S1: Hello, friends. Welcome to the second hour of Open Line.
S1: It's a special pre-recorded edition of Open Line with Michael.
S1: Right Zelnick. No calls this hour because we have something
S1: unique for you. It's a special Bible study from the
S1: deck of the Star Clipper. Let me set the scene
S1: for you. We hosted a moody Bible Institute Journeys of
S1: Paul tour, and we were on for a good part
S1: of this trip, a four masted schooner called the Star Clipper.
S1: It was beautiful in the Aegean Sea. The bright blue
S1: water was just gorgeous. There were the weather was perfect
S1: and we traveled from site to site. After enjoying wonderful
S1: dinners and spending the night in beautiful cabins, even going
S1: out on deck in the evening and looking at the
S1: stars and the sails hoisted. It was just beautiful. But
S1: then during the day we'd land, and when we got
S1: to land, we'd go to various sites from site to site,
S1: and we saw marvellous places related to the journeys of Paul,
S1: the ministry of Paul, his missionary journeys. Here's some of
S1: the places we went to. We went to Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea.
S1: We also saw sites from the Book of Revelation related
S1: to the ministry of the Apostle John. We went to Patmos,
S1: where John received his vision. We also went to Pergamum,
S1: saw ancient Pergamum, which was one of the letters that
S1: the Lord Jesus gave to the church at Pergamum. And
S1: we got to see that site. Well, what was unique
S1: about this trip is that each site, one of our
S1: Bible teachers from Moody Bible Institute, would open the word
S1: of God at that site, relating what was in the
S1: text about those places to what we were seeing. It
S1: was remarkable. So doctor Mark Jobe taught at places. Doctor
S1: Lori Norris, the dean of faculty at Moody, taught Doctor
S1: Joe Stoll, the former president of Moody was there, and
S1: he taught as well. I had the privilege of opening
S1: the word as well in various places. One of my
S1: favorite places was standing at the Bema Seat and in Corinth,
S1: and teaching about the Bema Seat that Paul alludes to
S1: in Second Corinthians five. What a what a fantastic time
S1: that was. We were studying the Bible on site and
S1: and that was just great. The people who were on
S1: the trip, 160 of my closest friends or so, uh, they,
S1: they loved it. And what amazed me more, and I
S1: think this is true, so many of these people were
S1: open line listeners and Open line listeners love the Word
S1: of God. And as a result, as much as we
S1: were studying the scriptures everywhere, they kept asking for more.
S1: They were saying, oh, can't we have more Bible study?
S1: I'm like, wow. I mean, when we were on the
S1: ship on Sunday morning, we gathered for worship. Uh, Lori,
S1: our our dean of faculty, played the keyboards. And Bruce
S1: Everhart from Moody Bible Institute, one of our senior vice presidents, uh,
S1: led worship with her. And doctor Mark Jobe opened the word.
S1: It was terrific. And people said, can we have more
S1: of that? We knew that we were going to Rome
S1: after we, uh, got off the ship. We were going
S1: to do some other sites along the way and then
S1: go to Rome. So I thought, well, why don't we
S1: have a special Bible study on our last morning on
S1: board as we were getting ready to leave. And so
S1: I announced we're going to have a special on deck
S1: Bible study. It was optional. You don't have to come.
S1: But if people wanted more Bible, that's what we're going
S1: to do. An amazing me and amazing everyone on deck.
S1: Virtually everyone showed up. I think about 155 people showed
S1: up on deck for this special Bible study. It was
S1: about the restoration of Peter. It was titled How to
S1: Become a Hopeful Failure. It's based on John 21. Remember
S1: what happened? Peter denied the Lord three times and he
S1: goes back to where he was most comfortable. He thinks
S1: God can't use me anymore. And he goes back to fishing.
S1: And there the Lord goes to meet Peter and asks
S1: him three times, do you love me? Peter responds three
S1: times with his love for the Lord, and that's what
S1: this Bible study was about. But can't we all relate
S1: to Peter? You know we fail the Lord from time
S1: to time, maybe more than we ever would ever dream
S1: we could. And then we think, God's done with me.
S1: He can't possibly use me. I am a hopeless failure.
S1: And then we study the example of Peter and see
S1: that even when we flee and we don't think God
S1: can use us, he comes. The Lord Jesus pursues us,
S1: gets a hold of us, and says, I absolutely can
S1: use you still. And that's what this Bible study is about. Okay.
S1: I want to tell you about an experience I had
S1: in high school. There I was, standing in front of
S1: the entire Hebrew club. That was a afternoon post-class co-curricular activity.
S1: They had brought in a Columbia University graduate student to
S1: speak on why Jewish people shouldn't believe in Jesus. He
S1: was a youth leader in a synagogue And there was
S1: a girl in our high school who was very upset
S1: about a bunch of Jewish believers in our high school.
S1: And so she brought in her youth leader to speak
S1: to the Hebrew Club. I had gone to our principal, uh,
S1: Solomon Levine, and asked him if I could get a
S1: messianic Jewish Bible teacher to respond. And he said, no,
S1: it's Hebrew club. They can have whoever they want, you know.
S1: So I thought, well, I'm part of the Hebrew club.
S1: I'll go and I'll respond. This guy was a genius.
S1: And now I wasn't afraid, because I had gone with
S1: my friends who had become believers to their their parents
S1: to go to the rabbi. And I'd gone to the
S1: rabbi when I became a believer, my dad brought rabbis
S1: to meet with me. And, you know, it had gone
S1: pretty well. So I thought, well, I can handle this guy.
S1: I don't know if you ever heard of the term
S1: flop sweat. That that comedians get when they're telling jokes
S1: and no one's laughing. Well, I was giving answers and
S1: no one was. I mean, it was terrible. He did
S1: a great talk on the the history of Christian anti-Semitism
S1: as the reason. And I stood up in the Q&A
S1: time and I said, listen, I understand that and I
S1: agree with you that it was terrible. However, the issue
S1: is not what Christians did in the name of Jesus,
S1: but what does the Bible say about who the Messiah is?
S1: And I started with messianic prophecy. So I started with
S1: Genesis 315 About crushing the Messiah, crushing the head of
S1: the serpent, seed of the woman, crushing the head of
S1: the serpent. He said, don't be ridiculous. That is a
S1: verse that teaches that humanity will always want to stomp
S1: on snakes heads, and snakes will always want to bite humanity.
S1: It's just the perpetual enmity between snakes and humanity. Everyone
S1: in the room went, yeah, yeah. I said, well, how
S1: about this verse? And I started working my way through
S1: the Hebrew Bible. And for every verse he had a good,
S1: rational explanation about why it wasn't a supernatural prediction of
S1: the Messiah. By the time I'm getting to the Book
S1: of Numbers and Deuteronomy, I'm sweating because I had no
S1: answers for him. When I got into the prophets, it
S1: was worse. It was the worst experience of my life.
S1: I had been so overconfident. Dare I say, cocky? Unpaid.
S1: Didn't pray. I just maybe prayed a little bit, but
S1: not enough. Didn't study enough. Didn't prep enough. I knew
S1: what I was going to do, and I stood in
S1: front of people, and I felt like I had let
S1: down the Lord. There I was, in front of all
S1: these Jewish classmates and students in my high school, and
S1: I was just a hopeless failure. And I thought he
S1: would never, ever, ever. And he should never, ever, ever
S1: let me speak publicly for him again. What a loser.
S1: I don't know if you've ever felt like a failure,
S1: But I suspect we all do. It may be, you know,
S1: the marriage that didn't turn out the way you expected
S1: it to, or child that you thought maybe you didn't
S1: raise in the way that you ought to have. It
S1: may be a relationship that you had with a parent,
S1: or a neighbor or a sibling that blew up on you.
S1: It may be any number of situations at work where
S1: you may have felt like you didn't represent the Lord well.
S1: And each time something like that happens, what do we think?
S1: God's through with me. And so today, what I'd like
S1: to do is answer this question. How can we we
S1: become hopeful failures instead of hopeless failures? Now, the truth
S1: of it is, I think every one of us can
S1: look at something in our lives and say I am
S1: a failure. But can we have hope? I think so.
S1: So if you have a Bible, turn to John chapter 21.
S1: It says in John 21. Now this is after the resurrection.
S1: It's after the resurrection. And this shows what our failures
S1: do to us. It's the story of Peter. It says
S1: after this. Verse one Jesus revealed himself again to the
S1: his disciples by the sea of Tiberius. Let's imagine that's
S1: the Sea of Tiberius instead of it's the Aegean, okay?
S1: It's the Sea of Galilee. He revealed himself in this way. Simon. Peter.
S1: Thomas called the twin Nathanael from Cana of Galilee. Zebedee's
S1: sons and two others of his disciples were together. I'm
S1: going fishing. Simon Peter said to them, we're coming with you.
S1: They told him they went out and got into the boat,
S1: but that night they caught nothing. Mm. Here's what I
S1: think about this verse. Remember, this is after Peter had
S1: denied the Lord three times and he felt awful. Remember
S1: how he went out and wept? Our failures, like Peter,
S1: make us want to quit. Our failures make us want
S1: to retreat. What was Peter doing here? He was going
S1: back to what he always did before. Remember what he
S1: was before he was called to be a fisher of men.
S1: He was a fisherman. He said, I'm going back to Galilee.
S1: I'm going to get in the boat, because obviously I'm
S1: washed up as one of these disciples. I'm done. I'm finished.
S1: And so he's ready to quit. I have to say,
S1: there are times when you when we all make mistakes
S1: and we think, ha! God will never use me again.
S1: I have let the Lord Jesus down. And we want
S1: to go back to where we were before. There are
S1: times in my life I have to say this. I thought,
S1: why in the world am I teaching at Moody Bible Institute?
S1: I could go teach in a high school and make
S1: a lot more money, but it's only when I felt
S1: that I had let the Lord down. You're listening to
S1: a special pre-recorded open line Bible study on the deck
S1: of the Star Clipper from the Moody Journeys of Paul
S1: or stay with us. We'll be back with more in
S1: just a moment. Sometimes we want to read the Bible
S1: but don't know how to get the most out of it.
S1: My friend, Moody Professor Doctor Jim Coakley, has written 14
S1: Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible, a book that helps
S1: us understand the full riches of Scripture by giving 14
S1: practical principles to bring them to life. Request your copy
S1: today with a gift of any amount to open line.
S1: Call (888) 644-7122 or visit Open Line radio.org. Each weekend on
S1: Open Line with me, Doctor Michael Radonich, we study the
S1: scriptures around our radio kitchen table. You can become a
S1: kitchen table partner through your monthly support of Open Line.
S1: Your gifts help me to provide biblical answers to questions
S1: that many believers have about the Savior, the scriptures, and
S1: the spiritual life, along with other partners. You're helping people
S1: receive guidance from God's Word. Become a kitchen table partner today.
S1: Call (888) 644-7122 or go to Open Line radio.org. And we're back.
S1: So glad you're listening today because we're going back to
S1: the deck of the Star Clipper to hear more of
S1: our Bible study on how to become a hopeful failure.
S1: I felt that I had let the Lord down, that
S1: I wanted to do something like that, or it just was.
S1: The ministry can be a little hard, and I want
S1: to do that, you know? But there are times where
S1: we just want to go back. We want to quit. Well, uh,
S1: it's after failure that we want to retreat, but. What
S1: I think is really the important part, what I really
S1: want to focus on is what Jesus response. How Yeshua Jesus.
S1: That's the Jewish way to say Jesus Yeshua. Uh, how
S1: he responds. He responds completely with restoration. That's what he does.
S1: He doesn't want us to retreat. He wants to restore
S1: us when we fail him. And here's what it looks like.
S1: It says when daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore. However,
S1: the disciples didn't know it was Jesus. But there he is,
S1: ready to restore them. And the first aspect of his
S1: restoration when we have failed him, is he finds ways
S1: to review our calling. He does something to remember every
S1: you say. Wait a minute, Michael. You're called. I'm not. No,
S1: we're all called. We are all called to be his servants.
S1: All called to serve him. And sometimes we forget that,
S1: especially when we fail, we go backwards and he reviews
S1: our calling. Look what he does with the disciples men
S1: Jesus called to them. You don't have any fish, do you? No,
S1: they answered. Cast the net on the right side of
S1: the boat, he told them, and you'll find some. So
S1: they did, and they were unable to haul it in
S1: because of the large number of fish. Therefore, the disciple,
S1: the one Jesus loved, that's John. That's how he talks
S1: about himself. Hey guys, I'm the one Jesus loved. In
S1: case you were wondering, he loved me more than you guys.
S1: Peter says Jesus always liked you best. He said to Peter,
S1: it is the Lord. When Simon Peter heard that it
S1: was the Lord. He tied his outer garment round him,
S1: for he was stripped. He didn't have his shirt. His
S1: outer garment on and plunged into the sea. But since
S1: they were not far from land, about 100 yards away,
S1: the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net
S1: full of fish. When they got out on land, they
S1: saw a charcoal fire there with fish lying on it.
S1: And bread. Bring some fish you've just caught, Jesus told them.
S1: So Simon Peter got up and hauled the net ashore
S1: full of large fish, 153 of them. I think that's counted.
S1: They're just to say this is not some just so story.
S1: This is not some fable. We counted the fish. It's
S1: 153 of them. Even though there were so many, the
S1: net was not torn. Come and have breakfast, Jesus told them.
S1: None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you?
S1: Because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and
S1: took took the bread, gave it to them, and he
S1: did the same with the fish. This was now the
S1: third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was
S1: raised from the dead. Okay, he said, what is the
S1: significance of this? Well, do you remember how it was
S1: that the Lord Jesus called the disciples Peter, James, and
S1: John at the outset? Luke five. These were the worst
S1: fishermen in the history of fishermen. Think about them. They
S1: were always mending nets, never fishing. And they better mend
S1: those nets because they can't catch anything with them. They
S1: were always not able to catch anything. And so in
S1: Luke five, the story is that he tossed the net in.
S1: And remember, the nets were full and breaking. This time
S1: it didn't break, but Jesus did the miracle for them.
S1: They were out on the Sea of Galilee. They couldn't
S1: catch anything. They were terrible fishermen. They used to throw
S1: it out there and they catch the fish. And then
S1: he says, follow me. I will make you fishers of men. Right?
S1: That was how he called them. And what does he
S1: do now? He reminds them, Peter, especially of his calling.
S1: And that's something so often when we feel like hopeless failures,
S1: what does he do? He says, I called you and
S1: you are mine. And by the way, I knew you
S1: were going to fail me when I called you. And
S1: I will find some way for you to serve me.
S1: And he he reminds us of that calling. I felt
S1: really a clear calling of God as a high school student.
S1: And yet after that day I thought, I'm done. But
S1: you know what? He kept throwing me time and time
S1: again into situations like that. And I had to say, well,
S1: he still wants to use me. Why? I don't know,
S1: but he does. Uh, that's, uh, one of the the
S1: most amazing stories. Uh, what's his name again? Gary. Uh,
S1: I can't believe he just lost it. Uh, he ran
S1: for president Gary Hart. That was an amazing story of
S1: Gary Hart. Uh, that there was a young woman, uh,
S1: named Donna who? Remember the scandal? Yeah. Right. And. But
S1: what happened to her after the scandal and the shame
S1: and all that? The Lord reminded her of her calling
S1: because she was a follower of Jesus, and she became
S1: an outstanding proponent of protection of children against pornography. Uh,
S1: so you just never know what the Lord is going
S1: to do. He reminds us of our calling because he
S1: doesn't want us to consider our life, only to be
S1: measured by our failures. Okay, so he reviews our calling.
S1: The second way he restores is he renews our commitment.
S1: It says in verse 15, when they had eaten breakfast,
S1: Jesus asked Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you
S1: love me more than these? More. A lot of people
S1: think that the Lord Jesus is saying, do you love
S1: me more than these other disciples? No, I don't believe
S1: that's what he would ask. Remember, even in Narnia. Aslan
S1: only talks to each child about himself or herself. It
S1: doesn't talk about others. I can just see what the
S1: Lord Jesus is saying here and it fits. He pointed
S1: at the nets, the boat, all the accoutrements of fishing
S1: and said, Simon Peter, do you love me more than these?
S1: Do you want to go back to being a fisherman? Really?
S1: Or do you love me more than being a fisherman? Personally,
S1: I would love the Lord Jesus more than being a
S1: fisherman any day of the week. But you could see
S1: what he's saying. Do you love me more than these?
S1: And of course, Peter's answer is, you know that I
S1: love you. Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.
S1: Then a second time he asked him, Simon, son of John,
S1: do you love me? Yes, Lord. He said to him,
S1: you know that I love you. Then in verse 17
S1: he asked him the third time, Simon, son of John,
S1: do you love me? Peter was grieved that he asked
S1: him the third time, do you love me? He said, Lord,
S1: you know everything. You know everything. You know that I
S1: love you. Three times Peter affirms his love for the Lord.
S1: He renews his commitment. Now, I know a lot of
S1: people have heard. Tell me if you've heard this, that
S1: the Lord Jesus is asking, do you agapao unconditionally love
S1: me in the finest, strongest way? And Peter answers each
S1: time saying, I phileo you. I love you. I friend you.
S1: You're my friend. How many have heard that? And then
S1: after three times the Lord gives up on Peter. Apparently,
S1: he doesn't get it. Okay, let's move on. I don't
S1: think that's right. I don't think that's a good interpretation
S1: of that verse. Because by the time you come to
S1: first century Koine Greek, the words agapao or agape and
S1: phileo mean exactly the same thing. There's no difference. No
S1: difference whatsoever. So what's going on here? Think about it.
S1: How many times did Peter deny the Lord? How many
S1: times does he reaffirm his commitment of love? Three. He
S1: allows him to renew his commitment to start all over again.
S1: To undo the denials. That's what he does with us.
S1: I think one of the most important issues when we
S1: failed the Lord, we need to come back to him
S1: and reaffirm that commitment. He invites us to do that,
S1: to say, yes, Lord, I love you more than all
S1: these other things in my life. You're listening to a
S1: special pre-recorded open line Bible study on the deck of
S1: the Star Clipper from the Moody Journeys of Paul tour.
S1: Stay with us.
UU: We'll be back with more in just a moment.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line with Michael Radonich. So glad
S1: you're with me today. It's a special pre-recorded Bible study
S1: on the deck of the Star Clipper. It's about how
S1: to become a hopeful failure. Stay with us right now
S1: to say, yes, Lord, I love you more than all
S1: these other things in my life. And I'm going to
S1: do whatever you want me to do, whether it's big
S1: or small, I'm going to serve you. We have to renew,
S1: reaffirm our commitment. Okay. And then, third step of restoration.
S1: He reaffirms our commission to serve him after we renew
S1: our commitment. He reaffirms our commission. You're still called. Go
S1: do this. Look what he does each time after Peter
S1: says I love you. What does he say back to him?
S1: He says, feed my lambs. Verse 15. Then he says
S1: in verse 16, Shepherd my sheep. And then in verse
S1: 17 he says, feed my sheep. You know what he's
S1: telling Peter? Peter, you're not going to be a fisherman anymore.
S1: You're not even going to be a fisher of men.
S1: Now you're going to be a shepherd of the flock.
S1: Such an interesting thing because Peter in first Peter five
S1: talks about when the chief Shepherd appears, how we shepherds
S1: will have to give an account, and he tells the
S1: elders that he's writing to shepherd the flock of God
S1: among you. Peter took this to heart. He didn't say,
S1: go catch fish. He said, Shepherd the flock of God
S1: among you. And when the chief shepherd appears, he will
S1: have to give an account, and he'll give us a
S1: reward for faithful shepherding. He got it, and he became
S1: the leader of the first congregation. Remember in Pentecost you think,
S1: how could anyone follow this guy? I mean, what a loser.
S1: He always says the wrong thing. Does it three times.
S1: You know, he's the one that. Oh, you're the Messiah,
S1: the son of the living God. And he says, the
S1: Lord Jesus says he's going to go to Jerusalem. He's
S1: going to be crucified. Oh no no, no, no, you
S1: haven't read those messianic texts. Lord, you don't understand what
S1: you're supposed to do. I'll straighten you out. Good grief.
S1: But he's reaffirmed here in his commission to serve God. Okay,
S1: so I was serving with Chosen People Ministries, and I
S1: was there summer training and evangelism program director, and we
S1: had applications. People would come and they would come and
S1: study and serve for the summer, about eight weeks with
S1: Chosen People ministries. And, uh, this is a true story.
S1: I get a phone call from a guy, oh, I
S1: got an application and it was sent from prison. He
S1: said he was getting out just before the program, and
S1: he wanted to be part of our program. I thought,
S1: that's highly unusual. You know, we hardly ever get people
S1: out of federal prisons and put them in our training program.
S1: So I called him at the prison. He's a Jewish believer.
S1: And I said, okay, tell me your story. Well, he
S1: was in prison for white collar crime on Wall Street,
S1: and he went to a minimum security prison and there.
S1: And I won't use his name, but he was a
S1: famous scandal ridden televangelist also in that minimum security prison.
S1: And this guy who. If I said your name, you'd think. Ah.
S1: Good night. What a loser. No, God couldn't possibly use
S1: that scandal ridden televangelist again. Well, while he was in prison,
S1: he said that he was wrong. He confessed all the
S1: wrong things he did. And there were many financial, sexual,
S1: all sorts of terrible things. He did. He renewed his
S1: commitment to the Lord, and the Lord reaffirmed it that
S1: wherever you're at, you can represent me. And he started
S1: a Bible study. They were so upset with him for
S1: starting a Bible study that they kept trying to get
S1: him to stop teaching the Bible. They put him in solitary,
S1: let him out of solitary Bible study. He found out
S1: this Jewish guy was there, said, oh, God has a
S1: special plan for Jewish people. He has a real concern
S1: for Jewish people. Let me show you Messiah. In the
S1: Old Testament, the televangelist goes to this disgraced Wall Street
S1: criminal and shows him messianic prophecy. I said, how did
S1: you feel? He said, wow. I thought if God could
S1: forgive that guy, he could forgive me too. And that's
S1: how he came to the Lord. I'm just shocked because
S1: I thought yes, God was through with that guy may
S1: not be through with me, but he's definitely through with
S1: that guy. But he reaffirmed his commission to be a
S1: prison Bible teacher and evangelist rather than on TV. He
S1: was in prison. If God can do that with him
S1: and Peter, can't he do it with you? With me?
S1: I think so. He could use us still. Well, how
S1: does Yeshua restore? He reviews our calling. He renews our commitment.
S1: He reaffirms our commission. And then, fourthly, he restores our confidence. Because,
S1: you know, when we fail, we lose it. We think
S1: I'll always fail. I'm a perpetual loser. I am a
S1: hopeless failure. Look what he says after he tells them. Uh,
S1: after he tells Peter to feed the sheep. Feed the lambs,
S1: write verse 18. I assure you, when you were young,
S1: you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted.
S1: But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
S1: and someone else will tie you and carry you where
S1: you don't want to go. He said this to signify
S1: by what kind of death he would glorify God. After
S1: saying this, he told him, follow me. Now that seems
S1: like a bummer, doesn't it? By the way, used to
S1: be free. You went wherever you wanted. But there's going
S1: to come a time where you're going to be bound up.
S1: They're going to take you where you don't want to go.
S1: And by tradition, we know that Peter was crucified upside down,
S1: feeling unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as
S1: his Lord. So he was crucified upside down, and he
S1: he died a martyr's death. And the Lord predicted this here.
S1: I don't know how that restores his confidence. Think about it. Oh, well,
S1: that's good news. I feed your sheep and you tell
S1: me I'm going to die a brutal death. Here's how
S1: it is. What did Peter do? He was afraid of dying.
S1: And he denied the Lord. And here's what the Lord's
S1: saying to him. You'll have other opportunities to take a
S1: stand for me. And I guarantee you you won't fail
S1: me next time. You indeed will stand for me and
S1: die a martyr's His death. But nevertheless, you follow me.
S1: What a way to restore confidence. It's just amazing. And
S1: Peter did that. He becomes the leader of the. Continues
S1: to be the leader of the apostles. He preaches at Pentecost. He.
S1: He's released from prison in acts 12, you know, after
S1: being thrown in. But in the end, he's martyred and
S1: he followed the Lord to the end. I think it's
S1: essential that we remember this, that, uh, the Lord will
S1: find a way to tell us you may have failed
S1: me before, but there will come a time where you'll
S1: have another opportunity and you won't fail me. That's. I
S1: love that about the Lord. That we have lots of
S1: opportunities to serve him. And he keeps giving us time
S1: after time. And you know what happens if we fail
S1: him again? He's going to restore us again. And then
S1: what will he do? Give us another opportunity and another
S1: opportunity in the end. He wants us to. He doesn't
S1: want us to fail. He wants us to follow. He
S1: wants us to be the ones who follow him to
S1: the end. Uh, what's the opportunity he's given you? I
S1: had a friend who I think was wrongly accused of
S1: wrongdoing in ministry and was removed from his position, and
S1: he was with a denomination and sent to another congregation,
S1: and he was out of ministry, and he was in services.
S1: And his wife was just heartbroken. And again, I think
S1: he was even wrongfully accused. But the very first week
S1: he was in that other congregation, he went and grabbed
S1: bulletins and started to give them out. His wife said
S1: to him, what are you doing? He said, says. I'm
S1: doing whatever I can. I have an opportunity to give
S1: out bulletins. Say hello to people. That's my ministry now
S1: and that's what I'm going to do. He was not
S1: a hopeless failure. He's he's doing quite well in ministry.
S1: He was ultimately vindicated and not, uh, it's not it
S1: was not true. And it was vindicated. But what I
S1: loved about what he was doing was he saw every
S1: opportunity for what he could do, and he took advantage
S1: of it and gave out those those pamphlets, those bulletins
S1: and welcomed people. And God used that. Okay, so here's
S1: the main message of this main idea of this. When
S1: we fail the Lord, we want to retreat. But the
S1: Lord does everything he can to restore us. What does
S1: he do? He reminds us of our calling. He reaffirms
S1: our commitment right? Uh, he renews our calling. And then
S1: what does he do? Give us. He restores our confidence.
S1: You're listening to a special pre-recorded open line Bible study
S1: on the deck of the Star Clipper. From the moody
S1: journeys of Paul to stay with us. We'll be back
S1: with more.
UU: In just a moment.
S1: We're so glad that Febc partners with Open Line with
S1: Doctor Michael Radonich, bringing the Febc mailbag every week. Learn
S1: how Far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to the
S1: world at febc. Org on their weekly podcast. Until all
S1: have heard with Ed Cannon, you'll hear stories of lives
S1: changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you can
S1: hear the podcast when you visit febc. Org that's Febc. Org.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line with Michael Radonich. So glad
S1: you're with me today. It's a special pre-recorded Bible study
S1: on the deck of the Star Clipper. It's about how
S1: to become a hopeful failure. Stay with us right now. Okay.
S1: So you want to know the end of the story
S1: about that horrible experience I had? I spent the next, uh,
S1: 30 years or so longing for an opportunity to make
S1: it up and have another opportunity with that guy to
S1: debate him. I don't even believe in debates, but I
S1: thought because I think they're uncomfortable. But I wanted to
S1: debate him. I went to school. I learned a lot more.
S1: I felt a lot more confident that I could do
S1: this because I had put in the work, you know,
S1: not a thing. In fact, there were some radio stations.
S1: One TV station tried to set up a debate with
S1: me and this guy because he had become a famous
S1: writer and radio host. And he would always say no,
S1: because he was trying to build bridges with evangelical Christians
S1: and didn't want to do. Not that he remembered me
S1: or knew me. It's just he didn't want to do
S1: those kind of debates. I was really disappointed. So, uh,
S1: but I always wanted to do it again anyway, about.
S1: I guess 2005 or 6, I had written a book
S1: called understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict, and I was out in
S1: California doing a workshop at a messianic congregation. And it
S1: was about the understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict. And so I'm
S1: getting set to do this. Uh, I don't know what
S1: you would call the PowerPoint and all this. I was
S1: going to teach it in Shabbat school at a messianic
S1: congregation And I felt miserable that weekend. I felt again,
S1: like a hopeless failure because that weekend, the day before
S1: I left for California, I had heard that a woman
S1: I had led to the Lord right on the campus
S1: of Moody, a moody, uh, a Jewish, not a Jewish student,
S1: but a Jewish woman had come to campus and asked questions.
S1: I led her to faith. Even I had worked with
S1: her to disciple her, and her cousin came from Israel
S1: and convinced her to abandon the faith. I thought, I
S1: am such a loser. I can't even ground people well.
S1: And then a guy I had discipled in New York
S1: had just been arrested for, uh, molesting a child. And
S1: I thought, once again, this is the quality of my disciples.
S1: Why am I even in the ministry? I felt horrible,
S1: and I'm out there teaching, trying to get the power
S1: point to come up on the with my computer, you know,
S1: and there's a guy out in California with a thick
S1: New York accent, and he's talking to me. And I
S1: just want to say, shut up, will you? Can't you
S1: see I'm having trouble with the computer? But. Oh, yeah.
S1: Just one moment. But inside I was saying, shut up.
S1: You don't understand how that feels. No. Anyway, also, the
S1: screen comes alive. It's working. I see I've got about
S1: 5 or 10 minutes before class, and now I turn
S1: my attention to him. I said, hey, where'd you get
S1: that New York accent? He says, honestly, I'm from Brooklyn.
S1: And I said, oh, really? What brings you out here?
S1: I'm a teacher. I've been out here ten years. I said, great, what?
S1: Where'd you teach in New York? And he said, John
S1: Dewey High. I went to John Dewey. He said, really?
S1: I said what? I said, when did you teach there?
S1: He says, from the day it opened in 1972 till
S1: ten years ago when I moved out here to California,
S1: I said, so you were there when I was there.
S1: He said, I guess I said, what did you teach?
S1: And he said, music. And all of a sudden I
S1: looked at him and I said, You're Vic Zolotov. You
S1: are my guitar teacher. And he said, oh, wow. Remember
S1: when you spoke here last year? I told you, you
S1: reminded me of someone. I said you did. He said, yeah,
S1: you reminded me of you. I couldn't believe it. So
S1: I said, well, I can't believe this. I had to teach.
S1: I couldn't even talk to him. So after I taught
S1: that lesson, I actually had a break. I called my son.
S1: I said, my guitar teacher is a Jewish believer. He's
S1: here at the congregation and he said, is he the
S1: guitar teacher you liked or the. Guitar teacher you didn't like?
S1: He said what I liked. And so after the the lesson,
S1: I said, tell me how you came to the Lord.
S1: He said, well, there was a teacher in the high school,
S1: a Jewish teacher, who had a bumper sticker about Jesus.
S1: And so I went and talked with him. And it
S1: was he actually had been my history teacher. I had
S1: no idea that he was a believer. And so he says,
S1: I talked to Steve, who was this other teacher, and
S1: he told me about how it was that he came
S1: to believe in Jesus. And I was kind of struck
S1: by that. And then just a few weeks later, it
S1: was announced that the Hebrew club was going to have
S1: this guy come and speak about why Jews shouldn't believe
S1: in Jesus. And I thought, well, I better go talk
S1: to listen to what he has to say, too. And
S1: he says, you may have heard of him. He's become
S1: quite famous now. He's on the radio. He's written books.
S1: I said, yeah, I've heard of him. He said, I
S1: have no idea what he said. I just remember when
S1: it was all done, some student got up and started
S1: talking about the Bible and he had an answer for everything,
S1: this speaker. And. But this kid wouldn't stop. He answered
S1: one thing. He could say, okay, how about this? And
S1: for like 30 or 40 minutes, this kid kept going
S1: on with another question. Another question. And he says he
S1: mentioned the guy's name. He had an answer for everything.
S1: But I thought, that kid has a lot of verses.
S1: I'm going to get a Bible and I'm going to
S1: read it for myself, and I'm going to see if
S1: Jesus is the Messiah or not. I said, wow. And
S1: then he said, do you know who that kid was?
S1: And truly, I was awed by the grace of God.
S1: My worst failure. He could use. He could use it
S1: for his own glory. And I never, ever wanted to
S1: debate that famous radio guy again. I'm telling you, never
S1: be a hopeless failure. Our Lord can make us hopeful failures.
S1: He can even take the failures and turn them into
S1: the greatest joys of our entire lives. It was like
S1: God pulled back the curtain of Providence, and he said
S1: to me, yeah, I know about the girl who denied
S1: the faith, and I know about the guy who did
S1: something really wrong. And I know about the quality of
S1: your disciples. They're bad, but you follow me. Father in heaven.
S1: Every person here has felt the same way I did. Lord,
S1: thank you for calling us into your service and reminding
S1: us that you're not letting let go. Thank you for
S1: forgiving us, for our failures and still wanting to use us. Lord,
S1: you are better than we ever, ever could have imagined
S1: or dreamed. We're so grateful for it, and we just
S1: want to thank you for that. In the name of Jesus,
S1: our Messiah. Amen. Thanks for listening to this special pre-recorded
S1: Journeys of Paul edition of Open Line, recorded on the
S1: deck of the Star Clipper. I'll be back with you
S1: live next week for our Bible study across America, answering
S1: your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life.
S1: Till then, check out our web page, Open Line Radio.
S1: Org that has everything you're looking for, even a link
S1: to our upcoming November 9th summit opposing anti-Semitism. Open line
S1: with Doctor Michael Dolnick is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.