Date: May 9-10, 2015

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Pastor: Kent Priebe

Date: May 9-10, 2015

THE MAIN THING: Jesus is Closer than You Think After Peter failed Jesus by denying Him, through a heart of grace and restoration He entered Peter’s world. He sought him out and restored Peter’s calling after hearing that Peter still did love Him. As He sought out Peter, so He does for us.

PURSUE RELATIONSHIP: Opportunities to connect and pray as a group 1. Have you ever restored something? What all was involved in that venture? 2. When have you had a long overdue reunion with friends or family? PURSUE GOD: Time that is devoted to the Word of God 1. Remembering that Jesus had appeared to the disciples on previous occasions after His death and resurrection, what do you think they talked about on the 180 km trip back to the Sea of Galilee? 2. What may have been on Peter’s heart considering Mark 16:7; John 18:10, 15-18, 25-26? 3. Read John 21:1-14. What does the story tell us about the disciples? What does the story tell us about Jesus? 4.’They knew it was the Lord.’ (John 21:12b) How did the disciples know it was the Lord? How did they respond? How did Peter stand out among them? 5. Jesus said to Peter, ‘Feed my lambs...Take care of my sheep...Feed my sheep.’ What did He mean by this? How would Peter have interpreted this directive? Peter’s response showed Jesus his heart. How did the Holy Spirit empower that love? (Reference Acts 2:14-40) PURSUEMISSION: Seek to be the community of God’s people in your community as you live out your calling 1. Have you ever had a time when like Peter, you put your relationship with God in jeopardy and struggled to restore it? Briefly share your story with the group. 2. If you are in the middle of such a situation, describe the challenges you may be facing. Take time to reflect on: a. How Jesus entered your world and continues to be present; b. Express to Him how much you love Him; c. Ask Him to reaffirm your calling. Ensure that you share your conversation with Jesus with someone. Story of Dr. James Loder (Pastor Kent’s message), told in John Ortberg’s book, God is Closer Than You Think.

THE WORD (NIV) Mark 16:7 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” John 21:1-14 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.[a] It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered…. John 18:10 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) John 18:15-18 15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” 18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. John 18: 25-26 25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” 26 One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Acts 2:14-40 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say…..

John 21 is a story of grace and hope. It is a story of a person who had messed up, broken promises, lied and betrayed his friend (Luke 22:60-62) and yet was shown mercy and restored. After his denial, Peter was heartbroken and wept bitterly because of what he had done. Prior to John 21, Peter and Jesus had not had a chance to talk through what had happened. This is a chapter that answers questions that we all ask at one point or another. How does Jesus feel about me when I’ve messed up and disappointed Him? What does He think of me now? Have I been disqualified? Am I still useful to Him, or loved by Him? Peter likely had such questions. Many of us are asking or have at one time asked them too. Yet Jesus wants to press His gift of restorative grace into your broken world to restore you back into relationship with Him to accomplish His purpose through your life. He does this as follows: 1. Jesus restores you by entering your world. He thinks you are worth chasing after. You might feel that He is distant but He is closer than you think. He is seeking after you. In the passage we see Jesus’ heart for Peter. The disciples were waiting to hear from Jesus. Peter opts to go out and fish and several go along with him. Overnight they caught nothing and were heading back empty-handed. Then Jesus calls from shore (vs 4-6). The result was a catch so large the boat couldn’t handle it. They realized then that it was Jesus. Peter leaps into the water and swims ashore with the rest following in the boat. Jesus, meanwhile had been there for some time, knowing they would pass this way. His fire was down to the coals that he was cooking on. Jesus made it a point to seek out Peter and make breakfast for these tired fishermen. He was not resentful or distant, but hospitable and filled with grace. Jesus is not surprised by our failures and brokenness. When we have failed and disappointed Him, be sure that Jesus seeks us out and enters into our world to restore us. He did this with Adam and Eve when he sought them asking, ‘Where are you?’ So with us He will reach out with gentle whispers of conviction, guidance and grace. Jesus has not forgotten about us nor is he vengeful, but will draw us in with grace and forgiveness. This is who Jesus is and how He feels about us. 2. Jesus wants to know how you feel about Him. After the disciples have finished breakfast, Jesus converses with Peter. He doesn’t say any of the possible negative comments nor is He concerned with Peter having a ‘plan’ to do better next time. He simply asked Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ Peter had disappointed and failed Jesus. Yet Jesus entered into Peter’s world and His greatest concern was to know if Peter loved Him. Jesus wanted to know Peter’s heart. He is concerned with our hearts. If Jesus were to be standing here and asking us ‘Do you love me?’ how would you respond? What would you say? What evidence would you have on which to base your answer? Do you tell Jesus that you love Him? Do you speak highly about Him to others? Do you miss Jesus when you haven’t spent time with Him? How much time do you spend with Jesus? Have you been faithful to Him? What do you feel when you hear the name ‘Jesus’? 3. Jesus restores you by affirming that your calling is still in place. Jesus responded to Peter’s acknowledgement that he loved Him by saying, ‘Feed my lambs; take care of my sheep; feed my sheep.’ In saying this, Jesus affirmed that all was not lost and that He had a purpose for Peter. He still had great worth to Jesus and was useful. Peter was not disqualified. Jesus reaffirmed to Peter the words that He had spoken to him way back at the beginning of his calling. “Follow me!” Peter knew that he had not been written off but that he had a purpose and a calling. Jesus came to Peter in his world and sought after him. Jesus wanted to know how Peter felt about Him and gave Peter the chance to replace his three denials with three honest attempts to reaffirm his love. Jesus then reaffirmed Peter’s calling as His follower. He did this for Peter and we have this same hope of grace in our situations.