## Jesus: The Friend Of The Fallen

## John 21:1-19

Read: v1-19

If you come to our house, you will find that we have photos nearly everywhere. They are on the wall in our living room, down the hall, on dressers and tables in our bedrooms, and in numerous volumes of albums on the bookshelves. Now days, you can also find them on our computers and best of all…hung with a variety of refrigerator magnets in our kitchen. I have a feeling that we are not the only ones who do that!

But as we look through the many photographs of friends and family, there are a few that are just special. These stand out in our mind as our favorite pictures. Perhaps because they remind us of a particular time or place, but whatever the reason we all have favorites.

Well today, we come to one of my favorite pictures of Christ in the gospel of John. We have looked into the last twenty chapters and have found a twenty different aspects of the character and personality of Jesus Christ, but today we will look at the last chapter to find Jesus Christ: the Friend of the fallen. Two primary characters in this picture: Jesus the Friend of Peter the fallen.

Most of us are familiar with the background, but let me remind you of just a few things concerning Peter's failure.

I. Peter's Failure

A. The Place Of It - Peter was in the wrong place altogether.

1. In the beginning, Peter had made his boast that he would never forsake the Lord.

2. Yet, when the time came and Jesus was arrested, Peter, like most of the others, forsook Jesus and fled.

3. In Matthew's account we find that Peter decided to follow the Lord and see what happened, but that he followed Jesus "afar off."

4. When Peter found himself surrounded by the Lord's enemies, it became hard for him to stand by his earlier boast.

5. Now, he takes the low road and denies that he even know the Lord Jesus, v. 69-74.

6. Essentially, all backsliding begins in the same manner! Instead of staying as close to the Lord as we should, we begin to follow Him "afar off."

a. It may begin as simply missing a few services here and there.

b. Maybe we just stop praying like we should.

c. Maybe the Bible isn't opened and read as frequently as it ought to be.

d. Wherever and however it begins, it will eventually lead to the same place.

e. It will eventually lead us into a backslidden and cold condition!

f. Peter's problem was that he found himself in the wrong place!

g. Is that true of us today? Are we in the wrong place in relation to Christ…have we slipped away from Him?

B. The Pain Of It - When Peter denied the Lord that night, the Bible tells us that he went out and "wept bitterly."

1. Peter was miserable in his new condition.

2. He knew that he had wronged the Lord.

3. He knew that he had violated something very precious and sacred.

4. He was a miserable man!

5. So it is with every child of God who decides to walk away from the will of God.

6. Sin brings with it pain, suffering and misery.

Pr 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

7. Sin is a thief and a robber!

a. It will rob us of the peace of God and the sense of God's presence.

b. It will steal away His power and His joy in our lives.

c. It destroys innocence and effectiveness.

d. Consider the example of the prodigal son.

e. His primary thought when he found himself in the hog pen was of how much better off he had been back in the Father's house.

f. Sin will make a person miserable, and if it doesn't, then you probably aren't saved!

C. The Price Of It - After Peter sinned, he felt a definite loss of fellowship, peace and joy

1. He knew that things were different.

2. I am speaking primarily to those who claim to know Jesus as personal Savior this morning.

3. Christian, you need to know that when you decide to walk a different way than the Lord intends that your decision carries with it a very high price tag.

4. If you are saved, then you can expect to lose much when you walk away from the Lord.

5. You can never lose your salvation, but you will feel like you have.

6. You can most certainly lose your fellowship with the Lord.

7. There will be the loss of peace, joy and contentment.

8. There will be the loss of blessings and rewards.

9. Peter failed and he failed big!

II. Peter's Foolishness

A. Revealed by His Choices v3

1. After the resurrection, Peter must have assumed that his ministry was over.

2. He had denied the Lord and so he decided to return to the old way of life.

3. Peter had been called to forsake all those things and to follow Jesus.

4. The Lord's call had been a call to come and be a fisher of men!

5. People who are out of God's will always make the wrong choices!

6. They will base their decisions on fleshly motives rather than spiritual ones.

7. This is what Peter did and he was foolish because of it!

B. Revealed by His Companions.

1. When Peter went back to the old life, he took others with him.

2. We have all heard the saying that "Misery loves company".

3. When a person backslides, they usually aren't content to go it all alone and they will try to drag others down with them.

4. You see it in families all the time! One will get cold on the Lord and before long everyone in the family is out of God's will.

5. What a shame it is when we feel the need to drag others into the same foolish pit into which we have placed our self!

6. What's equally sad is the fact that there always seems to be those who are willing to follow the wayward child of God!

7. Why are things this way?

a. Because we like to surround ourselves with people who are on about the same level as we are.

b. If we are right with God, we want to be around others who are right with God.

c. If we are out of God's will, we feel rebuked by the lives of those who are living for the Lord and seek out those who are like we are.

d. Sadly, we will often try to reproduce our spiritual temperature in the lives of those who are close to us.

e. This is merely an effort to make self more comfortable.

C. Revealed by the Consequences.

1. Peter and his friends fished all the night long and did not catch a single fish!

2. Peter had been a professional fisherman, this must have been a devastating thing to have to deal with.

3. They toiled and labored all the night and produced nothing of value!

4. This is just the way it works for those who are out of God's will…

5. Jesus said, "Without me, ye can do nothing!"

We have seen Peter's Failure and Peter's Foolishness, but here is the best part…

III. Peter's Friend (Jesus) v4-17

A. He Found Him v4-8

1. After the sin, after the return to the old life, after a long night of failure, Jesus stepped onto the scene and in a few minutes turned everything around and made things like they ought to be.

2. What made the difference?

3. There was a change in Peter.

4. Notice three things that changed when Jesus came by:

a. Peter was forced to admit his failure. v5

1) This is the first step in coming back home.

2) There must be an acknowledgment of sin and wrong doing.

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

b. Peter started to obey Jesus again. v6

1) He stopped doing things Peter's way and started doing them the Lord's way.

2) This brought success where there had been only failure!

c. Peter has a renewed desire to be near the Lord v7

1) He wasn't willing to wait for a more convenient time but went to meet the Lord immediately.

2) He was ready to return…he realized his foolishness and was ready to come back to the Lord.

3) This morning, if you have wandered away from God, you need to know that you still have a Friend in Jesus.

4) He hasn't forgotten you, and He hasn't forsaken you.

5) He still loves you as much right now as He ever has. He just wants you to come to the place Peter came to.

6) He wants you to be willing to confess your sins, begin again to follow Him and just love Him like you ought to.

B. He Fed Him v9-14

1. When Peter, and the other Disciples, reached the shore, they found that Jesus had a fire prepared with fish already cooking.

2. They found there, with the Savior, all the things they needed after being out on that boat all night long.

3. They found food, warmth and fellowship.

4. They found a Savior who loved them and who had all the provisions in place that they needed.

5. Everything they lacked out on that boat, they found when they came to Jesus!

6. I am here to tell you this morning that you find all this and more if you will come to Jesus.

7. He loves you and desires to have close fellowship with you.

C. He Freed Him v15-17

1. In these verses, we find the Lord Jesus re-commissioning Simon Peter for service.

2. I am sure that Peter felt that his work and ministry was forever gone, but Jesus came to call him back into the fight!

3. This was a time of unique fellowship and restoration between Jesus and Simon Peter.

4. In these few verses, Jesus freed Peter from the bondage of his sin and failure and set him back about the business of serving the Lord.

5. The same will be true for every backslidden child of God who returns to the Father's house today.

6. Not only will He forgive your sins, but He will restore you to that place of service you once held with Him.

7. You still have a Friend in Jesus!

Jesus is the Friend of the fallen. If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, realize this morning that He is your Friend. He gave His life for you on Calvary. His desire is that you might come to Him by faith and be saved. If you are a Christian, but you know that you have drifted away from the Lord. May I invite you to come home today? Come back the Lord right now. Whatever your need may be this morning, I invite you to come.