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Back from Failure
by Mark R. Scott
Text: John 21:15-19
Topic: What we must do to come back to God after failing him.
Big Idea: After denying Christ three times, Peter had certainly failed. But Jesus restores Peter in a post-resurrection appearance, asking Peter three times if he loves Christ.
Keywords: Easter; Failure; Forgiveness; Hope; Redemption
Introduction:
- Illustration: Dennis the Menace at his bedtime prayers, in pajamas and cowboy gear, “turning himself in” after failure.
- God is full of grace, because he works with broken and wounded people.
To come back from failure, we have to love God.
- Jesus didn’t say, “You let me down.” Instead, he said, “Simon, do you love me?”
- Jesus defines love in terms of obedience.
- Jesus asked Peter three times if he loves him in order to re-engage his love for God.
Feeding folks is part of what it means to come back from failure.
- If sin and failure are communal, so is restoration: “Feed my sheep.”
- David said, “I will teach transgressors Thy ways” (Psalm 51:13).
- Make your life a display of grace and forgiveness, then show others.
If we come back from failure, we can die well.
- Peter comes back from failure, and gets so well that in his death, he brings glory to God.
- God is more interested in where you’re going than where you’ve been.
- Illustration: Two prominent tombstones off of Highway 62 mark graves of people who claim they “don’t have time” for death. In contrast, another grave marks the body of one who cobbled shoes “to the glory of God.”
Conclusion:
- Failure is a powerful word, but forgiveness is even more powerful.
- Illustration: Scott tells of doing a big assignment for a college class, but not being able to find it on the day it’s due. Seventeen years later, a roommate begs his forgiveness for taking the notebook and turning it in as his own. Scott’s answer: “Don’t carry this burden any more. Be free.”
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