The 2 Most Hopeful Words in the Bible

How do you respond in the face of failure? Learn about one of the biggest failures in the New Testament and the two little words that brought big hope and restoration. (This is out very first Preview Worship Service. What's that? Well, it's kinda like bed-head. It'll be a little messy, but you could still go out in public with it.)

Transcript

One of the few non-nerdy things I did in high school was play water polo. I was gonna wear my speedo as well, but let’s face it, nobody wants to see that. Now, if you don’t know what water polo is, here’s a picture. It’s basically a combination of football, soccer, and drowning.

Visualize me back in high school. A lot more up here, a lot less down here. Well, if you’re having a hard time, here’s my senior roster photo, and here’s a picture of me playing goalie.

I was a good water polo player, but not a great one. I had a really inconsistent senior year. I had good games and then some bad ones. But I had one particular game that was the worst. It was my senior year. I was the varsity goalie. And this was a fairly prestigious statewide championship. We were ranked #2, and we were going up against the #1 team. And I had one of the worst games of my career. In fact, it was so bad that my coach benched me for the rest of the tournament and played the freshman goalie instead.

That night, I genuinely thought my water polo career was over. I was done. I had failed so badly that there was no coming back from it this time. I was depressed, dejected, hopeless. I felt like giving up. This was no small failure. I blew it in one of the biggest games of the year, and my coach had given up on me.

My dad was really concerned about it. With my permission, he talked to my coach that night. Coach said an amazing thing, “I haven’t lost confidence in him.” What an incredible thing to hear “I haven’t lost confidence in him.” Those few words were enough to give me hope, to allow me to see a future past my despair.

Well, it turns out I really need to hear that. At the end of the season, we ended up winning the championship, beating this same team. And I played the best game of my life. I even got written up in the newspaper, “Rhodes Rises to the Occasion.” And in many ways, I can trace it back to those 5 little words.

How do you respond in the face of failure?

• Do you beat yourself up? Tell yourself you’re bad, you’re a failure. Start to believe those things your parents have said about you.

• Shut people out? Isolate yourself? I’ve known people who’ve gotten into something they know is wrong, and they just start to distance themselves – not return texts, not come to events.

• Pretend it’s no big deal? “School’s just not for me” “It’s not really wrong”

• Or do you just plain give up? Lose hope that anything will change? “I’ll never be able to lose this weight.” “I’m hot-tempered. It’s just who I am.”

How do you think God responds to you when you fail? Have you ever felt like you’ve done something so bad or so many times that you just can’t go back to God, that he won’t forgive you?

I’m really glad that we have a Bible full of failures. So, we don’t have to wonder what God thinks of us when we fail. This morning, we’re gonna look at one of the biggest stories of failure in the New Testament. And in that story, we’re gonna read two little words that I believe are the most hopeful words in the whole Bible.

Like any good story, this one has a set-up, a climax where the tension is the greatest, and then a resolution. We’re gonna talk about three scenes from the book of Mark—two of which I’m gonna summarize, and then we’re gonna read together. It’s from the biggest personalities in the gospels, second to Jesus. He was bold, a little brash. He was the leader of the disciples. And when he fell, he fell hard. His name was Peter.

The SET-UP of this story arc begins at the Last Supper in Mark 14. Jesus and the gang had come into Jerusalem, and they were having a Passover meal together. Jesus knew that his time was coming soon, so he spent one last night with his disciples.

He told them, “You’ll all fall away.” Peter emphatically denied it, “Even if everyone else does, I won’t.” And then Jesus utters those famous words, “Before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times.”

The CLIMAX or TENSION POINT in the story comes later in that same chapter. Jesus has been arrested and is being tried before the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin. Meanwhile, Peter is outside hiding out in the shadows, presumably trying to hear news about Jesus.

First, he gets called out by this little girl, “You were with that Jesus.” Peter’s like, “No way. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then the girl told some of the guys standing around, “He’s one of them.” Again Peter responds with a strong “No way.” And then the guys start taking notice saying, “You’re not from around here. You’ve got an accent. You’re from Galilee. You are one of them.” At this point, Peter gets really defensive, and for a third time, he shouts, “I don’t know this man! May God curse me if I’m lying and curse you for accusing me!” And then the rooster crows. He realized what he had done, and the text says that he “broke down and wept.”

There it is. The moment of failure. The lowest Peter had ever been. Can you imagine this big, burly fisherman breaking down in tears? What do you think was going through his mind? “Jesus was right. I’m so embarrassed, so ashamed. I failed him. And I may never get to see him again.”

We all long for RESOLUTION in our stories, and especially in our failures. What’s Peter to do? How is he to go on? Jesus was sentenced, executed, and buried in a grave. And he never had a chance to say, “I’m sorry.” That was Friday. By Saturday night, some of the women who followed Jesus went to his tomb to anoint him with oils and spices. (It was a burial custom.) Here’s where we pick up the story.

Mark 16:1-8

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 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.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.

Now some of your Bibles have a few more paragraphs, while others don’t. The earliest and most reliable ancient manuscripts they found don’t have it. So, the story ends here. What a cliffhanger. It almost dares you to keep reading to stay tuned for next week’s episode. (Or if you’re binge-watching Netflix, just select the next one.)

There’s not much resolution here, but there are some powerful words of hope. Did you catch them? Two little words that would change Peter’s life. Let me read it again, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter,” you’ll see Jesus again. I can just hear the angel is white say, “Go tell the disciples, but especially go tell Peter. He needs to hear this—that Jesus is still alive.”

“And Peter” – The two most hopeful words in the whole Bible. Why? Because if Peter could fail that big and still Jesus would seek after him, then God will do the same with us.

Go tell RiverLife that Jesus is alive, but especially…

• Go tell Mai—she feels like giving up.

• Go tell Tou—he’s dying in a pile inside and doesn’t want anyone to know.

• Go tell Greg—he’s not sure if he’ll ever be able to change.

These two simple words tell us a profound truth: Because Jesus lives, your failures are not final. Let me repeat that: Because Jesus lives, your failures are not final.

From an empty tomb, Jesus declares for all people, for all time: “My story does not end here. Neither does yours.” Your failures are not final. They do not have to be the end of your story. In Christ, you have hope, you have a future.

What kind of failures you’re carrying around right now? I’m guessing every one of us in this room has a failure story to tell.

• You dropped out of school and feel like you let everyone down.

• You get into really bad fights with your parents or your spouse.

• You’re looking at porn or sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you just can’t stop.

• You’ve gained weight and your health’s gotten worse.

You need to hear something: Because Jesus lives, your failures are not final. Your mistakes are not the end of your story.

They weren’t for Peter. Now, we have to go into John’s gospel to hear the continuation of Peter’s story. After Jesus was crucified, some of the disciples returned back home to Galilee and went back to their old jobs—fishing. After a long night of fishing, the resurrected Jesus appeared on the shore and invited them around a campfire for a meal of roasted fish and bread. And as they’re sitting around that crackling fireplace, Jesus has this conversation with Peter.

John 21:15-17

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

And after that conversation, that reinstatement, Peter became one of the boldest preachers and the leader of the first church. He did, in fact, feed the sheep.

So, how are we supposed to respond to our failure? How do we embrace the reality that because Jesus lives, your failures are not final? Well, I think the secret is in this passage.

Jesus still asks us the same question he asked Peter, “Do you love me?” It’s not “Do you go to church?” It’s not even “Are you a Christian?” It’s “Do you love me?” And we have to honestly answer Him.

If our answer is yes, like Peter’s, then Jesus says something else to us. But I don’t know what that is because he’s saying it to you. And what he says to you is different than what he says to me. But trust me, he says something that he wants you to do.

So, we’re gonna give you guys a chance to join Jesus next to that fire and have a conversation with him. Hear him ask you, “Do you love me?” Answer however you want, and then listen for what he says next.

Because Jesus lives, your failures are not final. But restoration and healing is not automatic. You have to respond to Jesus question.