Much of your life will be defined by Failures

Much of your life will be defined by Failures

Luke 22:54-62

Question - I asked the teens in youth group a Sunday or two ago this question. But what was the time you made a mistake so bad. You got in so much more trouble compared to any other time?

Your Failures Will Define Your Manhood - Monday night we talked about determining and deciding your position with Jesus. Deciding and taking a stand on who He is to you. Last night we talked about the idea that to be able to achieve real man hood its only found in Jesus. Jesus being the source of that identity. That every other thing that we try to fill that position will fail utterly. That apart from Jesus we will fail utterly in the pursuit of that goal. And so tonight taking the first two nights devotions into context we need to acknowledge that failure is part of the Christian life. That we are unable to completely embrace and embody the nature of Christ. That we have two natures that reside within us. Paul refers to this other persona as, “His Old Man”. And so tonight I want to look at the idea that your failures will define your manhood. At this point you should most definitely be saying, Brother Boyll. Man this devotion is a bummer. Likes whats the point of being here if all I have to look forward to is failure? Genuinely, whats the point. Well thats sort of the point of it. If you are a believer and follower of Jesus you will most certainly have failures. You will have moments when you will choose to live like the world. In any given youth group anywhere statistically the probablility says that many will choose to walk away from a life lived for Jesus. That many will choose to live a life of indulgence, an abundance of sinful behavior. That even if you choose to follow Jesus your whole life you will make mistakes. We just read in Luke chapter twenty two. How Peter denied Christ when it really counted. Keep in mind not even twenty four hours prior this is the same Peter that claimed he would defend Jesus to the death. This is the same Peter that drew a sword and cut off an ear in an attempt defend Jesus. As if Jesus the King of Heaven needed a guy with a sword to defend Him. In this same account in we see in Matthew 26:53 Jesus didn’t need protection. He is the Captain and Commander of the Army of God. At any moment he could have blinked, and an actual army of the most magnificent warriors to have ever existed would have snatched Jesus off the cross. Yet when Jesus tells Peter he would deny Jesus as savior Peter denies it. He says I would die for thee Lord. I gaurentee every one of you would say something similar here at camp this week. That you want to Live the Good Life as Pastor Thomas talked about. That you would say you want to trust in Jesus when it doesn’t make sense to do so like Brother Jones talked about this morning. I want to clarify something no one making these statements and believes they will ever go back on them at some point. Peter didn’t believe he would ever deny Jesus either. Think about this idea for a moment. That maybe one of the greatest disciples to ever live. The one that Jesus said He would build his church on in Chapter sixteen Vs eighteen. Jesus being God, He didn’t misspeak. He didn’t regret making that statement. Jesus knew that in His darkest moment in His life possibly one of His closest friends would deny Him as Lord. Put yourself in Peters position for a moment. He has just did and said the one thing he had said He never would do. That He would die for Jesus if called on to do so, and Peter got it wrong. Its not like Peter didn’t have the faith required. This is the same Peter that walked on water. No one else in human history has done that. The same Peter that Healed people of incurable diseases. Peter in many ways is the epitiomy of Christ like manhood, and he gets it wrong. Man what hope do I have of living a life that is glorifying to Jesus? A life defined by Christ like manhood. Authentic Manhood. Heres the point, Jesus doesn’t require perfection. He knows we will make mistakes. And while He is disappointed, He is also ready to help us get back on track to follow Him. Turn in your Bibles to 1 John 3:9. This is a hard verse to understand. The concept that apparentlly Christians don’t sin.. The NET version translates one word slightly differently that should help us understand this idea. The important word is practice. In other words as men I gaurenttee you will make mistakes. The older you get it seems to get harder. Making mistakes in the Christian life, and actively choosing to practice sin are two very separate coversations. Peter sinned in a way that in the moment for Him probably felt like the worst possible choice imaginable. How he responded is important. READ Luke 22:62. Peter immediately recognized his Sin and dealt with it. He wept bitterly for an unknown period of time. Probably off and on until he was told that Jesus had risen. The acknowledgment of sin, and repent of your sin. The definition of repentance is important to this conversation. It means that a complete reoriontation of life occurs. To turn away from your previous life, and seek the only path that produces the Good Life. And so if you are aware of things in your life that are holding you back from the Good life. Lets be specific for a second. Godly men don’t smoke and drink. They sin surely and choose not to be obedient. Heres a harder one. Godly men don’t watch pornography. They have sex before marriage or in any way have sex outside of marriage. Jesus was clear this includes your thought life too guys. But we do sin though. I want to be clear John isn’t placing salvation in question. If you belong to Jesus that doesn’t change. However you will mess your relationship with Jesus up so many times it will be a wonderment that Jesus would even want to continue to have a relationship with you. I gaurentee this is how Peter felt the moment the rooster crowed the third time. But Peters failure didn’t define the rest of His life. It brought into focus His dependance and need for a savior. This is the exact behavior Godly men have. Brother Jones talked some about this, this morning. When they recognize sin in their heart. They repent of sin, they read their Bible, they meditate on the truth they just read, and finally they pray for greater strength to follow Jesus. You may not feel adequate enough to say confidently that you can live a life that resembles the Life of Jesus. If this is you tonight, your in a great place. Ask your Battle Captain King Jesus to make you into the man that he intentionally designed you to be.

Pray -