00:01You know, I woke up this morning and I'm feeling a little nutty.
00:04I want to tell you, we've been listening to music a lot lately, and I always listen to
00:08music in the shower in the morning, and, oh man.
00:13Today my wife got a Led Zeppelin shirt, and I'm like, this is where Christ is taking me
00:19today.
00:20Led Zeppelin.
00:21I'm like, this is going to be so awesome.
00:24So, let's jump into it.
00:26It's going to be a great day.
00:28All right.
00:29You know, one of the most powerful lessons about Jesus is also one of the easiest to
00:35overlook, in my opinion.
00:37I want you to think about this.
00:40Jesus does not merely forgive people after they fail.
00:44He restores their purpose.
00:46Did you ever notice that?
00:48You know, many of us believe in forgiveness.
00:50We believe Jesus died for our sins.
00:53We believe God is merciful.
00:57We even believe that our past has been washed clean.
01:01But, deep inside, I think some of us still assume that failure changed what God can do
01:10with us.
01:10Now, I'm a former atheist.
01:13I am the last guy you would think Jesus would pick to go out and speak to millions of people
01:19around the world on YouTube.
01:21But I do it every day.
01:23You know, I've made too many mistakes.
01:27I knew better.
01:28I failed when it mattered.
01:31And I did.
01:33And maybe, maybe I can still attend church, pray, and believe.
01:38I would think that.
01:40But surely, I cannot be useful to God in the same way.
01:47Today, I've written more commentary about the New Testament than the Apostle Paul.
01:54Interesting.
01:56You know, I think that that's, I identify with Paul.
02:00But you know what?
02:01I also identify with Peter's story.
02:04That's where it comes into play.
02:07Think about this.
02:08Peter was not a distant follower of Jesus.
02:12He had walked beside him.
02:13He had heard his teaching, witnessed miracles, and seen the things that most people could
02:20hardly imagine.
02:22Peter had even declared that Jesus was the Messiah.
02:30I had something on my face.
02:31My wife says, hey, you got something on your face, Doug.
02:34Wipe your face.
02:35I'm not going to stop.
02:37But I want you to think about that, because Peter was very confident in his loyalty.
02:43When Jesus warned the disciples that they would fall away, Peter insisted that even if everyone
02:49else abandoned Jesus, he, Peter, would remain faithful.
02:55That's a huge promise, that's a huge promise, and a huge commitment.
02:59Imagine promising God something, and, you know, Peter believed that he was stronger than the moment that was coming.
03:07But when Jesus was arrested, everything changed.
03:12Peter became afraid.
03:14When people recognized him as one of Jesus' followers, Peter denied it.
03:22Not once.
03:23Not twice.
03:25But three times.
03:27Could you imagine making a promise to God and breaking that promise not once, not twice, but three times?
03:37Think about it.
03:39Peter did not simply remain silent.
03:43He insisted that he did not know Jesus.
03:48Then, the rooster crowed.
03:51In that moment, Peter remembered what Jesus had said.
03:55He realized that the failure Jesus predicted had become real.
04:02But Peter promised, regardless of what Christ said, he would not deny him.
04:10After Peter realized that he had betrayed God, he went away and wept bitterly.
04:18Imagine what Peter must have carried after that.
04:22He had not failed privately.
04:24Finally, his denial happened during the darkest hours of Jesus' suffering.
04:31The one Peter claimed to love was being rejected, mocked, and condemned.
04:39And Peter was outside saying, I don't know him.
04:45You know, Peter probably replayed that moment again and again and again and again.
04:50And if you're anything like me, you know what that feels like.
04:55You know, we remember the words we wish we could take back.
04:59We remember the decision that hurt someone.
05:03We remember the opportunity we wasted.
05:06The promise we broke.
05:08The fear that controlled us.
05:10Or the moment we failed to be the person we thought we were.
05:16You know, the event may be over.
05:19But the accusation continues inside of us, doesn't it?
05:25We think things like, you ruined everything.
05:29You cannot be trusted.
05:32You had your chance.
05:34You will always be the person who failed.
05:39But after Jesus rose from the dead, he did something remarkable.
05:44He came to Peter.
05:47Jesus did not avoid him.
05:49He did not humiliate him in front of others.
05:53He did not begin by listing every detail of Peter's denial.
06:00That's quite a bit different from the way we might have handled it, right?
06:05You know, and instead, Jesus asked Peter a question.
06:09Do you love me?
06:11Peter answered that he did.
06:14Then Jesus said, feed my lambs.
06:18Jesus asked again, do you love me?
06:23Peter answered again.
06:25And Jesus said, take care of my sheep.
06:30A third time, Jesus asked him.
06:34And a third time, Peter affirmed his love.
06:39And Jesus once more told him, feed my sheep.
06:45The three questions reflected the three denials.
06:53Jesus was not trying to crush Peter with the memory of his failure.
06:58He was healing the wound and restoring the relationship.
07:02Jesus was showing Peter that his denial would not be the final word over his life.
07:09Peter had failed three times.
07:12But Jesus gave him three opportunities to speak his love.
07:19Then, Jesus placed responsibility back into Peter's hands.
07:25That is the part that I think many people miss.
07:28Jesus did not merely say, Peter, I forgive you.
07:34He said, in effect, Peter, you still have work to do.
07:40People still need what I have placed within you.
07:44Your failure did not erase your calling.
07:48Now, Jesus trusted Peter with something very precious.
07:55His people.
07:57And this teaches us that grace is greater than having our past erased.
08:04Grace is also being invited forward.
08:18You see, Jesus does not define you by the worst moment of your life.
08:25He sees the whole person.
08:28He sees what fear has damaged.
08:32What he is currently forming within you.
08:36What regret buried and what shame has convinced you to abandon.
08:43Abandon.
08:45And he knows how to rebuild what has been broken.
08:50You know, this does not mean our decisions have no consequences.
08:54Grace is not permission to ignore the harm we have caused.
08:59Sometimes, repentance does require an apology.
09:04Sometimes, trust between people must be rebuilt over time.
09:10Sometimes, we must accept consequences and make changes.
09:16But consequences are not the same as condemnation.
09:21Correction is not rejection.
09:25A difficult chapter does not mean God has closed the entire book.
09:30You see, Peter's failure humbled him.
09:34Before the denial, Peter often seemed convinced of his own strength.
09:40Afterward, he knew what it meant to need mercy.
09:46That experience did not make him useless.
09:50It helped prepare him to care for other imperfect people.
09:55And Peter could no longer lead as someone who believed he was incapable of failing.
10:01He would lead as someone who had fallen, wept, been forgiven, and restored.
10:09It's kind of beautiful, isn't it?
10:12You see, his weakness became part of his preparation.
10:17The place where you may have failed can become the place from which you understand others more deeply.
10:26Because you have needed patience, you may become more patient.
10:32Because you have needed forgiveness, you may become less eager to condemn.
10:38Because Jesus met you when you felt disqualified, you may learn how to recognize purpose in someone who has given
10:47up on themselves.
10:49Your scars do not have to become your shame.
10:52In the hands of Jesus, they can become evidence that failure was not able to destroy you.
11:01That's pretty cool.
11:03You know, maybe you've been standing at a distance from your purpose because you believe you no longer deserve to
11:10approach it.
11:13Maybe you have accepted that Jesus forgives you, but you have not accepted that he may still use you.
11:22You see, friends, you may have gifts that other people have, but those gifts were given to you because only
11:29you can exhibit those gifts in the way that God would like to see them used.
11:36Listen to the lesson of Peter.
11:39Jesus already knew Peter would fail before he called him.
11:43The denial did not surprise Jesus.
11:48He foretold it.
11:49The tears did not scare Jesus away.
11:53The shame did not cause Jesus to cancel Peter's future.
11:58Jesus saw Peter's weakest moment, and he still came looking for him.
12:05He did not restore Peter because Peter had earned another chance.
12:10He restored Peter because that is what grace does.
12:15Grace meets us honestly.
12:19It does not pretend that nothing happened, but it refuses to let failure become our permanent identity.
12:29You may have denied Jesus through your words or your choices, your fear or compromise, or maybe even your silence.
12:40I'm guilty.
12:42You may have wandered farther than you ever expected away from Christ,
12:48But when you turn back, you will not find Jesus standing there merely to remind you of what you did.
12:58You will find a risen Christ asking for your heart and calling you forward.
13:05The question is not only what did you do, the deeper question is, do you love him now?
13:15And when your answer is yes, even if it's spoken through tears,
13:22Jesus can begin restoring what you thought was lost.
13:32Jesus can still teach you, shape you, trust you, and place something meaningful in your hands,
13:46no matter what yesterday or last year was like.
13:50Your worst failure does not become your final identity.
13:55Jesus is still writing your story.
14:00That's pretty cool.
14:03My name is Douglas Vandergrath, and I believe in Jesus Christ.
14:08God bless every single one of you.
14:14Every single one.
14:17And everyone you love.
14:21Bye-bye.
14:25God bless you.
14:26You
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