Today’s sermon is somewhat of a sequel to the sermons you have heard over the last few weeks, starting with one preached two weeks ago entitled “Overwhelmed…….But in a Good Way”. In that sermon we took a look at the 47th Psalm and saw that it was a psalm in which the Psalmist was overwhelmed at the awesomeness of God - who He is, and what He had done with and for the children of Israel. We said that if the Psalmist was so overwhelmed with what he had seen of God, then how much more so should we be overwhelmed with what has been revealed to us in scripture and especially in the book of Revelation. That’s where we ended the sermon, encouraging the church to be overwhelmed with the AWESOMENESS of GOD. When one is overwhelmed by the majesty of God there are symptoms that will be present in their lives because, when one is filled by the awesomeness of God, there is a natural overflow and the overflow in a Christians life will take many different shapes. We see this overflow come in the form of praise, worship, adoration to God in a way that is supernatural. But as we heard in last week’s sermon entitled, “If You Love Me…”, we see that a part of that overflow is telling everyone about God. Sharing the Gospel is evidence that you were overwhelmed with the majesty of God. But what if you don’t see this “fruit” in your life? I mean you were definitely overwhelmed with who God is and you can remember multiple services in which you have experienced the absolute presence of God, but you have never seen the results we just talked about. It’s almost like trying to fill up a cup with liquid and it never seems to get to the top. When this happens, it might be that your cup is leaky.
John 21:1-19
Here in the last Chapter of the Gospel of John, we see that Peter is seemingly the focus of the chapter At this point in the Gospel story, it might be an understatement to say that Peter has had a busy few weeks. He had denied Jesus 3 times at Jesus’ trial, Jesus had died, Peter was one of the first disciples to see the empty tomb, he had witnessed the risen Savior, he had been equipped and sent on mission by the resurrected Savior. Despite being a part of all this awesomeness of Jesus on display, we see that Peter’s cup seemingly had a leak. How do we know this? Because instead of being overwhelmed at the amazing things that he had been privy to and living out the mission that was given to him, Peter instead went fishing.
1. Symptoms of a leaky cup. - John 21:1-3
1 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. 3 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.
In these few verses we see what happens when our cup is leaky.
a. When our cup is leaky, our mission is neglected.
Peter knew what he needed to be doing, he knew where he was supposed to be going. Peter had been given all the tools necessary to accomplish the mission entrusted to him, but we see him doing something else entirely. When we neglect what God has commanded us to do, even if we substitute it for something that could be considered good, it’s disobedience and it’s a sin.
b. When our cup is leaky, we stay in our comfort zone.
There were 7 fishermen amongst the disciples. All of them had grown up around, made money from, and were experienced with all things fishing. The fact that Peter goes straight back to his comfort zone of fishing instead of on mission shows us that there is a leak in his cup. The Christian life was never meant to be a safe one. It’s a life of adventure and danger because we are strangers in this world. There’s an old saying that says, “Ships are safest in the harbor, but that’s not what ships were made for.” It’s the same thing with Christians. We all have comfort zones that we feel safest in, but that’s not what we were made for and that’s not what we are called to. When we find that we are hanging out in our comfort zones instead of being on mission, we can be assured that our cup is leaky.
c. When our cup is leaky, we take others with us.
Misery loves company and so does sin. When we are disobedient, we love to have others come with us because it somehow helps everything to seem ok. If others are doing it surely it isn’t that bad. Peter did the same thing here. Jesus gave all the disciples a mission, but Peter talked them all into joining him on that fishing trip. Our sins rarely affect just us and will cause others to stumble and have leaky cups as well.
d. When our cup is leaky, our disobedience usually starts in the dark.
Sin loves to live in darkness - it thrives there, it grows there, and it is born there so it’s no wonder that this fishing occurred in the night. Look at the sins you struggle with the most now. When did you first start struggling with them? Most likely it was in the dark when you thought no one would know, but Jesus knows. You must bring sin into the light to deal with it properly.
e. When our cup is leaky, we find out that our old life isn’t as fulfilling.
These fishermen went out and fished all night long and caught nothing. They caught absolutely nothing! Again, these men, in disobedience, went back to their comfort zone and nothing good came out of it. Same thing happens to us when we are born again and try to go back to that old way of life. Back to those habits, back to those friends, and back to all those things we think they will somehow give us fulfillment in our lives. That old self is dead, and the old things will never satisfy. We are now made brand new. We have a new way of life, and that life is no longer through our own personal and sometimes selfish desires, but it’s through Jesus Christ.
When we are experiencing leaks in our cup, the cause is sin. Whether it’s blatantly intentional sin, whether it’s the sin of disobedience, whether it’s through the sin of omittance, or no matter what the cause, it is always sin. Before we get into how Jesus repairs the leaks, I want us to notice how Jesus reacts to these men in this situation.
2. Jesus’ response when our cup is leaky. – John 21:4-14
4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “[Children], have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. 6 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. 7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[b] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread. 10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn. 12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.
The love of Jesus Christ blows my mind every time I think about it, every time I read about it, and every time I experience it. There are no words to describe the love of God that He has for His children. Notice with me three things from this passage that back up that fact.
a. Jesus knows where we are, even when we go astray.
Does it amaze you that Jesus isn’t waiting for them at the place they were supposed to be? Does it amaze you that Jesus isn’t asking, “Where are they?” But instead, Jesus is right where they are when the dawn breaks. They didn’t recognize Him, but He was there nevertheless. Jesus does the same thing with us. When we find ourselves falling into sin again and our cup is leaking, Jesus is right there to call us back to Himself, always for His glory and for our good.
b. Jesus still calls them His children.
Jesus calls to the disciples on the boat and uses a word that is interpreted here as children. While there is a familiarity about the term Jesus uses here (your Bible might even have the word translated as “friend”) the fact that he still calls them His children, even in disobedience, just shows us the unfailing love of Jesus Christ. There’s nothing that we can do can cause Jesus to love us any less. Even in our rebellion as Christians, Jesus still calls us His children.
c. Jesus still ministers to their needs.
After performing a couple of miracles with the fish, the nets, and the strength of one of the fishermen, we see that Jesus has cooked them breakfast. These men who went out to fish while knowing they had a task Jesus had called them to were met on shore with not a finger shaking in disappointment, not with a disapproving look, but with a meal. Jesus made sure to minister to their physical needs before He addressed their spiritual needs. There is no doubt Jesus did address their spiritual needs.
3. Jesus repairs a leaky cup. – John 21:15-19
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. 18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
a. To repair a leaky cup, Jesus must address our sin.
First thing we notice in the dialogue between Peter and Jesus is the question Jesus poses, “Do you love me more than these?” This seems like a callback to the promises Peter made that were recorded in Matthew 26:33 and Luke 13:37. Jesus was saying “Peter, you remember when you said that everyone else might leave, but you never would?”; “Peter, you remember when the rooster crowed that morning of my trial?” These things were not said, but you can be assured that Peter knew exactly what Jesus was getting at. Peter had sinned against God, and it must be addressed. Yes, Jesus loved Peter, but love confronts when someone has sinned. Jesus was loving Peter at this moment as well as repairing those leaks. You must confront your sin in order to repair the leaks.
b. To repair a leaky cup, Jesus must address our devotion.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… The English language is just not adequate sometimes. This discourse between Jesus and Peter is one of those times. It seems like the three questions Jesus asked Peter and the three answers Peter gives are all the same - “So you love me?”, “Yes I love you.” What is actually happening here is Jesus starting out by asking if Peter “agape loves” Him (or loves Him with a sacrificial and Godly love). Peter answers, yes I “phileo love” you (or yea I’ve got a brotherly love for you or it could even be said that he was saying “Yea I like you, your my buddy”). These are very different things that the English language doesn't convey well. Twice Jesus asks Peter if he “agape’s” Him and twice Peter answers “Yes, I phileo you”, but the third time Jesus asks “Peter do you even phileo me?”, it hurt Peter to be asked again. Jesus was asking for a devotion that would never waiver no matter the circumstances. Peter responds, “You know everything and you know that I phileo you”. Peter still couldn’t bring himself to promise this unconditional unfailing love to God, but God knew his heart and knew that from that moment on Peter would never waiver again. Yes, Peter would make mistakes and stumble, but no one would ever question his devotion to the Lord even unto death.
c. To repair a leaky cup, Jesus must address our service.
With these three questions and answers Jesus responds with three commands - feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, and feed my sheep. Jesus was commanding Peter not only to be a fisher of men, but to serve His church as a shepherd by teaching or feeding the young ones in the faith, or by shepherding and teaching those who are more mature. When we commit our lives to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are called into service inside His church. 1 Peter 4:10-11 tells us that when we are given spiritual gifts (which happens when we are saved) we must use them to serve His church. When we don’t, we are disobedient to God’s call on our lives and that can cause our cups to leak.
d. To repair a leaky cup, Jesus helps us understand the cost.
Jesus never beats around the bush when it comes to the cost of following Him. After He addresses Peter's sin, his devotion, and his service, Jesus tells him what he can expect from the life Peter is now committed to. Jesus doesn’t want any false expectations and the same goes for us. We see so many people falling away from the faith for this reason alone. They expected the Christian life to be something it was never supposed to be. The Christian life is a call to come and die. It’s not a promise that all your wildest dreams will come true. It’s a promise of hardship and heartache, but it’s a promise that it’s all worth it.
So I’ll ask, “Is your cup leaky?” Maybe you have some unconfessed sin that you need to deal with, maybe your devotion isn’t where it needs to be, or maybe you’re not serving the way God has called and equipped you to. Whatever the reason, Jesus is ready to repair the leak. It might not be fun, and it might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but one thing is for sure - It’s worth it!
