Passion and Failure – 2nd Chances!
Pastor Glenn Newton, March 29th, 2015
Mark 14:27-31; 66-72
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’[a]
28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice[b] you yourself will disown me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
Let me read to you what happens later that same day….Jesus has been arrested and now is being falsely accused…Peter is following at a distance.
Peter Disowns Jesus
66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.[a]
69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”
72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[b] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice[c] you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
1. Passion is a good thing, but it’s not enough!
29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
Peter was the spokesperson for the 12 disciples, he was a leader by nature…he no doubt was passionate about Jesus and was willing to die for Jesus if need be. Peter’s heart was in the right place, but as we will see in our passage this morning, something was still missing.
How many times have you uttered those famous words…. “I will never…” or “You’ll never see me ….” We are pretty good at making some passionate proclamations…and when we make those, we believe it with all our hearts. Life has a way of testing those statements…doesn’t it?
Passion is a good thing, but it’s not enough. In the Christian life, when we get saved, we are passionate about God and what He has done for us through Jesus, forgiving us of all our sins…setting us free! And God wants to use that Passion to tell others about Him…but we have someone we need to learn to count on that the disciples didn’t have yet when they faced this time of crisis…we have the Holy Spirit.
I’ve thought a lot about this passage and this failure that we see on Peter’s part, and all the other disciples who ran and hid away instead of fighting for Jesus’ sake. I don’t think they were weak men physically, I don’t think they were passive in their love for Jesus….what I do think is that God was allowing them to go through this failure to teach them that even with all the Passion they could muster up….they still needed someone to give them what would be needed in their times of persecution and in living out their Christian life the way Jesus was modeling….they needed a source of strength….they needed an encourager, an accountability partner….they would need the Power of the Holy Spirit.
If you have played sports at all, you understand about the butterflies that happen before the game is about to start. In High School, before the football games, we had this whole pregame routine that we went through leading up to the game…we ate at a certain time….we started getting taped at a certain time, we started getting our pads on at a certain time….then about 45 minutes before it was time to go out and take the field we would listen to a certain song… Phil Collins… “In the Air Tonight”…by the time that song was over we were ready….as we walked to the field as one, the adrenaline rush was pretty awesome….we were ready to do battle.
Funny thing about all that passion though…after the first 10 minutes of the game…when you begin to feel the physical strain of the game…it wasn’t passion anymore that mattered the most, it was just football…who was the better team.
Even in sports, passion will only take you so far.
Have you, like this great apostle…Peter…have you failed God in your relationship to Him? Have you fell into the grips of temptation, and turned away from what you knew was the right thing to do?
Well, join the club called the human race…the Bible makes clear, We have sinned and fallen short, none of us can claim to be superior in our self-righteousness…. We are all in the same position…we are in need of a Savior who will forgive and redeem us!
I’ve thought a lot about Peter, and how he felt that day when he denied Jesus three times, I’ve thought a lot about Peter that day how he must have felt when that rooster crowed, and he realized what he had done to the One he loved…..he felt like a total failure…not worthy of Jesus. Why have I thought so much about Peter? Because I have been in his shoes, I have felt that pain, that shame, that wanting to run and hide….that sorrow…that regret wishing I could take it back.
Friends, we have all been there, we have all been broken by our sin. The question is, are you going to allow your sin, your failures to define who you are? Or, will you turn to Jesus and allow Him to raise you out of that place of failure, and bring you to a place of freedom? The truth is God wants us to learn from our failures, learn to trust in Him so that we don’t have to keep going back to those places of failure and disobedience…..He has a much better position for us…one that brings Freedom and Peace.
In the Christian life, passion is great, it’s needed…we all need to ask God to rekindle our Passion if it has died down…..but we also need to realize that this Christian life isn’t carried out with passion alone…in fact, we learn quickly that passion alone will leave us disappointed and wondering what happened…kind of like Peter. So what is it we need?
2. We Need the Fire….the Fire of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:15-17)
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.
Jesus has been preparing the disciples for this moment for the whole time he has been with them. If you go back and look at the 4 gospels, you will notice that Jesus predicted his death and tried to tell his disciples what was to come in an effort to prepare them, but of course, this was not something that they wanted to hear, and they didn’t truly understand God’s plan for Jesus…yet.
But Jesus had also told them of One to come, who would be with them, an Advocate….someone who would help them and live with them…forever…the Spirit of Truth.
Have you ever made a promise that you meant with all your heart…only to break it? That’s exactly what the disciples did. Let’s be honest, we all have. Part of the human experience is failure, broken promises.
This may not sound correct, but listen carefully. I believe God allows us to fail for a reason. I believe God wants us to come to a place in our lives where we realize we can’t do this thing called life on our own….He wants us to realize that we Need Him!
I’ve learned a lot of things in my 46 years on earth….
• I’ve learned that no matter how strong I think I am…I’m not strong enough by myself.
• I’ve learned that no matter how much I love my wife and girls, that I can’t love them the way God has called me to love them…without His help.
• I’ve learned that no matter how passionate I feel towards God and what He has done for me, I’m still going to be tempted, I’m still vulnerable in every area.
• I’ve learned that I have some areas in my life that I’m weaker in than others, and I need to ask God and others to keep me accountable in order to have victory.
• I’ve learned that God’s plan doesn’t revolve around me.
• I’ve learned that Obedience or Surrender is better than Sacrifice.
• I’ve learned that there are very few things I’m willing to go to battle for….but those few things…I’m willing to die for.
Those are just some of the things I’ve learned…but the most important thing I’ve learned about this Christian life is that I must depend on the Holy Spirit….He is my source of strength, He is the one who leads me into Truth…He is the one who helps me overcome my failures and faults.
In our passage, the disciples were learning some valuable lessons on failure. I’m assuming that many of you….in fact, I would guess all of us in here today understand what it means to fail at some point. Can I tell you a secret?
Failure is not the End. Failure can be a starting point in our lives. In the midst of your Failure, God wants to give you New Hope, New Life…a New Beginning.
This New Beginning starts with a simple prayer….
God, Please forgive me…forgive me for my sins, forgive me for trying to live this life without you.
Then make your pledge: God, I put my faith in You…..I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He is your Son….and I accept what He did on the Cross for me. Please fill me with His Spirit, the Holy Spirit so I can live this power filled Christian life…powered by your Spirit, not mine!
Friends, the Christian life is all about new beginnings. It’s about learning from where we have been and allowing God to help us become the men and women that He has always intended for us to be. If you will seek Him with all your Heart, He promises to fill you with His Spirit.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Today, you may feel like you have been sent into captivity, you have been away from God for a long time….God promises that if you seek him in prayer, with all your heart….. You will find Him…and He will bring you back into fellowship and you will never need to be away from Him again….He is waiting, He is wanting to give you this great gift of Forgiveness…will you accept it?
The God of 2nd Chances is calling out to you today….failure is not the end of the story for you, Victory in Jesus is what is waiting for you…Peter found out what it was to be filled with the Holy Spirit, what it was to be redeemed and he lived the rest of his life for Jesus…and died for his Savior with a boldness and passion that the Holy Spirit filled him with…. What is the end of the story going to read for you?
