WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:02.000 Well, good morning. 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:06.400 I'll apologize on the front end. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:10.880 I uh conveniently woke up with a sinus infection on Friday. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:15.359 Um I sound terrible and I feel kind of terrible. 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:17.359 Um, but it's gonna be good. 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:21.359 Um so let me pray for us real quick and then uh we'll dive in. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:35.920 God, um this morning we come uh and we remember that it is um your presence that makes church compelling. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:43.119 Uh it is not uh my ingenuity uh and a well-crafted talk. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.640 Um God, without your presence, um it's just words on a page. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.960 Um and it's just me standing up here and speaking. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:01:11.840 Um so, God, we ask that you would come and that you would um yeah, just lead us to see and savor more uh the greatness of Jesus and what it means to be saved by grace and to be free to live in that as we walk in relationship with you. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.159 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:15.120 Amen. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:25.840 So um as I was preparing for this week um in the passage I was looking at, um, I started thinking about relationships. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:34.239 You know, and I this might be because my wife's a counselor, and so relationships are a hot topic in our house a lot. 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:40.799 Um I have a lot to learn in relationships, I'm learning from being around a counselor a lot. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:48.879 Um But I started thinking about, I mean, take a second and think about all the different types of relationships in your life. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.760 You know, I started thinking about family. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:58.400 But even within family, there's all these, it's like a subset of all these different types of relationships. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:01:58.879 Right? 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:16.560 My relationship to my wife looks very different than a relationship to my mom or to my brother or to an aunt or an uncle, and then sort of thinking about different types of relationships with friends, and old friends and new friends, and acquaintances, and people that I wish weren't my friend, and that they probably wish I wasn't their friend. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:29.120 And sort of thinking about work, right, and colleagues and bosses and employees, and um just started kind of reflecting on all these different types of relationships in my life. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.280 And I was I was thinking about that. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:48.639 Um, I remembered a couple years ago, I was speaking to a couple of older gentlemen, some mentors of mine, and I was asking them, you know, as you look back at the last 20, 30, 40 years of your life, um, what has made the biggest impact on you as a person? 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.759 What has changed you or influenced you the most? 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:01.199 Um and the common threat in all of their answers was relationships, was people they knew, people they'd come to know over the years. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:12.960 And we can all think about people that have stepped into our lives, whether for a short season or for decades, and think about the dramatic impact that they've had on us as a person, right? 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.080 I'm not the only person, probably, in here that's had that experience. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:21.199 I think we've all had those people, we've probably got people in our minds, you know, right now. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:29.520 But as I was thinking about, you know, the power uh that relationships have to impact and influence our lives. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:35.199 You know, it's kind of like the old saying, every rose has its thorn. 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:48.960 And that the same ability they have to make a powerful and profound influence on our lives is the same ability to lead us into more insecurity and doubt and anxiety than anything else in our lives. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:50.479 Right? 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:56.879 Because anytime we step into a relationship with someone we look up to, someone we admire, right? 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:58.960 This happens every time we get a new boss. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.759 This happens every time we go on a first date. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:06.639 This happens every time we step into a new relationship when we really want someone to like us. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:07.439 Right? 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:16.319 If you're anything like me, you're all you're just running through your head all the reasons they shouldn't be liking you, all the dumb things you're saying, every time you put your foot in your mouth. 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:16.800 Right? 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:25.040 And we sort of can almost begin to put up a veneer, you know, or a mask of how we want people to see us. 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:38.720 We kind of put up a false front of ourselves, becoming a little bit afraid that if people saw the real us, if they saw all my mess that I wrestle with, they probably wouldn't want to be my friend. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:45.439 They probably wouldn't want to step into a deep, meaningful, intimate relationship with me. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:52.959 You know, and I think if you're anything like me, if you're not careful, this can kind of bleed into your relationship with God too. 00:04:54.079 --> 00:05:01.040 Um I can, because you know, I say things I shouldn't say, I do things I shouldn't do. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:09.759 And I can begin to kind of wonder, you know, and I know that God loves me, and but I I don't know if He would love me in this moment. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:16.319 You know, and I can see just an insecurity well up inside of myself, right? 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.360 I'm almost afraid to talk to God. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:19.759 Right? 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.439 I don't want to be real with God about all that mess. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:31.519 And that insecurity can kind of lead us into this, I guess, cycle of trying to prove ourselves back to God, right? 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:43.120 If if I just read my Bible enough, if my quiet time's long enough, if I pray enough, if I go to church enough, if I give enough, if I share with people enough, well, then I'm secure with God, right? 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:49.920 And it becomes this never-ending cycle of always trying to prove ourselves back to God. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:01.920 And so this morning, uh, I want to take a look at Luke 5, and I want to take a look at how this is a story of when Jesus interacts with Peter and some of the first disciples. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:13.040 And what I want to look and see is what defines Jesus' relationship as he steps into relationship with Peter. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.680 What gives security to that relationship? 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:24.959 And then from that, right, how do we understand and know what it means for us to be in a secure relationship with God? 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:31.519 And so Luke 5, we'll look at verses 1 through 11. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:45.120 It says, one day, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennassaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:50.879 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.759 Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:59.600 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:07.680 Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything, but because you say so, I'll let down the nets. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:13.120 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:20.079 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:27.120 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord, I'm a sinful man. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.920 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:36.480 And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:42.319 Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid, from now on you will catch men. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:47.439 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:08:07.680 Now, one of the first things I think we see that happens with Peter is he kind of has this initial encounter with Jesus, is that Peter comes to a recognition of his own helplessness, his inability to prove himself back to God. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.240 Now we see this in verse 8. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:17.439 After Jesus has told them to toss their nets over the side and they have this great miraculous catch, right? 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:22.160 This would, I mean, think this is a pretty big economic, financial windfall for Peter, right? 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.199 It's probably a bigger catch than he's ever had in his life. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.000 But Peter's response is kind of odd. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:33.759 He's not jumping up and down, he's not, man, look at how God's providing for us, look at what Jesus is. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:39.759 No, he's falling at Jesus' feet saying, get away from me, Lord. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:41.679 I'm a sinful man. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.639 Now, why is he doing this? 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:52.879 That's an odd response after you've had this miraculous provision from Jesus to fall at his feet saying, get away from me. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:54.559 Why does he do this? 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:56.399 Well, I want to read a quote. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:07.519 There's a British novelist and apologist named Francis Spufford, who came out with a book last fall called Unapologetic, and in it I ran across this quote. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:15.200 Spufford says, If you won't hear the bad news about yourself, you can't know yourself. 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:29.120 You can condemn yourself to the maintenance of an exhausting illusion, a false front to yourself, which keeps out doubt, but with it hope, change, nourishment, breath, life. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:37.600 If you won't hear the bad news, you can't begin to hear the good news about yourself either, and you'll do harm. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:47.440 You'll be pumped up with the false confidence of virtue, and you'll think it gives you a license, but a large share of all the cruelties in the world will follow. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:10:16.960 For evil done knowingly is rather rare compared to the evil done by people who are quite sure that they themselves are good, and that evil is hatefully concentrated in some other person, some other person who makes your flesh creep because they have become exactly as unbearable, as creepy, as disgusting as you fear the mess would be beneath your own mask of virtue, if you ever dared to actually look at it. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:38.240 And so I think the point that Spufford is making is that we can be aware of the mess within ourselves, our brokenness, and what we do is we begin to put up this false mask and say, well, what I I'm not that bad. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:40.720 Those are the bad people, right? 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:46.240 We begin to separate ourselves and distance ourselves from our own sin. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:11:00.320 But what I think we see from Peter right here, and the reason that he's falling at Jesus' feet, is because as Peter steps into the presence of God, that mask fades away. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:20.399 You know, you can keep up a pretense and a kind of false self in front of other people, but when a finite, limited, sinful person steps into the present of presence of an infinite, holy God, all of a sudden those masks begin to fade. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.480 And Peter comes face to face with his own insufficiency before God. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:32.720 And so he falls before Jesus' feet saying, Lord, get away from me. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:35.759 I don't deserve to be in your presence. 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:51.039 But the interesting thing is we see from Jesus' response that this experience is not meant to make Peter feel guilty or to induce fear or condemnation on Peter. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:51.440 No. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:55.919 Rather, it's actually meant to be liberating and a freeing reality. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:07.440 We see this, um, we come to our second point, and that's that our relationship with Jesus is not defined by us being perfect. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.799 Rather, it's defined by Jesus offering us an opportunity to participate. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:19.200 So it's not about us being perfect, it's an opportunity for us to participate with Jesus. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:30.000 Now, if you're like me, um, growing up, and probably over the course of the past couple years, I've heard this, you know, this story, Jesus calling of the first disciples. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:33.039 I've probably heard it preached three, four, or five different times. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.679 And every time it went something like this. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.480 They'd pick up right around verse four. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.919 You know, when he'd finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:53.840 So Simon, you know, against all odds, he's been fishing all night and hasn't had any luck, but he says, Master, we've worked hard, haven't caught anything, but because you say so, I'll let down the nets. 00:12:54.080 --> 00:13:01.039 And they do so, and they have this big, miraculous catch of fish, and Jesus says, Come and follow me. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.919 And the sermon would go something like this. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:19.919 Now think about in your life, what area is Jesus calling you to step out on faith, right, and to toss your nets over, and you'll reap a great reward, a big catch of fish. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:29.440 If you just have just enough faith, if you'll take that first step of faith, if you'll take that first step of obedience, then look what Jesus will do for you to be like Peter. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:35.600 The problem with that is that's not actually how Peter responds. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:38.879 Peter's not actually concerned with that big catch of fish. 00:13:39.360 --> 00:14:02.320 And what we see, if you're anything like me, I would leave those sermons thinking, if I just had a little bit more faith, if I was just a little bit more obedient, if I just stepped out a little bit further, then like God would fix this relationship, or God would heal this hurt, or God would get me this job. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.720 And what happens when I would do that and it didn't happen? 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.399 Well, clearly the answer is I didn't have enough faith. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.159 Or I wasn't obedient enough, I didn't step out far enough. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:17.840 And so the cycle continues. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:25.840 And every time something's not going my way in life, the answer is, well, I just don't have enough faith. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.320 Or I'm just not obedient enough. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:33.919 And this becomes this endless cycle of trying to prove myself to Jesus, right? 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:39.919 Well, if I just had a little bit more faith, then I'd be having that big catch in my life too. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.559 For I was just a little bit more obedient. 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.080 And the the guilt and the condemnation. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:15:01.679 The other problem I see with it is that if we understand the context of Jesus and the people he's speaking to, the crowd would not have been sitting there thinking, oh, look at Peter. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:03.519 Wow, that's impressive. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:04.159 Look at that. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.399 That willingness to step out on faith. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:14.639 No, they would have been impressed or surprised by Jesus, but not actually by the provision of the fish. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:23.120 So let me take a moment and brief um history of Judaism slash Jewish education system. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:39.919 So, unlike our culture, where you know religion is kind of a sidebar item in mainstream culture, um, rabbis, or preachers, if you will, were kind of at the center of life in the Jewish faith. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:44.080 Everything revolved around their faith, their religion. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.840 I mean, read the Old Testament, right? 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:48.559 This whole book about how we live life with God. 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.039 And the the rabbis were at the center of this. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:58.720 And so not only were they were they teachers, but they were also the center of the social structure, if you will. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:02.240 They were looked up to, they were leaders in their community. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:09.440 And so every young boy growing up is wanting to be like a rabbi, right? 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:17.120 They want to be these revered people in their community that are looked up to and admired by everyone in the society. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:34.159 And so what happens is at about the age of five, scholars believe that both um Jewish boys and girls would go into elementary school, if you will, and from about ages of five to ten, they would be learning from the first five books of our Old Testament. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.200 So Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:46.080 And believe that by about the age of ten, most children had actually memorized these first five books of the Bible, if you will, the Torah. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:46.960 Now think about that. 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:52.240 By the age of ten, you've memorized the first five books of our Old Testament. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:17:10.880 Then what would happen is most of the girls would go back and be with their families, and the boys would begin middle school, if you will, and they're beginning to learn the rest of what is our Old Testament, and they would also begin to learn a trade or an apprenticeship, right? 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:18.000 So that might be a family business, or it might be with another person in your community, but you begin to develop a trade. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:26.079 And by about the age of 13, these boys are typically leaving school and going back and beginning a trade, beginning to work. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:37.599 But a very select, a very elite few, the smartest of the smartest, the brightest of the brightest, the most hardworking, would go and approach a rabbi. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:42.720 A rabbi that they looked up to, that they revered, that they admired, that they wanted to emulate and be like. 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:48.000 And they would go and ask if they could be their disciple, if they could follow them. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.119 Right? 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:53.519 And I mean, think like this is you're trying to apply to Harvard, right? 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:58.559 And you're going and you're putting your best feds, you're trying to show all the reasons why you deserve to be there. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:04.319 These boys were going and showing all the reasons why they deserve to be able to follow this rabbi. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:16.880 And so the smartest of the smartest, right, the most talented, the most gifted, and would then go on and follow these men, these rabbis, and learn and eventually become a rabbi themselves. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:31.599 Now, with that context, knowing that, the thing that is so striking in this story is that you've got Jesus, this up-and-coming, very popular rabbi with the crowds following him. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:34.880 And he's coming to these fishermen. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:44.160 Now, think, they are fishermen because they weren't smart enough, talented enough, gifted enough to be a disciple of a rabbi. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:49.759 And Jesus is coming to them and saying, follow me. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:52.799 Now that is not what you did in Jewish culture. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:57.200 A rabbi did not go to a student saying, Why don't you come and follow me? 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.799 You know, Harvard does not show up at your doorstep and ask you to come. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:09.359 You go and you try and knock down the door to get in and prove why you're worthy, why they should be accepting you. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:16.720 And the thing that would have struck this crowd so much was not the faith of Peter or his willingness to throw his nets over the side. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:27.599 What would have struck them was that Jesus was coming to a bunch of guys that didn't deserve or not worthy to be disciples? 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:33.440 He's not asking them, show me all the reasons why I should come and accept you. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:44.400 He just comes and says, Follow me. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:55.440 Now, why can Jesus accept these disciples without them ever having proved their worthiness to follow him? 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:12.000 Well, it's because, you know, we read in verses like 2 Corinthians 5.21, where it says, For he who knew no sin, being Jesus, became sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:19.680 For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:20.079 Right? 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:29.759 And the Bible teaches that not only does our sin become placed on Jesus, but then his righteousness is also given to us. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:30.160 Right? 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.599 That's how we can stand before God in confidence. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:34.480 Right? 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:42.960 Because it's not just that our guilt has been removed, but it's now that Jesus' righteousness has been placed onto us. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:49.440 And so, knowing this, it would make no sense for Jesus to come to those disciples. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:55.200 It would make no sense for Jesus to come to you or to me asking or demanding that we be perfect. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.599 Jesus is saying, no, my work is sufficient. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:14.880 Your righteousness is secured not by you being worthy enough or working hard enough or proving yourself to me, it's by grace through faith that we receive the righteousness required to be a follower and be a disciple of Jesus. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:20.880 And we see in Jesus' response, he says, Don't be afraid. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:23.279 From now on you will catch men. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:33.440 You see, Peter, as his mask has been taken away as a sinful, broken man, stands in the presence of a holy and perfect and infinite God. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:35.920 He's drawn to despair, right? 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:38.960 He knows how much he doesn't deserve to be here. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:44.799 But rather than being plagued by fear or guilt or doubt, Jesus says, Don't be afraid. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:47.599 And he doesn't say, Don't be afraid. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:53.200 And the reason you shouldn't be afraid is because I'm going to give you the list of all the stuff you need to do now to be accepted by me. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.759 He says, Don't be afraid. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.480 From now on, you'll catch men. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.599 And when 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:11.039 What Jesus is showing is that he's not asking Peter to be perfect, but he's offering Peter an opportunity to participate with him, to walk with him, to be in relationship with him. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:23.519 And you know, this is so much of what Bill was talking about last week, and how we participate with Christ in bringing redemption and reconciliation to a broken world. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:32.880 And for whatever reason, you know, God could change the world a lot of ways, but for whatever reason, he's chosen to use people to do that. 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:40.160 And so he offers us this opportunity to participate and to walk with him in the work that he's here to do. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:49.440 You know, and the third thing we see is that this relationship is defined by intimacy rather than intimidation. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:56.319 Or to put it another way, it's defined by fellowship rather than fear. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:00.160 And to look at this, I actually want to turn to John 21. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:04.480 So you can turn there if not, I'm just gonna give a brief snapshot. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.640 But real quick, to give you a quick preview. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:14.559 So John 21, Peter and these disciples are gonna have an encounter with a resurrected Jesus. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:15.519 Okay? 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:19.599 So Luke 5, very beginning of relationship with Jesus. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:26.480 John 21, we're looking back, we're seeing it interaction with a resurrected Jesus. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:34.079 But real quick, think about everything that has happened in Peter's life between these bookends. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:41.279 You've got to think in Luke 5, Peter's an unassuming fisherman, just out doing his job. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.480 He has this interaction with Jesus. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:52.079 And for the next three years, he's gonna be in the closest of relationships with Jesus. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:24:01.599 So much so that we learn that Peter, along with James and John, are kind of in this inner circle of disciples that are the closest to Jesus. 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.799 Now think about everything that he sees during that time. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:12.000 He sees 5,000 people be fed with a couple pieces of bread and a few fish. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:19.440 He sees blind people see, deaf people hear, lame people walk, people raised from the dead. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:23.279 It's a pretty powerful experience of walking with God, right? 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:25.920 It's about as powerful as it gets. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:29.119 I mean, think everything he's experienced. 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:34.640 And now think as we get to, we come to John 13, right? 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:36.400 We're at the Last Supper. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:42.319 And Jesus shares that someone at this table is going to betray me. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:47.359 And Peter and John kind of have this discourse, they're trying to figure out who it is. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:54.319 And Peter says this He says, I would lay down my life for you to Jesus. 00:24:54.559 --> 00:24:56.720 He says, I would never desert you. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:57.119 Right? 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:58.160 I would never betray you. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:00.160 I'd lay down my life for you. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:03.839 And Jesus looks at him and says, Really? 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:08.559 By the time the rooster crows, you'll have denied me three times. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:15.839 And in the hour when his friend needed him most, right, Peter's nowhere to be found. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:18.559 He denies ever having known Jesus. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:24.960 And then he watches as his friend Jesus is crucified on a cross. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:27.119 I'm put in a grave. 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:38.559 I mean, I've hurt friends before, but I don't think I've ever experienced maybe that amount of probably guilt or shame. 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:44.480 To think in the moment when Jesus needed him most, he never even knew him. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.559 And then to watch him die the kind of death that he died. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.279 I mean, can you imagine what Peter's feeling? 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.240 And then we step into John 21. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:02.960 And we pick up, we've got Peter, along with some of the other disciples, are fishing. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:11.119 Verse 4, we read, early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.000 He called out to them, Friends, haven't you any fish? 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:15.440 No, they answered. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.799 He said, Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you'll find some. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:22.000 Does this sound very familiar to Luke 5? 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:27.039 When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:32.480 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved, it's John, said to Peter, It's the Lord. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:38.480 As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, It's the Lord, wrapped his outer garment around him, jumped into the water. 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:42.880 The other disciples followed in, bringing in the fish. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:48.079 It says, When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals, there was fish on it, and some bread. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:51.200 Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish you've caught. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:59.200 Simon Peter climbs aboard, drags them out ashore, and Jesus says to them, Come and have breakfast. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.640 Now none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:05.440 For they knew it was the Lord. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:25.920 Now think, with all the guilt, with all the shame, and with all the doubt that Peter's feeling about himself, all of a sudden he recognizes Jesus is on the shore. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:34.480 Overcome with emotion, he dives in, kind of typical Peter action, not really thinking, kind of overzealous, dives in, races to the shore. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:38.480 And can you anticipate what he would have been expecting Jesus to say? 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:42.880 Man, Peter, what happened back there? 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.359 That lay your life down for me part. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:46.720 What happened? 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:51.279 Or Jesus, please just take me back. 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.279 Jesus, I really didn't mean it. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:56.960 We don't see anything like this happen. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:01.599 We don't see Jesus making Peter feel guilty. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:04.960 We don't see Jesus condemning Peter. 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:10.079 We don't tell him, well, that was your one chance and you blew it. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:14.079 Or, well, if you want to follow me, you're gonna have to get it together from here on out. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.559 That's not what we see at all. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:21.279 We see Jesus saying, come, have some breakfast. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:27.519 Jesus doesn't even bring up all of this. 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:33.440 He invites Peter to come and have some breakfast. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:41.920 You know, I kind of like to think that when I mess up and when I'm feeling insecure, Jesus is just telling me to come and have some breakfast. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:49.599 You know, I'm a big Waffle House fan, a couple nice waffles, sit down with a cup of coffee and have breakfast with Jesus. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:29:15.440 But you know, the interesting thing is, in this relationship defined by intimacy, defined by fellowship, defined by nearness to Jesus, as I was looking and thinking about this, um, I realized that the uh the Greek word that we translate in our Bibles as intimacy or fellowship is a word called koinonia. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:26.240 And it communicates this idea of intimacy and fellowship, but it's also the word uh that our Bible uses to express the idea of communion. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:33.440 And so as I started thinking, okay, there's got to be like some cool sermon connection in all this, right? 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:37.440 Um so I was thinking, I looked up, what does it mean to commune? 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:39.119 What does it mean? 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:44.079 Because it's kind of like one of those church words you hear a lot, but you're like, I don't actually, maybe I'm not sure even what that means. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:54.720 Um I looked it up, commune means this: to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity or intimacy. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:30:02.559 Or, another definition would be to be in intimate communication or rapport with someone. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:19.680 And I started thinking about what does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus that is defined by this fellowship, by this communion, by this intense intimacy. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:21.920 Right? 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:30.640 To know that when we step into a relationship with Jesus, we're not stepping into it based on our merit. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:38.160 We're not stepping into it because we're good enough or smart enough or talented enough or gifted enough. 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:41.519 No, Jesus is stepping into us. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:55.680 He's offering us an opportunity to experience intense intimacy as we participate with him in the work that he's come to the world to do, right? 00:30:55.759 --> 00:31:05.200 To bring redemption, reconciliation, and new life, to breathe new life into old, broken, messy people. 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:11.599 And so when we take communion, right, that that's what we're celebrating. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:26.960 That we have a relationship with Jesus defined by an intense intimacy that has been secured by Him, not by any work or merit of our own, but by grace through faith, we freely receive it. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:43.920 And we come and celebrate that no matter how you feel about your relationship with God today, through Christ, you have an intimate, intensely intimate relationship with Him. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.839 Let's pray. 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:59.920 God, um thank you so much that in the midst of all of my mess and my sin and my helplessness, that I am not hopeless. 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:24.960 God, that um you have secured a way to know yourself and to experience intimacy, communion, fellowship, relationship with you that is not based on me having it all together, is not based on me getting all my stuff right before I can come to you. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:37.119 But God, like Peter, I can be intensely honest about how I come up short and how I can't fix it all. 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:47.920 And that you step into that place and offer me fellowship and invite me to come and have breakfast and enjoy a relationship with you. 00:32:48.160 --> 00:32:58.880 So, God, as we take communion this morning, um, pray that you just make that reality new and fresh to us, that we're able to experience that kind of relationship with you. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.559 So we love you and we thank you, Jesus. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:01.920 In your name we pray. 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:02.880 Amen.