The Twelve - Part 5

Devotional

Day 1: Running to the Empty Tomb

Peter sprinted through Jerusalem’s streets at dawn, breathless from the news. His sandals slapped stone as he reached the tomb, bent double to peer inside. The linen cloths lay folded where Jesus’ body should’ve been. His chest heaved – not from exertion, but awe. This was no stolen corpse. Hope flickered where shame had smothered him. [45:39]

Jesus’ resurrection rewrote failure’s story. Peter’s denial didn’t disqualify him; Christ’s victory reclaimed him. The empty tomb proved God’s power to restore what we’ve broken. When we fix our eyes on the risen Lord, despair becomes fuel for pursuit.

You’ve known moments like Peter’s sprint – heart racing, knees weak, desperate for grace. Yet how often do you let failure freeze you instead of drive you toward Christ? Today, choose movement over paralysis. Where is Jesus inviting you to run toward Him despite your stumbles?

“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
(Luke 24:12, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to replace shame’s weight with resurrection urgency.
Challenge: Write down one failure you’ve carried. Physically tear the paper after praying over it.

Day 2: Silver Coins and Rooster Crows

Judas clutched thirty pieces of silver, their edges digging into his palm. Hours later, he hurled the blood money into the temple, the clang echoing his unraveling soul. Meanwhile, Peter stood frozen in a courtyard, his third denial hanging with the rooster’s cry. Both men wept – one in isolation, the other within earshot of grace. [39:24]

Judas sought absolution from religious leaders; Peter received it through Christ’s gaze. Our response to failure determines whether we spiral or rise. God’s mercy meets us fastest when we face Him directly, not through intermediaries or self-punishment.

You’ve thrown your own “silver coins” – attempts to fix mistakes without Jesus. What keeps you from bringing your worst failures directly to Him? When will you trade transactional guilt for transformational grace?

“Then Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”
(Matthew 27:5, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one way you’ve tried to “pay for” your mistakes without Christ.
Challenge: Text a trusted believer this truth: “Christ’s mercy is bigger than my worst failure.”

Day 3: Charcoal Fires and Second Chances

The acrid smell of charcoal smoke stung Peter’s nostrils twice – first at his denial, then at his restoration. Jesus built a breakfast fire on the beach, fish sizzling as dawn broke. Three questions mirrored three denials, each “Do you love me?” fanning dying embers of purpose back to flame. [01:02:21]

God specializes in redeeming environments of failure. The same setting that witnessed our collapse becomes the stage for His restoration. Jesus doesn’t erase our stories – He rewrites them through intentional, patient renewal.

Where have you marked certain places or relationships as “ruined” by failure? How might Jesus want to reclaim that ground through His healing presence?

“When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”
(John 21:9, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for His deliberate work to restore what you’ve damaged.
Challenge: Light a candle today. As it burns, pray over one relationship needing Christ’s redemption.

Day 4: Three Questions by the Sea

Salt spray misted Peter’s face as Jesus pressed, “Do you love me more than these?” The third question pierced like the rooster’s crow had days earlier. But this time, tears cleansed rather than condemned. With each “Feed my sheep,” Jesus rebuilt an apostle from ashes. [01:03:20]

Christ’s restoration always leads to mission. He doesn’t merely forgive – He re-commissions. Our worst moments become launchpads for God’s glory when we let Him repurpose our pain into nourishment for others.

What assignment have you abandoned due to past failure? How might Jesus be repurposing your story to strengthen others?

“Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’... ‘Take care of my sheep.’... ‘Feed my sheep.’”
(John 21:15-17, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one person who needs your restored-story testimony.
Challenge: Share a past failure and God’s redemption with someone today.

Day 5: From Prison Cells to Purpose

Chuck Colson’s hands shook as he gripped the steering wheel, prison looming. C.S. Lewis’ words on the dashboard undid him: “A proud man is always looking down on things and people.” In that driveway surrender, a hatchet man became a hope-bearer to millions. [01:07:08]

God never wastes our rock-bottom moments. He uses jail cells, denial courtyards, and betrayal sites as birthing rooms for new purpose. What we call final failures, He calls fertile ground for resurrection stories.

What “prison” of shame have you deemed inescapable? How might God want to transform it into a platform for His redemptive work?

“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
(Psalm 18:19, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for His power to repurpose your failures.
Challenge: Write “God’s Restoration Site” over a past failure in your journal.

Sermon Summary

Psalm 113 lifts God high and near at the same time. The Lord sits enthroned on high and then stoops to raise the poor from the dust and seat the barren woman in a home. That picture frames the whole call today. When sin knocks a disciple flat, the Lord is not distant. He bends down to restore. Matthew 6 then sets the posture. Seek first the kingdom is not only a giving verse; Jesus names it the cure for anxiety. Kingdom first becomes the way a disciple responds when life drops out and when failure hits. The call is simple and stubbornly hard: turn Godward first.

Judas and Peter make the contrast sharp. Matthew shows Judas bargaining for thirty pieces, signaling with a kiss, and then trying to self-repair with a refund and a confession to the wrong audience. Remorse without return becomes a cul-de-sac. Luke shows Peter failing loud, denying Jesus three times, catching the Lord’s look, and then weeping bitterly. That grief could have frozen him, but the text says Peter ran to the tomb. Peter’s failure does not paralyze; it propels him toward Jesus. David’s line interprets both stories. Against you, you only, have I sinned. Sin is vertical first, so restoration begins vertical. Look to God, not self.

The second move is communal. Galatians commands spiritual people to restore in a spirit of gentleness and to bear burdens. James ties healing to confession and prayer one to another. Isolation sounds like relief but it starves restoration. Judas departs alone and dies. Peter returns to the eleven, goes fishing with brothers, and stands where Jesus will meet him.

John then shows Jesus doing surgery on memory. By a charcoal fire Peter denied, and by a charcoal fire Jesus feeds and questions. Anthrakeia appears only twice and both times it surrounds Peter. Three denials meet three questions and three commissions. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep. Jesus hands Peter his assignment back. That is the Lord who stoops. Restoration is not a soft pass for sin. It is the holy King rebuilding a fallen disciple’s heart and then putting him back to work. The move is clear. Look to God, not yourself. Go to community, not isolation. Be restored, not condemned. Let failure become the onramp that sends a disciple running to the King of kings.

Key Takeaways

1. Look to God, not yourself [42:08] Remorse without return leaves the soul stuck. David teaches that sin is Godward first, so confession must be Godward first. Judas tried to fix himself with refunds and priests; Peter ran toward Jesus. Turning to God resets the whole conversation from self-justification to mercy. [42:08]
2. Go to community, not isolation [47:00] Isolation promises quiet and delivers despair. Scripture makes restoration a community project where gentle people bear burdens and pray healing into open places. Real names in a real phone become real lifelines when shame tempts a disciple to hide. [47:00]
3. Let failure propel you to Jesus [45:39] Peter runs to the tomb and keeps moving toward the Lord who looked him in the eye. That sprint is discipleship in a sentence. Failure is not the moment to manage optics; it is the moment to move. Movement Godward beats management every time. [45:39]
4. Expect restoration, not condemnation [01:00:29] Jesus rebuilds the charcoal fire and walks Peter through three questions into three commissions. The Lord is not hunting a chance to crush; he is aiming to restore a heart and reissue an assignment. Condemnation ends a story; restoration writes the next chapter. [60:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[18:58] - Psalm 113 and heart-prayer
[27:39] - Project All In update
[34:59] - When you blow it: first move?
[38:03] - Judas betrays Jesus
[39:48] - Peter denies Jesus
[41:14] - Three moves when you fail
[45:39] - Let failure propel to Jesus
[47:00] - Choose community, not isolation
[49:45] - Restore gently, bear burdens
[60:29] - Be restored, not condemned
[62:21] - Jesus rebuilds the charcoal fire
[63:51] - Three denials, three commissions
[65:51] - Chuck Colson: shame to assignment
[71:59] - Communion: remember Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Psalm 113:5-9 (ESV)
Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!

John 21:15-17 (ESV)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

Observation Questions

In Psalm 113:5-9, what specific actions does God take toward the poor, the needy, and the barren woman? How does this contrast with His position “seated on high”?
How did Judas and Peter’s responses to failure differ after their respective betrayals of Jesus? [38:03]
What repeated imagery (word, object, or setting) does John use in his account of Peter’s denial and restoration? [01:02:21]
According to Galatians 6:1 and James 5:16, what two responsibilities do believers have toward one another in times of failure?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Peter have run to the tomb after denying Jesus, while Judas isolated himself? What does this reveal about their view of God’s character? [45:39]
Jesus recreates the “charcoal fire” setting for Peter in John 21. What significance might this intentional detail hold for someone rebuilding trust after failure? [01:02:21]
The sermon contrasts “remorse without return” (Judas) with “grief that propels” (Peter). How does David’s confession in Psalm 51:4 (“Against you, you only, have I sinned”) reframe the starting point for restoration? [42:08]
How does Jesus’ threefold commission to Peter (“Feed my sheep”) redefine failure as a platform for renewed purpose rather than disqualification?

Application Questions

When you’ve failed recently, what has been your “first move” — rationalizing, isolating, or turning to God? What practical step could help you prioritize vertical confession (to God) before horizontal repair (with others)? [42:08]
Identify 1-2 people in your life (by name) you could reach out to this week if you faced a major failure. What makes them safe to approach? If you can’t name anyone, what’s one step toward building that kind of community? [55:54]
Is there a past failure you’ve allowed to define you as “disqualified”? How might Jesus’ restoration of Peter challenge you to receive — and act on — a renewed assignment from God? [01:04:17]
The sermon warns that isolation “starves restoration.” What habits or excuses keep you from vulnerability in community? How could you intentionally share a struggle (even a small one) with someone this month? [47:00]
Judas tried to “self-repair” through refunds and wrong confessions. Where are you tempted to fix failures through performance (e.g., overworking, people-pleasing) rather than receiving grace?
Jesus met Peter at a charcoal fire — the very place of his failure — to recommission him. What “place” (habit, relationship, or memory) do you avoid because of shame? How could you invite Jesus into it this week?

Sermon Clips

31s

“then Peter went out with the other disciple and they were and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running but the other disciple outran Peter. I love that. And reached the tomb first. And do you realize this same Peter who just three days ago had just denied Jesus was now running towards Jesus. I love that. In fact, let me say it to you like this. Peter's failure didn't paralyze him. It propelled him to look to Jesus. And that's what I want to encourage you to do. The next time you fall, let your failure not paralyze you. Let it propel you towards Jesus. Look to Jesus.”

32s

“Jesus was handing Peter his assignment back. And so many times we think, oh, I've blown it. I could never do that again. I'm disqualified from all this. That's not the Jesus that we see in scripture. We see a Jesus looking to requalify. Why? Because what had happened to Peter's heart? He wept bitterly, and he went back to Jesus. Today, Jesus is after your heart. Did you turn to him first? That's what Peter did. Peter looked to Jesus. Peter looked to community. And as a result, Jesus said, you're where I want you to be. I'm gonna restore you now.”

30s

“that when we sin, we do it against God first and foremost. And sometimes, when we sin against someone else, we just assume, oh, I I did something wrong. I need to apologize to them. Yes. You do. But when you do something wrong to someone else, you actually, first and foremost, sin against God. Do we remember that? Sometimes we can become so, you know, EQ friendly, so to speak, emotionally focused, societally focused, that we forget that when we sin, it actually is against a holy perfect God first and foremost. And that's the first thing I wanna encourage you to remember this morning. Go to God first.”

31s

“How dare we go after somebody when they mess up judgmentally when the same thing could have happened to us. Right? Isn't that the height of hypocrisy? Come down on somebody, beat them down. How could you do this? It's one thing to acknowledge a sin. It's another thing to beat someone up. We don't need to do that. As community, we take care of each other. We love each other. Now hear me on this. Loving each other doesn't mean agreeing with a person's sin. Right. Y'all y'all with me? What it means is loving the person despite their sin, and that's what it means to be community.”

Ask a question about this sermon

The Ark Church Gulf Coast This sermon · AI assistant

What three moves should believers make when failing?

How did Peter respond differently than Judas?

Why prioritize God first instead of self after sin?