SEP 30 2018 | Stuff Jesus Said S1E9 | Come And Have Breakfast

Sea Change Church · Stuff Jesus Said · "Come And Have Breakfast" Pastor Adam Stadtmiller · September 30, 2018
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Hi, I'm Kelly Coward. I'm one of the leaders at Surf Church. So I'm going to be reading the message today and it comes from John 21 verses 1 through 12. After these things, Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and he manifested himself in this way. Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing. They said to him, we will also come with you. They went out and got into the boat and at night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, children, you do not have any fish, do you? They answered him, no. And he said to them, cast the net on the right hand side of the boat and you will catch or you will find a catch.

So they cast and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore, the disciple who Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on for he was stripped for work and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat for they were not far from the land, but about 100 yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

So when they got out onto the land, they saw charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it and bread. Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to the land full of large fish, 153. And although there were so many fish, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. None of the disciples ventured to question him, who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. The word of the Lord. Another surf churcher there. Awesome. Hey, good to have you all this morning. Fall in La Jolla is a pretty special thing. It's good to be back and feel the cool air blowing in. We're not all fanning ourselves as much as we were.

It was actually 86 degrees in France. That was warm when we were there. I'm actually, I think the first person to ever go to France and lose 11 pounds. I lost 11 pounds on that. I know, a lot of walking, a lot of surfing. I mean, board meetings is what I meant to say. Lots of board meetings. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I love it. I always think about Peter in the water. Peter's days of walking on the water are so far behind him.

He's such a failure at this point. He's a failure. Just like me and maybe like you. Big moments of glory. Big moments of crash and burn. And I think about him defying the odds. And Peter definitely defies the odds. He actually did pretty much close. I won't say it's exactly the same. But very similar to what Judas did. Betrayed Jesus. Not for money. Not perhaps as diabolical. Not for the same reasons. But he denied Jesus.

And not only that. He called curses down upon himself. Ultimate failure of the faith. And both of them stood at a crossroads. And one ended up not knowing where to go. And they went back to what they knew best. That was Judas. He went back to the ruling council. He went back to what he was about power. He was about religiosity. He was about the Jewish government. And restoring order. When Jesus didn't prove to be the king that he wanted.

He went back to what he knew best. And they said basically what do we have to do with you? What is that our problem of yours? And he threw the money back. And then went and as the scripture says. Either was killed while he was driving or died. Or killed himself from that crossroads. Peter at an equally desperate crossroads. Defied the odds. And made it back to Jesus. He made it back home. And one of the two. And they're both phenomenal characters in the Bible.

My heart really goes out to Judas. Obviously there's some scriptures. And you can easily demonize him. But I think all of us have a Judas in us. I think there's not a sin any of us couldn't commit. And when we start thinking that there is. Then we start becoming I think a little self-righteous. Personally. We see David. You never would think David would murder somebody. Take their wife. I mean he's just a man of God.

And look what he does. And so keeping our sin in full view. While keeping the cross is key. And something about Peter. He knew how to get home. And when he had the opportunity to get home. He jumped into the water. And swam to Jesus. I don't know how far the swim was. They didn't know it was Jesus at first. And then Peter the beloved recognized who he was. But as soon as Peter had an opportunity. He jumped in the water.

And he swam to Jesus. And I've always thought about. This idea of swimming in the Galilee. And I think I would rather swim like Peter. Than walk on the water like Peter. I think the moment of him swimming back to Jesus. Is so much more powerful. So much more authentic. So much more real. Than walking on water. And I loved the position. As he swam. And I always wonder. What was on his mind. In that six minutes it took to get to shore.

Or whatever it is. And so when we were at the conference. As I was preparing this message. For the final message. In the stuff Jesus said. We started with the Father's love. And then we went to the Our Father prayer. And it's been a really personally good series for me. Because I love when it. When a series gains territory in my heart. My own personal heart. And it tended to do that. And Peter got to the place where he defied the odds.

And when we were at the conference. There was this 20 something gal. Who was doing the emceeing. And she said something just off the cuff. But it's probably the most powerful thing I got from the conference. And it's funny how God will speak to you in these little moments. And she said. She was a classic Aussie. Really awkward in the way that she talked. She's like. I might. She talked like this. And so she said. I was walking to the conference.

I won't do the inference. But I do a pretty good Austrian accent. I was walking to the conference mate. And I was like. And she said. I was looking. And I saw the most beautiful little white flower. Sticking out of a crack in the sidewalk. And she said. She stopped. And she thought to myself. Way to go you little champi. That means champion. Way to go you little champi. You're defying the odds. And I thought. A flower.

In a crack in a sidewalk. If you were in tune with God. You see flowers in cracks in the sidewalk. And instead of just seeing a flower in a sidewalk. You think. Wow. You defied the odds. You know how hard it is. I try to be a gardener. I'm not very good. I try. And I will care. And tend for things. And they will just die. I don't know if any of you do that ritual. To the gardening place. In spring. Where you buy all the plants.

And then you set them there. But then you never get around to planting them. And then they all die in the yard. In their pots. That's me. This. It would have been way more to defy the odds. If one of those plants can survive. As opposed to this little one. That was in the crack. But I thought. You know what? And that just touched me. I thought. You know what? I am. Thanks to Jesus. Jesus. I'm a flower in the crack of a sidewalk.

And defied the odds. And I don't know about you. But maybe you've defied the odds more than once. And maybe there's another challenge right now in your life. That doesn't defy the odds of Jesus. Because when somebody asked me once. Well. What do you think the odds are. That you're going to get the job at La Jolla Christian Fellowship. I said. Zero percent or a hundred percent. That's all there is for me. You know. It's like zero or a hundred with Jesus.

I'm either going to get it. Or I'm not going to get it. You know. There's no like 52 percent with Jesus. I don't think. For me. I think he has a plan. And there's some things. And I thought. I was thinking. Is this the right message? So I actually pivoted the message on the airplane on the way home. And then I was like. Lord. I just need a little confirmation that this is the right thing. And I walked to get a water.

Maybe some of you just saw me walk out. And if you can put that picture up. I walked out to get a water. And right here. On this little thing. Is that little plant right there. And if you walk out today. You're going to see it. And I stopped. You just saw me walk out two minutes ago. And thank you Neva. Fantastic job getting that up on the screen. Last minute. Leave it up there if you would for a second. And I thought.

That's defying the odds. Go look at it. It's on a wall. It's like. Where's the dirt? You know what I'm saying? How did that get there? I love God. It's such a cool little thing. And I just want to say. That this whole message. The whole point of this message. Is maybe that's you. Maybe your marriage needs to defy the odds. Maybe your addiction problem. Needs to defy the odds. And. Somebody said to me. Well there's no odds with God.

And I would agree that. But there are odds of the world. And there are things. And I spoke to somebody before the service. And they said. I went. Just got back from a trip with my husband. And. We had the most phenomenal time. And we were separated for 30 years. And I continued to pray. And we got back together. And now we're back together. After 30 years. And I thought. Defying the odds. Peter defied the odds. He was at a moment.

Where his faith. Everything he thought. Was shipwrecked. Imagine being in his place. Put yourself in the story. Like I regularly say. You could be in the Bible. The Bible is just ordinary people. And we want to put ourselves in the story. And say that that could be us. But something's happened. And then all of a sudden. Peter makes it to Jesus. And not only makes it to Jesus. But one of the reasons. That you're sitting here.

Is because he defied the odds. With Jesus. And so that's what today. Is about. Let's get into the scripture. The first verse here. That we're looking at. Says. After these things. Jesus manifested himself. After what things? This is after the cross. This is after that big weekend. This is after them seeing Christ die. This is after Gethsemane. This is after Jesus walked with him for three years. This is after everything you've ever read about.

After everything. And things are not good. Jesus is gone. He's in the tomb. After these things. And so for your life. Maybe it hasn't turned out the way you wanted it. The American dream. Or whatever dream. Or whatever goals you have. Or you've had a cancer diagnosis. And so many people in this church. Have defied the odds. In cancer diagnosis. Many. We've seen it. It's just phenomenal. What we've seen. But whatever the after these things are.

It says something that's so powerful. Jesus manifested himself. He manifested himself. And he made himself known. And I love that it uses the word. Again. Because Jesus has been manifesting himself. Over and over. But what is so akin. To human nature. Is no matter how many times Jesus manifests himself. The next time we need him to manifest himself. Or prove himself. Again. It doesn't matter how many times Jesus proves himself.

Although we do get more mature. Although we do get a little further on. He allows us to be tested. And we go to that next place. Where he needs to manifest himself again. And let me say. As you'll see in the first sentence. Under the big idea. That I wanted to say. And this was the original big idea. Which is now the secondary big idea. Because the first one has to do with defying the odds. Which came on the plane last night.

But the second big idea. Is Jesus wants to prove himself to you. Within the context of faith. When you get to heaven. There will be no more need for faith. We talked about that earlier in the series. There will be no faith in heaven. It's something that will pass away. That's why the greatest of these is love. Because faith and hope will not last forever. Because they're not needed in heaven. But love will be in heaven.

But he will need to prove himself. But he wants us to continue on in faith. And let me say. That if Jesus came to you in a vision last night. And stood before you. And let you touch his wounds. And said to you. Here I am. I will say. That within. Probably less than six months. You will be asking yourself. Did that really happen? No matter how much Jesus proves himself. He will continue to prove himself. Because we are built.

To have to live according to faith. Because that's what he wants. Until he is manifested. In his presence. Before us. There will be no need for faith. Because we are constantly touching him. But until then. It will be an ebb and flow. Of victory. And defeat. Of victory. And defeat. Or perhaps. Just some sustenance for a while. Just getting your. Some of you just want to get your head above water. For a while. Peter got his head above water.

And he proved himself. Again. And so. Jesus has a time to manifest himself. And I really believe. That when I saw that little thing out there this morning. After all the context he had given me. For the last four days. Jesus proved himself again to me. And every day. Jesus in little ways. Proves himself. When I had a seven year prayer. Answered last. Wednesday. Jesus proved himself again to me. But the problem with me.

Is he's going to have to do it. Over. And over again. Because faith. Seems to be something. That I have to continually. Renew. Until we stand. Before him. Proving Jesus. And it says. In verse one. After these things. In the notes. Jesus. Says. After these things. Jesus manifests in himself. What are the things in your life? I want to make this real to you. I want you to be able to take this home. I want to put it at your doorstep.

On your threshold. After all the decisions that you've made. The bad things that you've done. We live in a society. It seems. Where things catch up to you these days. Don't they? More so than they used to. And let me say to you. Maybe you have done some things. I mean. I was running around a coke addict. For multiple years. In my young youth. Right? It is what it is. I wasn't an altar boy. After these things. Jesus manifested himself.

So whatever you've done. After these things. We said. After what things. And it means to prove himself. And are you allowing Jesus to prove yourself? And do you see Jesus when he proves himself? That's a key point. When Jesus first manifested himself. It said that the disciples did not know who he was. And the reason I believe they didn't know who he was. It wasn't that he was hiding himself. Although there are times.

Like on the road to Emmaus. Where he was being hidden. I believe that they had stepped out of where they were supposed to be. Where he had called them to be. To be fishers of men. And they had gone back to what they knew best. And Peter had led the way. We'll talk about that in a moment. When the chips are down. Most of us go back to what we know best. Rather than what is best. Let me say that again. When the chips are down.

Most of us go back to what we know best. Rather than what is best. We go back to our bottle. We go back to our gossip. We go back to our controlling relationships. We go back to whatever brings us comfort. Rather than knowing what is best. And Peter goes back to what he knows best. He's given up. He's given up. He has failed Jesus more than Jesus has failed him. But he probably thought that Jesus had failed him too. Because he was ready for a war.

We know that he brought a sword. And he cut off Malchus' servant's ear. We knew that he was ready. And so the Jesus that Jesus proved to be. Is not the Jesus that Peter was looking for. And maybe Jesus hasn't been who you want him to be. We're really good at being the Michelangelo of Jesus. We can craft and create a beautiful statue of who we think Jesus is. And it's a masterpiece in our mind. But God has an amazing way at saying that's not who I am.

And he has no problem with coming in and saying please can I just have the carving tools for a minute. And we're going to use this situation in your life to carve away. Anyway, somebody said, I'm 49 now. And somebody said on the trip, how was your 40s? And I said it was the most blessed and most difficult decade of my life. And then I said, actually my 30s was also the most blessed and difficult. And then I went back and I thought, you know my 20s were actually.

And I thought back and I realized every decade has been the most blessed. Moments of walking on water and moments of needing to be in that deep sea swimming to Jesus. And all the way God has been faithful through it all. Defying the odds. And some of you should not be sitting here. Some of you should be dead. You should have drank yourself to death. You should have snorted yourself to death. You could have died of some disease because of your promiscuity or whatever it is.

You should not be here today. You're married. You should not be sitting by your partner. Your kids should not be in relationship with you. And some of you still don't have those results yet. And what I want to say is maybe you're the flower in the sidewalk. That God wants you, like we see with Peter here, to invite him into the equation and do something as simple as throwing your nets on the other side of the boat. Which is actually ridiculous, right?

Like, I love the ridiculousness of Jesus. Well, let's just put some mud in a guy's eyes. It's just, you know, and then he can see. Do you realize he just does that stuff? Like, it's just because it's ridiculous. Like, I can do it any way I want. I can watch behind my back here a little bit. I'm going to throw like a dandelion at you. Whatever he wants, he's going to get the result he wants. Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.

Whatever. Jesus says some ridiculous stuff. And they didn't recognize who he was. Because I think that they weren't looking for him. They were discouraged. And they allowed their faith to be shipwrecked. And they went back to what they knew best. And it's so easy to miss Jesus along the way. Maybe some of you were like, when I was in my drinking, when I was in my drug use, I look back now. I didn't notice it along the way.

But I see so many times where Jesus showed up now. I'm like, whoa. I recognize him from afar. But I didn't recognize him in the moment. And so what does it look like to recognize him in the moment? And maybe we need to open our eyes and see Jesus. Peter goes back to what he knows best. I'm going back out to fish in verse 3. It says, and then he does something that's very easy to do. He took other people with him. Very few of us fail alone.

Very few. Most of us take people with us. And the first time that I was introduced to marijuana, it was because somebody introduced me to it. And I failed with them. They were 16. I was, I think, 12. Something like that. I don't remember what I was. Early. Very few of us fail alone. And you'll see that with pastors as well when there's a failure of leadership. The higher you move up on the ranks, the larger your failure and the more people you take with you.

But perhaps you've taken your family with you. You see that there is collateral damage. And I love the idea that there's also collateral righteousness. You never know how much territory you will gain by taking one inch of spiritual territory in your heart for Jesus. You give Jesus an inch and he might give you an eternity. I wonder how many revivals were missed by three prayers. I don't want to think in a ways of guilt, but we see in the Bible that there is a point where God says, okay, enough people have cried out to me.

I will make a difference. Enough people have tried to live holy. I will make a difference. And so not in a form of guilt, but just to be as a challenge. What would a decision in the right way, how much territory would you reap? And I realized after just one little decision, and it wasn't a huge thing. It was just, we were arguing about it. We're having a conversation. And after one decision, my heart opened up. All of a sudden I was, I was just more open to other things of righteousness.

Worship became more clear. The Bible got a little clearer. Not that it wasn't clear, but it got more clear. Remember, as I was beginning, as I gave God that one inch of territory. And all of a sudden he says, you gave me an inch, I'm going to give you a mile. Are you willing to do that? And Peter had gone back to it. Matthew says, I'm going out to fish. And they said, we will go with you. And they failed with him, back to what they knew.

Matthew 4, 19 says, he said to them, follow me. I will make you what? Fishers of men. He had given them a clear calling. He had told them what to do. So it says in the notes, we rarely fell alone. And how easy it is to return to what we know best as opposed to what is best. I said earlier that they failed to see Jesus in their midst. In verse 4, it proves that. But when the day was now breaking. And that's so beautiful.

So poetic. The Bible is so beautiful. When you look at the 66 books of the Bible, I mean, it's just defying the odds how it all fits together. I mean, anybody who doubts the Bible hasn't, I don't think, studied it enough. Or looks at it as literary, you know, and from a literary perspective. And we see this here. But now when the day was breaking. And perhaps your dawn is just around the corner. You know, perhaps it will be a quick dawn.

What I learned is when you're in higher, you know, latitudes, it takes longer for the sun to come up. Does that make sense? And we see God's truth in nature. Closer you are to the equator, the quicker the sun comes up. As you get closer to the poles, it takes longer. And so when we were in France, it was 11, 30, 12 at night. But there was still a hue of the sun. Oh, we went out to look. And there was a beautiful full harvest moon.

And I looked. And Joe and I were there. And we said, man, you can still see the hue of the sun. The setting was still there. Or when the sun began to come up, it would take forever for the sun to come up. You know how you hear you watch the sun set? And it's like just a few minutes. I was walking up. And I really wanted to get back to eat because I was hungry. And I thought, I don't want to miss the sunset. And so I stand there.

I'm like five minutes. And it's like setting. It's on the horizon. And then it's like 10 minutes. The sun's still setting. And you know when it sets here, it gets like really small. And it just disappears. It didn't do that there. Like it stayed wide. And the whole thing set wide. I don't know if you've ever seen that. But it was the weirdest thing. But it took forever. And what I'm saying to you, this point is, is that sometimes the sun to break is going to take longer for some of your story.

Because God knows what he's doing. And others of you are going to have that moment. And it'll change. There'll be moments in your life. But maybe the breaking of the sun is just around the corner. And don't lose hope. And it is so easy to shipwreck our faith. And you look at Judas. And you look at Peter. And they were at a crossroads. And maybe you're at a crossroads. And maybe you're one decision away from the sunrise.

Maybe you're one decision away for a full net full of fish that all the peoples will see in a moment. Seven of them couldn't bring on shore. But Peter can do it by himself after he meets with Jesus on the shore. That is defying the odds. That is going big. As the kids would say, that is how you send it. That was one of our things. Don't amend it. Send it. All right. So some of you guys aren't in that teenage social media.

But I am. I'm going to be part of that. Verse 5. Jesus said to them, children. I love that. Go back to the beginning of this series. You're going to talk about, I love being a child of God. I want to be a man. A grown man. I want to make grown man decisions. But I love being a child of God. And I want to operate as a child before I want to operate as an adult. If you understand. In my heart. If that makes sense. I don't want to be a post-adolescent 49-year-old.

Which our culture is very good at producing. It's like our culture is a machine for producing like 50-year-old children. I'm kidding. Look around. Not here, obviously. Look right next to you. Delayed adolescence. It's a different sermon. Jesus said, children. You do not have any fish, do you? Great question, Jesus. They answered no. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat. And you will find a catch.

So they cast it. They're fishermen. You're pro-fishermen. It's like the waves are flat. We're out there. And it's been flat for five hours. There's not one wave has come in. And Jesus says, go to that sandbar. I'm like, are you stupid? There's no waves, bro. And I paddle over there and like a 10-foot backing set comes in. That's what happened. But I love their response. They're so broke. So tired. They didn't even know it was Jesus yet.

And they made a movement of faith. They followed in obedience while the sun was still breaking. Before they knew it was Jesus. And this is the if in their life. And maybe if you will just try something a little bit different that almost looks the same. But there's a big difference. And you know the difference between obedience and almost obedience. And that's the difference between this side of the boat and that side of the boat.

Three weeks ago we talked about the blessing of obedience. And I got hungry for it. I thought I want the blessing of complete obedience. Not that I can always live it out. So they throw it to the other side. And they cast it. And when they did they were not able to haul it in. Because the number, the great number of fish. Wow. This is what happens. It says in the notes. When eternity is brought into the equation. And as I've said many times.

Faith does not pencil out. It doesn't pencil out. I'm not saying you're not wise. I'm not saying we don't make wise decisions. And do the best that we can. But faith does not pencil out. Because life is unknown. And there is the froth and bubble of all the challenges that come up in life. And all the different things that happen. And all of a sudden you're back in faith territory. Like when you show up to the airport.

And you have so much budget. And they say there's going to be surf racks for your van. And the small print it says we're not sure we can provide those every time. And then you have to rent another car. And take two cars. And faith didn't pencil out. Now I'm going to have to make it pencil out with my wallet. So that's good. But you know what I'm saying. Faith doesn't always pencil out. Therefore the disciples whom Jesus loved.

And I love this. The disciple who knew he was most loved. Is the one that recognized him first. Man somebody was talking to me. How do I get over this fear? How do I get over this fear? And I've said it. I just pretty much preach the same sermon every week. If you haven't noticed. And I said. If you have a fear problem. You don't have a fear problem. You have a love problem. Because perfect love casts out all fear. And knowing that your love.

Really opens your eyes and your ears and your heart to seeing Jesus. The more you know your love. The quicker you'll see him. Coming in for a landing now. Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved. Said to Peter. It is the Lord. And when Simon Peter heard it was the Lord. He put his outer garment on. For he was stripped for work. And threw himself. Into the sea. You ever thrown yourself into the sea? I did. I remember I was 19.

I don't want to live anymore. I had everything I wanted. But I didn't want it when I got it. I threw myself in the sea. Landed up at Point Loma Nazarene. And they say it's a Christian bubble. I wouldn't have survived without that Christian bubble. Didn't leave campus for like six months. Unless I went to my disciple or to church or my grandma's house to do my laundry. That was it. That was my triangle. That was the Bermuda triangle of my life for six months to get sober.

Threw myself into the sea. And it was like the oxygen was back into the room. I wanted to follow Jesus so bad. And there are so many people outside of this building. As we talked about. And for this whole conference was about reaching people. Granted they were surfers and beach people it was about. But there are so many people that just want to get into a room filled with oxygen. They're just orbiting in space in a vacuum with no oxygen.

And you have the keys to life. Throw yourself into the sea. Verse 11. Simon Peter went up after meeting with Jesus. And I had to take that part out. But you can read it alone on your own. He went and he met with Jesus. And then Simon Peter went out and drew the net to land full of large fish. A hundred and fifty three. Although there were so many the net did not break. Not only did the net not break. But he was able to do what seven men couldn't do.

Seven fold. After just having breakfast with Jesus. How simple. Jesus didn't do an incantation. Jesus didn't do some craziness with him. He just said. Come have breakfast with me. How simple. You know Jesus sometimes just wants to have breakfast with you. You think he wants you to build him a tower and a sanctuary. And do something major. And build some grand. Does God want grand big things? Does God. The owner of everything want more from you?

No. He wants breakfast. He wants to sup with you. Just show up to breakfast. And see what happens. And tear down the sanctuaries you're building. And the altars you're building to God. And all this crud. That you're building for God. And go back to just having breakfast. Some of you just need to wake up in the morning and have breakfast with Jesus. And quit trying to do all these little dances to make him happy. Because he already loves you.

And then you're going to get out and all of a sudden things are going to get easier. Nets aren't going to break. And you're going to bring in sevenfold. After connecting with Jesus on the shore. Peter came to do by himself. What seven other disciples could not. So define the odds. That's the question. Are you the flower in the sidewalk? Are you the one that wants to throw yourself into the ocean? Are you at a crossroads?

Or do you know someone who is? And maybe you are the one that doesn't take them away from Jesus. But brings them to Jesus. This is the church that we are going to be. Amen. Amen.