1. Peter : Empowered & Transformed
John 21:1-19
15, July 2018

2. Who is Peter? His Family Background
1. His surname is Simon and he is the son of Jonas.
2. His brother’s name is Andrew.
3. He is married (Mark 1:30) with a family.
4. He is from the town of Bethsaida (house of fishing) [Mk. 6:45, Jn. 1:44; 12:21].
5. He is quite well to do because he owned a fishing business.
6. As a fisherman, he works very hard under hot sun and rough seas. The hardships make him a tough person.
Who is Peter? His Family Background

3. His Contact with Jesus Christ
1. He may not be very educated but he was a person seeking after God.
2. Peter came to know Jesus through his brother Andrew (Jn. 1:40-42).
3. Later he answered Jesus’ call to be His disciple (Matt. 4:18-20).
His Contact with Jesus Christ

4. His Death 1. His martyrdom was predicted by Christ
(Jn. 21:18; 2 Pet. 1:14).
2. Tradition has it that he died at Rome as a martyr.
His Death

5. PETER’S CHARACTER He is most human like all of us: Prone to failure.
Stumbles more often than the other disciples.
Say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Impulsive, erratic, vacillating.
He represents hope for all of us.
PETER’S CHARACTER

6. PETER’S TRANSFORMATION
Jesus loved him still in spite of his sins.
Jesus saw in Peter the potential to become a rock-like character.
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter) [Jn. 1:42]
Jesus promised Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
PETER’S TRANSFORMATION

7. From self-confident to Christ-centered person
He was grieved when Jesus questioned his love three times.
He answered, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you… Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’" (Jn. 21:15-17).
 He was no longer the proud and self- confident person. He said, Lord, you know everything!
From self-confident to Christ-centered person

8. From a coward into a man of courage
He boldly defended his actions before the Jewish leaders.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, … they were astonished (Acts 4:13).
He did not yield to their threats (Acts 4:18- 20).
He did not stop preaching the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 5:42).
He was not afraid of persecution, imprisonment or even martyrdom (Acts 5:17, 18, 40, 41).
From a coward into a man of courage

9. From failure to success
Jesus fulfilled his promise to Peter (Acts 2; 10).
Peter used the first key to open the door of the gospel to the Jews (Acts 2). He preached to the Jews at Pentecost. 3,000 were saved.
He used the second key to open the door of the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10). He preached the gospel to Cornelius’ household and the Holy Spirit fell on them.
From failure to success

10. WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE?
Some of you are discouraged and feel hopeless with your Christian life.
Like Peter, you have fished all night and caught nothing:
You are frustrated.
You feel that God is very far from you.
Your prayers are not answered.
You feel that you are a big failure.
WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE?

11. Jesus is revealing himself to you
1. He still loves you.
2. He invites you to come to Him.
3. He wants you to enjoy His presence.
4. He has prepared breakfast for you just as He has done for Peter.
5. He knows your needs.
Jesus is revealing himself to you

12. Jesus invites you to come to Him now
Confess your sins and ask Him to forgive, restore and change you.
What He has done for Peter, He will also do for you and in you.
If you really want the Lord to do this work in your life, I invite you right now to bow and pray this prayer with me from your heart.
Jesus invites you to come to Him now