From Denial to Restoration
Tom Shrader concludes a series on John 13 by focusing on Peter's denial and restoration as the defining example of God turning human failure into something purposeful. Drawing from John 13, Acts 2, and Acts 4, he traces Peter's transformation from cowardly denial to bold proclamation before Jewish authorities, arguing that God consistently chooses the weak and broken to display His power. The teaching closes with a call to recognize that no one — regardless of age, failure, or limitation — is beyond God's ability to forgive and use for His purposes.
“Failure is inevitable, but it's not fatal. Not only does God forgive you, but God will use you.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Scottsdale Bible Church
Recorded: 2017 at Scottsdale Bible Church
Duration: 43 min
Themes: restoration, failure, forgiveness, redemption, boldness, weakness, denial, second chances, struggling with shame, feeling unworthy, recovering from failure, new believer, older adult, questioning purpose, returning to faith, dealing with past mistakes
Scripture: John 13:36-38, John 18:10, John 18:17, John 18:25, Luke 22:61-62, Acts 2:14, Acts 2:22-24, Acts 2:37, Acts 2:40-41, Acts 4:1, Acts 4:12-13, Acts 13:2, Acts 13:5, Acts 15:39, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 2 Timothy 4
Theological Themes: sanctification, divine sovereignty, repentance, regeneration, Peter's restoration, theology of weakness, proclamation, grace
Full Transcript
God Turns Our Mess into a Beautiful Mess
Good morning. It's great to see you and be with you this morning. Jamie is on a study break, and the evidence of that is right before us today. Jamie was reading through John chapter 13, looking at Jesus with the disciples, and he said, as he looked at this group of people, "What a mess." As he studied it, the title for this series emerged: "A Beautiful Mess."
As Jamie looked at this passage, he discovered what became the series topics. The five things we've talked about are forgiveness, betrayal, glory, love, and denial. You look at these men gathered for this Last Supper, and here are all of those traits laid out in one brief chapter. Jamie stepped back and recognized what God does, and a big idea emerged as the umbrella for the whole series: God will turn our mess into a beautiful mess.
Today I want to pull together the four topics Jamie has talked about and add to it the guy who is really the poster child for a mess — I bring Peter to it. But here is what I want you to see. I don't want you to stop and look at these guys and say, "Aren't they a mess?" I want you to see the big idea: that God will turn your mess into a beautiful mess.
It's just hard to imagine when you walk on campus here, because everything is so orderly, everything is in its proper place, and you look at people and think, "Look at those people — they've got it together." I'm going to tell you a little secret: they don't. Everybody here is a mess, some of it a little more obvious than others. But God will turn your mess into a beautiful mess. That is what He does.
The Foolishness of the Cross
God works contrary, in terms of values, to ours. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, and he points out the obvious: that the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
This Bible, and many of you can give testimony to this — if you are one who is perishing, meaning you are dead in your sins and trespasses, this Bible and this salvation don't make much sense. Sometimes we get a little defensive about that, but there is no reason to be defensive. Here is what we believe: that God created an Adam and an Eve, and when they sinned, they plunged all of us into ruin. For thousands of years, God went about putting in place a plan of redemption, and then Jesus came — not just a great man, but God in the flesh — and He died on the cross, and He rose from the dead, and if we believe in Him, we will be saved. That is a tough sell. That is science fiction stuff. It is foolish — unless you are one who is being saved, delivered.
We have a whole language in the Christian world. We use words like "saved" that raise questions. Saved from what? We are saved from the consequence of our sin. We are alive physically but dead spiritually. We need to be rescued, delivered, saved. The Bible tells us that if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.
Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, and it was a messed-up church. But like any church, it was filled with believers. They were messed up, but they were — here it is — a beautiful mess. In verse 27 of chapter 1, Paul tells the church at Corinth, and tells us, that God has chosen the foolish things of the world, the weak things. God has chosen a mess, and He makes it a beautiful mess.
Paul: Weak, Fearful, and Trembling
Paul is the iconic figure of the Christian faith, and here is how he describes himself in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. He is talking about when he came to these people. He said in verse 1, "When I came to you, I didn't come with superiority of speech." He wasn't very articulate. He had only one message: Christ and Christ crucified. He says in verses 3 and 4, "When I came, I came in weakness and fear and trembling, and my message and my speech were not very persuasive."
That is what God uses. God uses things the world looks at and says, "I would never choose them." And God says, "That is okay, because I take people who are a mess and I make it a beautiful mess." In verse 5, Paul tells us why God does this: so that your faith does not rest in men, but on the power of God.
So here comes Paul — weak, fearful, trembling, not very articulate, not very persuasive. When Paul finished speaking, they didn't say, "Isn't that Paul something?" They said, "Isn't God something?" I was doing a men's conference in California, and there is always somebody assigned to pick you up at the airport and navigate you around. This man picked me up, got me in the car, and said, "Are you hungry?" I said, "I'm always ready to eat." The longer we were together, the more something seemed wrong. So I said to him, "Are you okay?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Is there something wrong?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "That's okay. You can tell me." And he said —
Introduction: God Uses Broken People
Our hope is in the character of God, the promise of God, the faithfulness of God, and the sovereignty of God. That is your hope. You can start crossing off words and get there pretty quickly: our hope is God — His character, His power, His promises, His promise that He will save you, deliver you, and rescue you. He is faithful. And here is the thing that holds it all together: He is sovereign. R.C. Sproul uses the phrase, "There is not a maverick molecule loose in the universe that can usurp His plan."
God is our hope, not us. You do not have to fool each other — just be honest with yourself. When you look in the mirror, you see it: you are not all that great, you are a mess. But God says, "I will make you a beautiful mess." The poster boy for that is Peter.
Peter's Bold Claim
We come to the text in front of us today: John chapter 13. Jesus is dealing with His disciples. He has talked about betrayal and forgiveness. Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are you going?" And Jesus said, "Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you can follow Me later." Peter replied, "Why can't I follow You?"
There is some defiance there, and yet in the middle of it Peter speaks boldly: "I will lay down my life for You." The scripture does not say this, but you can almost imagine Jesus smirking in verse 38 when He says, "You will lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times." Really — you are going to die for Me?
Now there was some sincerity in Peter's claim. If we fast-forward to John chapter 18, verse 10, Peter is with Jesus when the soldiers come to arrest Him. The numbers are overwhelming, and yet Peter draws his sword and strikes. Peter the great swordsman misses everything but catches an ear. At this point, Peter is literally saying with his actions that he is willing to risk his life. But he did not fully understand, he was not ready or prepared, and he did not yet have the Holy Spirit. He was not prepared for what was coming.
The Three Denials
Going back to John 13, verse 38: "A rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times." You know the story, and all four gospel writers record it. In chapter 18, verse 17, a slave girl comes up to Peter and says, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" And Peter says, "I am not." Then in verse 25, while he is warming himself, the same question comes: "You are not one of His disciples, are you?" And again: "I am not." Then a slave, who was a relative of the man Peter had struck, says, "Didn't I see you in the garden?" And Peter says, "No, you did not." And immediately the rooster crowed.
For most people, if we do word association with the name Peter, this is what they think of — the denial. But that is Peter at a low point. That is not the end of Peter's story. Peter is a mess, but God is going to make him a beautiful mess.
The Look That Broke Peter
To add some depth to this moment, Luke records the same incident but gives us additional information. Peter says, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. But the next verse says this: the Lord turned and looked at Peter.
We do not get that detail in Matthew, Mark, or John. They tell us about the denial, but they do not tell us that Jesus was close to him, that He looked directly at him. Imagine this moment — place yourself in it. Jesus makes eye contact with Peter. Talk about guilt and shame. Jesus looks right at him.
And what happens to Peter? "Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, 'Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.'" And look at what Peter does in verse 62: he went out and he wept bitterly. Have you ever been there? Face to face with Jesus. Every time we sin, in essence, we are denying Him.
God Is the God of a Second Chance
This thing could be tragic if we stopped the story right there. But here is the great news: God is a God of a second chance. That is what Jonah learned. That is what we learn over and over again.
You and I, we have relationships that are pretty conditional. For many of us, if somebody betrayed us the way Peter betrayed Jesus, we would say, "That is it. That is the end of the line." We deal in tentative, conditional, transactional relationships.
Last Thursday was my wedding anniversary — our fifth anniversary. I found a card that expressed what I wanted to say better than I could have said it myself. It happened to be a card written from a man to a man, so I had to cross out "man" and write "woman," but she got the idea. I really love her. But I know it is conditional.
A Question That Cut to the Heart
I was trying to promote communication, and so it was quiet. I said to her, "I love you." And she said, "Why?" I wasn't ready for that. This wasn't a discussion question. I was just making a statement. And she said, "Why?"
I said, "All right, don't blow this." I said, "You're so smart. You have a great mind. You went to Washington University in St. Louis — fabulous school. You got two degrees there, then another degree. You have more degrees than a thermometer. I'm impressed with you. You're really smart."
At that point, I would think "thank you" would be a good thing to say. But she said, "Would you love me if I was stupid?" I said, "Well, you're pretty, and you're in great shape." And she said, "Would you love me if I was ugly?" And I said, "You know what? I don't think so."
But here's what she was doing. She was grinding on the fact that humanly, our love is so conditional. I'll love you if. I'll love you when. Peter blew it, and humanly we would take him off at the knees at this point. But God doesn't. He's a God of a second chance who turns our mess into a beautiful mess.
Peter of the Gospel, Peter of Acts
That is Peter of the gospel. Then we get to Peter of the book of Acts.
Acts chapter 2, verse 14 — Pentecost has arrived. Jesus has said, "You'll be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and the remotest parts of the earth." And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stands. He stands among this group of Jews and says, "Men of Israel, I want to give you a message."
Chapter 2, verse 22: "Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through Him in your midst." Verse 23: He is the man "who was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God." This was not God's plan B. This was God's plan from the beginning for redemption.
Remember, this is the same Peter who said, "I didn't know Him, I didn't know Him, I didn't know Him." And now, before a far more intimidating group, he is saying, "This is the One you put to death."
The End of Death's Agony
Verse 24: "But God raised Him from the dead and put an end to the agony of death. It is impossible for Jesus to be held in the power of death." Jesus rose from the dead and puts an end to the agony of death — not the physical agony, we know that, but the uncertainty of it. We know we're going to die. What happens then?
I'm from Davenport, Iowa, and I use that all the time. If somebody asks where I'm from, I will almost always say I was born in Iowa. I don't know why, but I do. I love Iowa — not enough to live there, but I love it. Every day I go on two sites: the Quad City Times, the local newspaper, and Halligan McCabe Funeral Home, the funeral home of choice with my tribe in Davenport.
I was on there this week, and there was a lady who had passed away. She was 92. I read the obituary, and there was a sentence that caught my attention. Her name was Mary. I quote: "Mary passed away unexpectedly Thursday, May 25th, 2017, at Senior Star Assisted Living in Davenport." She was 92, and this was unexpected.
My dad died July 2nd, 2006. Every Saturday night, like clockwork, he watched Lawrence Welk, then went upstairs to set out his things for golf the next morning. That Saturday night he watched Lawrence Welk, went upstairs, and fell over dead. The doctor said he was probably dead before he hit the ground. I'm not suggesting a cause and effect between watching Lawrence Welk and dying — so go ahead and watch at your own risk.
What Is Truly Unexpected
We were at Halligan McCabe Funeral Home, standing in the receiving line. My dad was fairly well-known in the community, and many people there I hadn't seen in a long time. I must have had a dozen people say to me, "We were so surprised by your dad's death." It's not the time to nitpick, but I wanted to say, "Really? You thought he was going to live forever? When he was born on June 13th, 1924, do you think everyone gathered around and said, 'Here's the exception to the rule — he's going to make it forever'?"
George Bernard Shaw said it this way: the statistics on death are impressive. One out of one people die. So what is unexpected and surprising is not that Mary died or that my dad died, but the timing of it. We know we're going to die.
But Jesus rose again and, as verse 24 says, put an end to the agony of death. You don't have to wonder anymore. You don't have to speculate anymore. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13: "I don't want you to be uninformed. I don't want you to grieve as those who had no hope." We have hope — in the character, the promise, the faithfulness, and the sovereignty of God.
And this is so important: it is not just for heaven. It is for now. I can have hope now. I have direction now.
What Should We Do?
Look at what happens in chapter 2, verse 37. When the people hear this, they are pierced to the heart and they say, "What should we do?" That might be you today. This may all be new to you and you're asking, "What do I do?"
Here's the answer: repent. Talk to someone who brought you, or someone who will be at the front — here in the worship center, or in the venue, or the chapel, wherever you are — someone who will talk with you about what it means to know Jesus. The people responded, and we are told in chapter 2 what happened next.
Peter's Bold Proclamation
Acts 2, verses 40 and 41 record Peter continuing to urge the crowd: "Be saved, be delivered." It is the same message today. That day, about 3,000 people were saved.
Hold with me, because we are going to make a big point here. By chapter 4, verse 1, Peter — the one who denied Christ in front of the servant girl and the slave — is now standing before the Roman cohort, the captain of the special temple guard, and the Sadducees. Peter and John are teaching and proclaiming. They had one message: resurrection and crucifixion. That simple message. As they are preaching, verse 4 tells us about 5,000 people are saved.
Now these Jewish leaders were far more powerful and intimidating than the group that arrested Jesus — the very group that confronted Peter when he said, "I didn't know Him." Yet Peter stands up before them in chapter 4, verse 12, and declares there is salvation in no one else. This is the only way.
I feel compelled to say this given our culture — a culture that wants to be so accommodating. We need to understand that the Christian faith, in terms of salvation, is very narrow and very exclusive. I didn't make it that way, Jamie didn't make it that way. Jesus made it that way.
Uneducated but Transformed
Verse 13 tells us these leaders looked at Peter and John and recognized they were uneducated and untrained. That is the kind of people God takes. That is not a shot at education — I don't have much of it myself, and I am deficient for it. I was having lunch with Jamie one day and I said to him, "I'm not very smart." I said that half hoping he would say, "Oh, no, no, you are." He said, "No, you're just not very educated."
They recognized Peter and John were uneducated, but they were amazed because they saw that these men had been with Jesus. How do you change your story from denial to declaring there is no one but Jesus? You be with Him. You commune with Him. You pray. You study. You read.
So What? Three Takeaways from Peter's Life
Let me give you some takeaways — not just for today, but really for this whole series.
First, be careful what you say. "I never would." Count the cost. Make sure your strength is rooted not in your own confidence and in yourself, but in Jesus.
Second, understand that failure is inevitable, but it is not fatal. In your life, you are going to fail. The only way to avoid failure is to do nothing, which in my mind is the ultimate failure. You are going to fail. It is inevitable, but it is not fatal.
Here is the big point. Not only does God forgive you, but God will use you. I know from doing this for a long time that in a room with this many people, some of you have messed up. You have sinned. You have blown it — and I am talking about as Christians. You are thinking, "Well, I guess God can forgive me." I want to go deeper than that. He can forgive you, and He will still use you. Did you see that in Peter's life? God is not done. He will use you.
John Mark: A Mess Made Beautiful
Acts chapter 13, verses 2 and following: Paul and Barnabas are setting out on the first missionary journey. They gather together, pray over them, and send out Paul and Barnabas. In verse 5 of chapter 13, they bring along a third — a helper. His name is John Mark.
John Mark travels with them on this first missionary journey, and along the way, Mark quits. We do not know exactly why. A little while later, as Barnabas and Paul are planning to go back and check on those churches, Barnabas says, "Why don't we take John Mark with us?" Now just so you know, this is the Mark who ultimately writes a Gospel — the Gospel of Mark.
Barnabas says, "Let's take Mark." Paul says no. We are told in verse 39 of chapter 15 that a sharp disagreement broke out between the two. Barnabas is essentially saying, "He blew it and he is a mess, but God will make his mess a beautiful mess." Paul is saying, "This is tough work. I don't have time to babysit Mark." These two men split over it. Barnabas heads out with Mark. Paul heads out with Silas.
The last written communication we have from the apostle Paul is in 2 Timothy chapter 4. Paul is already acknowledging that the time for his departure has come. He understands it is the end of his life. So he writes to Timothy and says, "Only Luke is with me." Then he adds: "Pick up Mark" — why? — "He is useful for service."
God Is Not a Wasteful God
I want to make this point to all of you: God will use you.
I have spent the last three months — and probably the next year or so — reading about aging. I am doing this primarily as one who is aging myself. I am writing notes and finding common themes. I came across a book. Last night I read from it without giving the title, so let me give it to you now: *Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body*. Every chapter is two pages. The book is 93 pages. It says on the back, "Easy to read print" — meaning the font is about 16. It anticipates old readers like us.
Listen to what the author writes:
"I confess there are days when pain suffocates my passion for living. There are dark nights when fear chokes out hope. Sometimes I wonder why you left me on this earth. I have outlived so many of my family and friends. Why do I linger? What purpose could I have now? Look at my hands — once strong and sure, they are unsteady and frail. I can't open a Gatorade. My mind, once quick and incisive, now falters under the weight of names and faces. What real purpose do I serve, knitting away hours, surfing channels, dozing through the afternoon? Then your Spirit stirs my heart and convicts me. You are not a wasteful God."
You Are Still Useful
The length of my days are a mystery to me, but one thing I know — and that's what we traffic in, what we know — because what we know trumps what we feel. The length of my days are a mystery to me, but one thing I know for sure: You have created me with an eternal purpose.
So the author asks these two questions, and I don't care how old you are, but maybe especially if you're older. You ask them: How can I be more like Christ today? Whose life can I touch with kindness? "Lord, give me an extra measure of grace when I feel that I'm too old to be useful. Help me take my limitations in stride as I search for opportunities to serve You. My purpose has not withered away with another birthday. It's rooted in eternity."
I'm convinced that there's an army that the world is going to wake up to, and I hope the church does. Any day, 10,000 people in this country celebrate their 65th birthday. By the year 2030 — not that far away — 75 million people, 65 or older, whom the world tends to push away, still have a lot of tread left on their tires.
Maybe not as strong as I used to be. I used to teach seven times on Sunday. I can't do it anymore. I have two today, and Jamie has 14 fallback positions, assuming I'm not going to make it through it — and I understand that, because there have been days when I didn't. You may not be as strong as you once were, but here's what I know: you are useful. If nothing else — and it's a big thing — if nothing else, you can pray.
To those of you who are a little younger, you ought to look around. Go over to that chapel. I was over there, and the only people with dark hair are dyeing it — it's all gray hair. They have so much to offer you. Go get them.
God Can Still Use You
To those of you who are here — maybe it's not age, maybe it's not sin, it's something else — and you're saying God can't use you: I'm telling you He can. Especially when you come to the last point: do people see that you've been with Jesus? Because they should be able to see it. You're going to look different, talk different, act differently.
That's the bow on the series. God will turn your mess — our mess — into a beautiful mess.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this day. Thank You that we're a mess, and we can say thank You that we're a mess, because You turn our mess into a beautiful mess. God, thank You for the people that are here. We pray that You use us for Your honor and glory. In Jesus' name, amen.