EASTER SERVICE 2023! || Restoration || John 21 || Pastor Ryan Nichols || 4/5/2023 || 10:30am

Good morning. Would you all stand with us? Excuse me.

We want to welcome you to Calvary Chapel this morning. And those who are joining us online, we welcome you. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we just thank you for this opportunity to gather on this Resurrection Sunday as we celebrate your raising from the dead and ascending up there to the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. Thank you for what you did on the cross and all that you did for us, Lord,

taking our place in our guilt, Lord. Bless our time as we worship in song and study your word. Bless the children's church area as the teachers teach the youngsters and they listen to what you have for them from your word. We give you praise, Lord Jesus. Every other day, Jesus, the only one who could ever save. He's the only one who could ever save. We thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace, and your son.

Father, we're here this morning just as we are. Warts and all, and this is it.

He said, I'm going to die for those folks. I'm going to be obedient to the Father and go to the cross, drink the cup, and we thank you, Lord. And as a result of that, you rose from the dead, and you're up at the right hand of the Father. There'll be a day we'll rise, too.

Just blessing our time together. We weep vessels. We need your help always, Lord. And in spite of us, you do your work, Lord. We thank you for that, Lord Jesus, that you're our God and Savior, Lord.

Worship in song and study your word. Continue the lesson. Lift up our service to you. Build it to you. We give you praise and thanks. Have a little fellowship, guys.

Good morning.

If you could begin the process of locating your seat. Find yourself a bulletin.

We'll get ready to go over some announcements. Welcome. Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm so glad that you could be here this morning as we celebrate our risen Lord. A handful of announcements to take note of on the left-hand side of your bulletin are all of the things that are going on throughout the week. Different studies that you can get plugged into. So take note of those and find a spot to get plugged into.

In the middle section of your bulletin, some things to take note of. Fellas, we have a men's breakfast on April the 15th. That's this coming Saturday. So let's join together, lament over our taxes, and enjoy breakfast and Jesus. So April 15th is that. And then at the end of the month, April 30th, we are going to have another potluck and kickball game right after church that Sunday.

Now, if you're not into playing kickball, first of all, what's wrong with you? Second of all, you can still eat lunch with us. You can cheer us on as we play kickball. But as I always like to remind those of you that are my age and older, our church is full of medical staff. We have doctors that go here. We have nurses that go here. We have medics, EMTs that go here.

So don't worry about it. Just play. And if the injury happens, we've got you covered on just about every angle. So come join us for that after church on Sunday the 30th. And then one last thing, the mowing sign-up sheet is still out there. We are very dangerously close to our goal of 26 people. We're still at 19, right, on there. So if you're those last seven people, get signed up.

It's just about time to get that schedule out so that will be out there. Those. Are the things that are going on, and I'm looking. Oh, here they come. Okay, so we are blessed to have this morning a whole sea of tiny people. They're going to come in here, and they're going to stand up here, and they are going to sing a couple of songs for us. So here they come.

I don't know if I need to stay here for crowd control, so I'm going to hang out for a second. Come on down, kiddos.

Here I am. Okay. We have been working on a couple kind of fun songs. One. We've been working on forever, but a Hosanna song, which kind of was for last week, but we're going to do them both this week. Kids have been great. As you can see, we're super blessed. I hope you can find your kids and just be blessed on this Resurrection Sunday. It's Jesus is alive.

He is risen.

All right. Wasn't that great? I love it. That's right. Yeah.

Well, for our responsive reading this morning, we're going to be in Psalm 16. Psalm 16. Psalm 16. And for the responsive part, we will be looking at the New American Standard, so we sound the same. If you don't have a copy, there should be one in a row around you. And if there's not, that's okay. Maybe find a friend. And as you're turning to Psalm 16, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word,

I will read the odd verses, if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 16, a Mishnah of David. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord. I have no good beside you. As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who have bartered for another God will be multiplied.

I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed. My heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand.

I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will dwell securely. For you will not abandon my soul to shield, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay. And read verse 11 with me. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever. And Father, we do praise you for who you are.

Lord, that you are alive. And Lord, that in your presence truly is fullness of joy. And so, Lord, as we gather here this morning, help us to understand that that's exactly where we are. We are in the presence of God. And so, Lord, help us to see you more clearly this morning. Help us to learn exactly what it is that you would want for us to learn. And may your Holy Spirit flow through this place.

Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the gospel of John chapter 21, the gospel of John chapter 21. This morning, we're going to depart from our usual study in the book of Galatians, where we've been going systematically through the book. And we're going to do a little bit of a special message this morning because it is Eastern. It's a day

that we remember what Jesus did for us, that he died for us and that he rose again and that that resurrection means something for us because through his resurrection ultimately comes our restoration. And that's the title of this morning's message is restoration. And so as we look at this subject this morning, I'll give you three simple points. There's going to be an introduction, there's going to be an illustration, and there's going to be an application.

By way of introduction, I want to share some things with you. The word restoration literally is defined as the act of restoring something to its former condition. And that's exactly what God is in the business of doing. As a matter of fact, there's two points under this aspect of introduction I want to tell us about. Number one is that the heart of God has always been a heart of restoration. That heart of restoration was seen first in the

garden of Eden. God had made man to be perfect and he had made man to have a perfect relationship with him. But in the garden, man was given one rule not to eat of one particular tree and man broke that rule. And when man broke that rule, fellowship was broken. The condition that God intended for man to live in perfection in nature, to live in perfection in our bodies, and to live

in perfection in our relationship with God was broken. But from that very beginning, God had a plan for how he would restore humanity back to himself, how he would bring about that restoration into our lives. As a matter of fact, as God is dealing with handing out the punishments to the different individuals involved, he begins to speak to the serpent and he tells him there will always be enmity between you and the woman, between you and her seed. You will bruise his heel. He will crush your head. And in that statement, we have the very first prophecy of the

restoration of humanity back to the Lord. It's written about all throughout scripture, but it's fascinating to see some of the places that that phrase restore or restoration is used. The psalmist David in Psalm 23 wrote what I always refer to as the psalm of an old sheep because he refers to the Lord as his shepherd. And as he recounts everything that God had done in his life, everything that God had shown him in his life, one of the things that he remembers is there's this line in Psalm 23 that says he restores my soul. The reason why David could

write that is because he had seen where he had gone wrong at points in time in his life. And as he had gone wrong at points in time in his life, he had seen where he had gone wrong at points in time in his life. God was always faithful to do that one act, that act of restoration. In the book of Joel chapter 2 verse 25, the prophet Joel is speaking to the children of Israel, the children of Israel who were living in sin. And because of their sin, God had sent a plague, a plague of the swarming locusts

and the chewing locusts and the destroying locusts. God made a promise in Joel chapter 2 verse 25. He said, I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten away. That act of restoration found its final resting place in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross when he made all things new. Because when he died on that cross, he cried out to Telestai,

it is finished. And the veil of the temple was torn in two. And now you and I can have a restored relationship with our Savior. It was granted to us at the cross. It was guaranteed for us at the resurrection. But you know as well as I do that just because my soul is right with God doesn't mean that I don't go through times in my life that I don't have to go through times in my life.

When I need restoration. And so whoever you are here this morning, whether you're an unbeliever who's never come to faith in Jesus Christ or somebody who's walked with the Lord for a very long time, I think that there's a message for you, this message of restoration. And so along with God taught, I want to present man's need. Because as I was thinking about this, I began making a list of the things that we need restored from. Things that happen to us in humanity as we

walk through the muck and mire of the world, as we live our lives and go through the failures and the ups and downs of life, the things that we need restored from. And so I made a list of a handful of these things. Perhaps you can bear witness with some of the things that I've written here. The first thing that we oftentimes need restored from is the guilt of sins that we have committed. The guilt over the sins that we have committed. I'm well aware of the fact that

everybody that walked through this door this morning has a story. And the story that you have is probably not a lot different than mine. Some of the details may look different, but your story is like mine. I'm a sinner. I failed in all kinds of ways. And all of the ways that I have failed all cause one problem in my life. And that's the guilt of that sin weighs heavy upon me.

The guilt of that sin holds me down. The guilt of that sin causes me to not want to reveal to you the true me. It causes me to not want to get as close to people as I would want to get because I'm afraid you're going to find out the truth about me. I'm afraid that you're going to find out what's really on the inside of me. And when you do, you're probably going to say,

who in the world would ever love you? And that guilt of sin is weighing you down this morning. And you need restored from that because the things that you have done seem to encapsulate your life. And you feel like that's your only identification. I feel like a great deal of the mental illness that we deal with in the world today. I feel like a great deal of the substance abuse that we see in the world today

is all because people are walking around wearing the guilt of their sin, around their neck, and it's weighing them down. And they're just looking for some way to be set free. The second thing that I wrote down is oftentimes we need restored from the wounds of the sins of others. Let me explain what I mean by that. Some of you have been affected by the sins of other people. You see that loved one that you should have been able to trust did something

to you when you were a kid. And now you're dealing with the wounds of what you dealt with as a small child. And you're dealing with the wounds of what you dealt with as a small child. And you're dealing with the wounds of what you dealt with as a child. Some of you are dealing with the wounds of the words that come out of people's mouths because though maybe nobody ever hit you across the face,

their words bludgeoned you until you felt worthless. And you're dealing with the wounds of the sins that other people have committed. Perhaps your mother and father are now divorced and now you're dealing with the wounds of that situation. Perhaps the person that you thought you could trust the most decided that they needed to find love somewhere else. And now

you're dealing with the wounds of the sins that other people have committed. And now you're dealing with the wounds of the sins that other people have committed. And now you're dealing with the wounds of that situation. Whatever it is, you may need restoration from the wounds that have come about because of the sins of others. The third thing that I wrote down is a familiar thing because I

talk about it often, partly because of my job. Some of you are still dealing with the wounds of grief. You lost somebody that you cared about. And quite frankly, as far as you're concerned, they were taken way too soon. And quite frankly, it's not fair that God would have done that to you. And now you're dealing with the wounds of grief. And now you're dealing with the wounds of grief.

And every day you wake up with that same empty hole inside of your heart, and you need to deal with that. God wants to restore you from that. But quite frankly, you don't know if you'll ever be the same again. But God wants to bring restoration. The fourth thing that I wrote is something that's near and dear to my heart because it's what I dealt with. And I coupled

these two things together, and that's depression and anxiety. Some of you are walking around, much like the psalmist David describes when he says, the thoughts of my head are so heavy, they're more than the hairs of my head, and I can no longer lift up my eyes. At one point in time, you had joy in your heart. At one point in time, there was a light in your eyes. But now all you do is look down because you're so depressed for whatever reason

has caused it. And there's no more joy. There's no more laughter. And you wonder if you'll ever feel again. Some of you live with panic attacks. Some of you live with anxiety. Some of you live in the worries that dominate your heart and your mind. God wants to restore you from that so that your mind is no longer constantly dominated by the worry and the anxiety. You no longer have the

attacks anymore. Instead, your mind is filled with the praise and the wonder of God. Yeah, the Lord wants to bring restoration to that. And then the last thing I wrote down, I just kind of considered the rubber claws of all of this, and that's just brokenness. Some of you are broken because you're broken. You're broken because you're broken. You're broken because you're

broken because you have a standard that you can't live up to. Some of you are broken because somebody else has placed a standard upon you that you can't live up to. Social media has placed a standard upon you about how you should look, and you can't meet that standard. Your parents have placed a standard upon you that you can't live up to. And quite frankly, you never feel like you can

be good enough, and you're broken on the inside because of it. Some of you just feel broken because of the wounds that you've had throughout your entire life. Some of you feel broken because everything in life seems to have gone wrong for you. And God wants to bring restoration to your heart and to your soul. It's always been God's heart, and your need is great.

Well, there was a group of men about 2,000 years ago that found themselves in the exact same position that you're in right now. We now refer to them as the disciples. You see, there were 11 guys now who found themselves after the death of the one that they looked up to the most in need of an incredible amount of restoration in their lives, not only because they had lost somebody that they loved so much, but because they had failed in their life. And so, I want you to think about how they failed him in a way that they didn't know was possible. Those disciples found

themselves on that day of Jesus's resurrection, having a hard time believing something that he had already promised that he would do. And when he did, they found themselves as shocked as everyone else, and God so graciously restored them. But there's one particular disciple who found himself in a place of maybe a little bit more restoration than everybody else. That disciple's name was Peter.

Peter was a little bit different than the other disciples because Peter was a little bit more bold than the other disciples. On the night that Jesus was arrested and tried and crucified, Jesus was gathered in the upper room with his disciples, all 12 of them. He said, one of you is going to betray me. And he sent Judas off to do what Judas needed to go do. He said, what you go do, do quickly. They got ready to leave to go to the garden where he would

pray with those great drops of blood that were coming like sweat from his brow. He looked at his disciples and he said, all of you are going to be made to stumble because of me tonight because all of you will abandon me. As it says in the scripture, strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. Oh, but not Peter. You see, Peter stood up and he said, Lord, I know everybody

else might do that, but I'm not going to do that. Lord, everybody else may abandon you, but it's not going to be me. Lord, I love you more than the rest of them. I will die with you. Jesus looked at Peter. Peter, before the night's done, you're going to deny that you know me three times. Peter, Satan's asked for you that he could sift you as wheat, but I've prayed for you.

When all is said and done, you come home, okay? Of course, Peter didn't believe any of it, walked away denying that that would ever happen until he found himself gathered around a campfire in front of where Jesus was being held for trial. The young girl came up to him to ask him, hey, aren't you one of Jesus's disciples? And he said, never heard of the guy. I don't know who you're talking about.

And then a few more people gathered around and they said, no, no, I saw you with him. You were with Jesus earlier, earlier in the week. I saw you with him. I have no idea who you're talking about. And one of them said, dude, you have a Galilean accent. We saw you with him. You're one of those guys. And he began to swear and say, it's not me. And that moment, as Jesus was let out, that rooster

crowed. It was one disciple who in particular was in need of restoration. Well, Jesus raised from the dead and he met with Peter. We're told in scripture that he restored Peter in a very personal way, but you see something interesting happens in John chapter 21. In John chapter 21, Jesus is going to restore Peter in a very public way. I think he does it because Peter's sin was so much in public that he wanted to restore him in public. But he also did

so because while Peter knew in his mind that he was restored, he didn't know yet in his heart that he was restored. And that's what Jesus is going to do for him in John chapter 21. The verses that we're going to focus on are verses 15 through 17. But before we get there, I want to paint the picture of what's going to take place in this chapter, okay? So we're probably a couple of weeks away

or a couple of weeks past the resurrection of Jesus. The disciples have left Jerusalem and they're back in the region of Galilee. Basically, they're back home now. And Peter, James, John, and a handful of other disciples, about seven or eight of them all together, find themselves sitting on the side of the Sea of Galilee. And Peter looks at the rest of the disciples and he says, I don't know about you guys,

but I'm going fishing. Now, some commentators say that that means that Peter was going to leave behind everything and go back to his job of fishing. Is that true? I don't know. I can't guarantee that. I have a feeling as somebody who kind of likes to be in the outdoors and fish myself that he didn't know what else to do. So he's like, may as well go fishing.

Because even though Peter knew that God had a great call on his life, Peter was not going to go fishing. He was going to go fishing. Now, questioning whether God could ever use him again. Do you remember what happened the first time that Jesus met Peter? He looked at him. He says, your name is Simon. I'm going to call you Peter because you are a rock. And God had called Peter to do something amazing. But at this point

in time in Peter's life, he's going, I don't think God could ever use me like that again. I don't know if Jesus could ever use me in that way again. I think I'm unusable by God. Maybe I'll just go fishing. And so that's exactly what he does. Peter goes fishing. He goes out with all of his buddies. And as they go out to go fishing, they're out fishing all night long and they caught nothing. Now,

we really only read a couple of times about the disciples actually fishing because Peter and all of his friends, that's what they did for a job. And have you noticed that both times we read about them fishing, they catch nothing. It makes you wonder how good a fisherman they actually were, right? Anyway, so they're out there fishing and they're catching nothing all night long. They're

fishing. And all of a sudden they see that on the shoreline, there's a kind looking stranger who's standing there. And the kind stranger cries out and says, have you guys caught anything yet? You know what the worst thing in the world you can ask a fisherman who's never caught anything is? Have you caught anything yet? I mean, like, you know, no. And then he proceeds to tell him what

to do. I'd cast the net on the other side of the boat. Listen, second thing you don't want to tell a fisherman who fishes all the time is how he should do it better, right? Like, well, if it were me, this is what I would do, right? And so the disciples had to have been going, who is this guy? But you know who I think kind of knew something was going on? I think John knew what

was going on. John was always a spiritually perceptive one of the crew. And so John's like, hey, we can't do any worse than we've done so far, right? May as well switch to a grub. May as well throw it on the other side. And so that's what they do. They throw it on the other side and they start to pull up the largest catch of fish. So much so that the nets are about to break

and the boat is about to sink. And John, again, being that spiritually perceptive one that he was, looked and he said, Peter, that's Jesus. So Peter does what Peter always does, something incredibly impetuous, right? He throws on his coat, lets go of the net, jumps into the water, swims up to Jesus, and he just stands there. All I could think of when I thought about

this scene is, you remember that scene from Forrest Gump? When Forrest Gump is driving the shrimp boat and he sees Lieutenant Dan on the dock, you remember the scene? And so while the boat is going full speed, he jumps out and swims up and says, Lieutenant Dan, right? When he sees him, I picture Peter doing that with Jesus, right? Peter jumps out, they're all like, Peter, come

back. And he's swimming up to the shore and he goes, Jesus, right? Because he's just so excited to see him. Because it's the most awkward exchange ever. We don't see that they hugged each other. They didn't high five, no bro hugs. They didn't dap it up, nothing. Peter just goes, because he's all awkward and whatnot. So anyway, everybody else brings in all the fish.

And of course, Jesus did what Jesus always does. He's already got everything ready for him. He's got a little campfire there for him and he's cooking some fish over the campfire and they sit with Jesus and they have breakfast with Jesus on the beach. That brings us to the scene that we come to right now. Verse 15 of chapter 21. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, do you love me? He said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. So in this conversation with Jesus, there's three questions that are asked and you should ask yourself a question right now. Why three? Why did Jesus ask him the same question three times?

I genuinely think there's only one reason because Peter denied Jesus three times. And for every denial, Jesus is going to restore him. And so Jesus asks him this first question. He says, Peter, do you love me more than these? Now there's a little bit of debate amongst Bible teachers about who the these are, right? Some Bible teachers say, do you love me more than

these fish? I don't think that's what Jesus was asking him at that point in time. Listen, if that's what somebody holds to, I'm not willing to argue too much about it, but I don't think that's what Jesus was talking about. I think Jesus was talking about the other disciples gathered, why? Well, there's a couple of reasons why. The first is that Peter had already said he loved

Jesus more than these. When he said, Lord, everybody else may abandon you, but I won't. I'm solid. I'm with you 100%. Even if I have to die with you. The second reason is because they'd already eaten the fish. The ones sitting around here, they were the disciples. Jesus taught in very natural ways. I think he looked at all the guys who said, do you love me more than these guys? Now, before we get into each of these three

questions, I feel it important to explain a little bit about the Greek language. The English language is really inept with the words that we have, right? The Greek language has an incredible number of words for love. We have one, it's called love, right? I love my wife and I love brownies. And I promise it's two different ways, right? I love riding a roller

coaster. I love riding a roller coaster. I love riding a roller coaster. I love riding a roller coaster, but I love my family, right? Those are two different types of things. And yet we just, we just have that one sad little word, love. Well, the Greeks were very different. They had multiple words for love. There's three main words for love that are used in the New

Testament. The first word for love is the word eros, E-R-O-S. It's where we get our word erotic from. And so it carries with it more of a self-fulfilling sort of love. It's the physical attraction sort of love. That's not what's being used here. There's a second word that's used for love. It's called phileo or phileo, depending on how you pronounce it. It's a friendship kind of

love. It's where we get our term Philadelphia from. And even though they don't act like it, Philadelphia means the city of brotherly love. And so that's a friendship sort of a love, the one that most of us have for each other. And then there's a third word for love, agapeo or agape in the Greek. That is a divine sacrificial love. It is perfect love. Now, with that understanding, let's read these questions

the way that Jesus would have asked them in the Greek language, okay? So the first question he asks is, Simon, son of John, do you agape me more than all of these? Do you have a sacrificial divine kind of love more than all of these other guys do? And this is how Peter responds. He says, yes, Lord, you know that I phileo you. Let me put it in Ryan's language. Lord, you know,

you know that I think of you as a really good friend. That would be a hard one for Peter to say, right? Because Jesus just gave him the opportunity to say, yes, I love you more. I have a sacrificial love unlike any of these other men around here have. But Peter can't do that because you see, Peter's been broken and he understands who he really is. He says, Lord, you know, I think that I love you more than all of these other guys do. And he says,

you know, I think that you're a really good friend. And so Jesus asks him a second time. He makes it a little bit easier because notice he took off the more than these. Jesus asked him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you agape me? And he says, yes, Lord, you know that I think that you're a really good friend. And he said to him, shepherd my sheep. Then he says it a third time.

Only I want to read it to you how he would have said it the third time. He, meaning Jesus, said Simon, son of John, do you love me like a really good friend? Notice what it says. Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time. And I think there's two reasons why Peter was grieved because he said it the third time. The first reason why I think that Peter was grieved when he said it to

him the third time is because he just said it to him a third time. Do you know what I think was in the back of Peter's mind as Jesus asked him for the third time? Do you love me? I think the sound of a rooster was in the back of his mind. And all I could think was I failed. I didn't live up to my own standard. You know, the second reason why he was a little bit grieved that third time is because

Jesus finally brought it down to the level that Peter already knew existed in his heart. He said, Peter, do you love me like a good friend? Peter was like, I want to say that I have the divine sacrificial love, but I can't. I have to be honest. Yes. I love you like a good friend. But I want you to take notice how Jesus responded each of those three times. Each of the three times that Peter finally owned up to who he really was, Jesus

commissioned him. Did you notice that? He said, tend my lambs, shepherd my sheep, tend my sheep. As Peter was honest about who he was, he became that much more usable by God. It's a beautiful example of the restoration of Peter. And from this scene, I've drawn out four pieces of application, four points of application that I would like to present to you this morning out of this story

about Peter. Four points of application that I think can help us in our process of restoration in our own lives. Number one, Jesus knows who you are and he loves you anyway. Jesus knows who you are and he loves you anyway. You know why Jesus kept asking him that same question over and over again? It wasn't because Jesus didn't know the answer. It was because he needed Peter to make sure he knew the answer.

Jesus already knew. That's why on that very last one, Jesus brought it down to Peter's level because Jesus already knew what was in the heart of Peter. And you know what? He loved him anyway. Listen, brothers and sisters, if you knew what was really in my heart, you wouldn't love me, but Jesus does. And if I knew what was in your heart, I might have a hard time loving you,

but Jesus does. You may think that all of the things that you have done make you unlovable to God. You don't understand what I've done. You don't understand what I've thought. You don't understand the secret sin I hide in my life. You don't understand what I hold on to that I don't let anybody else see. There's no way Jesus could love me. I know he does. You know

how I know he does? Because he spelled it out with three nails and a spear. He knew who you were, and he loved you anyway. He knows who you are, and he loves you anyway. I think one of the greatest things you as a believer in Jesus Christ can do is say, Lord, show me how much you love me. As a matter of fact, it's so important that Paul prays this for the Ephesian people in the book of

Ephesians. He says that you may know the height and the depth and the width and the length that you may know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. Do you know why he prays? Is that for the Ephesian people? Because we spend so much time focused on how bad we are that we forget to focus on how good he is. We spend so much time thinking about how unlovable

we are that we forget just how loving he is. I don't know who you are and where you're at here this morning, but I want you to know something. You are loved eternally by a savior who gave himself for you, and you need to stop living in that place of shame. You need to stop living in that place of guilt because Jesus doesn't need you to do anything to make yourself unlovable. He loves you just like you are, even though he knows the worst of your sin.

The book of Jeremiah says the heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it? Well, you know who knows it? God does. He peels back all of those things that allow you to hide your sin from everybody else, and he sees it, and he says, I love you so much, I'm going to point it out to you, and I'm going to keep loving you. It's never going to stop. Jesus knows who you are,

and he loves you anyway. Number two, we have to be honest about who we really are. We have to be honest about who we really are. You know what I think was the hardest thing in the world for Peter to do? To simply admit what was really on the inside of him. We as human beings can be really good at glossing over our sins. We can be really good at making things not seem as bad as they are, but the best thing that we can do is just to be absolutely open

and honest with Jesus about the whole truth of who we are. It starts with confessing our sins to him. I remember reading this in a book that Joe White wrote, a book for young men, and it was talking about the importance of confession. He said, we as human beings are really good at sinning retail and confessing wholesale. He said, it's time that we start confessing retail. You

know what I mean by that? We're really good at sinning all day long, and at the end of the day saying, Lord, I messed up today. Please forgive me. Brothers and sisters, while Jesus will always forgive you, it's time that you get serious about what's really on the inside of you. It's time that you start calling it by its real name. You know what I'm tired of in

the world that we live in today? Not calling things what they really are. They're no longer lies. They're mishandlings of the truth. It's no longer sexual immorality. It's merely indiscretions. It's no longer drug abuse. It's chemical dependency. It's no longer substance abuse. It's chemical dependency. Right? We have softened all of sin so much that we quit calling it what it really is,

and it's sin. And brothers and sisters, as you name those sins in your life, it's a really hard thing to do because it's one thing when you think it in your head, but when it comes out of your mouth to the holy savior of your soul, you kind of go, oh, that sounds really bad coming out of my mouth. Praise God. Because at that point in time, God can really begin to deal with your soul. At that point in time, God can really begin to deal

with your heart. Listen, if you won't get honest with God, he can't do work in you. If you won't really get real about what's going on on the inside of you, he can't do real work with you. But you know what else we really need to get honest about? We need to get honest about some of the feelings that we have. Those of you that are dealing with some grief, I think it's time that you told God that you

were angry with him. I can't tell God that. He knows. He knows you're angry with him right now. He knows you're upset about what's going on. Some of y'all may just need to get in the car and just yell at the top of your lungs. God's not insecure. You won't freak out. Some of you are questioning whether God is actually still good because of what's happened in your life. And the best thing you can do is tell him that. You need to tell him, Lord,

I don't believe you're good right now because I've seen what's happened in my life and I'm questioning whether or not you're good. Tell him that. God won't be like, he wants to hear that from you. Because if we can get real with God, then he can get real with us. Restoration won't happen until then. Brothers and sisters, I don't bring you easy solutions. I bring you real

solutions. And that's what the word of God says that we have to do, is we have to get really honest with God about our sin. We have to get really honest with God about our feelings. And we have to just be open about everything that's going on in the inside of us. Listen, all of the shadows that you think you hide in, he lights those up like the 4th of July.

So get out of the shadows and let him see what's really in the light. We have to be honest with God about who we are. Number three, surrender. Now's the hard part. You have to surrender. You know what Peter had to surrender to in his life? He had to surrender to the fact that he had been forgiven by Jesus. He had to surrender to that forgiveness of God in his life. Do you know who the last person to

forgive you is? You. You're always going to be the last one to forgive yourself because you will still be holding on to it. And I want you to know something. You know why you won't forgive yourself? Pride. It's okay, confess that one too. It's why you won't forgive yourself because you thought you were better than that. I thought I was above that sin. I didn't think that was something I could stumble into.

I didn't think that was something I could deal with. You know why you didn't think it was something you could deal with? Because you think you're better than you are. Listen, confess it to Jesus. Take it to him and surrender to the fact that he has forgiven you. Listen, as you take those sins to Jesus and start believing, Lord, you have forgiven me of this sin,

something amazing happens. That weight gets lifted off. And pretty soon you hold your head a little bit higher and you're like, I'm not going to forgive you. I'm not going to forgive you. I'm not going to not only that, you know what else Peter had to surrender to? Peter had to surrender to the fact that God wanted to use him. You know what the hardest thing in the world to do is? Be used by

God when you don't feel like you're worth it. And sometimes you have to surrender to that. So many people are gifted by God, called by God, empowered by God, but because you don't think you're good enough, you won't be used by God. And you need to surrender to that in your life. What if, what if Peter, had not surrendered to being the one who would tend his lambs, shepherd his sheep,

intend his sheep? You and I wouldn't be here today. You know why? Because who brought the gospel to the Gentiles? Peter did. He was the first one to bring it to those crazy non-Jewish people. But he surrendered to that work. And brothers and sisters, you need to surrender to that work in your own life. As you realize that you're forgiven by God, stop living in that guilt and

start being used by God. We have to surrender. And then the fourth thing that I will tell you is this. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. As I was preparing this and putting all my notes together last night, I was listening to a song and I found one line in this song to be fascinating. It said, and there is restoration for everyone who finds himself at the foot of the cross.

What does that mean? Come to Jesus. Bring all of that stuff to him. Are you, are you broken this morning? It's time to come to Jesus. Is your marriage broken this morning? It's time to bring it to Jesus. Do you have addictions in your life? Are you a closet alcoholic? Are you a closet pain pill user? Are you somebody that everybody in the world knows you're an alcoholic and a pain pill user?

Come to Jesus. Do you have a secret porn addiction? Come to Jesus. Is your life broken because you cannot let go of the loss that you've had in your life? Come to Jesus. Are you broken because somebody did something to you a long time ago and you've never been able to forgive them? You've never been able to let go of it? Come to Jesus because there's healing with Jesus. And

once you've come to Jesus, start spending time with him. I shared this with first service as well. Everybody here, once you've come to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you need to establish that one side of you. You need to establish that one side of you. You need to establish that one side of you. That one spot in your house. That one spot in your house that is your secret place that you can

go to where it's just you and Jesus. For me, when I was going through the hardest times of God bringing me out of depression and anxiety, that was the couch in the basement that I rented from my mom and dad in a house in Kansas City. And on that couch, all I knew to do was just keep getting into God's word. I couldn't sleep half the time because of anxiety. I didn't think I would

ever have joy in my life again. I didn't think I'd ever move past the things that I was going through. So all I knew to do was to get into God's word. So every night, I'd sit down on that couch and I'd get into the word of God. I'm going to be honest. I started through the New Testament and a lot of it didn't make sense to me. Even though I was a Bible college student,

I just didn't feel like God was speaking to me. I'm like, Lord, I don't hear anything from you. I don't feel anything from you. But the only thing I would hear was this, come back tomorrow. And so that's what I would do. Every day I would come back and I remember getting to the book of Colossians. And in the book of Colossians, in that old Bible that I had, all of a sudden you start seeing all this black

ink because I started underlining everything. Because as he was talking about the work of Jesus Christ on the cross in the book of Colossians and bringing me into the family of God, it all of a sudden started making sense. And God started lighting up my world. And then the next year I got into the one-year Bible on that same couch and I started reading both the Old and the New Testament together. And then I got into the book of Leviticus and God showed me

exactly what Jesus did on the cross by taking all of my sin and putting it on Jesus so that it was no longer mine to bear. And I don't even know how to put it other than to say I started putting all of the sins that I was carrying around on me. I started just putting them on Jesus on that cross and right there on that couch, God brought restoration to my life. But it all started by coming to Jesus and never leaving. Brothers and sisters,

come to Jesus. If you've never come to Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you're living in all of those things, you're living in the guilt right now, you're living in the pain right now, you're living in the addiction right now, then it's time to come to Jesus because he loves you right where you are. He just loves you too much to leave you that way. And if you're a believer in Jesus Christ this morning and you have found that those things are still things you need restored from, you still need that restoration, come to Jesus because he wants to do a work in your heart that will change you to where you will never be the same again. Amen?

Let's all stand. And as the worship team comes forward and gets themselves set up, I'd like you to bow your heads with me.

Father, we come to you this morning and we praise you for who you are, that you are the God of restoration, the God who makes all things new. Lord, your word says that if we are in Christ, we are a brand new creation. Old things have passed away and behold, all things have become new. But Lord, I also know that even though this is a family holiday, there's family drama.

Lord, even though this is a great day, there's great grief. Lord, even though there's a beautiful day, there's brokenness here this morning. And so Lord, I want to pray that you would move through the hearts and minds of the people that are here right now and the people that are watching online. Lord, I want to lift up all those who are dealing with this. As a matter of fact, I'm going to do this

again. I did this first service and I feel led to do it again. Just everybody keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed. I just want you to do something real simple for me. If you can bear witness with what I've been talking about this morning and you see that need for restoration in your life, I just want you to put your hand up because I want to pray for you. And that's

your way of bearing witness with me. Lord, this is what I need in my life this morning. As you put that hand up, I just want to pray for you. Praise the Lord. Father, I lift up the individuals that have their hands up right now. And God, may you move in their hearts. May you move in their hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit. May you move in them by your living word. And may they experience an understanding

of the relationship they can have with a living Savior. Father, if they don't know you, may today be the day that they say, Jesus, I'm a sinner. Please be my Savior. And Lord, if they know you, may you bring that restoration that can only come through your word. Father, I want to praise you for who you are. I want to thank you for who you are. And I want to ask your

blessing on everyone that's here this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, have a great day celebrating the fact that Jesus is alive. Be blessed. Praise you, Lord. We thank you now for your many blessings that you bestow on us daily. Would you go before now and bless our day? Go before. We look for your guidance by your Holy Spirit as we live this Christian walk

with you, Lord, through you. And we thank you, Lord, so much for what you did on the cross for us. Thank you for dying for us and raising from the dead. I thank you that you're up there at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. We give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a great week.