John 21:15-17–How Do You Soften a Rock? From Remorse to Restoration:

(Preached at GracePointe Church, Springtown, TX Nov. 1, 2026)

This is the next to the last sermon from John and our next to last sermon on our series, Why Come to Church. The Title is “How do you soften a rock? From Remorse to Restoration.” Our Theme Topic today is: Edification. 

¹⁵ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,  do you love Me more than these?”  He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,  do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,  do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 

Lord, there is so much packed into these three verses. Help us to know how to go from remorse to restoration with you so that we can go from erosion and destruction that breaks down others to edification and developing to build up others. In Jesus Name Amen

This week I was at the Shepherd’s Gathering of the SBTC, and one of the panelists mentioned a book entitled, DARK CLOUDS, DEEP MERCY: DISCOVERING THE GRACE OF LAMENT. A fellow pastor moaned with approval so I wrote the title down and purchased and read it this week

The author, Pastor Mark VROE-Gup, and his wife experienced the death of a still-born daughter, weighing 9 pounds and with that experience, the parents experienced tremendous grief.

In fact, it was more than grief, more than mourning. Mark Vroegop said it was on par with the book of Lamentations in the Bible. He said, “To cry is human, but to lament is Christian.

“Lament is different. The practice of lament—the kind that is biblical, honest, and redemptive—is not as natural for us, because every lament is a prayer. A statement of faith. Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.” (pg. 26)

“You might think lament is the opposite of praise. It isn’t. Instead, lament is a path to praise as we are led through our brokenness and disappointment. The space between brokenness and God’s mercy is where this song is sung. Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise. It is the path from heartbreak to hope.” ( pg. 28)

Lament is found in scriptures. It is the voice of the martyrs in Revelation 6 where they cry out to God with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

The Lament in Lamentations is ¹ How lonely sits the city ​​That was full of people! ​​How like a widow is she, ​​Who was great among the nations! ​​The princess among the provinces ​​Has become a slave! ^{​ 2} ​​She weeps bitterly in the night, ​​Her tears are on her cheeks; ​​Among all her lovers ​​She has none to comfort her. ​​All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; ​​They have become her enemies.

We all have learned something of God’s forgiveness. We know verses about God’s grace. We can quote passages about mercy. We tell others that Christ died for our sins. But sometimes the person we struggle most to forgive is the person staring back at us in the mirror.

You can still see the mistake, you hear the words you should have never spoken, you still feel the shame of failure. That is where Peter finds himself, sopping wet, in John 21.

Peter carries something heavier to breakfast than the net he’s dragged in. Maybe he counted the 153 fish, avoiding the Savior he swam to see. Jesus also knows the weight Peter carries.

John tells us there was a charcoal fire and fish already there. This word charcoal fire is used only twice in the New Testament. The first time was in John 18 when Peter stood at a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the high priest. Three times he denied Christ. Three times he said, “I do not know Him.” Three times he failed. Now Jesus has prepared another charcoal fire.

This is not accidental. Our Lord brings Peter back to the place of his greatest failure, not to condemn him but to restore him. Jesus knows something Peter does not yet know.

The same man who denied Christ around one fire will soon proclaim Christ before thousands in Jerusalem.

The same man who trembled before a servant girl will soon stand before rulers and authorities.

The same man who fell publicly will one day lead powerfully. Jesus knows Peter’s potential. Peter only sees his failure. And isn’t that often true of us? We see what we’ve done.

Jesus sees what He can make of us. This morning I want us to see how Christ edifies His people, how he edifies Peter and encourages him to edify others. Edification means building up. In Peter’s restoration we discover that Jesus builds us up so that we can build up others.

I want to remind you that when Jesus officially changed Simon’s name to Peter he said this, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

It was upon Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ that Jesus said the kingdom would be built and that he would hold keys to the kingdom of heaven. What a weight of responsibility. 

I. Edification Begins With a Relationship (Feeding Lambs, John 21:15) Jesus built upon Peter’s confession (Matt 16:15-18)

Jesus began with a question. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” Jesus calls him Simon, not Peter. Simon son of Jonah. There are eight or nine men identified as Simon, more than any other man’s name and second only to Mary in the new Testament. On the other hand, no one else is named Peter.

Jesus knew all things. He knew at this Galilean breakfast that within a month, Peter the Rock, will preach one of the most powerful sermons in all of Christian history at the very place where Simon, the Regular, had been terrorized by a servant girl. Jesus knew Peter’s potential. Simon did not. Jesus will reveal it.

Jesus taught Peter a lesson he could have learned no other way. The strength of a disciple is not confidence in himself but his faith in Christ. Jesus asks, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”  Some think that the question is about fishing. Do you want to fish for fish or for men? But  I think he is recalling to Simon that the night before the crucifixion that Peter, the Rock, proudly proclaimed that though all else would fall, Peter never would. Simon must know he is fully restored from his denial. Before a charcoal fire, Jesus asked a humbling question. And Peter humbly answered, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

The second thing to notice here is that Peter uses a different word for the word love. Jesus asked about agapeo love. Peter responds with phileo love. Instead of claiming supreme devotion, Peter simply says, “Yes, Lord, You know I love You.”  

I believe Peter agapeo loved Jesus. At the end of his life, in his second epistle, Peter knew the distinction of agapeo and phileo. 2 Peter 1 says, “⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love agapeo.

Phileo is a lesser form of love. Agapeo

Edification always starts here. Before Jesus calls Peter to ministry, He calls Simon back to Christ. Ministry without love is dangerous. Service without love becomes duty. Activity without devotion becomes empty religion.

The first question is not: Can you teach? Can you lead? Can you organize? Can you serve? The first question is: Do you love Christ Jesus? Simon Peter knew the difference and humbly told Jesus that he loved Him, but not braggadocios use agape.

Do you love Jesus? Not believe in Him. Do you love Him? Edification begins when our hearts are right with Christ. The church doesn’t need more religious activity. The church needs people who genuinely love Jesus. Because everything else flows from there.

II. Edification Involves Gracious Restoration (Tending Sheep, John 15:16)  1 Peter 2:4-8

Jesus asks again. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”  Has Simon learned his lesson? Will the Rock soften his self-reliance and solidly rely on Christ? Talk was cheap the night before Simon, the Regular, denied Christ three times. Peter, the Rock, will be tested and restored so that he soon can walk the costly walk.

It is a friendship love, stronger than “liking” someone but we could use that here. “Yes, Lord, You know that I strongly like You.” Peter did not say he loved Jesus more than the other disciples. Peter responded without bravado or overstating. Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Peter likely returned to looking at the fire.

Jesus is not nearly done. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you agape love me?” Peter had no idea where Jesus was going with this. This second time, Jesus lessened his question slightly, not saying “more than these” but “do you love agape, love with abandonment, with no expectations, just pure godly love?”

I don’t think Simon was ready for a second question. He was unprepared to answer more astutely, Peter responded identically with the phileo love. “Yes, Lord, You know that I ‘strongly like’ You.”

Jesus however, was prepared. Instead of saying, “Feed my lambs”, he replied with a similar but different command, “Tend or shepherd my sheep.” While Peter gives the same answer, Jesus probes. Again Peter responds. Jesus changed both the verb (from feeding to shepherding) and the object of the verb (from lambs to sheep). Feeding is easy. Lambs are cute and cuddly. Shepherding is harder. Sheep are more stubborn. This reminds Simon that he is to protect and care for, Pastor, and not just feed, preach, and tell.

But then comes the third time.

Do you feel Peter’s awkward, uncomfortable feelings? If Peter had a collar, he would be pulling on it, clearing his throat, wishing he could be anywhere else than under Jesus’s un-flinching gaze.

III. Edification Produces Loving Service (Feeding Sheep, John 15:17) 2 Peter 1:5-9

A third time it came. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you…” wait for it… “love (phileo) Me?” Maybe the inflection was “Do you even ‘strongly like’ Me?

Ouch! “Grieved was Peter…” The Greek puts “grieved” at the first of the sentence to emphasize Peter’s emotional response. “Lord, you know all things. You know…”

long pause. Simon’s heart hurt. The memories returned. The rooster crowing, not for real but perhaps in Simon’s mind, in his memory. The tears. The shame. The guilt. Three denials. Now three questions. Grieved was Peter.

But what will he say? Phileo? Agape? Has humility taken hold of his heart? Will he succumb to proud but empty promises? He began with “Lord.” He continued with “You know all things.” Simon knew that his friend, his Lord and His God, knew his heart, his hurts like no one else.

God knows you. He knows you and your failures, your hurts. And Jesus loves you. Jesus is not punishing Peter. Jesus is restoring Peter. For every denial there is now an opportunity for affirmation. And for every failure you have ever committed, Jesus is waiting to restore you just as well, just as much. For every wound there is now a touch of grace. For every failure there is now a step toward restoration.

Peter continue, “You know I … phileo … love you.” Jesus responds with a slightly different third com-mand, “Feed my sheep.”

Our sins may describe our past but they do not define our future. Peter humbly would always remember his hurts, but he grew from them. That is how grace works.

There is a difference between remorse and restoration. Peter had remorse. He wept bitterly. He regretted his failure. He hated what he had done. Many people stop there. They carry guilt. Regret. Jesus wanted Peter to experience more than remorse. restoration.

Restoration means allowing Christ to rebuild what failure has broken. Perhaps someone here has been forgiven by God but you still haven’t forgiven yourself. You believe God’s grace extends to everyone else except you. You believe God can use everyone else except you. You look at your failures and say, “My usefulness is over.” Peter would disagree. Simon discovered that God’s grace is greater than our worst day. The Lord does not merely forgive sinners. He restores them. He edifies them. He rebuilds them.

The charcoal fire became a classroom of grace. Peter discovered that failure was not the final chapter. Jesus was writing another chapter. And Jesus is still writing those chapters today.

“Feed My lambs.” Care for those young in the faith. Nourish them. Strengthen them. Help them grow. Then, “Shepherd My sheep.” Protect them. Lead them. Guide them. Care for them. Then, “Feed My sheep.” Continue nourishing the people of God. Do you see the pattern? Love for Christ always expresses itself in care for others. We show our love for the Shepherd by loving His sheep. We demonstrate our devotion vertically by serving horizontally. Jesus essentially says, “Peter, if you love Me, help My people.” That is edification. Building others up. Helping people take their next step with Christ. Encouraging. Teaching. Discipling. Serving. Strengthening. The restored believer becomes a restorer. The encouraged believer becomes an encourager. The edified believer becomes an edifier.

IV. Edification Multiplies Through Humble Shepherding (1 Peter 5:1-4)

A surgeon cannot heal what a patient is unwilling to expose. If something is buried deeply, it must be brought into the light.

Jesus, the Great Physician, lovingly exposes Peter’s wound so He can heal it. If you’ve been restored, who are you helping? Who are you encouraging? Who are you discipling? Who are you building up? Because edified believers become edifiers. The restored become restorers. The comforted become comforters. The strengthened become strengtheners.

Jesus saw something Peter could not yet see. The Simon who denied Christ became Peter the shepherd. Years later Peter wrote: “Be shepherds of God’s flock.” Where did he learn that? At a charcoal fire. “Clothe yourselves with humility.” Where did he learn that? At that charcoal fire. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Where did he learn that? At a fish breakfast on the Sea of Restoration. God transformed Peter’s greatest weakness into one of his greatest ministries.

And God does the same thing today and can do that at GracePointe Church. 

Vote or don't vote—sharia will soon be on the ballot

 ”Brother Tim, there’s a man in the parking lot puking his guts out!”

My chairman of deacons came to me saying that yesterday. I won’t tell you my first thought, but my second, more pastoral thought was, “okay, I will go see if he is okay.”
The deacon and I go over to the van but he is not sick...

but praying...

I’ll tell you the rest of the story at the bottom of this post....

...You will just have to skip down (or better yet, read this entire post) because political advertising is popping up everywhere...

Today is the last day to early vote and Tuesday is the election. So here are some election thoughts:

SHARIA LAW and SOCIALISM: Government is first of all to protect its country’s citizens. “Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1 Tim. 2:2–4).
Which party protects the lives of the unborn?
Also, Socialist and Islamic governments around the world have less freedoms than we have in the United States.
Socialism and Sharia law would definitely be against Christian values.

VALUES: Secondly, Christians should seek a government that reflects God’s values. “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Rom. 13:1). Think of the Ten Commandments and ask:
(#1 & #2) What policies might tempt citizens to look to the government for what ultimately can only be found in God?
(#3) Who affirms God’s name?
(#4) Who encourages holy worship?
(#5) Which party affirms parents and parental rights? Who would most likely protect children from being mutilated in the grossly mis-named “gender-affirming care”?
(#6) Who is against murder of innocents? Which party is against abortion?
(#7) Which party strengthens marriage, defined by Old and New Testaments as one man and one woman? (Matt. 19:4-5, Mark 10:6-10, Gen. 1:27, Gen. 5:2, Lev. 18:22)
(#8) Which candidate risks violating the principle behind “You shall not steal,” through wrongdoing, misconduct, or government action?
(#9) (this is a tough one, I’ll admit) Which party is the most truthful and honest?
(#10) Which party is most likely to encourage citizens to covet what belongs to others?

LIBERTY: Thirdly, vote to punish “evildoers” and encourage “those who do good…yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God” (1 Peter 3:16, NKJV).

CHARITABLE GIVING and TAXES: Which party best represents 2 Cor. 9:7, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

HELPING THE POOR: Which do you think is better at helping the needy, the local church and agencies or the government (don’t answer if you live in Michigan)?

INFLATION: During 2017-2020: 1.88%;
2021-2024: 4.93%;
2025-2026 (so far): 2.92%

LOVE NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF: Which policy loves others like we love ourselves? For instance, if you would leave your doors unlocked and welcome those who violate the law into your homes to stay illegally, vote accordingly.

GENDER: Which party most closely aligns with “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God, He created them; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27).

SENDING A MESSAGE: Last of all, if you think not voting or voting for the other party is going to “send a message,” why not vote for the one which most closely aligns with the Biblical commands and then actually SEND A MESSAGE? Tell whomever how you feel about the areas with which you disagree.

...
okay, back to the man on the parking lot.

Once the man finishes praying, our deacon and I go to him and welcome him. He is very nice late 50s to early 60s, man who says to us, “Thank you for checking on me. We often stop at churches because we have the same god and it is a peaceful place to pray. We pray five times a day.” He is from Jordan originally where Christians and Muslims worship side by side. He also said we have the same god as Adam and Abraham had.

“We believe Jesus will be coming again and he will destroy the antichrist...” he said.

We engage in more conversation and finally I ask, “May I share with you what the Bible says about Jesus?”

“Oh I know, but yes you can share.”

“First you know of course that the Qur’an was written hundreds of years after Mohammed, right?”

“Yes, four hundred years,” he answered.

“The New Testament which tells of Jesus was written only a few years after Jesus died, with the gospel of John and the book of Revelation written before 100 AD. The New Testament teaches that Jesus was the Son of God and John most clearly says that He was God in the flesh.”

He looks skeptical and shakes his head but is still so polite.

“I know, we disagree but God loves you and I would not be very loving if I didn’t tell you this. You are right, Genesis tells us in 3:15 that one day Someone would come to destroy the serpent, the devil, and crush him on his head, but the serpent would bruise Him on his heel. That is a picture of Christ.”

He still looked skeptical but still so nice, so I continued...

“Moses was in the wilderness, and serpents were killing the people, but Moses put a serpent on a pole and said if people would just look at that in faith, they would be healed...
“In the New Testament, in the gospel of John, Jesus said that he would be like that serpent, He would be raised up and whoever would simply believe would be able to avoid judgment and hell. ...
“God loves you Hazheem and I would not be loving if I did not tell you this. Jesus is indeed coming back and he will destroy the antiChrist. But whoever does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, will be cast in the lake of fire with the anti-Christ....

“I know we don’t believe the same on this part but if I gave you a Bible would you read John and see how Jesus said he would die on the cross and be raised from the dead in the gospel of John?”

He was still so nice but said “I have a Bible, written in Arabic.”

“That’s great. Muslims around the world are having dreams about Jesus and coming to believe more about him,” I said. I did not know for sure if his Bible would be the same type of Bible, so I said, “If I ran inside our church and got you an English Bible and maybe you could read it and compare it to the Arabic, would you take it?”

“Oh sure,” he said, so I literally ran inside and got a Bible and also a copy of my book, “The Gospel of John One Day At A Time” and gave it to him. “This will help you understand John’s Gospel, but if you don’t read anything else, read the preface.” I put a timeline of the gospel of John right where the plan of salvation was in my preface. https://www.amazon.com/clp/1478786140?lv=shuf&channelId=500

“You wrote this?” he asked. He smiled and took the hardback copy of the book and also the Bible. Our deacon (who later told me he had never met a Muslim before) and I shook his hand and I ask you to pray for Hazheem, that he would read it.

Pilate: The Man Who Found No Fault but Condemned the Innocent

 John 18:28–19:16

Revival is not an event on the calendar. It’s not a series of meetings. It is a moment when God confronts us with truth and asks us to respond. 

Revival begins when we stop running from the truth and start standing in it by submitting to God. 

There is no clearer picture of that confrontation than Jesus standing before Pilate in submission to GOD. Revival is when God puts us in Pilate’s shoes: We know what is right. We feel the pull of the crowd. We hear the whisper of fear. And we must decide whom we will obey. 

And in John 18–19, Pilate becomes a mirror. He shows us what happens when hesitation, confusion, pressure, and fear override obedience to Christ. 

However, Jesus stands in contrast to Pilate at every turn. Where Pilate hesitates and is conflicted, Jesus is righteous! Where Pilate is confused, Jesus is crystal clear with Truth. Where Pilate is pressured, Jesus is steadfast, despite rejection and even being replaced by Barabbas. Where Pilate cowers in fear of the power of Rome and Religion, Jesus is resolute in His response.

I. Pilate’s Conflict and the Leaders’ Hypocrisy

²⁸ Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. ²⁹ Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.” ³¹ Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” ³² that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.                                                     

John 18:28–32

John’s gospel shows the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, who would not go into the Praetorium so that they would not defile themselves for Passover. They avoided stepping on Gentile floors while plotting the murder of the Son of God.

Trying to appease the Jews, Pilate will go in and out of the Praetorium seven times! To be honest with you I lost count! The Jewish Leaders, on the other hand, go nowhere. They stand firm in their hypocrisy.

#1:  Revival begins when God exposes our hypocrisy we hide behind and we throw away our hesitancy. We must _WHOLE-HEARTEDLY_  submit to King Jesus.

II. Three Declaration: “I Find No Fault in Him” In the first declaration Pilate is Confused about the Truth. Let’s read of Pilate’s Confusion about the Truth

³³ Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.          

John 18:33–38

Pilate was confused about the TRUTH. Jesus brought truth before the people. Jesus was the Truth in His life and in His witness. Pilate asks: “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answers: “For this cause I was born… to bear witness to the truth.” Pilate responds with the question of every skeptic: “What is truth?”

This is one of Jesus’s mission statements, the reason why He came was to be a witness to the truth of God’s Love, God’s Judgment, God’s Redemption.

In the same way, Revival begins when we stop making truth conform to us but rather being a witness of Jesus as the Truth to these three: LOVE, Judgment, Redemption. While Pilate was CONFUSED about the Truth, Jesus was CONFIDENT in His Reign and the Reality of the TRUTH.

GracePointe #2:. Revival is when we stop trying to make truth conform to us, but instead we become a witness of Jesus as the Truth.

2. Pilate’s Compromise Under Pressure

³⁹ “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

^19:1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.  ² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. ³ Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands. ⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”                            

John 18:39–19:4

Pilate’s reluctance to crucify Jesus is stronger in John than in any of the gospels. When Pilate said,  “Behold the Man!” The crowd screamed: “Crucify Him!”  Pilate was torn between His conscience and crowd. Meanwhile Christ accepts His Rejection by the crowd and even His Replacement with Barabbas, a known criminal and robber!

GracePointe #3:. Revival is when we stop letting the crowd decide our convictions.

3. Pilate’s Cowardice Before Power

 ⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!” ⁶ Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” ¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” ¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” ¹⁶ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.      

John 19:5–16

“Pilate knew the Jews had delivered Jesus up out of envy.” Pilate tries to release Jesus. The leaders threaten him politically. Pilate caves.

“Jesus had already submitted His will to the Father in Gethsemane.” Jesus says: “You could have no power unless it had been given from above.”

Pilate was a coward before the Jewish leaders; before Rome. He was afraid. Meanwhile Christ’s Response was absolute Resolve. Jesus stood calm, resolute, submitted.

 

GracePointe #4:. Revival is when we submit to the Father the way Jesus did. Revival begins when we stop letting fear override OBEDIENCE.

 

Humility: the quiet strength that turns resistance to submission

(James 4:4–17)

 4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. 5 Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore, he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

King James translates James 1:9 as “the brother of low degree,” a poetic rendering of the same adjective for "humble" used again in James 4:6. In many ways, the entire chapter of James 4 fits under the banner of humility, a trait Jesus applies to Himself in Matthew 11:29, “for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Paul likewise uses this word for "humble" (“base” in KJV and “lowly” in NKJV) when appealing to the Corinthians by the meekness and gentleness of Christ as he urges them to wage war not with physical weapons but with spiritual ones (2 Corinthians 10:1–4).

 James 4:6–7 employs military terminology, but not for a physical battlefield. The conflict James describes is the battle for character, submission, moral purity, and spiritual integrity before God, among fellow believers, and even within our own attitudes of pride and self‑reliance. James quotes Proverbs 3:34, giving his readers an Old Testament exhortation to lower themselves before the Lord. To refuse humility would invite God’s resistance rather than His grace. The proud “set themselves against” (the literal meaning of James 4:6 “resists”) the Lord like armies arrayed for battle. Paul warns against resisting governing authorities in Romans 13:2, and Peter echoes James in 1 Peter 5:5, agreeing that resisting the Lord is futile.

 Grace is the Lord’s reward and secret weapon for the humble. Impetuous Peter believed he could defend Jesus against an entire detachment of soldiers with a single sword, but Jesus reminded him that He could have called upon more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). Likewise, our pride is no match for God’s resistance, but His grace, which is received through humble submission, can become our greatest strength.

 To place oneself in humble subordination to God, and to those authorities which He commands us to submit to, grants us an even greater ability and strength to resist the devil (James 4:7). Submission is not weakness when it is obedience to God. Even Christ submitted to His earthly parents (Luke 2:51) and ultimately allowed Himself to be bound and brought before the Jewish council and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all, if it hadn’t been given you from above” (John 19:11).

 God is sovereign over all and the greatest way to be victorious is to humbly submit to Him.

 

Five Requirements and Three Responses for Solomon's Prayer

 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is a direct call for revival

In the middle of the night, God spoke to Solomon after the temple was completed. God gave five requirements for Israel to do if there was a drought; if there was a natural disaster; if there was a sickness.

Solomon had prayed to God, asking for God to make the temple a place where every prayer would be heard, every sin would be forgiven, and every person, where an Israelite or foreigner could be repentant and be restored.

If you read 2 Chronicles 6:12-14, that’s exactly what Solomon prayed. And then, God answered the king’s prayer with five requirements and three promised responses.

Revival cannot be orchestrated, it is up to God. But it also is not accidental. We cannot cause it but we can stop it from happening.

In God’s answer in 2 Chronicles 7:14, I want us to see God’s answer to the prayer of 2 Chron. 6.

1. His People Must Go By His Name

We must know who we are. We belong to Him. We bear His identity. We represent His reputation. Revival is not getting the lost saved. It is a call for us to come alive again in the name of Jesus. For us to be born again. We MUST GO by His name. Are you ready to go by His name? To awaken to begin again. To put Him first and be identified by His name.

2. Humility Must Go By His Glory

2^nd humility: “…will humble themselves…” Humility is not weakness, nor insecurity. It’s not taking yourself too seriously or too lightly. It is in fact Seeing yourself with God’s eyes in the light of His glory.

It’s looking at an ant at edge of the Grand Canyon. It’s being in a spaceship on the far side of the moon and losing contact with everything that we’ve ever known in the entire existence of humanity.

His holiness / His greatness / His glory. 

The second passageway to revival is when you stop defending your sin, your selfishness, your self in any way. Confess PRIDE. Revival never comes to the proud, it come from the bowed in prayer.

3. Pray Must Go Before His Throne

3^rd: is prayer: “…and pray…” Some of you are just understanding what Prayer is and what it’s not. Prayer is moving; not a ritual. Let me ask you, have you ever prayed “lead guide and direct” or “bless the hands” or even the Lord’s prayer without thinking what your saying. Prayer is not a formality. Prayer is not a box we check.

Prayer is not talking about prayer. It’s putting to voice our faith. It’s speaking, “God, we cannot fix this. We cannot heal this. We cannot revive this. But You can.” We must go before His throne.

4. Seeking His Face Means Go Before Him Personally

4^th “…and seek My face…” Are you seeking His presence, or his blessings? His essence or His answers. Can you empty yourself of all that is you and be filled with all that is him. 

It’s longing to see someone you miss. Have you ever been away from someone you love through death? Through divorce? Through Separation? Seeking His face is relational. It is personal. It is intimate.

Do you want God more than what God can do? Is Worship just singing? Is your devotional what you read in the morning and forget in the day. It’s a thirst. When God says seek my face, do you say Your face is all is seek? Psalm 27:8 It’s being pure in heart to see God

5. Turning Means Go Away From Our Ways and To His Ways

The fifth requirement is repentance: “…and turn from their wicked ways…” Turning means movement... away from our ways and toward His ways. It is not stopping sin, but rather it is choosing righteousness. It is not saying "I’m sorry" but "change me." It is not merely feeling sorry; it is walking differently.

It’s burning the ships of going back to the past. It’s drawing a line in the sand of the Alamo and crossing over it to die.

The Three Responses of God

When God’s people meet these five requirements, God gives three guaranteed responses:

1. He will hear from heaven. Our prayers are no longer blocked by pride or sin. He hears with favor, with attention, with mercy.

2. He will forgive their sin. The barrier between us and Him is removed. Forgiveness is the foundation of revival... it clears the ground for God to work.

3. He will heal their land. This is the visible result of invisible repentance. Healing in families. Healing in churches. Healing in communities. Healing in nations.

Revival is not accidental. Revival is not unpredictable. Revival is the promised result of God’s people aligning themselves with God’s requirements.

So, the question is not, “Will God send revival?” The question is, “Will God’s people go where He calls them to go?”

Go by His name. 

Go by His glory. 

Go before His throne. 

Go before Him personally. 

Go away from your ways and toward His ways.

Israel did not capture the call to revival because:

They trusted the temple more than God. They loved rituals more than relationship. They were numbed by prosperity. Their leaders drifted spiritually. They wanted blessing without repentance. They confused God’s presence with God’s approval. They forgot the warning in the glow of the glory. Revival was available. Revival was promised. Revival was clear. Revival was conditional.

They wanted the promise — but not the process.

2026.08.30 Standing in the Trials

John 12-14, 19-24;
Matthew 26:59-68

Every believer, every one of us, will faces times when God’s holy and perfect will confronts our desires and expectations. How many times have we prayed for God to move, but often it is our will, our desires on how we imagine He should move. We pray for God’s guidance, but we quietly hope He guides us in the direction we already prefer OR we are not willing to do follow His will in what He has shown for us in His Word.

John 18 shows us a Savior who stands faithfully in the face of injustice, rejection, and misunderstanding and it shows us a people who prayed for centuries for the Messiah yet resisted Him when He came.

As we prepare our hearts for what God desires to do in us, this passage calls us to examine where our expectations may be resisting His work. Revival in the heart begins with surrender and surrender begins with seeing Jesus clearly in His trials.

The Innocent Christ is bound, struck, and interrogated not because He is guilty, but because humanity cannot tolerate the Light that exposes its darkness.

I. The Injustice vs. the Innocent (John 18:12-14, 19-24) 

¹² Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³ And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

¹⁹ The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. ²¹ Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.” ²² And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” ²⁴ Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Last week, on the cover the bulletin, there was a scene from the film the Gospel of John, showing accurately Jesus’s arrest and being bound to and from Annas’s house, even though He offered no resistance. Jesus had eluded the officials before so they took no chances, but still, John records he was bound and stayed bound. The One who could have undone the universe with a word allowed Himself to be tied like a criminal.

Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas, was the true power behind the high priest office. He was appointed as high priest by Rome in 6 AD, which would have been about the same time that young 12 year old Jesus had stayed three days and two nights at the Temple.

The house of Annas was infamous for its greed and violence. Even though Caiaphas held the official title, Annas still held the influence. John even refers to Annas as the high priest (John 18:19, 22), and Luke 3:2 and Acts 4:6 confirm his ongoing authority.

This was not a legal hearing, Jewish laws at that time prevented court’s and proceedings for the Sanhedrin to be conducted at night. But it was not a legal hearing not only because of its timing but its predetermined outcome, disguised as a justified trial.

While still bound, the first of many blows Jesus was to receive. In my mind, I wonder if Satan was the most surprised that the Son of God allowed Himself to be tied up. Jesus could stop winds, storms, and sicknesses. Christ could stop Satan and sins biggest prize of all by raising the dead. Could mere ropes shackle the One who unshackled people from sin, sickness and death? Growing more bold, Satan motivated a guard to strike Jesus across the mouth. Jesus who taught His disciples to turn the other cheek did not resist but only questioned to show the injustice of being struck without a cause.

GracePointe #1: Jesus, the only innocent One, was condemned by an illegal court beginning with a corrupt ruler so that the guilty could stand acquitted before the throne of God. Because He stood faithful in His trial, we can stand  FORGIVEN .

II. The Irony of Israel’s Prayers and Rejection

I love the way John interweaves Peter’s failures and Christ’s trials in chapter 18. Christ stood in truth and was even struck for speaking truth. When Jesus was sent to Caiaphas, the other gospels show that false witnesses not only contradicted the Truth Incarnate, they could not even agree with themselves.

John doesn’t tell us this, but the synoptics tell us, (Do you know that Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the first three gospels, are called the synoptics?) they tell us when He brought before the council, they spit on Him, they blindfolded, beat and mocked Him. Caiaphas mockingly and ceremonially tears his robes in insincere, staged and pretentious shock, crying out that the Holiest one of all has committed blasphemy and deserves of death.

(Turn to Matthew 26 for the most inclusive part) 

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, ⁶⁰ but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”  ⁶² And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

At this point, the gospel of Mark records, “I AM”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! ⁶⁶ What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” ⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

 

Let’s stop there. Jesus has declared He is the Son of God. He responds with I AM, according to Mark. And then Jesus declared He was the Son of Man, sitting at the Right Hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of Heaven.

Let me just tell you, this phrase comes exactly from Daniel 7:13.

In the first part of Daniel 7, there is a vision of Four beasts to come, Babylon (about 605 through 539 BC, Medo-Persia (about 539 through 332), Greece (Alexander the Great, and the four horns culminating with Antiochus) and then Rome, which came to power over Judea in 63 BC).

When Jesus said He was the “Son of Man coming with the clouds,” He was claiming more than a human title. In Daniel 7, the One coming on the clouds is a heavenly, divine figure who receives everlasting dominion from the Ancient of Days.

2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

⁵ “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

⁶ “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷ “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸ I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

⁹ ​​“I watched till thrones were put in place, ​​And the Ancient of Days was seated; ​​His garment was white as snow, ​​And the hair of His head was like pure wool. ​​His throne was a fiery flame, ​​Its wheels a burning fire;

…

¹³ “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.

We now know this is God the Father (“the Ancient of Days”) with the God the Son (“One like the Son of Man”).

In Jesus’s day, only God rides the clouds, only God judges the nations, BUT NOW God Himself shares His throne.

When Jesus applied that passage to Himself, He was claiming the authority, identity, and the very essence of both the Son of God and the divine Son of Man.

This wasn’t a vague messianic claim. It was a direct assertion of divine status. That is why the high priest tore his robes: Jesus was declaring Himself to be the heavenly Judge who would one day judge them.

It is the only passage that combines cloud‑coming, Son of Man imagery, heavenly glory, and judicial authority, all drawn directly from Daniel 7.

Revelation 1:7 reminds us of Daniel’s saying the Jesus will come with clouds of judgment, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds…”

Revelation 1:13, reminds us that Jesus is “…in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of Man…”

Revelation 1:14–16 shows us the heavenly‑figure imagery that John describes as, “blazing eyes, white hair, bronze feet, a voice like many waters, and a face sining like the sun.”

Let’s finish Matthew 26

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

Luke records that Jesus was later sent to Herod, the one responsible for the death of John the Baptist. Herod wanted a miracle show, but Jesus refused to speak to Herod at all.

Israel prayed for centuries for the Messiah; and when He came, they rejected Him because He did not fit their expectations.

This is the deep irony of the passage. God’s ways are not our ways. It is ironic that the same nation which had prayed for the coming of the Messiah would reject Him when He came.

Aren’t we the same? We pray for God’s will, but when it comes, we reject it.

Christ returned to His Original glory, as the Son of God AND the Son of Man. We now have been given access straight to the very throne of God because of the ascension of the Son of Man.

The One Israel rejected is now the One who grants us access to the throne of God. 

The One they bound now who reigns. 

The One they struck now intercedes for us. 

The One they condemned now justifies us.

Israel prayed for the Messiah; and rejected the Christ.

Let us not do the same 

 

GracePointe #2: Israel had prayed for a Messiah to come, but rejected Him when He came. The One who was bound now   REIGNS   The One they struck now intercedes for us. The One they condemned now justifies the guilty who believe. The rejected Messiah accepts us and provides us the way to God’s throne.

Let us pray

 “Dear God, help me to stand in the trials of life. Strengthen me to face down whatever comes my way. Remind me that nothing will happen to me today that You and I cannot both handle together. Thank You for standing with me. Amen.”