Jesus Restores the Broken

 

JESUS RESTORES THE BROKEN!

Introduction: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. It was John Newton who wrote that song. Many perhaps do not know the story behind that song. John Newton was nurtured by a Christian mother who taught him the Bible at an early age, but he was raised in his father's image after she died of tuberculosis when Newton was seven.

            At age 11, Newton went on his first of six sea voyages with the merchant navy captain. Newton lost his first job, in a merchant's office, because of "unsettled behavior and impatience of restraint"—a pattern that would persist for years. He took up employment with a slave-trader named Clow, who owned a plantation of lemon trees on an island of west Africa.

            He was transferred to the Greyhound's captain's service, a Liverpool ship, in 1747, and on its homeward journey, the ship was overtaken by an enormous storm. He was converted during the storm. After that, he followed Jesus until he reached 80. He refused to retire even though he became almost blind and partially deaf. He owed his redemption in Christ to God’s mercy.

            Later in life, John Newton became an influential abolitionist. He died in 1807. We read these words on his tomb at St. Mary Woolnoth: "Once an Infidel and Libertine, A Servant of Slaves in Africa, Was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST, Preserved, restored and pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith He had long labored to destroy."[1]

            In our passage, we will see as though before His ascension to heaven, Jesus had some unfinished work to do. It was to restore one of his close friends, a broken and remorse-filled disciple. Upon encountering Jesus, this disciples' life was radically transformed and became more impactful. We reap the benefits of his restored life even after 2000 years. John 21:1-19

            John Chapter 21 is the epilogue or conclusion of the story of the resurrection, where Jesus ties up a few loose ends. Before His great commission and ascension, Jesus restored confidence in seven disciples who were discouraged. After His resurrection, he appears to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee for the third time Peter and his friends had gone fishing.

 

I. GONE FISHING

            John 21: 3-6, "Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So, they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Fellows, (children)have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So, they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it." Let me share an earlier event where Peter got his first call to follow Jesus.

            Luke 5:5-11, Despite working all night and not catching a single fish at the command of Jesus, Simon Peter lets down his fishing net only to catch a considerable number of fish. Vs. 8-11, "When Simon Peter realized what happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me—I am too much of a sinner to be around you. For he was awestruck.

            "Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on, you'll be fishing for people! As soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus." That was the beginning of Peter's adventures with Jesus. Fast forward now to the incidents of the crucifixion and resurrection.    In our passage, we see Peter found himself in a similar situation, "fishing." The only difference this time was, Peter didn't have all the bravado he exhibited earlier. He was perhaps ashamed of his failure of denial. He was a broken man.

            When he was told it was the Lord, he was the first one to respond. While others remained in the boat, he put his cloak around and headed to the shore, wondering how he would be received. Would he be ignored or accepted?

 

II. JESUS RESTORES PETER

            The Lord did not leave him in the first incident and certainly will not leave him now. When they got to the shore, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire; and some bread. Jesus said, bring some fish you have just caught, come and have some breakfast! It was a fatherly act Jesus performed towards His guilt-ridden children. None of the disciples dared to ask him any questions as little children caught by the father in their mischief. After breakfast, Jesus and Peter had a dialogue of healing and restoration.

            Let's see how Jesus gently restores Peter to his original calling to follow Him. Vs. 15-17, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you." In Greek, two terms were used for the word translated as love. When Jesus asked Peter two times do you love me in Greek, Agape signified total commitment.

            Peter responded with a word for love, Phileo, representing his love for Jesus but not his total commitment. It was not because he was unwilling to express the supreme love, because he had been disobedient and denied Christ three times. Perhaps now, he was reluctant to make any boastful claims. The message here is that Jesus demands total commitment from his followers.

            Peter may have thought it is all over. I denied the Lord three times for which I may never be forgiven. I could never follow Jesus as I did before. But Jesus didn't let Peter remain in his brokenness. He walked straight to where Peter was, restored him unto himself. With each of Peter's responses, Jesus entrusted him with a specific responsibility.

            We read about this pardoned, restored, and re-appointed disciple's preaching in Acts three, which gathered three thousand souls into God's family. Talk about fishing for people! He became a strong pillar of the Church of Jesus Christ. Peter stands as an example of Jesus' restorative work of broken people. In one way, we all are broken people in need of restoration.

 

III JESUS RESTORES THE BROKEN

            Restoration is a reoccurring theme in the Bible. It is synonymous with healing, repairing, returning to a previous state of being. Since Adam and Eve's sin, we all became broken and are living in a broken world. Jesus came into this world to restore our broken relationship with God.

Through His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection, humanity can be restored to God again. When we believe in Jesus, we will be saved, and our relationship with God is restored. How about after getting saved? Are we still in need of restoration? Stephen A. Macchia, in his book, Broken and Whole, "Healthy spiritual leaders (Christians) recognize the reality of living in the tension of the already-and-not-yet nature of the kingdom. They expect to experience both transformative redemption and continued brokenness in their generational life."

             In Christ, we are a new creation, and our father profoundly loves us. Yet, we struggle with sin and need to be restored and renewed daily. Salvation happens at the moment we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our savior. But restoration is a process. God in his mercy, restoring his people. A wretch and saint alike, we all experience brokenness. Our brokenness varies.

            Some of our souls are weary (Ps 23:3). Some have been afflicted with physical sickness and need of healing. Jer 30:17, "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord." Some may have lost the joy of their salvation (Ps 51:12). Maybe your heart is broken.          

            Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds (pains)." Some are enduring suffering; listen to Peter's advice. I Pet 5:10, "In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation." Whatever your brokenness, maybe Jesus sees it. He will have compassion for you. He won't ignore you but walk right where you are, restores you, and re-appoints you to preach the Good News. Amen!

 

 

 

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[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/john-newton.html

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/70544/christian-witness-by-owen-bourgaize

Don't Be A Skeptic. Believe!

 

DON'T BE A SKEPTIC. BELIEVE!

Introduction: An article in the Washington Post is titled "I'm an atheist. So why can't I shake God?" and it suggests that it's "hard to believe in nothing when your psyche is wired for faith." The author Elizabeth King tells how she abandoned her childhood Christian faith for atheism. "Until my mid-teens, I was a 'born again' Christian who loved God with all her heart. These days, though, I'm an atheist with nothing to prove.

            "The story of my departure from the church resembles those of many others who have abandoned the flock. When I was about 16, I started asking questions during services that my youth pastors couldn't or didn't want to answer: Why is it a sin to be gay? Why is it okay to spank children? Where does the Bible say we can't have premarital sex?"

            Still, despite her atheism, King states, "somehow God has found a way to stick around in my mind." She thinks that "God's lingering presence" could be attributed to "the inner-workings of the human mind" against which the atheist battles hard. She claims, "If I could … banish this figure from my psyche, I would." In the end, she has to admit, "I have no choice but to accept that I'm an atheist with a sense for God."[1] No matter what you do you cannot shake off God.

            Sadly, many Christians, including born-again Christians like Elizabeth King, turn away from their Christian faith. We live in a time of wild conspiracy theories, from Pizzagate to QAnon, to the notion that Covid is a hoax and the vaccine an instrument of Government control.            Unfortunately, many believing Christians believe in them. Amid such weird ideas, we Christians must hold on to the tenants of our Christian Faith. One of them is the resurrection of Christ. On the day of the resurrection of Jesus, His disciples, who were very close to Him, had a hard time believing that he had indeed risen. Let's see how Jesus confronted their skepticism.

 

I THE DISCIPLES STRUGGLE TO BELIEVE 

            Early on Sunday morning, Jesus made his first appearance to Mary Magdalene, from whom he drove out seven demons. She is the first eyewitness to see (and hear and touch) the resurrected Jesus. Jesus told her to "go" find my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary became the first messenger.

            When Mary told the disciples that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn't believe her. (Mk 16:11). That Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly Jesus was standing there among them!   How could that be possible? Well, the grave couldn't hold him. How about these flimsy closed doors to the resurrected Lord? The power of the resurrected Lord is such that nothing could stop Him anymore to accomplish His purposes, no closed doors, and no closed hearts.

            Jesus gave convincing proof to His skeptic disciples by showing them the wounds in his hands and sides to let them know that He was not a ghost but their Lord who once was with them. The disciples were overjoyed by seeing the risen Lord. He commissioned them, saying, "as the father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit as they would need His power to carry the message of the resurrection to the world.

 

II A SKEPTIC BECOMES A BELIEVER

            While the disciples were witnessing Jesus' resurrection for the first time, their fellow disciple named Thomas, who is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas," was not with them. I wonder where he must have gone? Probably out there gathering evidence as to what happened.        When the disciples told him, "we have seen the Lord." He replied like a true skeptic. A skeptic is a person who doesn't believe something is true unless they see the evidence. Skeptics are doubters —they need to see proof before they will accept. That's what Thomas wanted.

            Thomas said, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side." In other words, he was saying, unless I examine Jesus, I won't believe your story of His resurrection. He must have struggled with that idea and couldn't have shaken that thought of Jesus' bodily resurrection for eight days.

            Eight days later, the disciples were together again, and this time our skeptic Thomas was with them. The same powerful account has happened again. Jesus walked right through the locked doors, went straight for doubting Thomas, and put Himself to personal scrutiny.

            He invited Thomas to come close and put his finger in his hands and his hand in the wound on His side. Then He said to Thomas, "Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!" In other words, "Don't Be a Skeptic. Believe! Those words were powerful and convicting. Thomas was no longer a skeptic but became a firm believer. He exclaimed, "My Lord and my God."

            With that firm conviction, later on, Thomas became an apostle to India. He preached the gospel in India and many Hindus have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Syrian Christian tradition, Saint Thomas was allegedly martyred at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai on 3 July in AD 72, and his body was interred in Mylapore. I saw the place where he was martyred.

            What does this all mean to us on this resurrection Sunday morning? This particular message is not only for skeptics but also for the followers of Christ. Like the close disciples of Christ, we too struggle with skepticism and unbelief, not necessarily regarding His resurrection but on other matters of faith. We often let the world's philosophy cloud our theology.

            The truth is! We can rely on Jesus entirely, for He is trustworthy, but we must come to Him with child-like faith. Children are not skeptics, but grown-up adults can be. We have a hard time trusting the Lord for who He says He is and what He can do. If the risen Lord shows up this morning at this lakeside, His message for us would be, “Don't be a Skeptic. Believe!” Amen.

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

           

 

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[1] Source: Elizabeth King, "I'm an atheist. So why can't I shake God? Turns out it's pretty hard to believe in nothing when your psyche is wired for faith," Washington Post (2-4-16)

PEACE WITH GOD

 

PEACE WITH GOD!

Introduction:  We have been on Redemption Road for several weeks. This Good Friday evening, we will observe a trial that took place over 2000 years ago. What happened there still impacts us even today. I am recruiting all of us to be the jury in this trial. By the end of our time, I would ask us about your decision, so let us pay close attention to the story as it unfolds.

 

I. JESUS ON TRIAL

            As the curtain lifts off, we walk straight into a Roman courtroom and take our seats as the jury. Pilate is in the judge’s seat, and the council brings in Jesus of Nazareth. Before this appearance amid crowds chanting Hosanna, Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.

            The whole council presented a false case to the governor. Besides other allegations, they said, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, a king. Pilate asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “you have said it.” Pilate pronounces to the leading priests and the crowd, “I find no guilt in this man!” The priests insisted that Jesus was causing riots through his teachings.

            Upon learning that he was a Galilean, Pilate sends Him to Herod Antipas, one of Herod’s three sons, who ruled Galilee and Perea. He was the one who got John the Baptist executed and threatened to kill Jesus (Lk13:31). After the death of John, Herod heard about everything Jesus was doing and kept trying to see him. (Lk 9:9) finally, he was delighted to see Jesus face to face.

            The reason Herod wanted to see Jesus was to see him perform a miracle. Jesus did none of it and refused to answer all the questions of Herod. After sensing, he was not getting anything out of Jesus and the crowds were getting out of control, Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate.

            On that day, Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends. In the second round, Pilate announced his verdict. “Nothing this man has done calls for the death penalty. So, I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.” It did not sit well with the council and the crowds. They shouted, “Kill him and release Barabbas for us.”

            Who was Barabbas? A robber (John18:40) and a murderer (Lk 23:18-19). In some way, involved as an anti-Roman insurrectionist. On the other hand, who was Jesus? A prophet from Nazareth, Rabbi, the healer, claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. How could any reasonable person want a murderer to be released in place of a kind and gentle healer?

            Pilate tried hard to release him by having him flogged, knowing the crowd’s evil intentions and not finding any reason to sentence Jesus to death. But the unruly mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified. Giving in to their demands, Pilate sentenced Jesus to die by crucifixion, the most painful and disgraceful form of Roman execution.

            After hearing the narrative and how things played out, what would be your verdict? Who is guilty, and who is innocent? If Jesus was the innocent one, what Good is it for him to die on the cross such a brutal and painful death? How did Jesus’ death benefit the crowds? To answer these and many more questions, we need to see Jesus’ overall mission he came to accomplish.

 

II. PEACE WITH GOD.

            Jesus was on a mission of reconciliation, to bring back God’s enemies into a right relationship with Him. Several Old Testament prophecies have alluded that Jesus is going to pave the way for people to have Peace with God and with one another. Consider the following:            

            Isaiah 53:3-9, “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down… He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was w whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

            We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

             Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.” This prophecy was fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. (blank)

            Before Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, this was what the high priest Caiaphas said. John 11:50-52 “You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time, he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.”

            What is the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross? First, our sin has separated us from God, Jesus’ death on the cross puts us in the right relationship with God. 2 Cor 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, (or to become sin itself) so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” God doesn’t count our sins against us anymore.

            Second, through our rebellion and sinful nature, we became the enemies of God. Jesus’ death restores our friendship with God once again. Romans 5:10, “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.”

            Third, Jesus’ death brought us into God’s big family. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now, you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once, you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

            Finally, Jesus’ death on the cross helps us live in peace with God and one another. Eph 2:14, “For Christ, himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”

              Colossians 1:20, “and through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” On this Good Friday, as we look around, many are living in fear and anxiety, without Hope and Peace. People are searching for peace and rest. Where can they find peace? Who can give them peace?

            Can politicians, celebrities, sports stars, musicians, and religious leaders bring us peace?  Here is a quote from the late evangelist Billy Graham wrote “Peace with God in 1953. “Christ alone can bring lasting peace. Peace with God- Peace among men and nations and in your hearts.” Peace with God brings the Peace of God so that we can face all storms of life.

            If you want the Peace of God in your life, Peace with God is what you need first. When you are in the right relationship with God, you have peace in your heart. Living in Peace with God doesn’t mean you will not have any problems, and all of a sudden, people will be friendly to you. On the contrary, the opposite is true. You may have lots of troubles, your close friends, including your family, may turn against you. You may be challenged at your work.

            When that happens, remember you have Jesus Christ, the prince of peace who overcame sin and Satan, living inside of you by the power of the Holy Spirit guiding you how to respond. The cross is not a symbol of defeat but rather a sign of victory, which brings us Peace.

            We will see how Jesus Christ conquered the Devil on Easter Sunday. For now, let me leave us with this scripture Romans 5:1, “Therefore since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Amen!