Overcoming Failure

"Overcoming Failure" - Powerpoint Version Series: Wake-Up Call #8 John 21:1-19 June 21, 2020 Have you ever failed miserably and watched your failure create devastating consequences? Have you ever blown it so big you thought there was no way out? Have you ever done something you thought was unforgiveable? Slide 1 - Shannon Ethridge used to answer all three of these questions with a Yes. In 1984, Shannon was a 16-year old headed to high school one seemingly routine morning. But Shannon never made it to her destination. She says, "I drove about a mile-and-a-half down the road, and I remembered that I needed to put lipstick on. I adjusted my rear-view mirror for a quick application, and my car just jolted suddenly. I thought maybe I'd hit a farm animal out of its pasture. Slide 2 - Shannon stopped the car and ran back to see what she had hit. She stared in shock and horror as she stood over the body of a curly-headed woman lying face down in the grass with a mangled bicycle next to her. Shannon ran to a house in the distance to call 9-1-1, but it was too late. The woman she'd hit was dead. Later at home, the sinking realization of what she'd done set in. "I didn't know that I could cry that many tears," she says. Slide 3 - "That was someone else's mother. How am I going to face her children? And that's someone else's wife? How am I going to be able to face her husband?" Shannon felt that she'd committed an unforgiveable sin. Little did she know then that God was already arranging a wake-up call to summon her from failure to restoration. The woman Shannon had killed was Margorie Jarster. Her husband, Gary, was away at work when he received word of her death. Gary recalls, "They told me that she'd been in an accident, and she was dead." Gary was devastated. Yet he remembers thinking, "'What would Marjorie do if it was me? How would she react? Marjorie was a very compassionate lady, so I knew that compassion had to be part of my response." First, Gary decided on no lawsuits and no charges against the 16-year-old girl. Also, he wanted to meet her -- to extend forgiveness face-to-face. The Lord kept impressing upon Gary had much he had been forgiven and the need to extend that same forgiveness to the young lady that had killed his wife. The night before Margorie's funeral, Shannon went to meet Gary. Slide 4 - She says, "I took one step inside the entry door, and saw Gary down the hallway. He came running toward me. Not with animosity in his eyes at all, but with his arms open." Gary shares, "I just went and put my arms around her, hugged her, and told her I forgave her." He said, "Shannon, I don't want you to let this ruin your life. God wants to use you through this. As a matter of fact, I'm passing Marjorie's legacy of being a godly woman to you. [I want you to learn to love Jesus without limits] I want you to learn to love Jesus without limits, the way that Marjorie did." Slide 5 - Shannon was raised in the church and baptized when she was 12-years-old, but up to this point she wasn't living a Christian lifestyle. She relates that she was sexually active with her boyfriend and rebelling against her parents. She thought she was a Christian because she went to church. She was even president of her church youth group, but Jesus wasn't the Lord of her life. Shannon realized the God that Gary was telling her about was wonderful and so different from the God she thought she knew. She says, "I had always seen God as a distant disciplinarian, ready to strike me down if I committed one sin too many." But because of Gary's actions toward me, I now envisioned God as this loving, unconditionally, merciful God who is ready to scoop me up in a warm embrace and let me cry on His shoulder if I need to, speaking words of blessing over me." Shannon says, "It gave me hope, that perhaps if this family and, especially, Gary could forgive me, maybe God can forgive me, too, and maybe eventually I can forgive myself." Slide 6 - In the years since the accident, Shannon's life has drastically changed. As a wife and mother, a speaker and a writer, Shannon shares a passion that was born from the accident that took Marjorie's life, a passion for intimacy with Christ. Though she never met Marjorie Jarster, it was to her that Shannon dedicated her book, Completely His: Loving Jesus Without Limits. God has and continues to use Shannon's restoration from failure and despair to give hope to others who have experienced the devastation of failure. She says "The desire of my heart is for people to understand that there is nothing you have ever done bad enough to cause God to abandon you. And there is nothing you could ever do in the future that would cause God to love you any less. Through the forgiveness of Gary and his family, Shannon received a wake-up call from failure to restoration. Our story from the Bible today is about another individual who received a wake-up call after a huge failure in his life. His name? Peter. Slide 7 - Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends and served as an unofficial leader among Jesus' 12 disciples. For three years, Peter had travelled with, observed, and learned from Jesus about the Kingdom of God. He had watched Jesus heal the sick, still the winds and raging sea, and even raise the dead. He had proclaimed Jesus' identity as God's Son, the Messiah. He had been an eyewitness, along with James and John, to the preincarnate glory of Jesus on a mountain where Jesus' had been transfigured to shine like a light brighter than the sun. Slide 8 - He had heard Jesus predict his impending death and resurrection and the desertion of his disciples. He had boldly and confidently asserted that he would never deny Jesus, no matter the cost. He had demonstrated courage by striking the servant of the high priest with a sword, cutting off his ear, seeking to protect Jesus at his arrest. Slides 9 and 10 together - He had also experienced utter failure at Jesus' trial before the Jewish religious leaders as he vehemently denied three separate times that he was Jesus' disciple. This failure had plunged Peter into the depths of despair and shame. Our story from John chapter 21 begins with Peter and 6 of Jesus' other disciples who had travelled to Galilee a number of days after the resurrection. The disciples had seen the risen Lord, once on Easter Sunday night as they gathered in a house for supper and then a week later in the same place, this time with Thomas present. But they were still grappling with the resurrection and what it meant. Slide 11 - The story opens by the Sea of Galilee, also known by the Romans as the Sea of Tiberias. Peter tells the other 6 disciples present, "I'm goin' fishin'." Whether Peter's motivation was running away from his failure back to what he knew or whether he was simply hungry and fishing was the easiest way for a seasoned lake mariner to obtain some food, we don't know. What we do know is that the other 6 disciples present decide to go with him and that they fish all night. Slide 12 - Night was usually the most productive time for fishing on the Sea of Galilee. But not this night. Their nets came up empty every time. Slide 13 - Early in the morning, Jesus appears on the shore, but the disciples don't know it's him. Whether the distance is too great to recognize him or they're prevented from recognizing him, the Scripture doesn't tell us. The boat was about 100 yards from shore at this point and Jesus calls out to them, Slide 13A - "Friends, you don't have any fish, do you?" "No," they answer. He says, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some." Perhaps only to silence the ignorant landlubber wanna-be fishing guide, or perhaps, just perhaps, because Peter, James, and John remembered a somewhat similar incident three years earlier when they first met Jesus and had brought in a huge catch after fishing all night with no results (Luke 5:4-11), they complied with the suggestion. What happens? Slide 14 - To their utter consternation, they not only find fish, they entrap so many that they can't haul the jam-packed net into the boat. It was too heavy even with all seven of them pulling. Just as miraculously, the net doesn't break despite the 153 fish that are later counted inside it. Friends, there is a marvellous lesson and reminder for each of us evident at this juncture in the story. When Jesus is present, the most desperate of situations can be transformed. Despair is turned into hope. Want is turned to abundance. Darkness is overcome by the light. The impossible becomes possible. Slide 15 - All of sudden, one of the disciples says to Peter, "It is the Lord!" It's the disciple referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved, which we know from evidence later in the chapter is the disciple, John. Whether John had keener eyesight than his mates, whether the miraculous catch reminded John of what had happened in the earlier encounter with Jesus on the same lake, or whether Jesus' identity was divinely revealed to him in a flash of inspiration, we don't know. However, Slide 16 - the always rash and impulsive Peter decides he is not waiting around to find out if John's assertion is right. He ties his outer cloak around him and jumps into the water and begins to swim to shore. If Jesus was here, he wasn't going to miss him. Slide 17 - The other disciples followed behind in the boat, towing the net filled with fish in the water. What did Peter and the disciples find when they got to shore. There was Jesus preparing breakfast for them. Author and speaker Bob Goff says, "When Jesus rose from the dead he didn't make a speech to the world, he made breakfast for his friends." Think about the messaging Jesus is employing, "Hey guys, even though you turned and fled and left me high and dry when I was arrested, tried, and killed, I love you enough to serve you, to prepare breakfast for you after a long, tiring, and frustrating (at least until Jesus showed up) night of fishing. Jesus isn't holding their failure over them. He's communicating his forgiveness and acceptance by serving them in love. Slide 18 - Jesus asks for some of the fish that the disciples have netted to supplement the fish already prepared for them. Peter hops back into the boat, unties the top of the net and grabs several fish for the fire. We mentioned the messaging to the disciples in Jesus' act of preparing breakfast. But there's something else in Jesus messaging - something just for Peter. The charcoal fire has another purpose besides cooking the morning catch. Slide 18A - Peter had experienced the greatest failure of his life over a charcoal fire. There are only two places in the NT where the phrase charcoal fire is used, one is here in this setting on the sea of Galilee. The other? In the courtyard of the high priest in Jerusalem where Peter three times denied his Lord. Slide 19 - Jesus enjoys breakfast with the disciples. Then, perhaps, as the other disciples cleaned the remaining fish but are still within ear shot, Jesus engages Peter in a brief but poignant conversation. The chat is designed to serve as a wake-up call to summon Peter to rise above his previous failure, receive forgiveness and start Peter on a new path to restoration, wholeness, and service. Notice that throughout the conversation, Jesus doesn't use the new name, Peter (meaning rock) that he had bestowed upon his friend. Peter had been anything but a spiritual rock over recent weeks. Instead of Peter, Jesus uses his former name, Simon, the name employed before he recognized that Jesus is God's Son, the Messiah. Slide 20 - "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Peter replies, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Add Slide 21 - "Feed my lambs," he told him. Slide 22 - A second time he asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," he said to him, "you know that I love you." Add Slide 23 - "Shepherd my sheep," he told him. Slide 24 - He asked him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Slide 25 - "Feed my sheep," Jesus said. Let's unpack a few things in this conversation. First of all, Jesus says to Simon, "Do you love me more than these?" What these is Jesus referring to? There are three options: (list options in sequence as they are mentioned) 1. The these are the disciples - Do you love me more than these fellow disciples love me? 2. The these are the disciples - Do you love me more than you love these friends of yours? 3. The these are the tools of Peter's trade and former life as a fisherman (the boat, the nets, the sails, the fish) While an argument could be made for each possibility mentioned, most scholars (and I) believe Jesus is asking the first question, "Simon, do you really love me more than your fellow disciples love me? You said you did. You said that even if everyone else abandoned me, you would still love me, you would not desert me, you would be there for me. Do you really love me more than your friends do? Your actions didn't show this! Jesus was confronting Peter' pride, his pattern of trusting in his own ability and power, the lack of his felt need to depend upon God's power and mercy. Peter answers "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus responds by giving Peter a command, Feed my lambs." In other words, serve those who are following me. Do the work of a spiritual shepherd that looks after those that belong to me. Jesus repeats his first question a second time, Simon, do you love me? Again, Peter responds, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus says, "Shepherd my sheep." Jesus uses a slightly different phrase, but one that essentially means the same as his first reply. Peter, watch over and care for those who belong to me. Slide 9 repeated - But Jesus isn't ready to stop. In the courtyard of the high priest Peter had denied he knew the Lord three times, and Jesus is graciously, but firmly causing Peter to face up to his previous failure. He asks him a third time, "Simon, son of John do you love me?" In v. 17, we read that Peter is grieved when Jesus' asks him the same question the third time and responds, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus responds, "Feed my sheep." Jesus uses the verb from his first response and the noun from his second response, but essentially, Jesus is, again, saying the same thing: Serve and minister to those who belong to me. Be a shepherd, be a pastor, take care of my people. Some scholars make much of the fact that Jesus uses the Greek word agape for love in his first two questions, "Simon, do you agape me?" while Peter responds with the Greek word phileo. "Lord, you know that I phileo you." They point out that in the third exchange that Jesus changes the word he uses to phileo to match Peter's response. Scholars used to commonly teach that agape was a higher more spiritual form of love than phileo which they taught represented a more brotherly expression of love. They felt the vocabulary choices for the word, love, utilized in this passage indicated that Jesus was willing to lower himself to the less spiritual and less perfect kind of love that Peter felt he could offer Jesus. While this nuance of vocabulary and meaning may be plausible, relatively recent studies have indicated that the words agape and phileo are used interchangeably in the book of John and throughout the NT so we should be careful about coming to definitive conclusions. One thing however is certain. Jesus is absolutely taking Peter through an experience of repentance from sin and confession of his faith in Christ that will restore Peter to right relationship with Jesus. Jesus then relates to Peter that [Peter's choice to love and follow Jesus will be costly] his choice to love Jesus and tend his lambs and sheep will be costly. He says, "Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don't want to go. Follow me." John then tells us what Jesus meant. Jesus was indicating that Peter's faith would lead to his death. It would cost him his life. One day in the future he would be arrested, his hands stretched out and tied to a cross, and, like his Lord, crucified. Slide 26 - Church tradition says that Peter requested to be crucified upside down because he didn't consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus. Slide Jesus then gives Simon Peter the same charge that he issued to him on the same lake 3 years earlier when Jesus first called him: "Follow me." The Book of Acts confirms that Peter laid down his self-absorbed pride that day and humbled himself before God. This allowed him to receive God's forgiveness and restoration. He responded to Jesus' wakeup call that day on the lakeshore to put the past behind him and to embrace God's intended future for his life. Peter refused to continue to be defined by his previous failure. Instead, [Peter repented, made a course correction, and fulfilled God's destiny for his life] he repented, made a course correction, and fulfilled God's destiny for his life. He became the point leader within the early church. He lived out the calling of being a spiritual rock, of demonstrating unwavering faith and caring for his brothers and sisters in Christ as a shepherd diligently watches over and cares for his flock. Peter learned that day on the lake that there is no sin which cannot be forgiven. There is no failure which cannot be redeemed. There is no shame that cannot be erased. There is no bondage that cannot be broken. There is no mountain which cannot be moved. Slide 7 & Slide 6 repeated together - Like Peter, and like Shannon Ethridge, is Jesus Christ sounding a wake-up call to you today calling you out of failure into his destiny for your life? Slide 27 - He's knocking on the door of your heart and he wants to come in and dine with you just as he did with Peter and the disciples on the lakeshore. Will you open the door? Will you receive his forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration? If so, like Peter and like Shannon, your life will never be the same. Let's pray. Overcoming Failure 2