Introduction

Can people really change? Are we “hardwired” by our genetics to act or think a certain way? Can we overcome the lack of lessons we learned in our early childhood? Those are some big questions, but I have a few examples that suggest that people really can change. For example, did you know that before Gene Simmons was the lead singer for the makeup-wearing ’70s rock group Kiss, he was a sixth-grade teacher in Harlem? You can decide if he went in the right direction, but that seems to be a significant change to me. Before he played an astronaut, fished in the middle of a river, or traveled backward through time, Brad Pitt spent his days standing outside and wearing a chicken costume to entice customers into an El Pollo Loco restaurant. Before she was whipping up French cuisine, Julia Child was an intelligence officer for the CIA.

If there’s one thing I’ve seen in my years following Jesus, it’s that He can change us. As you move forward in your journey with Jesus, who knows where He might take you or how you might change? As we consider the changes He might want to make in us on our journey with Him, we’re going to take a broad look at two of the most recognizable people who encountered Jesus and how their journey with Him changed everything for them. In our exploration, I think you’ll find some exciting insights for your journey with Jesus!

Failing Forward

Let’s start by looking at Peter. The nice thing about Peter is that he gives us so much material to use—especially if we want to talk about failure along the journey. What you ultimately find about Peter’s journey is that when he fails, he fails forward and not backward. That may be one of the most important lessons we can learn in our journey with Jesus.

Of course, Peter’s most famous failure happens just before Jesus’s crucifixion. It’s the big one where he gets intimidated by a school-aged servant girl and denies he ever met Jesus. He does it not just once or twice, but three times. Peter’s second most well-known failure is probably the one in Matthew 16 where Jesus is talking about His coming crucifixion. Peter pulls Him to the side and says, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” (verse 22). Jesus doesn’t say, “Well, Peter, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.” He says, “Get behind me, Satan!” (verse 23). Can you imagine God telling you, “Not only are you wrong, you are actually the Devil’s mouthpiece right now?”

Peter has so many more mistakes for us to learn from. He is the one who cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear when Jesus was arrested. Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away!” (John 18:11). Peter is the one who, after the transfiguration when Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus on the mountain, said, “Let us make three shelters as memorials.” And I love what Mark says right after it: “He said this because he didn’t know what else to say, for they were all terrified” (Mark 9:5–6, nlt). Peter is the one who, when Jesus began to wash the disciples’ feet, refused and said, “No, you shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8). Peter is the one who was confronted by Paul for backing down from fellowshipping with Gentiles when he was afraid of what the hard-line Jewish Christians would think (Galatians 2:11–21).

If you were here for our sermon on the Church, you’ll remember that Peter is the same person whom Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). That’s big. We talk about the founding fathers of this country, and we give them honor—as we should. But the Church is much bigger. The Church is worldwide. The Church lasts forever. All of us are a part of the Church. In some ways, Peter is as big as Abraham—the great father of the Jews! It’s comforting to me that Jesus entrusted the beginning of the Church to a man who made so many mistakes in his journey with Jesus. Peter teaches us that as long as we keep getting up and keep walking with Jesus, failure is never final.

In your journey with Jesus, you will encounter disappointments. You will slip. You’ll even fail. Peter’s life shows us that one of the most important things you can do after a disappointment, a loss, or a failure is to start a path to reengage where God was taking you. It’s OK to catch your breath or grab your bearings after a failure. But if you want to keep going with Jesus, you’ve always got to get back in the game.

After his first big failure, Peter was having a tough time reengaging. Jesus rose from the dead, and Peter was in a strange, awkward place. Of course, he was thrilled Jesus was alive, but he also remembered that moment described in Luke 22 where someone had said, “‘Certainly this fellow was with him,’ and Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” (verses 59–61).

Peter was glad Jesus was back, but he still had those eyes piercing his heart and a pretty serious failure hanging over his head. So we see what Peter does in John 21:3, and I think it’s exactly what I would do. Peter says, “I’m going out to fish.” Maybe he was just clearing his head. But if Peter is anything like me, I can imagine the inner dialogue he had:

Peter teaches us that as long as we keep getting up and keep walking with Jesus, failure is never final.

On your journey with Jesus, when you fail or when it gets really hard, you’re going to be tempted to go back to the way it was ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium