Transcription
The following program is brought to you by friends and partners of Kingdom Connection. I know, even though you've been messing up and doing it over and over and over again, I know in your heart you want to follow me and you love me. You just don't have any consistency and you're following me from a distance.
If you have your Bibles, I'd like for you to open them with me for just a few moments today. And I want us to look one more time at the resurrection story, but maybe in a way that we can all relate to more than we realize. I want you to go to Luke chapter 5. And this particular verse, verses of scripture that I'm going to read are not about the resurrection, but they're headed to it. And I want you to see pre-crucifixion resurrection moments, particularly in the life of Simon Peter. They were standing fishing. He was a professional Fisher. And in verse 4, when he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let your nets out for the catch." No, didn't have time to read it, but they had fished all night and caught nothing. And they were washing their nets. And now Jesus says, "Launch out into the deep." And when they had done this, well, actually says in verse 5, "But Simon answered and said to him, 'Master, we've told all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I'll let down the net.'" When they had done this, a great number of fish came into the net and the net was breaking. They had to summon for their partners to come and help them. Both boats were about to sink because they were catching so much. And when Simon Peter saw this, verse 8, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." This is a very huge moment in the Bible. This is Simon Peter for the first time in encountering Jesus Christ personally. And he says, "I am so ashamed of who I am, the life I've lived. Apart from me, you're too holy and I'm, I'm a wicked person." Verse 9, "And he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of the fish that was taken." So James and John, the sons of Zebedee, we're the partners with Simon. Listen, and Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch him." And so they that had brought their boats to the land, when they brought him to them, forsook all. Listen to these words and followed him. And it says in Matthew 4, that Jesus said to them, he gives you a little bit more insight. It says he said to them, same setting, but from another writer's opinion of the moment, "Follow me." He said those words to Peter. Everybody say, "Follow me." So this is the first encounter. The first time those words are used, "Follow me."
Now, while you have your Bible, I want you to look with me. I want to go quickly to the book of Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. He's following Jesus. We're going to fast forward three years. And we pick the story up now in verse 31. And this is what it says: "Then Jesus said to all of them, all of the disciples are there. And he said to all of them, 'You will be made to stumble because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the Shepherd and the flock will be scattering.'" Send the Bible. That this is going to happen. He was referring to a prophecy. This is going to happen. All of you are gonna forsake me because the Bible prophesied that you would in the Old Testament. Verse 33, "And Peter answered and said to him, 'Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble.'" Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even if I have to die with you, listen to this, I'm gonna tell you where I will not mess." And he gets very specific. "I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples. But then it really gets sad. I want you to see it. He says, he says, "I'm, I'm never going to deny you. I'm not going to do it. I will not. There's some things I will not do. I promise you, I'm not gonna do it. I will not do it." And then he says, "I'll tell you specifically what I will not do. I will never deny you. The area that I will not do it in, this is the area I will not specifically deny you." And we're not here to to look down and and and you know, beat up on Simon Peter because I want you to understand that you relate to him more than you realize. How many of you have told the Lord in some weak area of your life, "I will never do it again"? Wait, keep your hands down. I know, I know, I'm not even finished with a question yet. And the hands are going up. How many of you have said in a weak area of your life, "I will never do it again," and you did it again? Let me see your hand. It's 100%. So how many of you would agree with this little sermon that we can relate to Simon Peter? Because there's things I stumble, one I said I'd never do, and I did them. And then there's things that I said I'd never do again, and I've done them again. And what's amazing is when you start reading the story. Now look in Matthew 26 and verse 69. The Bible says that they arrest Jesus. Same night. Take him to the courtyard. Verse 69. "Now Peter said outside the courtyard and a servant girl came to him saying, 'You're with those of Jesus of Galilee.'" Verse 70. "Here goes now, but he denied it before them all saying, 'I do not know what you're talking about.'" So here comes a girl. Same night that he said, "I won't do it." Here comes a girl saying, "You're one of them." And he instantly, in the very area he said he wouldn't do it, said, "I'll never deny." "Aren't you one of them?" "I deny that I am. I am not one of them." It gets, it gets worse. Watch this. Verse 71. "And when he had gone out to the Gateway, another girl." Everybody say, "Another girl." "Saw him and said, 'Hey, you're one of those. You're one of those fellows that hangs out with Jesus of Nazareth.'" For 72, "But he again denied." Watch. He goes deeper with an oath. Before he just denied. Have you ever noticed that he denied with an oath? When an oath is a reference to a legal term. It would be the equivalent or a lot like when you go to court and they put a Bible and say, you know, put your hand on the Bible, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" So when he was denying it, he was saying, "I'm willing to, I'm willing to not just deny Jesus, I'll swear an oath to it that I don't know." When that's to... Well, 473, a little later, those who stood by, came up and said to Peter, "He's having a bad night." Said, said to Peter, "Surely you're one of them. Your speech betrays you." Verse 74. "Then he began to curse and swear, saying, 'I do not know that man.'" I mean, he's gone from denying to denying with an oath. Now he's going to cursing. "I don't know the blankety-blank man. I don't load a blanket. He blinked, blankly. I don't know him." And he's denying and cursing three times. And then notice what happens in verse 74. "And immediately." This is such a sad scripture. "Immediately the rooster crowed." Notice verse 75. "And Peter remembered the words to Jesus, who said to him, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.'" So he went out and wept bitterly.
But I want you to see something maybe you've never seen in the story. And it's in Luke 22 and verse 60. It's the same occasion, but from a different writer. And he's saying, "Here's what I noticed." And Peter said to the man, "The last time, I don't know him." The rooster crowed while he was speaking. Listen to verse 61. "And the Lord turned." Right after the rooster crowed, that's verse 60. Verse 61. "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter." And when he looked at him, he had black eyes. He had a busted nose. He had bruised lips. He had streams of blood pouring from the crown of thorns that had been jammed on his head. And they had beat Jesus. And when the Bible said Jesus turned, when the rooster crowed, and looked Peter right in the eyes, can you only imagine how he felt? He said, "I will never deny you." I didn't just deny you. I denied you with an oath. Then I denied you cursing. And now the rooster crows. And right after the rooster crows, Jesus, in with with black eyes and bloody nose and bruised lips and streams of blood, looks right in the eyes of Simon Peter. And he remembered the words. The rest of that verse said of how he said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me." Verse 62 is really sad. "And he went and wept bitterly."
I, I think we need to remember this because so many of us start out eagerly when the Lord calls us. And yes, I'll follow you. Maybe it was when you were a child, you said, "I'll follow you." And you love the Lord and you followed the Lord. But there's an interesting verse in in Matthew 26. It said he followed him. In verse 58, "Peter followed him at a distance." This is huge. He starts out following him in Luke chapter 5, you remember when we started this story, "Follow me," and he's following him. But then something happened through the years where he's following him from a distance. He used to be close. He used to be tight. He used to be right on him and under him. He forsook everything. He was the main thing in his life. And he loved him with all of his heart. But now the years have worn away the relationship between Simon Peter and Christ. And now the Bible says he's still following him and he still loves him, but he's following him from a distance. He said there's a lot of people that will come to Free Chapel and they love me and they decided to follow me. Maybe when they were a child. Maybe they gave their heart to the Lord when they were 20 or 30 or whatever. But the years have brought a lot of distance. And they're following me from a distance. And things that they said they would never do, they do them again and again and again. But they still love me. They still, in their heart, want to follow me. And I want you to tell them I love them. I want you to tell them that I, I've made a way for them. I want you to tell them I'm not angry or mad at them. I know that we were close and now they follow me from a distance. And tell him that I miss them.
Your Bible said that Peter decided in John 21. He said, "I think it's the third verse, 'I'm going, I'm going back to fishing.'" When he said, "I'm going fishing," he's saying, "I'm going back to who I used to be before I met Christ. I've blown it. I've messed up. I failed. I'm going back to who I used to be because he wouldn't want me. I looked in his eyes then. I denied him. Who could ever get over a moment like a failure like I've had? So I'm just going back. I was a fisherman before he ever called me. And he said, 'Follow me.' And and I'm just going back to who I used to be. And that's who I am. I tried that stuff and I couldn't live it. And I'm going back." He went back to that boat. I love this story. And they listened. And in John 21, the Bible said that while they were on the boat fishing, listen, it's the same miracle. Jesus is about to set up the same miracle. Have you ever noticed this? It's the same miracle. It happens twice. They fished all night and they're coming in. And I love it because the scripture said that Jesus appeared in his resurrected body after the crucifixion on the beach. And they were about a hundred yards out. It's still dark. There's some fog. They see a figure on the beach. They can't make out who it is. And the voice screams out over the water, "Hey, did you, did you catch anything to eat? Have you had anything to eat?" Listen to these words in the morning. To come, verse 4, "He stood on the shore, and Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you had any food?'" They didn't know who they were talking to. They shouted back, "No, we fished all night. Does it sound familiar? We fished all night and we didn't catch anything." And the voice says back, "Cast your net on the other side." That is deja vu. One of them turns out, "Wait a minute. We've heard this before. We've been here before." And they threw the net on the other side. And the Bible said they caught a hundred and fifty-four large fish. And the boat began to sink because the fish were so big. And suddenly John, the Apostle, whom Jesus loved, turned to Peter and said, "You know who that is. You remember the first time this happened." And he looks and turns around for Peter. And the Bible said Peter had dove in the water and he's swimming a hundred yards back to Jesus. He comes up out of the water. And Jesus has fish on the fire and bread and cooking a meal of restoration, saying, "Come on, I've been waiting on you. You don't have to bring anything. I've got it all done. It's finished. It's finished." Why did Jesus do the same miracle? Because he was saying, "It's okay. I knew you were gonna mess up. And I'm giving you an opportunity to go back and start all over again." The reason he did the same miracle is he wanted to, he wanted him to start all over again. "I'm giving you a chance to recommit your life. I'm giving you a shot at total forgiveness and restoration." And then he asked Peter, "Do you love me?" He denied him three times. And he asked him three times in a row, "Do you love me?" "Lord, you know I love you." "Do you know me?" "Yes, I love you." "Do you love me?" "Yes, I love you, Lord. You know all things. You know I love you." The reason that Jesus kept asking him is not to convince Jesus that Peter loved him. He was saying, "I want you to listen to what you're telling me. I know you love me, but you think because you've messed up that you don't love me. I know, even though you've been messing up and doing it over and over and over again, I know in your heart you want to follow me and you love me. You just don't have any consistency and you're following me." Listen, from a distance. [Applause] You're following me from a distance. I think that describes so many people who come to church on Easter and that's about it. They love the Lord. They said yes to the Lord somewhere, but they follow him from a distance. And they're in a cycle of, of, "I just can't live it." Jesus went on to tell him in John 21. Listen to these words. He said, "You're gonna die. There's coming a day when you're an old man, they're gonna take you and prepare you for a crucifixion, and you're gonna be crucified just like me." And verse 19, "Then he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, 'Look at these words, follow me.'" In other words, he's saying, "I know many years ago, the first time I asked you to follow me, you said, 'I'll follow you,' and you meant it. But you fell behind and you followed me from a distance. And you had a horrible, sinful failure in your life. And I, through my death and my resurrection, have provided another invitation to you to say, 'Recommit,' and saying the exact same words, set up the same miracle so you could start all over again. I don't care about your past. Because by the way, you're the very one, the same voice, mouth, and tongue that denied me three times, is the same voice I'm gonna use on the day of Pentecost to birth the church. It's the same voice in Acts chapter 3 that's gonna say to a lame man, 'Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I unto you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he, leaping, stood and ran through the temple. It's the same voice that's gonna stand after they threatened him not to use the name, and he's gonna say, 'Neither in Acts 4 is there any other name whereby men can be saved, but the name of Jesus.' He's the same one. The one who denied me three times and looked into my eyes. And the enemy told you, the wrote, the rooster crowing told you every morning, 'You, you'll only live in shame and condemnation.' But you're the same one in Acts chapter 5 that they're gonna take the sick people and lay them out on the streets and they, in hopes that you, under such an anointing, will walk by and your shadow will touch the sick and the sick will be healed." What I'm saying to you today is, when I gave my heart to the Lord when I was 16, I said, "I'll never deny you." And I didn't. I have it with my words, but I have it with my works. I have it with my deeds. And there have been times when I said, "I will never do it again," and I have done it again. And you have too. And the rooster crows and says, "God can't use you, and you're not good enough." And even while we were praising the Lord, some of you, because you've been following from a distance, you love the Lord. You, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't come. You wouldn't show up. But something in you, maybe living in sin right now, but something in you says, "I really do love you. I know I'm distant from you, and I don't like this, but, but, but I messed up. But I do love you." And the power of what I'm preaching right now is what Peter could not live when he first met Jesus. Then he met the resurrected Jesus. The resurrection made the difference. The death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ says, "I, through my grace, will empower you." And you still struggle. And you'll still have sin. And you're still denying me some and do things you shouldn't do. But you won't be happy and content to be distant from me. So, a matter of fact, the closer you get to him, I can see my shadow. That's why the Bible said, "He that dwells under under the shadow of the Most High God will abide under the shadow of the Almighty." In the secret place. He doesn't want you at a distance because when you're at a distance, you're, the crowing of the rooster will defeat you. And some of you tried to praise God this morning. You heard a little, "What you've been doing? Why hadn't you been here all year? You hadn't been living for God much." But you loved him. And you said, "I'll follow you." And you're following him from a distance. Or you wouldn't have come back to church this morning. And we're not here to beat up on you. We're here to say, "I can relate." What I'm saying to you is, you don't have to live with the crowing of the rooster when there's a resurrected Lord who's saying, "You can start over today." And here's what I felt. Here's what I felt at every campus. Here's what I felt. Oh, some of you have been needing is a chance to recommit. It's gonna reignite the fire. You know this is where your family ought to be every Sunday. You know this is right. You know you're doing what's right. Your soul is being fed right now. You feed your mind, you feed your body. You got cars, you got stuff. But something in your soul is craving and starving for what you're in right now. And the Father is not mad at you. Jesus is looking at you, not saying, "Do you love me?" Too convinced himself. He knows your heart. He's wanting you to realize, "You do love me." And because you've made a mistake, it doesn't mean I have canceled my plans and my assignment and my dream over you and your family. As a matter of fact, I have provided a miracle that you're back again so you can recommit to my invitation to follow me again. I believe today's broadcast has touched your life. I believe this is the right message you were supposed to hear today. And we never close this program without praying with people, encouraging people to pray. So let's do that right now. It starts with praying for salvation. Just say these words: "Jesus, forgive me. Cleanse me. Restore me. Cleanse me from all my sins. Jesus, I put my faith in you. I believe in you. I surrender my life to your will." Now go to the phone, dial the number that's on the screen, and let us know what God is doing for you. And listen, if you want somebody to pray for you, you think your prayer is good, get it connected with another believer. Bible said if any two or three, meaning there needs to be some agreement, will agree on something, it shall be done in Jesus' name. So let's pray together. If there's a need in your life, whatever it is, pick up the phone, dial the number on the screen, or go online and send us an email. We would love to partner in prayer with you.
The Holocaust ended more than 70 years ago. Yet, there are still tens of thousands of elderly people who experienced the horrors of the Nazi death camps. And today, there are about 190,000 of them still alive in Israel. Unbelievably, more than 50,000 of them continue to live in poverty. Last year, because of your generosity, we started to work in Israel by purchasing two properties to provide housing for these Holocaust survivors. But there is still a need in Israel to help these precious people. There are essential expansions that must be done, including additional housing for even more survivors, dining facilities, and a recreational area to foster and cultivate community. Your gift today will provide our Jewish brothers and sisters with a home and a place where dignity and purpose can be restored. With your gift of $1,000, we'll place your name on the Founders Wall at the Holocaust Center in Jerusalem. And as a special gift of appreciation, we'll send you a personalized Israel Blessing Plaque. When you send your gift of $100 or more, we'll send you a Legacy Certificate honoring your investment into the lives of these Holocaust survivors. We'll also include an exclusive book commemorating Israel's 70th anniversary as a nation. As a thank you to everyone who joins us in providing housing for these elderly Jewish people, we'll send you Jensen Franklin's teaching series, "Inheritance: The Secret to Receiving God's Blessing and Influence." Every gift makes a difference and will help accelerate the vision. Together, we can be a blessing to Israel. To learn more, call or visit us online at JensenFranklin.tv. [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
This program has been sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom Connection. We hope you've enjoyed this teaching by Jensen Franklin and thank you for your continued support of this ministry. Your prayers and financial support make these programs possible. [Music]