Meeting At The Table
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever made a big mistake?
I was watching a documentary awhile ago about blockbuster?
Anyone remember blockbuster? (nostalgic right)
But a lot of us know this they are not around anymore are they?
And the main reason is actually when blockbuster was at its peak, the guy who started Netflix came to the Blockbuster board and he pitched them this idea and how he would love to partner with them.
But by the end of his pitch the blockbuster board actually laughed him out of the room.
And not just that but years later in 2000 Netflix actually offered to sell their company to blockbuster for just 50 Million dollars (its now worth 143.9 Billion dollars).
and this mistake not the only reason they closed, but they kept responding poorly and continued to make mistakes
And now there is only one left in Bend Oregan.
But you know I remember watching this documentary and thinking how could they make a such big mistake and then respond so poorly.
Because the truth is whenever we make a mistake we have a responce to the mistake we make.
Because we all make mistakes
If you have been in the church a couple Sundays you would go oh year Pastor makes some big mistakes
But on a serius level, there are times where we mess up
It could be our kids are driving us crazy on a drive home and those words come out and we cannot take those back
It could be some sort of selfish act that harms someone else
It could be you know you have an addiction and you think its only one time
It could be just turning away from God when you know He is wanting you to turn to Him.
And Sometimes these things are small mistakes and other times these things are mistakes that can be life shattering.
And so what we are doing today is we are going to be looking those moments when we make mistakes, but not just that, but how do we respond when a mistake is made (and really specifically in our walk with God).
And so we are going to be in John 21:1-19 and are not going to read every single verse, but I want to give some context to this story because today one of the main people that this passage centers around is Peter.
Because the night before Jesus was going to be crucified on the cross Jesus told Peter that he was going to deny Him three times.
And Peters response was “no, Jesus… I would never do that!”
But sure enough as Jesus was going through the most emotional, and physical pain you could go through, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus 3 times.
And so now Jesus has Risen and he had appeared to Peter and the disciples, but Peter has not had a chance to talk with Jesus.
And so you can picture things in Peter just stiringing in his head, where hes going I have messed up, how do I make this right?
And so we are going to start in just the first few verses. It says this:
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
So Peter and a few of the disciples go out fishing and we do not know the exact reason.
It could have been they needed to make a living
It could be they were hungry
It could be Peter is thinking that Jesus first called him to follow Him when he was fishing so maybe he would find Him here again
But regardless they go out and are not having a great time fishing (in fact they have caught nothing).
But whats amazing here is Jesus comes into the story and not just that but He yells from shore to Peter (which I am not going to get to get into all the details but this almost reflects how Jesus first called Peter)
And this is what I want you to get, because this is a theme that we have seen the past few weeks (so I am sorry if you are getting tired of it) but read this out loud with me
“We can make mistakes, but God pursues”
Peter abandon Jesus in one of His most painful moments but Jesus is still pursuing him and not just that but he is still calling him the same way he did when Peter first started following Him.
And look at Peters response in verse 7 because Jesus actualy tells them to cast there net on the other side and they catch a ton of fish and it is at theat moment the recognize it is Jesus. And It says:
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
So Peter understands its Jesus and we see Peter actually stop what He is doing and leave all the fish He caught to swim to Jesus.
And this is a huge contrast because last time Jesus called him he actually said “away from me for I am a sinful man.”
But now He is going I need to get to Jesus as fast as I can!
And I want you to notice something here because Jesus pursues us regardless of the mistake, but then we have to decide how to respond.
Because when we make mistakes we can run away from God or we can pursue him further.
And really our hearts need to be where Peters is. where when we mess up we go to Jesus as fast as we can.
I mean think about if you have a kid. I would guess if you have a kid they are are occasionally not perfect.
a couple years ago I was getting ready and I heard a banging in the other room (knock on the pulpit)
And I thought thats weird, so I walk in and Liam has a plastic play bat and is sitting there hitting it on the TV over and over again watching it flash
And you could probably say I was a little upset right?
But you know what when your kids do something crazy a thought that never crosses your mind is “wow I wish they would run away”
Because your kid can mess up big time, but you are going to love them regardless.
And if thats how we act, how much more does God act that way towrds us.
Where we can mess up, but He wants us to turn back and not waste a second.
Look at the next couple verses (8-10). It says:
8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
So there are two pieces here, because the beautiful part of this is Jesus wants to have breakfast with them.
He did not just want to appear and then disappear, but He wanted to sit with them, He wanted to talk.
Because whats amazing is whenever you have a meal its a really relational thing.
And it was even more so in Biblical times.
because who you ate with were the people you were associated with.
And Jesus wants to know you but He wants to sit at the table with you and really be in a relationship with you.
And lets look at this last part of the passage jumping down to verses 15-18 it says this:
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
You know they finish this meal and Peter and Jesus have not talked about what Peter did yet.
And Jesus begins to address it because He ask Peter three times “Do you love me?”
And Peter says yes each time and he gets to the third and you can picture Peter just reminded of the three times he denied Jesus.
And He looks at Jesus heart broken and says Jesus you know all things, and that love you.
And Jesus’s response each time is if you love me than feed my sheep.
Basically if you love me follow me, which looks like feeding my sheep
How did Jesus feed Peter just now?
He had Him come to breakfast.
You know as we finish up I just realize that we live in a world we make mistakes, but also there are others who make mistakes towrds us.
And there are times where its healthy to seperate from that person.
But so often I think Jesus calls us too call out, and love of those people.
Really to even love on the people that we disagree with.
and to be in a relationship with them.
Because the love of Christ outflows towards the love of people.
And God has given us ways to love on the people around us.
And I want you to notice something because Jesus as he has them come to breakfast He ask them to bring the fish.
You know as Christ calls us He calls us to give the gifts he has given us.
Because truthfully those gift’s are not our are they?
I mean if the disciples looked at Jesus and said “no we just caught theses” These are ours!
But Jesus clearly provided it didn’t He?
And can I just say the talent, the gifts and even our time are all from God.
How could we withhold what God has given us when its from Him.
And youll notice Jesus tells Peter at the end, that Peter feeding sheep is going to be hard, infact Jesus tells Peter that He will die on a cross feeding His sheep
We are lucky enough where thats not a reality in our lives, but following Christ can be hard, bringing your gifts to feed His sheep can be hard
But it is so worth it.
And as we close maybe you recognize there are places where you have made mistakes
before anything can I just say where you are God is pursuing you, but you have a choice of are you going to run to Him
And not just that but whats it going to look like after you begin to follow?
Are you using what God has given you to feed His sheep?
Lets pray.
