4-04-06

Text: John 21:1-17

Review:

● According to God, what is normal is what’s “expected”; “anticipated”; life according to God… the “kingdom”.

But, the rub is, we naturally don’t do what is “normal” (expected).

● What if the behavior that seems “abnormal” is, in fact, “normal”?

● So, we discovered that the invitation of the kingdom is to live “normally” in an “abnormal” world!

● We are often not as limited by our emptiness as we are by our lack of emptiness; our feelings of being full (the feeling of emptiness is one of the greatest gifts that God can give to us!)

* Jesus has totally “messed Peter up”.

            He is, at every turn, challenging Peter’s preconceived notion and misperceptions of God.

            He refuses to allow Peter to settle into some rigid and calculated expression of faith which lacks heart.

►What Jesus seems to always be about is “reducing the distance” (“closing the gap”) -real or imagined- between us and God.

            In this case, the distance is the loss of heart that Peter is feeling as a result of his apparent inconsistencies.

►We must always be ready to be surprised by God!

This is one of the more interesting and awkward dialogues recorded in the scriptures. It all happens with the smell of charcoal wafting into Peter’s face. Peter is filled with regret for all the ways he failed to be a faithful friend to Jesus.

* One of the things that is going on here is that Jesus is inviting Peter to revisit the place of failure and the debilitating effect it is having on his ability to live from his heart (passion).

* Jesus’ approach and response is what’s most intriguing to me. Jesus never once insinuates that Peter should apologize (confess) and all will be forgiven.

            Jesus is attempting to help Peter overcome his apathy (loss of heart).

* Simply reminding Peter of forgiveness will not ensure his return to the passionate life.

THE FOCUS OF FORGIVENESS IS THE FREEDOM TO PURSUE THE NORMAL LIFE.

* Peter doesn’t need a, “There, there, it’s OK, Peter”, and a pat on the back; he needs a reason to believe that he can still contribute; can still fulfill his sense of calling and mission (Peter seems to keep getting stuck on this issue of forgiveness. i.e. Jesus watching Peter’s feet: “you are already clean…”).

* Somewhere, deep inside, there is a love for Jesus and though you have let him down, he wants you to find that love and live in it!

The life we live is simply a response to being forgiven.

►Sometimes it’s easy to lose track of God.

            “… the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus”. (vs.4)

* Our situation puts us in a “spiritual daze” and He becomes, at best, a “blur”; a foggy silhouette on a sea shore.

 Jesus knows that he cannot and will not leave Peter in this condition.

            One of the consequences is a debilitating sense of “apathy”.

       God must engage us; He must pursue us. If left to ourselves in this situation, the consequences could be devastating; the result would be this slow and painful decay of our lives.

* Apathy isn’t as much a state of mind, as it is a state of heart; apathy is not the absence of activity or laziness; it’s worse! It’s heartless, passionless activity (It’s formed from the prefix a-, “without,” and the root pathos, “passion.”)

* We were created to live from our heart…with passion, but the persistent emphasis on conformity to the rules has emptied us of passion.

            Why? Because conformity is not powerful to capture our heart; it never produces the passion necessary to live normally in an abnormal world because it’s so focused on externals. It’s deceptive: it actually allows us to function “outwardly”, all the while, ignoring our heart!

GOD’S DESIRE HAS NEVER BEEN TO ELIMINATE YOUR PASSIONS, SIMPLY TO REDIRECT THEM.

GOD INTENDS TO CAPTURE OUR HEART AND OVERWHELM US WITH NEW PASSIONS.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

“Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.”

“Jesus said, Simon son of John…” (vs.15)

* This sounds like Peter’s “in trouble” name! It was a chance for Jesus to take him back to his initial declaration of belief (Matthew 16:13-18).

“Do you think Peter felt much like a ‘rock’? What do you think he felt would be the chances for the success of the church if laid on the foundation of his seemingly fickle confession?”

 “What do you think Peter expected to hear when he hit the shore?”

“What, you can’t swim any faster than that?” What do they call that stroke… the fish out of water? Remember when you used to walk ON the water?”

►The greater the debt, the greater the devotion.

            Jesus examination of Peter was not meant as a means of bringing further disgrace or humiliation to Peter. Rather, it was to remove the guilt and embarrassment and redirect his passions.

“Whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). Jesus wasn’t saying here: “If you haven’t done much wrong, your love for God will be shallow.”

 He was saying: “Whether or not you recognize it, God’s grace is extravagant. But whoever does recognize the lavishness of God’s grace will love Him accordingly.”

“Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him a third time…” (vs.17)

            “hurt” (Gr)- ‘to be grieved; sorrow’.

* Peter knew that this wasn’t about breaking a commandment…it was about a broken heart (not about violating a code, but about compromising a relationship).

* Jesus is saying, “Peter, you have to feel this. It’s good that you hurt! Engage it; fully enter it; grieve it. Because it’s only this type of sorrow that will allow you to recover and endure!”

(we spend so much of our time trying to soothe or ignore our conscience that we neglect the healing benefits of conviction).

We can never truly appreciate the extravagance of God’s grace until we have truly experienced the depth our sin and the extent of the damage to our soul.

JESUS NOT ONLY BEFRIENDED SINNERS, BUT          FRIENDS WHO SINNED!

►Jesus usually appeals to our heart, not our senses!

Why? Because he knows how easy it is to “fake it”!

* So, God longs for us; He desires us and it is that simple (yet profound) awakening of our heart to the realization of His love that “inspires” me to move toward Him.

John 20:30-31“…that by believing in him, you might have life”.

John seems to have already concluded and summarized his thoughts, yet he adds this story.

►It’s one thing to believe in Jesus, but quite another to consider that he believes in you!