Steven Furtick - The Submission Move (06/09/2017)
On Easter, Pastor Steven Furtick declares victory through Christ's resurrection, preaching from John 21 on Jesus restoring Peter over breakfast after his failures. Jesus asks Peter three times "Do you love me?" to heal his threefold denial, teaching submission to God's plan over our own. Peter learns true following means surrendering strength, success, and security to follow Jesus forward, even from the ground—God's "submission move" turns failure into new life.
Opening Prayer of Gratitude for Resurrection Victory
Well, Lord, we thank you today for the victory that we're celebrating that we didn't win. How many people get to celebrate a victory that they didn't accomplish? But we do! And we honor you today, Lord. We thank you for your great triumph. We thank you that whatever we're facing, you've already overcome.
We declare in Jesus' name today that things are coming alive that have been buried in the soil of disappointment. I pray over my brothers and sisters and our friends and family, everybody watching, everybody participating. Lord, I declare new life. We thank you that we have the ability to expect this, not because of our virtue, but because of your grace.
I'm so thankful for your grace. I'm thankful that you reached down, that you remembered us, that you had us on your mind, that you were willing to pay a price, a debt that you didn't know that we could never pay, so that we could become like you are, the righteousness of God. And we honor you today for this good news, for this gospel news. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
Come on, church. Let's give him one more great Easter ovation. Well, you may be seated. Absolutely you may. You've earned a seat. You worshiped so good. Can you worship bad? I don't know, but you definitely did it. It was awesome, and we are excited.
I haven't felt this much Easter excitement since it was Elevation Easter 2008. The last time I felt this kind of excitement, I remember. And I think you're the best Easter crowd we've had in like, what is that, eight years? Seven or eight years? Whatever. I'm not good at math, but it's been a while.
Tell somebody, it's been a while since somebody as good-looking as you sat next to me. Tell them, I thank God that I have a seat next to you. And tell them, I hope we get to sit together in heaven. Now give them a big hug if you don't mind. Amen.
Thank you, worship team. Didn't you love all those songs, man? The videos? Me too. Very good. Very good. At all the locations you should have seen, that thing back there came together and spelled Jesus. It was awesome. Can we do it again for all the other campuses? Can they see it? Or is it hard? Should I work this out ahead of time?
But when we started, it was like all apart. And then, let me know. I'll stall and see what happens. How are you doing? Are you happy? How could you not be in an atmosphere like this with people praising God, people who are glad to be alive? Amen.
From Last Supper to Last Breakfast – A New Focus
I want to read you a scripture for my sermon while they're finding out about this thing. Just signal me. Wave at me and let me know. I want to read you a scripture from John, chapter 21. Man, I've been waiting for you to get here this week. What took you so long? The hardest part of my week is waiting on you. The Lord shows me these things I want to share, and then I have to keep it inside. But today I get to share it.
I want to share from John 21. A lot of people talk about the Last Supper. If you've been around church, you've probably heard that term, the Last Supper, where Jesus took communion with the disciples. But I want to share for a few moments today about the Last Breakfast. How many of you have ever heard a sermon on the Last Breakfast? You're going to hear one today.
Jesus shared some words of restoration with Peter over some fish omelet for breakfast. It's a different culture. He invited Peter into a conversation, and we want to get into it as well. I'm going to read, for the sake of time, just a few verses starting in verse 15 and then back up and fill in the context if I'm able, and I'll catch you up.
When they had finished eating, verse 15, Jesus said to Simon Peter, because his name was Simon, and then Jesus changed it to Peter. Simon had a meaning attached to it that was like shifty, and Peter means the rock. So, Jesus said, I'm going to call you Dwayne Johnson from now on. I want to build something on you.
He invited him to eat some fish, and he said, Can you smell what I'm cooking anyway? I took that too far. In my head that was funny. But he said, When they 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. Again, Jesus said, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep.
The third time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt. Peter was hurt that third time because Jesus asked him for a third time, do you love me? And he said, "'Lord, you know all things. You know good and well that I love you.'" Jesus said, "'Feed my sheep.'"
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 Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "'Follow me.'"
Peter turned. By the way, that's the wrong direction to be facing right after Jesus said, "'Follow me.'" To turn back around. And yet so often this happens to us, is that God is trying to lead us in a direction, but we turn and we start looking around at other people, and we start looking around at other priorities.
And Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's John, who is writing this gospel. What a cocky thing to call yourself, by the way. The disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. Stalker, this was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "'Lord, who is going to betray you? ' And when Peter saw him, he asked, "'Lord, what about him? ' And Jesus answered, "'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? ' None of your business. You must follow me.'"
I want to share for just a few moments on this glorious Easter weekend on the subject, the submission move. The submission move. Isn't that a cool title for an Easter message? The submission move. Tell somebody next to you, God's got you right where he wants you. It's the submission move.
I'm a little disappointed. Did we find out about the thing? We can do it. We can do it. Watch this. Everybody at Matthews, Lake Norman, watch this. Watch this. Guess what it's going to spell, though, when they put it back together. You'll never believe this. It's amazing. And then when you do it like… How do they do that? Genius. Totally genius. Totally genius.
We're trying to do two things at once this weekend. We've been in a series as a church called The Genius of Jesus, and I'm trying to wrap that up while we're welcoming a lot of guests who may not come to our church or may not go to church at all much. I'm trying to really do two things at once to close a series for our church and just have an Easter message.
The Teacher's Success Seen in His Student – Peter
But I figured, you know, a teacher is proven by the success of his student. And I thought for the last week, the best way to find out if the master teacher, Jesus, the disciple maker, Jesus, the prodigy, Jesus, if he really taught stuff that was transformative, will see it in his students.
The truth that a teacher conveys is best seen in the success of his student. And so I spent the week with Peter. That's what I did. I shadowed Peter all week. And I wanted to see what Peter saw, and I wanted to learn what he learned, and I wanted to track a few points in his life, the trajectory of his discipleship and his growth.
And I picked Peter. I picked Peter intentionally because he wasn't exactly the easiest student Jesus had. Amen. He's the guy that you send out in the hall. He's the guy that you say, if I have to tell you one more time, he's the guy you keep his mom's number on file if he's in your class.
He's a pupil with a lot of potential, but he's also a real problematic. And I wonder if the two don't always go hand in hand. I wonder if the people with the most potential don't also have the most problems. I wonder if some of the people that God has called to do the greatest things aren't the most complicated, really, when you get down to it.
And that ought to make you feel good about yourself with all your problems and all your quirkiness and all your struggles that you should be over by now and all your loud mouth ways and all the things you thought you knew that ended up causing a lot of trouble for you and those around you.
And yet Jesus singled out Peter. in a special way. And I was going to bring up for an illustration, because you'll see how this ties perfectly in the Easter message. I was going to bring my old WWF action figures. I wanted to bring them for you because I had a lot of them that I started collecting in my late 20s. No, I'm just kidding, from when I was a little boy.
But how messed up is this? My dad sold my action figures before he died. That's messed up, Dad. My man sold my ultimate warrior. He sold my Hulk Hogan. He sold my Ric Flair. He sold my Lex Luger. He sold my road warriors. He sold my Jake the snake. He sold Jake and the snake, the little snake that went around Jake. He sold them all. Devastating to find that out. I didn't know that.
But obviously, you know, there are a lot of similarities between the resurrection and wrestling because… No, no, no. Follow me. Actually, Buck, why don't you come on up? And I told Buck he needed to dress for the stage, but I didn't exactly tell him, you know, anything other than that. I said, Buck, make sure you look nice in case I need you this Easter.
Buck's on our staff. Would you give it up for Buck? He's a fitness instructor as well. He tries to help me out, stay in shape, but I told him he should name his fitness program Big Bucks. Hello. Marketing. Big Bucks. You like that, Rachel? Big Bucks. I gave you a new nickname.
Anyway, Buck was a college wrestler. And one thing I like to do when Buck travels with me, I always… I haven't done this in a while. I'm going to start doing it again now that I think about it. But I like to tell the people when we go to a church, they'll see Buck, and they see he's kind of big, and they start asking him… Guys always ask guys questions. So you lift, bro?
I always like to tell them, no, not only does Buck lift, but he's an MMA fighter, mixed martial arts, and he's totally not. Like, he's done it once or twice. But then after I say that, I walk away, because I want somebody to challenge him, because I like to watch him fight.
Now, who got real excited when I called Buck up is Chunks. Chunks is our CFO, but he totally doesn't know. He's coming to the stage too, because I want to show y'all something. Now, come here, Chunks. I didn't tell him to dress good or anything. He looks all right. And Chunks is a big boy. Yeah, he looks like he could do something.
And one day… I'm going to give y'all a recap of something that happened several years ago. One day… I reckon it was about, you know, the year 2011, Anno Domini. And Chunks and Buck, they often… They traveled a lot with me to preach and stuff. I've known Buck since college. I've watched him wrestle Mongolian-style in China. Chunks I've known since before we started the church. I've known them both a long time.
And they're both real macho, so they love each other. They really do. They have a deep connection, but sometimes the connection is too deep to the point where they kind of… And it's fun to watch, isn't it, Huey? It's fun to watch. They can fight over anything. And they're both real stubborn, so it's great to watch them square off.
But one day was about four years ago where it got physical on a Wednesday afternoon at the Elevation Church office. And, you know, being the spiritual leader of the church, I only saw one possible solution is to go in the E-Kids theater and settle this once and for all.
The Submission Move – A Wrestling Illustration
Now, I don't do this kind of thing anymore because, you know, times have changed and, you know, news reports. So I don't… Whatever. But I'm saying, back in the day, it was raw. It was real. And Buck and Chunks… I said, let's square off. Let's settle this once and for all.
And so we made a deal that if Chunks could last two minutes with Buck… Because Chunks never wrestled. I mean, you know everybody who's big can't fight. You do know that. And so Chunks is more for show. You know, he's got more like beach muscles. And Buck is more like utility.
And so I knew it was unfair, but I put a stipulation. I put a handicap. I said, if you can last two minutes with Buck, that counts as a win. So Chunks developed a strategy. I'm going to kind of reenact it. I'm going to have them reenact it for you now.
Where he was, he started running all around the room because it's a big room. Am I telling the truth? Wade was there. And Chunks started running around the room. And I think his thought was, but Buck is fast. Buck is faster than Chunks and better than Chunks.
And so when Buck eventually caught Chunks… And here's what I need you to show him, and I don't know if you want to take that off or not, but if you could just kind of demonstrate. that hold that you put him in, if you remember it… But don't do it. Don't do it fully. Just more like a demonstration mode.
How many want to see this on Easter? I know you want it. How many are on Team Buck? Buck, Buck, Buck. How many Team Chunks in the house? You're about to be disappointed.
Because Buck knows the submission move. And after he caught him, he grabbed him. And again, don't do it too hard, Buck, because we have to do this multiple times through the weekend. Yeah, show it the whole way. What happened?
And before I knew it, about 51 seconds into this minute…. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. When he tapped out, I noticed that I could only see the whites of his eyes. Y'all, I'm not making this up. He couldn't talk for about a week and a half. Walked around the office sounding like Darth Vader.
My point was, no matter how strong he was, there was something he knew that when he got him in it, it don't matter how big your biceps are at that point. It doesn't matter about your traps at that point. It doesn't even matter about your cardiovascular conditioning at that point.
What is the name of that move, by the way? Rear naked choke. Perfect. Rear naked choke. That's the best name it could have been. You put chunks in the rear naked choke. Are you making that up? Okay.
The rear naked choke. I want to retitle my sermon. I want to call this sermon Rear naked choke. Cool. All right. Thanks, guys.
I'm saying that no matter how strong you are, no matter how successful your appearance may be, every once in a while, life will get you in a hole. Come on. If you haven't been through anything, you're looking at me funny, but if you have, don't act like you don't know, that sometimes life will get you from behind.
Don't even see it coming. It will smother you on the ground and choke you out. Even passionate people have trouble breathing when this happens. Ask Peter.
Peter in Submission Hold – After Threefold Failure
When we see him in John 21, he is in, I guess you could say, a submission hole because he has failed so spectacularly and so publicly. You do know that Peter, the one who promised Jesus that even if everyone else denied him, he would follow him all the way to death.
You do know that Peter denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. Three times he denied him. When we catch up with him in John 21, because this is the last account that we're given of a face-to-face interaction with Jesus and Peter, teacher and student.
Splinter and the Ninja Turtles, coach and athlete, savior and follower, is kind of a strange situation. The Scripture says that Jesus appeared to his disciples on two occasions. Two occasions he showed himself to them. One time he showed up and showed himself to everyone, but then Thomas wasn't there.
One of the disciples was important enough that Jesus came back and did an encore for one disciple. I have to believe that if he would do that, then he'll still do it now. You know, when I preach, I preach under the assumption that. he might just want one person to hear what I have to say today.
All that moving walls and everything and the laser beams or whatever that was happening, I feel like that God would go to great lengths. The Bible says Jesus walked through locked doors, cool, and told Thomas, touch the place where they pierced me. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas did. That was the second time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples.
Here we have this occasion where it's kind of strange because. after seeing Jesus twice, Peter makes a strange decision. I want to back up and catch something in chapter 21, verse 1, where it says, Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples. I circled the word again in my Bible, that he keeps coming again and again and again and again and again.
That's what's great about him as a teacher, is that he will reinforce and reinforce and reinforce until you get it. He showed up again by the Sea of Galilee, and John says it happened this way. He says, Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as Didymus, definitely use your name Thomas if your other name is Didymus. Go by Thomas. Nathaniel from Cana, Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them. I don't want to get bogged down on the fact that what are you fishing for is an excellent question to ask of a guy who had left his fishing business to follow Christ but now is going back out into the same boat that he apparently left behind.
I don't want to touch that too much because I'll get stuck in it, because I know that a lot of people under the sound of my voice have gone back fishing, gone back to what's familiar, because you failed in your faith. And you can locate yourself in this passage, see, because Simon Peter… He's still Simon, and he's Peter.
He never really quit being Simon because he became Peter, and his life is back and forth. It's kind of a chunks and buck thing, you know? It's like this wrestling match between Simon and Peter, between who he was and who he is. In this particular instance, Simon, shifty, got the best of Peter, the rock, and the rock sinks down, and he goes back fishing.
Back to Fishing – When Failure Leads to Familiar
Now, picking up on that, it says that when he told his companions, I'm going fishing, they said, we'll go with you. When you go away from God, it always affects others. They said, we'll go with you. So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Now, early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, friends, haven't you any fish messing with them? Modern equivalent. How's that working for you? Back out on the boat.
They answered no, and he said, throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you'll find some. When they did, they were unable to haul in the net because of the large number of fish.
I have to stop and point out to you, in case. you maybe haven't been in the Bible a whole lot or for a long time, that this is eerily reminiscent. of the first time Jesus met Peter. Can I talk about that? While I was spending this week with Peter, I was asking the question, Peter, what is it that you learned?
If you were to say the greatest lesson that you learned in your three years with Jesus… Jesus was publicly ministering for three years, and in the three years you spent as his pupil, in the three years you spent as an apprentice to the Son of God, what's the greatest lesson you learned?
Not Success – Jesus Loads the Nets Then Calls to Leave Them
So I started it the very first time, not the first time Jesus and Peter met, but the first time we read anything about the two of them, and Jesus uses Peter's boat as a classroom. In fact, the Bible says there were so many crowds gathering to hear Jesus, he needed to push out a little bit from him from the shore.
So in Luke, chapter 5, he saw two boats that were left by the fishermen. Verse 3, he got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, who would later become Peter, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
Now, when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. And Simon answered... We're going to see how far the student has to go at this point. Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything, but because you say so, I will let down the nets.
And when they had done so... Watch verse 6. They caught such a large amount of fish, their nets began to break. When I read that, I started thinking about how Peter learned from Jesus how to be successful. I mean, from one moment to the next, he went from being a failure at fishing, hadn't caught anything all night.
He went from having empty nets nets to after he meets Jesus and follows his instruction. His biggest problem is no longer empty nets, y'all. It's a sinking boat. I want you to know that when Jesus gets on your boat... I'm trying to say when he takes charge of your life, when you start doing things his way... I've found it to be true that you go from empty nets to sinking boats.
I'm talking about he will load you with blessings that you don't even know to ask for when you do things that you may not understand. Peter said, it doesn't make sense, but I'll do it. I'll do it because you said so. And so I asked Peter... Remember, we've been hanging out all week, and I love the Bible because I can interact with the heroes, and I can learn what they learned, and I can walk where they walked, and I can see what they saw.
The Bible is so honest that it tells us all about the characters in their strengths and their weaknesses. So I asked Peter, was that what he taught you? He taught you success. Peter said, well, no. I mean, this is an imaginary conversation, of course, but Peter said no.
After we hauled all the nets in, the next thing he asked us to do was to leave all those fish and follow him. Peter said, I realized that he didn't come to teach me success, at least not the way I understood it, because the moment that he made me successful, the next thing he asked me to do was to walk away from the very success he just gave.
Not Security – The Mount of Transfiguration Lesson
So if it wasn't success that Jesus taught you, what was it, Peter? Hey, Petey! Everybody say, Hey, Petey. Yeah, you can call him Petey. It's fine. What was it that he taught you? Peter said, well, there was this one time where Jesus invited me and James and John because we were his favorites.
No, that's true. Jesus had favorites. Jesus had an inner circle of three, and then he had a group of 12, and then he had 120, and then he had the crowds. Within that, he was preparing Peter for something very special.
So one day he took him up on a mountain and he let Peter see something that very few got to see. While he was up there on that mountain, the Scripture says it's called the Transfiguration, if you want to read it in your Bible, in Matthew chapter 17, where Jesus began to shine like the sun.
While he was speaking, three of the. great heroes of the faith started showing up and talking with him. I know as Christians, we believe some pretty strange stuff. If you are new to this, this might sound pretty crazy. But the Scripture actually records that in the middle of Peter seeing this, he starts telling Jesus, hey, it's good for us to be here.
Let me build a little station where we can have a place for you and a place for Elijah and a place for Moses. I'm going to build a place where we can stay up here. The moment Peter got his plan out of his mouth, a voice from heaven interrupted him and said, you know, you really need to listen to Jesus rather than draw up your plans and your blueprints for what you think you need to build.
So Peter said, you know, he took me up on the mountain where he showed me this great sight. I thought for a moment that he was trying to teach me security. Security. And what I saw was so great that I wanted to stay there. But just in the moment that I was getting settled in on that mountaintop, Jesus turned to me and said, get up and let's go back down.
There are people who need us and there's work to be done in the valley. And so if it wasn't stability and if it wasn't success, what was it, Peter? Peter told me about how one time, one time when they came to arrest Jesus, Peter got so angry about it because he was a passionate guy and he was a fighter at his core and he was a resistor in his true nature.
Not Strength – The Sword in the Garden
And when they came to get Jesus, the one that he had left his business to follow, the one that he had forsaken everything to put his faith in, when they came to get Jesus, almost by instinct, Peter said, I pulled out my sword and I found the first guard I could swing it at.
And I cut off the dude's ear and I didn't even know his name, but his name happened to be Malchus. And you know how we know his name was Malchus? Because John tells us his name was Malchus in John chapter 18.
And you know what else I think is hilarious is that John is the only one of the four gospel writers who tells us that it was Peter that cut off Malchus's ear. You think it's a little bit of a rivalry between John and Peter? I always found that interesting that John said, Hey, by the way, it was Peter who cut off the guy's ear.
It was Peter because Luke won't tell you and Matthew won't tell you and Mark. I'm going to tell you it was Simon Peter. It was the rock. And Jesus looked at me. Peter said the moment after I cut off that ear because I didn't want him to be taken away, but because I didn't want him to have to suffer because I had invested all of my success and all of my security in his success and in his safety.
And he said, the moment I pulled out my sword, Jesus commanded me. Look at this in John 18, 11, put your sword away. Shall I not drink the cup? The father has given me. Peter said, I thought Jesus picked me for my team because I was strong.
I thought he recruited me for my great strength. But the moment that I showed my strength, he made me put my sword back. So it couldn't have been strength that he saw in me. And it couldn't have been security that he was trying to teach me. And it couldn't have been success that he was trying to give me because he gave me success, but he called me to leave it.
And he showed me security, but I couldn't stay in it. And I had great strength, but he didn't let me use it. So what was he teaching you, Peter? Peter said, Well, you have to understand the last time we spoke over breakfast. You have to understand that I had been fishing all night and I hadn't caught anything.
I really knew that I was vacillating and I really knew that I was making up my mind whether or not I still wanted to follow a Savior whose path led to a cross. I knew I was making up my mind whether I wanted my old stability or whether I wanted to follow him in a different direction.
And I knew in my mind that if I stayed fishing in that boat, I would miss everything that he spoke to me about and everything he showed me over three years. But then I had a flashback, see? Because in John chapter 21… Look at the similarities between John 21 and Luke 5.
Look at the similarities between the first time that Jesus called Peter and the last time that Jesus called Peter on this earth. Look at the similarities. Both times Peter couldn't catch any fish. Both times he didn't recognize Jesus at first. Both times it took Jesus doing something that only he could do to get Peter's attention in a dramatic way.
And so the Scripture says in John 21… Can I show you this? That Jesus pulls Peter aside, and after they have sat down on the shore and after they have eaten breakfast together, it says in verse 14, Now this was the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
The Third Time – Significance of Three in Peter's Story
The third time. The third time. I must inform you that in Scripture, the number three, well, it has great significance. It's the number of perfection. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, past, present, future, outer court, inner court, holy of holies, body, soul, spirit.
God was, is, is to come. Three. A threefold cord is not easily. It's not easily broken. It's the third time now that Peter has seen Jesus since he's been resurrected. But he's still fallen back on his boat until something happens.
Something very, very interesting. Something that almost seems cruel on the surface. Jesus enables Peter to catch some fish, cooks the fish for Peter, has breakfast with him, and pulls him aside and starts to ask him a few questions.
It's actually only one question three different times. Do you love me? Do you love me? Simon? I'm not talking to Peter now. I'm talking to Simon. Do you love me? I'm not talking to who other people think you are. I'm talking to who you really are.
Do you love me? Do you love me? I didn't understand why he asked it three times until I remember how Jesus took Peter to pray with him in the garden before he was led away to be arrested. And he asked Peter and James and John, the three special disciples, he said, Hey, watch and pray with me for one hour because I'm about to be handed over to be sentenced and to be executed.
Three Times Asleep in Gethsemane – Peter's First Failures
Watch and pray. But the Scripture says after Jesus came back, he found them sleeping. And he woke them up and said, Hey, watch and pray. Wake up and get my back. And he went back and prayed and he came back a second time. And when he came back a second time, they were sleeping again.
And Jesus said, Wake up, watch and pray. Be careful that you don't enter into temptation. Jesus is sweating drops of great blood, drops of great blood in anticipation for the accomplishment that he's about to provide for the very ones who are sleeping on him.
And they can't even stay awake for an hour. And a third time he goes to pray and he's praying so strong, y'all. He's praying, Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. He's putting his own will in submission to the will of his Father.
He's on his knees before his Father in heaven, and he gets up and returns for a third time to his disciples, and they're sleeping again. Three times he prayed. Three times they slept. And Jesus said, Arise and let us go. See, here comes my betrayer.
Here comes Judas, who had been bought off, and he brings the men right to where Jesus was because he knew where Jesus would be. And he brings them to intercept at this exact time. And that's when Peter pulled out his sword and cut off Malchus' ear.
And that's when Jesus said, Put your sword up, because I didn't call you to be strong like you think you need to be strong. And I didn't call you to be secure like you think you need to be secure. And we're not going to succeed the way you think we're going to succeed.
And he took Malchus' ear and put it back on. Some Mr. Potato Head stuff right there. And he put his ear back on. And he said, Let's go. Do what you came to do. And he went to the courtyard where he would be tried.
And Peter, who said, I'll go anywhere with you. I'll follow you. I'll leave my boat. I'll leave my fishing business. I'll leave it all to follow you. Peter, it says that he followed Jesus at a distance. He followed him at a distance.
And they started asking Peter, Aren't you one of them? Aren't you with him? Aren't you one of his guys? I think I saw you all together. You kind of talk like one of them. You kind of sound like one of them. You kind of look like one of them.
Three Denials in the Courtyard – Peter's Second Failures
And the Scripture says that the first time he denied him, the second time he denied him, the third time he started calling down curses. And when he denied him the third time, the rooster began to crow, because that's what Jesus had given him as a signal when he was predicting, You're going to deny me.
He said, After you've denied me three times, the rooster is going to crow. And when the rooster crowed, the Scripture says that Peter went outside and wept bitterly Because he failed three times.
Three times he slept. Three times he denied. And now, for the third time, Jesus appears to Peter on the beach in John 21, and he asks him three times, Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?
Remember, Buck, how the referees used to do in the wrestling when they would have an opponent in a submission hold, and the referee was checking to see, can he go on or is he out? And they hold up their hand and they drop it. One, two, and then on that third drop, three, is over.
One, two, three, that's it. He submitted you. It's over. One time you're sleeping. Two times you're sleeping. Three, that's it. It's over. One time you deny me. Two times you deny me. Three, you deny me. It's over.
One time, do you love me? Two times, do you love me? Three times, do you love me? But every once in a while, they'd have these wrestlers where they'd do it. They'd do one, two, and on that third one, they'd get a little. One, two, three, and then they'd.
And that means don't count me out just yet. I know I look kind of weak. I know life snuck up on me from behind. I know I failed in some pretty spectacular ways. I know I embarrassed the cause pretty bad. I know I did what I said I'd never do.
I know it's kind of shameful how I treated God and all the chances he gave me. After all, he invested in me, and after all, he showed me. But one, two… It's that third one. It's that third one, isn't it? Isn't it?
It's that third one. Friday, they hung him up high, and they thought they had him. On Saturday, all was silent in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, so it looked like it was over. But early, one Sunday morning, just about when darkness had dropped and covered the land.
Three, three, three. Touch three people. Tell them, don't count me out yet. Don't count me out. Don't count me out yet. I might have slept on the job, but don't count me out yet. I might have cut off some ears, but don't count me out yet.
I might have gone back fishing for a minute, but now I see Jesus, and he's not far from me. Don't count me out just yet.
Don't Count Me Out – Resurrection on the Third Day
So I said, Peter, what was it you learned from Jesus that took you from being a failure who went back fishing to a preacher who stood up on the day of Pentecost and preached with such power that 3,000 people, the guy who failed him three times in the garden, the guy who failed him three times in the courtyard preached so powerfully that 3,000 people were saved in one day.
So I caught up with Peter at the end of his life, 30 years after Jesus talked with him on the beach, 30 years after his failure. 30 years later, he wrote a book, and you're going to love the name of this, First Peter. Makes it easy to name the sequel. He wrote Second Peter.
His books are just like his personality. They're his letters that he wrote to these churches that were scattered. He was encouraging some churches that were being persecuted. He was encouraging some churches that life had wrapped its arms around and was squeezing the life out of them.
He was encouraging some people who were under some fire of persecution, and he was telling them to stand strong. I came to this passage, and it showed me that the greatest lesson Peter ever learned from Jesus wasn't how to succeed, although Jesus showed him how to succeed.
It wasn't how to be secure, although Jesus showed him how to be secure, and it wasn't how to be strong, although Jesus showed him The epitome of strength. But Peter said, To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example.
Peter said, I saw him pray three times in the garden. I saw him on that third time come to the conclusion. Nevertheless, I'm not going to submit to my feelings. I'm not going to submit to the power of sin. I'm not going to submit to the struggles of this moment, because I am in submission to God.
And I saw how Christ suffered in submission to the will of his Father. And I saw how he left me an example, how on Friday he sacrificed, how on Saturday it was silent, and how on Sunday he Rose, and he left an example that you should follow in his steps.
That's it. That's the whole thing that Peter didn't get in Luke 5. He didn't get it in the very first year of ministry. He didn't get it in the second year of ministry. He didn't get it until the third year of ministry. He didn't get it on the first day when they crucified Jesus.
He didn't get it on Saturday. He didn't even get it on Sunday. It took him three times of Jesus asking him, Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? One time for every failure. One time. That's why he was hurt on the third time.
That's why the first time he answered him, Lord, you know I love you. That's why the second time he answered him, you know I love you. You know I'm your boy. You're looking at Peter. Come on. This ain't John over here. You're talking to Peter.
You know I got mad love for you. But that third time hurt, because I think he still heard roosters in his head, and he realized what was happening here. You see, the first time that Peter followed Jesus in Luke 5, when it says that he left his boat, and he left his fish, and he followed Jesus, he was following Jesus.
But really, he was following his plan. Let me break that down for you. When Jesus told Peter, follow me at the end of his life, it was a little different than when he told him that at the beginning of the ministry. Because when Jesus told Peter, follow me for the first time, Peter didn't know where this thing was headed.
But now he's seen that the road to the kingdom led through the cross. And so what Jesus is saying, in essence, is, you still want to follow me? Do you still want to follow me? See, when you were young, you went where you wanted.
And all Peter's life, he was trying to tell Jesus what to do. You can't go to Jerusalem, they'll kill you. You can't do that. You can't wash my feet. All Peter's life, he was trying to follow Jesus and keep his own plans intact.
But Jesus said, now that we've come to a point where your plan didn't work, will you follow me now? Because what I really wanted to teach you, Peter, was submission. And there are many in this room today who have followed Christ kind of, followed your idea of what you think God is.
But really, he's not leading you as much as you're trying to lead him. Because you're following him if and you're following him when. What I love about Jesus is he'll meet you on your turf. He'll walk right up to the place where you're fishing.
He doesn't wait for Peter to come back to the synagogue. He tracked Peter down on his turf. Oh, he'll meet you on your turf, but he won't meet you on your terms. Follow me. This sounds great. Let's build an empire. Follow me. Sure, I'll follow you. You just loaded my boat with fish.
But what about when the boat is empty? And what about when the cost is high? Do you want to follow me now? It's really simple, Peter. I'm not looking for you to be so strong. I'm not looking for you to be so secure. I'm not looking for you to be so successful.
You've been following me into all the wrong places with all of your own ideas. All I'm looking for is for you to follow me and take the next step in submission to my plan. We are not called to follow a plan. We're called to follow a person who has a plan that is greater than hours.
I had to let you fail, Peter, Simon. I had to let you go down three times in the garden. I had to let you go down three times in the courtyard. I had to let you experience some things in life. I had to let life put you in a submission hold.
I had to let you get to the point where you You knew that your plan without my personhood is not enough. Now I'm asking you, will you follow me for real this time? Will you stretch out your hands and say, wherever you lead, I'll go?
That's what it means to be my follower. It doesn't mean you're not going to stumble. It just means that when you stumble, you'll be in step with me enough that I can pick you up and we can continue along the way.
I just want to know, will you follow me? I needed, I needed, I needed for you to fail, Peter, because as long as the boats were full, you wouldn't know what faith was. I needed you to go down those three times so I could raise you up.
I needed you to be on your back. I was watching an MMA fight one time where the guy I was cheering for, he got down on his back and I was nervous because he was on his back. I don't mean to be getting all in these compromising positions on Easter, but he was on his back and I was nervous for him because I thought he was about to lose, but the announcer said something.
He said, uh-oh, he's on his back and he's got ground game. He's best on his back. So what he meant, Mac, you love MMA, what he meant was, I know this looks like a bad situation because he's down on his back, and you assume that the one on his back is the one who's about to lose, but if the guy on his back knows what he's doing, he can grab something while he's on his back and put some...
Now I'm trying to tell you that Jesus is good on his back. In fact, he's best when you're on your back, not when you're walking so tall, not when you're doing so well, not when you know so much, not when you've gotten so good, but when you say, Leave me. I'll follow.
Everyone's standing. The word of the Lord has been spoken in this place today, and the challenge has been issued. Will you follow me? That's what the teacher wants to know. Not can you, but will you?
I know you can't. That's why I have grace to carry you. All I'm asking is, will you follow me? Not that Luke 5 stuff where you follow me in tradition. Not that Luke 5 stuff where you follow me to a certain point, but will you follow me in my steps?
I want to invite every single person today in our church who needs to make the decision to follow Christ. I want to invite you today, like right now, to make this your third appearance. The third time he appeared to him. The third time.
It took a while, but the third time. Peter said, Let's go forward. I believe God is calling many forward from your failures, many forward out of your fears, and into faith.
What we're going to do right now is something that we do a lot, but I think today, in a special way, I want to call you to respond. We have some. ministry team members, and they're going to come and get in place now at all of our locations.
And I'm going to invite you to actually take a step, a physical step, representing a spiritual reality. And I'm preaching to Simon Peter today, who's been back in the boat fishing, who's been down for the count. But today, you want to call on the name of Jesus and experience a resurrection new beginning.
And I'm calling on you at all of our campuses. And what we're going to do in just a moment is. going to have a moment of prayer. As a church family, I invite you to pray the prayer. And after the prayer, if you pray this prayer with me and you say, Today I'm making a decision to follow Christ, then I want you to step out of your seat where you are, and I want you to come forward.
And we're going to put a Bible in your hand. And it's not about the Bible. It's about what it symbolizes. To say that, you know what, from this day forward, from this, I can't do anything about the garden. I can't do anything about the courtyard. I can't undo my mistakes.
But Jesus, you know I love you, and today I'm following you forward. We're going to bow our heads and close our eyes at every location. Campus pastors, I ask you to join me on your stages. I want us to pray out loud as a church family, as Jesus calls all the Simon Peters out of their boats and into a new life of faith.
If you pray this prayer with your heart, I believe that what happened with Peter and Jesus on that. seashore that day can happen right here in this moment, 2000 years later. I believe you'll heal your hurts and restore your heart and give you a new beginning.
We're praying together now, church, out loud. Heavenly Father, today I will become a follower of Jesus Christ, your Son. I'm not looking back any longer. I'm not looking to the side. I'm looking straight ahead.
I believe that Jesus Christ. paid the price for my sin and Rose again on the third day to give me life. This is my third day. This is my new beginning, and I will follow you by your grace all the days of my life.
Now, if you just prayed that prayer to come to God or to come back to God, whether it's the first time or whether this is the real time for you, you know, the real deal, the real thing. When I say three, I don't care if you're in the back or where you happen to be.
If you need to move some people out of your way, you do it. But I want you to come forward, and as you take this Bible, when I count to three, I'm going to release you. As you take this Bible, you're taking a new direction in your life today to say, I am following Christ forward.
When I count to three, you move at all of our locations. Don't hesitate. The Scripture says that Peter was so excited when he saw Jesus, he jumped in the water and swam to the shore. Now, if he can jump in the water to get to Jesus, you can get out in the aisle.
So don't let it stop you. Don't let the fear stop you. Don't let the excuses stop you. On the count of three, let's get a new beginning. We're here, we're here, we're here, we're here at the campuses on three.
One, two, three. This is the moment. Come on right now. All you who pray, come on right now. You know who you are. Come on right now. Come on right now. Thank God for you. That's awesome. We are waiting for you.
Yeah, come on. Come on, it's your day. Don't count me out. I got a new beginning. Come on, come on we are waiting, we're waiting, come on. We're waiting for you. The altar is open. The arms of the heavenly Father are open. The heavens are open.
It's the third day. Anything can happen. A little forgetting. Do you want to come? Do you want to come? Come on. You still got time. This is the third time. Don't listen. This is the third day. Yeah, there you go, sister. Come on.
Welcome to the family. Welcome to the family. Come on. Oh, come to the altar.