My Cup Runneth Over 4

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Opening Scripture:

Psalm 37:14–26 NIV

14 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. 15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. 16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; 17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. 20 But the wicked will perish: Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke. 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; 22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. 23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.

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My Cup Runneth Over

There is a lot of talk in our world about the value of being loved unconditionally.  What does it mean to be loved unconditionally?  Well, we wish to be loved for who we are, not what we look like.  We want to be loved for who we are and not what we have or don’t have.  We want someone to love us for who we are, not how well we perform.  We want someone who will love us despite our shortcomings.

Unconditional love doesn’t mean our wrong behavior is condoned.  It means our soul, the heart of who we are is loved, cherished, and desired by someone who knows us best.

The world does not like the Bible because it points out our failures, our weaknesses, our imperfections.  However, this is also the very power of the Word!  God loves us despite all those things.  God desires a relationship with us because He created us, and He knows exactly what we are capable of.  No one is a mistake, we just need to discover what and who God created us to be.  However, God demands our respect as well, for in that we give love back to God.  A real relationship is a two-way street with love flowing back and forth between two parties.  God loves us unconditionally, but a relationship with God has conditions.  You see, God is holy.  God cannot associate with anything unholy, and our human nature has been tainted with sin.  To have a relationship with God, we need to have the sin eradicated.  God requires it for two reasons.  First, God cannot associate with our unholiness.  Second, God’s love cannot condone us doing things that bring harm to us and sin brings harm and death to us.

Yet herein is the awesome message of the scripture, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Why?  Because He truly loves us for who we are with all the scars and imperfections.  So, He did the only thing that could be done to cleanse us of unholiness, purify us of the nature that destroys us, and open the way for a divine love relationship with Him.  The evidence that His love for us is unconditional is shown in the fact that He is always willing to forgive us if we sincerely repent it.  The Bible is clear on this.  If we ask His forgiveness, He WILL pardon our sin.

Jeremiah 31:34NIV

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The Bible is full of examples of God doing just that.  This brings us to today’s message.  Peter failed Jesus in a crucial moment.  He denied Jesus, yet Peter was not only forgiven but was given a position as leader to the disciples and the new Christian church.

Our text comes for two sources today.  Mark 14; Luke 22

Mark 14:27–31NIV

27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” 29Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” 30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” 31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Luke 22:54–62 NIV

54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” 57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. 58A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. 59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” 60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 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.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

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I.  Facing Failure, Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:54-62

There once were two brothers who were very different. Both loved their parents, but like all children, they sometimes made mistakes. 

One day, the younger brother stole five dollars out of his mom’s purse and went down to the corner store to get some candy. After the sugar high wore off, he felt remorse for what he’d done and went to apologize. They had a long talk about his behavior, and he never stole again.

The older brother was different. One day, he took five dollars from his mother’s purse and went to the store to buy some goodies for himself. However, he didn’t tell his parents what he’d done. When asked, he got defensive.   Although his parents approached the situation gently, he decided this one bad act was a sign that he was bad. And if he was bad, he may as well stop trying to be good.

In today’s scriptures, we see part of Peter’s story.   When Jesus told his disciples they would all fall away, Peter promised he would not. Although Jesus specifically predicted Peter’s own denial, Peter assured Jesus it wouldn’t happen. Peter was not alone, because all the disciples promised to follow Jesus to death.  

Today’s message is a reminder that even amid human frailty, we serve a loving God of compassion who offers us forgiveness and new life.

To begin, let’s look again at our opening Psalm 37:23-24.  It says,

Psalm 37:23–24NIV

23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lordupholds him with his hand.

 A. Peter Demonstrates Our Human Frailty .

We are prone to stumble at times.  We are not perfect.  I will say this in Peter’s defense, he was there.  The other disciples had already headed home where they felt some safety.  However, Peter followed along.  Things go downhill from there.

 1. Peter’s actions on the night Jesus was betrayed are the epitome of human frailty.

Peter, who was always so quick to jump in, swore he wouldn’t fail Jesus–yet he failed mere hours after promising Jesus he wouldn’t.  Peter had the desire; however, our humanity is frail in the ability to see things through.  We fear pain.  We fear death.  We long to be in full control of our situations and often act like we have that control only to realize we do not.

Peter was courageous while he felt in control, but at this moment he had no control.  As he stood by and watched Jesus being beaten, as he watched as false witnesses were produced and the lack of justice that was taking place, his courage began to slip away.

This is not something unique to Peter but to us all.  Our desire to do right is often in a constant battle against our other desires, fears, lack of self-control, etc...

In this circumstance, as strong as Peter had felt a few hours earlier, Peter did exactly as Jesus predicted, denying Jesus three times.

It’s likely that Peter was overconfident in his faith. It is important to notice this because...

a.  Overconfidence leaves us vulnerable to Satan.

When Jesus told his disciples they would fall away, Peter immediately said that wouldn’t happen. When Jesus told them to pray in the garden, Peter fell asleep like the others. He was so confident that he didn’t critically consider his own weaknesses and how they might put him in temptation’s path.

Often, we are the most vulnerable where we feel the most confident.  We may spend a lot of time praying and seeking ways to become stronger in areas where we consider ourselves weak, however we ignore those areas where we feel strong.

Satan has a way of exploiting those areas where we feel the most confident.  As a teenager, I had strong feelings against those who would have sex before marriage.  I was constantly counseling friends to be strong in this area.  I figured this was something I would never have a problem with.  It was as much a shock to me as anyone when I found myself as a single mom at the age of 22.  Satan has a way of creeping in the back doors of our lives and manipulating us in those areas where we have left ourselves vulnerable due to our over confidence. 

Technically, Peter didn’t fail once; he failed three times.

b.  Failure can be like a canoe flipping over in water.  It often takes time to get back in control .

You would think he would have either skedaddled after the first time or prepared himself on how to do better if he were asked again.  As it is, he just kept repeating his failure.  He became so frustrated that we are told he called down curses when one person asked if he knew Jesus.  Now, this doesn’t mean he was using profanity. He was essentially saying that if he was lying, he should be cursed. That’s a serious denial!  It speaks of the fear that Peter felt in that moment. 

c.  When we fail, the sooner we take it to God, the sooner we get back under control .

Now...

2. Peter’s story is a reminder that even close followers of Jesus can fail .

We’re not supposed to fail, but we’re frail, so we often do.  I truly had no intention of giving myself to a man until I was married.  But I was in a very weak place in my Christian faith when I did.  I had not given up on God, but I was just struggling to figure out some things in my life.  I was relying on my own strength and had not yet learned how to lean on God.  That is part of the process when we put our faith in God.  It takes time to learn how to let go and let God.  It is a process of trial and error as we learn to do so.

3. To combat our own frailty , we must continually seek God’s face and live into God’s presence .

This means we need to learn how to pray, how to give God room to speak to us by being silent as well as reading and meditating on His Word regularly.  It means learning to pray through on an issue before moving ahead.  This means being patient and slow to act.  Part of faith is waiting for answers even when they do not come as early as we want them to.  We need to learn to trust God’s timing, which is never as quick as what we feel we need it.  We then begin to learn that when we pack our lives full of what God has to offer, there’s less room for temptation and sin to enter our lives. 

Another key part of Peter’s account is that...

B. Peter’s Remorse Was Genuine .

a. After Peter denied Jesus for the third time, the scripture tells us, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” Peter immediately remembered what Jesus had predicted.  If you have ever been caught saying something wrong about someone, you will be able to imagine how Peter’s stomach lurched in that moment.  He had just denied His best friend.

b. Jesus was probably bruised and beaten by this point, yet Jesus had not forgotten Peter.  As they lead Jesus away to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, His eyes sought out Peter.  Peter didn’t only have to face the reality that he’d failed–he also had to look into the eyes of the One he failed.  What did Peter see in Jesus’ eyes I wonder?  I suspect it was compassion, but that would not help Peter.  It probably just made him feel even more guilty.

c. However, Peter’s love for Jesus was genuine as well and we see it revealed by the depth of emotion Peter felt in this moment.  He left there and wept bitterly.  How deeply he felt the weight of his own failure.

d. When we fail, we should feel remorse as well. We may have confidence that God will forgive us. However, it’s important to know what that forgiveness cost Jesus. That’s one of the big reasons we spend so much time talking about what Jesus endured in his last days.  We should never take our failures lightly.  Through genuine remorse, we gain a desire to do better and through acknowledging what it cost Jesus, it strengthens that resolve even more.

The best part of this account is not covered in today’s passage.  It comes with the resurrection accounts, and we find Peter’s story doesn’t end with his failure.  Instead...

C. Peter Receives New Life.

We are often told of Jesus’ reinstating Peter.  You may know the account.  It is when Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him and then asks Peter to feed His [Jesus] sheep.  However, the account I have always been curious about is the one we do not hear about.  When the men of Emmaus return to the disciples to tell them they have seen Jesus and He is resurrected, and the disciples say, Simon has seen him as well.  However, we do not hear about Simon Peter’s first confrontation with Christ after His resurrection.  I believe Jesus, in His compassion, met Simon Peter alone.  He did not embarrass Peter in front of the other disciples.  Peter’s first confrontation with Jesus was surely an emotional one.  I am sure Peter repented to Jesus and Jesus assured Peter of His forgiveness and His love.  How like Jesus to give Peter that opportunity before meeting him with the other disciples.

We know that Peter went on to become a great apostle. Although Scripture doesn’t record his death, historical records from the time suggest that he was martyred for his faith. The man who denied Jesus ended up dying for Christ.

In Peter we saw demonstrated our human frailty as well as true remorse for failure.  But there is more we learn through Peter.

1. Peter shows us that broken things can be repaired .

Like a bone becomes stronger when it heals from a break, Peter’s commitment to Jesus became stronger. He went from a hothead to a man on fire for Christ.  This does not mean that Peter never failed again.  He was still human.  He learned through trial and error, just as we do.  However, Peter learned something else.

2. Failure doesn’t have to define us.

We shouldn’t stay there.  We do not have to stay there.  God is willing to forgive and to help us move on.

a. We should mourn our failure, but that in turn should drive us to seek God’s forgiveness .

At the beginning of this sermon, I shared a story of two brothers.  One repented and restored his relationship with his mother.  The other did not and continued in a deadly path.  This story reveals a parallel with Peter and Judas.  For example, Peter went and wept bitterly when he failed Jesus.  Peter did not run from Jesus after Jesus’ resurrection, but instead he faced Jesus.  We do not know what he said to Jesus in that moment, but I am sure he confessed his remorse.  We know Jesus forgave and even reinstated Peter as the leader of His [Jesus’} church.  Judas, on the other hand, went and hanged himself. Judas’s reaction to his failure didn’t leave space for reconciliation with his Lord.  His failure was completed with his suicide.  His life is defined by his failure because he never gave Jesus a chance to forgive him.

3.   Failure, even a major one, is an opportunity to learn and grow .

We can become more devoted followers of Jesus when we continue to seek God’s face in times when we fail.  I felt called to the ministry at a young age.  When I learned I was pregnant, I thought for sure, I would never be able to do the kind of ministry I had felt called to again.  However, like Peter, God reinstated me.  No matter what God has called you to, and no matter how you have failed, God is always ready to forgive you and to restore you.

Conclusion

We need to be careful not to judge Peter too harshly.  It’s easy for us to point to Peter’s failure and think I wouldn’tdo that. After all, he failed Jesus in the exact way Jesus said he would, mere hours after Jesus’s prediction. We find ourselves judging Peter. Unfortunately, the truth is–we’re just like Peter. We make big promises to God and fail to fulfill them. You might even now be sitting there, promising God you won’t fail in a certain area of your life anymore. You mean it.  You want it to be true.

But if we’re honest, we’ve made promises before, and we still fail. We each have different areas of our life where we struggle.  It may be the way we eat.  Or perhaps it is a struggle with finances.  Maybe you have an issue with gossiping or a bad habit that keeps defeating you.  Jesus sees and knows all of that–but he still looks at us with love and compassion. When we mourn our sin, confess, and repent, life with him is waiting for us.  We learn to grow a little more with each passing day.  It feels like a struggle at times, then we have days where we seem to breakthrough to victory.  We just keep working at it and God empowers us to keep going and keep growing.  We chip away at those negative details in our life, a chunk at a time, understanding that failure is never final when we place it in the hands of our Savior.

What are you struggling with today?  Where do you feel like you have failed?  Take a moment to ask for God’s forgiveness and for the strength to move forward to better days.  He will answer!  He will provide you what you need to keep going and growing.

Copyright © 2024 The Foundry   Publishing®. Permission to reproduce for   ministry use only. All rights reserved.  (Outline was denomination generated, I then added much of the body of the sermon.)

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