I. Text: Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”
A. God expects us to give of ourselves, give of our time, give of our finances. But one thing He doesn’t require of us, and that is to “give in!”
1. God is not in the business of creating losers! He has called and equipped us all to be champions!
2. We must not give in to the lie of our adversary who calls us a “failure.”
3. “Doing Good,” means to fulfill the will of God in your life. Sometimes, it seems hard and the way rough, and, we may even falter, but we must get back up and move on! We cannot afford to give up.
B. We Must Never Believe We Are A Spiritual Failure
1. God does not judge us by our success or failures, He judges us by our faithfulness!
2. Let’s look at a biblical example of someone who could have been called a Spiritual Failure: Peter.
3. As we look at the character of Peter and his walk with the Lord, examine yourself, and see how you compare.
II. Peter: The Reed Who Became A Rock!
A. His Life’s Character- His Fleshly Weaknesses
1. Naturally Impulsive- Mt. 14:28, when he asked permission to walk on the water.
2. Yet tenderhearted and affectionate – When Jesus told him he would deny Him three times, Peter wept bitterly (Mt. 26:75). Or when Jesus asked him three times if He loved Him (John 21:15-17). {Notice Jesus asked him three times and predicted that Peter would deny Him three times}
3. Full of presumption – (Mt. 16:22) When Peter told Jesus that He should not endure the cross. Or (John 13:8) when he told Jesus that he could never let Him wash his feet.
4. Timid & Cowardly – (Mt. 14:30) Like when he began walking on the water toward Jesus and noticed the wind and waves and became afraid and began to sink. (Mt. 26:69-72) When he did, finally, deny Christ three times for fear of his own life.
5. He was self-sacrificing – When, in Mark 1:18, he initially drop his fishing gear to follow Christ.
6. Yet, he inclined, at times, to be self-seeking- (Mt. 19:27) Peter told Jesus that they had left everything to be with Him. In other words, he was asking, ‘What’s in it for us?’
7. Peter was gifted with spiritual insight – Even prior to the outpouring of God’s Spirit. In John 6:68, he recognized that Jesus was the One with the words of eternal life.
8. Yet, he was also slow to receive the deeper things of truth- (is this beginning to sound like someone you know?) In Mt. 15:15-16, we find Peter asking for Jesus to explain the parable of “the blind leading the blind into the ditch.” Jesus’ answer: “Are you also still without understanding?” (vs. 16)
9. While Peter made two great confessions of his faith in Christ (Mt. 16:16 & John 6:69, answering Jesus’ question of who Peter would say Jesus is) – he also made the most cowardly denial of Christ – Mark 14:67-71.
B. Wouldn’t You Say Most of These Characteristics Define A Spiritual Failure?
1. Pride
2. Presumptuous
3. Self-Seeking
4. Coward
5. Fearful
6. Spiritually “Slow”
C. Yet, notice, all these things happened before the Day of Pentecost!
III. Peter’s Seven Steps to Failure
A. Step #1 – Conceit (Mt. 26:33) “Peter answered and said to Him (Jesus), ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
1. Okay, the first key to not failing before the Lord, NEVER tell Him “never”! You’ll probably eat your words! You might say, “With your help and guidance, I will do my best not to fall.”
B. Step #2 – Ease (Mt. 26:40) “Then He (Jesus) came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, ‘What? Could you not watch with Me for one hour?” (Notice He spoke directly to Peter) Jesus went on to say (truly defining Peter, by the way), “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
D. Step #3- Rashness – (recklessness or impulsiveness) Just prior to Jesus’ arrest, we find John 18:10-11: “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
E. Step # 4 – Following Afar Off – As Jesus was to appear before the Sanhedrin, we find Peter “lagging behind” so that it doesn’t appear he is with Jesus. (Mt. 26:58)
F. Step #5 – Evil Associates – John 18:18 “Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.”
G. Step #6 – Open Denial – John 18:25 “Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, ‘You are not also one of His disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not!”
H. Step #7 – Blasphemy – Mark 14:70-71 “But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, ‘Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.” Then he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
IV. While We Look At Peter As A Failure – Jesus Called Him A Rock!
A. Matthew 16:17-19 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail (be victorious) 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.” {Actually, when He said, whatever things you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, the literal translation is that it “will have been bound,” in other words, it already is}
1. Why would Jesus put this much confidence in the failure we just described? Because Jesus didn’t look at his failures, he looked at his faithfulness.
2. You say, Peter, a man of faithfulness? Yes! Having done all, he did, eventually, stand! Look at Judas, he never repented, he just committed suicide. Peter became that Rock that Jesus prophesied he would become!
V. Look At What This Failure Became!
A. Empowered by the Holy Spirit Peter:
1. Was Given Wisdom to Instruct Penitent Sinners. (Acts 2:14)
2. Wash Endued with Boldness and Courage. (Acts. 4:13)
Listen to this verse: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Now, Peter’s not afraid to admit having been with Jesus! This is the Peter that Jesus saw in him!
3. Was Given the Spiritual Gift of Healing the Sick. (Acts 5:15)
4. Performed Many Other Miracles, Including Raising the Dead. (Acts 9:40)
5. Laid Hands on People and They Received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:44)
6. He Received the Spiritual Strength Needed to Endure Persecution, and Rejoiced in It! (Acts 5:40-42)
VI. But, Why Do I Still Feel Like A Failure?
A. There Are Two Reasons:
1. You Still Believe The Enemy’s Lies! He’s a Liar; Remind Him!
2. “When all is said and done, there’s, usually, a lot more said, than done!” (Bob Mackenzie)
3. We must always be doing something. Remember our text said, “…in doing good…”
4. “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” (Will Rogers). You’ve got to keep on moving, spiritually! We must have the endurance, the drive, and the “stick-to-itiveness” that will make us endure. There’s an old quote that says, “Consider the postage stamp; its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.” (Josh Billings) Never giving up, or giving in… simply giving out of yourself what God wants. Remember, prayer, true prayer, is asking God what He wants. (William Barclay).
5. You must learn to “press on.” This is what Peter did. This is what Paul did. This is what Job did. This is what you can do! Even if you feel as though you were a failure….you’re NOT!
6. Think about this: “Even if you fall, at least you’re still going forward!”
Peter understood all of this. That’s why he wrote, in his first epistle (I Peter 2:9):
“Bur you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…”
