Untitled Sermon

Intro

Exaltation

Psalm 34:1–3 “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

(Short exaltation moment)

Greeting

Good morning, church!

Good morning to everyone joining us online.

For those who may not know me,

my name is Minister Glenn Johnson,

and I serve here at ONE Church ATL.

I thank God for our pastors—

we honor you today.

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Prayer

Are you ready for the word of the Lord!

Let’s pray.

Setup

Today, our text comes from John chapter 21, verses 1 through 19.

I’ll be reading from the ESV.

If you brought your Bible, let me see it.

Today I’m going to be speaking from the topic:

Still Called: After Everything… God Still Wants You.

Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.

He got up…

with all power in His hands.

And for many people,

that’s where the story ends.

He rose…the end.

(Pause)

But the resurrection…

was never meant to be the end of the story.

It was the beginning.

Because after He got up…

there was still work to do.

(Pause)

The question is,

are we walking in it…

or are we sitting on the sidelines?

Or worse…have we allowed

failure…

mistakes…

and moments we regret…

to convince us…

that we’re no longer qualified?

Let’s talk about it.

Text

Let’s read: John 21:1-19

John 21:1–19 ESV

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Me

A few years back, every Saturday, a group of men from our church would go hike Kennesaw Mountain.

And once we got to the top… take it in…

and then I’d usually share something from Scripture,

and teach a little

And then after that we’d have some really good discussions.

But I started to notice something…

There were moments where people disagreed with what I said or what I shared…

and I didn’t always handle it well.

(pause)

And instead of responding with love…

instead of showing grace… many times it would turn into debate.

and if I’m being honest…

I wasn’t trying to understand anything they were trying to say

I was trying to win

But my reaction was a failure on my part.

I wasn’t walking in humility. I wasn’t showing care. I wasn’t displaying the kind of character a teacher is supposed to have.

And what made it worse… is that in those moments, I started to question myself.

Not just what I said… but whether I should even be doing this at all.

I started disqualifying myself from my calling.

We

Have you ever been there?

Where you let a moment…

convince you…

that you’re no longer qualified for what God called you to do?

Because the truth is…

many of us have stepped back from our calling

Not because God took it…

but because we disqualified ourselves.

We’ll define calling in a minute…

but before we go any further, I need you to hear this—

this isn’t just for a few people… this is for you.

Calling isn’t just for preachers.

It’s not just for evangelists.

If you belong to God, you have a calling on your life.

and we disqualify ourselves from it.

We start telling ourselves:

“Who am I?”

“What do I have to offer?”

“It’s probably too late now.”

And before we know it…

we’ve stepped away…

from what God already gave us.

Most people don’t walk in their calling…

not because they don’t have one…

but because they think they’ve disqualified themselves.

🔥 Burning Question

“Have I stepped away from something God called me to because I felt disqualified?”

Purpose, Calling and Assignment

Transition

In our text this morning, Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples is wrestling with this exact tension. (pause)

He’s dealing with failure, and trying to figure out what that means for the work God has called him to do.

Now, before we walk through this passage, I need to pause and give us some clarity,

Because there are three things that we often get mixed up:

Purpose, Calling and Assignment.

These three things are not the same,

But a lot of times, we treat them like they are.

Someone will ask, “What’s your purpose?”

and we start talking about our calling.

Our assignment comes to an end and we lose our minds,

not because we lost purpose,

but because we didn’t understand the difference.

And if we confuse these,

you’ll live a frustrated life.

After the resurrection, Jesus does three things:

He reminds Peter of his purpose… He restores him to his calling… and He places him in his assignment.”

Purpose

Definition

the “why” behind our lives; the reason we were created; the original intent for our lives.

Breakdown

Our purpose as Christ followers boils down into 3 parts:

We exist to glorify God. (1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We exist to do good. (Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We exist to expand the Kingdom of God by way of the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Explanation

We all have the same purpose and this never changes. Everything else flows from this foundation.

Calling

Definition

The unique way you live out God’s purpose through how He designed you, using your gifts, abilities and influence to impact others. (1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”

Explanation

So your purpose is to glorify God.

Your calling is, “Here’s the way God created me to glorify Him.”

Your calling might be leadership, or teaching, encouragement, creativity, administration, serving and the list goes on.

How has God uniquely designed you?

You can also think about it like this.

All kitchen utensils serve the same purpose and that is to serve and cook food.

But how they do it is unique to how they are made.

A spoon, for example is designed to scoop.

A fork is designed to pierce and hold.

A spatula is made to life, flip and turn.

Each one of these utensils has the same purpose,

but how they fulfill that purpose is different because of their design.

Assignment

Definition

Temporary or seasonal place where your calling is lived out.

Explanation

Raising Kids might be an assignment.

Serving at church might be an assignment.

A job, a project, a role

Caring for aging parents might be an assignment

Being a student

Certain friendships

All these things might be assignments.

A lot of people confuse assignments with purpose.

They think if the assignment ends, then I failed.

Or they feel lost if God moves them on.

And so you have to be careful that you don’t confuse where you are with who you are.

Because your assignment may change, but your calling remains.

God

Recap

So as we return to the text in John chapter 21, we find the epilogue of John’s Gospel.

epilogue—

Who knows what an epilogue is?

that’s one of those words you use when you’re trying to sound like you read more than you actually do.

But epilogue, it’s a really important word here.

An epilogue is just the part of the story that comes after it feels like the story should already be over.

It’s there to tie up the loose ends of a story and show you the future fate of characters.

So if you remember the movie Soul Food…

Ya’ll remember Soul Food?

Big Mama was the one holding everybody together.

Even with all the drama, they could always come back to her table.

Then she passes… and the family starts falling apart.

But at the end, they’re back at the table again, together, carrying on her legacy.

And the little boy is narrating, telling us what happened to everybody.

The story is over… but we’re seeing where everybody ended up. That ending part, that’s an epilogue. It’s tying up loose ends.

And that’s exactly what John 21 is.

Because, John’s Gospel could have ended in chapter 20.

John literally tells us in chapter 20, he says,

“I wrote this so you would believe Jesus is the Son of God.”

That sounds like a perfect ending, right?

Roll credits. The end.

But then it’s like John says…

“Wait a minute… the story’s not over yet.”

Easter is Not the Ending

And this is important, because we do the same thing.

Many of us treat Easter like it’s the ending.

(pause)

Easter is the biggest Christian holiday we celebrate.

Some folks, if they don’t come any other time, they coming on Easter.

(Pause)

You ever heard of CME Christians?

Well, CME Christians are Christians that only come to church on Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter.

That’s it.

We love Christmas Jesus…

Or as Ricky Bobby would say,

sweet little baby Jesus.

Tiny little infant Jesus

We love that Jesus

We love the Jesus in the middle

Jesus during his ministry

miracle-working,

parable telling Jesus…

And we definitely love risen Jesus.

He died.

He rose.

He has all power in His

The end.…but that’s not the end.

The story doesn’t end with Easter.

“We celebrate that Jesus got up… but we don’t always talk about what that means after He got up.”

“Because the resurrection wasn’t the end of the story… it was the beginning of the assignment.”

(pause)

“John 21 exists to show us… what happens after the resurrection.”

“Because Jesus didn’t rise and disappear… He rose and started calling people again.”

So we see here in John chapter 21…

the epilogue of John’s Gospel…

Jesus shows up again,

because He’s not finished speaking.

Jesus Appears

John 21:1 says:

John 21:1 ESV

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.

This isn’t the first time.

Jesus had already appeared to them twice.

Once when they were locked in a room, afraid.

And again eight days later, when Thomas doubted.

Now He shows up a third time.

This time, it’s by the Sea of Tiberias

The Sea of Tiberias is also known as the Sea of Galilee.

And seven disciples are there…

Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and a two others.

Peter Going Back

And in verse 3, Peter says:

“I’m going fishing.”

And they say: “We’re going with you.”

Now don’t miss this…

Peter isn’t just going fishing…he’s going back.

Back to what’s familiar.

Back to what he knows.

Back to what he was doing before Jesus ever called him.

But you have to understand why he’s going back…

(pause) Peter’s Failure

You have to remember, this is the same Peter who

Told Jesus before He was killed

“I’ll never leave you.”

He said, “I’ll die with you Jesus.

and then turned around when things felt uncomfortable.

and denied Him.

Not once.

Not twice.

But three times.

(Pause)

This is the same Peter…who stood by a fire…

and when people asked,

“Aren’t you with Him?”

he said—

“I don’t know that man.”

So now Jesus is risen…and Peter has to live with that.

The failure…

The regret…

The memory of what he did.

When you feel disqualified, you go back to what’s comfortable.

Your Failure

And some of you know exactly what that feels like…

When you can’t go back and fix it.

When you can’t undo what you said.

When you can’t erase what you did.

So what do you do?

You go back to what’s safe.

You go back to what’s familiar.

Because you think going back,

that you have it all figured out.

In your mind, you can’t fail at this. I’m good at this.

Maybe for some of you it’s a profession

Maybe for some of you it’s going back to a particular personality,

a way of thinking and being

Maybe for some of you it’s a person who is in your rearview mirror for a reason.

No Success

And this is where we find Peter

Back fishing

fishing all night…

and catching nothing.

They fished all night… and caught nothing.

Now don’t miss this—

these aren’t amateurs.

These are experienced fishermen.

They know what they’re doing.

And yet… all night long… nothing.

So it raises the question…

how do you have experience… and still have no results?

How do you know what to do… and it still doesn’t work?

Could it be…

that what once worked…

isn’t working anymore…

not because you forgot how—

but because your season in it is up?

Because fishing… was Peter’s assignment… for a season.

See you can have experience in something…

and still have no success,

if your season is up, and God is no longer in it.

Remember…

your assignment is temporary.

It’s seasonal.

(Pause)

Peter’s Fishing Season was Over

Three years earlier…

in this same place…

at the Sea of Galilee…

Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat…

and told him,

“Push out into the deep… and let down your nets.”

Now Peter had been fishing all night…

and caught nothing.

But at the word of Jesus…

he let down the nets anyway…

and they caught so many fish…

the nets began to break.

Peter was astonished.

And Jesus said to him:

“From now on…

you will fish for people.”

(Pause)

And in that moment…

Peter left everything…

and followed Jesus

Which means…

Peter’s fishing-for-fish season… was over.

Because Peter’s assignment…

didn’t define him…

it positioned him.

Your Assignment

So let me ask you…

Is there an assignment in your life…

that God has already said is up…

but you’re still holding onto it…

like your life depends on it?

(Pause)

Because somewhere along the way…

you stopped seeing it as an assignment…

and started seeing it as your identity.

Listen, just because you’re good at it…

doesn’t mean it’s where God wants you now.

“You can be skilled in something…

and still be out of season in it.”

And the problem is…

when you’re out of season…

no amount of effort can fix it.

(Pause)

You can work harder… try longer… lean on experience…

and still come up empty.

Jesus Brings Success

And that’s exactly where they are…

empty nets…

exhausted effort…

and no results.

(Pause)

And then… watch this…

Jesus shows up.

(Pause)

In the middle of empty nets…

and frustrated effort…

(Pause)

The text says it was early in the morning…

and Jesus is standing on the shore…

but they don’t recognize Him.

And He calls out to them, we see in verse 5:

“Children… do you have any fish?”

(Pause)

They say:

“No.”

And then Jesus says, look in verse 6:

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat… and you will find some.”

Now don’t miss this…

They’ve been fishing all night.

Same boat. Same water. Same nets.

But now…

different direction.

“Sometimes the difference isn’t effort… it’s obedience.”

And the moment they obey…

the Bible says…

they caught so many fish…

they couldn’t even pull the net in.

Peter’s Calling

They had no success all night…

but one word from Jesus…

changed everything.

Because when God is in it…

what didn’t work before…

starts working again.

But don’t miss the deeper point…

Jesus didn’t do this…

to send Peter back into fishing…

He did it…

to remind him of who he was called to be.

You see, the last time this happened…

was the moment Jesus first called him.

“Jesus is recreating the moment… to remind Peter of his calling.”

And in that moment…

something clicks.

Look in verse 7:

John 21:7 “7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.”

(Pause)

Peter doesn’t wait for the boat… He doesn’t wait for the fish…

He goes straight to Jesus.

There’s a lesson in this, because

“When you know it’s Jesus… you stop waiting… and you move.”

Aww, but many times we hesitate and delay,

but Peter goes straight to Jesus

And when they get to shore…

the Bible says in verse 9

there’s a fire.

(Pause)

Fish on it. Bread on it.

Jesus tells them

to come and have breakfast

around the fire

But don’t miss this…

there’s a fire

but it’s not just a fire…

it’s a reminder.

Because the last time Peter stood by a fire…

was when he denied Jesus.

(Pause)

When Peter denied Jesus

he was with a group of people standing by a fire

and he was warming himself

So we see the

Same setting… different moment.

(pause)

And after they eat…

Jesus turns to Peter…

and He asks him a question.

Let’s look in verse 15

John 21:15 “15 …Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John,

do you love me more than these?”

He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

(Pause)

Then Jesus says:

“Feed my lambs.”” (provide spiritual nourishment for new believers.)

Then He says to him again, verse 16

“Do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord… you know that I love you.”

“Tend my sheep.” (pastoral care of believers generally)

A third time in verse 17

“Do you love me?”

(Pause)

And now Peter is grieved…

because he knows.

there were Three denials…

and now three questions.

but “Jesus isn’t shaming Peter… He’s restoring him.”

Because…

God restores you to your calling so you can fulfill His purpose.

In this moment…

Jesus is not giving Peter a new calling…

He’s restoring him back to the one he already had.

Because Peter’s calling…

wasn’t fishing.

His calling…

was to follow Jesus…

and shepherd people.

“Fishing was his assignment… shepherding and leadership was his calling.”

The third time Jesus says:

“Feed my sheep…” (provide spiritual nourishment for believers generally)

He’s not giving him a task…

He’s reminding him who he is.

“Calling is not what you do once… it’s who you are over time.”

Purpose Spotlighted

After Jesus ask Peter

if he loves Him,

Jesus says something powerful…

Let’s look at verses 18 and 19

John 21:18–19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)

Jesus tells Peter…

about how his life will end.

He says…

there will come a day…

when you will stretch out your hands…

and be led where you don’t want to go.

And the text says in verse 19

this was to show…

the kind of death…

by which he would glorify God.

(Pause)

That’s purpose.

To glorify God.

“Purpose is not about what you do… it’s about who gets the glory.”

The Bible says whoever loses their life

for Jesus’ sake will find it.

What are you living for?

“Your calling is how you live… your purpose is why you live.”

At the end, Jesus looks at Peter…

and says:

“Follow me.”

(Pause)

He restores him and says follow Me

Because God restores you to your calling…

so you can fulfill His purpose.

You

So let me talk to you…

Because some of you in here…

you’ve been fishing.

(Pause)

Not because it’s what God called you to do…

but because it’s what’s comfortable.

Some of you stepped back…

after failure…

after mistakes…

after moments you wish you could take back…

And you’ve convinced yourself:

“I’m disqualified.”

“But your failure didn’t cancel your calling.”

You’ve been sitting in something safe…

avoiding what God actually called you to do.

And today…

Jesus is asking you the same question:

“Do you love me?”

(Pause)

Because if you love Him…

there’s still something for you to do.

What is that unique thing God has gifted you to do?

For some of you it’s leadership, encouragement, creativity, teaching

These are not professions, it’s the way God uniquely wired you and you can use it anywhere, but are you using it to glorify Him

Your calling is the way you live out your Purpose

Step back into it.

Stop hiding in what’s familiar.

Stop letting your past define your next move.

I’m closing

Everybody standing please

We

And as a church…

we can’t just celebrate a risen Savior…

and then sit still.

We weren’t just saved…

we were sent.

There are people to reach… people to love… people to serve…

And if we keep going back to what’s comfortable…

we’ll miss what God is calling us to.

Peter thought he was done…

but Jesus showed up…

and reminded him—

you’re still called.

And I came to tell somebody today…

you’re still called.

Your assignment may have changed…

but your calling remains…

and your purpose is still the same.

Follow Him.

_______________________

Notes:

One Idea

God restores you to your calling so you can fulfill His Purpose.

What They Need to Know

Failure doesn’t disqualify you, it often precedes God realigning you with your calling.

Tension

Most people don’t walk in their calling, not because they don’t have one, but because they think they’ve disqualified themselves.

Repeatable Lines

Core Line (Say 5-7 Times)

God restores you to your calling so you can fulfill His purpose.

Tension Lines (Early + Throughout)

The issue isn’t that you don’t have a calling, it’s that you think you’ve disqualified yourself from it.

Most people don’t walk in their calling, not because they don’t have one, but because they think they’ve disqualified themselves.

You didn’t lose your calling, you stepped away from it.

Failure didn’t erase your calling, it just hijacked your confidence in it.

Identity/ Calling Clarity Lines

Your assignment may change, but your calling remains.

Your job is an assignment, your calling is bigger than that.

Don’t confuse where you are with who you are.

Calling is not a position, it’s how God wired you to live for His glory.

You don’t need a new calling, you need clarity on the one you already have.

Restoration Lines (Tie to Jesus + Peter)

Jesus didn’t ignore Peter’s failure, He addressed it.

Jesus didn’t replace Peter, He restored him.

Jesus didn’t give Peter a new calling. He reaffirmed the one he already had.

God doesn’t throw you away because you failed. He restores you through it.

Assignment vs Calling Lines

Fishing wasn’t wrong, it just wasn’t Peter’s calling.

Some of you are stuck in an assignment because you forgot your calling.

When you feel disqualified, you drift back to what’s familiar.

You went back to fishing, but God called you to feed.

God will meet you in your assignment, but He won’t let you stay there.

Post-Easter/ Mission Lines

you’re weren’t saved, you were sent.

The resurrection didn’t just secure your salvation, it activated your calling.

Jesus didn’t get up so you could sit still.

He rose, and now you have a role.