A Summary of the Sermon Titled: "Failure is a Time for New Beginnings" 
Presented by Rev. Wayne Karr on Sunday, February 23, 1997
(Developed from an outline by David C. Hammerle)
The question is often asked, "Why do so many church members fail?" Well, someone 
once answered that question with this little parable: A young boy was once asked 
why he fell out of bed. He thoughtfully replied, "I guess because I stayed too 
close to the getting-in place!" Maturing in Christ is sometimes like learning 
not to fall out of bed. We need to get in farther from the getting-in place. But 
we learn just like a child, we have to fall out of bed sometimes to remind us 
about staying in.
In James 1:2-4 it says that perseverance must finish its work in us so that we 
can become complete. That, in effect, is saying we need to keep getting back in 
the bed and learn how to sleep in the middle. James says its the testing of our 
faith that develops perseverance. The testing of our faith does not always mean 
being tempted and successfully resisting the temptation--sometimes it means 
falling short and persevering with God. Sometimes we fail, but if we hold on 
till the end, we will receive glory--that's what Jesus said to the churches in 
Revelation 2.
Let's look at two examples of failure and how these people responded to it: 
first, Simon Peter's denial of Christ on the night of his betrayal; then Judas 
Iscariot's sad realization after his betrayal of Jesus. Let's begin with Peter's 
situation. Just before Jesus is to be betrayed he turns to Peter and tells him 
what is going to happen. Luke 22:31-34 reads:
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for 
    you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, 
    strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you 
    to prison and to death." Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the 
    rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
    Now James has said that it's the testing of our faith that develops 
perseverance. Peter's faith is going to be tested. This story reminds me of the 
events in the beginning of the book of Job. Satan came to God and said Job was 
only faithful because God had blessed him and demanded to test Job. Maybe God 
again said to Satan "Look at my servant Peter! He is really learning what faith 
is." And Satan asked for that faith to be tested.
Notice that verse 32 says Jesus prayed that Simon's FAITH would not fail, not 
that Simon Peter would not fail. You see, failing or not failing a test is not 
so much the issue as what we do after we've failed. After we've fallen out of 
bed, will we stay on the floor--or get back under the covers? That is the 
question of faith. Someone once said, "Don't worry when you stumble, a worm is 
about the only thing that can't fall down." Everyone slips and falls; only Jesus 
was a sinless human being.
Well, what happened to Peter's faith? Read the story in Luke 22:54-62:
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high 
    priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in 
    the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with 
    them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked 
    closely at him and said, "This man was with him." But he denied it. "Woman, 
    I don't know him," he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, 
    "You also are one of them." "Man, I am not!" Peter replied. About an hour 
    later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a 
    Galilean." 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. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to 
    him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And 
    he went outside and wept bitterly.
    Notice how Peter was courageous at first--he followed the mob to that courtyard. 
And he went in and sat with them for several hours! That took guts. Peter was 
trying to live up to his bargain to stay by Jesus and even go to prison or die 
if he had to. We as Christians make those kinds of promises too, and we mean 
them. But sometimes the test is overwhelming to our human strength.
When the servant girl took a closer look, Peter's strength began to wane. But 
realize that this girl's remembering Peter was not by chance. Satan asked for 
the test and God allowed it. The book of James says the testing will bring 
completion and maturity. Peter was going to need maturity and completeness after 
Jesus left the earth, because Jesus was going to give him the responsibility of 
guiding his church after the power of Pentecost came upon them. Peter was in 
training. We need to remember we are in training too. When Satan tries to get 
us, it's an opportunity for God to make us stronger and to turn our "trials into 
gold" (as Keith Green used to sing).
As Peter denied Jesus for the third time, the rooster crowed. From somewhere 
nearby, Jesus made eye contact with Peter in that moment. What do you think 
Jesus' facial expression was? Was he full of contempt? Hurt? Angry? He was then 
the same Jesus I know today, so I know what his face said: "I love you anyway 
Peter!"
Those who deserve love least, need it most. Peter needed love right then and I 
think Jesus sent it across that courtyard to him. Jesus prayed for Peter that 
his faith would not fail, and now he did all he could to encourage his friend. 
In that instant, I believe Jesus was praying for Peter too. He's also praying 
for us when we fall. In 1 John 2:1 says:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if 
    anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence--Jesus 
    Christ, the Righteous One.
    No matter what we face Jesus is asking the Father to keep us from loosing our 
faith, to hold on to us and love us. Romans chapter 5 says, "When we were still 
powerless, he showed us his love by giving himself for us." He still gives 
himself for us (and to us through the Spirit!).
Peter was powerless in that moment the rooster crowed. The pain of what he had 
done burst from his soul as he wept bitterly. Judas Iscariot's experience also 
led him to a point where he realized he had fallen short and made a great 
mistake. Somehow he came to his senses when he saw what had happened. The story 
is recorded in Matthew 27:3-5:
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was 
    seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief 
    priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed 
    innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your 
    responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he 
    went away and hanged himself.
    When he saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse. These emotions 
were probably not unlike the ones Peter felt. But what happened to Judas' faith? 
What did he do with that remorse? He went out and hanged himself.
It is a true statement that "the fellow who keeps looking back will soon find 
himself going that way." Judas wanted to go back to the way things were. He 
tried to fix what he had done by human means. But there was no going back--and 
for Judas there would be no going on and going ahead. In the moment Judas' human 
hope was gone, he did not persevere but he quit. His faith was tested, and he 
was found without any.
Peter's faith was tested and he failed, but he never lost his faith. As a result 
he gained from the experience, he went on from where he left off. Luke 24:6-12 
tell us that Peter didn't quit. He was still with the disciples after Jesus 
died, and he demonstrated that his faith was still there when the women came 
back from the empty tomb. Here is that passage, starting from the Angel's words 
to the women:
"He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still 
    with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of 
    sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they 
    remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these 
    things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, 
    Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the 
    apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to 
    them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. 
    Just like when the rooster crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had said about 
denying him, when the women came back Peter remembered what Jesus had said about 
his resurrection. The others were skeptical--but Peter's faith had been tested, 
and his faith had produced perseverance, and now he was more able to believe God 
was again at work in his life. Peter had failed, but he hadn't quit, and the 
experience had made him a better person who was ready to jump up and run to 
Jesus.
Judas was an example of failing, wanting to go back, and quitting. Judas had no 
real faith in Jesus Christ. He only had faith in Jesus the miracle-worker. We 
must never put our faith in people or the church or how well we do as 
Christians! We will fail and we will "fall out of bed" and we won't be able to 
go back. We cannot fix things once they become our past. God cannot even fix our 
past. But God will forgive us for the past and teach us from the past. We can 
never go back, but we can go on!
These verses say it all: 1 John 1:8-9:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in 
    us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our 
    sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
    


Go Back to Valley Gospel's Main Page



e