Finding Grace to be Forgiven (John 21)

Have you ever felt like your past mistakes or failures have made you unworthy of following Jesus? This Sunday’s message, “Finding Jesus’ Grace When You Feel Disqualified” (John 21:15-25), focuses on the powerful story of Peter’s restoration after denying Jesus three times. Even when Peter thought he had ruined everything, Jesus met him with grace, restored him, and gave him a renewed calling. If you’ve ever felt unworthy, disqualified, or ready to give up, this message will remind you that Jesus’ grace is greater than any failure. Join us at Rockwell Church this Sunday for an encouraging and uplifting service. We’ll explore how Jesus meets us with compassion and a fresh start, no matter what we’ve been through. We will also be celebrating Communion, reflecting on the forgiveness and restoration we receive through Jesus’ sacrifice. Whether you’re looking for hope, a fresh beginning, or just encouragement to keep going, we invite you to experience the power of God’s grace.

Rockwell Church     October 6, 2024     Pastor Chris Teien
Finding Jesus Grace When You Feel Disqualified
John 21:15-25

#1 Jesus Grace Restores Us After Failure (v.15)

#2 Jesus Grace Recommissions Us for Service (v.16-17)

#3 Jesus Grace Calls Us to Follow Him Despite Our Struggles (v.18-19)

#4 Jesus Grace Helps Us Stay Focused on Our Personal Calling (v.20-22)

Chris Teien, Pastor of Rockwell Church in Virginia, Minnesota, shares biblical preaching and practical encouragement through the WELL Faith Sermon Audio Podcast, along with occasional guest speakers. New messages are shared every week to encourage you in your faith and help you apply God's Word to your life. Learn more at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.church

Transcript

Chris T 0:00

Finding Jesus' grace when you feel disqualified. Finding Jesus' grace when you feel disqualified. So many people make mistakes. Some people have made a lot of mistakes in their life before they came to Christ, and other people have been Christ followers and made mistakes. Like Peter, a disciple of Jesus, was a fully committed follower of Jesus, and he denied Jesus three times. I'm sure that you are all familiar with the story, so I don't think that I need to take time to retell the entire story, but basically Jesus knew he was headed towards the cross. And you know, Peter was one of his three best friends, Peter, James, and John. And Peter is like, I am for you. I'll be there, Jesus, I'm your man. You can count on me. And Jesus says, you know, Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, and you're going to deny me three times before the for the cock crows. You're going to you're going to deny me. And he's like, no way. And so if you look in the Gospels at Peter, he is a courageous man. He's an encouraging man. He is an impulsive man. And I wonder if you know his personality type maybe put him in this place. So, on one hand, Peter followed Jesus all the way up to basically the courtroom. Jesus was being accused. Jesus was being beaten. Jesus was going through all this stuff. And I think, I think Peter was in shock. But he was like, as far as I know, the only one of the disciples that actually followed Jesus that far. And so he's in the courtyard and they're like, hey, weren't you a follower? Aren't you a follower of Jesus? And he's like, no, not me. And so three times he denied Jesus out of fear. And sometimes that happens to us when you feel you've completely blown it. And then when Jesus comes back from the dead and he starts to appear, I have this feeling that Peter thought that, you know, he was no longer welcome at Jesus' table, that Jesus would cut off in unforgiveness the relationship, and that there was no more hope to move forward. But we know that Jesus restored Peter. And that Peter did great things for the kingdom of God. That Peter, who at one point was afraid to admit to a girl in the courtyard that he was a follower of Jesus, to fast forward that to after the Holy Spirit came, to preaching the gospel in a powerful and kind of a harsh way to the Jews around, that led to thousands of people getting saved. And so sometimes Jesus takes our mass and turns it into a form of blessing and encouragement and something that we move forward. I mean, he chose the apostle Paul, who I think in 1 Corinthians 15 lays out the gospel message and then talks about how he was the worst of sinners. So sometimes God takes us when we know how messed up we were and then uses us to do great things so that he gets the glory for it. You know, not saying that we, you know, we're so great, you know, we're such a we're such a gift to God, you know, he was really blessed when he chose us. Often the people God uses are the people who are like, yeah, I'm a mess, still am, but God's using me. I'm faithful to show up, and he's faithful to bless. And so think about that. So think about what it means to deny Jesus. It is a big deal, according to scripture, to deny Jesus. So, you know, like I said, Jesus was arrested, and Peter followed through, and then he denies Jesus. But let me just um talk about uh what the Bible says about denying Jesus real quick. So I'm I'm assuming you know the story of Peter. I mean, I look around and I see church people that are pretty familiar with the Bible. But think about these verses, okay? Matthew 10, 32. So Peter probably heard these teachings and knew this. Jesus says, Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my father in heaven. So my guess is that after that whole thing, Peter felt disowned. Luke 9 26. Whoever is ashamed of me in my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory, and in the glory of the Father and of holy angels. Second Timothy 2 12, if we endure, we will reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. So Jesus didn't say that, Paul did. Um John writes in 1 John 2 22, who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father, whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. In Mark 836, Jesus says, If anyone is ashamed of me in my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory and holy angels. So um, so why would Peter deny Christ? Why would we deny Christ? One is a fear of rejection. So sometimes um if your family, if your friends, if your boss, if the coach, um somebody you highly respect know that they would reject you because you're a follower of Jesus, then you may deny Jesus. So sometimes we avoid Jesus by avoiding tough conversations, and we should step up and tell people about our faith in Christ. So sometimes we conform to worldly values and we're actually embarrassed to tell people we follow Jesus because of the things that we do, the things that we say. There's no difference between our lives and their lives, and we claim to be Christ followers. Sometimes we deny Jesus because we're ashamed of the gospel, or um we want to uh you know talk about all the good things in Jesus' love, but not talk about um wrath and judgment and hell and things like that. We just want to focus on love and goodness and happiness and blessing and in heaven. Um sometimes we deny Jesus when we neglect prayer and worship. Sometimes we deny Jesus when we should put him first. I mean, how many people like roll out of bed in the morning and the first thing they do is like check some form of social media or something like that? When in the old days uh you used to roll out of bed and spend some time in God's Word. Sometimes we idolize ourselves and we put self first and that denies Jesus. Um Peter and sometimes we for a few forms of persecution, we live for ourselves, we justify sin, and it causes us to not identify with Jesus and not share the gospel and not reflect Christ's character. So think about that. So number one, Jesus' grace restores us after failure. Jesus' grace restores us after failure. Um there's many different ways in which we can fail. Let's let's not focus on Peter's failure here, though, in the scripture. Let's focus on Jesus' restoration of Peter. So um Jesus says while they're fishing, you know, it's like you're not, oh, you're not catching anything. Try the other side of the boat, and Peter's like, yeah, whatever. And so anyway, so it all rolls down to they realize it's Jesus, they come to shore. Uh they're having a good time eating with Jesus. I bet there's like, I don't think they did fist bumps back then. There are probably like hugs and oh, I can't believe it. Oh, Jesus, this is so great, and everything. Um, so when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs. And again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. And the third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. And Jesus said, Feed my sheep. So Jesus undid Peter's three denials, so with three affirmations. And I thought that was a pretty great way to go about it. So with grace and restoration. So Jesus isn't asking us for perfection, but he is asking that our hearts are turned toward him, demonstrating that grace is greater than failure. So uh Millard Ericsson, the theologian in Christian theology, explains that grace is entirely unearned and unmerited. Humans do not deserve it, and yet God freely gives it. Erickson contrasts grace with justice and mercy, explaining that justice is getting what one deserves, a punishment for sin. Mercy is not getting the punishment one deserves, and grace is far more, it is receiving blessings and favors from God despite deserving punishment. Erickson also discusses common grace and special grace. Common grace refers to God's kindness shown to all humanity, such as the provision of rain, food, and the preservation of life. This grace extends to all people, regardless of their relationship with God. God sends rain on the just and unjust. Special grace is the grace that leads to salvation, given specifically to believers through Christ's work on the cross. It is grace that results in redemption and is experienced through faith in Jesus Christ. Ericsson underscores that grace is central to the Christian gospel. Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, it says in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. All right. So in Isaiah 43, 25, God says, Yes, I alone will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. To know that our sins are forgiven and God chooses not to remember is a decisive act of God's love and generosity in that form of grace. And so no matter how we failed or what we've done, there is an opportunity to be forgiven and to move forward in Christ. Sometimes people commit crimes or do things that make them not usable in society. Um can't fix that. Uh sometimes you can't fix that. Sometimes you just have to own it and move forward. But God can forgive and God can help you to move forward. So as we think about the kind of grace that we've received and the things that we enjoy, we can know that when we fall into sin and when we do wrong, that while as believers our sins are forgiven, the sins of the past, the sins of today, and the sins we're going to commit in the future are all forgiven in Christ. But there's still a process that the Holy Spirit wants us to go through to admit those sins, confess them. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. To realize what we've done wrong. You know, maybe we've lied, said prideful things, um, you know, had unrighteous thoughts, or um been um unrighteous in our dealings with people, or uh been angry or envious, or there's just so many things that you can do that are not right. And to confess that, to pray, uh, Lord, you know that I did fill in the blank, and that was wrong. I confess it's I confess it's sin that it doesn't please you, and it doesn't help me. Please help me not to do it again. Forgive me and help me to do better. Something like that. And it helps you to move forward in the Christian life. It is a great way to live your life. So, number two, Jesus' grace recommissions us for service. Jesus' grace recommissions us for service. So Jesus didn't just say, you know, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And Peter's like, yeah, you know I do. And Jesus said, Cool. And then he did it three, he did it further three times. No, he's like he commissioned him. He's like, feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, you know, serve these people. Gave him a ministry, gave him a job. He before said, Upon this rock, I will build my church. And he had great plans for Peter, and he knew, Jesus knew that Peter was going to fail him, but in Jesus' grace, he restored him for service and ministry. So many times people are broken and messed up, and we should just accept that we are a church of messed up people. And know that we don't want to stay that way, but know that we can do better, that we can move forward, that we can do um more for the kingdom of God if we just don't quit, if we just don't give up, if we don't just say, well, you know, I tried that before, it didn't work out very well. I'll never try that again. So now, no. I always like the um saying that you don't quit eating just because somebody burned the biscuits. You know, you don't stop cooking just because one time when you tried to cook, it wasn't, it didn't work out very good. So you don't stop sharing your faith because one person rejected you. You don't stop doing good things for people, for the kingdom of God, to glorify God with because someone took advantage of you, because um they were just using you. So instead you say to yourself, Well, I did this out of my love for Christ, and God still sees and God still can reward me for being faithful to answer that need, even though I got taken advantage of. So um, next verse. Nope, not that one either. There we go. All right, Ephesians 2, Paul writes, We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in him. So pastors get weird emails sometimes. So there's one that seems to recur that I that I get around Labor Day or Memorial Day, or those times of the year when church attendance is really low, and it says something in the heading like, Pastor, don't quit. Don't quit because you're discouraged that there are few people in church. Don't quit. Don't quit. And so when pastors have a difficulty in their life, um, when ministry doesn't go very well, we all seem to hand each other John Maxwell's book, Failing Forward, which is a good book. Uh failing forward, turning mistakes into stepping stones for success. Here's some of the things in the book. John Maxwell, a Christian, he was a pastor, but a Christian leader who writes a lot of Christian leadership books, says the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. You ever failed before? Lots of people fail, yet they've been successful. He writes, fail early, fail often, but always fail forward. Failure is an inside job, so is success. If you want to achieve, you have to win the war in your thinking first. So that's one of the big things is that what you tried to do, or the way you tried to do it, might have been a failure. But in Christ, you are not a failure. So that is not a label that God puts on you. Satan tries to put that on you because he's the tempter and the accuser. He wants you in the inner chat of your head to think that you're worthless, that you are a failure, that you can't do anything for God. But no, God created you for good works, he prepared them beforehand, that we should walk in them. And the question is, what are they? What is it? That we talked about that in our Sunday school class, but what is it that God has for you? What is it that God has for you to do? Take inventory, look around, pick one thing that you think that God wants you to do, start doing it. Maxwell writes, the greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one. Constant fear that we will make a mistake. If I was afraid of making a mistake every time I got up here to speak, I wouldn't be able to be up here. So there's a shortage of pastors. One reason is because people are terrified to make a mistake. So if you catch me making a mistake, let me know what it was. And uh either you'll teach me something new or I'll apologize for tripping over my words. Or um, yeah, anyway, when achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic. And you are the only person who can label you, label what you do a failure, failure as subjective. So let's look at some failures in the Bible real quick. So John Mark. John Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journey in Acts chapter 13, it says that, which led to a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas in Acts chapter 15. However, John Mark later proved himself valuable to Paul and is traditionally credited with writing the gospel of Mark. So basically, young John Mark messed up so bad. Barnabas had to come along and take him, but Paul's like, I don't want him, I don't trust him, I don't want to, no, I don't want him with me. No, no, thank you. But eventually, eventually he came around. So interesting story. I don't know what caused it. I don't know if it was a failure or just it was either, I don't think it was a failure of the pastor, it might have been a failure of the church. But I don't know if you know who Leith Anderson is. Uh, we've got a couple of his books out there on the free book table now. But he was the pastor of Wooddale Church, a converged church, for like 35 years. So when my wife and I we first got married, we went to Wooddale Church, and he was the pastor. And so as years have gone on, I've got to know a lot about Leith Anderson. But when he first started at Wooddale Church, uh when I think it was in Edina on Wooddale Avenue, I think, before it was in Eden Prairie, um, they had him there for a bit and then they let him go. They literally like fired Leith Anderson. And so, but then when the senior pastor of that church, I don't know um why that guy left, but somebody's like, um, we should go back and get Leith. We should, we should go back and get him to be the pastor of this church again. So he did, and he was the pastor there for like 35 years and an author and the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals and all this stuff. But literally, some mistake happened along the way, and they let the guy that was going to be the leader of their church, which would become a megachurch, we would not only become the leader of the church, but the leader of churches through the National Association of Evangelicals, they let him go. I had read somewhere that um Michael Jordan, the basketball player's high school coach, didn't think that Michael Jordan would ever amount to anything either. But think about that. Somebody may have determined or judged you unworthy, but God sees your worthiness, and God's going to put you in the place that He has for you. So 1 Peter 4 10 says, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. So reflect on how you can use your gifts to serve others. Think about how God forgives us, restores us, and can use us. Don't brag on your sin, but sometimes God can use you, like it says in 2 Corinthians, that the God of compassion comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others with the comfort we've received. Sometimes God can use your mess and how you got through it to encourage someone else who's going through the same kind of mess. Sometimes God can use the sin, don't brag on your sin, especially not when you share your testimony, but he can use uh the sin that you were trapped in and then how Jesus saved you from it, pulled you out of it to be that encouragement to help someone else get out of it. Sometimes he can give you a heart for a certain kind of ministry, a ministry to divorce people, a ministry to addicts and alcoholics, a ministry to people that have suffered abuse, a ministry to people that have been unjustly fired from their jobs or whatever. Um, so many different things you may have experienced that God might use you to help that other person find hope, find Jesus, and find new life. Number three, Jesus' grace calls us to follow Him despite our struggles, despite our struggles. So in John 21, 18, Jesus says, Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which people Peter would glorify God. And then he said to him, Follow me. Follow me. So Peter's life wasn't going to be easy. And Jesus told him up front, that's the way it was going to be. You might think that you're going to be a teaching superstar because you had an uh had me as your teacher. And everybody will want to hear what you have to say. But instead, uh there will be times of difficulty, there will be times of persecution, there will be times of hardship. Supposedly Peter was crucified upside down when he died. But Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 6, 24, 16, 24, If any of you wants to be my followers, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. So there was this guy that's called out in the New Testament, Demas, and he was a follower of Jesus. So um, but he is known for turning his back on Jesus. He was seen in Colossians 4.14. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor in Demas, send greetings. Philemon 1.24, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. So it seems like Demas is in, he's working hard for Jesus. He's doing good things, he's engaged in the mission, he's faithfully working alongside Paul and others in the church. However, in 2 Timothy 4.10, Paul says about Demas, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. So he loved the world more than Christ. He loved the material comforts more than following Christ. He was probably afraid of persecution, and he would prefer his freedom and his comfort more than following Christ. He lacked endurance to follow Christ. He lacked the spiritual endurance. And he is known as somebody who has turned his. How would you like to be known in Scripture as someone who rejected, who walked away from Christ? Can you imagine? Have you ever walked away from things before and said, Oh, I wish I would have stayed? You know, I really missed out. You know, like maybe a new company started or a new ministry started and you decided to walk away instead of stick with it and enjoy all the blessings that came from being part of the team that God used to make that grow. So worldliness can cause you to want to reject Christ. Um, not enduring, having having this idea that when you come to Christ, everything's going to be easy that can cause you to fall away from Christ. So Romans 8 18 says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. So I don't know what kind of sufferings that you've gone through. I don't know in what ways you've turned your back on Christ. Hopefully you haven't. So some people get serious about following Jesus and sharing their faith, and then they kind of quit. So they still go to church, but they they're not excited about sharing their faith anymore. Some people were excited about serving the Lord, and then they got too busy or they had an experience that wasn't great, so they quit. Maybe they I heard from one couple, not here at a different church, that they used to have a small group, like a life group at their house, and it was great. They taught the Bible and were encouraged and everything, but he said somehow, and maybe it was our fault it turned into a card game. And everybody came to hear a little Bible and play a lot of a lot of cards. And uh that was that was the end of the group. So that was sad. But sometimes people are faithful to give. They're like, God, I want to follow you, I want to serve you, want to build your kingdom. I'm even gonna tithe. And then they get busy or they start to not trust. They started to give when they had extra money, but then when they were short on money, they're like, Well, you know, God, I can't trust you with my finances. I'm gonna trust you with my salvation, but I can't trust you with my money. So uh, yeah, I can't afford to give. You know, most people who tithe, who tithe and give, they can't afford to give. So, but somehow God makes up the difference. God provides, God helps those who give. So um, Philippians 4.19, my God will meet all your needs according to the riches, his riches and the Christ, the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. So that is a conditional promise to those people who are faithful to share with Paul and his need. 2 Corinthians 9 6 says, Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each of you should give what you've decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. So people get hung up on that. They're like, Oh yeah, well, God doesn't want to guilt me into giving. I should decide in my heart what to give. Well, if your heart is tuned into the things of scripture and building the kingdom, your heart should by faith say, I want to give, I want to give generously, I want to give more than tithe, I want to follow Matthew 6.33. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. You think about all God does for you, all that God has done for your salvation, and how he can bless your finances. And so giving is actually I don't know, you see miraculous things happen when you're faithful to give for God to provide for you in ways that you didn't expect. All right, enough of that. So, number four, Jesus' grace helps us stay focused on our personal calling, on our personal calling. And so I read um about um what Jesus said about Peter. So, and then John always describes himself, he doesn't say, Oh, it's me, um, but instead, John, who wrote John, describes himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. So Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. Um, this was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and said, Lord, who is going to betray you? And when Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him? And Jesus didn't say, Oh, he's gonna be uh he's gonna be sent to a deserted island where he's gonna write this crazy book called Revelation and uh 1, 2nd, and 3rd John. No. He says, Jesus answered, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. And so when you think about that, we all are doing different things for the kingdom of God. God calls us to do different things in different ways. So God has called me to be the pastor of this church. God has called you to serve in uh the areas that you serve in, fill in the blank. And so God has given you a place in your neighborhood, a place in society, a place in your family tree, a place where you can make a difference for the kingdom of God, a place where the pastor isn't going to be able to get. I won't, I don't know your extended uh network of relationships, but you do, and you matter to God, and this matters to God. Um, Philippians 3 13 says, Dear brothers and sisters, uh no, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and reach the heavenly prize, which God through Christ Jesus is calling us. And that's the plan. That's what he wants us to do. That's how he wants us to live in a way that pleases him. God loves us so much that he can cleanse us, he can restore us, he can make us useful for his purposes.