Rising From Denial

RISING STRONG  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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The love and forgiveness of God is what enables us to rise above our mistakes and become more faithful disciples.

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Scripture Passage

John 21:15–19 (NLT)

15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Focus Statement

The love and forgiveness of God is what enables us to rise above our mistakes and become more faithful disciples.

Point of Relation

We’ve all been given second chances before.
You know what I mean by this...
Times when we’ve messed up and whoever we offended or hurt has forgiven us.
We’ve all been given second chances before.
Let me start off with a reflection on forgiveness itself, written by renowned theological scholar, N. T. Wright:
Forgiveness doesn’t mean “I didn’t really mind” or “it didn’t really matter.” I did mind and it did matter, otherwise there wouldn’t be anything to forgive at all, merely something to adjust my attitudes about. We hear a lot today about people needing to adjust their attitudes to things they formerly thought were wrong; but that’s not forgiveness. If I have a wrong attitude toward someone, and if I need to adjust my attitude, if anything, it’s me who needs forgiveness, for my misguided earlier stance. Nor is forgiveness the same as saying, “Let’s pretend it didn’t really happen.”
This is a little trickier because part of the point of forgiveness is that I am committing myself to work toward the point where I can behave as if it hadn’t happen. But it did happen, and forgiveness isn’t pretending that it didn’t; forgiveness is looking hard at the fact that it did and making a conscious choice-a decision of the moral will-to set aside so that it doesn’t come as a barrier between us.
Taken from Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright Copyright (c) 2006, pp.159-160, by N.T. Wright. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com

Things to Consider

I want to Invite you to think about a time when you were given a second chance
and the impact it had on your life.
Often times, the world and culture-at-large do not encourage us to be very generous with our second chances.
We sometimes close off opportunities for healed relationships or hold grudges.
Why is that?
Consider an example of a time, if one exists, when you denied God in your poor treatment of another, or your unwillingness to give others a second chance?

What Scripture Says

Peter makes a big mistake, one he was forewarned about,
and denies that he even knows Jesus three separate times (as we see in John 18:15-18).
Briefly recap this story for your congregation to set the context.
Despite this lack of faithfulness and friendship,
Jesus still invites Peter into discipleship.
In fact, the risen Jesus meets him and the other disciples with a gesture of companionship and abundance -- abundnant fish and a filling breakfast (as we read in John 21:1-14).
Peter’s imperfect love for Jesus does not seem to change Jesus’ unchanging love for Peter or God’s love for imperfect humanity.
Forgiveness allows us to journey from the moments where we deny Jesus,
or make other big, relationship-harming mistakes
to reconciliation with God and renewed faithfulness.
In John 20:22, Jesus says that if you forgive someone else’s sin, they are forgiven through the Holy Spirit.
Our forgiveness allows the power of God to move, change, and reconcile.
The power of Jesus’ forgiveness is evident in his willingness to feed Peter and address him as friend,
even after Peter’s denial.
Yet our passage this morning shows that on the other side of forgiveness,
Jesus calls and empowers Peter to a changed and renewed life of servant leadership
(feeding and tending Jesus’ own “sheep” as shepherd to a flock).
Often we think of forgiveness as the solution to a problem,
but this passage shows how forgiveness is a first step,
a foundation that frees Peter for a life of faith
and a key leadership role in the early church.
God not only promises us reconciliation and/or justification (a healed relationship through forgiveness)
but also redemption and/or sanctification
(a changed life through the Holy Spirit,
in which we actively participate).
Friends, it is important to note that Peter’s denial of Jesus’ does not define him.
It never did.
Long before Jesus’ death and resurrection, he called Peter the rock upon which he will build the church (in Matthew 16:18).
In our passage today, we see Jesus commissioning Peter to be this rock, and if we look ahead (for example, to Acts 15:7-11)
we can see Peter living in his strength as this rock of the church.
How often we do we let our mistakes define us or derail us from living the lives we were made for?
How might the example of Peter,
who accepted the full power of Jesus’ forgiveness to move forward in following God’s call on his life, inspire us?

What This Means for You

How about this for a call to action:
How would you begin to forgive someone today?
What would be your first steps in moving toward this?
What does it look like to love the way Jesus wants us to love both others and ourselves?
Forgiveness is hard and doesn’t always happen right away.
Most often, it is a process.
What freedom might be found for us or others in the act of forgiveness?
How might we accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers us for the mistakes that are holding us back?
Often it starts with awareness of the mistake,
and bringing it to God in confession (sometimes sharing with a trusted friend of faith, who will remind you that you are forgiven, can help).
Like Jesus called Peter to feed and tend his sheep, if he truly loved him,
what action might Jesus be calling you to take
in order to fully embrace and embody your forgiven-ness?

What This Means for Us

Where in our world or communities today do we need to see forgiveness or second chances?
What is required in order to get there?
If we offered it, what would that grace enable us to become?
How may our story of forgiveness inspire others to move forward from their mistakes in lives that serve Jesus?
Friends, together, we can begin to, like Peter, grow from our mistakes into grace-filled, forgiven people ready to forgive and to serve. Amen? Amen.
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