TRANSCRIPTION | Sunday, March 27, 2022 | Meaningful Faith Series | Discovering Purpose

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Here's the thing that we've done as a church coming into 2022. Our first series was entitled A Meaningful Life. It was just simply all about the reality that I think we're all tired of wasting time. And we were ready to be a part of something meaningful. And we evaluated through Scripture how that we can make sure that we're living a meaningful life, not only in the here and now, but for all of eternity.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And then we talked about meaningful connections and the importance of being meaningfully connected with God and with others. And then we took a couple of weeks just kind of as a segway to get the flies and the foxes out of our life. And today, we're going to talk about meaningful faith, meaningful faith. I think we'll probably take two, maybe three weeks in this vein.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And in order to lay the foundation for it, I want to take a look at the life of Simon Peter today. And we'll give you a background sketch of his life so that everybody's on the same page. But right before I read out of John Chapter 21 I want to tell you just one story. Now, if you know me and my family or if we've had the chance to connect much, or even if you've heard me preach very many times, you know that our family is basketball crazy.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

We love basketball. My son plays the sport and it occupies a lot of our our free time. And we do have a moment free or something of that nature. But my growing up, I love basketball even as a kid maybe than I love it more today as a 40 year old man. 

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And I remember growing up in the eighties and the greatest rivalry about two players at that time was Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. And their rivalry started in college, or at least that's when it heightened Magic played for Michigan State and Bird played for Indiana State. And by the time they got in the NBA, they were the NBA's biggest stars. Magic playing for the L.A. Lakers and Bird playing for the Boston Celtics, two iconic institutions. And the truth of it is they hated each other. And the more they played against each other, the more they hated each other. There developed an issue, though, converse as a brand, which was a big brand in the eighties, signed both Magic and Bird to a contract, and they wanted to create a commercial where that they would bring these two guys together to celebrate the buy in the brand.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Just one problem. They don't speak. And as they were going through negotiations for where the commercial would be shot, Larry Bird was insistent that it would be shot in French Lick, Indiana, at his mom and dad's farm. And they tell the story of how Ervin Magic Johnson, when he came to this commercial video shoot, showed up with all of the showtime from L.A. and made quite the splash when these two men got out and they were getting ready to start the shooting of the commercial It's just awkward. It's tense. In fact, it was just it was described like two bulls and a pasture field sizing each other up. Eventually, lunchtime came, Mrs. Bird announced that everyone would be coming to the table to eat lunch. And as I understand it, you didn't argue with Mrs. Bird.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

So at her table that day sat Ervin Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. And by the time they finished that meal, they were the best of friends. And they have been friends ever since. And they directly traced back their friendship to that moment at that table. There is something about being at a table, something about sharing a meal together, the way that bird would later describe it is that he didn't care much for magic, but he learned at the table that day. He was a really big fan of Ervin. 

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

If you look with me, John, chapter 21 verse 12, Jesus said to them, Come and eat breakfast. Jesus said to them, Come and eat breakfast. He is inviting them to the table. And something meaningful was about to happen in their faith. Heavenly Father, I ask you to give me an anointing and a special grace to communicate your word, to provoke people God to that place of meaningful faith.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

The Lord Heaven would come down that Your Kingdom would be establish that Lord, you would move in our lives. Let it be done. In Jesus name, in this church said Amen. When you look at the life of Simon, Peter, who was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, I have found that there is something intriguing about the beginning of his relationship with Jesus and a very key transitional moment in His relationship with Jesus.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

In fact, as Jesus is beginning His earthly ministry and He is inviting followers to begin to travel with Him as he moves across the landscape of Israel, the first conversation that Jesus ever has with Simon Peters recorded in Matthew Chapter four. It's verse 18. It says this and Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee saw two brothers. Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen, everybody say fisherman.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And then he said to them, Follow me. And I will make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. Now, about two and a half years to three years later, Jesus has what is recorded as his last conversation with Simon Peter. According to the book of John chapter one verse 19, this he spoke, saying by what death Peter would glorify God.

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And when Jesus had spoken this, he said to Peter, Follow me. Now, isn't that interesting that it ended the way it started, that the first conversation that Jesus ever has with Simon Peter is a commanding invitation. Follow me. Drop your nets. Leave the family business. Follow me. And yet, towards the end of Jesus earthly ministry, in fact, on the other side of even Jesus resurrection is when this is happening.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He looks at Simon, Peter, and the commanding tone of the invitation is still the same. Follow me. Now, between this first follow me and this last follow me. There is quite a bit of activity it's recorded in the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and we find that there's many happenings in the life of Simon Peter in relation to his connectivity to Jesus.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And you may be familiar with Simon Peter. Maybe you're not, but you don't have to read the Gospels very long to discover that Simon Peter was the rowdy one. Simon Peter was the loud mouth of the bunch. Simon Peter was the guy that when everybody else knew to sit down and be quiet, he was still talking but Simon Peter was the guy that had a fiery temper.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He was a man that had no shortage of confidence. He was a man that when other people thought they couldn't do it, he thought he could do it. He was a man that was willing to step into a fight. He was a man that was raised in an atmosphere of Fisher men in a very rough and tumble industry.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

His vocabulary was probably quite extensive in certain realms. This is a guy that was rough and rowdy. And even as a teenager begins this relationship of discipleship with Jesus, starts with Follow me, you know, maybe you feel like you can relate to Simon Peter. Maybe you don't. When I said loud mouth, some of you decided you were married to Simon Peter.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Others of you were decided that you are raising Simon. Peter, There's a few others of you that you're maybe convinced that you work for. Simon. Peter. Others do. You're like, I'm in a small group of nothing but Simon. Peter's The truth of it is, is that you may be more like Simon Peter than even you realize. Because one of the things that we see about Simon Peter's spirituality is that he is really up and then he is really down.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He can have really high highs and he can have really low lows. There's no greater example of that than he's the guy that walked on the water. The storyline goes like this that he sees Jesus walking on the water in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm. And as he sees Jesus, he's like, Hey, Jesus, if that's really you bid me to come to you.

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And Jesus said, Come, Simon, Peter, jumped out of the boat, left his friends behind. He's walking on the water. He's not worried about the storm. He's not worried about the thunder. He's not worried about the lighting, at least not for a few steps. And then he starts to recognize that these waves are really big and this storm is really boisterous.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And he starts sinking and Jesus has to rescue him and say what you will. I'd still rather be a wet water walker than a dry boat talker. So give some props to Simon. Peter. But do you see how in this moment he's really up and then he's really down? It's like some of you from Sunday to Friday really up.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And really down, really high highs and then really low lows. If you want to see this tension in the life of Simon, Peter, there may be no part that encapsulates his life better than Matthew. Chapter 16. One conversation that he had with Jesus He's talking to Jesus and Jesus has heard of people say that I am Simon. Peter Simon is like, Well, you know Jesus, some people say that you're this guy or you're that guy.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Okay, some people are. Who do you say that I am? He's like, Well, I believe you're the son of the living God. And Jesus said, That's right. And there's only one way you could have known that the Holy Spirit would have had to have revealed it to you. And this is such a profound revelation. You need to understand, Simon, Peter, I'll build my whole church on it, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

They're not even through the conversation. It may not have been 30 seconds later, Simon. Peter didn't know when to shut up. He's still talking. And now he gives an answer that is incorrect. And Jesus looks at him and says, Hush. When you talk like that, you sound like Satan himself. So really high. But it's a really low. Simon Peter, in his relationship with Jesus, he's in an upper room. Jesus is reaching the end of his earthly ministry. He's explained that he's going to lay down his life for the sins of the world. The disciples are acting like they understand it. They're acting like they get it. The truth of it is they don't But Simon Peter's at the high place of confidence in Jesus is explaining, When I'm laying down my life, there's going to be at least one of you that's going to betray me.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

There's going to be another of you that's going to deny me. And Simon Peters throws his hand off as well as Jesus. Jesus. And I'm sorry to interrupt, and I know that you're the Son of God and I know you have a prophetic nature about your life, but you've got this one wrong, Jesus, because I'm telling you, I would never deny you in fact, I would follow you on to death.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Jesus is like Simon, and I don't know how to explain this to you, but before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will have already denied me three times and Simon's little smirk on his face, most likely like, you know, I love Jesus, but he's got this one wrong. Jesus announces he's going to be leaving this room. He's going to be going into a private place.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He's going to go into a garden to pray. And He says, I want to take Peter, James, and John with me. Jesus tells them that they need to pray. They need to prepare for what's about to happen. Simon Peter is so confident, so full of himself. He goes to sleep. Jesus may need to pray. I don't need to pray. I got this. Something goes down. I'm ready well, a few hours later, something does happen. There's an entire army that shows up in this garden and they announce that they're coming to arrest Jesus. In this moment, Simon Peter pulls out a sword and he starts fighting. He starts cutting people's ears off, and Jesus rebukes him, reprimands him to stop you live that way. You die that way. That's not how we're going to fight this fight. Put your sword up. Jesus goes over and takes the ear off of the man sama Peter's wounded in heals it puts it back. Some of you can relate to that because you know what it is to have Jesus have to put something back together. You tore up some of you don't realize it, but that last status update, Jesus is still trying to put together what you tore up, that last text that you sent he's trying to put.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

I can't get no help on a Sunday morning the truth of it is we we all can relate to Simon Peter in one way or another, whether it's when we said something we shouldn't have said or we thought a little too much of ourselves or we had a really ha ha, or we had a really low low. Or we felt like we had that water walk in faith only to find out that the storm had more of an impact than we realized.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

What happens with Simon, Peter, is that when he finds out that he doesn't get to use his sword, when he finds out that he doesn't get to fight the way that he knows how to fight, he is confused he does not know what to make of all of this. And the fact that Jesus is allowing himself to be led away by like a lamb to slaughter is baffling his mind.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He thought he was hanging out with a king he just couldn't understand the whole savior of the world part So what happens is that as Jesus is being taken to a mock trial in the middle of the night at a house that belongs to the high priest Simon Peter is outside sitting by a campfire. He's talking to soldiers.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He's trying to stay informed, but he's also trying to stay disguised and as this is happening three times throughout that night, once even to a little maiden girl who appears to be serving the crowd, he denies that he ever even knew Jesus. In this moment where Jesus is being unbelievably boring, Simon Peter is being unbelievably timid.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And it's around about the morning hour that the rooster crows. Simon Peter has just finished his third denial. And in that moment, he starts to weep and he starts to cry and he realizes that he's not who he thought he was. And he realizes that his faith is not as meaningful as he thought it was. And Simon Peter in this moment is literally having an internal breakdown.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He's emotionally coming apart because he feels shame, he feels condemnation, he feels guilt. There's a part of him that is undoubtedly embarrassed. He he's like all the stuff out of the line, even in front of his peers and his friends and his closest people on earth. And now he's not doing anything he said he was going to do.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Some of us know what that's like. We said we were going to do it and we didn't do it or we said we would never do it, and then we did do it. We know what it's like to feel the shame and to feel like we've just made a mess out of things and that everybody's looking at us as though it's the mess that we created.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And it's Simon Peter's in this moment, and it only gets worse once Jesus dies. I mean, can you imagine what this is like for this man that in the final moments of the Master, that he is served for three years now he's dead, he's in a tomb. He can't make sense of it. He's confused. He doesn't know if he's going to live or die.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He doesn't know if he's going to be arrested. He doesn't know if they believe we know what this personality type is like. Some of us are this personality type really high, really low. There's no doubt this man is dealing with depression. It's very possible he's even having suicidal thoughts. There's no doubt he's at this place of thinking, God will never be able to use me again. Like I'm ruined forever.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

But the third day was coming, and on the third day, what we learn is that Jesus did exactly what he said. He was going to do. He rose from the dead and Mary, his Jesus mother and Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus, show up at the tomb. And when they show up at the tomb, they discover that the body of Jesus is gone, the stone is rolled away, and there's an angel sitting there.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And this angel starts to talk to Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. And the angel has something very specific to say, and we're going to read it. It's actually recording Mark chapter six over seven. And here's what's really interesting. Any time an angel speaks in the Bible, it is to be considered a messenger of God. What it means is that Heaven is sending a message to Earth and here's what it looks like.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Mark chapter sixteen verse seven. The angel at the tomb said the Jesus Mother Mary and the follower Mary Magdalene. But you go and you tell his disciples and Peter, just tell somebody. And Peter, I don't that person didn't get it. You're going to have to talk to the other one. Remember I told you the message wasn't for everybody. It's for somebody.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Okay? Now go to somebody. Let them know. And Peter, that he is going before you in the Galilee and there you will see him. And he, as he said to you. So here's what's happening. God just sent a message all the way from heaven to earth via and angelic being to let his disciples know that I did exactly what I said I was going to do.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And I have raised from the dead. And while y'all are all figuring this out, somebody better go find Peter specifically and let him know I'm not done with him. There's still some stuff that's about to happen in the Earth, and I'm going to do some stuff in him and I'm going to do some stuff through him. And you let him know I said his name specifically.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And there's some of you that don't even think that you're on God's radar, that God is calling your name specific. Acting because you're the one that everybody count it out and you're the one that the enemy has made to believe that God will never be able to do anything else through you but you need to understand Scripture says that God will use the foolish things to confound the wise, and He will use the weak things to confound the mighty.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And the fact that you have proven that you couldn't do it is the exact reason that God's about to show up and do it through you in order to testify of His strength in a yielded vessel. And Peter, I love it. It's one of my favorite verses in the New Testament. The more I meditate on it, the more it just enthralls me you tell all my disciples that the tomb is empty.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And Peter, what if God is calling your name? What if God is trying to shake you out of your depression? What if God is trying to rattle you loosed from your shame and your condemnation because some of you are dealing with shame and guilt and no one around you even knows it because you know how to put on a pretty face and you know how to put on a smile.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And you know how to go through the motions and act like everything is together. But the enemy is the accuser of the brethren. And every time things get quiet around you, you start hearing the accusations and the enemies pointing out everything you didn't do. Right. And he's pointing out everything. You did make a mess up and he's pointing out every place that you did fail God.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And those moments when you denied God some of you've had moments even at work where you denied that you were a Christian and it has bothered you as it should but God's bringing you full circle to an understanding that he's not through with you yet because this thing doesn't end in the tomb. There is resurrection power at work in your life.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

It's time. And Peter your faith is about to become more meaningful than ever before. So what Scripture goes on to tell us in John Chapter 21 is that Jesus goes through a series of appearing unto His disciples, specifically Simon, Peter, and what Scripture tells us is that at least three times at the time we arrive at John 21, Jesus has appeared to Simon Peter.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

But according to John 21, the third time that he appears to Simon Peter it looks like this Simon is with seven or six of his friends are seven of them total, and they're still trying to make sense of all this and they realize that Jesus is resurrected, but they still can't process it they're still extremely confused and they're hanging out on the seashore and the Bible says in John chapter 21, verse number three, Simon said to them, I am going fishing.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He must have been from Creelsboro because fishing solves everything. I am going fishing. And so they said to him, we're going with you also. And Scripture says that while they're out here in this boat in the middle of the night, they don't catch anything. They don't have any success at all. And the morning comes and when the morning comes, they hear a voice calling out to them to the from the shore because they're not very far from the shore. And the voice tells them, cast your net on the other side.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And when they cast their net on the other side, after they've not caught anything all night, they now catch 153 very large fish. And this is such a haul that none of them can believe that the net hasn't broken yet.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And they begin to converse. Who is that over there? And John announces that Jesus cannot not put together yet. And Simon, Peter, Scripture says, grabs his belongings, leaves the rest of them in the boat, jumps into the sea and starts swimming to the shore as if to say, Jesus, I know, missed up until I failed. I know I came short, but I see that you really are the author and the finisher of my faith.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

I see that you really are the beginning and you really are the yin and Jesus. If I could just spend a little more time with you, if we could just work this thing out like I know I'm a miserable excuse for a human being, but Jesus if we if we could just. You have had a moment like that where you came to your senses.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

You ever had that moment where that you realized that he's still God even though you went through some moments of doubt and you went through some moments of confusion, and there were some places where your didn't fare but feel very meaningful, you ever had that moment where the epiphany really did strike with you and you realize, I don't care who I got to leave behind, I don't care what I got to jump overboard on.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

I am getting back to a relationship with Jesus Christ, and I'm doing it now. And I'm not even going to wait on this boat to get back to the shore. I'm going to get there as quick as I possibly can. That's where Simon Peter is. That is there can be no delay. Something's breaking on the inside of him.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

If I got to get this thing with Jesus walked out and I got to do it right now. I've been in services where I've seen that happen. I've watched them people start fidgeting they're like, Is this message ever going to end? Because I need to be in the ultra right now?

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

You ever been that person? I've lived it. I remember that moment of rededication with God. Of I knew I messed it up and I knew I failed and I knew I had to, not him, but I knew if I could just get to a place where Simon Peter steps onto the shore, dragging himself out of the water, the boat still out there Jesus.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

This summit let's have breakfast I'm telling you, Jesus likes tables shows up, starts his ministry. First thing they do is accuse him of spending too much time on a table and having the wrong people at it.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Jesus tells them, I didn't come for the save that came for the lost. He tells me he didn't come for the healed. He came for the sick. And that's why his table will always look the way that it does. Jesus wants to tell the disciples something significant. He brings them to a table. They have the Passover meal. He institutes communion Jesus tells us when we get to heaven the very first one of the very first things we're going to do is we're all going to sit down a table to be called the marriage supper, the lamb and every tribe and every chunk will be represented, and we will celebrate the fact that the blood was enough to get us out of hell and gain the seven for all of eternity because of the sacrifice of Jesus. There's something about a table we like tables as well. Some of y'all in a hurry right now. You're trying to get to a table somebody passes away, we go to a table and we mourn the loss. Somebody has a birthday, we go to the table and we celebrate the life.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Somebody gets married if I'm coming, we're going to the table. We're going to have cake. The set the table with the table. What's so significant about the table? The table is where relationship expands the table is where relationship goes to the next level. In the Old Testament, there was this thing called the Tabernacle of Moses, and it was the way that people had to engage with the presence of God at that time.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And the way that it worked is the priest. He would walk in and he would go into this place known as the inner court. And it was the last step before he got to go in and really experience God. And he had to stop at a table. It was known as the table of show bread. And there he would break bread.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And it was to symbolize that he was going into the next level of relationship with the Heavenly Father, the table and Jesus set Sam Simon, Peter down at a makeshift campfire table. But wait a second. How many times did Simon Peter did Jesus three. And what number of times is this that he is now seeing Jesus post Resurrection three?

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And where was it that Simon Peter denied Jesus in the middle of the night? It was beside a camp fire. And now where does Jesus have Simon Peter positioned beside a camp fire? And how was it that Jesus taught the disciples that they were always to remember that He is who he says he is? Get a bread and a cup.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And now Jesus is inviting Simon Peter into what is going to be the most significant meal of his entire life. The most significant table that he will ever be seated at. And it's here that on the other side of the three denials Jesus asks Simon, Peter, three questions. This is what it sounds like. Do you love me? But that's not the end of it more than these Well, who are these and what are these What's these There's some commentators that believe that it's referencing the other disciples.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And did some of Peter's being asked, Do you love me more than the other disciples? I don't think that's right. And many of the scholars and greatest theologians in the world, what they actually believe is that when you look at this text and it says, Do you love me more than these? It's referencing something very significant. Where was it that Jesus met Simon Peter?

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Is that a boat? And what was it that Simon Peter had to leave behind in order to follow Jesus? A boat, a fishing business? And now that things are going wrong in Simon Peter's life, and things are not transpiring the way that he thought they were going to transpire. What is it that Simon Peter has went back to a boat, and where has he returned? To a fishing business.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

He has returned to that thing that was familiar. He has returned to that thing that was comfortable. He has returned to that thing that always padded his resume and now Jesus, I believe, is asking him with this huge load of fish laid right beside their feet. Do you love me more than these do you love me more than these fish?

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Do you love me more than this family business? Do you love me more than your career path? Do you love me more than this boat? You always keep running back to do you love me more than this? Because if you do, I'm going to need you to feed my sheep. The first time that Jesus interacts with Simon Peter. There is a relation to where he is. You will be a fisher of men. But now Jesus is saying you're getting ready to move into a new purpose. You're getting ready to move into a new destiny. You're no longer going to be a fisherman. You're going to be a shepherd.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

You're going to the next level. You're not just going to catch me and you're going to disciple. You're going to turn them into men and women of God. You're going to raise up entire flocks of people who will follow Jesus just like you are. Simon, Peter, Simon, Peter. Your end is going to be greater than your beginning, and it's not by accident that all of these things that are surrounding their surrounding this moment when Jesus looks just a few verses later and the conversation is continuing and Jesus looks at him in John 21 19 and says, follow me the invitation was still the same despite the failure the invitation was still the same.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Despite the denial he was still the same, despite the fact that he made a mess out of things and I want somebody to understand this morning the invitation hasn't changed. I get it. You made a mess out of things. I get it. It didn't go the way you thought it was going to go. You feel condemnation, you feel shame, you feel like you messed up.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Somebody needs to know the invitation is still there to follow Jesus. When I for just a moment, every head bowed, every hour close. I want you to think with me for just a moment. Of all the places that the enemy has been lying to you, all those places enemy has been beating you up and beating you down and trying to convince you that you should just stay hidden and you should never return to that proper and right relationship with Jesus.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And you need to understand that that tug that you feel on you right now is not a small thing. That is the Holy Spirit of God. Reaching further down than you will ever be able to reach up. It is God's way of saying that He has got an angel with your name on it that is saying to you, Hey, and you tell him you tell her that's still got a plan and I still got a purpose.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

And death still can't hold and the grace still can't win and the hurt and the habit and the hang up. It'll never be enough to overcome the grace and the love that is available at the table of Jesus Christ. I've thought about how that smells provoke memory and I've thought about how that that moment when that Simon Peter was denying Jesus, it was beside a fire with the smell of smoke and yet here he is, his life evolving back beside the fire.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

This time, right there beside Jesus, smoke once again fill in his nostrils. And this time he gets a chance to make the wrong right. Not because of anything that he has done, but because of everything that Jesus has done.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

This is your moment to see old things pass away and everything become new again. What Simon Peter found out is that the cause of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on the other side of his failure, his purpose was actually going to grow greater God's got more for you than you've comprehended. He thought about maybe this is your moment just to put a hand in the air and say, I need a fresh start in God for somebody.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

That means that you're coming to Jesus for the very first time. For somebody else. It means that this is a moment of rededication for you, of like Jesus have denied you have a falling off. But just like Simon, Peter, I'm jumping out of whatever was holding me back, keeping me isolated from you, keeping me away from you. And I am swimmin with everything that's in me to know that I can be restored to relationship with you.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

Jesus, God, we surrender right here, right now. Come on. If you feel like there needs to just be a moment of surrender between you and Jesus right now, all that hand up and just start to pour out your heart. It starts with repentance. Confession, acknowledgment, I want to pray with you. I want to pray for you, father. I thank you that you allow us to be here again. You give us the chance and the opportunity to come to the table to know you and to experience you. And to see a renewal of a generation. Regeneration. Reconciliation happen in our life.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

God, I feel it with everything in me. If there are people under the sound of my voice and in your presence today, God, which is most important the Lord, the they got shame. Nobody even knows they have because for a long time it just hasn't felt meaningful due to something that the enemy just keeps accusing them with.

 

Pastor Eric Gilbert

I'm asking you, Lord, to do what only you can do.