When Elon Musk started SpaceX in California, he had a dream of safely returning used rocket boosters so they could be used again. This would greatly reduce the cost of space flight. To date, they have been very successful. However, initially there was a lot of failure. Take a look at this YouTube video SpaceX uploaded just a few years ago (www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ). It shows some of the most dramatic times they did not succeed…
The two-minute video, titled "How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster," is set to the song "The Liberty Bell" by John Philip Sousa and includes humorous captions for each clip of impressive rocket explosions.
In one segment that shows SpaceX CEO Elon Musk observing a smoldering rocket, the caption reads “It's just a scratch.” Another chimes in, “Well, technically, it did land… just not in one piece.” The video even pokes fun at the phrase “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” a phrase Musk has made famous to describe untimely and expensive explosions of impressive size.
The video ends, however, with triumphant footage of its first two successful landings, one on land and one on sea. (Marcia Dunn, “SpaceX bloopers video: ‘How NOT to land an orbital rocket,’” Yahoo! News, 9-14-17; www.PreachingToday.com)
I like some of the comments (in case you missed them): “It’s just a scratch;” “Well, technically, it did land… just not in one piece.” And my favorite: “Rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
Now, after all those failures, the company has experienced good success, landing 268 additional rocket boosters without mishap. You see, failure is not fatal. Failure doesn’t have to be the end of the story. In fact, it can be the beginning of something wonderful if you handle it right. Even if you have committed some great moral failure, God can still use you for His glory!
That’s what the resurrection is all about. Jesus died for your sins on the cross. Then He rose again, demonstrating that God had accepted His sacrifice on your behalf. Now, Jesus is in the business of restoring failures to faithful, fulfilled, and fruitful servants in His Kingdom.
In one of His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus does that for Peter, who had failed miserably. Peter had boasted that even if all the other disciples ran away, he would lay down his life for Jesus no matter what (John 13:37). But after Jesus was arrested, Peter came into the door of the High Priest’s courtyard, and John 18 records:
The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself… So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said, “I am not.”
One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?”
Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed (John 18:17-18, 25-27).
Three times by a charcoal fire, Peter denied knowing the Lord. Now, three times by another charcoal fire, Jesus will restore Peter. He will restore their broken relationship, and He will restore Peter’s broken ability to serve successfully. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 21, John 21, where we see how Jesus restored Peter, and how He can restore you and me when we fail.
John 21:1-3 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (ESV)
Peter figured that Jesus didn’t want Him anymore, so he goes back to his old job. He goes fishing, but he fails even at that. Peter can’t do anything right, but Jesus is not finished with Him.
John 21:4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. (ESV)
It was still dark.
John 21:5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” (ESV)
Oh, how that question must have hurt Peter. Here he is, an experienced, professional fisherman, and he has nothing to show for it.
John 21:6-11 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. (ESV)
Fisherman must count their fish – 153 big fish! Perhaps the greatest catch they ever saw. It was a miracle catch! Peter had failed, but Christ caused him to flourish.
Christ did the miraculous through him, and Jesus wants to do the same for you. Without Him, you can do nothing, but with Him, nothing is impossible!
What is a pen? By itself, it’s useless. All it does is lay there. It may look pretty. It may “have what it takes” (ink, etc.), but it is useless without a hand to hold it. Then, let a Shakespeare or a Milton or a Longfellow take that same pen, and it will write words that will move the hearts of people for centuries. We are but pens in the hand of God.
Somebody wrote…
“Without Me ye can do nothing.” Lord, I know, I know!
“Without Me ye can do noting” – Only a round “0.”
Stand by my side, O Master, Then One and 0 are ten;
Stand by my friend and me, Lord – We are a hundred then.
A little group of two or three Are gathered in thy name –
‘Tis a hundred or a thousand if You are standing there with them.
Stand by the side of each of us – Your servants in the fight –
With each new “nought” the numbers grow; The imps of hell take fright.
Ten thousand, millions, myriads –
An adjustment of our thoughts.
‘Tis the One who stands beside us
Makes the value of our “noughts.”
You may feel like a big fat “ZERO,” at times. But let the One, the Resurrected One, stand beside you, and you are a TEN!
FAILURES FLOURISH WHEN THEY ARE WITH CHRIST.
Sinners succeed in His presence. All you have to do is what Peter did, and that’s come to Christ.
COME FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST AND LET HIM FEED YOU.
Get close to the Lord and let Him serve you. Move towards the Lord and let Him minister to you.
When Peter realized it was Jesus standing on the shore, Peter dove into the water and got to Jesus as quick as he could. This is how I imagined it happened. Take a look (show video: Jesus restores Peter from The Easter Experience, episode 2, City on a Hill Productions, 2009)
Jesus happily receives Peter and feeds him along with his friends.
John 21:12-14 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (ESV)
They were sharing a meal together; and around that meal, they were sharing their lives once again.
Jesus eats with failures, and Jesus wants to do that with you, as well. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said to a failing group of Christians, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Jesus said this to the Laodicean church! They had grown lukewarm in their commitment to Christ and were in danger of losing their testimony. Even so, Jesus says to them, “Let’s eat together. Let’s fellowship together. Let’s share our lives together.”
That’s His invitation to all who have failed Him, to all who are at times lukewarm in their commitment to Him. Jesus doesn’t reject you when you fail. On the contrary, He says to you, “Let’s get together.”
After a long night and day of marching, Robert E. Lee and the exhausted Army of Northern Virginia made camp just east of Appomattox Courthouse on April 8. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant had sent him a letter on the night of April 7, following confrontations between their troops at Cumberland Church and Farmville, suggesting that Lee surrender. The Southern general refused. Grant replied, again suggesting surrender to end the bloodshed. Lee responded, saying in part, “I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army,” though he offered to meet Grant at 10 the next morning between picket lines to discuss a peaceful outcome.
Having watched the battle through field glasses—Lee then said, “Then there is nothing left for me to do but go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.” But meeting General Grant at the Mclean house, Lee said “We are pressed and are ready to surrender. What are your terms?”
Surprisingly it wasn't judgment. It wasn't prison. It wasn't retribution … The terms were to stop fighting and to start living. Give up your weapons, go home and plant your fields. The soldiers who hadn't eaten in days were given meal rations, horses and mules to plow fields. The war was over but for many people, life had just begun. (Harold Holzer, Gabor S.Boritt and Mark E. Neely Jr., "Appomattox Courthouse," HistoryNet, www. historynet.com/appomattox-court-house-battle)
That’s the same invitation Jesus gives to those who fail, even to those who have rebelled against Him. Come and be fed. Stop fighting and start living. Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Come. Let the one who is thirsty come… [and] take the water of life without price (Revelation 22:17).
Oh, my dear friends, if you have failed the Lord, just come back to Him. Come for fellowship with Christ and let Him feed you. Then…
CONFESS YOUR FAILURE TO CHRIST AND LET HIM AFFIRM YOU.
Admit your sin to the Lord and let Him encourage you. Concede your defeat and let Jesus confirm you as one of His servants.
That’s what Jesus did for Peter. Three times by a charcoal fire, Peter had denied his Lord. Now, three times by another charcoal fire, the Lord asks him to care for His flock.
John 21:15a When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (ESV)
I.e., more than the other disciples do. You see, Peter had bragged that even if all the other disciples fall away he would not (Mark 14:29). Now, Jesus questions whether his loyalty is greater than all the other disciples. How does Peter respond?
John 21:15b-17 He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, 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 everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (ESV)
Now, there is an interesting play on the word, “love,” here. Three (3) times, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” And Three (3) times, Peter replies, “Yes, I love you.” Only Jesus and Peter are using a different word for “love.”
The first time Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me” (vs.15), He uses the word agape, a word which speaks of a self-sacrificial, self-giving type of love. In other words, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me enough to give your life for me?”
And Peter, with the denial of his Lord still fresh in his mind, can only answer, “Lord, you know that I love you” – phileo, a different word for love, a word which implies affection, like one brother has for another. It’s not the self-giving, self-sacrificial kind of love that Jesus asked about.
It’s as if Peter is saying, “Lord, you know I like you a lot. I don’t know if I can honestly say I’d give my life for you, but you know my heart. I do have strong feelings of affection towards you.” Gone is Peter’s boasting, replaced with an honest admission of his limited love for the Lord.
Even so, Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.”
The 2nd time, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me” (vs.16), he uses the agape word again.
But Peter can only answer, “Yes, Lord, you know that I like you (phileo). I’ve failed you, Lord, and to be honest, I cannot say that I am able to give my life for you. But you know my heart. I do have strong feelings of affection towards you.”
“That’s OK,” Jesus says, “Take care of my sheep.”
Then, a 3rd time, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me” (vs.17). Only this time Jesus uses the word that Peter has been using all along, phileo. It’s as if Jesus is saying to Peter, “Do you even have strong feelings of affection towards me?”
And this is what grieved Peter – not that Jesus asked him three times, but that on the third time, Jesus seemed to question even Peter’s limited love for his Lord.
Peter responds by saying (vs.17), “Lord, you know everything” – On the surface, it doesn’t look like I even have strong feelings of affection for you. I denied you, but you know my heart. “You know that I love you.”
And Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus is saying to Peter, “I know you love me, even though you have failed me, even though your actions don’t show it. I know your heart, and I still want you to lead my church.”
When Peter confesses his failure, Christ affirms him, and that’s what Christ wants to do for you. All you have to do is confess your failure like Peter did. Admit your sin; concede your defeat, and Jesus will NOT condemn you. On the contrary, He’ll confirm you as one of His own and call you back into His service.
A few years ago (January 2016), NPR ran a heartbreaking interview with Robert Ebeling, an engineer who worked on the 1986 Challenger launch that resulted in the death of all seven occupants. In January 1986, Ebeling and four other engineers pleaded for the launch to be delayed; they anticipated the precise failure that would destroy the shuttle. That night, Ebeling even told his wife, Darlene, “It's going to blow up.” The engineers' pleas were refused. Three weeks after the explosion, he and another engineer, since deceased, spoke to NPR. Ebeling was not identified by name until 30 years later in another NPR article, which said:
Ebeling retired soon after Challenger. He suffered deep depression and has never been able to lift the burden of guilt. In 1986, as he watched that haunting image again on a television screen, he said, “I could have done more. I should have done more.” He says the same thing today, sitting in a big easy chair in the same living room, his eyes watery and his face grave. The data he and his fellow engineers presented, and their persistent and sometimes angry arguments, weren't enough to sway Thiokol managers and NASA officials. Ebeling concludes he was inadequate. He didn't argue the data well enough… “I think that was one of the mistakes that God made,” Ebeling said. “He shouldn't have picked me for the job. But next time I talk to him, I'm gonna ask him, ‘Why me. You picked a loser.’” (Howard Berkes, “30 Years After Explosion, Challenger Engineer Still Blames Himself,” NPR The Two-Way blog, 1-28-16; www.PreachingToday.com)
Ebeling was unable to accept the forgiveness Jesus so freely offers. Please, don’t you do the same. Sure, Jesus may have picked a loser, but Jesus loves losers and wants to use them for His glory! So, if you have failed the Lord, please, don’t stay away from Him. Instead, come to Him this morning. Come for fellowship with Christ and let Him feed you. Then confess your failure to Christ and let Him affirm you. Finally, if you have failed the Lord…
COMMIT TO FOLLOWING CHRIST AND LET HIM RESTORE YOU TO FAITHFUL SERVICE.
Seek to obey the Lord and let Him use you for His glory! Pursue Christ and let Him make you into one of His fully committed servants.
That’s what Jesus did for Peter. Jesus restored him to faithful service. Jesus gave him that agape love that Peter knew he didn’t have in himself. Look at what Jesus says to Peter.
John 21:18-19 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” (ESV)
Peter had said to Christ, “I’m not sure I could die for you, but you know I have strong feelings of affection towards you.” But Christ tells Peter, right here, “You will die for me. You will have what it takes to give your all for me. It won’t come from yourself. Rather, I will give you that agape, self-sacrificing love. All you have to do is follow me.”
John 21:20-22 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (ESV)
Don’t worry about my plan for anybody else. You follow me, and I’ll make you into the man I called you to be.
Christ restored Peter to total and complete faithfulness, and that’s what Christ wants to do for you and me. Perhaps, you think you could never serve our Lord effectively. Perhaps, you think you could never die for Him. Perhaps, you think He doesn’t even want you after the way you’ve failed Him. Don’t you believe it! Jesus wants you. And if you let Him, He will make you into a faithful follower of Himself. He will recommission you and restore you to effective service.
Since its inception in the 1970s, the Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS) has given second chances to thousands of men and women in danger of losing their families, careers, and even their lives.
Eighty percent of HIMS participants never relapse at all, and of the ones who do, most only relapse once. That’s good, because people trust HIMS clientele with their lives. They are airline pilots.
Now, pilots deal with a variety of emotional and psychological struggles that contribute to addiction, and the high-stakes nature of their work requires strict enforcement. However, the demand for their specialized ability created a need for airline officials and government regulators to alter their approach to substance abuse toward an emphasis on rehabilitation and recovery.
According to Dr. Lynn Hankes, who ran an FAA-approved rehab facility in South Miami, the secret to HIMS' success is twofold. Successful rehab requires a structured system in place, which often consists of a month in a rehab facility, and a minimum of three years of drug-related monitoring and testing.
But it also requires external motivation. “If you threaten a pilot with taking away his wings, it's like threatening a doctor with taking away his stethoscope. That's a lot of leverage. If they want to get back to the cockpit or the operating room, they gotta jump through the hoops.”
This approach has not only increased safety for air travelers, but it's been a lifeline for pilots like Lyle Prouse, who was able to retire honorably after a previous arrest, a stint in prison, and entry into the HIMS program.
“I've gotten to live out more miracles than anybody I know,” said Prouse. “I suppose without sounding preachy or evangelistic, the only thing I can attribute it to is God's grace” (Tony Dokoupil, “Rehab that puts alcoholic pilots back in the cockpit,” CBS News, 12-10-17; www.PreachingToday.com).
God, in His grace, restores failures into useful service again.
So, if you have failed the Lord, come back to Him this morning. Come for fellowship with the Lord and let Him feed you. Confess your failure to the Lord and let Him affirm you. Commit to following the Lord and let Him restore you.
I like the way Vance Havner once put it years ago. He said, “God uses broken things. Broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever [before]” (Leadership, Vol.4, No.1).
Please, come back to Jesus today and let Him turn your brokenness into a great blessing!
