And talking about the life of Peter. And Jesus specializes in rewriting stories that we think are over. Yesterday we watched how Jesus stepped into Peter's boat. Peter was there and Jesus stepped into it. An ordinary fisherman becomes a disciple. We discovered that the call of God is for everyone, that every empowered life begins with a surrendered yes. You have to say yes. But today we look at a story of Peter and it takes a dramatic turn. If I was writing Peter's biography, I think I would leave this chapter out, if I was Peter. Because this part of his journey is painful, it's embarrassing. It's the fact that Peter would probably want to skip this chapter if he was telling you his life story. It's one decision, one failure, one regret. And I wonder if some of us in this have ever wanted to erase part of our story. Maybe it's something you did, maybe it was wasn't something you did, maybe it was something that happened to you. Maybe it was hurt. Maybe it was church hurt. Maybe it was betrayal, loss, grief. If we're all honest, I think we'd have chapters that we can relate. That are hard. Peter did too. And here's the beautiful truth that I want us to discover today together is that Peter thought his story was over. Jesus thought it was just beginning. Peter thought it was over, and Jesus thought it's just beginning, Peter. That's the gospel. See, the gospel isn't a broken people trying to pull it all together. The gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus comes looking for broken people. That's grace. That's the good news of Jesus. He rewrites our story. And I want us to read this morning in Luke chapter 22, starting at verse 54. If you have your Bibles, it'll be on the screen if you don't. But in Luke chapter 22, verse 54, we read this. Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, This man was with him. But he denied it. Woman, I don't know, he said. I don't know him. And a little later someone else saw him and said, You are one of them. Man, I'm not, Peter replied. About an hour later, another asserted, Certainly this fellow was with him. He was a Galilean, for he's a Galilean. Peter replied, Man, I don't know what you're talking about. Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. And then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him. Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly. Can you imagine that moment? Peter had walked on water. Peter had seen the dead raised. Peter had watched Jesus heal the sick. Peter had been with Jesus for about three years. Peter had boldly declared, You are the living, you were Christ, you are the Son of the living God. He had a revelation of who Jesus was. He even promised Jesus. If all falls away, I never will. And yet here he is, standing beside a fire, denying the one he loved. Three times. Not just once, not just twice, three times. Wonder how many people here know what it's like to feel like you've disappointed yourself. Sometimes the greatest disappointment isn't to others, but it's actually to ourselves. You promised you would never, but you did. You thought you'd be further along, but yet here you are. No one else knows, but you know. Peter knew. Peter knew what he had done. And he walks away weeping in his mind, his story is over. He had failed Jesus, but Peter doesn't realize something. Jesus is already writing the next chapter. If you're writing notes today, my first point this morning, and you can write this down, Peter thought he needed distance and Jesus came looking for him. Peter thought he needed distance and Jesus came looking for him. See, several days later, something remarkable happens. Peter doesn't go looking for Jesus. He actually goes back to his previous career. He goes back to fishing. Think about that. The very place his journey began, he goes back that. You know, whenever life falls apart, we often retreat to what is familiar. And Peter goes back to being a fisherman, he's back to the nets, back to the boat, back to, you know, thinking, I blew it, I failed, I screwed up, I had my chance. And then John records something very beautiful. In John chapter 21, it says, afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way. Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He called out to them, Friends, haven't you any fish? I love that. Who starts the restoration in this story? Not Peter, Jesus. Peter's running, Jesus is pursuing. Peter assumes the distance and Jesus moves towards him. That's grace. Religion tells us find God. And the gospel says God comes looking for you. God comes looking for you. One of the most beautiful truths in Scripture is that the shepherd always goes looking for the sheep. Adam hid and God came walking. Peter went back to fishing. Jesus cooked breakfast. Probably with bacon. No, it wouldn't have been bacon, but hallelujah. That's the heart of God. Turkey bacon, someone said. Okay, turkey bacon. Maybe today you feel distant from God. Can I encourage you? Don't confuse your feeling of distance with God's desire for distance. God wants to come close. God is pursuing, God is pursuing you. He still pursues his children. Ephesians 2, 4 to 5 says, but because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved. Grace. You can write this down. Grace always takes the first step. That's incredible. Point number two this morning is Peter thought his wound was the end, and Jesus returned to the wound to heal it. See, we we come to one of my favorite details of this scripture. You know, in John 21, 9, it says, when they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread. You know, a fire, first that doesn't seem very important. It's just a fire and they're cooking some food. Until you remember Luke 22. Where did Peter fail? Around the fire. But John uses a very specific word here. It's actually a Greek word. It's not just any fire, it's a charcoal fire. Do you know something fascinating? There are only two references to this Greek word in the New Testament of charcoal fire. It's mentioned the first is Peter's failure. The second is Peter's restoration. I don't believe that's an accident. Jesus intentionally prepares breakfast over the very kind of fire that reminds Peter of his greatest failure. He has breakfast there. Why? Not to shame him, to heal him. See, Jesus takes Peter back to the very place of his deepest wound. Because often, Jesus often heals us in the places we are wounded. Many of us spend our lives trying to avoid painful memories, avoid painful conversations, avoid painful places. Much of the addictive things in our culture are to numb the pain. But Jesus doesn't ignore the wound or the pain. He enters it. He comes towards it because wounds hidden are rarely wounds healed. See, Jesus often restores us in the very places we were wounded. For Peter, it was a charcoal fire. For you, it might be a church building. It might be a conversation. It might be the name of someone that hurt you. It might be a worship song. You can't sing anymore. Whatever your charcoal fire is, Jesus doesn't avoid it. He meets you there. Before we go any further this morning, as I prayed for us today, the Lord has specifically put on my heart so strongly, and I've wrestled with this for the last few days. But God spoke to me about talking about hurt today. Specifically, church hurt. Church hurt is unique. When the world hurts us, we expect it. When God's people hurt us, it cuts much deeper. When a pastor disappoints us, when a leader fails us, when Christians gossip about us, when people misrepresent us, when relationships break down, those wounds are real. You might be in the greatest church ever. Can I tell you something? You're going to experience church hurt if you haven't already. Why? Because the church is filled with hurt people, hurt people moving towards health, but there are hurt people. And what do hurt people do? They hurt people. It is the reality of it. I was getting my hair cut one time, and a guy said, I'm going to the best church ever. And I just felt in my heart to share, you know, I want to prepare you, you might get hurt. And she goes, It's funny, just last weekend, my wife brought something to a potluck, and everybody thanked everyone else, but didn't thank my wife, and she went home hurt. It happens. It happens. The question is, what do you do with it? What do you do with the hurt? I grew up at Central Pentecostal Tabernacle in the 80s. We went through a church split. It was painful. I was a young kid, but I watched half the church leave. A courtroom proceeding, all of that pain and all that stuff that went on. You know, in my church, my dad, his first Sunday many years ago at Central, he ushered the very first Sunday he went there. Someone asked him to usher. And he ushered 55 more years after that. I remember at the maybe it was the 75th anniversary, there was a book uh honoring all the people. My dad's picture wasn't in that book. After 40 some years of ushering. And I remember he said he felt hurt. I could see the hurt in his eyes. What do you do with that? And there's lots of other hurts. I'm just using that as an example. You know what my dad did the next Sunday? Got us all ready for church and we went back and he ushered. And he kept ushering and kept serving. What do you do with hurt? How do you process it? He processed it and he moved on. See, I've watched people who genuinely love Jesus get wounded, and instead of letting Jesus heal them, they let the wound define them. The hurt becomes their identity, the disappointment becomes their story, the offense actually becomes their lens, and before long they stop moving. I've seen things that have disappointed me. I've seen leaders that disappointed me. I I've personally experienced church hurt. What do you do with that? I've seen people misuse spiritual gifts. I've seen people get hurt. I've seen people manipulate and control in the church. I have had a decision to make, though. And I think we all have a decision to make. Do we get cynical or do we get stay hungry for Jesus? Do we get cynical or do we stay hungry? Why? Because healthy hearts travel further. Healthy hearts trust again. Healthy hearts believe again. Proverbs 4.23 says, Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. I want to say something very important. We don't honor God by pretending those things didn't happen. We don't become spiritual by minimizing pain. Going, no, I'm good, brother. I'm all good, and just shove it into the recesses of our heart and move on. We don't heal by acting like we're fine, but neither do we heal by allowing our wound to become our identity. Peter had every reason to walk away. Judas betrayed Jesus. The disciples argued with one another. Peter himself failed Jesus. The early church was filled with imperfect people. Yet Peter never allowed imperfect people to take him away from a perfect Savior. He stayed close enough to Jesus to be healed. See, some people leave church because someone wounded them. Peter stayed close to Jesus and found restoration. See, the answer to church hurt is not distance from Jesus, the answer is deeper healing from Jesus. You know, when I was dating my wife, she came over one day to my house and my house was clean. I cleaned it for her to come, it was all good. But I had a couple drawers where the batteries, the extra keys, the receipts, all that junk. You know, that's just on top of the counter. You just go, shh, close the drawer. And a couple times she came over to my house, everything was good, the house looks good. And then she's like, Oh, I need to get a pair of scissors, and she opens a drawer, and the drawer would not open. She's like, Oh my, what is in this drawer? It was filled with junk. Here's what I discovered a lot of us have junk drawers. And Jesus wants to come into our junk drawers and heal that stuff. Why? Because it impacts the flow of what God wants to do in your life. It creates a lens that you see things through. When you have hurt and offense, everything else comes out of that. See, a wounded heart always, we always leak, and a wounded heart will always leak. Insecurity, those kind of things come out. See, the answer to church is not distance from Jesus, but deeper healing. And here's what I love most. Peter thought this fire would remind him of failure forever, but Jesus turned it into a place of restoration. Maybe Jesus wants to rewrite some memories this morning in your life. Maybe he wants to meet you in a place you've been avoiding because Peter thought the charcoal fire was the end of his story. But it was only the beginning. It was only the beginning. See, Jesus has been waiting at that fire not to shame you, not to open up the wound and make it worse, but to open up the wound and heal it. Wounds that maybe you've carried for years. You've told nobody about. Jesus wants to heal you. My third point this morning is Peter thought Jesus wanted an explanation. Jesus wanted his heart. As they finished breakfast, Jesus turned to Peter three times. He asked, Peter, do you love me? And three times Peter answered, Lord, you know that I love you. And each time Jesus responded, Feed my sheep. Now we notice something remarkable. Jesus never asks Peter the question we expect. He never asked Peter, why did you deny me, Peter? Oh explain yourself. Look what you did. That hurt so much. What were you thinking? Are you crazy? Not once. Peter's prepared for a courtroom, for a questioning, and Jesus prepares breakfast. Peter's prepared to defend himself, and Jesus just invites relationship. Church, that's grace. Peter thinks he's having a conversation about failure, but Jesus is having a conversation about the future. So many times we're focused on the failure, and Jesus says, Stop looking at the failure. Look at what I've got for you. I've got a plan that's greater. I got gold in you. You may only see dirt, you only may see dust, but I call the gold out of you. That's our Lord, that's Jesus. Three denials, three opportunities to say, I love you. Jesus isn't rubbing in Peter's failure, he's removing Peter's shame. Each time, Peter's looking backward and Jesus is looking forward. Peter remembers Friday, but Jesus is remembering Pentecost is coming. See, Peter sees a failure and Jesus sees a shepherd. See, Jesus is more interested in your future than your failure. And then point four, I have this morning, if you're taking notes, is Peter thought he needed to earn his way back, but Jesus restored him before he performed. We live in such a performance culture. Something amazes me though, but Peter, before Peter preaches a sermon, before he performs a miracle, before he has to prove himself, Jesus says, feed my sheep. Think about that. If you or I were rewriting, writing this story, I would say, Peter, take a year off. You need to think hard about what you did. That was terrible. You need to be on the bench over there for a while. Let's see if you're serious this time. Are you going to do it again? You need to earn your stripes. You need to earn your trust back. But he restores Peter before Peter performs. See, grace always becomes before performance. Healing always comes before ministry. Relationship always comes before responsibility. See, grace restores. Some in this room, maybe you believe the lie. If I try harder, if I work harder, if I become better, if I prove myself, maybe God will use me or see me again. That is a lie. That is not the gospel. The gospel says Jesus restores us first. That is good news. You know, there's another kind of restoration that I've had to experience. It's the restoration of a grieving heart. Maybe you're in this room and you've lost somebody. Maybe you're in the process of losing somebody. My dad walked through a season of dementia before he passed. And one of the hardest things about dementia is that there is grief before death. And I remember going to a counselor because I was struggling and I was struggling with my just going, God, how do I process this? And the counselor said, What do you think Jesus is speaking to your dad about in this season? What is Jesus speaking to my dad? My dad is not even half here. Like, what do you think Jesus is speaking to my dad? I don't even know what Jesus is speaking to me half the time, you know? But I went home and I prayed, and I was like, God, what are you saying to my dad in this season? I got nothing. I was like, okay, I'm not hearing anything. So finally, one day I'm driving my dad in his truck. Rolls reversed, he used to drive me in his truck. And we were going to the dump and I was taking him and we stopped at McDonald's like he used to stop with me. I felt like this crazy reversal. And I just remember I said, Dad, what is God doing in your life in this season? And he says, Oh, I'm just so thankful. And he lifted his hands and he just starts singing, How great is our God. And I learned something in that moment. Thankfulness is a tool. And in that moment, I learned a gift from my dad that I have cherished with me when he passed six months six months later when he passed away. It was thankfulness that helped me get through my grief and continues to help me today. So if you're grieving, can I tell you thankfulness is a tool. To thank the Lord, to magnify the Lord, to understand. And that's where my dad lived. See, through this season, it's hard when we lose. Sometimes restoration isn't getting your old life back. Sometimes restoration is discovering Jesus in the middle of the life you have. I still miss my dad, I still grieve, but I also carry the gift he gave me thankfulness. Maybe today you're grieving one who's lost. God wants to comfort you today. Sometimes we think restoration is God change my circumstances. But sometimes restoration means God changed me. Sometimes his greatest gift isn't the removal of pain, but it's his presence in the middle of the pain. Restoration is not always reversal, it's God's presence with us. My last point today, and we'll close, I want to invite Josh. Could you come play? And Peter thought his failure changed God's mind. But Jesus never changed his mind about Peter. Jesus said to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God, he said to him, Follow me. Those two words should sound familiar. Because of the exact words that Jesus spoke in Luke 5, follow me. After failure, after regret, after this crazy chapter of Peter's story, after all the tears, Jesus ends exactly where he began. Follow me. The invitation never changed, Peter changed, Jesus didn't. Peter's opinion of himself changed, but Jesus' opinion of Peter did not. That may be my favorite truth in this story. Peter thought his denial changed everything. And Jesus never changed his mind. The call remained, the love remained, the grace remained, the invitation remained. Peter thought, this is my final chapter. And Jesus thought, I'm just getting started. And here's how we know because Acts 2 is coming, Acts 3 is coming, Acts 4 is coming. Acts 10, 12. Peter has no idea. He's standing on a beach thinking his ministry is over and Jesus already sees Pentecost. Your failure may change your circumstances, but it does not change God's ability to use your life. Yesterday I asked you one question. What is your next yes? What's your next yes? And today I want to ask you another question as we close. What story have you decided is over? Maybe it's your marriage, maybe it's your family, maybe it's sons and daughters that are away from God and they're not coming back, and you've maybe given up hope for that. Maybe it's your ministry, maybe it's your calling, maybe it's your joy, maybe it's your health, maybe it's your relationship with God. Maybe you've closed the book. But here's the gospel. Jesus is still writing. Peter thought Luke 22 was the end, and Peter thought Friday to find him, but Jesus sees Acts 2, Pentecost is coming. Peter thought the charcoal fire was his failure. And the charcoal fire became the very place that Jesus restored his life and his soul. Listen, Jesus wants to rewrite your story and my story too. Would you quietly close your eyes in this place? No one looking around, just you and Jesus. Today we've talked about wounds, about failures, church hurt, grief, disappointment, loss. Maybe one of those have been coming to your mind all morning. I don't want you to push it away. I want you to bring it to Jesus. If it came to your mind, there's a reason it came to your mind. I believe the Spirit of God wants to heal people in this place. I feel like burdens are going to be lifted, wounds and offenses for decades that you've carried and carried, some from childhood, some from growing up, some from church or from some from these terrible wounds that nobody knows about. But I just believe Jesus is in this place to heal every wounded heart today and to restore you to full health in your soul today. So would you simply open your hands in front of you, just like you're gonna receive something? I want you to just ask Jesus, is there any area in my life that I need restoration? It's a posture of surrender. If that's you, I'm just gonna pray. I'm gonna pray for all of us in this place. And I just believe as I pray that the Spirit of God is gonna touch every single one that you would say, God, come take this. Come restore, take this pain, take this circumstance, take this wound. I don't want to carry it anymore. I don't want to hold the offense over that pastor, that leader, that church, or that circumstance, or that person. I just I want to leave it at your altar today, in your tabernacle. Jesus, thank you that you are God who rewrites stories. Thank you that you came looking for Peter and that you come looking for us. Thank you that failure is not final. Thank you that shame does not get the final word. Thank you that church hurt does not have to define us. Thank you that grief is not hopeless because you are close to the brokenhearted. Today we bring you every wound, every regret, every disappointment, every fear, every relationship, every place that needs restoration today. Meet us here. Restore us. Remind us that you've never changed your mind about us. Help us follow you again. In Jesus' name. As we were praying, I just felt it's like chains were being broken. And I just felt there was people that you've had baggage, you've carried more baggage and you realize, and it's gone. And restoration is a bit of a process to work through some things in your heart. And I want to encourage you. Sometimes we are people that are like, no, I don't, I don't need to see anybody, I don't need to see a counselor, a psychologist, I don't, I don't need I'm good. And I was like that too. And then a leader said to me, they said, Travis, you how often do you take your car in for an oil change? I'm like, oh, every six months, every 12,000 kilometers or whatever it is, 8,000, if I'm being nice to my car. So, well, what do you do? Oil change for your soul. How do you care about the emotions that well? I grew up in a good home. Yeah, but you go through things. And I realize that talking and so I want to encourage you if there's some wounds, if there's some things, see a Christian, psychologist, counselor, let them go there, let them ask some questions and unlock some things in your heart. But I believe Jesus wants us to be a healthy body. He wants us to be a healthy body. I get to travel to churches and camps all over. And I've seen such a hurt in the church. It's caused church splits and church dump one uh alliance superintendent, he goes, cause dumpster fires. Why are we, the body of Christ, having dumpster fires? Why are superintendent, one superintendent told me they said, people come and and and they're the nicest person, sweetest elder in a church, but something goes crazy at their church and they call me, and the amount of profane language coming out of this sweet lady's mouth is hard to believe. Why is that? Because there's wounds and hurts that haven't been healed. And I just believe there is health coming to the body in this season. So I want to encourage you, let your heart be restored. Sometimes there's layers that need to come off. But we want to be a healthy body, amen. And so I want to invite Paul to come and close us in prayer this morning, and we're gonna go have lunch, and some are gonna golf, amen. But let Jesus do a deep work in your heart as you go from here today.