Title: Would you also deny Him?
Text: Mark 14:27-31, 66-72
Thesis: Since the resurrection proves that Jesus is not focused on our failures but on our victory, we should also not focus on our failures.
Thrust: To encourage the listeners to get past their failures and move forward in faith as they meditate on the power of the resurrection.
Tagline: His resurrection power can transform our failures into victories!
Take-off:
1. Example of a major blooper (like the time we spilled soft drinks while riding the train in Singapore).
2. It’s hard to recover from a major blooper, especially when you know that a lot of people know about it.
3. But it’s nothing compared to the major blooper of Peter. It’s hard to imagine how a person would feel if, after committing the greatest blunder, he or she would find his or her story forever inscribed in the word of God! This part of Scripture is even entitled in most translations as “Peter’s Denial”.
4. But somehow Peter recovered from this shameful incident. He went on to become one of the key figures in the early church, even dying on the cross (as he originally wished) for his Savior and Lord. In the end, he showed himself as a faithful and courageous servant after all.
5. Could it ever happen to us? You and I have our own share of major failures. We may not talk about it very much. Perhaps not many people know about it. But we know it. And God knows it. If we were there, we would also deny Him. And that’s the hard part. Knowing that God knows we will fail Him is like having a big burden on our shoulders. Like Peter we want to know how to get rid of this burden once and for all.
6. To experience this we need to do two things: a) We need to look at why Peter felt so bad about his failure, and 2) We need to understand how he overcame this failure. Let us pray.
Talk
1. Why Peter felt so bad about his failure
a. You see, Peter failed big time (Mark 14:66-72)
• He denied the Lord three times, just as Jesus predicted (v.30).
• More than this, he even claimed ignorance (vv.66-68).
• And also innocence (vv.69-72).
b. But Peter loved the Lord so much, that’s why he broke down and wept!
• He was willing to stand with Jesus (v.29).
• He was willing to die for Jesus (v.31).
2. How Peter overcame his failure
a. Peter had a hard time overcoming at first because he remembered what the Lord said at the time of his failure (v.72).
• We often focus on the sinfulness of our failures whenever we fail big time.
b. But the Lord helped him remember what he actually said after the resurrection (16:7).
• That they will all fall away (14:50).
• That He will see them again in Galilee (14:27-28).
• In other words, He knows they will all fail – even Peter – but He is looking past this major failure into the victory of the resurrection!
c. In other words, the Lord helped him to understand something very important: Jesus knew everything – even his soon-to-be failure – yet the Lord was willing to use him even after that (John 21:15-17).
d. You see, the Lord knows everything about us – even our tendency to fail Him. If we were there, like Peter, we will also deny Him!
e. Jesus is willing to look beyond our failures. He is willing to look at the resurrection and its power to transform our failures into victories.
Touchdown
1. Don’t get stuck on your failures; focus on the power of the resurrection. His resurrection power can transform our failures into victories!
2. The resurrection proves that Jesus is not focused on what could stop us but on what could bring us into victory!
3. Get past your failures today and move forward in faith as you meditate on the power of the resurrection! To God be the glory!
