Feed My Sheep

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Pursuing Faith Podcast where we explore questions of faith, doubt and life.

[00:00:11] I am your host, Dominic Done.

[00:00:19] Hey welcome everyone to today's episode of Pursuing Faith.

[00:00:23] Well before we dive in I just want to let you guys know about a few events that we

[00:00:27] have coming up.

[00:00:28] The first is just a couple weeks away where I'll be sharing some workshop seminars at Thrive

[00:00:34] Conference May 2nd and 3rd.

[00:00:38] Now if you've never heard of Thrive it's incredible.

[00:00:40] It's an annual leadership conference in Granite Bay, California.

[00:00:44] This year Mark Batterson will be there, Nick Vojicic and a ton of other incredible speakers.

[00:00:51] So you can attend live or online and I'll provide the link for you guys in the show

[00:00:55] notes.

[00:00:56] Secondly I'll be speaking in San Diego at Maranatha Chapel May 25th and 26th.

[00:01:02] I'll be doing all the weekend services if you happen to live in that area.

[00:01:07] Would love to see you.

[00:01:09] Well in today's message I want to share a talk that I gave just a few days ago.

[00:01:14] It's on the greatest sermon ever preached.

[00:01:18] It comes from Acts chapter 2 and God literally used these words to spearhead a revival

[00:01:25] that turned the world upside down.

[00:01:28] Now what's surprising to me is not so much that God used words.

[00:01:32] God's always been using words.

[00:01:34] He created the universe through words.

[00:01:36] John 1 in the beginning was the word.

[00:01:39] The word was with God.

[00:01:40] The word was God.

[00:01:41] So it's not surprising to me that God used words but what is surprising is who God

[00:01:47] used to speak these words.

[00:01:51] It's scandalous.

[00:01:52] It's incredible to see the impact that these words had and so I hope this message encourages

[00:01:58] you and inspires you.

[00:02:13] If you've been around church for any length of time and I know in this room there's

[00:02:16] a vast spectrum.

[00:02:18] Some of you have been in church for a few weeks.

[00:02:20] I met a guy actually last service and it's third week ever going to church in his life

[00:02:26] and God is just doing something beautiful in him but for others of us maybe you've been

[00:02:30] around churches for years and years and because of that you've probably heard your

[00:02:36] fair share of sermons and you've probably heard some that are really, really good

[00:02:42] and you've heard some that are really, really bad and my guess is the really, really bad

[00:02:48] ones have one thing in common.

[00:02:51] Their way too long.

[00:02:53] Amen.

[00:02:54] Like I think that is a recurring theme and I was curious.

[00:02:58] I was like I wonder what the longest sermon ever preached was and maybe I saw this.

[00:03:02] It was actually in the news a few days ago.

[00:03:05] It comes out of Mount Dora, Florida.

[00:03:07] This is Pastor Zach Zender.

[00:03:11] He is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's longest sermon.

[00:03:19] I'm like how long did he go?

[00:03:20] You guys won't believe this.

[00:03:21] It's true.

[00:03:22] 53 hours and 18 minutes.

[00:03:27] I'm like how is this even possible?

[00:03:29] And then I look closer at the picture.

[00:03:31] He's holding a sandwich.

[00:03:33] So he's like okay I need to eat right.

[00:03:35] The people in the congregation probably had aged so much they didn't even know what

[00:03:39] sins they were repenting of.

[00:03:41] So don't speak lie to you, don't go to that church.

[00:03:44] If there's anything to be thankful for I will not go that long today.

[00:03:47] George Burns the comedian he said the secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning

[00:03:52] and a good ending than having the two as close together as possible.

[00:03:58] Brilliant.

[00:03:59] Now here's the amazing thing about this passage in Acts 2.

[00:04:02] It is one of the world's shortest sermons and it is one of the world's most impactful

[00:04:07] sermons.

[00:04:08] It's the words of Peter that he gave that day on the day of Pentecost.

[00:04:13] The spirit of God had come down.

[00:04:15] People were now empowered with God's spirit.

[00:04:18] God was doing something in their community.

[00:04:21] People are gathering around from the city like what is happening?

[00:04:25] We hear word on the street that there's something unique that's going on and Peter

[00:04:30] stands up and he addresses the crowd and these are the words that he said.

[00:04:35] Check it out.

[00:04:36] In Acts 22, fellow Israelites listened to this.

[00:04:40] Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs

[00:04:48] which God did among you through him as you yourselves know.

[00:04:52] This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge and you

[00:04:57] with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

[00:05:03] But God raised him from the dead freeing him from the agony of death because it was

[00:05:09] impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

[00:05:12] This would have been a great Easter Sunday message and David said about him,

[00:05:16] I saw the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken.

[00:05:22] Therefore my heart is glad, my tongue rejoices, my body also will rest in hope

[00:05:28] because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead.

[00:05:32] You will not let your holy one see decay.

[00:05:35] You have made known to me the paths of life you will fill me with joy in your presence.

[00:05:41] Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried

[00:05:47] and his tomb is here to this day.

[00:05:50] But he was a prophet and he knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place

[00:05:55] one of his descendants on his throne.

[00:05:58] During what was to come he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah that he was not abandoned to

[00:06:02] the realm of the dead nor did his body see decay.

[00:06:06] God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of it.

[00:06:13] Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy

[00:06:18] Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

[00:06:24] For David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said, the Lord said to my Lord sit at my

[00:06:27] right hand until I make your enemies a footstool from your feet.

[00:06:32] Therefore let all Israel be assured of this.

[00:06:37] God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Messiah.

[00:06:48] Peter's sermon is really hyper focused on two things.

[00:06:54] Number one, Scripture and number two, Jesus.

[00:06:58] That's always a good sermon by the way if it's about Jesus and the Bible.

[00:07:04] In verse 22 he talks about Jesus and his life.

[00:07:08] In verse 23 he focuses in on Jesus' death on the cross and then a point that would

[00:07:15] have stung for his original audience.

[00:07:17] He says, and Jesus who many of you crucified are guilty of his death.

[00:07:26] Now this would have stung because this is the same group of people, many of which

[00:07:30] who were standing there on Good Friday, they were chanting and they were

[00:07:34] shouting crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

[00:07:39] Yet the tragedy of Good Friday, God turned into something beautiful

[00:07:44] because in verses 24 through 35 he talks about the resurrection.

[00:07:50] And he gives evidence for the resurrection, he's like there were eyewitnesses to this event.

[00:07:55] Then he quotes again from Scripture, this time Psalm 16 and Psalm 110.

[00:08:02] And all of this is building up to the climax of Peter's message.

[00:08:07] And note this if you have your Bibles open, verse 36.

[00:08:10] He says Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.

[00:08:16] Lord and Messiah.

[00:08:19] Now these are two fascinating words that are actually weighted with a lot of meaning.

[00:08:24] Let's dig into it for a second.

[00:08:25] The word Lord in the original language is the word Curios.

[00:08:29] Let me hear you say Curios.

[00:08:32] And it literally means one who has power and authority.

[00:08:36] In the Old Testament it's the word Adonai.

[00:08:39] In the New Testament it's the word Lord.

[00:08:41] It just means sovereignty, deity, power, divinity.

[00:08:46] Jesus is God, Peter is saying.

[00:08:50] But and he is also Messiah.

[00:08:55] Now this word Messiah is a different word.

[00:08:57] It's the word Christos.

[00:09:00] Let me hear you say Christos.

[00:09:02] Christos means anointed one or savior.

[00:09:07] Jesus is both Curios and Christos.

[00:09:11] What's the difference?

[00:09:12] Well if Curios describes who Jesus is,

[00:09:17] that he is both God and King,

[00:09:20] he is divine, Curios describes,

[00:09:23] or Christos describes what Jesus does.

[00:09:26] That he has come to earth, that he is with us,

[00:09:29] that he died for us, that he came to save and heal

[00:09:33] and redeem and rescue the world.

[00:09:36] Now we hear that.

[00:09:37] Like yeah, oh yeah of course that's the gospel.

[00:09:39] But in this original context in the first century

[00:09:42] this would have been a massive paradigm shift

[00:09:45] because in Jewish culture they believed in a God

[00:09:48] who was powerful but they didn't have

[00:09:52] a robust theology of incarnation.

[00:09:55] They didn't believe in a God who actually lived among us

[00:09:58] who John chapter one walked our streets.

[00:10:01] So they believe in a God who's powerful

[00:10:03] but he's not present as in flesh and blood.

[00:10:07] In Greek culture they believed in gods who were with us.

[00:10:12] You look at the mythologies of the ancient world

[00:10:15] but the problem with these gods and goddesses

[00:10:17] is that they weren't all that powerful.

[00:10:20] They were susceptible to weaknesses and desire

[00:10:23] and temptation and did all kinds of weird stuff.

[00:10:26] So that was their paradigm in the first century.

[00:10:29] Peter says this Jesus is both curious and Christus.

[00:10:35] He is powerful, he's God and he's personal.

[00:10:39] He's with us.

[00:10:40] He is king and he has brought his kingdom to earth.

[00:10:46] In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer he said in Jesus

[00:10:49] the reality of God entered the reality of this world.

[00:10:55] Now Peter gives this message which takes maybe a minute

[00:10:58] to read and notice the reaction of the crowd.

[00:11:02] And honestly this is like every pastor's dream

[00:11:03] to have this kind of response.

[00:11:05] When the people heard this they were cut to the heart

[00:11:09] and they said to Peter and the other apostles,

[00:11:12] brothers what should we do?

[00:11:14] And Peter replied repent and be baptized every one of you

[00:11:18] in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins

[00:11:23] and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[00:11:27] The promise is for you and your children

[00:11:30] and for all who are far off,

[00:11:33] for all whom the Lord our God will call.

[00:11:37] And with many other words he warned them

[00:11:40] and he pleaded with them,

[00:11:42] save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

[00:11:46] And those who accepted his message were baptized

[00:11:49] and about, check this out,

[00:11:51] 3,000 people were added to their number that day.

[00:11:56] Here's the reaction and again this is what every pastor

[00:12:00] wants to see.

[00:12:01] He gives a message and it says they were cut to the heart.

[00:12:06] And I was curious what does this phrase cut to the heart mean?

[00:12:08] Well it's one of the most deep passionate phrases

[00:12:12] that you can find in the ancient world.

[00:12:15] It was used in some cases to describe someone

[00:12:17] being emotionally stabbed or pierced.

[00:12:21] Homer actually used the same term

[00:12:23] to describe intense emotion.

[00:12:26] In fact in one of Homer's writings he uses this phrase

[00:12:29] to describe horses that are agitated

[00:12:32] and they're hoofing the ground,

[00:12:34] they're just stirred up inside

[00:12:36] because they have a sense that something is happening.

[00:12:39] The idea is they are so moved by Peter's message.

[00:12:43] Some are on the brink of tears.

[00:12:45] They call out to him,

[00:12:46] they're like what should we do?

[00:12:49] How can we take this message and apply it to our life?

[00:12:53] What does it mean for us right now?

[00:12:54] And Peter's like I'm so glad you asked.

[00:12:56] There's three things.

[00:12:57] Number one, he says repent.

[00:13:00] Now you guys know this when the Bible talks about repentance

[00:13:03] it's not merely saying we're sorry

[00:13:06] or have feelings or moods of remorse.

[00:13:10] It's action.

[00:13:11] That's why in the Old Testament

[00:13:12] the word for repent and return are the same word.

[00:13:18] To repent is to admit you've lost your way

[00:13:23] then return to where you last experienced God,

[00:13:27] where your soul was alive

[00:13:29] and you wanted nothing more but more of him

[00:13:32] and then begin again, repent.

[00:13:36] Number two, be filled with the spirit.

[00:13:40] If you missed our last few weeks

[00:13:42] you can go online, check them out.

[00:13:44] We talked about what this means for us

[00:13:46] as a church, as followers of Jesus.

[00:13:49] And then number three, be baptized.

[00:13:53] Last week Easter Sunday was also baptism Sunday

[00:13:58] and if you were here maybe you witnessed this

[00:14:02] but we saw over the course of the day,

[00:14:04] this is so cool you guys,

[00:14:05] 16 people get baptized and give their life to Jesus.

[00:14:08] Isn't that awesome?

[00:14:09] 16 people.

[00:14:11] And I just wanted to say,

[00:14:12] like if you were one of those who got baptized

[00:14:16] or if you're thinking someday of being baptized

[00:14:19] and by the way we have baptism Sundays

[00:14:21] every single month here at Bayside.

[00:14:25] Here's just an encouragement for you.

[00:14:28] In Romans 6 verse three it says,

[00:14:30] when you were baptized you were baptized into Jesus.

[00:14:34] What does that mean?

[00:14:36] It means even as Jesus died and was buried

[00:14:40] and rose again.

[00:14:41] When you choose to be baptized

[00:14:43] and you go and step into the waters,

[00:14:46] Romans says you are identifying with Jesus.

[00:14:51] The old you is buried just like Jesus was buried

[00:14:56] in the ground.

[00:14:57] Your sin, your shame, your past, your wounds

[00:15:02] the old you is buried in the water

[00:15:06] and then you come out of the water

[00:15:08] and it's a symbol of resurrection.

[00:15:10] It's a symbol of new life.

[00:15:12] You are washed clean, you are a new person

[00:15:14] but here's what I wanted to share.

[00:15:16] If you were baptized last week

[00:15:18] just because you get baptized

[00:15:21] and we all know this if you have been

[00:15:24] it doesn't mean that your battles are over.

[00:15:27] It doesn't mean that everything suddenly

[00:15:30] is going to be perfect.

[00:15:32] It doesn't mean your temptations disappear.

[00:15:34] I've had conversations with people over the years

[00:15:37] who were baptized and then a few days they were like

[00:15:39] what is going on?

[00:15:40] I'm still wrestling, I'm still being tempted.

[00:15:42] Well that's actually part of the process

[00:15:44] of following Jesus.

[00:15:46] I think of the French thinker Jean-Marie-Anne.

[00:15:49] He actually argues that conversion doesn't solve

[00:15:52] temptation rather it heightens temptation

[00:15:58] because conversion creates resistance.

[00:16:03] That's an interesting thought but it's very true.

[00:16:06] Before you give your life to Jesus

[00:16:08] it wasn't like there was this massive battle

[00:16:10] in your soul between the flesh and the spirit.

[00:16:13] Before you gave your life to Jesus

[00:16:15] there wasn't this tension between the new you

[00:16:18] and the old you because you are the old you.

[00:16:20] That's why Oscar Wilde said I can resist anything

[00:16:23] except temptation, right?

[00:16:26] When you're living in the old you life

[00:16:28] you're not gonna feel that tension.

[00:16:30] The moment though you choose to be a follower of Jesus

[00:16:35] there will be tension between who you were

[00:16:39] and who God has called you to be.

[00:16:41] Between the old you and the new you.

[00:16:45] So if you got baptized last week

[00:16:47] and you're already feeling this,

[00:16:49] pull this tension, yes that's part of the reality

[00:16:53] of following Jesus.

[00:16:54] There's gonna be battles ahead

[00:16:55] but here's the good news, you are surrounded.

[00:16:57] Right now by followers of Jesus

[00:17:00] we are here to help you every step of the way.

[00:17:03] That is what the church is for.

[00:17:04] That is what the body of Christ is for.

[00:17:07] So Peter shares this, he's like repent,

[00:17:10] be filled with the spirit, be baptized

[00:17:13] and then verse 41 it says those who accepted his message

[00:17:17] were baptized and how many were saved?

[00:17:19] 3,000 people.

[00:17:23] That is insane.

[00:17:25] The church began with 120 on Pentecost

[00:17:29] in an upper room that is waiting and praying seeking God.

[00:17:32] Peter gets up, there's a commotion,

[00:17:34] people are rallying around outside.

[00:17:36] He gives a message 3,000 are saved.

[00:17:40] A few chapters after this it says God added

[00:17:44] to the church daily.

[00:17:46] Then it says 2,000 more people were saved

[00:17:51] and within a few centuries.

[00:17:53] In fact let me just share with you a slide,

[00:17:55] this is crazy.

[00:17:56] This is the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire

[00:17:59] looking at the first few centuries

[00:18:01] by the fourth century 10% of people in the Roman Empire

[00:18:05] had become followers of Jesus.

[00:18:07] You now literally have millions and millions

[00:18:11] of Christians who are scattered in every region

[00:18:14] of the empire worshiping, praying, giving,

[00:18:19] serving their communities together.

[00:18:21] In fact it was because the early church

[00:18:23] had this desire to serve and to give

[00:18:27] and to love their communities that people

[00:18:29] in their communities are now responding.

[00:18:31] They're like whoa you guys love so well.

[00:18:34] You're taking care of people so well.

[00:18:36] This is why Rodney Stark, interesting thinker by the way

[00:18:39] he's written a number of books on this.

[00:18:40] He's a sociologist from Baylor University.

[00:18:43] He said Christianity revitalized life.

[00:18:46] To cities filled with the homeless

[00:18:49] and the impoverished, Christianity offered charity

[00:18:53] as well as hope.

[00:18:54] To cities filled with newcomers and strangers,

[00:18:58] Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments.

[00:19:03] To cities filled with orphans and widows,

[00:19:06] Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family.

[00:19:12] To cities torn by violent ethnic strife,

[00:19:16] Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity

[00:19:19] and to cities faced with epidemics, fires and earthquakes.

[00:19:24] We can kind of relate to that, right?

[00:19:26] Christianity offered effective nursing services.

[00:19:30] It's so beautiful.

[00:19:31] And this was just a small taste of the impact

[00:19:36] that the gospel would have as it would spread

[00:19:40] from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the world

[00:19:47] and it all began with a simple sermon.

[00:19:53] And the scandalous thing to me is not so much

[00:19:58] that God would use words to transform hearts.

[00:20:04] The really scandalous thing to me is who God used

[00:20:10] to give this sermon.

[00:20:12] It really hit me this last week.

[00:20:15] Who's the guy giving the sermon?

[00:20:17] Well, of all people it was Peter.

[00:20:22] Question, what was Peter doing 50 days before this sermon?

[00:20:29] Yeah, he's standing at the enemy's fire.

[00:20:33] 50 days before Pentecost, Pente by the way means 50.

[00:20:36] So Pentecost is 50 days after Passover.

[00:20:40] What is Peter doing on Passover?

[00:20:43] Jesus is being arrested, he's taken away,

[00:20:46] they're spitting on him, they're mocking him,

[00:20:48] they're about to crucify him

[00:20:50] and Peter is standing at the fire

[00:20:53] and the servant girl comes up to him

[00:20:55] and she's like, you're a follower of Jesus, aren't you?

[00:20:57] And he said, no.

[00:20:59] No, you are, I've seen you with Jesus.

[00:21:02] You're his disciple, aren't you?

[00:21:04] No, yeah you are, no I'm not.

[00:21:07] Three times he insists, I do not know this man.

[00:21:16] And what happened in that moment?

[00:21:17] It's at the rooster crowed three times

[00:21:20] which is what Jesus had prophesied would happen

[00:21:22] when he chose to reject Jesus.

[00:21:25] Peter had done the one thing he swore he'd never do,

[00:21:30] deny the one that his soul loved.

[00:21:33] And the gospel of Luke says he was so broken

[00:21:36] because of this that he began to weep.

[00:21:39] But that word weep actually means to sob convulsively.

[00:21:43] What have I done?

[00:21:46] I have betrayed the Lord

[00:21:48] and the very next thing he does

[00:21:51] is Peter goes back to his old life of fishing.

[00:21:55] 50 days before this moment of Pentecost,

[00:21:59] Peter had hit the lowest point in his life

[00:22:01] and he's like, I'm done.

[00:22:03] I can't be a ministry, I can't serve the Lord,

[00:22:05] I can't follow Jesus, I've messed up too much.

[00:22:08] I'm just gonna go back to the way things used to be

[00:22:11] and he gets on his boat, goes back out onto the lake,

[00:22:14] he's fishing all night, he catches nothing

[00:22:16] and guess what happened?

[00:22:18] As Peter is trying to bury his past,

[00:22:22] as he's running away from his guilt and shame,

[00:22:25] trying to hide from anyone who knew his name,

[00:22:28] Jesus caught up with him

[00:22:30] because brothers and sisters,

[00:22:32] Jesus doesn't abandon us when we abandon him.

[00:22:37] The very first thing Jesus did

[00:22:40] after rising from the dead,

[00:22:42] he's like, where's Peter?

[00:22:45] He goes to the lake where Peter was.

[00:22:48] He calls out to him from the shore,

[00:22:50] friend have you caught anything?

[00:22:52] I wouldn't say friend,

[00:22:54] I would say, hey, ex-disciple, what's going on?

[00:22:57] He's like, friend have you caught anything?

[00:23:00] No, try the other side, try the other side,

[00:23:03] you know what happened, he catches all these fish,

[00:23:04] it's the Lord.

[00:23:05] And the moment Peter realized it was Jesus,

[00:23:09] he literally jumped headlong into the water,

[00:23:13] he swam to shore, and here's an interesting side note

[00:23:17] because I think the side notes of the Bible say so much,

[00:23:20] these little details have stories packed beneath them.

[00:23:23] It says when he got to the shore,

[00:23:25] there was a fire and fish,

[00:23:29] fish, the very thing that Peter was looking for,

[00:23:32] Jesus had all along.

[00:23:35] A fire of coals, why is that significant?

[00:23:38] There is one other place in scripture

[00:23:40] where you see a fire of coals,

[00:23:42] and it was where Peter had denied Jesus.

[00:23:48] The fire of coals represented all the ways

[00:23:51] that Peter had messed up.

[00:23:54] It represented his failure, his guilt, his shame.

[00:23:59] And I think every one of us in this room today

[00:24:03] have fires of coals.

[00:24:06] You have those places in your life where you see it

[00:24:12] and it triggers something in you from your past.

[00:24:15] You see him, you run into her,

[00:24:18] there's an immediate sense of shame,

[00:24:21] or someone mentions that thing or that topic

[00:24:25] and part of your soul reacts because you've been there,

[00:24:31] you've done that, you've messed up in that area.

[00:24:35] Do you know that feeling of the fire of coals for Peter?

[00:24:41] When he saw that fire, all of the pain of his betrayal

[00:24:46] would come rushing back.

[00:24:49] Why would Jesus do that?

[00:24:51] Why would he make of all things a fire of coals?

[00:24:54] I don't think it was because Jesus was being cruel.

[00:24:57] He wasn't like, hey, Peter,

[00:24:58] I want this to be as awkward as possible.

[00:25:03] Here's your little fire of coals.

[00:25:05] Do you want some salt with that fish?

[00:25:06] No, that's not what Jesus is doing.

[00:25:09] Jesus is meeting Peter at the point in his past

[00:25:13] where he failed the most.

[00:25:15] And he's letting him know, Peter, my grace is enough.

[00:25:19] Let's retell this story.

[00:25:21] You don't have to run, you don't have to hide.

[00:25:25] In fact, this fire is the very place

[00:25:28] where I wanna heal you and forgive you

[00:25:30] and let you know that you are loved.

[00:25:33] What is your fire of coals?

[00:25:39] What is it in your life you're like,

[00:25:41] man, that's where I messed up so bad.

[00:25:45] That is the area where I feel so much guilt

[00:25:48] and shame and regret.

[00:25:50] What is your fire of coals?

[00:26:03] There's this old poem that says,

[00:26:06] I wish there was some wonderful place

[00:26:09] called the land of beginning again.

[00:26:13] Where all our heartaches, our mistakes,

[00:26:16] and all of our sickening sin

[00:26:19] could be dropped on the floor like an old shabby coat

[00:26:24] and never put on.

[00:26:26] And I wish there was some wonderful place

[00:26:28] on the floor like an old shabby coat

[00:26:31] and never put on again.

[00:26:35] Do you ever long for that land?

[00:26:40] And what Jesus is doing in Peter's life

[00:26:43] is saying actually there is such a place

[00:26:46] where you, Peter, can be a new creation,

[00:26:49] where you don't have to feel the shame

[00:26:51] and pain and regrets of the past,

[00:26:53] where you can be healed and set free

[00:26:57] because right after breakfast was done,

[00:26:59] what does Jesus say to him?

[00:27:01] Three words, you know it.

[00:27:02] Feed my, what?

[00:27:04] My sheep, feed my sheep.

[00:27:08] In other words, Peter, I wanna use you.

[00:27:11] I wanna empower you.

[00:27:14] You are called, you are anointed

[00:27:17] and Jesus, none of this was a surprise to Jesus.

[00:27:21] In fact, he predicted it.

[00:27:22] He's like, you're gonna deny me three times.

[00:27:24] Peter's like, there's no way on earth.

[00:27:26] Jesus knew that Peter had a past.

[00:27:29] He knew that Peter was weak,

[00:27:31] that he struggled with faith,

[00:27:33] but he still called him and said,

[00:27:35] feed my sheep.

[00:27:38] 50 days later, what is Peter doing?

[00:27:44] He's feeding the sheep.

[00:27:46] Stands up.

[00:27:49] Of all people, he should not be the guy standing up.

[00:27:53] But those are the kinds of people

[00:27:55] that God calls and uses.

[00:27:58] And he talks about Jesus,

[00:28:00] and he opens up scripture.

[00:28:02] And God used this broken flawed man

[00:28:06] to initiate a revival

[00:28:08] that really turned the world upside down.

[00:28:13] Brothers and sisters, you are not defined by your past,

[00:28:19] but by the grace of God.

[00:28:22] And I don't know who needs to hear this today,

[00:28:28] but my guess is all of us in some way,

[00:28:31] because we've all spent time at the enemy's fire.

[00:28:36] We have all said things we regret,

[00:28:39] done things we regret.

[00:28:42] We all feel a sense of shame around certain topics

[00:28:46] or when it comes to our relationship with God.

[00:28:49] But your brokenness is how the light gets in.

[00:28:54] And I want you to know today,

[00:28:56] the enemy loves to get inside our head and mess with us.

[00:28:59] And like you're done, you may as well walk away,

[00:29:01] go back to your old life of fishing.

[00:29:04] I want you to know today, you are called.

[00:29:07] You are gifted.

[00:29:09] Your story isn't over.

[00:29:11] In fact, it's just beginning,

[00:29:12] because in the words of Paul,

[00:29:14] who had a very dark past too.

[00:29:17] Paul said, God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.

[00:29:24] And if God can restore a backslidden broken betrayer

[00:29:30] like Peter and give him an opportunity

[00:29:32] to preach one of the greatest sermons of all time

[00:29:35] and spearhead and revolution and revival

[00:29:39] that would turn the world upside down,

[00:29:41] he can use you and he can use me.

[00:29:45] Because your story, the highs and lows,

[00:29:48] the ebbs and flows, your fire of coals

[00:29:53] can be a source of grace for others.

[00:30:01] Grace retells the story of your failure

[00:30:06] and makes it something beautiful.

[00:30:09] Brennan Manning, he said this,

[00:30:12] to live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story.

[00:30:19] The light side and the dark.

[00:30:22] In admitting my shadow side, I learn who I am

[00:30:27] and what God's grace means that a saint

[00:30:32] is not someone who is good,

[00:30:36] but who experiences the goodness of God.

[00:30:46] We hope you enjoyed this episode

[00:30:49] of the Pursuing Faith Podcast.

[00:30:52] If this ministry has encouraged you in some way,

[00:30:54] would you consider leaving a review on iTunes

[00:30:57] or your favorite podcasting platform

[00:31:00] that would help a ton in getting the word out?

[00:31:03] Also, if you wanna partner with us

[00:31:05] or see what we're up to,

[00:31:06] check out our website, pursuingfaith.org.