WEBVTT - Life After The Let Down 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:04.439 I am so excited with like ten extra o's about 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.480 this message that you're about to hear today that God 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.799 gave me for you. But before that special message, I 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.560 have this special message. I want to see you at 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:19.439 Elevation Nights. Go to Elevation Nights dot Com. Our tour 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:25.320 starts soon. It's me Elevation Worship the Holy Ghost. Oh, 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.760 it's going to be amazing. Right. Here are the dates, 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:34.559 April twenty sixth through May fifth. Here are the cities Chicago, Indy, Washington, 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:39.159 d C, Newark, New Jersey, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Columbus, Ohio, 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.800 Reading Pennsylvania, and Boston, Massachusetts. Yes, I'm reading them on 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:47.159 my screen. Yes I'm excited. Yes, you need to get 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:51.040 your tickets now before they're all gone. Elevation Nights dot Com. 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:54.800 And now to the word be blessed. Let me know 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.040 in the comments where you're watching from. I see you 0:00:57.040 --> 0:01:11.639 on the other side. Youdom, lift your hands. Jesus Christ, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:15.319 King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the world. 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.800 We came today to crown you, not like you need 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:22.720 our crown to be worthy, but we just want to 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:27.120 join in with what Heaven already knows, what has already 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:34.480 been demonstrated by your sinless life, your unjust death, You're 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:39.320 unprecedented resurrection from the dead, your ascension into heaven, where 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:41.320 we know that now you are seated at the right 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:45.640 hand of God. We lift our hands to acknowledge that 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:49.000 there is no one higher than you, no one greater 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:53.600 than you. We lift our hands to acknowledge that all 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:57.280 authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you. 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.720 And when we proclaim the name of Jesus, we are 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:05.120 seated in heavenly places with you today, forgiven of our sin, 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:10.080 filled with your spirit, assured of our place in your family, 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.720 and called to be your friends. Now, God, I pray 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.040 for the sleeper to wake up. I thank you that 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:22.200 today is a divine wake up call. God. I pray 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.560 that today, as we have been singing the truth of 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:28.320 the Gospel, that people have been shaking and they can't 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.519 hit the snooze button one more time, because the King 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:36.320 is here and resurrection is real and nothing is impossible 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.800 for him who believes so. Half your way in this house, God, 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.240 we're full of faith. We give you praise and honor. 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:48.679 Employ in Jesus' name, a man clap those hands and 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:58.200 give him, praise good to see you. Welcome all of 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.359 our EPAM around the world the Easter to our etham 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:08.840 all over the world. Good grief. If I told you 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.680 where everyone was joining us from, you would think I 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.760 was just making stuff up. But when they go on 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.880 the chat and say here's where I'm watching from, do 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.799 that right now. Okay, those of you watching on YouTube 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.840 and Facebook, let us know where you're joining us from. 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:28.680 And we from We're from the country. We're here from Charlotte, 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.720 North Carolina, just to welcome you into the presence of God. 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:40.320 Such an exciting day. Man, Chris, I've rounded the corner 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:46.880 and you were preaching. Man, whoa you were preaching? You 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:51.000 were preaching like the devil is defeated. I was impressed. 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.480 He was going on and on about the scripture, and 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.480 I was like, man, he really knows the word. And 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:58.120 then I got around the corner and he was holding 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:02.400 a Bible. I thought he hid it in his heart 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.800 that he might not sin against God. Now he was 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:11.680 holding it in his hand. Well, I can't possibly name 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.960 everyone who's joining us, but just from all over the world, 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.960 whether Missouri, UK Houston Abbey shouted out a few people 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:22.719 during the welcome, and I just want to join in 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:27.000 welcoming you into the presence of God. Sometimes the question 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:31.279 is not whether we are welcome in his presence, it's 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.480 whether we will really let Him into the places of 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:39.080 our life that we hide from others. So there's always 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:41.559 a guilt trip that preachers put on people on Easter 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.640 and Christmas. And they call them. They say, it's good 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:50.080 to see all the CEOs the Christmas and Easter, only Christians, 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.800 and everybody goes ha ha, and they laugh, so nobody 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:57.159 will know it's them, and a fear you might sink 0:04:57.200 --> 0:04:59.320 through the floor because you know you haven't been here. 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.839 But that's not our message today. Our message today is 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:07.400 you are welcome in the presence of God, and you're 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:15.839 welcome in our church. But the song that we were singing, 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:19.200 that's the real question of Easter. Will you welcome resurrection 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:24.000 and listen in an irony and ironic twist of fake, 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:29.039 cruel twist of faith on the biggest Sunday that we 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.680 have is the church Easter. I have the shortest preaching 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.240 time because the most people come and if I go 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:39.120 too long, it will cause confusion, and then people will 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.440 in the parking lot will get violent and somebody might 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.040 get shot, and I can't raise you from the dead. 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.520 I'm not Jesus. So what I have to do is 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.960 stay on my clock today. Y'all know how difficult that 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.240 is for me to do. So rather than get into 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.960 the formalities, any information you need, you'll have to get 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.760 it from somebody else. I'm going to get right into 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:05.400 the word God gave me today. I'm gonna get right 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:11.360 into it. Praise the Lord. We've been singing, and I 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:13.600 don't know if you missed the singing and missed the worship, 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:16.560 but it was glorious. And now we want to turn 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:19.760 our attention to the word that God has for us today. 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:24.000 And I want to start in John chapter twenty, pick 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.719 up two verses from the end of that chapter, and 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:28.160 then I want to read a little story from the 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:36.000 next chapter. At the Easter Man at the Eastern you 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:42.280 made it. You made it, You made it. Tell somebody, 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.600 I'm so proud to be sitting next to somebody who 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:49.599 looks as good as you on Easter Sunday. Makes me 0:06:49.680 --> 0:07:01.000 feel beautiful. Now listen to this from John twenty, verse thirty. 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:06.640 John says Jesus performed many other signs in the presence 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:10.080 of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book, 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:16.080 but these are written that you may believe, believe what 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:21.560 that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:26.800 that by believing you may have life in his name. Y'all. 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.520 I'm so glad it doesn't say by behaving, I may 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:33.440 have life in his name, because I know you're on 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.120 your best behavior today. But if we would have followed 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:41.040 you this week, you'd be shouting over that verse by believing, 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.760 because if we based it on your behavior, you might 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.920 go to the other place. But by believing you may 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:52.280 have life in his name. Now it would appear that 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.840 John is drawing his gospel count to a close with 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.840 those verses. But there is an entire chapter that follows, 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.320 and I won't read the whole thing, but I'm so 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.480 glad that it was put in as an epilogue or 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.440 as a ps in John twenty one, because I think 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.760 there's something very important for you to know today. That 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.800 John really ended his gospel account and he said, hey, 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:16.280 Jesus did a lot of other things. I can't tell 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:20.200 you everything, and then he opens back up, Oh, by 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:22.760 the way, let me tell you one other thing he 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:30.520 did he's not finished yet. He's not finished yet. That's 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:32.760 what I need you to know. More than you know 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:36.959 anything that you know or think you know. I need 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:38.680 you to know that better than you know your name. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:40.800 I need you to know that, better than you know 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.800 your Social Security number. I need you to know that better. 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:45.599 You don't even know your phone number anymore because you 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.679 don't have to. But I need you to know that. 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.600 You know that he's not finished. I need every single 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.240 solitary person under the sound of my voice to find 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.440 one person and tell him he's not finished and put 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.000 it in the chat too. Put it in the chat 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:08.000 right now. He's not finished. He's not finished. Now listen 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.320 to the next part. This is where my sermon comes from. 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:16.160 That was the frame. Here's the picture. Afterward, Jesus appeared 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.959 again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:25.720 happened this way. Simon Peter Thomas, also known as Didamus. 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.880 He gets called douting Thomas in a lot of churches. 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:30.760 Not here, we don't call him that. We call him 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.400 honest Thomas, because he had the faith to say, I 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:36.440 need to see for myself and guess what Jesus did. 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:42.640 Showed up. So it was Simon Peter Thomas also known 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:46.360 as Didamus Nathaniel from Cana and Galilee. The sons of Zebedee, 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.120 James and John, and two other disciples were together, so 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:53.280 that's seven total they were all together. Verse three. I'm 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:57.640 going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:03.040 we'll go with you. No to do, got to eat somehow, 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:06.400 So they went out, got in the boat, but that 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:12.880 night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.439 on the shore, but the disciples didn't realize it was Jesus. 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:26.920 He called out to them, friends, friends, friends, keep that 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:31.160 right there in your reticular activating system that were friends. 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:43.960 Haven't you any fish? No? The answer no no. When 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.920 I was like, do you you know? Do you have 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:51.920 joy today? No? Do you have peace in your heart? 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:55.840 How many of you have faith? To No? Sometimes the 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.440 greatest way you can invite God into your life is 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:03.480 with an honest no yeah. Practice one time, just say 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:06.320 no yeah. And if you would get better at saying 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:08.160 that in your everyday life, you wouldn't have so much 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:09.959 ulcers from committing to so many things that you don't 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:14.320 even need to be doing to begin with. So now 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.200 let's really zone in here we need to focus. He said, 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:22.199 throw your net on the right side of the boat 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.480 and you will find some. And when they did, they 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.840 were unable to haul the net in because of the 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:34.040 large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved, 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:40.960 that's the nickname John gave himself, said to Peter, it 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.800 is the Lord. As soon as Simon Peter heard him 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.079 say it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.240 around him, for he had taken it off, and jumped 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.439 into the water. And the other disciples followed in the boat, 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.280 towing the net full of fish, for they were not 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.760 far from the shore, about one hundred yards. Peter, you 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:04.079 could wait one hundred yards now. When they landed, they 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.200 saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:12.000 it and some bread, and Jesus said to them, bring 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:16.760 some of the fish you have just caught. So Simon 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:21.320 Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:26.320 It was full of large fish one hundred and fifty three. 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.760 But even with so many live fish. You know how 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:32.480 hard it is to haul in live fish. I never 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:34.880 did it, but it sounds hard. One guy said it 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.240 was three hundred pounds of fish, and Peter hauled it 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:44.199 in all by him self. When he saw Jesus, some 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:46.480 kind of strength kicked in that he didn't have when 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:51.480 the rooster was crowing. When he saw Jesus, he dragged 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.400 three hundred pounds of fish behind him, And even with 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:58.160 so many, the net was not torn. And Jesus said 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.360 to them, come have bread, bakfast. None of the disciples 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.880 dared ask him, who are you? They knew it was 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:11.720 the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread, gave it to them, 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:16.920 and did the same with the fish. This was now 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:21.680 the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.240 was raised from the dead. So here's what we're going 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:27.720 to talk about today. We're going to talk about life 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:38.920 after the letdown, Life after the letdown. Thank you for 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.160 the ministry of your word as it goes forth today, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:47.560 May it do so with convicting power and with life giving, changing, 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:57.120 saving resurrection power. In Jesus' name, Amen, you may be seated. 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:05.280 I collect Easter sermon ideas because it comes around once 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.760 a year. I have big lists going into this Easter. 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.280 And the Lord said, this will not be your sermon text. 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:17.240 You're going to talk to the people about life after 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:22.960 the letdown. And it was weird for me yesterday because 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.840 I wanted to be happy about Easter, excited about Easter. 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.680 I wanted to be I wanted to be full of energy. 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:38.000 But I felt like I spent all day living in 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:43.600 your letdowns. Because I've studied my text, right, I already 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:47.360 figured out what the Hebrew and the Greek means down 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.160 in John chapter twenty one, where Jesus says to Peter 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.800 three times. We didn't read this part do you love me? 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.480 And he said yes? And he said do you love me? 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:57.920 And he said yes, And he said do you love me? 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.840 And he said yes? And I had already read how 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.800 that's not really about what I heard growing up, where 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.360 Jesus was saying different words for love, the Greek words 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.160 for love, you know, fialo which is like a brotherly love, 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.720 and agape, which is the god kind of love, And 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.480 he was really trying to get Peter to a new 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:19.720 level of love because Jesus didn't speak Greek, so I'd 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.880 already studied that part about how really, when Jesus asked 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.960 three times Peter, do you love me? It wasn't really 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.560 so he could give him a vocabulary lesson about different 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:35.000 types of love. Really, the meaning in that three times 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:36.560 is not in the words he uses it at all. 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:41.560 It's in the math, because if you go back just 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:45.120 a few verses before Jesus comes to Peter on the shore, 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:51.320 Peter has just denied Jesus three times. And it helped 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:53.120 me to see that it was a full circle moment 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:57.520 for Jesus and Peter, that he was giving him grace 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:02.120 to cover all of his failure, and that Peter didn't 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:07.520 have more denial than Jesus had grace, that Peter didn't 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:12.800 have more doubt than Jesus had mercy. But after studying 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.520 all of those nice things about Greek and Hebrew and 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.920 numbers and all of the things that I studied during 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:19.840 the week so that I can be prepared to serve 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.080 you a good meal and you don't choke on the 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:25.880 bones of a sermon that I didn't prepare correctly, it 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.840 came to me that, really, unless we make this message 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.680 very personal for you, it will be yet another superstitious 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.080 activity that you fulfill. Thinking God, you did him a 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:37.560 favor by putting on perfume and sitting still for an 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:41.200 hour in fifteen minutes and we don't want this Easter 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.920 to pass us by and it just be another ticket 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.560 punching thing on our list in case we die before 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:51.480 the next one. Now, I believe that because of what 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.680 Jesus did for me, I'm going to get to go 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:59.600 to Heaven when I die. I believe that, And I 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.760 believe that even if you don't like me, I get 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:07.880 to go. I believe that even if you don't think 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:11.320 my theology is exactly correct, or you don't think that 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:14.800 my Easter attire is dressy enough, because the Lord deserves 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.520 our best, I still get to go to Heaven. And 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.480 so you should be nice to me and what you 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:21.639 say to me, because when we get to Heaven, I 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:26.439 might be your neighbor. And wouldn't it be weird for 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.239 all the people that you didn't like on Earth and 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:35.120 you get to Heaven and they say, hi, neighbor, all 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.160 the people that you thought they didn't have the correct 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:41.760 you know, the all of the theological suppositions and share 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.640 all the same common beliefs. You might get next door 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:47.320 to them in heaven and realize you have to spend 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:51.280 eternity with them. Yet, as much as I believe that 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:55.159 what Jesus did for me prepares me for heaven. I 0:17:55.200 --> 0:18:01.359 think that often the message of resurrection gets weaken in 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:06.600 our tendency to defer its implications to the next life. 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:11.480 For us to think that John is saying believing gives 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:15.399 us life in Jesus' name after we die is an 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:21.240 unnecessary limitation of the finished work of Christ. For me 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.720 to believe that I'm gonna get to heaven one day 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:25.960 and play a harp and whatever they're doing in heaven, 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.080 I'm gonna do it with them, all right. If they're 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:31.480 playing hearts, I'm gonna take heart lessons. If they're dancing, 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:34.440 I'm gonna take dancing lessons. There will not be any 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.439 TikTok in heaven, so I will not have to be 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:38.720 shown to the world. But if they're dancing in heaven, 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:41.000 I'm gonna find a corner and practice how to dance. 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.760 I'm gonna do it all when I get to heaven. Yet, 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.480 there are some things that I need Jesus for while 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:57.800 I am still here right now. That's why John twenty one, listen, Jody, 0:18:58.080 --> 0:18:59.760 That's why John twenty one had to be in the 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:05.359 b Because if it just ended on this note of 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:11.360 abstract universal reality called belief in life. We would kick 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.000 it somewhere someday to amazing grace and the sweet by 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.440 and by and potato pie in the sky, and then 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:22.240 here on earth we would continue to suppress the questions 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:26.840 that we have and the fears that we wrestle with, 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:30.600 and the ugliness that mars our own self concept and 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:35.159 our identity. Just press it down and keep pressing it 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:39.920 down and hope that it never comes out. That's why 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:44.960 I wanted to talk to you about life after the letdown. 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.760 When I say the letdown, I am leaving it open 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:55.600 ended so that you can supply your own event, experience, 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:59.400 or condition. Where I say the term letdown, it's kind 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:02.200 of like a code li language. Okay. I have secret 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.160 hand signals with my family that mean things when we're 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:06.400 in public and for the rest of our time. Today 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:08.240 you are my family, and this is going to be 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:11.480 our secret signal to each other. When I say let down, 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.119 you put the one in there that you don't talk about. 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:21.040 So when I say let down, you will have something 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:23.640 that you may not even have language for that will 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:27.120 come up when I talk about the letdown. We are 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:29.960 so quick not only to want to get to heaven 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:33.119 when we die one day, but to want to get 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:36.680 to the part of the story where Jesus got up 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:42.560 that we will waltz right past the part where he 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:46.000 went to Jerusalem to be handed over and crucified at 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:49.560 the hands of sinful men. There is really no way 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:54.240 for us to experience Easter, the events of Easter, without 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:58.240 experiencing the events of the Cross. And there is really 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:00.399 no way for us to experience the event of the 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:04.840 Cross like the Disciples did, because for us the cross 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.400 has a certain measure of comfort. We know that our 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:11.199 sin is nailed to that cross. We know that it 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:14.800 canceled the written regulation that stood against us. We know 0:21:14.920 --> 0:21:17.679 that the power of shame was broken on the cross 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:20.720 of Christ. We know all of that. So when we 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:25.520 sing the Wonderful Cross, when we survey the wondrous Cross, 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.680 we see the promise of redemption and atonement and his 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.760 blood that was shed for us. But that same blood 0:21:31.760 --> 0:21:36.200 that we rejoice in represented for the disciples a broken 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:40.560 promise and an unmet expectation of the kingdom that Jesus 0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:46.760 came to bring. These were his friends. Peter was a 0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:50.840 friend of Jesus. Everybody has crazy friends, and Peter was 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:57.399 Jesus's crazy friend. Who's your crazy friend? I don't have 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:08.000 any crazy friend. Then you are the crazy Peter was, 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.000 Jesus is kind of crazy. One dude came over to 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:13.000 the church. He said, I just followed my kids over 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:15.879 here to see if you were running a cult. My 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:18.399 kid came over. We was so excited about church. I said, 0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:21.359 my kid is excited about church, that must be a cult. 0:22:22.200 --> 0:22:24.320 And I came over to find out if you were crazy. 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:27.960 I said, well, was I? And he said yeah, it 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:30.879 wasn't a cult, but you are crazy, But you're my 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:35.200 kind of crazy. And I gave him a Fis bump, 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:38.439 and I was like, that's all right, because this whole 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:45.840 thing that we're celebrating today is kind of crazy. Try 0:22:45.880 --> 0:22:47.920 the side of the room. This side of the room 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:53.679 has no anointing of honesty whatsoever. Today. This is kind 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:58.399 of crazy. I'm gonna have to ap preach to the 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:01.960 people in the back who got here late. This. I'm 0:23:01.960 --> 0:23:04.360 gonna have to go out and preach it in the overflow. 0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:10.600 This is kind of crazy. It's crazy. It didn't seem 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:13.640 crazy at first. When Peter met Jesus. All Jesus said 0:23:13.720 --> 0:23:15.520 was can I use your boat to preach. There's nothing 0:23:15.560 --> 0:23:18.080 crazy about preaching, and there's nothing crazy about doing it 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.760 from a boat, because that would provide natural amplification for 0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:26.680 Jesus's voice. Matter of fact, if you really liked the Bible, 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:28.919 you were confused when I read the story, because you're like, 0:23:29.480 --> 0:23:32.719 is this a resurrection scripture? Isn't this what happened when 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:38.080 Jesus first called Peter? And you're right, it's the same 0:23:38.119 --> 0:23:45.120 story from the other side. It's the same story from 0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:48.119 the other side. But let me show you how it started. 0:23:48.320 --> 0:23:51.080 When Peter was out fishing one night and he caught nothing. 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:53.720 The only thing that the stories have in common really 0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:57.480 is that Peter wasn't a very good fisherman, and either one. 0:23:58.280 --> 0:24:00.240 The only thing that I can really find that it's 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:05.280 exactly the same as empty nets, right, And there's a 0:24:05.280 --> 0:24:09.040 message in that. There is a message in that about 0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:12.159 the God who loves to feel what is empty and 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:16.439 the God who loves empty what is full. One is 0:24:16.480 --> 0:24:21.439 the nets, the other is the tomb. My faith is 0:24:21.480 --> 0:24:25.520 not in my own fullness. My faith is not in 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:29.680 my own ability, My faith is not in my own righteousness. 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:32.439 That's not how I'm getting to heaven. You get to 0:24:32.480 --> 0:24:34.639 heaven how you want to get to heaven. But I 0:24:34.640 --> 0:24:37.440 don't have the perfection pass. It's not going to let 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:40.160 me through. I don't have my card punched. Not all 0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:42.880 the time. I'm honest, I'm sincere, I love the Lord 0:24:42.960 --> 0:24:45.680 in all of that. But sometimes I slip, and sometimes 0:24:45.760 --> 0:24:48.600 I'm crazy, and not in the Christian way of crazy. Okay, 0:24:48.840 --> 0:24:51.280 now that that's out of the way, let me show you. 0:24:51.680 --> 0:24:54.639 When Jesus called Peter, look at this. It says that 0:24:55.040 --> 0:24:57.960 Jesus looked five verst for had finished speaking, and he 0:24:58.000 --> 0:25:02.639 said to Simon, that's's given name, not the name Jesus 0:25:02.680 --> 0:25:05.320 gave him, but the name is parents gave him. He said, 0:25:05.720 --> 0:25:12.520 put out into deep water and let down the nets 0:25:13.000 --> 0:25:18.560 for a catch. Everybody say let down. Next verse, Peter said, 0:25:18.720 --> 0:25:22.040 this makes no sense. We fished all night, We've caught nothing. 0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:24.000 We're hanging it up for the night. There's no need 0:25:24.040 --> 0:25:26.120 for us to keep fishing in the daytime. The fish 0:25:26.160 --> 0:25:28.200 won't come to the surface when the water gets hot. 0:25:28.400 --> 0:25:36.320 But because you say so, I will let down the nets. 0:25:37.560 --> 0:25:42.359 I will let down the nets. This was the beginning 0:25:42.880 --> 0:25:47.040 of Peter's participation in the ministry of Jesus, and I 0:25:47.160 --> 0:25:49.439 preached about it many times in the church, so I 0:25:49.480 --> 0:25:51.879 won't bore you with the review today. But when he 0:25:52.000 --> 0:25:55.119 let down the nets in that passage of Scripture, he 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:58.240 could have had no way of knowing how his life 0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:02.000 would change because of the moment that he let down 0:26:02.520 --> 0:26:06.879 the nets. He could have had no idea that he 0:26:06.920 --> 0:26:10.480 would be front row seat to blind eyes open when 0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:13.639 he let down the nets. He could have had no 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:16.520 way of knowing that he would see the widow from 0:26:16.600 --> 0:26:20.080 named son raised from the dead when he let down 0:26:20.119 --> 0:26:23.320 the nets. He could have had no idea that he 0:26:23.359 --> 0:26:26.119