Unshakeable Grace Part 2 | Dave Crosby

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

Go ahead and grab a seat. So good to see all of you here today. Welcome once again to Community Church. My name is Dave. If we haven’t had the chance to meet personally, I look forward to maybe after our service today out in the lobby we can say “Hi” and get to know one another. But it’s so good to see all the faithful here in God’s house today. We’re continuing in our new series that we’re calling Unshakeable. And I got to tell you about a friend of mine.

He’s kind of this crazy guy, and he’s just a little out there. And one of the things I find the most interesting about him, and it makes him so different than me, is that this guy loves horror movies. Does anybody else love horror movies? I am not a horror movie kind of guy. Some of you you’re willing to admit it in Church, but it’s not me. I mean, my life is scary enough. This world is scary enough. I don’t need to spend my hard-earned money for you to scare me, all right? I mean, make me laugh, make me cry. Give me a good romcom, a good adventure, a good thriller, a good mystery like I am all in. But I don’t want to see a horror film. I just saw this ad for this newest horror film. It’s called Shook. I don’t know if you guys saw it or not. If you did, don’t tell me about it. I want to sleep at night. Alright. 

But yes, called Shook. And I think that’s a really good description of where our world is right now. This world that we’re living in right now is Shook. I mean, a global pandemic that just doesn’t seem to ever want to go away. It’s like a roller coaster. It’s up and down. We’ve got war going on in Europe. Who knows what’s going to happen there. You’ve got financial uncertainty, and rising inflation. You see all that’s going on in our culture. I just think that word ‘Shook’ is a really good description of the days that we’re living in.

And that’s why I love the lyrics to this great song that was written so long ago. It goes like this. Truly, my soul, it finds rest in God. My Salvation comes from Him. Truly, he is my rock and my Salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. And I think what this Shook World needs to know today is that there is a rock, there is a Salvation, there is a firm foundation that cannot be shaken. And his name is Jesus. 

This Shook world needs to know that there are some unshakable things in this world. And that’s why we are calling this new series Unshakable. And what we’re doing together is we’re studying this little book in the New Testament written by a guy named Peter. It’s called First Peter. Peter was not actually his given name. His given name was Simon. But when he met Jesus, Jesus gave him a nickname. Jesus loved to give people nicknames because when you meet Jesus, oftentimes, he changes you. He changes your identity. And when Jesus met this guy named Simon, he said, you know, from now on, I’m going to call you Peter. And the Greek, in which the New Testament was originally written in, the word Peter is Petros, which means rock. So before there was ever Dwayne Johnson, there was a Petros, Peter the Rock. He was a commercial fisherman. I mean, when you think of Peter, just think of, like, have you ever watched the show Deadliest Catch? Yeah, that was Peter. Just a tough guy, callous, hands full-on beard, just rugged, outdoor face kind of guy. He was just super ripped and rugged. And the whole thing, he was loud, he was impulsive. He was just full of energy. He was opinionated. He was the first guy to speak up and just shared his thoughts. In fact, this one time, Jesus was with his disciples, and he’s like, “Guys, there’s a lot of people out there saying things about me and who they think I am. Who do you say I am?” And Peter is just being classic Peter. Oftentimes he would just shoot off his mouth before he’d load his brain. Have you ever known somebody like that? That was Peter. And he just stands up, and he says, “I’ll tell you who you are, Jesus.” He doesn’t take like an opinion poll. He doesn’t do a focus group. He just says, “Jesus, I’ll tell you who you are. You are the long-awaited promised one. You are the Messiah. You are the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus.” He just kind of looks at Peter and smiles, way to go, Rocky. Proud of you. You’re going to be super blessed because you said that you didn’t just come up with that on your own. Like that was revealed to you by the Holy Spirit. And upon that rock-solid foundation, confessional truth. I’m going to build my Church, and the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it, Peter. 

Some of you might even know his story. He was in Iraq. He was strong. He was committed. He was loyal. He was courageous. He was tough. He was bold. He was a man of action. He was a visionary. He was a dreamer. Some of you know his story. After the Last Supper, Judas, one of the twelve, gets up and he leaves so that he can go and betray Jesus and sell them out for 30 pieces of silver. And so then Jesus takes his remaining eleven disciples to the Foothill of the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane to pray together. And he looks at his other eleven Disciples, and he says, “You’re all going to fall away on account of what’s about to happen to me.”

And then Peter and his typical bold and opinionated, abrasive, sometimes overconfident self. He says, “Well, hold on a minute, Jesus, I’m not going to fold like a lawn chair on you. These other guys, they might because they’re weak, but I’m strong. I’m like a rock. You gave me that nickname, and they all might abandon you, but not this guy. I got your back. I’ll take a bullet for you. I will die for you, Jesus.” And Jesus just looks at Peter, and he says, “You know what you’re going to do tonight, Peter? Before the sun even comes up, you’re going to have the opportunity to stand up for me. But instead, you’re going to deny three times that you even know me before the Rooster Crows.”

“I got your back, Jesus. I’ll jump on a grenade for you. Nobody’s going to touch you. I’m here. I will not leave you. I will not abandon you. I’ll take a bullet for you, Jesus.” You know, friend, I think the toughest failures to own in life are the ones that we boldly declare that will never happen to us. Isn’t that true? That’s why this verse in one Corinthians, chapter ten, is a real encouragement. It’s a great reminder to me. It says, don’t be so naive and self confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. He says, If you think you could never fall in life, that you could never really blow it, that you could never make a huge mistake. The Bible is just telling us, man, you are so naive to think like that. To think that you would never cheat on your spouse, to think that you would never do a shady business deal. To think that you’d never lie to your parents, to cover up your tracks. To think that you’d never turn your back on your friend. To think that you would never take a spiritual nose dive. To think you’d never let that thing become an addiction in your life. You’re just being naive. 

The truth is you’re overconfident. And when you think that way, you’re naive. And the reality is, because of your prideful, self-confidence, you’re actually in greater danger than the person who thinks I could do all of those things at any given moment. That’s what makes the Titanic one of the most famous failures in history. These visionaries, these engineers, these architects that designed and built this luxury liner, they believed that she was unsinkable. I mean, she had a 26,000-ton haul alone that they believed to be unsinkable and impenetrable.

When the day that they left for the Port on that fateful journey, there was a passenger named Mrs. Albert Caldwell. And she asked one of the deckhands, the crew members, Is this ship really unsinkable? And that deckhand looked back at her and said, Lady God himself couldn’t sync this ship, so no one could imagine the horror when this unsinkable ship plunged into the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean at 02:20 A.m. On April 15, 1912, taking 1500 passengers and crew members with it. And you know, the most staggering failures in life are the ones that you would never, ever think could ever happen to the unsinkable you. And when they do, you’re left to wonder, could I ever resurface again?

See, that’s where we find Peter, just days after Jesus’ crucifixion and his death. You can read about it in John, chapter 21, later this afternoon. But we find him in a boat, not a luxury liner, but a common fishing boat out on the Sea of Tiberius. The boat itself was stable, but the guy in it wasn’t. He was sinking in a sea of regret. And he was probably replaying this moment over and over again in his head, just asking himself, why in the world did I ever do such a thing? Some of you might remember what he did as they were there in the garden. And he says, I’ll die for you. It was about 09:00 that evening that Judas shows up with the Roman soldiers, and they began to take Jesus into custody. As they’re putting on his chains, Peter thinks, this is what Jesus was talking about. This is my moment. He said I would shrink back and abandon him, but no, I’m bold and courageous. I got this. 

So he reaches for one of the Roman soldier’s swords, and he takes it out, and he swings it, trying to take the soldier’s head off. And he misses, and he hits him, boom, right in the ear. He was a fisherman, not a soldier. And all chaos breaks out, and Jesus calms them all down. This guy is, like, bleeding profusely and screaming in pain. And Jesus, in that moment, says, “Peter, put the sword away. That’s not what we’re about.” And he places his hand on the man’s ear, and he heals it just like that.

They cuffed Jesus, and they began to take him over to Caiaphas’ house to go on trial. And the Bible says that Peter followed Jesus at some distance. And when he gets to Caiaphas’ house, he sits down to warm himself by the fire in Caiaphas’ courtyard, and he’s trying to kind of just lay low. He’s probably got his hoodie up. He doesn’t want anybody to recognize him, but they do. One guy almost instantly says, “Hey, wait, aren’t you one of those followers of Jesus? Like, I’m sure of it.” He’s like, “No, man, I know what you’re talking about. I don’t know the guy.”

And then it happens again. The other guy says, “No, I’m sure of it. I saw you with him yesterday. You’re definitely one of the followers of Jesus.” Now Peter is getting a little angry. He’s like, “Look, dude, I just told you, I don’t know the guy. Leave me alone.” And then it happens a third time. “So, no, wait, you’re definitely one of his followers. I can tell by how you’re dressed, how you trim your beard, and by your accent. You’re definitely from Galilee. Yeah, for sure. You’re a follower of Jesus.” And now Peter loses it. He starts cursing and throwing just a fit. And he said, “I told you guys I don’t know the man.” And as he says that, I love how Luke captures this moment. You should read it as he says. It the third time. And then instantly, the Rooster Crows and remembers what Jesus had told him that he would do. At that moment, they’re bringing Jesus out of Caiaphas’ house, and through the smoke coming off the fire, Luke reminds us that Peter, as soon as those words leave his lips, he looks up and locks eyes with his friend Jesus. He hangs his head. 

He realizes what he had done, who he had become, and he runs away, piles up in a pile of shame and regret, and just cries his eyes out. What have I done? Who have I become? I’m no longer this proud Mr. Macho, overconfident loyal. I’ll never leave you. I’ll take a bullet for you. I’ll die for you. I’m not even remotely close to being that kind of friend. And so I’m just guessing every time that Peter closes his eyes, he just replaces the scene over and over again on the screen of his mind. If only I could go and get a second chance and have a do-over, only I could go back in time. So I’m guessing that Peter is just overwhelmed by this great, deep sense of regret. We know that as you continue to read the story, Peter is once again out on a boat, and he’s floating there in that water of regret, embarrassment, shame. He’s sinking fast, almost at rock bottom. Have you ever been there? I know I have. I bet if you’ve lived not even too long in life, we’ve all been.

At that moment, in that time where we’re floating in a boat called Failure in Life. Some of you might even be in that situation right now. You feel sunk, defeated, discouraged, embarrassed, ashamed. You’re wondering, will I ever be able to resurface again? You think, Man, I just ruined everything. I’ve just destroyed my relationship with my spouse. My kids may never talk to me again. I just lost all of our money when I gambled it away. I’ve ruined my career. No one will ever trust me again. My life is over. My Ministry is over. I’ve betrayed my best friend. I’ve broken God’s heart. Is there a way to rise above this embarrassment and shame and guilt and regret and remorse? And there’s this guy up there on that stage that says, yeah, there’s hope for everyone. But what I really need to know today is their hope for me. And according to this guy Peter, his story, his answer is a resounding yes, there is hope for you.

I want you to see what Peter writes. Let’s look at it. One Peter, chapter one, verses three and four. Listen to the words of Peter. Praise be to the God and father of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, and fade. This guy that was that rock bottom that knew he blew it beyond his wildest dreams, his biggest nightmare, more like. And he’s thinking, could I ever live again? And now, all of a sudden, he’s using words because of Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross and the empty tomb that he left behind. Now he’s using words like mercy and new birth and living hope and resurrection and inheritance that’s being kept for you in heaven that can never spoil or fade. And Peter is just guys. He’s like saying, look, believe me, I live this. I know what I am talking about. In fact, he goes on, look what he says next. He goes on and he says, “for you are a chosen people, a Royal priest, a Holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God. For he’s called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” I mean, just listen to the language of this man who had been sunk to the depths of discouragement and defeat.

He goes, “once you had no identity as people, but now you are God’s people. Once you receive no mercy, but now you’ve received God’s mercy.” He’s saying, listen, there is hope for everyone. If there’s hope for a guy like me, there’s hope for someone like you. And he starts to use words like, you’re God’s chosen people. You’re a Royal priesthood. You’re a Holy nation. You’re part of God’s family. There’s an inheritance kept for you and man, it’s. Listen, I think what Peter is writing to you and to me, what he’s trying to say is, we no longer have to live with the label as a loser or screw up or failure. But now we are called things like, come on, chosen Royal priesthood, Holy nation, God’s people, his light and man, it’s all a result of undeserved Grace. That’s it. What a gift.

When I was a kid, I started working when I was 14 years old, and I’ve done a lot of different jobs. One of my first jobs, I worked at a fishing pay Lake, a trout hatchery. I was like the fish gutter. I cleaned the fish for all the New Yorkers. I didn’t know what they were doing. I made 2.17 an hour plus tips. Come on, somebody. I come home with a lot of ones in my pocket like that, man. I was making banks, but it was a pretty tough job, but I loved it. And I started to work with people I’m like. I think I’m really good with people. I think maybe this is what I should do. 

And then I worked once summer on a landscaping crew. We’d mow lawns and fix up flower beds and all that kind of stuff around the house. And I didn’t really get to mow the lawns. I was the weed eater guy. I was the low guy on the totem pole. So all day long, I had this thing strapped to me. I would just shake. I come home at night, and I’d lay down on my bed, and I would just, like, literally shake. And I’m like, oh, my God, this is not good. I can’t do this. What else did I do?

When I was in College, I worked on the custodial staff. I worked in the cafeteria. My job was to get all the gum that was stuck on the bottom of the table. That was a nasty job. Oh, my gosh. But one of the jobs I had, I remember, I think I was like, 16, maybe 17 is. I worked at a gas station. It was a Texaco. I felt like a big shot. I’ll never forget the day they gave me my own jacket. Like, this black cool jacket, had the big Texaco star on it, had my name, Dave. I was like, man, I’m like, I’ve arrived. This is great, and it’s a full-service gas station. We had a lot of fun. I’d hang out, learn how to use a cash register, and make change, and we took care of our customers, man. Again, I was working with people like. This is much better than some other things I could be doing. 

And they had this hose. Some of you remember this. There was a hose, and when your car would drive over the hose, if you were sitting inside, you’d hear as they grow over, that would tell me as the employee, somebody is here to get gas. And I’d come running out, and they’d roll down the window. I’d be like, hey, fill her up. They’re like, yeah. I’m like, okay, great. When we check the fluids, and I’d check the oil and get the squeegee out, and I’d be squeezing, working for tips. This is great, man. It was a lot of fun. But when it came time to pay the bill, we didn’t have these fancy machines. Like, you got like, you swipe it. You insert the chip or you tap it. Not back then. Here’s what we use. We use one of these suckers right here. Anybody remember these guys? Remember these guys? I found this on the Internet. I actually sent it to one of our team members, and they were so young and said, hey, I want to use this for my sermon. Illustration they’re like, that’s fine, pastor day. But what is it? I’m like, oh, you’re so cute. I hate you right now. You don’t even know what this is, man. But when you wanted to pay using your credit bill back in the day, you’re using your credit card, and you get one of these machines, you pick them up, they’re kind of heavy. And you put the card in there, and you put the paper over it, and you’d rack it. I called it the Racker. Rack Rack. And every time I used it, it gave me, like, such power. I just felt like, pay the bill and you owe me this much money. Rack Rack.

And if you remember, back in the day, everywhere you went, you go out to dinner, you pay with a credit card. Rack Rack. You go to the grocery store, they pull the same rack rack. You go to shopping or whatever. Rack Rack. It was fun for the person running the machine. But if you’re on the other end of the machine, like, if the sound of Rack Rack didn’t get you the statement at the end of the month, certainly would. You know what I’m talking about, right? And here’s something I’ve learned in life. We can rack up a lot of debt in heaven. Can’t we yell at your spouse? Rack Rack. Right. You get angry and you flip somebody off in traffic. You lose your temper with your kids. Rack Rack. You get envious of the success of one of your friends. Rack Rack. You gossip about another person. Rack Rack. How do you pay off all of this debt in heaven? And the answer is, you don’t. Jesus did when he went to the. Cross and he paid the debt, a one time only payment. 

That was for everyone, for all time. And this guy that racked up a lot of debt. I want you to hear what he has to say. He says this Christ suffered for our sins once and for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. Aren’t you thankful today? Come on. He who knew no sin, he became sin so that you and I could be safe at home with God. He paid our debt. And I just love how Peter is just so passionate about this. He’s like, Gang, I wish you could have known him. I spent three years with this guy. It was the most amazing time of my life. I mean, I traveled with them. I ate with them. I laughed with him. I cried with him. I sat around fires with him. I went on vacation with him. I went to parties with him. I worshiped with him. One time we’re at this party, and the guy runs out of wine, and here’s Jesus, he turns you’re not going to believe water into wine. And then one time, he fed, like, 50 people with one kid’s Happy Meal.

It was bananas, and there was leftovers. It was crazy. At one time, we were out on the water, and the storm came up out of nowhere. And me being a fisherman, I knew this was one that we would never survive. And we were panicked, struck with fear. And then, all of a sudden, when we thought all hope was lost, Jesus, who’s sleeping in the back of the boat. He wakes up out of a dead sleep, and he speaks, and the sea becomes like glass. And I was struck with such fear. And so are the others in the boat, because we all said, who is this man that when he speaks, even the wind and the waves obey him.

Oh, I wish you could have known him like I’ve known him. I wish you could have traveled with him like I have. And I was there when they nailed him to the cross. I saw him die, but yet I was there when he rose from the dead, and I saw him resurrected to new life. I’ve experienced firsthand his undeserved Grace in my life, and I love him. But you know what? Here’s what’s so cool about you. Listen to what he says. You love him even though you’ve never seen him, though you do not see him. Now you trust him, and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the Salvation of your souls.

What he says, because of your faith, because of your trust, because of your belief, you will be the reward for that will be the Salvation of your souls. Oh, that you would allow him to. Shower you with his Grace, undeserved Grace, that you would allow him to bless you, to let you just sink into your heart, that he forgives sin. He picks up failures, he raises mistakes, he makes all things brand new. And that with him there is this inexpressible joy and Salvation. He goes on and he says A lot of us back then, we had heard a lot about, like, in Hebrew school, and I kind of plumped out, but we had heard a lot about this one that would come, this Messiah that would rescue his people.

And we were really confused. We heard about it, but we didn’t really understand it. We didn’t put all the pieces of the puzzle together. It was just beyond our comprehension. And we were looking especially those in places on the inside. We were looking for not a political savior, not for a suffering savior, but a political savior. We were looking for a military Messiah who would come and throw out the oppressor’s Rome. We didn’t realize it was God’s plan all along, that he would send us a suffering savior who is going to take care of our biggest enemy, which was not Rome, but it was sin.

But this was God’s plan all along. Listen to what he says about it. Here’s what he says. I love this. The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life. God was preparing the Messiah’s spirit let. Them in on some of it, that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory snd they clamored to know who and when, like, they didn’t really figure it all out. But he goes on, and all they were told was that they were serving you. You, who, by orders from heaven, have now heard for yourselves through the Holy Spirit, the Messiah of those prophecies fulfilled, the message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be unknown on this. I just love this. Because what he’s really saying, what it all comes down to, is there is hope for everyone. There is Grace for every one. Even the Angels understand that. So here’s Peter. A few days after the death of.

Jesus, he’s back out in his boat, went back to his family business with some of his buddies. Walk with Jesus too. And they’re miserable. They’re a mess. Best friend Dot died. They all abandoned him. He needed the most. So they’re out there fishing about a hundred yards offshore. They fished all night. They didn’t caught anything. And then all of a sudden, just as the sun is getting ready to rise, they see this figure on the beach. He was making a breakfast fire, and they can see the smoke. And all of a sudden, the figure kind of moves over, and he kind of yells out to them and say, hey, did you guys catch anything?

If you’re a fisherman, you know that’s not a question you’d like to be asked, especially if you haven’t caught anything. And they’re like, no, we’ve fished all night, we haven’t caught anything. And then, all of a sudden, the figure on the beach yells back out, hey, why don’t you guys try to throw your nets on the other side, on the right side of the boat? You might have better luck over there. They’re like, what else do we get to lose? And so they do. And as they begin to pull the nets in, they can feel the weight of a heavy catch and starts to rip their nets apart. And then, all of a sudden, John, Peter’s friend, he remembers, wait a minute. The same thing happened to us three years ago when we first met Jesus. And John looks up, and he begins to shout at the top of his lungs.

And before he could get the word Lord off of his lips, Peter decided to dive into the water and begin swimming like crazy toward Jesus. I can only imagine what must have been running through his mind as he’s swimming frantically toward Jesus. Like I carried around this shame and this pain and this regret and this embarrassment and this humiliation, this awful feeling down in the pit of my stomach for too long. I’m miserable. I’m a mess. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I’ve screwed up so bad. And so all I can do is just. I think it’s time just to let the past be the past. I’m just going to dive in and swim to Jesus.

He gets up to the shore. I can only imagine what that scene must have looked like, probably bent over, standing knee-deep in water. His chest is just heaving. He swam so hard, can’t capture his own breath. He picks his head up, and he concede through the fire and the smoke. Once again, he locks eyes with his friend Jesus. You can see that the scar is still in his forehead from the Crown of thorns. He locks eyes with his friend Jesus, who still bore the scars in his hands and in his feet from the Roman spikes that held him to the cross. He locks eyes through that smoke with his friend Jesus that just three days earlier, he denied three times that he even knew him. And he locked eyes for the first time since that moment with the resurrected Jesus, the Son of the living God.

And in that moment, I wish I could just truly capture it for all of us. But we read in the Gospels that. Jesus looks at his friend Peter, and he says, “Peter, do you love me?” Peter is like, “Of course, Lord know I love you.” In fact, he asks him that question a number. How many times do you remember, three times, the same number of times that a few days ago, over another fire, Peter had denied him. Peter, do you love me? You know, in Greek, the language that the Gospels, the New Testament were originally written in, they have three different words for love. Like in English, we have one word for love when we use it for a lot of different things, right? But they had three. And when Jesus says, Peter, do you love me? He uses the word for love, agape, which refers to Godly love, like a sacrificial love. I’ll do anything for you, kind of love. It’s an unfailing, unconditional love. Peter, do you love me like that? Peter? When he responds to Jesus, he doesn’t come back with, of course, Jesus, I love you. Instead, he says, Jesus, you know, I phileo you. Phileo is another word for love. And it speaks of like a brotherly love. It’s where we get the word Philadelphia from. Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. So Peter says, I phileo of you. In other words, I think he just got to this place where he realized once he would, in his foolish boastful pride, in his machismo, in his naivete. Once said, I’ll die for you. 

He now realizes that in that pride. I’ll never make that mistake again. But I will love you the best love that I have a phileo love, a brotherly love. As jacked up and as screwed up as it can be sometimes. Jesus looks at Peter once again. He smiles. He said, I’ll take that. Peter. Peter, I want you to know I still believe in you. And I’m going to use you to do even greater things that you ever dreamed possible. And with those words, Peter, he resurfaces. And he goes on to continue to be a courageous, bold, daring follower of Jesus. And Jesus uses him to launch the greatest organization that’s ever been on the face of the planet. That is the local Church of Jesus Christ.

He becomes a leader and a pillar in that Church, and he spends the rest of his life spreading this good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ that comes to the most broken and messed up and checked up people. That God can use the colossal failures of our life to rewrite our story into a great success story. Just like Peter and that guy Peter God that he thought God was through with. God used him to be one of the biggest difference-makers on the planet. And Gang Community Church is here today because of men and women just like Peter.

And I just think that as I close, God might be trying to say to somebody, you might have stopped believing in me, but I haven’t stopped believing in you. I think that maybe God is just trying to say there is hope for everyone. There is Grace for everyone. Jesus Christ, he gives hope and Grace and Salvation and forgiveness. Assent to anyone who would ask of Him. And let me just tell you, friend, I went yesterday, and with all the pollen you guys have seen your cars. It’s a mess, right? I park under these trees in my driveway, and it’s just this yellow stuff, this red stuff, and it’s like this thick, and it’s terrible.

So I went down yesterday and took it to the car wash, and I was thinking, you know, the reality is we don’t get our act together before we come to God. Just like I didn’t wash my car before I took it to the car wash. I took it there dirty and stained and jacked up. It’s the same way with God. You don’t get your act together before. You go to God. You go to God just like Peter did, broken and humble. And you lay yourself at his feet, and you allow Him to come on to clean you up, to transform you from the inside out, to wash you, make you white as snow. That His Grace is undeserved, and it covers a multitude of sins. I don’t care what you’ve done or where you’ve been. Come on. God’s unfailing love and his outstretched arm is not too short to reach down to the depths of where you are today and to pick you up and to set your life come on on a rock that is an unshakeable foundation. His name is Jesus, and he loves you, and he’s here for you. And he wants you to know today he believes in you and your future regardless of what you’ve done or what’s been done to you.

His Grace is enough. Hear me today. Just do what Peter did. Just dive in and start swimming to Jesus. Figure out all the details later. Where are you going? To get another dry set of clothes? Figure it all out later? Just dive in and swim to Jesus? Today is the day of Salvation. Come on, not tomorrow, but today? And go to him with all of who you are, your past and your mistakes, your confusion, your doubts and your fears, your skepticism just come to him. Put your faith and trust in him? Jesus is waiting by a breakfast fire for you? I want to pray for you? Before you go? Would you bow your head? Would you have your head bowed and your eyes closed? 

Today I want to give you an opportunity? Same one that Jesus gave to Peter to make it right with Jesus. Yes, you failed. Yes, you’ve come up short? Yes, you might have blown it. Yes, you’ve made some really bad decisions. I get all that, and so does Jesus. But it doesn’t negate the fact that his Grace, his undeserved Grace, is more than enough to cover your sin, to change your life, to give you another chance to turn it all around? And if you need that Grace today? You need that forgiveness? Today I’d be honored just to lead you in a prayer before you go? So if that is you today, Would you just say by slipping up your hand and kind of just waving at me? Dave, I need that? I need that second chance? I see hands going up all over this place? I need that grace? I need that forgiveness? I see hands going up all over this place today? If you’re watching online, Just give us a raised hand emoji in the chat, and our team there will reach out.

To you and pray with you? Still hands going up? Still hands going up? Still more hands going up all over this place? He sees your hands? He hears your cries? He knows your pain? He loves you to hang? He loves you? He loves you? Go ahead and put your hands down? You can just say this prayer? And you can use my words? Or better yet, you can just even use your own? Your prayer could go something like this? 

Jesus, I’m sorry. I really blew it. Please forgive me? I give you my sin, my regret, my shame, and my guilt? Thank you for loving me? For where I’m at? Help me to become who you want me to be? Fill me with your power of your Holy spirit? I could start again? I could move forward? Let go of the past? I could surface again? Know that I’m not beyond repair? Thank you for that undeserved served Grace in your name I pray? Amen.