SPEAKER_00: Alright.
SPEAKER_00: Well, let's get into the message, huh?
SPEAKER_00: We've been talking about disciples, the 12 that Jesus chose.
SPEAKER_00: And we've hit on a few.
SPEAKER_00: And today we're gonna hit on maybe the most popular one.
SPEAKER_00: And that's Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Peter is the most famous of the 12, but he's also the most human.
SPEAKER_00: He is the first to speak and the first to step out of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: He is the first to uh confess Jesus is Christ, but also the first to deny him when the pressure hits.
SPEAKER_00: This is Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when I talk to you about Peter, you need to be examining your own life and see how you kind of fit into this story.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus chose all of these people very intentionally.
SPEAKER_00: There are these moments in my life that I found that I could be on a high at church, especially at church camp.
SPEAKER_00: Um, growing up in Arkansas, we would have church camp, and Brooke could tell you as well.
SPEAKER_00: Our church camp weeks were just crazy.
SPEAKER_00: We had the most impactful hardcore preaching.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'll never forget uh Brother Mahaney's daddy, uh Nick Mahaney's daddy, Brother Mahaney, he was preaching one night about the pits of hell and he was just preaching.
SPEAKER_00: You gotta think Pentecostal, charismatic, right?
SPEAKER_00: Like he's preaching, and he has outside of the tabernacle at the time, we didn't know it.
SPEAKER_00: He had people lined up with trumpets.
SPEAKER_00: And at the 60-minute mark, he said that when the clock hits zero, the Lord's returning.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not ready, you're not gonna make it.
SPEAKER_00: And he's preaching, man, and everybody's on edge, like, dude, I gotta get to that altar.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't want to wait.
SPEAKER_00: And what they didn't know is that when that clock hit and those horns outside were going to sound, they didn't know that the train across the street was going to be coming through at the very same time.
SPEAKER_00: And so when that clock hit, dude, and those horns and that train went off, you saw young people jumping over the pews, trying to get to the altar.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of the greatest things ever.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not talking like 20 kids, we're talking like 600.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And so there's this moment, and then when we would go home from camp, Brooke, you know, you would be on a Holy Spirit high, like, I'm never sinning again.
SPEAKER_00: This is great, I'm never messing up again.
SPEAKER_00: And then a week or two that that high kind of comes down, and you kind of find yourself like well, Jesus was exciting for a little while.
SPEAKER_00: Church was exciting for a little while.
SPEAKER_00: And there were these Sundays that I would grow up and I would feel like I would be ready to go to heaven on Sunday nights, but I'd find myself in hell on Monday evening.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: Going back to what Paul talked about, the things that I know I should do, uh, I don't, and the things I shouldn't do, I do.
SPEAKER_00: The dumb stuff, the things I say, and Brooke looks at me and she's like, Why would you say that?
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, because I'm an idiot.
SPEAKER_00: You know, those moments.
SPEAKER_00: And what we find is this is a lot like Peter in this story.
SPEAKER_00: His story is not a highlight reel of spiritual success, it's a raw record of bold faith.
SPEAKER_00: He had bold faith, crushing failure, and surprising restoration.
SPEAKER_00: If you've ever felt like you were walking on water one moment and sinking in the next, Peter's life is for you.
SPEAKER_00: It's for you.
SPEAKER_00: Because if I think that if we really think and and we're honest with ourselves, we like to come in here on Sundays and pretend like it's all together, don't we?
SPEAKER_00: We are the best at that, you fakers.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we do.
SPEAKER_00: We come in here and we're buttoned up and and and we're we act like we got it together, and and for one day, give me two hours of the week that I can just look perfect to everybody else.
SPEAKER_00: Because while we have fake highlight reels on Facebook, we also have fake church attendance.
SPEAKER_00: And that happens a lot because we don't want people to talk about us or think something differently about us.
SPEAKER_00: And and I wonder if our life was depicted in the Bible just like Peter's was.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder what people would say about us.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder what they would think about us.
SPEAKER_00: The reality is, if we're honest, is that we we don't even know what we're doing.
SPEAKER_00: We're just trying to make it through another season, another hardship, another lesson, another moment in life.
SPEAKER_00: And the sooner we can talk to ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit into our lives to tell us that we cannot make it in this life on our own, but only through the saving power of the Holy Spirit and that of which Jesus Christ came, only then will we realize that life is doable and it can be joyful and we can be glad and we don't have to live a defeated, fake life.
SPEAKER_00: So now we look at Peter and it says it like this.
SPEAKER_00: We find Peter in this moment in a boat, it says it, Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water.
SPEAKER_00: Now remember, this is in the middle of the story.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not starting with where Peter actually began his relationship with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I've preached on that before.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to talk more about that, I'll gladly buy you coffee and we can sit down and talk.
SPEAKER_00: But in this moment, they are on a boat and the Lord's done ministry, and now there's a storm, and there's this huge storm, and they see Jesus and they think he's a ghost.
SPEAKER_00: And the disciples are like, Wait, is that is that Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: And Peter said, Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water.
SPEAKER_00: Now I think Peter's a little crazy because my first instinct wouldn't have been like, Hey, God, can I do that too?
SPEAKER_00: I would have been in awe, I would have been amazement.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus said, Come.
SPEAKER_00: Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But when he saw the wind, you ever seen the wind before?
SPEAKER_00: You've never seen the wind, you've only seen the effects of wind.
SPEAKER_00: That's all you've seen.
SPEAKER_00: You've never seen the wind before.
SPEAKER_00: But the Bible says, when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! Save me.
SPEAKER_00: I could preach another sermon on this about how when we get on the same spiritual level with the Lord, we begin to see things in the supernatural that we've never seen, and sometimes that scares us.
SPEAKER_00: But it's in this moment that Peter is now walking on the water with Jesus, and to be able to walk on the water with Jesus, you have to be living in a spiritual level that you've never lived in before because human beings just don't walk on the water.
SPEAKER_00: But it's in this moment that he's walking and he sees things that maybe he's never seen before, and he begins to sink because he takes his attention off Jesus, because he's more afraid of the storm and the supernatural things that he wasn't familiar with than he was keeping his eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And so many times in our own lives, we see things.
SPEAKER_00: We see things and we encounter storms, things we've never seen before, things we've endured before, and we begin to take our eyes off Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: On Sunday, I was good, man.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Ghost was in me.
SPEAKER_00: But on Monday, I'm freaking out because I don't know which way is right from left.
SPEAKER_00: But all I know is that I just had to keep my eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And when I begin to seek, man, when I begin to seek, all I can do is say, Lord, save me.
SPEAKER_00: And immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him and said, You of little faith.
SPEAKER_00: That's a humbling moment.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: You of little faith.
SPEAKER_00: Why did you doubt?
SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't like verse 31.
SPEAKER_00: I don't like that very much.
SPEAKER_00: Because when the Lord brings me out of the water, there's these moments of like, why did I doubt?
SPEAKER_00: I feel like he's telling me that.
SPEAKER_00: I've been with you the whole time.
SPEAKER_00: I brought you through all those other things.
SPEAKER_00: Why didn't you think I couldn't bring you through this?
SPEAKER_00: Why do you think I was going to fail you now?
SPEAKER_00: Why did you doubt?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's because I kept looking at my circumstance instead of looking at him.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's I put more faith in the things that I was pursuing or trying to fix on my own than looking at him.
SPEAKER_00: How many times have we done that?
SPEAKER_00: We've done that a lot, haven't we?
SPEAKER_00: You have little faith, he said.
SPEAKER_00: Why did you doubt?
SPEAKER_00: This is Peter's life.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, Peter, Peter is intriguing because Peter is the only disciple who got out of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I would have been a little mad if I was the one that had faith, Brother Jeff, and I get out and then he embarrasses me and all of my friends.
SPEAKER_00: Like, dude, I got out of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: I walked on what they didn't walk on water, and you're calling me of little faith?
SPEAKER_00: So many times in our relationship with the Lord, we want to compare our relationship to other people's relationships.
SPEAKER_00: And we have to stop doing this.
SPEAKER_00: This is not your walk and their walk.
SPEAKER_00: This is your walk and the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Not everyone in this room is on the same spiritual level that you may be on.
SPEAKER_00: Not everyone may be on the same path that you were on.
SPEAKER_00: Quit comparing.
SPEAKER_00: The question is not whether they got out of the boat and you did.
SPEAKER_00: The question is why did you quit looking at him when you decided to get out of the boat?
SPEAKER_00: This is a personal, personal, personal relationship.
SPEAKER_00: And so many times I hear Christians talk about other Christians or other people or why don't they come to church or why don't they do this?
SPEAKER_00: Why do you quit looking at Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Because every time you talk about them, you ain't looking at him.
SPEAKER_00: Let's get it clear.
SPEAKER_00: Let's set the record straight because you can't look at Jesus and hate your neighbor at the same time.
SPEAKER_00: Let's set it straight.
SPEAKER_00: You can't look at Jesus and talk bad about somebody across the aisle from you.
SPEAKER_00: We can't do it, church.
SPEAKER_00: There's no way.
SPEAKER_00: Why did you doubt?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you don't know what they've done.
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what they're doing.
SPEAKER_00: You don't think God can't fix what's going on?
SPEAKER_00: You're doubting.
SPEAKER_00: Quit doubting.
SPEAKER_00: You're doubting God.
SPEAKER_00: He can fix it all.
SPEAKER_00: He can change it all.
SPEAKER_00: He can do it all.
SPEAKER_00: He can give you back tinfold.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe he would if you'd quit looking at that and start looking at him.
SPEAKER_00: We got to be the church that God calls us to be.
SPEAKER_00: And I gotta tell you, he tells me to pray for my enemies.
SPEAKER_00: And I do, and I love them, and I want to treat them with the best kindness that I can.
SPEAKER_00: But I hope also he does a work in their heart that restores everything that's ever been stolen from me.
SPEAKER_00: At some point, we have, we have to, we have to keep our eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now listen, listen, listen.
SPEAKER_00: Later, when Jesus asked the disciples who they said he was, the same guy that that began to sink is the same guy that knew it.
SPEAKER_00: Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, how do you know that?
SPEAKER_00: How do you know that?
SPEAKER_00: But you were sinking.
SPEAKER_00: How does that happen?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus replied, Blessed are you, son.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah.
SPEAKER_00: For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my heavenly father, by Father in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: This was presented by him to have this kind of understanding.
SPEAKER_00: This takes this takes wisdom.
SPEAKER_00: This was this was revelation because everybody else didn't know who Jesus really was, but they were walking with him.
SPEAKER_00: But it was it was it was Peter who had the revelation.
SPEAKER_00: And see, this is what we need to understand about Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: We need to understand this about Peter.
SPEAKER_00: He was someone who was willing to be outspoken when nobody else would.
SPEAKER_00: See, and because of that, in verse 18, Jesus said, I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church in the gates of Hades.
SPEAKER_00: Hell will not overcome it.
SPEAKER_00: So this is a promise.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say promise.
SPEAKER_00: This is a promise.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus gives a promise, and he tells Peter that you are the rock, and upon this rock, upon this rock, Jesus is the rock.
SPEAKER_00: Peter is the small rock.
SPEAKER_00: Petro means small rock.
SPEAKER_00: And okay.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Upon this rock, I will build my church.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, Peter, I'm gonna give you the keys to the kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna build.
SPEAKER_00: This is a promise.
SPEAKER_00: The same guy that sinks, the same guy that doubts, the same guy whose faith is questioned is also the same God into which Jesus is saying, I'm gonna build my church through you.
SPEAKER_00: Through me, but through you.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what we find out about Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Peter was willing to risk looking foolish in order to get closer to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He was willing to look foolish.
SPEAKER_00: He was willing to get out of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: He was willing to be the outspoken one.
SPEAKER_00: He was willing to be whatever it took for him to get close to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And at some point in our lives, we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get close to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what your situation is, I don't know where you're at.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you're going through, but at some point you have to be willing to look foolish in order to get closer to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You have to.
SPEAKER_00: Faith that stays in the boat never experiences the power of Jesus on the water.
SPEAKER_00: I need you to understand that with me.
SPEAKER_00: You say, Well, it doesn't make sense, Tyler.
SPEAKER_00: Why would I do that?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's the way God works.
SPEAKER_00: Why would I why would I jump?
SPEAKER_00: People say, Well, when I see it, I'll believe it.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: This is the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: You have to, you have to believe it, and then you'll see it.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is backwards.
SPEAKER_00: We don't build a fire until we get the food.
SPEAKER_00: We build the fire knowing that the food's gonna come.
SPEAKER_00: This is the kingdom of God at play.
SPEAKER_00: We don't we we we don't wait for the other person to make the next move, we make the first move.
SPEAKER_00: We don't wait for our enemy to apologize, we step and apologize.
SPEAKER_00: We step up to the plate.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because I need to look foolish so he can look great.
SPEAKER_00: I need to look lower so he can be big.
SPEAKER_00: I need to decrease so he can increase because faith that stays in the boat never experiences the power of Jesus on the water.
SPEAKER_00: You can't stay in your habits and doing things the way you've always done, thinking that you're gonna experience his power the way that he moves on the water, because he's not going to come and just to you, you have to meet him too.
SPEAKER_00: At some point, you have to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is still saying, Come.
SPEAKER_00: He's still saying come.
SPEAKER_00: He's still saying come to people who are willing to leave the safety of everything that they have and can't control.
SPEAKER_00: You want to be able to control everything, you want it to make sense to you, you want it to work for you.
SPEAKER_00: But listen to me this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Peter understood that for his life to be blessed, he had to step out.
SPEAKER_00: He had to step out.
SPEAKER_00: At some point, you and I have to step out.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, what are you doing, man?
SPEAKER_00: You've never walked on the water.
SPEAKER_00: Why would you do that?
SPEAKER_00: Why did you think that you could stay on and not drown?
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I hear so many stories about people who said that I thought I was doing what God wanted me to do, but I began to sink.
SPEAKER_00: I don't question whether you're doing what God had called you to do.
SPEAKER_00: I question whether you kept your eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Because it's not that you didn't have the faith to get out of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: It's maybe you didn't have the faith to keep your eyes where they were supposed to be.
SPEAKER_00: So often we get obsessed with obsession and greed and and everything else that we forget who actually called us out of the boat in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: See, your faith doesn't have to be perfect to walk on water, it just has to be willing to step out.
SPEAKER_00: And this morning we need to be willing to step out.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's another portion that we find, Peter.
SPEAKER_00: And the same mouth that confessed Jesus as a Christ later denied him three times.
SPEAKER_00: Now, remember when I just made you say the word promise, Jesus had a promise.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: This is the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has a promise for your life.
SPEAKER_00: He has a promise for your life.
SPEAKER_00: Whether you realize it or not, he has a promise for your life.
SPEAKER_00: That's when when I talk about forgiveness and how we operate as Christians to one another, you have to remember that the same person that you may consider your enemy is the same person that Jesus has a promise for their life over.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Jesus tells us the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you do that, you'll love your neighbor as you love yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Because you can't love him with everything that you have and not love your neighbor as yourself.
SPEAKER_00: It's just impossible.
SPEAKER_00: It's an impossible equation.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Pastor, you don't know what them.
SPEAKER_00: I know what he did.
SPEAKER_00: He got on the cross and bled out and suffocated on his blood for you, and you should be dead.
SPEAKER_00: That's what I know.
SPEAKER_00: Want another argument?
SPEAKER_00: When Satan gets, we get biblical.
SPEAKER_00: When Satan gets historical, we get biblical.
SPEAKER_00: It's the only thing that I know to do.
SPEAKER_00: And here we are.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter now was given a promise that he would be the one into which Jesus would build his kingdom up on small rock, big rock.
SPEAKER_00: But now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard and a servant girl came to him and said, You also were with Jesus of Galilee, she said.
SPEAKER_00: But he denied it before them all.
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing, Peter?
SPEAKER_00: Hold on.
SPEAKER_00: Let's stop for a second.
SPEAKER_00: Because you guys are just looking at me like I'm crazy.
SPEAKER_00: We gotta be real about this.
SPEAKER_00: Like we have to have a conversation.
SPEAKER_00: Alright?
SPEAKER_00: The thing that I hate the most.
SPEAKER_00: Let me talk about my cousin just one second.
SPEAKER_00: My cousin, when he would get mad at me.
SPEAKER_00: And Brooke will tell you, he sent me death threats a couple years ago.
SPEAKER_00: When he would get mad at me because I wouldn't give him money for what he wanted, because he told me he needed to pay rent, but I really knew he needed to buy drugs.
SPEAKER_00: When he got mad at me, you know the first card they threw out?
SPEAKER_00: Some Christian you are?
SPEAKER_00: Why y'all throwing that out?
SPEAKER_00: Stupid.
SPEAKER_00: Some Christian they are.
SPEAKER_00: Don't they go to Grace Bible church?
SPEAKER_00: Some Christian they are.
SPEAKER_00: You know how stupid you're making yourself sound?
SPEAKER_00: Some Christian they are?
SPEAKER_00: Do you not know humanity?
SPEAKER_00: Do you not understand humanity?
SPEAKER_00: I want you to think right now about all the stupid stuff you did this week.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: I'll give you 10 seconds.
SPEAKER_00: Because it ain't gonna take long for you to think of something.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Think about the per people you talked about this week.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's just get real.
SPEAKER_00: Think about the things you did in secret that you hope nobody ever finds out.
SPEAKER_00: Let's think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's be real.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Think about all the things that you knew that you shouldn't have done, but you did anyways.
SPEAKER_00: Think about the argument you had with your wife.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, baby.
SPEAKER_00: Think about all the things that you did that you shouldn't have done.
SPEAKER_00: Let's think about it.
SPEAKER_00: And now let's put that same energy toward our guilt and shame that we try to put toward others.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here we are.
SPEAKER_00: Peter denies Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now this is crazy, guys.
SPEAKER_00: Because you remember before this, Peter had a conversation with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It was like, Jesus, just so you know, I'll never, I'll never deny you.
SPEAKER_00: I'll never deny you.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: I'll never mess, I'll never mess up, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your number one fan.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your number one follower.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I was the one.
SPEAKER_00: You remember Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: I was the one that when you asked, Who do you say that I am?
SPEAKER_00: I said you're the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, nobody else would have known that.
SPEAKER_00: I knew that.
SPEAKER_00: And remember, you said that I could have the keys to the kingdom up on this rock, you will build your church.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your guy.
SPEAKER_00: And then when there's like a little bit of pressure applied, like there's just a little bit of pressure, like just a little bit, like a little bit, Peter then cracks.
SPEAKER_00: He cracks hard.
SPEAKER_00: And he he says, I don't know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Who's that guy?
SPEAKER_00: I don't like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you're talking about, he said.
SPEAKER_00: And then he went out to the gateway where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.
SPEAKER_00: And he denied it again with an oath.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know the man with an oath.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know the man.
SPEAKER_00: And after a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, Surely you are one of them.
SPEAKER_00: Your accent gives you away.
SPEAKER_00: And then he began to call down curses and he swore to them, I don't know the man.
SPEAKER_00: Immediately the rooster crowed, I don't know about you, but this is a really bad moment for Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Really bad moment for Peter.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, my brother-in-law, he's a cop, and he'll see people and he'll be like, Yeah, I arrested him.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh dude, that's awkward.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, No, I usually meet everybody on their worst day.
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of true.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because we all have really bad days, man.
SPEAKER_00: We all say things sometimes that we should not have said.
SPEAKER_00: We all do things sometimes that we should not have done, and we're very dumb for it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not excusing it, okay?
SPEAKER_00: There are consequences, and I understand that.
SPEAKER_00: But this idea that we live in America and in the church of thinking that you get one strike and you're out is crazy to me.
SPEAKER_00: This idea that you get two strikes and you're out is crazy to me.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to me.
SPEAKER_00: Have you allowed God to actually do the work in the middle of your situation?
SPEAKER_00: Or are you just keeping your eyes on the situation and not on him?
SPEAKER_00: When have you prayed for him?
SPEAKER_00: I pray for my cousin still.
SPEAKER_00: I don't talk to him.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for my mama still, I don't talk to her.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for my enemy still.
SPEAKER_00: I don't talk to them.
SPEAKER_00: I wish the best for them.
SPEAKER_00: I hope God works out in their life and their souls.
SPEAKER_00: And I pray that God does the work that I cannot do.
SPEAKER_00: But this idea that I can look at myself in the mirror and say you're innocent and they're not is such a lie.
SPEAKER_00: Because for every sin that's been committed against me, I have committed a hundred more against the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: And at some point, we have to get real with ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.
SPEAKER_00: And he went outside and wept bitterly because when you weep bitterly, man, you realize that what he said you would do and you said you wouldn't, you have done.
SPEAKER_00: And when there's revelation of knowing that you have went against God, it should crush you inside and out.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what we know about Peter that your worst failure is not the end of your story if Jesus is still writing it.
SPEAKER_00: This is something we need to know this morning if you're here.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what your failure is.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you've done, but I need to know that if you are here, Jesus is still writing your story.
SPEAKER_00: You can still have the promise of God on your life.
SPEAKER_00: You can still be told that He's going to hand the keys to the kingdom to you one day.
SPEAKER_00: That can be true, but it can also be true that you have screwed up really bad.
SPEAKER_00: Do you understand me?
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't think you do.
SPEAKER_00: There are people right now that God has given a promise upon their life out here, but they won't step into here because everybody knows the mistakes that they've made.
SPEAKER_00: But you need to quit looking at them and defining them by their mistakes, and you need to keep your eyes on Jesus because Jesus had a promise for their life in the beginning.
SPEAKER_00: And what they need to know is that promise is still good, even though this is true too.
SPEAKER_00: Because our worst failure is not the end, ladies and gentlemen, if we let God keep writing the story, it's just the beginning.
SPEAKER_00: And I've said this a million times.
SPEAKER_00: Your sin doesn't shock me, but your failure is not a surprise to him.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a surprise to him.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't a surprise to him when Peter denied him three times.
SPEAKER_00: He told Peter he was going to do it.
SPEAKER_00: He told him, he told him.
SPEAKER_00: Peter's like, I ain't doing that.
SPEAKER_00: Somehow, somehow, we think we know better than God, and we don't.
SPEAKER_00: He did it.
SPEAKER_00: And you know, even though Jesus knew he was going to do that, Jesus still told him, Hey Peter, you're still my small rod, man.
SPEAKER_00: You're still my small rock.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still gonna use you for the kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: I got a promise for you that I'm gonna use you.
SPEAKER_00: And what happened to Peter was that he had bitter tears after it because he realized.
SPEAKER_00: And I love bitter tears because bitter tears after failure are often the beginning of real transformation.
SPEAKER_00: It's when I sit with myself.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't want to make it about me, but when I preached that sermon about weight loss, I went and sat with myself, and I just cried bitter tears to God.
SPEAKER_00: God help me.
SPEAKER_00: Because I can't do this on my own.
SPEAKER_00: I feel like a failure because I have been, because I betrayed you and I betray my family.
SPEAKER_00: Bitter tears after failure, often the beginning of real transformation.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to me, you have to hate your sin so much before it changes.
SPEAKER_00: You have to hate it more than you love the momentary satisfaction that you've received.
SPEAKER_00: You have to hate it with everything with inside of you, and you have to give it to God so that He can begin transforming and doing a work inside of you.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what Peter knew, and this is what Peter understood, because it's in this moment that he weeps bitter tears.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I just can't, I just can't believe I did what I did.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've been in that moment too.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe I've done what I've done.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you know who this man is, but I want to tell you a story real quick.
SPEAKER_00: On May 25th, 1978, at Brownfield near San Diego, California, Hoover had just finished an air show performance in his P-51 Mustang and his twin-engine Rockwell Aero Commander 500S Shrike Commander.
SPEAKER_00: A piston-powered business aircraft, and he needed to depart and arrange for fueling, specifically requesting 100-octane aviation gasoline.
SPEAKER_00: They called it AV gas.
SPEAKER_00: And a young line boy mechanic mistakenly serviced the plane with Jet A kerosene-based jet fuel.
SPEAKER_00: The strike commander closely resembled the similar-looking turboprop twin commander, which made the mix-up easier.
SPEAKER_00: So, breaking it down for you, he's got his plane, and this young guy puts in the wrong fuel for it.
SPEAKER_00: Hoover taxied off and climbed around 300 feet before both engines felled as the residual correct fuel in the lines and engine was consumed and the jet fuel reached the cylinders.
SPEAKER_00: With no power and limited altitude, he skillfully managed the energy of the gliding aircraft, flew into a V-shaped ravine, and performed a controlled crash landing into the side of the terrain.
SPEAKER_00: It was then the plane was substantially damaged, but Hoover and his passengers walked away uninjured.
SPEAKER_00: While waiting for rescue, Hoover checked a fuel drain and immediately smelled the distinct odor of jet fuel confirming the cause.
SPEAKER_00: The NTSB investigation later agreed.
SPEAKER_00: Back at the field, Hoover immediately asked for the person who had fueled the plane.
SPEAKER_00: The young line boy was outside by a fence in tears, devastated by the near catastrophe and the damage.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of berating him, Hoover put his arm around the young man and said words to this effect.
SPEAKER_00: But I'm positive you'll never make this mistake again.
SPEAKER_00: That's why I want to make sure that you're the only one to refuel my plane tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: I won't let anyone else in the field touch it.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's amazing.
SPEAKER_00: And he followed through with this, having the young man service his P-51 for the remaining days of the event without further incident.
SPEAKER_00: Hoover later later reflected that everyone makes mistakes and that the most important thing was that no one was hurt.
SPEAKER_00: An airplane could be replaced.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: Hoover almost lost his life that day.
SPEAKER_00: It could have been a really bad accident.
SPEAKER_00: A catastrophe.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I said it wrong.
SPEAKER_00: My bad, guys.
SPEAKER_00: Catastrophe.
SPEAKER_00: Could have been a catastrophe.
SPEAKER_00: Could have been a bad day that day.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: Could have been a really bad day.
SPEAKER_00: And how often do we get angry at people for the little things when God has loved us through the big things that we've messed up?
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes when we look at Peter's life, we don't resemble it to ours because it's easy to point out other people's flaws than self-reflect up on our own.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does something here in John 21, 15.
SPEAKER_00: When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?
SPEAKER_00: Now let me help you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has now died, he has returned, he has he has encountered Peter, he has failed him miserably.
SPEAKER_00: So we had the promise that Jesus gave him, then we had the denial of Peter, which Jesus already knew about, and now we have the setting after Jesus has died, he's come back from the dead, he's risen, and now him and Peter are sitting together having an intimate moment.
SPEAKER_00: For a second, I want to talk about intimate moments.
SPEAKER_00: You know how awkward that must have been for Peter in that moment?
SPEAKER_00: Like that side eye, like Jesus appears, and you're like, uh oh.
SPEAKER_00: It's like, does he know that I know?
SPEAKER_00: Does he does he know?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he knows Peter.
SPEAKER_00: He knows.
SPEAKER_00: He knows you denied three times.
SPEAKER_00: You know, at some point, we gotta man up as Christians and just have the awkward conversations, but have the right spirit about it when you do.
SPEAKER_00: Because the goal is not to hate your brother when you're done, the goal is to have restoration to win a brother over.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 18.
SPEAKER_00: The goal is for everybody to succeed, the goal is for everybody to be blessed, the goal is for everybody to walk away saying, I knew that was who I thought my brother truly was or my sister truly was.
SPEAKER_00: That's the goal.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to hold something against you.
SPEAKER_00: Are you crazy?
SPEAKER_00: I don't got time for that.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to think about you every day.
SPEAKER_00: And I sure don't want to have to have to think about the thoughts when I cross you again next time.
SPEAKER_00: I got too many busy things doing.
SPEAKER_00: I got to see, we gotta see people saved.
SPEAKER_00: We got youth ministry, we got too many things to work on.
SPEAKER_00: I don't have the energy to think negatively against you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not looking for it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna think the best of you, pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: And if I have to, we're gonna have an awkward conversation.
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what happens.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is having an awkward conversation.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these men?
SPEAKER_00: Because you didn't love me back there.
SPEAKER_00: Do you love me more than these?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Lord, he says, you know that I love you.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, then, feed my lambs, man.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus asked him again, Simon, son of John, do you love me?
SPEAKER_00: Dude, this is an awkward conversation.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I just told you that I loved you.
SPEAKER_00: And I know that you know that I know that I did what I said I would never do, but like I did it.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Well, if you love me, you know?
SPEAKER_00: Do you love me?
SPEAKER_00: He said, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, then take care of my sheep again.
SPEAKER_00: He does it a second time.
SPEAKER_00: And then a third time, again, Simon, son of John, do you love me?
SPEAKER_00: He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Take care of my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: And the third time he said it to him, sorry, I didn't go for it.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Lord, you know all things.
SPEAKER_00: You know that I love you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, feed my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: And that was it.
SPEAKER_00: Everything was reinstated.
SPEAKER_00: Right there.
SPEAKER_00: Everything.
SPEAKER_00: We're good.
SPEAKER_00: You totally betrayed me in front of everybody.
SPEAKER_00: You said you had nothing to do with me.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I told you we were gonna do it and you still did it.
SPEAKER_00: And this was the moment of repentance for Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when we carry a Christ-like posture, we have to understand something that this was enough for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So that when I have a conversation and and I know myself and I need forgiveness because I'm stupid sometimes.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't want to require more from people than God did, man.
SPEAKER_00: Because I have to, I'm gonna be judged for that.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to die.
SPEAKER_00: Let's just get that out of the way.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to die either today, later on today, or next year, or the year after that, or maybe 10 years, or maybe 30 years, or maybe 40 years.
SPEAKER_00: But you are gonna die, dude.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us, we're going to die.
SPEAKER_00: And we are all going to be bowed down one day in front of the creator of all things, and he's going to judge every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: Every knee will bow.
SPEAKER_00: Every tongue will confess that he is Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, he literally said, if you do not, if you do not forgive your enemies, he's not going to forgive you.
SPEAKER_00: Dude, if it was enough for Jesus to look at Peter and say, Peter, do you love me?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Lord, you know I love you.
SPEAKER_00: Feed my sheep.
SPEAKER_00: And all he had to do was ask him three times that, and that was good enough for Jesus, why do we make people jump through so many hoops before we're good?
SPEAKER_00: Stop it.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you want that for them, just wait till God gets done with you, man.
SPEAKER_00: Just wait.
SPEAKER_00: At some point, we have to understand that Jesus did not just forgive Peter, but he reinstated him.
SPEAKER_00: And when you do something to me and I forgive you, I'm reinstating you in our relationship because you're gonna mess it up and I'm gonna mess it up, but I don't have to treat you any differently because of it.
SPEAKER_00: There's something that has to happen in our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: The same Jesus who predicted Peter's denial also prepared for Peter's restoration.
SPEAKER_00: You wanna know what I love doing?
SPEAKER_00: I love seeing people restored.
SPEAKER_00: That's what I love.
SPEAKER_00: Because I want no one to suffer because of their stupid mistakes.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we suffer more than you know we we bargain for.
SPEAKER_00: And I understand that, but I want to see restoration.
SPEAKER_00: I want to see families healed.
SPEAKER_00: I want to see marriages work.
SPEAKER_00: I want to see lives put back together.
SPEAKER_00: I want to see people in our community getting along.
SPEAKER_00: I want people to look at Jesus and not look at themselves in the storm and everything else.
SPEAKER_00: Because the same Jesus who predicted and said, You're gonna mess this up, Peter, also already had a preparation of restoring him because his promise from the beginning has to be good.
SPEAKER_00: His promise from the beginning has to be good.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't meet Peter at the fire of failure to shame him.
SPEAKER_00: This is a big one.
SPEAKER_00: He met him at a different fire to restore him.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, I'm not here to tell you how bad you are.
SPEAKER_00: I'm here to give you an opportunity to be restored.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, we all need to meet at the fire of restoration.
SPEAKER_00: How can we make it right?
SPEAKER_00: I want to be the best man that God's called me to be.
SPEAKER_00: But so many times when I get it wrong, am I quick to say, hey, hey man, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: I know when I'm coaching those boys out there with Brett, he'll tell you when I mess the dumb play up because I'm dyslexic, sometimes it feels like.
SPEAKER_00: They'll look at me and be like, huh?
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I'm sorry, guys, that's on me.
SPEAKER_00: That's on me.
SPEAKER_00: My my dump my stupidity.
SPEAKER_00: I apologize.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: I don't blame it on my players.
SPEAKER_00: I can't blame it on my players.
SPEAKER_00: I have to understand some things are just on me.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what we've come to learn in our life, guys.
SPEAKER_00: Worship team, you can come back.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what we've come to learn is that our greatest ministry and moments in life, our greatest ministry in moments in life may come on the other side of our greatest failures.
SPEAKER_00: It may come.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how to say it.
SPEAKER_00: I do dumb things sometimes.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I've ever told you guys this story, but if I have, just pretend like I haven't.
SPEAKER_00: We were moving from Ohio back to Arkansas to be executive pastors, and it was late, and I was angry, and I was hungry, and I was tired.
SPEAKER_00: And when you put that together with four kids, it's not a good combination.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm driving this huge U-Haul trailer like the one that I brought in here, and I got my car on the back of it.
SPEAKER_00: Maddox, you remember this story because you never let me forget it.
SPEAKER_00: Just so you know, my greatest ministry is on the other side of it.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: And we're in St.
SPEAKER_00: Louis and it's late.
SPEAKER_00: And I needed to turn around because I took it's like 12 o'clock at night.
SPEAKER_00: It's like midnight.
SPEAKER_00: Am I wrong?
SPEAKER_00: Was it around midnight?
unknown: It was dark outside.
SPEAKER_00: It was dark.
SPEAKER_00: It was like midnight, guys.
SPEAKER_00: It was dark outside.
SPEAKER_00: And I pull into this bank, man.
SPEAKER_00: This bank.
SPEAKER_00: And I have this shoe hole and this huge trailer on the back with the car.
SPEAKER_00: And I think it has a whole pool around.
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: Now look, man, I'm good at a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not good at backing up a trailer.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm tired and I'm angry.
SPEAKER_00: And I get to the back, Brother Jeff, and I realize you're either going out this tiny little curvature that you came in that's a ways away from the road, or you're going through the drive-thru, which I knew that truck wasn't gonna make.
SPEAKER_00: Then you know, I tried to back up like 80 times.
SPEAKER_00: It ain't funny.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't funny then.
SPEAKER_00: I tried to back up.
SPEAKER_00: She's yelling at me, I'm yelling at her.
SPEAKER_00: I'm about to come unglued.
SPEAKER_00: I'm about to call triple A and just come tell him to do it.
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
SPEAKER_00: In my moment where my son's sitting beside me, of like, Dad, are we stuck?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we're stuck.
SPEAKER_00: I get this bright idea at midnight.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: What if we can make it under that audience?
SPEAKER_00: What if we can drive through it?
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm like, Maddox, hang on.
SPEAKER_00: And I begin to go.
SPEAKER_00: And I begin to hear some noises that I'm like, dude, this ain't good.
SPEAKER_00: And I begin to see white stuff from the start to fall down.
SPEAKER_00: And then I see a hole.
SPEAKER_00: A hole when I open up the back of the U-Haul, there's this huge hole in the top of the U-Haul.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, this ain't good.
SPEAKER_00: And it's midnight and I'm stuck.
SPEAKER_00: And so I get in and I back it out.
SPEAKER_00: You can just see the destruction that's happened.
SPEAKER_00: It ain't good.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Forget this.
SPEAKER_00: I throw that thing and drive, I drive up the grass, leave huge ruts in their yard, drive all around, get back on, and we're gone.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just freaking out, man.
SPEAKER_00: You know the old Tyler?
SPEAKER_00: The old Tyler would have been like, I just hope they don't find out who it was.
SPEAKER_00: You know, the old teenage kid that was a punk that did stuff that he should have been arrested long times before what he got arrested for.
SPEAKER_00: I remember that night, I was like, do I call the police department?
SPEAKER_00: What do I do?
SPEAKER_00: So I called the bank and I left a message.
SPEAKER_00: And then I called them the first thing that next morning.
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, guys, I know you're probably wondering.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, but I didn't know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, it was really bad.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't know how this works.
SPEAKER_00: Uh just so y'all know I'm in ministry, so I got no money.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I don't know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember the voice on the other side of the phone was just this calming voice.
SPEAKER_00: Was like, yeah, you screwed up pretty big, didn't you?
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, thanks.
SPEAKER_00: They said, but you know what?
SPEAKER_00: You called us and you were honest.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, we'll take care of all the damages.
SPEAKER_00: He said, just thanks for doing the honest thing.
SPEAKER_00: And I sat there and I was like, so like that's it.
SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Yeah, we were going to actually report you to the police if you didn't call, but you did.
SPEAKER_00: And I looked at Brooke and I was like, man, what grace.
SPEAKER_00: What grace.
SPEAKER_00: I should have to pay for that.
SPEAKER_00: I should have to do something.
SPEAKER_00: I screwed it up pretty bad.
SPEAKER_00: In your life, you're gonna have great failures.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I've come to expect it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to be the best.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody could always do something better than I can do.
SPEAKER_00: I've accepted that.
SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be moments that I fail horribly.
SPEAKER_00: But I want you to know that when you get a call or I get a call, that you've done some great sin, I need you to be able to run into my arms so I can hug you.
SPEAKER_00: Not be afraid because you're gonna be condemned.
SPEAKER_00: You wanna know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because this life is hard, and the enemy comes to seek, kill, and destroy.
SPEAKER_00: And that's all he wants to do in your life, in your marriage, in your family, and in your home, and in your world.
SPEAKER_00: That's all he cares about.
SPEAKER_00: And everybody else in the world wants to condemn.
SPEAKER_00: That's why if it bleeds, it leads.
SPEAKER_00: That's why Fox News never has a day where it can go without a story or CNN or anybody else.
SPEAKER_00: But you know what?
SPEAKER_00: What would happen if the church became like a god that looked at Peter that said, hey man, I know you're gonna get it wrong.
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna screw this whole thing up, dude.
SPEAKER_00: But hey, meet me at the fire.
SPEAKER_00: Meet me at the fire because I see something in you that you don't even see in yourself yet.
SPEAKER_00: And it's in those moments, it's in those moments that the greatest ministry of your life can begin.
SPEAKER_00: Peter's life shows us that following Jesus is not about never seeking.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna seek.
SPEAKER_00: It's about knowing who to cry out to when you do.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, dude, when I hit that stupid bank, Jesus! Is this my sign not to go back to Arkansas?
SPEAKER_00: I should have listened then, Brother Jeff.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, what do I do, God?
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's silly, it sounds silly, but what's your circumstance?
SPEAKER_00: What is it?
SPEAKER_00: Are you crying out to God or are you too busy watching the storm?
SPEAKER_00: Well, if they go first out.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Are you are you crying out to God?
SPEAKER_00: Are you too busy looking at the storm?
SPEAKER_00: You want to quit sinking?
SPEAKER_00: Start looking to God.
SPEAKER_00: You want to quit sinking, start looking to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Want to have a better heart?
SPEAKER_00: Want to feel better when you lay down at night?
SPEAKER_00: Start crying out to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Let him work it out while you're sleeping.
SPEAKER_00: Let him work it out in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Let him do what you can't do.
SPEAKER_00: This is Peter.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter learned the hard way, but he learned.
SPEAKER_00: The question is not whether you have failed or will fail, my friends.
SPEAKER_00: The question is will you let Jesus restore you and put you back into your original?
SPEAKER_00: Purpose that you were born and destined to be.
SPEAKER_00: Brother Aldridge always told me this.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Tyler, the most disturbing thing you'll see in ministry is someone with all the potential for the kingdom of God, but they never see it in themselves and they never become what they were created to be because they believe the lies of the enemy more than they did the voice of the God they called them.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to me, church.
SPEAKER_00: If we want to be what God's called us to be, we have to understand that failure is going to happen.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's nasty and I hate it.
SPEAKER_00: But I'm not called to panic about it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm called to keep my eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You know, that's marriage too.
SPEAKER_00: That's in anything.
SPEAKER_00: If I'm keeping my eyes on Jesus, he will make my marriage good.
SPEAKER_00: It's when I take my eyes off Jesus that I'm not a very good husband.
SPEAKER_00: That I'm not always the kindest person in the morning to talk to.
SPEAKER_00: It's when I take my eyes off Jesus that things that I can't control begin to bother me more.
SPEAKER_00: It's when I take my eyes off Jesus, the things that I can control, I don't always do great.
SPEAKER_00: Would you stand with me?
SPEAKER_00: Some of us feel like we were walking on water not long ago.
SPEAKER_00: And now you feel like you're going under.
SPEAKER_00: Others are still sitting with the bitter taste of denial and failure.
SPEAKER_00: Hear this clearly.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not finished.
SPEAKER_00: You are here for a reason.
SPEAKER_00: You are here for a purpose.
SPEAKER_00: He has a story for you to tell.
SPEAKER_00: He has a purpose for your ministry in your life.
SPEAKER_00: You say, Pastor, I don't have a ministry.
SPEAKER_00: You do have a ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Your life is your ministry.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: Our life is our ministry.
SPEAKER_00: And we have an opportunity to allow Him to lead us the way He wants to lead us.
SPEAKER_00: How many times have you heard people say, I'll never be good enough to go back in the church?
SPEAKER_00: That's a lie from hell.
SPEAKER_00: Stop it.
SPEAKER_00: You belong here.
SPEAKER_00: This is where you're supposed to be.
SPEAKER_00: We can work anything out in the kingdom of God, but this is where you're supposed to be.
SPEAKER_00: How many times have I heard people say, I can't show my face in there?
SPEAKER_00: How many times have I heard people say, my addiction's too great?
SPEAKER_00: Pastor, I'm not coming until I get it right.
SPEAKER_00: Quit it.
SPEAKER_00: You're never gonna get it right before you come in here.
SPEAKER_00: If it wasn't for the Holy Spirit, and if it wasn't for God's grace, love, and mercy, if it wasn't for the church of Jesus Christ, if it wasn't for my brothers and sisters in here, there's no way I would be where I am today.
SPEAKER_00: There's no way my kids would be where they are today.
SPEAKER_00: There's no way my marriage would be where it is today.
SPEAKER_00: And listen, man, it's so rocky.
SPEAKER_00: At times, it's not easy, it's not easy.
SPEAKER_00: But you have to choose.
SPEAKER_00: You have to choose.
SPEAKER_00: Are you going to let the pastor define everything else that he wants to do for you?
SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna have the awkward conversation where Jesus says, God, here I am.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00: Restore me, help me, lead me, bring accountability, bring what you need, do what you want.
SPEAKER_00: God, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_00: If I need to go to marriage counseling, I will.
SPEAKER_00: If I need to sit with my family, I will.
SPEAKER_00: If I need to, if I need to talk to somebody in the church, I will.
SPEAKER_00: If I need to, if I need to confront some things, I will.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever I need to do, God, let me keep my eyes on you and not on the storm, because the storm only brings destruction.
SPEAKER_00: And I begin to sink them.
SPEAKER_00: God, do what you want.
SPEAKER_00: Full surrender.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not fighting it anymore, God.
SPEAKER_00: The more I fight it, the more I hate myself.
SPEAKER_00: Full surrender.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter shows us the best of all.
SPEAKER_00: Peter shows us the best of all.
SPEAKER_00: That the promise of God is still good for me and for all those who are far off.
SPEAKER_00: Acts 2.39.
SPEAKER_00: For the promise is for those.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, Peter, when he said it.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, when he said it, when they asked him, Peter, what must we do to be saved?
SPEAKER_00: He said, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remissions of your sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise.
SPEAKER_00: For the promise.
SPEAKER_00: Peter knew about the promise because he was given the promise.
SPEAKER_00: He understood.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, Peter said, if I get the promise, I don't deserve the promise.
SPEAKER_00: But if I get the promise, everyone gets the promise.
SPEAKER_00: For the promise is for unto you and to your children, and all those are far off, as many as the Lord God shall call.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he said.
SPEAKER_00: It's for everybody.
SPEAKER_00: And if it's for everybody, let the kingdom of God have a say so.
SPEAKER_00: For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, no chains bound, for there is no condemnation for those that are found in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The old is gone, the new is come.
SPEAKER_00: Live with that kind of excitement in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And know that He loves you because He loves you, because He loves you.
SPEAKER_00: We pray with me this morning as these children come back in.
SPEAKER_00: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_00: We praise you.
SPEAKER_00: God, help us.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to be like Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see that our mistakes don't define us.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see that there are things that bring consequences, but you're in it if we keep our eyes on you.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see that even the worst of the worst, whatever that means, has still a purpose for you.
SPEAKER_00: For you love the world that you gave your only begotten son for them too.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, help me to love my enemies.
SPEAKER_00: Help me, God, to be the man you called me to be.
SPEAKER_00: Help me, God.
SPEAKER_00: Let that be the prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Help me, God.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray for our church.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for our people.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for everything.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Father, that every life in this room is dealing with.
SPEAKER_00: Medical diagnosis, God.
SPEAKER_00: Let them look at you and not the storm.
SPEAKER_00: Let them listen to you and not the doctor.
SPEAKER_00: God, I love doctors and I thank you for the medical field.
SPEAKER_00: But God, let us be in tune with your words.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Father, I pray, Lord, that we wouldn't be so busy looking at the bills that we forget you, God.
SPEAKER_00: I pray that we would look at you and know that you are the God over all things.
SPEAKER_00: That you make a way.
SPEAKER_00: God, there's times I don't know how it's going to happen or how it's going to work, but Lord, I know that if I keep my eyes on you, I'm not going to sink.
SPEAKER_00: But God, thank you that even when I do begin to sink, you're there.
SPEAKER_00: You're there.
SPEAKER_00: God, help us be what you called us to be.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to do what you've called us to do.
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray we can learn to forgive quickly, restore quicker.
SPEAKER_00: And God, I pray that we can make things right within our own lives so we can have peace with our brothers and sisters and peace with you.
SPEAKER_00: God, let it be for your kingdom and your kingdom alone.
SPEAKER_00: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_00: We glorify you.
SPEAKER_00: God, thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for loving somebody like me.
SPEAKER_00: I don't deserve it, but you did it.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the promise.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for never giving up on Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for it, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.