Out of His Will
Notes
Transcript
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.”
Peter didn't doubt that Jesus had risen. He didn't doubt that God had moved. He didn't doubt that God was working. Peter felt like because of his sin, of his betrayal he wasn't useful to God. That God was done with him. That He had missed out on God's plan and purpose for his life.
It's not Jesus he doubted. It's himself.
Peter didn't doubt that God was going to do something, that God was moving. He doubted that God would use him. He was done. He was sure of it.
And so he went back to what he knew. He left to be a fisherman again. He had messed up so bad that the only thing he was good for was fishing.
The Lie: You’ve Made a Big Mistake and You’re Out of God’s Will
The Lie: You’ve Made a Big Mistake and You’re Out of God’s Will
One mistake, one misstep can put you out of God's will for your life and keep you from being useful to God.
One of the greatest lies that people and churches believe is that they've missed God's purpose for their life.
You may be like this. You may be saying like Peter, "Wow Jesus is back and He's got big plans, but he's not using me."
Maybe you ask some of these questions:
Did I marry the wrong person? What if God had someone else for me and my wife and our lives are a struggle and I'm not doing what God wanted because of that?
Did I choose the wrong career? I wanted to be a teacher, or a preacher, or a doctor, but someone or something changed my life. Maybe you had a kid in college and had to get married. Maybe your parent's discouraged you and so you did something else.
Should I have moved for that job? Maybe you stayed close to family, or to move to a town away from home because of the community. Your family is happy, but finances are tight and it's putting a strain on your marriage.
Did that sin stop me from accomplishing God's will? Maybe you gave away your virginity in high school. Maybe you did drugs in college and flunked out. Maybe you went to jail because of a mistake in your past, and because of that you wonder if God is punishing you and can never use you.
The Truth: God’s Not Through With You
The Truth: God’s Not Through With You
I don't know what it is, but I know this: God's not through with you.
Jesus FOUND Them. "Jesus stood on the shore."
Jesus FOUND Them. "Jesus stood on the shore."
Notice this truth: God is the one who saved you and God is the one who will put on the path of his will. You will not always do as he commands and there are time you will break his Preceptive Will, in other words you will break his commands, but you cannot break God’s efficacious, prescriptive will for your life. Peter was going to deny Christ. There was no way that wasn’t going to happen. It was God’s prescriptive, efficacious will that all deny him.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
prophesied that they would, and Jesus predicted his denial
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
And yet, despite his denial and failure, Jesus stood on the shore. He came to him and he found him because the pain of failure is often the means God uses to accomplish his will in your life.
God used the failure of Peter at the crucifixion to prepare him to stand before the Sanhedrin in Acts.
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,
This is the same man! The man who cowered before a servant girl stood boldly before the ruling elites.
Don’t miss this: God can use even your failures to prepare you for his purposes. Don’t allow your failures to destroy you!
"Our difficulty is not that we don't know God's will. Our discomfort comes from the fact that we do know His will, but we do not want to do it." ~ Henry Blackaby
Jesus LOVED Them. "Children, do you have any fish?"
Jesus LOVED Them. "Children, do you have any fish?"
Notice what is happening here. Peter and the disciples have returned to their old way of life, not because they didn’t believe in Jesus but because they believed they weren’t useful for the kingdom. So what is Jesus’ response?
He gently pointed them to his purposes.
At the end of the day, the most essential need of Peter wasn’t fish. The most essential need was to remember his calling. So Jesus took him back.
This story perfectly reflects the calling of Peter.
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.
Now let’s look at the calling of Peter:
And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Now this story in Luke 5 is not the first time Peter met Jesus
Jesus PROVIDED for Them. "Come and have breakfast..."
Jesus PROVIDED for Them. "Come and have breakfast..."
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
Jesus loved and provided for them.
Shame over past failures can hinder us, but Jesus fed Peter because He had not finished writing his story and he’s not finished writing yours.
Failure cannot have the final word when Christ is involved.
The Betrayal of his Judas could have had the final word, but in Christ it didn’t
The Nailing to the cross could have had the final word, but Sunday was coming.
"Much of God's will for your life is already found in the Bible." ~ Adrian Rogers
Jesus RESTORED Them. "Simon do you love me?"
Jesus RESTORED Them. "Simon do you love me?"
God’s Purposes are bigger than your failures.
Jeremiah 15:19 (ESV)
Therefore thus says the Lord:
“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
So what's next...
FOLLOW Him
FOLLOW Him
"You say you do not know what God's will is, but I'll tell you what it is. Above all it is that you know Christ and then that your neighbors hear about Christ. That is His will. So often we sit around twiddling our thumbs, dreaming about God's will in some distant future when we are not even willing to stand up on our own two feet, walk down the street, and do God's will right now." ~ John F. MacArthur
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