fire and locked eyes with his Lord when he denied Him the third time. This is possibly the first time, but it sure seems like it could be. What does Peter find when he comes ashore, waiting for him there with the Lord? A fire of coals in the cool morning air.

Now, an interesting side note: the word "fire of coals" in John 18, when Peter was warming his hands, is the same Greek word used for "fire of coals" here in John 21. It's the only two times in the Gospel of John that it's used. I think that the Holy Spirit, who inspired this, is trying to tell us something. There is something significant going on here. The last time Peter was warming his hands in the cool morning air of Jerusalem by the fire of coals, he denied the Lord three times. Now, he comes ashore in the cool morning air at Galilee, and there is the fire of coals.

Have you ever noticed how smell triggers emotion? There is a physiological reason for that. The way your nervous system works, the olfactory nerves of your scent glands transmit directly to the amygdala, which triggers emotion. You've experienced that before. For me, when it's a cool morning and I smell diesel exhaust, I am immediately transported back to being nine years old, walking to school in London, in the town of Epping where we lived. I remember walking to school in the cool morning air and immediately recall Paul Gillesby, the redhead kid who did not like me. He was Scottish and punched me in the nose. I will never forget that. I'm not bitter, but if I ever find him, it's a good...

We are separated by eight time zones, but how can smell take you somewhere immediately? You've experienced that. I have to wonder if Peter, as he came ashore in the cool morning air of Galilee, was met with the smell of the coals. Was he not immediately transported back to that early Friday morning just a week before? Can you imagine what went through his mind?

I know that sometimes I speculate a bit, maybe a bit too much, in my reading of the Bible. I can be guilty of reading too much into the text, but I don't know that I'm entirely wrong in doing so. In some ways, we do that too much, but here I think it's warranted. After Peter's three-time denial and Jesus's crucifixion, we read in the opening verses of John 21 that he says to the other disciples, "I'm going fishing."

I wonder if there is not, in those words, a hint of, "I can't be on the team anymore. I have to figure out what I'm going to do next." I'm a fisherman. My dad was a fisherman. My grandfather was a fisherman. I'm going back to fishing, back to the trade that I know because I screwed up. I failed. I did not show up when I said that I would.

So, I wonder if when he says, "I'm going fishing," there is not just a little bit of giving up and failure. It may be speculation on my part, but I think that we are a lot like Simon in this regard. If you're taking notes, point number three is that our failures are often the most defining features of our self-perception. More often than not, we see ourselves through our failures—the ways in which we did not show up or the ways in which we fell flat on our faces.

Everything was going well; everything seemed to be just right, and then it failed. It has a tendency not just to be a single failure. It's a domino of failures. One failure leads to another, and the epic failure triggers a series of failures that can go on for weeks, maybe months, or even years, to the point that it becomes the defining narrative of our lives.

A defining feature of your self-perception often emerges when you get to know someone. I like to ask, "So, what's your story?" Everybody has a story. Some people have many stories and are great storytellers, but everyone has that one story they return to. It might change a little here and there, but the core of the story remains the same. Frequently, failure dominates this narrative, directing their entire self-perception of who they are and what they can or cannot do. It becomes the defining feature of their reality.

Somewhere along the line, they find their way into a church like this, hoping that maybe someday they will be able to overcome just a little bit and be less of the person they have told themselves they are. However, they are often convinced that they cannot possibly be a part of the team. In that moment, the smell of the coals comes, triggering all the emotion, all the weight, all the fear, and all the failure that comes roaring in.

Looking at this, you might wonder why Jesus would set such a mood for Simon. Is He intentionally trying to ground him or condemn him for his failure that happened just days before? In John 21:15, it says, "So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?'" There is a lot of discussion among commentators about what is meant by the words "more than these" here. While we don't know for certain, commentators tend to align in two different camps.

When Jesus asked, "Do you love me more than these?" maybe He was looking at John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. It was purely an accident that I pointed right at John when I said that, but it made him feel good. Absolutely. He'll be thinking about that for a week and telling Sandy about it for a month. This is going to be great. But Jesus continues, "Do you love me more than these other disciples?"

And Nathaniel and the others? In that moment, he couldn't say yes. Or maybe another way that commentators read this is, "Do you love me more than these fish, those nets, and that boat? Do you love me more than these?" Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? And he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." And he said to him, "Feed my lambs."

Well, then he said to him a second time, "Simon, do you love me?" And he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." And he said to him, "Tend my sheep." Well, then he said to him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, 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 all things. You know that I love you." And Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

What is Jesus doing here? Is this kind of an intentional grounding and pounding of Peter? Three times he denied him, and now three times he has to ask him there before the coals of the fire, "Do you love me?" Is he just trying to beat him while he's down? If you think that, you might not really know or understand Jesus. This is Jesus, the rescuing, redeeming, restoring Savior at his best.

Three times by the coals of fire in Caiaphas's courtyard, Peter said, "I do not know him." He swore, "I do not know him." The rooster crowed, and he locked eyes with the Lord. That's the last time he saw him alive until maybe this point. And now, three times by the coals of the fire there on the shore of Galilee, Jesus says, "Do you love me?"

But it's even heavier than you see it as we just read it there. Because when you look at this in the language it was written originally in Greek, it adds more color. When Jesus says to him the first time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?" he uses the Greek word agape. In the Greek language, there are at least four words for love. Three of them are used in the New Testament. The highest form of love is described by Paul in that passage you've heard at weddings before in 1 Corinthians 13: "Love is patient. Love is kind." That whole passage uses the Greek word agape.

It is a self-sacrificial love of the highest caliber and devotion. Jesus asks, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you agape me?" Simon replies, "Lord, you know that I fileo you." Fileo is another great word for love. Have you ever heard of the city Philadelphia? What does it mean? It means "the city of brotherly love." Fileo represents a strong kindred affection.

Jesus asks again, "Do you agape me?" This self-sacrificial devotion is what He seeks. Peter responds, "I love you like a brother, man. I fileo you." Jesus asks a second time, "Peter, do you agape me?" Peter answers, "Lord, you know I fileo you." Then, Jesus asks a third time, "Peter, do you fileo me?" He changes His question, and Peter is grieved that Jesus asked him, "Do you fileo me?" In that moment, Jesus is essentially asking, "Do you love me the way that you say you love me?"

Peter, feeling grieved by this third question, responds, "Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you." In this exchange, it seems as though Jesus is saying, "Do you love me?" with that total self-sacrificing devotion. Simon, you said your own words. You claimed, "Even if everyone forsakes you, even if I have to die with you." Just before this exchange, Jesus had told His disciples, "Greater love has no one than this, but that a man would lay down his life for his friends." Peter had declared, "I will even die with you," yet he denied Him within hours. Was that true, Simon?

Simon admits, "I love you with a strong brotherly affection, but my actions have made clear that I am a failure." How does Jesus respond to Simon's less than agape love of devotion? Does He look at him and say, "Well, Simon, that's not good enough. That's not going to do it. I don't know if I can work with that. You're going to have to work on you before I can work with you"?

See, that's how we assume He'll respond to us. That's what we think He'll say.

Simon, do you agape me? Lord, I love you like a brother, but I'm a failure. Jesus says to him the same thing three times: "Feed my sheep. Tend my lambs." With the smell of the coals filling the cold morning air by the Sea of Galilee, Peter feels the failures flood his emotions.

Point number four: Christ takes us back to the scene of our failure not to condemn us, but to redeem it. Why did this situation happen the way that it did? I think it's intentional. Again, I could be reading into it, but I believe it is intentional that the only two times in the Gospel of John where the coals of fire are seen are both with Peter standing and warming himself by the coals of fire and this exchange between Jesus. One is a reminder of total failure, and Jesus is redeeming that and reattaching a better memory.

I had a conversation this last week with a gentleman. I've been working with him and his organization and getting to know this guy who lives on the East Coast. As we were talking, the conversation got a little more personal. He said, "Well, my wife died of brain cancer a year ago." He mentioned that her birthday is today, and they have two kids. Their oldest is 13, and their youngest is 11. Her desire during the seven-year battle with cancer was to see her two kids baptized, but she died before they could be baptized. He said, "I'm baptizing them today on her birthday."

I texted him this morning and said, "One of the great memories is being able to baptize your children as a pastor. How awesome that a day so attached to such devastating emotion is being restored in some way with such great joy." I think Jesus was doing that here with Peter. The defining moment for him could have been every time he smelled the coals of the fire, bringing him back to meeting eyes with Jesus the last time he saw Him alive before His crucifixion and denying Him.

But not anymore, because Jesus said, "Do you love me?" Peter replied, "Yes, Lord. You know all things, because you know that I love you. Feed my sheep." Most assuredly, in verse 18, Jesus said, "When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. You were the man, Peter. You did what you were going to do. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." This he spoke, signifying by what death Peter would glorify God.

You see, the Peter by the fire in the courtyard of Caiaphas was not the same Peter as the Peter by the fire at Galilee. They were two totally different people. The Peter in Caiaphas's courtyard was the one who said, "If everybody denies you, I will die with you." This Peter, however, says, "Lord, I’m not that person. I thought I was." And Jesus responded, "I didn't call you because you were that person."

Look at the final words here. This he spoke, in verse 19, signifying by what death he would glorify God. When he had spoken this, he said to him, "Follow me." Those were the words that started the whole thing at the same spot on the shore of the Sea of Galilee about three and a half years before, in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 4, when Jesus met Simon Peter and said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Once again, the fisherman who never catches a fish without Jesus hears him say, "Follow me." When Peter was maybe contemplating going back to his old trade, when he was thinking, "I can't be a part of the team," Jesus came to him and found him. Jesus is the chief shepherd who goes after the stray. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Here he goes and seeks out that shepherd, who you can be certain, for the next decades of his life, every single time he would smell the coals of the fire in the early morning hours, he would be brought back to this moment.

Back immediately, not to Caiaphas's courtyard, but to this conversation with his Lord on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." This would become such a defining reality of Peter's life that, thirty years later, he would write these words in one of his letters. In 1 Peter 5:1, he states, "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and the witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but as being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

Where did Simon Peter's conception of the chief shepherd and the flock of God come from? It came from that morning conversation in John 21, over breakfast at the Sea of Galilee.

Here's the thing: so many people don't realize that most individuals in church are quietly convinced that one particular failure has permanently benched them from any meaningful service to God. For probably every other person in this room today, that's you. This story reminds us that it's not true. It is not you, in your strength and power, that makes you the kind of person that the Lord needs on His team. He said, "Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men."

This is a heavy reality. The resurrected Lord condescends and comes down to us where we are, just as He did here with Peter. This begs the question: do we let Christ call and define us, or do we insist on defining ourselves by our catalog of failures? And that catalog is often very long. A righteous man may fall seven times, as Solomon said in Proverbs 24, and rise again. But he does not rise again because of his own power or strength; he rises again because of the grace and power of the Lord.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus had a...

In a conversation with Peter, recorded in Luke chapter 22, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has desired you that he might sift you as wheat." I believe that sifting occurred in the garden of Gethsemane and then in the court of Caiaphas when Peter denied the Lord three times. Jesus told him, "Satan has desired you that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail."

He doesn't say, "I have prayed for you that you will be strong and you will not fail." Why? Because He knew Peter would fail. Jesus prayed for Peter's faith—faith in what? Trust in Christ, that his trust would not fail.

Here’s the awesome part: "And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren." Those are Christ's words to you as well. It is not you who makes yourself a great, powerful, strong witness of Christ. It is Christ who calls, defines, and makes you what you are. He says, "When you return to me, strengthen your brethren."

Some of you came to Christ out of total failure or returned to Christ from total failure. You come to church, which is a good thing, but then you run out those doors so fast that we don’t even know who you are. You just disappear. Then you might not come back for three weeks because you are wrestling with the things I said this morning. You think, "I just don’t know if I can do this or that." You worry that if they knew who you were, they wouldn’t want you anywhere near this place.

Yet God loves you, has called you, and wants to use you for His glory. The awesome thing is that our Lord, as my friend Larry says, loves to draw straight lines with crooked sticks. It is very true. He wants to use and transform you.

"I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren."

Let’s stand together and close in prayer. God, thank You for the grace of this passage. Grace is the reality that You have given us so much more than we deserve.

Than we not only receive more than we deserve, but also what we do not deserve. You've given to us in abundance, unmerited and undeserved favor. Your goodness is poured out to us so that we would be filled with, overflowed with, and overflowing to others with your grace.

God, thank you for your love. Thank you for leaving the ninety-nine to seek us out. Thank you that when we have gone astray, you are the one who comes for us. You condescend to us; you come down to our level. You don't say, "No, you're going to have to fix that. You have to take care of this and this and this, and here's the list of things to do before I can use you." That's not what you do, God.

We rejoice in that. We rejoice in your goodness and your grace. I pray, God, that you'd help us to walk in the joy of that grace. For we ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."