TOPIC:‌“Failure Need Not Be Fatal”

‌           by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Matthew 26:69-75

 

“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who said unto him, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' So he went out and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75, NKJV)

 

H. R. Halderman, assistant to President Richard Nixon, in his book, The Ends of Power, writing about the tragedy of those Watergate days, declared: “Few men have had the privilege of being raised as high as I was, and few have had the tragedy of being brought so low.” There you have the tragedy of going down to defeat. Peter had that same experience. I have! Have you? And almost every person I know is conscious of some devastating failure that has caused pain, humiliation and regret. Failure, whether before salvation or after salvation, is a part of living that cannot be denied. Look at the list of Bible saints who failed and sinned against God. The list is long and lengthy - Adam, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Moses, David, Samson, Peter, the prodigal son, John Mark, Demas, Onesimus and many others.

 

‌When failure comes into your life and your world falls apart the question arises, Is there wholeness, meaningfulness and usefulness after failure? My answer is an unequivocal and resounding “yes.” God is in the business of rebuilding, repairing, remaking and restoring defeated and broken lives caused by sin. According to the Bible, the answer for those who have fallen is the redeeming grace and forgiving love of Jesus Christ. In Him there is love, forgiveness, hope, peace and restored usefulness. Through repentance there is a hopeful and useful tomorrow.

 

‌Permit me to illustrate the truth of this principle, failure need not be fatal, from the life of Peter the big fisherman who failed so miserably, but who was restored and reclaimed so gloriously.

 

I.

 

‌Consider, first of all, something of the FIGURE of this man Peter. We read from our text: “And Peter remembered…” (v. 75). Now just who was Peter and what was his background? Let's take a few moments to look at the character of Peter.

 

‌The name given to him at birth was “Simon.” Jesus said of him: “You are Simon - the son of Jonah…” (John 1:42). Now as we trace out the life of Simon, later called “Peter,” we find that he was a perplexing combination of good and bad. He was both courageous and cowardly, fearless and fearful, strong and weak. His life was a mixture of inconsistencies. At first he was a denier then he became a declarer. First a profaner then a preacher. First a liar then a leader.

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