Leaving Your Past Behind

city watch report…

Well, last week we started a new series, / /Life After the Cross: lessons to learn between easter & pentecost.

And last week we looked at the law of Moses vs. Christ’s fulfillment of it through going to the cross. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, / /“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose!”

And I can imagine the disciples might have wondered, so, are we done with the law? Do we walk away from it?

Well, yes and no. That’s my answer to that question. But with reason!

Paul said in Romans 8:1-4, and this is almost a perfect summary of last week’s message. / /So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. [ESV - For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.]

vs 3, The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. [ESV - he condemned sin in the flesh.]

vs 4, He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

So, two super important things here.

First, we talked about this last week. Kind of like God plays to His own cheat code, right? You remember, I made that horrible SpaceJam reference???… If you weren’t here, go back, watch the sermon, it’s wonderful. But Hebrews 10:5 says, / /That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you gave me a body to offer...”

We looked at that extensively in one of our last series, the fact that God desires obedience more than sacrifice, that it wasn’t sacrifice he ever wanted in the first place. But why does it say, / /“You gave me a body to offer...” ? That’s the cheat code. Jesus is God. He is uncreated, outside of time and space, which is something very difficult for humanity to understand. I was talking to my buddy Pastor John-Michael, who leads Village Church in town here and he’s doing a series right now called Big Bang vs. Big God. And he had been doing some reading on an atheists perspective of the big bang theory, and said that this person was asked, “Can science and faith co-exist”, and he said, “No. Because for those who have faith, they believe in a God. I do not.” And goes on to say, and completely unexplainable, that all of this starts with something. The theories are maybe a heat source builds up and builds up to a point of pushing out some molecule that starts things. Or two tiny particles hit each other and create something. Either way, humanity, nature, science, is ONLY able to re-create, or take what has already been created, to fashion something new. ONLY God can take nothingness and make something.

And that is what God did in the creation of the world, and that is what God did when Jesus came to earth. Procreation requires a male and a female, right? We all know our basic biology here. Unless God steps in. The Angel tells Mary, The Holy Spirit will overshadow you! … What does Genesis say at the moment of creation, And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. Mary says, “But how can it be...” And the Angel says, “Nothing is impossible with God...”

And that is Jesus. He is God. Before there was anything that we consider time and space, God existed. Eternity is a hard concept to handle because we are so ruled by the concept and reality of time, aren’t we? So much of what and who we are is governed by time.

So, Jesus, who is God, who has always existed, outside of time and space, steps INTO time and space by taking on a body of flesh through the miracle of a virgin birth. This is why He says that GOD gave him a body to offer. This was not a body made by man, but by God. But, why? / /Why did Jesus need a body to offer?

Is it because God needs a sacrifice? I don’t think so. Scripture seems to say pretty clearly he doesn’t and didn’t want that.

Is it because God needs something or someone to punish for wrong doing, for sin? That doesn’t sound like the loving nature of God expressed through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, does it?

Is it because God is angry and wants to destroy sin by destroying humanity, but Jesus steps in and says, “No Father, don’t kill them...” ? I don’t really see that as the nature of God either.

Here’s what happened in my understanding of Scriptures. God explained to Adam & Eve when he put them in the garden. “This tree over here, the tree of life....self explanatory. This tree over here, Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil - it will cause death if you eat it.”

They eat from it anyway. A friend of ours posted on Facebook this week, “When you get to heaven, who are two people you would want to talk to?” And I posted, “Adam & Eve, and I have just one word.... Really?”

But if you remember the story in Genesis, Adam & Eve eat the wrong tree, causing sin and death to be introduced to humanity and so to protect us God has to remove the option of eternal life from the table so that we do not live for all time with our sin. Because in that act sin was taken into flesh, causing death of the flesh, right, Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death…

So, to fix this, Jesus takes all of the sin, the entire wage of our actions, the consequences for humanity because of sin - he takes all of that onto his own human body, the one that Hebrews says “God gave him to offer”, and if the wage of sin is death, then death it will get. And he gives himself over to the cross where the wages of the sins of humanity are nailed and destroyed.

So, back to the question, what does that mean, / /if the wage of sin is destroyed, do we no longer have to follow the law? Is the law now done away with to the point that sin isn’t even an issue anymore, and whatever we choose to do - it’s all good?

Paul was dealing with some people who had that kind of mentality, but this is what he says to them. Romans 6:1-2, / /Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Romans 8:3-4 (ESV), / /By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [NLT - He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.]

Galatians 5:1, / /So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

This is why Jesus gave a new commandment in John 13:34-35, / /“…Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Listen to this. It’s not that the option of sin has been removed. And it’s not that the need to distinguish between right and wrong has been removed. What has been removed is the wage of those choices, the consequence of those actions, provided we follow the way of Jesus Christ.

And I’m not going to get into eternal destiny or destination at the moment here. I would suggest that if you have faith in Jesus Christ, if you believe and confess that He is your Savior, then you have received eternal life. However, I also know that there are a world of christians and non-christians, followers of Jesus and those who choose not to, that have the effect of sin very present in their lives. Our actions produce results whether we like it or not.

Right? How I choose to treat my wife will determine whether our relationship flourishes or hits rough patches. Life or Death. Am I going to heaven when I died, 100%. But does sin still mess up my life sometimes? 100%

So, the greatest commandment from the old testament, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul & mind, and love your neighbor as yourself, and then Jesus adds, love AS I HAVE loved you.

That changes everything - If you learn to allow God to love you. Allow the Love of Jesus, expressed through his life, ministry, death, resurrection, and gift of the Holy Spirit to truly impact you and transform you, and you learn to love out of that what will happen?

By the very nature of following these things you will fulfill all that is required of you in the law and the prophets! Essentially saying, you don’t need the law if you learn to love like Jesus loves you! Because contained in the love of Jesus is loving Him in return and following Him. This is why Paul says we … no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Following our sinful nature, or Paul sometimes calls it “the flesh” is always an option, but we CHOOSE to follow the Spirit - how? Jesus said if you want to follow you need to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow…

Galatians 5:16-18, / /So, I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

The choice today is the same as it was 5000 years ago, 2000 years ago… follow the way of God by being connected to Him, and in so doing you will do what is right and live a good life because of that, or dismiss what God has said and his leading, do your own thing, and you will find yourself tripping on the path you don’t want to be on.

So, law vs fulfillment. It all comes down to following the Spirit of God who was the gift of Jesus & the Father. That’s what we’re in during this series, that time and space between and in the transition of following the law to the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit. And you have to learn these things if you are going to live free from the law and free to truly follow the Spirit of God.

Today I want to read from a story of one of the disciples, shortly after Jesus is resurrected, Jesus has an encounter with Peter that brings us to our next MUST HAVE to life after the cross.

We’re going to read from John 21, it starts with story that gives some context to the situation and then gets into an encounter between Jesus and Peter specifically.

Starting in vs 1, / /Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there - Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

Then he said. “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them - fish cooked over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Alright, so we can pause there for a second. This is the backdrop to the story. And this is just the third time Jesus has been with the disciples since he was resurrected. So this is all new still. I encourage you, take moments, take time to think about and to the best of your ability, put yourself in the position of these disciples of Jesus.

I was watching a video the other day, it was a conversation between an atheist and a follower of Jesus and the atheist asked the question, "How do we know they didn’t just make all of this up?”

That’s a very reasonable question to ask, in fact, the people of the day were worried that this is exactly what would happen. Matthew 27:62-65 says, / /The next day, on the Sabbath [so this is after Jesus is crucified and placed in the crave], the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”

My assumption is that “the best you can” was pretty darn good because they were pretty worried this might happen.

But what really convinces me that these disciples were not making this story up is that before Jesus died he told them very plainly that they would be persecuted for following him. And they just saw what happened to Jesus.

Listen, if you know what these guys are about to go through, and the many of them that were brutally murdered for their preaching that Jesus was actually raised from the dead and he’s alive - it makes it much harder to think they made it up. Peter was hung on a cross upside down!

And in this video I was watching the other person in the conversation made this point. You can look at psychology, you can study human behavior, and although many are willing to die for what they believe to be true, even if it is a lie, as long as they believe it to be truth, they may be willing to die for it, even endure severe torture like some of these disciples did. BUT, no one in their right mind, let alone as many people as were here at this time, are willing to die for a manufactured lie. What hope would they have?

Jesus gave no indication of any sort of reward if they pulled it off and made a religion that doesn’t exist.

Jesus didn’t say they would die and go to heaven where they would be the most praised people ever if they could just convince people of a lie.

Jesus didn’t promise eternal life based on selling a manufactured truth.

Jesus told them outright, they would suffer, be persecuted, and some would die.

So what benefit do you have?

Why would you do this? Why tell a lie that you know will get you killed if there is no benefit to you in any way shape or form. This didn’t get them rich before they died, it didn’t get them prestige or praise of any kind while they were living. And to the point the man in this video was making, people just simply do not die for a lie. It doesn’t happen. Not if they know it’s a lie. At some point they will crack.

Acts 14:19-20 says, / /They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

No, “Wow, that was close....ok, the ruse is up. I’m done. I can’t do this any longer. Sorry guys, this just isn’t working...”

NO, the very next verse… / /Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

They go BACK to the cities they have already been in to encourage them to hold strong to the truth, even in the face of great persecution.

Who does that?

You have to be so convinced of something to go this far.

And remember Paul’s story. Before this he was going around arresting, beating and even killing Christians for their faith, And then in a dramatic turn of events he encounters the risen Jesus as he’s traveling to a city to arrest more christians. The encounter with the risen Jesus changes everything, and this is why Paul is so courageous. I think, because he did it so wrong, and still experienced the forgiveness and light of Christ, because Jesus walked him through his wrongs, he went on to be one of the greatest apostles of the early church.

Now for the focus of our morning, another of the greatest apostles, Peter.

Peter did it wrong too. In fact, talk about not being willing to go all the way for a cause. I think Peter gets the prize. Now, I said last week, that Matthew 26:56 says that all the disciples deserted Jesus and fled when he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. Just like Jesus had said they would.

But Peter wasn’t quite done with his betrayal. Even though Peter had said there was no way that he would ever desert him, even if everyone else did, he never would, Jesus tells him, “Actually, you will, and it will be three times before you even hear the rooster crow.”

Let’s read the betrayal first and then we’ll read the redemption that is a lesson we need to learn between Easter & Pentecost.

So, Jesus has been arrested, taken from the disciples, and Peter has kept at a distance, but followed to see what would happen. Matthew 26:69-75, / /Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”

But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

Again, Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.

A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”

Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying - I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.

Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.

Oh man, This is so heartbreaking. When I read the gospels I get the sense that Peter is fiercely loyal, loves Jesus unbelievably, is dedicated to the cause, and if the portrayal of him in the TV show, the chosen, is accurate, maybe a bit of a hot head, sure, but just beside Jesus all the way. He’s the one Jesus says, You will be called Peter, which means rock, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. That’s a big statement, lots to get in to there, but just seeing it as how Jesus himself saw Peter.

So for this to happen, after saying, “There’s no way I would ever betray you...”

I want to ask you a question this morning. And maybe this is just my experience in life. But have you ever done something that you just absolutely regret? Something that makes you want to crawl under a rock for a while. Maybe you said something to someone you shouldn’t have, or you did something you shouldn’t have. Maybe it’s small, a lie, but you are like, “how do I come back from that one.” Maybe it’s big, infidelity, adultery, addiction that you are hiding and you are afraid to be found out?

And even in the presence of Jesus you still doubt his forgiveness. Or you still struggle with the regret. Can’t seem to shake it. And whether it’s right or wrong, it feels like no one would understand, not even God. I’ve had those moments. Where I’m sitting in my shame and regret, and wondering to myself, “Is this even something God wants me to talk to him about? I need to learn to deal with this on my own. I got myself here, I gotta get myself out. I can’t go to God with this guilt, shame, hurt, pain, sin, whatever...”

I think some of you are still carrying the weight of things from your past that you just simply have not been able to let go of, and you are so used to carrying it, that you simply have learned to live with it.

Know anybody that has dealt with chronic pain for a long time? They seem to manage it so well you barely even notice they’re in pain. It’s not until they’re home alone, or sitting in their chair, or lying in their bed that the weight of their entire day falls on them and they wince in pain or discomfort. They feel the effect and burden of just trying to hold it all together.

You want to know the worst part about any of that. Whether it is sin, or pain, hurt or rejection, something you’ve done or something that’s been done to you… we think we need to hide it rather than expose it.

Why do we fear exposure? Because we think that it will write us off, rather than give God permission to rewrite our story.

And this is where we come to Peter’s redemption. Continuing the passage of scripture from the book of John. Peter, even though he’s encountered Jesus 2 times by this point, doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. Still carrying the guilt of his betrayal. I can only imagine in those first two encounters, all that’s going through his head is, “I need to say I’m sorry...” but it’s been too busy, he can’t get alone with Jesus, everyone wants to be around him. Everyone is touching his body and close to him. And everyone is happy. I mean, I’m happy too, but I have this nagging in me that won’t go away....and every time I hear a rooster crow it reminds me of my failure.

What’s worse is that in the account written by Luke it says in Luke 22:60-62, And immediately, while [Peter] was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

See, not only was Peter dealing with his own regret, and every time he hears a rooster he’s haunted, but I would imagine that look in Jesus eyes.. the rooster crows, and Jesus looks at him, I can only imagine the thought in Peter’s head is hearing Jesus say, “You did, didn’t you?” Jesus, betrayed, arrested and dragged into this courtyard, hears the rooster and turns and locks eyes with Peter...

No wonder scripture says, And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly. And carrying this regret for days...

Now, here is the real problem with regret. It does two things that absolutely cripple us.

/ /Regret holds us in the past.

Regret doesn’t allow us to embrace the future.

That might seem like two of the same thing. But they aren’t. Especially in walking them out. You can be free from the past without embracing the future. And you can be unaware that the past is holding you back from things simply because you don’t see how it could possibly be doing that. Living blissfully unaware because we’ve become masters of suppression.

So many people think that the things from their past are simply that. In their past. As the great philosopher Pumba says in The Lion King, “You gotta put your behind in your past...”

What people fail to realize is that the impact those things have on us doesn’t stay in our past, but impacts us right here in the now. This is the case with regret, with forgiveness, or unwillingness to forgive, sin, shame, hurt, pain. It’s all the same. Left undealt with these things continue to rob and steal from our lives.

Ok, I’m going to expose one of the single greatest lies you’ve been told.

/ /“Time heals all wounds.”

It does not. Time, in fact, makes some wounds worse. Time can cause wounds to fester. Time can cause wounds to become infected, toxic, poisonous and even deadly. Time does not heal all wounds, not in the natural, not in the spiritual, not in the emotional or mental. And the biggest problem with that lie is that people think that if they just push and suppress their stuff long enough it’ll just go away… That does not work.

Yes, time is necessary for some wounds to heal. Some wounds don’t heal overnight. But time in of itself is not the solution. The further away from a problem you get, doesn’t mean the problem was dealt with. And sometimes the fire from the burned bridge catches up with us and causes direct problems in our lives.

In the absence of a miracle, which would be an immediate resolution and change in our current situation, / /Time + the right solution = our healing

Now, by this point in our story, it’s not been a lot of time, but even still, within a few days Peter doesn’t know what to do, so he does all he knows to do. John 21:3, Peter says, “Well boys, I’m going fishing...”

You’re unemployed, unemployable in the field you’ve just spent 4 years in school for, wow, that sounds familiar! And you royally messed up and did the worst possible thing as your last move, you deny even knowing the guy who is giving his life for you! Oh, and you cut a guys ear off in the process, in front of the police...

So, we left them eating breakfast on the shore of Galilee. Let’s get back to the story:

/ /After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

And there’s a bit more to the conversation, but this is what matters for today. This is where the healing happens.

First thing I want to point out, or first question to ask. / /Why did Jesus ask Peter if he loved him three times?

Three is pretty common in scripture actually:

First of all - How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times

How many times did Jesus pray, “Father, if there’s any other way than the cross”? Three times.

How many times did Paul pray, “God, please remove this thorn from my side.”? Three times.

So, how many times did Jesus ask Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times.

This is not an accident. This is unbelievably intentional, and let me explain why, for two reasons at least:

/ /1. To even the scale... For every time Peter denies Christ, he is given an opportunity to reaffirm his love for him. And I think this is not a spiritual thing of you have to repent for every single action whether big or small, but I think this speaks to the heart of Jesus and his love for Peter.

Let me ask you - How would you do it? How would I do it? Would we apologize 3 times? Probably not, we would probably apologize once. “Jesus, I’m so sorry I did exactly what you said I would.” And Jesus would say, “It’s ok...” But that’s not what happens. Jesus pushes and pushes and pushes three times to get a response from Peter. Why?

As frustrated as Peter is with himself by the third time he denies Christ, he is almost equally frustrated with the repeated questioning, but this questioning is what is freeing him from the shame and regret of his past.

And look at the pointedness of Jesus questioning. He’s not asking for his sake, he’s asking for Peter’s sake. You ever do something for your kids that has nothing to do with what you need or want in the moment? Of course, we’ve all done it. Jesus does not need to know that Peter loves Jesus, and certainly doesn’t need to hear it three times. / /It’s not Jesus who needs this conversation… It’s Peter that needs to know that Peter loves Jesus. Without doubt. Without regret.

So, first time, / /“Simon son of John, Do you love me more than these?”

Immediately this is going to root out any sort of apprehension. Remember, I said that Peter was a confident, right by his side kind of guy. And he had told Jesus, “If all of these deny you, I WILL NOT.” What happens? Peter denies and if he’s anything like we are, now he’s questioning his commitment, his confidence, his dedication to Jesus… Maybe I’m not as committed as I was.

So Jesus starts right there.... “Do you love me more than these? You’ve said it before, is it still true?” If there’s apprehension there will be pause. There might be, “Umm, seriously, you’re asking me in front of these guys? You want me to answer now? Why not a bit later, in private?” Nope, none of that. Peter doesn’t hesitate, and I believe in the asking and the responding the confidence that Peter had is restored to him. Which is what he needs to not fall back into a habit of fishing next time things get tough. “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

And so what does Jesus respond to that with? “Then feed my lambs,” pointing directly at the mission to come.

What did I say, the first thing regret does in our lives is hold us in the past. With regret Peter stays a fisherman, but with Jesus undoing the past, he is freeing Peter from the regret that is holding him there by evening the scales, giving him opportunity to commit again for each of his three betrayals, and getting that confidence back to fully serve Jesus.

/ /2. End the conversation once and for all

I think the second reason Jesus asks Peter this question three times is in a what we call Biblical Numerology. Biblical Numerology is looking at how numbers are used in the Bible to convey a meaning outside of just the numerical value of the actual number being used.

So, we’re not looking at every number in the bible going, “What does it mean???” but, there are clear times where numbers mean more than just their numerical value. This is important for two reasons.

First, the number three in scripture often relates to Completion or perfection. You may have heard the number seven symbolizes completeness and perfection, in a similar way, three also leans to this, although not as forcibly.

But think of where we see three often.

Jesus is in the grave for 3 days.

Jonah is in the whale for three days.

The trinity is 3 persons in 1 God.

The angels in heaven sing, Holy, Holy, Holy...

Peter denies three times, THEN the rooster crows.

Paul asks God three times, THEN God gives his answer.

So, I would suggest to you this morning that it is not a very big stretch by any means to say that Jesus is asking Peter this question three times for one very simple reason. To finalize the subject. To complete the conversation. To so solidify in Peter his love and affection for Jesus, not for Jesus’ sake, but for Peter’s sake, that he will be ready to take on the mission that is to come.

The second reason numerology and the number three is important, and I’ve shared this before, is that there was a literary saying, when something was used three times, it meant, ad nauseam, or on repeat, countless times!. Like, when Paul says he begged God three times to take away the thorn in his side, in that way of thinking he’s basically saying, “I was begging non-stop...”

Now, I don’t think that’s what is actually happening here - John writes that Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”, and I think Jesus did in fact ask Peter three times, “Do you love me?” But this would be a known literary device, there’s this implication here that is, “We can settle this matter now… Hear me asking you over and over, and hear you answering over and over! Every time you doubt, hear me asking and hear yourself responding. This conversation is settling the matter forever!”

I mean, there’s just so much about this conversation. Peter is by a fire when he denies Christ. Jesus has built a fire and is cooking fish when he asks him these questions. He’s re-building the very memory of Peter’s emotional responses to Jesus.

Ok, so there’s importance to Jesus asking three times. Or, let’s say it this way, there’s importance in Peter being forced to answer three times!

And let’s just take that for ourselves right now. Do you believe that Jesus has forgiven you? Do you believe Jesus has redeemed you? Do you believe Jesus has set you free? Let’s ask it this way, / /do you believe in the finished work of Christ on the Cross? If you do, and you should, then the hold ups are less about Jesus and way more about you! Remember, Jesus didn’t need to ask or hear Peter’s answer three times. Peter needed that.

Ok, so, regret holds us in the past. And Jesus works with Peter, and I believe he wants to work with and in us to the same end, to release us from the regrets of our past.

/ / Second thing regret does is that it stops us from embracing the future. And although we may be free, sometimes we live like we don’t know how. Just look at the story of Israel leaving slavery in Egypt, getting to the promised land and seeing giants and walking away scared and then spending 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

Peter is about to start the church with this group of people, WITHOUT Jesus being with them!

Peter HAS to get rid of this regret or he will fail.

I say this carefully, but I say this with conviction as well, and I am very much preaching to myself. / / You can not and you will not fully fulfill the mission God has called you to in your life if you can not walk away from the regrets of your past.

And I’m not talking big things like starting the church like Peter did. You can’t fully love your wife, husband, children, friends if you don’t deal with the regrets you carry. Sure, you may do fine. You may do many things. But as long as the hooks of the past are stuck in you, they will hinder you from accomplishing the good work God has for you to do. And trust me, when I say that, I am speaking from a life that was filled with rejection and regret, and as I have journeyed with God, I AM more and more free, and BECOMING more and more free, but I continue to pursue and lean into the restoration and healing of Jesus Christ over that fire of redemptive conversation so that I can be as free as Peter was!

Remember, these guys had to be so convinced that they would die for this. If Peter gets to the point of death, and denies it all again. The message of Jesus Christ loses its power. If John, Matthew, Paul, Nathanael, all of them, get to the point where they are faced with death and they give in to the fear and deny and say, “You know what, I can’t do this, please, don’t let me die, I’ll deny He’s the Christ” - it all falls apart. THAT then becomes the message. “Guys, don’t worry, it wasn’t true, there’s no truth in it. Even his twelve closest followers don’t believe.”

And I don’t mean that in a pressure sense, like you’re going to let God down if you don’t fulfill your life perfectly... But I do mean it in as serious as it is, you cannot fulfill what God has called you too if you are holding on to regret. It will cause you to fail. And the apostles of the early church had to be not just convinced, but free. Peter had to have that hook of regret pulled out of him, because you don’t die for a lie. And you don’t die for something you’re not fully convinced of.

And for us, if you have insecurity, fear, shame, regret, you’ll give up on the task when it gets too hard. You will be held back every moment of every day if you are questioning whether you are good enough or brave enough, strong enough or smart enough, free enough or forgiven enough to do what God has called you to do. Because that past will do everything it can to hold you back until you get that you are truly forgiven, that your past is no longer held to you at all, what-so-ever, in any way shape or form.

The regret has to be removed because the regret will cause you to not live 100% for God.

So, this morning I want to give opportunity for a moment with the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ at the breakfast fire…

We might not literally be at a fire place with Jesus, but through this story we see the finality of regret and shame for our past. Three times Jesus asks the question to show that this shame, this regret has been dealt with once and for all. The work has been completed! You no longer need to be held back by your past. Jesus has come to set things straight, you are forgiven! Now / / Be free! Free from the past, so you can be free to embrace the future, what He has planned for you to do. Ephesians 2:10 says, / / For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You need to see and know and live free so you can embrace this!