Getting Back On Solid Ground

GETTING BACK ON SOLID GROUND

John 21:1-8

Some time ago I was reunited with an old friend that I have not seen in many years. There was a time in his life when he was a faithful servant of the Lord, in fact, he even professed that he had been called to preach. However, somewhere along the way his life took a drastic turn. He has faced many battles, gone through some hard times and made some very bad and sinful choices.

For many years he has struggles with severe drug addiction. After many conversations with him, he admits that his only hope of true recovery is to rely on Christ. Unfortunately, he is struggling to comprehend the reality that forgiveness and restoration is available. Like many, Satan has deceived him into thinking that his sin is too great for God to forgive. He feels that he has gone too far and been away from the Father too long to ever be welcomed home.

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you have also wandered away from God and you feel that there is little to no hope of restoration. It is important for you to understand that numerous scriptures prove that you can return to the Father. Moreover, that is exactly what He desires.

One of the greatest examples of restoration is the story of Simon Peter. Without a doubt, many of Peter’s faults and failures are recorded in the New Testament. Somewhat ironically, the worst details of his life come from his own testimony.

The Gospels tell us that Peter was impatient, impulsive, and many times he said things that caused him to be rebuked by the Savior. With that being said, we cannot overlook to truth that this fallible man was a devoted servant of Christ. He left everything he knew behind in order to follow Jesus. For the most part, Peter was exceedingly devoted to Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. He was called, chosen, and commissioned to be an Apostle. In fact, he was more than an Apostle; he was privileged to be part of Jesus’ inner circle. When the multitudes turned away in John chapter 6, Peter remained. Later, when Judas and the soldiers arrived to seize Jesus, it was Peter who drew his sword and cut off Malchus’ ear.

When Jesus warned the Disciples that they would abandon Him before the night was over, it was Peter who boastfully proclaimed, “if all should abandon you, I will not!” He even went so far as to profess that he was willing to die for Jesus. Most of us know how what came next; As Jesus was seized by the Romans and consequently treated shamefully, Peter “followed from afar”. Then, as Jesus had said, on three separate occasions Peter denied that he knew Him.

Following this, Jesus was falsely tried by the authorities, He was mocked, abused, scourged, and eventually crucified. When all things were accomplished Jesus “bowed His head and died”. On Friday evening His body was placed in a tomb. But then something amazing happened, early on Sunday morning Peter receives a report that Jesus had risen. He and John raced to the tomb and found it just as the witnesses had said. Later on resurrection Sunday, Peter had His first encounter with the Risen Savior.

Our selected text details the third encounter that the Disciples had with Jesus after His resurrection. Several of the Disciples are coming off of an unsuccessful all night fishing expedition. As they headed back to the shore they saw a man near the water. He called out to them and asked if they had any fish. When they informed Him that they had caught nothing, He instructed them to cast their nets on the other side. They did as He said, and they caught so many fish that they could not lift the nets into the boat. When this happened, John said to Peter, “Hey, that’s Jesus!” John knew this because it was exactly what had happened some three years earlier when they first met their Master.

Verse 7 says "when Peter heard it was the Lord, he jumped into the sea."

Throughout the Gospels we see that Peter was an impatient and impulsive man. That was certainly the case in this passage. Instead of waiting for the boat to reach the shore, he jumped into the water and swam to Jesus.

There are several important lessons that we can learn from Peter’s actions in this portion of scripture. I would like for us to journey to the Sea of Tiberias and join Jesus and His Disciples. In the process, I want to preach on the thought “Getting Back On Solid Ground"

- In this passage Peter shows us that you can get back to Jesus, he shows us how to get back to Jesus, and we see what happens when we get back to Him. Let’s begin by considering: