Kingdom Restoration Part II

John 21:15-25

We’re continuing in this message on what Kingdom Restoration looks like, what it looks like when Jesus steps in, heals a break in our relationship with Him.

Jesus brings healing and restoration through comfort and confrontation.

Jesus brings comfort to every place that sin has broken.

See, last week when we talked about the first step in healing this relationship, we talked about the fact that a break in the relationship is like a broken bone - it’s not permanent, but it is SERIOUS. And the first thing you do is immobilize and stabilize.

But step two is, you have to set the bone.

So, I told y’all about my brother breaking his arm last week. What I neglected to tell you was the rest of the story.

If you remember we talked about being comforted last week, and we’re going to talk about the confrontation side this week.

This is my main point.

Jesus confronts the sin that leaves us broken.

And at every point of confrontation, YOU have a choice to make. Am I going to follow Jesus, or am I going to ……go off in this other direction. And we see Jesus confronting Simon Peter over these different failures, these different sins.

We see Jesus confronting Simon Peter’s pride

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Do you love me more than these.

I believe that Jesus was confronting Simon Peter in his pride.

In Matt 26:33 - right before Jesus is arrested, Peter says, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I won’t leave you.

When God confronts our pride, our only answer is humility.

Pride is one of the oldest sins in the world, it’s THE sin that got Lucifer cast out of heaven and into the name of Satan. It is the thing that will trip every last one of us up. It is sneaky. It camouflages itself. It digs its roots deep, and it is HARD to get out of our lives but PRIDE……is allergic….to humility.

Pride says, I won’t turn my back on you Jesus, no matter if EVERYONE ELSE DOES!!

Humility reminds itself, the words of Jeremiah 17:9, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Who can know its own motives, who can truly

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He asks Peter point for point, do you love me, do you love me, do you love me. He’s confronting the FEAR that drove Peter to deny Jesus. And by the third time He asks, the Bible says that Peter was grieved.

And I’m going to say this, we need to reacquire a grief over OUR sin. I think we have a grief over the sins of people outside this room right here, but I think we need to reacquire a grief over OUR sin.

But Jesus asks Peter, three times, and I believe it was once for every betrayal, but EACH time.....He says something very interesting back to him.

Jesus gives Peter an imperative statement, each time, feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. now we could break all THAT down, and it’s pretty cool, but this imperative voice that Jesus uses, one of the little baked in aspects of this is that it means, do this thing, and KEEP ON doing this thing.

Feed my lambs, and keep on feeding them.

Tend my sheep, and keep on doing it

Feed my sheep, and keep on doing it.

This confrontation brought in this aspect of continuous movement, of continuous action, but, You know what I’ve noticed about fear? Fear freezes you in place. It’s like this game of freeze tag, that you would play with your friends? Fear comes along and, you can’t run away anymore, you can’t even help your friends, why? Because fear HAS you in this grip and you can’t do anything……

And I think that’s why Jesus came to talk to Simon Peter, because that fear had gripped him, and fear had made him turn his back on Jesus, and Jesus was saying, hey man, look. There’s a work to do. There’s a LOT of work to do. And….I’ve got to know you’re going to KEEP ON DOING IT.

Jesus even goes on to tell Peter, hey man, this WORK….it’s going to last your whole life. And when you’re an only man, it’s going to cost you your life….you cool with that?

When God confronts our fear, our only answer is conviction.

We have to be a people of God who are willing to take a stand on the promises OF God for the sake of the kingdom of God. But that requires conviction. That requires us putting hand to plow and saying, okay. God, this is terrifying, but….You’re worth it. God, this is relationally expensive, but….You’re WORTH it.

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But see, I think there’s another sin that Jesus is confronting here with Peter, and it’s this sin of comparison. We might see it in the Bible as coveting, but it’s the same thing.

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When God confronts out comparison, our only answer is keeping our focus on Jesus.

“God, I’m not as smart as so and so”

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

“God, I’m not as athletic as so and so!”

Keep. Your eyes. On JESUS.

God, I’m not married yet, I’m not where I should be in my career, my life isn’t what I thought it was going to be, I deserve what HE has, I want the life SHE’S got, why aren’t I in THAT friend group, I want, I want, I want…..

Keep. your eyes. On. Jesus.

Eric’s arm healed up fine. He was in the cast for a month or two, but he bounced back. You’d never know that it broke, you’d never know that the doctor had to reset it. How painful it was. See, that doctor saw how much pain Eric was in, and he even had an oath, they call it the Hypocratic oath!! The oath to, first off, do no harm.

But see, harm. It’s different than pain isn’t it? And sometimes this process of Jesus refining us, and Jesus shaping up, and making us, and conforming us to His own image…..it’s not comfortable. It is painful sometimes.

Jesus loves you where you are. But He refuses to let you stay there.