Paul Daugherty - God Still Wants You - Part 1
The message today is God still wants you. Turn to someone next to you and say, God still wants you. Even with all your stuff, and turn to the other person that you didn't say it to and say, and you too, he wants you too. And you too. How many are thankful that God still wants you? God still...so Jesus rose from the grave. And before he ascended up into heaven, which was amazing to watch in our Easter production, to see the Ascension of Christ, but before he did that, he stuck around for a couple of weeks, specifically to have some conversations with a few people that he needed to have some one-on-one counseling with, some people who needed to know where they stood with Jesus.
Have you ever needed to have a one-on-one counseling session with Jesus? 10 of us in the room are gonna be honest this morning, the rest of y'all, we got an alar call at the end, and we can have a one-on-one counseling session with Jesus, but Jesus, he wanted to stick around to have some one-on-one moments with certain disciples who felt like they had failed him. We're talking about disciples who feel like after they've followed Jesus for years, after they've been a part of miracles and moments and testimonies and messages, that they just come up short. As a disciple of Christ, there's gonna be moments where you just come up short, and Jesus is waiting for you even after you do. I'm so thankful that Jesus does not cancel his disciples, that he does not disqualify his disciples, but he waits for you because he still wants you, just say it with me, he still wants you.
So in Verse 1 of John 21, this is after the resurrection, after all the disciples had ran from him, betrayed him, lied about him, turned their backs against him, did the thing they swore they wouldn't do. Afterwards, Jesus appeared again to his disciples, those same guys, right? And by the way, these guys would go on to turn the world upside down. These guys would go on to perform miracle signs and wonders. These guys would go on to lay hands on the sick and the sick would be healed. They would raise the dead. Their shadows would pass by people, and their mere shadow would actually bring healing to people, right? These disciples were like Gods in the eyes of people and yet they were still human. It's amazing that you can be used by God to do incredible things, and yet you're still human.
What does it mean to be human? It means that you're gonna miss it sometimes. It means that you're not a God. We gotta be careful that we don't deify humanity, that we don't place Peters on a pedestal, that we don't place Thomases and Matthews and Marks, and James, and Johns, and apostle Pauls in a place that only Jesus sits. So Jesus comes to talk to these world changers who are full of shame. Simon Peter, Thomas. Oh, by the way, Simon Peter, this is the guy that cut a dude's ear off, but this is also the guy that would preach on Pentecost.
Come on. I'm so thankful that God uses ear cutters to preach sermons on Pentecost. I'm so glad he uses cussing fishermen to also speak in tongues. And you go, I don't know if that fits into my box of theology, okay, Caiaphas the high priest. Listen, if God can use Peter, he can use you. And we all know Peter, the mistakes he made, we all know Peter for like the moments that he missed it. But Jesus knew Peter for a different reason. Jesus didn't look at Peter through the eyes of human judgment, he looked at Peter through the eyes of God's love. We see the name Thomas in there. And what description do we always think of with Thomas? What word comes before Thomas? Doubting Thomas, right? That's what we call him, because he doubted once or twice a couple of times, right?
And so we just label him doubting Thomas, how would you like to be labeled for the thing you did once or twice? You know what I'm saying? How would you like that to be on the screens on the front page of the newspaper written in all four Gospels, right? We wouldn't like that. What if we called you frustrated Frank, or cussing Carrie, or angry Antonio, or problem causing Paul or, you know, we could keep going. It could get really bad. We could say all kinds of stuff, but the truth is none of us would wanna be labeled by the thing we did wrong once or twice or a few times, and yet we do this with these guys. It's easy for us to go yeah, yeah. These guys missed it. They messed up, but God used them greatly.
And then we forget, he put that in scripture so that we would be reminded that God uses misfits. God uses disqualified people. God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the whys. He uses the weak things in the eyes of religious people, to confound those who think they're strong, that God actually delights in our weakness more than he does in our strength. God is more attracted to our need for him than he is attracted to our spiritual strength that we think is so amazing, how good we were this week. So Jesus shows up and there's Simon Peter, there's Thomas, there's Nathaniel, there's the sons of Zebedee. These are guys who wanted to call fire down from heaven because they were angry at a town that was living in sin. And the two other disciples that were there together, and Peter says, I'm going to fish.
Now, there's nothing wrong with going to fish. How many of y'all like to fish? I love to fish. I love catching fish. I don't like just sitting there and not catch fish. My mom drove past our house this last week dropping stuff off, she said, I'm going fishing at Wayne Kate's house. He's a member here at the church. So I'm going fishing. She loves to fish. Our family, we grew up fishing. We used to like play with worms, put 'em in my sister Sarah and Ruthie's hair, and Sarah was leading worship earlier.
Didn't she do a great job? I'm so thankful for my sisters, but we grew up loving to go fish. And for Peter fishing, wasn't just a hobby. Fishing was his old business. Fishing was his old lifestyle. Fishing was how he coped with loneliness and depression, and frustration and anger. Fishing was the place that he found fulfillment before Christ. All of us have something that we go fishing for. All of us have some sort of before Christ, a BC lifestyle. So for Peter, it was fishing. And when he said I'm going fishing, this is John 21, this is after three years of ministry. After he's been called Peter the rock and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. This is after he's already been anointed and appointed by Jesus. He says, I'm going back to life before Christ.
I'm going back to the fishing boat. Why? Peter had already seen Jesus twice since he had risen from the grave. Peter had already been in the encounters with Jesus two times. This is the third time Jesus shows up. Why is Peter going backwards? It's not because Jesus has pushed him out. It's because Peter has convinced himself, I'm not worthy to go on with ministry. I'm not worthy to be used by God. He doesn't really want me. I've missed it too bad. So in Peter's mind, he says, I'm going back to fishing. And they said, we'll go with you. His brothers, his fellow disciples, we'll go with you. So they went out and they got into the boat. But that night they caught nothing. It's amazing how God will let you do the thing you think is gonna bring you fulfillment only to allow you to experience the emptiness that it brings. He'll let you go back to the place that you used to go to.
Where you used to try to find happiness and cope with depression. He'll let you go back to the self medication. He'll let you go back to those things that you know you weren't supposed to do. And there's nothing wrong with fishing, except for that wasn't his calling. He wasn't called to live on the boat fishing for fish. He was called to live in the ministry of fishing for men. He was called to minister. He was called to preach. He was called to raise the dead, back to life, to cast out demons, to bring healing. Peter had a calling on his life and he was running from his calling. And here he is, and he's catching nothing, and early in the morning, Jesus stands on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He was there. He was watching. He's always watching. He can always see when you're coming up short, when you're feeling empty, and he says, friends, have you caught anything?
And they said, no. And he said cast your nets to the right side of the boat and then you will find some. And when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. And the disciple whom Jesus loved, which, by the way, that's the guy that's writing this book, which I always think is funny that he calls himself the disciple, he makes sure to always include Peter's mistakes. And he's like, and the guy who was perfect in all of his ways, John always describes himself as the hero, he's like. And the one who Jesus loved so much, looked over at Peter and said, I know who that is. It's the Lord. And when Peter who didn't know who he was heard the one that Jesus loves say this, he then wrapped his outer garment around and jumped into the water and began to swim towards Jesus.
Jesus was giving them grace in a moment when they needed it, the most, they needed to have an encounter with him. They needed to know that he was still on their side. They needed to know that Jesus still had a purpose for their lives, especially Peter, because Peter had missed it so bad. And I'm gonna get into that in just a moment. But before I do, I wanna show you what happens. Peter begins swimming towards Jesus and the net that was full of fish was being pulled by the boat. The disciples were pulling this net, trying to tow the net full of fish. And they were about 100 yards away from shore. When they got to the shore, they saw a large fire burning coals with fish on it. Jesus was cooking them breakfast.
I think Jesus wants to have breakfast with some of you today. I think he wants to take you to neighborhood jam. I think he wants to give you First Watch, rest in peace. He wants to give you scramble. He wants to give you scramble, whatever it's called. He wants to give you, he wants to give you your favorite breakfast food. What Jesus wanted to do is he wanted to have a conversation with his disciples. He wanted to talk to them. He wanted to look them in the eyes and tell them how much he loved them. He wasn't mad at them. He wasn't disappointed in them. He wasn't kicking them out. He was bringing them closer.
You see, God draws close to the broken hearted. God sees the good, the bad and the ugly, and he still wants you, Peter. He still wants you, Thomas. He still wants you with all your doubts, all your mistakes, all your mess ups, all the areas where you need grace. He still wants you, he says, come close to the fire. And so they sat down with Jesus. And Jesus says to Peter, bring some of the fish that you just caught. So Simon Peter climbs back into the boat and he drags the net ashore.
Now this is the same net that took six disciples, towing it with a boat. These weren't just little fish. These weren't just baby fish. These were large fish, 153 fish. So imagine Simon, Peter, just get this picture here. He is just got this massive net of fish over his shoulder and he comes walking with it towards Jesus all by himself. What kind of power was Peter walking in? He was walking in the power of knowing he is loved by Jesus. When you know you're loved by Jesus, you have extra strength. When you know you are loved by Jesus, you have extra grace. Grace is empowering you to rise up to a higher level. Peter was operating with supernatural strength here. He was so excited that Jesus wanted to see him.
Peter needed to know where he stood with Jesus because Peter had missed it so many times. We can all kind of relate to Peter in the room, any of us who've ever missed it because Peter is the most human of the disciples. He gets talked about the most for his mistakes. Not only did Peter cut a dude's ear off, but Peter was constantly saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, right? He would say something good, and then he'd turn around and say something bad. In one moment, Jesus said, Peter, you're a rock. And literally 10 minutes later, Jesus says, I rebuke you, Satan, get behind me.
How would you feel if Jesus looked at you and called you Satan, right? And yet this is the same guy that's gonna preach on Pentecost. The guy that's called Satan is gonna preach on Pentecost. The guy that everybody thinks is unworthy and unqualified is gonna lead 5,000 people to Christ, speak in tongues, cast out demons, lay hands on the sick. His shadow's gonna bring people back to life. He's gonna help birth the early church. He's gonna teach doctrine and theology. He's gonna help everybody understand the power of the resurrection in Christ. And yet he's cutting dude's ears off. And he's called the devil by Jesus, and he's rebuked and he's corrected, and he's loved and he's accepted, and he's forgiven, and he's human.
And he's Peter. And Jesus sees you with all the good, the bad and the ugly, and he says, I still want you. I wanna back up and look at one of the most important mistakes Peter made that led to this encounter on the beach. Let's go to Mark 14, Mark 14. And Jesus is talking about where he's about to go. He says, I'm going to the cross and I'm gonna die for you. But after I die and I'm buried into tomb, I will raise from the dead. And in Verse 28 of Mark 14, he says, after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. In other words, Jesus was saying, I'm going to meet you for breakfast on the beach in a few weeks after I died, you're not going to recognize me at first. I'm not gonna look the same.
I'm gonna have scars. I'm gonna have holes in my hands. I'm going to look different than how you see me right now, but there's something great that's on the other side of this crucifixion. You see, there is no resurrection without a crucifixion. There is no restoration without first going through the difficulties of life. You haven't lived until you've walked through shame. You haven't lived until you've walked through the cross. You really don't know the power of salvation until you realize how much forgiveness you need. Those who are forgiven much love much. And I would say they live much too, because you've seen death. You've felt it.
So Jesus says, I'm going ahead of you. I'm so thankful we have a savior who goes ahead of us. He goes ahead of us. He already knows your mistakes, your failures, where you're gonna miss it, and he says, I'm waiting for you. I'm gonna be on the other side of your mistake. I'm gonna be on the other side, Peter, waiting for you in Galilee, and Peter declares in Verse 29. Even if everyone falls away, even if all the disciples miss it, I won't miss it. I don't know if it was people that put Peter on a pedestal, that was a lot of P's right there. Or if it was Peter that put himself on a pedestal, I think it was Peter. Peter wanted so bad to be a hero in the eyes of Jesus. He wanted so badly to hold him up, which is why when he let him down, he was so disappointed in himself. I let you down. I let you down. I failed you. I let you down. And yet Jesus is saying, you were never holding me up, Peter.
How could you let me down when you weren't the one that was holding me up? See Peter was convinced that he was the savior, that he was going to save himself by being good enough, by being worthy enough by qualifying himself through his own actions. We said it earlier today, it is by grace that we have been saved, not by our own works, unless we boast in ourselves. You see a boastful disciple as someone who thinks I've saved myself, and I keep saving myself, by continuing to be the best version of myself, I will stay saved by myself, and that is complete self righteous garbage. The only way we are saved is by the grace of Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus Christ, it is not our own doing that saves us. We're saved by grace. We're sanctified by Jesus, by his Holy Spirit.
And Peter says, I swear, I won't. And Jesus says, truly, I tell you, Peter, Jesus says today, yes, even tonight before the rooster crows, twice you yourself, Peter, will disown me three times. He doesn't say this to any other disciple. All the disciples are gonna disown Jesus, but he says it directly to Peter. He says, Peter, everyone's gonna miss it, but you're gonna miss it big. And he says, you're gonna miss it so big that there's gonna be a crowing of a rooster to remind you that I said you're gonna miss it big. And Peter insisted emphatically. Even if I have to die with you, Jesus, I will never disown you. And all the others said the same as Peter.
Let's fast forward, look at Verse 66 of the same chapter. Here we are, the same night within 24 hours, while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself by the fire, she looked closely at him. She says, I recognize you. You also were with that Nazarene Jesus. You're one of the disciples, but he denied it. He lied. I don't know or understand what you're talking about, he said. And he went out of the entry way. Mistake number one, when the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, this fellow is one of them. I know he is one of them. I've seen him around Jesus.
Again, he lies. He denies it. And after a little while those standing near Peter said, surely, you're one of them for you're a Galilean. And this time for the third time, I could forgive you if you do something, once you do something twice, I'm working on it, the third time, you're out. That's how humans are, right? Three strikes and you're out. And yet with Jesus, his mercies are new every morning. I'm so thankful that Jesus knows where Peter's gonna miss it. And he says, I'm waiting for you on the other side. Peter begins to call down curses and he swears, cussing Peter, whatever that name is for you, he swears.
I don't know this man you're talking about. After three years of walking with Jesus, after three years of doing ministry, after three years of being his right hand guy, see Peter was all in to fight for Jesus when Jesus was watching. But when Jesus wasn't around, Peter was a different person. And we go, yeah, God can't use Peter at all. And yet Jesus says, I still want you. Peter hears the rooster crow immediately in Verse 72, it says the rooster crow. Come on, go ahead, make your best rooster crow this morning, ready, set, go. The rooster is always crowing.
That reminded me of the movie "Hook," bangarang, right? Roofie, oh! Anybody grow up on "Hook"? Yes, but the rooster is always crowing to remind you of your mistake. The enemy whispers two lies to disciples, the enemy whispers two lies to followers of Jesus. We're not talking about someone who didn't follow Jesus. We're not talking about someone who's never known Jesus. We're talking about a church guy. We're talking about a man who was known as an elder and a leader in the church. And the enemy always whispers to believers. You think just because you're saved, you escape the accusation of the enemy, the whispers of the enemy? No, he's right there.
In fact that same night, two guys missed it big time, Judas and Peter, and they both handled their shame differently. For one man, his shame led him to a place of utter disappointment in himself, discouragement, disqualified, he's unworthy, he's not good enough. And he hangs his head right there. For the other man, the shame is so unbearable, he cannot get rid of the shame so he gets rid of his own life. The ultimate act of shame is suicide. The ultimate act of feeling like you missed it is to end your life. And I don't know who I'm speaking to right now, but your life is worth living, no matter how bad you've missed it, God is not finished with you yet.
If there's breath in your lungs, don't you dare quit, sir. Don't you dare pull that trigger. You got a calling on your life. I got a front row seat for you, man. Whoever you are that's dealing with shame, Victory Church is open for you. And there's a spot for you. Let us always be the church that welcomes back Peter, that welcomes back Thomas, that welcomes back the apostle Paul, that welcomes back you, because this is the heart of God.
This is the tender compassion of Jesus. This is the place where heaven invades earth, not when we earn his love, but when his love reaches in our ugliest, darkest moments and says, I still want you. I still want your son. I still want your daughter. I still want your husband, your wife, even your ex. Even the people that you've canceled, God says I still want them. It's the heartbeat of God. People, people, people, Peter, Paul and Antonio, Daniel, Ashley, John, Sharon, Eyeru Billy Joe, God's heart beats for people. It beats for you. It beats for your family, your parents, your grandparents, your children, your grandchildren. This is the Gospel. The good news.