Drink Deep- From Hopeless to Purpose Driven!

Luke 22: 54-62, John 21

Peter was sure it's all over. He had told the Lord he will never deny Him, but right at the final moments of Jesus' life, he had deny he knew Jesus 3 times. Peter wasn't even there at the Crucifixion. Bitter, utterly feeling a failure, convinced he had let Jesus down, he went back to being a fisherman.

I can imagine Peter replaying the images again and again in his mind. Right till the Last Supper, Jesus's eyes that always looked as though He could see through him; Jesus's voice that always spoke with such truth, love and authority kept ringing in Peter's mind. Yet, every image, every memory of Jesus led Peter to remember what he did, when he said for the last time "I don't know him."

It was painful. Peter was sure he would never be forgiven. Instead of being deep in the hope of the resurrection of the Lord, he was deep in the shame of failure.

Hopelessness, results in the following:

1. Resignation - we abandon ourselves to defeat.
2. Exalts our sin over the Cross of Calvary - we see what we have done more powerful than the work of the Jesus on the cross.
3. Loss of Purpose - we lose our vision, our destiny is clouded by the events of the past.

Peter responded and succumbed to Hopelessness. But what was Jesus's response to Peter's Hopelessness?

Jesus:

1. Intervened in Peter's life - Peter had given up hope, and went back to his old ways. Jesus had not, and sought after Peter, going to meet him where he was, at the Sea.
2. Revealed Himself to Peter after the Resurrection - Jesus appeared to the disciples to show them He was more powerful than everything that happened at the cross.
3. Restore and Charge Peter for the Gospel Mission - Jesus charged Peter to "Tend His Sheep".

Can you see Jesus standing next to Peter, saying "It's not over, Peter." And it's not over for you, either. You may have failed God miserably. For years, you may have lived your life in a way that denied you belonged to Jesus. As a result, you think God has given up on you. That is a lie! No matter what has happened, don't interpret it in a manner that God has abandoned you. God has NEVER changed His mind about you.

Your past doesn't determine your future - but how you respond to your past does. Do you see Jesus? He is standing at the Sea/ shores of your life. He hasn't left. Allow the Holy Spirit to breathe in you again, a fresh vision for your future. Let Him re-establish your worth and your value.

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

His holy word says that regardless of what anyone has done to us, or what we have done, we are His glory, His prized possession, His ultimate satisfaction. Drink Deep! Move from hopelessness to being Purpose Driven!