Class Lesson October 28, 2012

Hey Gang,


We continue this week with our series question: How do I find life after failure?  

 Video 1

Video 2

Is there a difference between the failures in these videos?

• Achievement failure versus moral failure.
• Do you think each televangelist started their ministry with good intentions?

This has been an important series because we all have failed in life and we all need hope that there is life after our failure. In our first lesson, we saw from the story of the woman at the well that failures in our past don't mean that our story stops there. Jesus wants each of us to recognize our need, confront our failure and live a new life - this is what salvation is all about. Our second lesson looked at Abraham and Sarah's failure to follow God's direction in life and the consequences and ramifications of their choices. We learned how important it is to listen to God with patience in His timing, and not to take matters into our own hands because it will always mess things up. But when we do make this mistake we should refocus on God's plan for our lives and get back on His highway. (Even if we are all born to be wild) Last week, we saw through Miriam, Moses' sister, how easily we can fall into the trap of envy causing us to be discontent and critical of others - God doesn't appreciate this! And sometimes He will deal with us through correction - our lesson warns us to follow God's leadership, avoid a critical spirit, and accept God's correction when it comes.

Now, this week we come to the end of our series and our lesson wants you to think of a time when you had good intentions to take a stand for what was right, but didn’t? 

Now think for a minute, why you failed? How did you feel about yourself and that missed opportunity? 

Now imagine your greatest failure written in full detail for the world to read.  

Video 3 - Peter's Denial

We all have pages of our lives we wish we could rip out. The question before us this morning is what hope do we have when we fail Christ so miserably?

• The same hope that Peter had.
• No matter what you’ve done in the past, today is a brand-new moment. Let God restore you and follow His instructions for doing so.
• Christians have the power of Almighty God to do right. But even then, we don’t always follow through. Those failures can haunt us for years. We are going to walk through Peter’s failure this morning and see how God will move us from failure to action. Peter’s experience encourages us that when we fail Jesus, and truly repent, He will forgive, restore, and put us back into service for Him.

I. STOP DENYING CHRIST – JOHN 18:15-18, 25-27

Peter Denies Jesus

15 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was following Jesus, as was another disciple. That disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest; so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard. 16 But Peter remained standing outside by the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the girl who was the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. 17 Then the slave girl who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” “I am not!” he said. 18 Now the slaves and the temple police had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold. They were standing there warming themselves, and Peter was standing with them, warming himself.
Peter Denies Jesus Twice More

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of His disciples too, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!” 26 One of the high priest’s slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?” 27 Peter then denied it again. Immediately a rooster crowed. 

 

What were Peter’s good intentions? What happened? Why do you think Peter failed? What do you think went through his mind when he heard that rooster crow?

• Peter intended on staying with Jesus even if it meant dying with Him (Matt. 26:35).
• At the heart of both of Peter’s failures is the same problem, a turning from the things of God to the things of the world. Whether it was the raging storm, or the bad company of Jesus’ trail does not matter. What matters is where your focus is, and who your guide is. With your own strength you cannot succeed in this cursed world. Make no mistake, Satan is ruler of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), and will remain so until Christ returns to set it right. God is still on His throne, and is the ultimate King of Kings, but when we turn away from Him to the world; it is the same as putting Satan on God’s throne. We either live by the rule of God and have God as our King or we do not and make Satan king instead.

Why do you think this story is in the Bible? Why is 1 Corinthians 10:12 a good warning for all proudly loyal disciples?

• So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.
• Never say never because you’ll let down your guard. Be aware you are always liable to fall.
• Like Peter, we can deny Jesus by lying about our relationship with Him.
• We can also deny Him by being silent instead of speaking up for Him.
• Or we can make ethical or moral choices that shroud the fact we know Him.

Can a Christian deny Jesus and still go to heaven?

• That was an interesting question I heard the other day. The person who asked it was referring to Matthew 10:33 and what God does with Christians in persecuted countries who are tortured and deny Christ.
• Matthew 10:33 says, "But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." This is Jesus talking to his disciples about the trials they will have to go through. He is asking them if they will stand the tests and persevere, but this can be a bit difficult for the person who thinks that once we are in Christ, we are secure, and nothing can snatch us away from that relationship.
• If you dissect the question, it can be a bit of a difficult one. On one hand, the grace of God is more powerful than going through a laundry list of good deeds to get into heaven. While I don't believe Christians should deny Christ, is it possible for believers to act in ways contrary to their new nature and still be saved?

Do believers go around claiming they don't believe in Jesus? Would that cost them their salvation if they did deny him, or would it be proof that they never did truly believe?

• Assuming that by "Christian" the person meant someone who has repented of their sin and trusted in Christ.
• Nothing can snatch a believer away from the hope of eternal life that they have in salvation (John 10:28), and I guess that would include denying Christ, although I'd imagine on a temporary basis.
• I don't believe a true believer would go around denying Jesus, but I do believe that people can succumb to weakness of human intellect and falter. And that would not diminish the saving work that God has already done in their lives. Of course, they would have a lot of remorse and guilt to deal with, but I believe that the Lord would be gracious to them.
• So, in theory, yes, a Christian can deny Christ and still go to heaven, because the grace of God is more powerful than any person doing all the right things to get into heaven.
• Saying that someone could be damned for something they did after genuinely receiving Christ would nullify all the scriptural promises of the efficacy of God's grace. He would no longer be able to save someone completely. It would require work on our part that would merit our own salvation. When grace involves merit, it ceases to be grace.
• Most who openly deny Christ probably aren't really Christians. I think that Matthew 10:33 is, like a lot of passages in the New Testament, a test to discover who is really a Christian and who's a phony. Most Christians, since Christ is living inside of them, really wouldn't deny Christ; it would be like denying yourself. The New Testament and history of the Church speaks pretty clearly on this; for millenia, Christians have been tortured and executed for not denying their belief in Jesus.
• The Church should seriously question a "Christian" who denies Christ, wondering if the person is really a believer or have merely given a cheap profession of faith without true repentance. There are a lot of people in churches that look like and talk like Christians and don't know Jesus.
• When you strip away all the religious practices, it all comes down to whether or not you know Christ personally; I would have a hard time denying someone I knew personally. That's like saying my wife didn't exist; it simply doesn't make sense to say that someone I spend so much time with doesn't exist. That is, unless I never really met her and we never really got married.

How do we deny Christ today?



II. SHOW LOVE FOR CHRIST – JOHN 21:15-19

Jesus’ Threefold Restoration of Peter

15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.” “Feed My lambs,” He told him. 16 A second time He asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.” “Shepherd My sheep,” He told him. 17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.” “Feed My sheep,” Jesus said. 18 “I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to signify by what kind of death he would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, “Follow Me!”

What was Jesus’ good intention? Why do you think this story is in the Bible?

• Peter failed to follow through on his commitment to Jesus; Jesus restored Peter to a right relationship with and active service for Him.
• Some believe this interchange took place privately. Others believe it was in the presence of the other disciples so his restoration, like his failure, was public.

How was Peter to prove he loved Jesus? Do you think Peter was shocked by the Lord’s assignment? Why or why not? What was Peter’s role in living a redemptive life after failure?

• Peter was to demonstrate his love for Jesus by demonstrating love for others.
• Loving Jesus, and accepting forgiveness, isn’t a matter of words but doing what He says.
• A leader who has failed but been restored tends to be a more humble, caring person who, out of personal experience, can give hope that there’s life and ministry beyond failure.

Why would Jesus tell Peter the kind of death he would face?

• Tradition says Peter insisted on being crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.
• John probably wrote this gospel in the 80’s A.D. It is believed Peter was killed during Nero’s persecution of the church in the early 60’s. if so, this Gospel’s first readers would have known the details of Peter’s death.

When we falter as believers, we cannot allow ourselves to conclude we’re useless to Jesus now. Instead we do what He’s calling us to do. We serve and obey Him.




III. DO RIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT – ACTS 4:13, 18-20

The Name Forbidden

13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.



18 So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; 20 for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Is this the same Peter? Could this episode have occurred without the exchange between Jesus and Peter in John 21?

• Peter could not have mustered up this kind of boldness by determining he’d never fail again. Only God’s power can do this. He’d let down Christ, but he was now restored and commissioned by Christ. Filled with His love, forgiveness, and Holy Spirit (see v. 8), Peter chose to honor Jesus and not let Him down again.
• We may surprise ourselves with timidity and failure to stand for Christ.
• When we fail, Jesus knows how to restore us.
• Christ’s working in us through His Spirit can transform us from being timid to being confident and courageous as we serve Him.
• No matter how badly we have failed, Jesus stands ready to love us back into usefulness in His service.

Was Peter’s failure of help to His later success?

• Peter’s courageous proclamation about Christ in the presence of religious leaders stood in stark contrast to his denials of Christ on the night of His arrest. Then he had behaved like a coward, denying he even knew Jesus. Now he stood up for Jesus and caught his accuser’s off-guard with his confidence.

Jesus Calling: As you become increasingly aware of My Presence, you find it easier to discern the way you should go. This is one of the practical benefits of living close to Me. Instead of wondering about what is on the road ahead or worrying about what you should do if … or when … you can concentrate on staying in communication with Me. When you actually arrive at a choice-point, I will show you which direction to go.

Many people are so preoccupied with future plans and decisions that they fail to see choices they need to make today. Without any conscious awareness, they make their habitual responses. People who live this way find a dullness creeping into their lives. They sleepwalk through their days, following well-worn paths of routine.

 

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me to be humble and faithful in Your service. Amen.

Be in prayer this week as we close out this series on life after failure through Jesus' salvation, direction, correction and action. Praise be to God for His continued mercy and grace on each of us - for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Hope to see you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan