Ownership in Failure and Difficulty

INTRO AND RECAP

Ownership → a difference between having something and taking ownership of it.

When we fail to take ownership, we neglect, make excuses for, and eventually lose something.

The world can’t afford for us to neglect, make excuses for and eventually lose our faith and the mission of Jesus

The world needs people who are loving one another like Jesus did.

Ownership begins not with us trying to power up and take control, but with us allowing Jesus to take control of us as we surrender to Him.

Jesus invites us to take ownership by allowing Him to wash us and become our Lord and our savior.

Ownership works itself out as we love one another.

***Why doesn’t that happen more often? What keeps us from taking ownership of our faith? Or even, what keeps us from taking ownership of anything?

A: We ultimately don’t want to.

We’re not sure if it’s worth it.

We get discouraged by the cost.

***What does it cost to follow Jesus?

A: it costs everything.

We can get so easily discouraged. So tonight we’re going to look briefly at two things that keep us from taking ownership. The first is a story, and the second is a promise/guarantee from Jesus.

Let’s pray, and then let’s pick up where we left off last week in John 13.

FAILURE

John 13:32–38 (NIV)

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Can you imagine? Denying the lover of your soul. The God of Creation. Your closesnt friend. Your mentor.

Peter couldn’t imagine it.

Mark 14:29–31 NIV

Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

For Peter, denying Jesus would have been the ultimate failure.

How bad is denying Jesus? It’s one of the most tragic moments in storytelling. Jesus is the righteous One, the fulfillment of the Old Testament Laws, the Holy One of God, the blameless one, the Lamb of God who came to take away sin. He’s the good shepherd, the bread of life, the living water. He’s the king from the line of David and the prophet like Moses who has come to give us God’s word.

Earlier, after many of Jesus’ disciples turn back, Jesus turns to His disciples and asks, “are you going to leave, too?” and Peter himself says “to whom will we go? For you alone have the words of life!”

Peter knows that Jesus is life, He’s everything He needs, He’s his savior, His helper, His friend. That apart from Him is only death and lonliness and empty pursuits.

And yet he denies Him again. And again. And again.

Yet—We do the same thing. All sin is, in a way, a denial of Jesus. A refusal of His wisdom. A rejection of His Lordship. A pushing away of His offer of life.

Titus 1:16 (NIV)

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.

Peter denied Jesus, refusing to take ownership of what he knew to be true. He failed. And sometimes when we fail, like Peter, not only do we deny Jesus in the moment with our actions, but we allow our failure to keep us from getting back in the game.

Having a short memory in sports vs. losing your cool and turning a mistake into a bad game.

We can easily allow our failure to keep us from taking ownership of our faith.

We convince ourselves that we are disqualified.

We convince ourselves that we’re too far gone.

We convince ourselves that Jesus wouldn’t want us, anyway.

The problem is that none of these things are true. These things are all the preamble to the Gospel; and the good news of the gospel is that even though we were cursed and gone astray, Jesus came after us! We allow our failures to keep us down in ways that Jesus would never intend. But we just let them keep piling on and we drift into the silence and the brokenness of shame. We let our failures define us. And we refuse to take ownership of our faith: the fact that we are loved, desperately. RELENTLESSLY. by our Lord and our Savior.

Like the husband who cheats, gets forgiven, but then sulks. He receives forgiveness, but he allows his own failure to rob him of taking ownership of and enjoying his relationship with his wife.

We’re all Peter. None of us deserve a second chance. But let’s see how Jesus responds to Him, and consider what that says about how He responds to us.

So: How does Jesus respond when we deny Him?

Luke 22:31–32 NIV

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of 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.”

Jesus is for us. He wants us to succeed. He is on our team. He’s rooting for us. He loves us!

is Jesus the judgemental father we’re never able to please, or the dad in the stands who’s always in our corner?

He prayed for Peter; and He is praying for us as well (Heb. 7:25). He sees us! He knows us!

Jesus has a plan for us. And our failures will never change that fact. He invites us!

Mark 16:7 NIV

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”

Jesus knows what we need (restoration).

Jesus won’t let sin or death stand in the way of His love.

You haven’t failed your way out of being able to own your faith (cf. 1 Tim 1:15).

You are loved by the God of Creation. You are a son or a daughter of the most high king. Don’t let your failure get in the way of you owning the fact that you are loved.

DIFFICULTY

John 15:18–20 (NIV)

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

be honest: we want to be liked. And we do not want to suffer.

The reality is that there are two systems at work, and the system of life and God and light is at odds with the system of death and darkness at work in our world. We do not belong to the system of death, but to the system of life.

The “OS” of God is others-centered; it’s self-denying; it’s God-seeking; it’s Spirit-driven; it’s community-oriented; it’s rooted in truth.

The “OS” of the world is self-centered; it’s self-gratifying; it’s self-seeking; it’s self-driven; it’s self-oriented; it’s rooted in the delusion that I am the A-plot.

Jesus knows that following Him won’t be the quickest way to build ourselves us, or gain social clout. As a matter of fact, it is a guarantee that following Jesus will be unpopular. But not only will it be unpopular, but for the VAST MAJORITY of Christians, it is dangerous.

WE CAN EASILY ALLOW THE DIFFICULTIES INHERENT IN FOLLOWING JESUS TO KEEP US FROM TAKING OWNERSHIP.

Open Doors report (Oct. ’20 – Sept. ‘21)

5,898 Christians killed for their faith.

5,110 Christian buildings destroyed, etc.

6,175 Christians detained without trial, etc.

3,829 Christians abducted.

218,709 Christians forced to leave their home or go into hiding for faith related reasons.

I wonder how many of us would continue to follow Jesus if it meant any one of these things. And yet Jesus tells His disciples, those He’s handing ownership to right at the beginning:

We need to ask: if this is the case, is it worth it?

What do we gain from following Jesus?

adoption as sons

The Forgiveness of our sins

The righteousness of Christ

peace with God

an imperishable treasure

a sure hope

an abundant life

the indwelling Holy Spirit

a new family of brothers and sisters

a mission and a purpose in life

an understanding of who we were created to be

The ever-available embrace of the God who made us, pursued us, died for us, rose for us, and lives for us.

The reality is that Jesus is worth any cost!

Why did Jesus want His disciples to know?

John 16:33 (NIV)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We can have peace because we know the outcome.

Jesus has overcome this world, and He’s worth it.

So ask yourself: What is it worth for me to follow Jesus; to take ownership of my faith?

Is it worth being inconvenienced?

Is it worth saying “no” to my sexual desires?

Is it worth being uncomfortable, and refusing to sooth it with video games, porn, drugs, and alcohol?

Is it worth being unpopular?

Is it worth being rideculed?

Is it worth being beaten?

***At every turn, you will be asking yourself this question. (cf. Arden and Erie and the song “If”). We need to constantly be taking ownership, be surrendering more deeply to Jesus.

Flip the question: What was it worth to Jesus to give me the opportunity?

for Jesus, it was worth everthing. He left it all on the court as He was battling for us. He held nothing back. Paul writes about Jesus’ sacrifice and humility in the Book of Philippians:

Philippians 2:6–9 (NIV)

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

And then later, here’s Paul’s conclusion:

Philippians 3:7–14 (NIV)

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I’ll end with this:

Your failure will never change Jesus’ affection for you. It hasn’t disqualified you. Don’t let it keep you from taking ownership of your faith.

Following Jesus is worth any cost. He is the pearl of great price. He is the treasure hidden in the field. He gave His life to give you the opportunity. So, press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What do you think keeps more people from taking ownership of their faith: Failure and shame; difficulty and sacrifice; [something else]?

How do you usually respond to your failures? How would Jesus want you to respond?

Is there anything in your life that you have trouble choosing Jesus over?