Luke 24:6

It's a diagnosable condition called complicated grief. It's often caused by something that is one of many people's worst fears and concerns. In the moment of anger, in the heat of passion, they say an unkind thing to someone. They cut someone with their words. It's in that exchange with a sibling, a child, a parent, or a spouse that, without realizing it, it becomes the final exchange.

The normal grief of loss is complicated. It's compounded by the fact that the last words shared were heavy or hurtful. Someone might say something like, "You'll never amount to anything," or "I wish I would have never met you." Then, hours later, a phone call comes: "I'm sorry, there's been an accident," or the doctor says, "We tried our best, but it was a massive heart attack." The normal sorrow that comes with a sudden loss is compounded by the reality that there are words that were said that can't be unsaid. There were things that were done that can't be undone. There will never be an opportunity to take it back. There will never be a chance to say, "I'm sorry." These thoughts weigh heavily upon the heart.

For example, her last words to her seven-year-old son were, "You don't need a life jacket. You're a big boy. You can do this." Those words rang in her ears for years to come, compounding and complicating the grief of loss. Sometimes, loss comes so suddenly and quickly that there is no time to prepare. But always, when that event happens, the result is the same.

People say things like, "If I had only known that it would be the last time that I would see them. If I only had a clue that it would be the last time that I would speak to them, I would have done it so much differently." But we're not always given that opportunity. Sometimes it comes suddenly, sometimes without any warning.

They had spent more than three years with Him. Everywhere He went, they went. They traveled and logged many hundreds of miles, and most of that was on foot. Sometimes it was on a boat, but most of the time, they walked. As they walked, they talked to Him. He spoke with them about all kinds of things. He spoke about things that were strange. From time to time, He would break off into talking about sheep and shepherds or planting seeds, and they would wonder, "What in the world is He talking about?" They would even come to Him and say, "What was that all about?"

But then there were times when He would speak about the Kingdom of God, and they would just light up. They hung on every single word that He spoke. They watched Him intently. They even emulated the things that He did and the things that He said. All day, they would be with Him. Into the night, they would be with Him. They would sit down, eat together, talk together, laugh together, and pray with Him. He would teach them.

Sometimes in the morning, they would wake up and He would be gone. They couldn't find Him, so they would go searching for Him. He would be off in some solitary place by Himself. Always, they would say, "Come on, we have to come back. There are multitudes of people that are coming. They're looking for You." They spent their time with Him constantly. Regularly, they would leave their home area around the Sea of Galilee and travel miles together—60 or more miles—down to Jerusalem. Multitudes of people from all over the nation would gather there in that great city, as they did often for the times of holidays and celebrations. It was always a great excitement and anticipation.

Everywhere He went, He attracted a group of people. This small group of guys was there by His side all the time. They loved it. They loved Him. They loved being with Him. But on this most recent journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, things changed.

Just his tone and the way that he carried himself were different. He became more candid. It seemed as though, by the way that he moved and interacted with people, he was more direct and specific. It was almost as if he was on a mission. He even spoke in ways that reflected this sense of purpose. The words changed; he became more intentional in the things that he said and how he said them. Or at least, it seemed that way.

He was steadfastly focused on getting to Jerusalem. He was more direct and pointed, and in some ways, it was as if he was saying goodbye, preparing them for a farewell. But that was not what they were hoping for; that was not what they were anticipating. In their hearts, there was huge expectation for this meeting in Jerusalem. The crowds following him were bigger than ever, and there was just a sense in the air that something was different.

Yet, he started to say the strangest things to them. "We're going to Jerusalem, and I'm going to be betrayed. We're going to Jerusalem, and I'm going to be arrested and condemned to die." So strange were his words that at one point, one of his disciples actually pulled him aside, away from the crowd, and rebuked him openly. "Far be it from you, Lord. This will not happen to you. You've got to stop talking like this. It's depressing the morale among the people. They don't want to hear this."

And yet, everything in his demeanor—the way he carried himself, the way he spoke—indicated that things were different. But then that great day came. It was the most celebrated of the feasts, the best of the holidays, the one that everybody looked forward to. He had told some of his followers, his disciples, "Hey, make ready. We're going to get together and celebrate tonight."

So they gathered together. As he sat down with them on that Thursday night, he said, "With fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you. I've been looking forward to this. I've been anticipating this gathering before I suffer." Everything in that room began to change. The mood was different. He did things he had never done before. This time, he got up and washed their feet, which was strange.

One of the disciples even said, "No, no, no, you're not supposed to do this," recognizing that this isn't the norm. This isn't what you're supposed to do. As the supper went on, He changed what He would normally do, what they had done for years. As He broke bread, He gave it to them and said, "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." He was going to suffer, and those sitting there just couldn't grasp what He was saying.

Then He took a cup and said, "This is the blood of the new covenant. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." As He was sitting there, not only did He tell them that He would suffer, but He also spoke in a way that seemed like He was saying goodbye to them. At a certain point, He said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, I'm telling you the truth. One of you is going to betray me." It was as if, in that moment, all the oxygen was sucked from their lungs, from the entire room. One of us will betray you? Why would anybody betray you?

They had been with Him for three years, three and a half years. They had watched Him interact with people. They had seen that He was a man who never harmed anyone. This was a person who had no malice, who walked with meekness. This was not a person someone would betray. He had never double-crossed anyone. They had watched Him day and night, and they thought, "Why would anybody do such a thing?" They were all so amazed by this that they began to ask, "Is it I? Is it I?"

Now, one of them had to feign shock when Jesus said, "One of you will betray me," so as not to let on that he had already begun the process of betraying Him. But they all asked, "Is it I? Is it I? Who could possibly betray Him?" He never got upset. There was that time in the temple when He drove people out, but even when multitudes pressed into Him, consuming His energy and time, He didn't get irritated. Even when little kids came to spend time close to Him, He didn't get irritated by that. Even when all of His disciples were saying, "Can't you just send the people away? It's been a long day," He never got irritated by those things. Why would anybody want to betray Him?

But then it was compounded even more. You can see it in Matthew chapter 26. If you'd like to open your Bibles, if you don't have a Bible, just raise your hand.

One of our ushers will gladly bring you a Bible. Matthew is in the New Testament. Turn to about the middle of your Bible and go to the right. You will come across Matthew, which is a large book just before Mark and Luke.

Matthew chapter 26 gives us insight into the event with his disciples and Jesus in the upper room on the night that he would be betrayed. In verse 31, it says, "Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. One of you is a betrayer, but all of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight. As it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.'"

Peter, the same one who had said, "Lord, you can't wash my feet," and the same one who had said, "Far be it from you, Lord, this will never happen to you," answered in verse 33, "Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble."

Jesus said to Peter, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." Peter responded, "Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all of his disciples.

There was a weight, no doubt, in the room—a palpable thickness of everything going on, all that was leading up to that moment. Jesus said, "One of you is going to betray me. I'm going to suffer. I'm going to be arrested. I'm going to die." For some reason, it seems as though his disciples completely shut off their brains when he would clue them into this. Every single time he mentioned that he would rise again on the third day, they never saw or heard that. They didn't grasp it.

However, they caught that he was going to suffer and understood that one would betray him. Now he says, "All of you will stumble," and he tells Peter, "You will deny me." Peter insists, "There is no way that I will ever deny you."

We read that Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. They left the upper room after finishing the meal and crossed through the old city of Jerusalem. They descended the side of Mount Zion, where the temple is located, and crossed the valley known as the Kidron Valley. As they began to ascend what is called the Mount of Olives, you can join us in Jerusalem this year in November to see this place. They arrived at a little area called Gethsemane.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, whose names were James and John. He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me." They left the upper room, crossed the Kidron Valley, and came into Gethsemane. He suggested they stay there for a while. They were likely on their way to a little town over the top of Mount of Olives called Bethany, where he would often stay. In Gethsemane, he said, "Let's stay here. We'll pray here." The Gospels tell us he went there often.

He took Peter, James, and John with him, saying, "You come with me, and I need you to watch and pray with me." Then he went a little further, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "Oh, my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

He returned to his disciples and found them asleep. He had asked them to stay awake and pray with him, but now he found them sleeping. He said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." I think we all can identify with that.

Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, "Oh, my Father, if this cup cannot pass from me unless I drink it, your will be done." He came back and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. He left them and went away to pray a third time, saying the same words.

When he returned to his disciples, he asked, "Are you still sleeping? Are you still resting?" At that very moment, a rush of people entered that space called Gethsemane, led by someone the disciples knew. He was the very one Jesus had identified just hours before when he said, "One of you will betray me."

He was one who had been with them on the Sea of Galilee when the storm came, and he had seen Jesus calm the storm. He was with them when Jesus walked on water, and he served with them when Jesus fed the multitudes. He was present through all of these significant events. The Scriptures even tell us he was the one like the treasurer who carried the money bag.

Now, here is Judas Iscariot. Every time he is pictured in any sort of film, he appears kind of freaky looking. You might think, "No, I wouldn't want anything to do with that guy." I don't think he looked like that because he was given the money bag; you wouldn't give the money bag to a seedy-looking guy. I like to refer to Judas Iscariot as Judas the scary idiot, as that is how he often appears in films. But that's not the reality of who he was.

Judas comes into the place and tells those with him, soldiers from the chief priest, that he will identify Jesus, the one they are to take, by a kiss. This was a normal greeting in that day, not strange at all. He walks up to Jesus and kisses him, and then they lay hands on him and arrest him.

One of Jesus's disciples, as the Scriptures tell us in the Gospels, pulls forth a sword. Peter, who couldn't stay awake to pray with Jesus, decides he will stop this arrest. He wants to protect and defend the Lord. The Scriptures tell us that Peter takes out a sword and steps forward to try and intervene. However, instead of going after one of the armed Roman soldiers, he cuts off the ear of the slave of the high priest. This is an interesting little tidbit given to us in the Gospels.

Peter was smart enough not to go after one of the trained Roman soldiers. But now, Jesus has to rebuke Peter, saying, "No, stop." The Gospels record that Jesus made it right by healing the man's ear that Peter had cut off. Yet, he rebukes Peter for his actions.

If that had been the entirety of Peter's experience in this story—Jesus asking him and the others to pray with him, and yet Peter, like the other disciples, could not stay awake—then the events that followed would have been even more significant. Three times, Jesus came and woke him up, asking, "Can't you just pray with me for one hour?" If Peter had failed to watch, failed to pray with Jesus, and then failed to defend the Lord only to be rebuked by Him, the events of Good Friday and Jesus' death would surely lead Peter to experience some complicated grief.

There would be some measure after the fact of saying, "Why couldn't I just stay awake and pray with him? Why couldn't I stand up and defend him in that moment?" There would be some compounding of grief in the face of that. But that's not all of the story. We're told, as we continue on, that there's more to it.

We find it in Luke's Gospel. If you're in Matthew, turn to the right; you'll pass the Gospel of Mark, and then you'll get to the Gospel of Luke. In Luke chapter 22, beginning at verse 54, we read: "Having arrested him, they took and led Jesus and brought him to the house of the high priest." But Peter followed at a distance.

When they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. A certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man also was with him." But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."

After a little while, another one saw him and said, "You also are with them. You're of that group, those Galileans. That one that the chief priest took, you're with that group." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."

Then, after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean." An hour passed, and Peter was there warming himself by the fire.

"Listen," they said. "You definitely were. I'm sure you were with him. We've seen you with him before. Not to mention, he's that Galilean prophet. You're from Galilee. Your speech has made you known. You've got an accent. You're one of those backwater boys from up there in Capernaum. We know that you are of him." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying."

In fact, one of the other Gospels says he swore, "I do not know him." Now, immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord, apparently some distance within sight of Peter, turned and looked at Peter. It seems as though their eyes may have even met. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken, how He said, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." So, Peter went out and wept bitterly.

That word "bitterly" in the original language carries a lot of meaning. It means to weep with heart-wrenching, deep tears, with extreme distress. Can you imagine the compounding and complicated grief of Peter? I'm sure that some of you can feel the weight of this. He had failed three times. He had failed to pray with the Lord, and each time the Lord came and found him asleep, saying, "Can you not pray with me just one hour?" The Lord had to openly rebuke him, saying, "Put away the sword. That's not what we're here for." Now, three times he has denied Him, and the third time, he hears the rooster crow, just as Jesus had said would happen. There, Jesus turns His head, and their eyes meet. Peter is devastated, and he runs from there, weeping bitterly.

When I imagine Peter, I assume that many of you, if you've read the Scriptures before or followed one of the stories or movies about Jesus, might picture him differently. I don't imagine that he was some small, five-foot-two, little stature kind of guy. In my mind, I envision him as a strong, statured man. He was a fisherman, a tradesman, not the kind of guy you often think of as a weeper. Some people, of course, shed tears, even some men, but I imagine Peter was one of those guys who, if a tear came, would say, "Oh, I got something in my eye. Excuse me." Yet here he runs and weeps bitterly.

Point number one, if you have your sermon guide handy: failure compounds grief.

Failure compounds grief, and there are some of you here today who know that in a very experiential way. You know it to be true. Peter failed to pray. He failed to protect. He failed and even forsook the Lord not once, not twice, but three times. To complicate matters further, he did the exact same thing that Jesus said he would do. He swore, "I will never do that. I would die with you before I would do that."

Then there's a young girl. In fact, the wording suggests she is somewhere in her early teens. The young girl says, "No, no, I know you're with that guy." She insists, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't know that guy. I don't know what you're talking about. I will die with you." And then he is a denier. He went out and wept bitterly. This is a serious understatement; it's one of those things that fails at translation. He goes out and weeps bitterly.

Within three hours of that moment when he locks eyes with Jesus, that man, Jesus, is condemned to die by the Jewish council, by King Herod, the king of Judea, and by the Roman governor, Pilate. He is condemned to die within three hours. That was the last moment that Peter would see Jesus, or so he thought. Three hours later, he is condemned to die, and Peter has run and is in hiding.

Not only is Jesus condemned to die, but within six hours of that moment, He is nailed to a cross on a hillside outside the city of Jerusalem. Within nine hours, He breathes His last breath. His lifeless body is taken from the cross, prepared for burial, and by sundown, His dead body is laid in a cold, dark tomb. The stone is rolled over the door.

And where is Peter? There are some people who really stand out among the crowd, individuals who have a certain gravity to them. They stand out in such a way that you think, "Oh, yeah, I know that guy." Peter was one of those guys, for sure. In fact, many Christians can identify with this guy, Peter, because he...

Peter was really good at putting his foot in his mouth. Can anybody identify with that? Come on now. That was Peter. His first meeting with Jesus is interesting; it's recorded for us in the Gospel of John. You see, his name actually isn't Peter. His real name is Simon, which is his given name. He had a brother named Andrew, who had met Jesus and was convinced that there was something great about Him. He thought that Jesus might be the Messiah. So, Andrew went to get his brother Simon and said, "Simon, you've got to come meet this guy. I think this might be the Messiah."

When Simon came to meet Jesus, Jesus said, "You're Simon, son of Jonah." It was almost as if He was saying, "I've heard about you, Simon, son of Jonah. You will no longer be Simon. I'm going to call you Cephas, or Peter, or Rock." He gave Simon a new nickname: Peter. At their first introduction, Jesus declared, "You are a rock. I'm going to call you Peter."

It was Peter who, in Matthew chapter 14, walked on water. Talk about having something impressive on your resume! The other apostles could say, "Yeah, you know, as a follower of Jesus, I'm an apostle." John was an apostle, James was an apostle, and then there was Peter, the apostle who walked on water. Of course, we never want to talk about the fact that he did sink, but he walked on water! None of the other guys had that experience.

Peter was also the one who got the question right on the quiz when Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You're the Christ, the Son of the living God." He recognized and understood, "Why would we leave you, Jesus? You have the words of eternal life." He was a standout.

Peter was one of three—Peter, James, and John—who was with Jesus and saw Him glorified on what is called the Mount of Transfiguration, as recorded in Matthew chapter 17. He was there and witnessed Jesus in His glory. Not only that, he was present with Jesus when He raised a young girl from the dead. He was a standout in those moments.

Some Bible teachers have pointed out that Jesus may have kept Peter, James, and John close because they were the ones He needed to keep an eye on. But whatever the case, Peter was indeed a standout.

And now it was Peter who publicly denied that he knew Jesus three times. Point number two on your outline: sometimes standouts just want to hide. Have you ever wanted to hide? Ever wanted to run away, to run as fast and as far away as possible, while weeping convulsively until you have no more tears to cry? That was Peter.

I wonder what was going on in the mind and heart of Peter as he hid on that Good Friday, which for him was not a Good Friday. It's interesting that Jesus' public disciples—Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, and Thomas—all hid. Yet, the hiding disciples came forward. A man named Joseph of Arimathea, who the Scriptures say was a disciple but secretly, came forward and asked Pilate, "Can I have the body of this one Jesus?" This disciple, though secretive, came out of hiding and sought the body of Jesus.

But not just him; Nicodemus, the man who in John 3 is revealed as coming to Jesus by night, was also a secret disciple. He was not one of the public guys, yet he showed up that day and said, "I'm going to help you, Joseph." Together, they prepared the body of Jesus for burial. But where was Peter? He was hiding.

I wonder if on that Good Friday night he even slept a wink. I imagine he had a really hard time sleeping. I wonder if the next morning, on that Sabbath day, his appetite was gone. I can imagine he probably didn't want to eat a single thing. As he went through his mind, he must have thought, "How could I do that?" Over and over again, he thought to himself, "If only I had just prayed with him. We had prayed so many times before. If only I had just stayed awake. All he asked was that I stay awake and watch and pray. If only I had said yes when that person said, 'Well, you're of him.' Yes, I am. If only I had done that."

Now, in his mind, he was thinking, "But there will never be a chance. If only I had the opportunity to maybe just say that I'm sorry. If only I could talk with him one last time."

If only he were still here. But of course, even if he were alive, I denied him openly. He would want nothing to do with a failure like me. I think that Psalm 6 probably applied to Peter those two nights. It says in Psalm 6, verse 6, "I am weary with my groaning. All night long I make my bed to swim; I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief; there are no more tears to cry." If only I had one more opportunity.

If you look in your Bibles, to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, we read: "Now on the first day of the week," which would be Sunday, "very early in the morning, they, a group of Jesus' women followers, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. And then they went in and did not find the body of Jesus."

As they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. As they were afraid, they bowed their faces to the earth. The men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" And they remembered his words.

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 16, in the recorded passage that correlates with this passage in Luke, these angels say to the women gathered there, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter." I love that. "Go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going to meet you at Galilee."

Go and tell his disciples and Peter. Why does it stand out and say "and Peter"? Could it be that some of those who are among the followers of Jesus had already written him off? Go and tell his disciples and Peter. Could it be that they were saying, "No, he is a failure. He denied." But the Lord says, "Go and tell the disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him as he said to you."

Continuing on to Luke chapter 24, verse 9, we read that they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them. They told these things to the apostles, but their words seemed to them to be like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

However, Peter arose and ran to the tomb. They heard these things and said, "No, it can't be. He's dead. He's gone." Those are like idle tales. It's nice; it's wishful thinking. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb. The Gospel of John records that it wasn't just Peter, but also another disciple. We believe, by the way, that it is revealed that this other disciple was John, who wrote the Gospel of John. He makes a point to note that he outran Peter to the tomb.

When John got there, he looked into the tomb and saw the place where Jesus had laid. But then Peter came right past him and went into the tomb. He was probably filled with great joy and great expectation.

Go and tell the disciples and Peter. Point number three on your outline: Jesus calls for and forgives failures. And that's good news because every single one of us here today are failures. He calls for failures. He said, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. I did not come to call perfect people, but sinners. Imperfect. A physician is not needed for those that are well."

But for those who are sick, I came to call the sick—imperfect failures. If you're here today, God called you here, and He did so because you're imperfect. We are all failures, and He calls failures.

Now, He doesn't call failures to sit them down and say, "Peter, what were you thinking? She was a little girl. You could just say, 'Yes, I'm with him.' What's the problem?" No, He didn't do that. In fact, before this whole event took place, Jesus had taken Peter aside and said, "Peter, listen, Satan has desired you that he might sift you like wheat. But when you return, strengthen your brothers." Jesus says, "When you return."

So, Jesus calls and forgives failures. Look around; all around us are a whole bunch of people who have failed many times. Some of you seated here today feel like you have failed so greatly that there’s no way He would ever call or forgive you. I've had that conversation with dozens of people over the years. They say, "You don't know how bad I failed. He would never forgive me."

No, listen, He calls and forgives failures. He calls to each of us daily in our failure and says, "Turn to me." Why? Because He is abundant in grace and mercy. He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. He has the authority and power to pardon. He calls and forgives failures. That’s the gospel. That’s good news. And let me tell you, that’s what Easter is all about. The risen Lord calls and forgives failures.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? We're going to have our worship team come back up and lead us in singing praise to the Lord who calls and forgives failures on this resurrection day.

Father, we thank You for Your great grace. There’s not a single one of us here today who is deserving, but Lord, we are grateful. It may be that standing here today, invited by a friend or family member, or maybe they just received a card in the mail, there are some who feel like failures. But Lord, we are just a bunch of failures.

You're the only one that's perfect. You're the only one who never fails. We fall short constantly, and we thank you for your great grace as we turn to you. As we confess, we just say, "Lord, I'm a failure." And you say, "I know. But I have forgiveness."

Lord, we thank you for your grace and your forgiveness. We pray that if there are any here today who say, "I don't think you could ever forgive me. You don't know what I've done," or if they feel like a failure, would you draw them by your Spirit?

If that's you today, I want to give you an opportunity to receive the forgiveness of God by the grace of God. It's very simple. Jesus paid for all of our sin on the cross. To prove that the debt is paid, three days later on Resurrection Day, what we celebrate as Easter, He rose from the dead, declaring that His death is enough. He died to forgive you of your failures and your sins, and to make you one of His followers.

He says, "Go and tell my disciples, John, Sally, Bob, Dave, Mark, Josh, and whoever else. Go and tell them that I have forgiveness." If you want to receive the grace and forgiveness of God today, would you just lift up your hand real high so I can see it? God bless you. I see you over here in the back. Anyone else? God bless you. Many of you. He openly forgives all who turn to Him.

If that's you today and you want to receive His forgiveness, I encourage you to simply call out to Him in prayer. You can pray with me right now.

Dear Jesus, I know that I'm a failure. I confess that I have failed. I thank you that you died to forgive me, and I ask that you give me your grace. Help me to put my trust in you and to follow you by faith, to be one of your disciples. In Jesus' name, Amen.