Coming to Terms With Our Weaknesses Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Coming to Terms With Our Weaknesses Part 2. He will be in John 21:1-14

People say to me, I’m going to follow my heart, and I say, please don’t do that. And I know that’s what everybody says, but the Bible says your heart is deceitful. Who can know it? How about you follow what God’s will is, what God’s plan is, and that sometimes, believe it or not, as hard as it is, God tells us to wait.

The Gospel of John was the last to be written of all the Gospels, but in this powerful Gospel that is often referred to as the evangelist Gospel or the Gospel of salvation or belief is a message that God wants us to understand, and that is that we have to come to terms with our weaknesses.

I love how the Gospel of John ends. As it reaches out to a man named Peter, Jesus reaches out to him and restores him and re -enlists him in the family of God and the work of God. This is going to be a powerful message for you and I today, so I want you to get your Bible and I want you to get your pen and paper and follow along as we learn together about coming to terms with our weaknesses.

If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in the Gospel of John. John 21, verses 1 through 14 is our text this morning. In his book entitled, Men of Integrity, Phil Callaway writes this story.

He says that one sleepy Sunday afternoon when his son was five years old, we drove past a cemetery together, noticing a large pile of dirt beside a newly excavated grave. His son pointed out to his dad and said, look dad, one got out.

His dad laughed a lot and he said, every time I pass a graveyard, I’m reminded of the one who did get out. And that is of course our savior, Jesus Christ. We’ve been traveling. through the Gospel of John, and we have finished up chapter 1 through 20.

I know that you don’t care, but if you’re a pastor, you care, I guess. And since I care, you don’t care, but I’m going to say it anyways. But I calculated that we have gone through 90 sermons with Pastor Mike through the Gospel of John.

And we’ve been at it for two and a half years. We’re coming to the end of this Gospel. The Gospel of John was the last of the Gospels to be written, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And in our text this morning, verse 21 through 14, even literally through the end of the chapter, it is the longest account that we have of an appearance of Jesus Christ to His disciples.

And so many have questioned and wondered is this chapter even belong in the Gospel of John. This epilogue that has been added to the end of the Gospel, it seems that it would have been a better conclusion to finish out as John did in verse 30 and 31 of chapter 20 when he said, in many other signs, truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written,

that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name. That is the purpose of the Gospel. That is the purpose that John wrote the Gospel of John.

It is the Gospel of belief. It is the evangelistic Gospel. It is the Gospel that is designed to prove to those who are reading that truly Christ was sent from the Father. He is the promised Messiah and that His miracles validate His message and the miracles validate the messenger being Christ Himself.

But there remains the question that as we have been traveling through the Gospel of John, what ever came of Peter? Peter had denied the Lord three times. We witnessed it. Perhaps no greater shame could have ever fell upon any disciple than to deny the Lord and to look into His faith and to see the grief, the burden that Jesus bore on behalf of His disciples, but seeing that Peter had denied Him.

And there really is no full explanation to what took place in the life of Peter after his denials. This edition, this epilogue of John writing the Gospel of John letting us know what was to come of this man, Peter, who would lead the church, who would lead the church on the day of Pentecost to proclaim the message of salvation, who would lead the church in the implementation and the beginning of the church as a collective group gathering together on Sundays to worship Him.

What came of this man? What is it that took place? How is it that he went from denial to this great spokesman for the church and this great leader, individual, who would be so courageous and bold for the cause of Jesus Christ?

We have that answer in John chapter 21. And so it is this morning I would like us to consider This very topic, and that is coming to terms with our weaknesses. For as we look at the disciples and specifically Peter, we have to come to terms with our weaknesses in order that God might use us in a great way for His glory.

When we come to our text this morning, I want you to notice in verse 1, it says, after these things, Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, or could be the Sea of Galilee, and on this wise He showed He Himself, meaning this is how He appeared to the disciples.

John goes on to say in verse 2 that there were together Simon Peter and Thomas, called Didymus, and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples. I want you to stop there because I think it’s critical as we’re trying to understand the message that God has for us this morning in coming to terms with our weaknesses.

You and I are very familiar with Simon Peter. John brings to our attention Simon Peter, not just Peter, I mean he’d already been introduced in the Gospel of John, and yet he goes back and calls him Simon Peter, reminding us as we read that all that Peter has gone through as Jesus had taught us that Peter would become this rock, that he would become this pillar in the church, that he would become this great spokesman in the church,

but John refers to him as Simon Peter, almost to remind us of his humanity, this man named Simon Peter, who rebuked the Lord for saying that he must suffer and die. Peter who denied Jesus three times.

But just as Jesus had prophesied, the devil had desired to sift him as wheat. And so it is Simon Peter and all of his weakness and all of his frailty and flaws is presented to us, but not just Simon Peter.

We’re introduced to Thomas, Thomas who we had just read about in chapter 20, who doubted that Jesus was resurrected when others had told him that they had seen. Thomas who said, unless I see the nail prints on his hands, Thomas who could not really believe or conceive in his mind that truly that Christ had resurrected.

Thomas and all of his weakness and all of his flaws is introduced to us, Nathaniel. Nathaniel had acknowledged Jesus as the king of Israel in chapter 1, but just before verse 49 and verse 45, he doubted Philip’s claim that the Messiah had literally come and that He had come from Nazareth to Nathaniel, who Himself had questions and wondered, was Christ truly, truly the Messiah, the one who would come and bring redemption for all who believe in Him,

Nathaniel and all of His weaknesses and all of His flaws, the sons of Zebedee. You remember the sons of Zebedee, these two brothers full of energy, these two brothers full of passion, these two brothers that when others were seeming to contradict the ministry of Christ, that they had advised Jesus that He just called down fire from heaven and just wiped these people out.

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like that? These two men, so zealous in their cause for Christ, so committed and devoted in their loyalty to Jesus, but their emotions out of control, giving advice that was not helpful to the plan and purpose of God?

Here they are, the sons of Zebedee, with all their weaknesses, with all their flaws. Now Jesus had given instructions to His disciples. These disciples were told in Matthew 28, verse 10, Jesus said to them, do not be afraid, go tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see Me.

So they had been given instructions and that’s exactly what they did, that the Bible teaches us that there they are. They were by the Sea of Galilee, and we pick up in verse 3, they’re waiting for Jesus.

He said He would appear to them. They have left Jerusalem. They have tracked north to Galilee. And the Bible says in verse 3, Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a -fishing. They say unto Him, We also go with Thee.

They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now, come Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have you any meat?

They answered Him, No. And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore the disciples whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he gird his fishers coat unto him, for he was naked and did cast himself into the sea, and the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from the land.

But as it were two hundred cubics, or about three hundred feet, dragging the net with fishes, as soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there. And fish laid thereon and bred, Jesus saith unto them, bring of the fish which you have now caught.

Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three, and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, come and die. None of the disciples durst ask him, who art thou, knowing that it was the Lord?

Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. We have here an unsuccessful fishing trip that the disciples have taken, and I want us to learn some principles here that will help us to come to terms with our weaknesses as we strive to serve Jesus Christ.

I know that we’re often taught to make sure that we are aware of our strengths and that we minister and serve towards our strengths, and I agree. But I do think it’s essential in our walk of faith that each of us come to terms with our weaknesses, that we understand that as we recognize these weaknesses, as we see these weaknesses in our life, that we have the ability now to be more dependent upon Jesus Christ and that he complements and that he completes and that he begins to shape our lives as he strengthens us to fulfill what he has called us to do.

So let’s talk about that. The first step is that we have to evaluate our priorities. We have to evaluate our priorities again in verse three, Simon Peter, again, along with the other disciples, they’re waiting for Jesus, waiting for him to appear.

He said to Mary Magdalene and the women to tell my disciples to go and meet me in Galilee. That’s where I’m gonna appear to them. So they waited, they were there. Simon Peter says, look, I’m going fishing.

In a sense, he’s tired of waiting. How many of you like to wait? Are there any volunteers that love to wait? We struggle to wait, don’t you hate waiting? I mean, as soon as you see the traffic backing up, you’re popping up your ways app and you’re looking for a different way to go because you cannot wait another.

minute, you got to keep that car moving, right? Peter is impulsive. He decides that he’s done. He’s done waiting. He spoke before he thought, and he said, I’m going fishing. It’s a reminder to us that when God calls on us to wait, let us beware of impatience creeping into our heart.

We like to get things done quickly, don’t we? We want it done yesterday. When would you like that, Mr. Sanders? Yesterday. Yesterday. When would you like me to get this done, Pastor? Yesterday. Why isn’t it already done?

That’s the way we are. We are people who do not like to wait. But Peter says, I’m going fishing. He returns to his occupation. He’s the leader of the group. He’s always mentioned first every time there is a group listed in the Gospels.

There we see Peter’s name first. He is the one that is recognized among the other disciples as the leader, perhaps because he’s so vocal, not because he’s the most mature, not because he’s the most insightful, not because he somehow has a better education than others, but he is the leader because he tends to just jump out there and lead.

He’s the one that said, Jesus, if that’s you, let me come out there and walk on the water with you. He’s the one that when Jesus said, who do men think that I am, that he cried out and said, you aren’t the Christ, the Son of the God.

He is the one who was willing to always step up, speak up and say what needs to be said, sometimes maybe in the wrong way, sometimes a little. bit offensively but he says it but Peter gives his attention now to fishing not waiting but fishing and here we see the uncertainty of the disciples they don’t know what to do so they say we’re going with you we’re going with you there is in our hearts a desire to return to the familiar when we are waiting for God God is bringing about change in our life God is working within us he’s working through us he’s working around us but we want to get ahead of God be careful church that you don’t get ahead of God that you don’t go ahead of his plans his purpose for your life that you in your impulsiveness strive to go back to what is familiar when God is doing something new in your life and God is preparing for you for something greater something better God calls on us to wait on the Lord.

Someone was talking to me the other day and I always forget who talks to me. You ever get like that? I forget who I tell what I told and I always tell my kids if I’d already told you this, just act like you heard it for the first time.

But I said, if you don’t have peace and you don’t have the assurance from God, then just wait, just wait. Wait on God. Sometimes our souls can get restless. Sometimes we can feel a sense that the change is coming upon us and so we might want to do this or we might wanna do that or we might want to go this direction or that direction but what we really need to do is wait on the Lord until he gives us the peace that passes all understanding.

Now the Bible tells us that God is not the author of confusion and if God is not the author of confusion, who is? And I know that you would say the devil is the author of confusion. Well, I would say not only the devil but even our own flesh and the world that we’re always in this struggle, we’re always in this challenge within our own hearts that we can find ourselves deceiving our hearts.

People say to me, I’m gonna follow my heart and I say, please don’t do that. I know that’s the general counsel and I know that’s what everybody says, follow your heart but the Bible says your heart is deceitful, who can know it?

Be careful following your heart. How about you follow the Lord? How about you follow what God’s will is, what God’s plan is and that sometimes believe it or not, as hard as it is, God tells us to wait.

Wait on the Lord. Wait on him. He’ll open the right doors. He will lead you in the right way but don’t get ahead of him. And don’t try to go back to what you think is familiar, but remember that God is leading your heart.

And sometimes in this waiting, God is preparing the heart to give you what he has for your life. And so we wait. Peter was the leader. He wasn’t waiting anymore. And he led the rest of the disciples into disobedience.

Nothing wrong with fishing. And it wasn’t that they fished that was disobedient to God. It is that they quit waiting on the Lord, that they were not there. The Lord was coming. He was gonna appear to them, but they were not waiting.

They decided they’re gonna go fishing. They had all been commissioned. They have all been ordained to a special ministry. They were the apostles. They were the disciples that would lead the inauguration of the church.

And Jesus in those 40 days from his resurrection to his ascension, he was helping the disciples to connect the dots. He was helping them to see the age of grace. He was helping them to see the fulfillment, that he was the fulfillment of the law and that he had completed the law.

And now they were to go out and to preach the gospel of salvation, not just to the Jews only, but unto all generations, all races and all people groups and all places, they were to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that was found in them.

And this is what Jesus was doing in those 40 days as he appeared to his disciples, but they said, we’re gonna go fishing. And whether you realize it or not, you’re an influence on somebody. And for many of you, you’re an influence on many people.

And you need to remember that when you choose to get ahead of God and you choose that you’re just gonna go ahead and do it your way, right away, that you could be leading people to disobey God. Because sometimes it’s not what we do, it’s what we don’t do that gets us in trouble with Jesus.

It’s the sin of omission. It’s that God has a plan, God is putting it together and God is developing us as we wait. He is strengthening us. And as a result, preparing us. But we want to get this done.

We wanna get that done. And how tragic it is to influence others to get ahead of God. And I wanna encourage you to be that right influence, to be that right kind of a Christian that recognizes that even though you may not.

be the smartest in the Bible, and you may not be the most educated in the Bible. There are others who look up to your life, and there are new believers, and there are young believers, and that they are looking at your life, and that it is important that you set that example for them.

And it’s not that God is saying that, hey, you’re doing something evil, you might be doing something good, but you got your priorities messed up. This is what I’m trying to say, is evaluate your priorities.

Evaluate what’s God’s calling on your life, what is God’s mission for your life, what is His assignment for your life, and you need to evaluate those priorities. Is Peter and the disciples going to be focused on fishing, or are they going to be focused on literally fishing for men?

Certainly by this time, they’re starting to grasp and understand the mission that Christ has for them. Certainly, the Spirit of God is illuminating their minds and they are beginning to understand that the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ is to bring about a new covenant that is to come in and that they would be those founding stones, if you will.

Paul refers to them, that the apostles in Ephesians chapter two were those foundational stones and pillars in which they would preach the gospel. They would establish the church here, Jesus being the cornerstone, but the apostles being the foundational stones in helping to launch the church and yet they got ahead of God.

How important it is for us to look at our priorities. See, you can’t do everything and it’s important for us to stay on mission and sometimes you need to subtract some things in your life before you add some things in your life and you need to recognize what is it that God is calling me to do?

What is it that he is calling me? What ministry? What person is he calling me to reach to influence for Christ? Yes, and look at my priorities, look at my schedule and say, okay, I have a lot of good things I could do, but here are my priority.

There’s a lot of good things as you go into this new year, but don’t let the good be the enemy of the best in your life. So many times, we surrender the best by simply doing the good. And I challenge you to evaluate your priorities this year.

The second thing is we reflect on coming to terms with our weaknesses, is that we have to recognize our limitations. We look at verse three, and again the scripture says they went forth, they entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught what?

Church, nothing. These guys are not little fishermen on the creek. And they’re not standing over the bridge, throwing down a line, hoping that some foolish fish would bite their line. They’re not at a pond with the kids hanging out, trying to pull in some little fish.

These are professionals. These are men, this is what they did before they left it all to follow Christ. They know how to fish, and they know how. to be very successful in fishing. But what we find here is their efforts were met with failure.

And they had to recognize their limitations. That Peter had to come to the point and recognize that his self -reliance was useless. Peter denied the Lord. Certainly struggling in his relationship, his fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Certainly wondering where he stands with Jesus. He turns back to his old profession. He goes back to the familiar and he decides that he’s going to go out and he’s going to go back to what he’s good at.

But he learns very quickly. He has limitations in this world. He has limitations. The disciples are disappointed. They’re frustrated. There’s no food. But the Bible says in verse 4, I want you to look again that when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore.

The one they’d been waiting for. They were supposed to wait for him. And now he’s there. That morning, he is there. He stood on the shore. But the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. It was probably the sun coming up.

Hard to see. They didn’t recognize it was Jesus. But look, I love this. Then Jesus saith unto them, children, have you any meat? Peter rebuked the Lord. Think about that. He rebuked the Lord because he did not like what Jesus was saying.

Jesus taught his disciples that he would suffer, that he would die. He would be denied and that he would be rejected. Jesus made that very clear. And Peter did not want that to be the end of the story.

And when Peter found that he was himself one who would deny the Lord three times, he was devastated. Sometimes in our most… heroic and courageous moments, we reveal our weaknesses. And this weakness would overcome Peter, but it was Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, who reached out to Peter, who had gone fishing, kind of finished with it all, but restored him, and once again redirected the apostle Peter back into the family of the Lord and the army of God.

And that’s why I love this message, because we all have weaknesses, and as we come to terms with them, then we can see and experience the restoration of the Lord. And this is what God is saying to you.

You might be listening today, and maybe you feel like you have miserably failed God, you’ve let him down, all that might be true, but it doesn’t mean God’s done with you. It doesn’t mean you are to quit.

It just means that you’re to refocus, and you are to once again come to terms with your weakness, and let that be your platform to proclaim his message of grace and forgiveness, and a message of calling people to repentance and faith.

And I hope that you’ll remember that as you think about what we’ve been studying today. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.