WHEN FAILURE ISN’T FINAL
SERMON PASSAGE: Acts 13:36-39
INTRODUCTION
What questions or mistakes keep you up at night?
One of the questions I find myself asking a lot relates to me being a father.
Have I done all I can as a parent to prepare my kids for the next stage of life?
Will my example as a dad become an obstacle or a springboard to their faith?
Will they look back on these years and struggle to believe in God because of me, or will they have an example that launches them forward in their faith?
Maybe:
You are plagued with questions about if everything will be okay with what's going on in your life.
You made some pretty life-altering decisions and you are asking, "Am I making the right decision?"
Your kids have moved out or gone off to school and you're asking, "Will my children be okay?"
You are not married and you're asking if you will ever find a spouse.
You are asking if your life even matters or has a purpose.
You wonder if the world is on the verge of collapse and catastrophe.
You walk in with the heaviest guilt and wonder if you can really be forgiven.
One of the consistent messages we find in the Bible is this:
GOD IS FAITHFUL EVEN WHEN WE FAIL
THE QUESTION PLAGUING THE JEWISH PEOPLE
The people sitting in the synagogue in Acts 13 had big questions just like you and I.
Their questions weren't primarily about careers, retirement, or relationships.
They were about if and when God would be true to His promises despite their failures.
They remembered:
God delivering them from Egypt.
God bringing them into the promised land.
God raising up King David.
God speaking through the prophets.
But they also remembered:
Israel rejecting God.
Their suffering.
Living under Roman oppression.
And throughout it all they clung to God's promises:
One day He would restore them.
One day He would bring a King.
One day He would forgive their sins.
As months turned into years, and years into decades, nothing seemed to change.
The question grew louder and louder:
If God is faithful, when will He act to save His people?
I. GOD IS FAITHFUL EVEN IN OUR FAILURE
Acts 13:13–16
John Mark leaves Paul and Barnabas.
Paul later says:
"...he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work." (Acts 15:38)
Even among faithful believers there was conflict and disappointment.
Paul's feelings were so badly hurt that he felt like he could no longer trust John Mark.
That stubborn refusal to bring him back momentarily split up Barnabas and Paul's working relationship.
This is real life, isn't it?
But check this out:
God used that difficulty for His purposes.
More churches were started.
More people heard about Jesus.
People are not infallible.
Only God is.
Main Takeaway
Even though John Mark failed, it was not big enough to sabotage God's plan to move His mission forward.
God has this unique ability to use failure to make a bigger impact in His kingdom.
Some of you walk in with mistakes you made and you are beating yourself up.
Even though our actions have legitimate consequences, that does not mean God is done with you.
God is faithful even in our failure.
II. GOD'S GRACIOUS INITIATIVE
Acts 13:17–23
Notice the subject of nearly every verb:
God chose.
God led.
God gave.
God raised up.
God brought.
The emphasis:
God graciously takes the initiative.
Paul is answering that aching question and encouraging them to remember:
God is faithful and doesn't give up on His promises.
Then Paul masterfully shifts the story toward Jesus.
III. JESUS IS THE ANSWER
Acts 13:23–39
Paul brings up four crucial truths about Jesus.
1. Jesus Is God's Answer
Acts 13:23
"Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised."
Jesus is described as the one God has brought to Israel.
Jesus was not simply a Jewish man inspired to make a difference in His day.
He was sent by God to earth to solve our sin problem and save us.
2. Jesus Is God's Victory
Acts 13:26–31
The leaders rejected Him.
Rome crucified Him.
Believers buried Him.
But God raised Him victorious.
Even their rejection of Jesus was in God's plan.
Jesus' resurrection is God saying to the world:
Death no longer gets the last word.
The resurrection certifies that Jesus has forgiven all our sins.
3. Jesus Is King
Acts 13:33–37
The theme tying these Old Testament quotations together is:
Kingship.
Jesus is the promised King.
David died.
David's sons died.
They remained dead.
Israel was waiting for God to send them a King who would beat death itself.
So when Jesus rose from the dead:
He conquered death.
He fulfilled God's promises.
He proved He is the King of the world.
The Bible tells us this King will return.
When He returns, His mission is to claim what is His and judge those who rejected Him.
The alarming thing is this:
Our sin is a kind of treason.
We are rejecting Him over our lives.
4. Jesus Is Savior
Acts 13:38–39
"Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you."
The purpose of the law was to expose the reality that we are guilty before God.
But Paul tells us there is good news.
This King came to be judged in our place.
When we trust in Jesus:
All our guilt
All our sins
All our rejection
All our mistakes
were transferred to Him.
His death was Him taking the judgment we deserve.
Our sin is like a debt we can never dig ourselves out of.
The resurrection is proof of the payment made to cancel our debt.
God declares you:
NOT GUILTY
CONCLUSION
Whatever mistakes you have made that keep you up at night.
Whatever questions plague your mind.
What Paul is telling them, he is telling us:
Jesus is the answer.
Jesus is the only God who is capable of satisfying your deepest desires.
The things we often trust in:
Careers
Money
Relationships
Popularity
Health
provide momentary satisfaction.
But they are not capable of satisfying us forever.
Health fails.
Popularity wanes.
Retirement comes.
Job losses happen.
People leave.
People die.
The only one who promises to save and satisfy is Jesus.
And His resurrection is proof that God will keep His promises.