1997-16

SERMON NOTES

TITLE: FAILURE - A TIME FOR NEW BEGINNINGS

TEXT: 1 Pet 1:3-7

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you,

5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7 These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (NIV)

INTRODUCTION: FAILURE! We hate the sound of the word. Let me share some things with you.

Failure doesn't mean you are a failure -- it does mean you haven't succeeded yet.

Failure doesn't mean you have accomplished nothing -- it does mean you have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean you have been a fool -- it does mean you have a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean you've been disgraced -- it does mean you were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean you don't have it -- it does mean you have to do something in a different way.

Failure doesn't mean you are inferior -- it does mean you are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean you've wasted your life -- it does mean you have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean you should give up -- it does mean you must try harder.

Failure doesn't mean you'll never make it -- it does mean it will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean God has abandoned you -- it does mean God has a better idea!

Have you failed to accomplish something. Imagine how easy it would have been for this young man to have bowed his head and given up. He went to the Black Hawk Wars as a captain, and returned a private through no fault of his own. He failed in business in '31, he was defeated for the legislature in '32, he was elected to the legislature in '34. His sweetheart died in '35, he had a nervous breakdown in '36, he was defeated for speaker in '38, he was defeated for elector in '40, he was defeated for Congress in '43, he was elected to Congress in '46, defeated for Congress in '48, defeated for Senate in '50, defeated for vice president in '56, and for Senate in '58. But he was elected president in 1860. His name -- Abraham Lincoln. He proves that failure need not be permanent. How did he view this strange succession of failures and frustrations which finally culminated in terrific personal victory? He said, "That the Almighty directly intervenes in human affairs is one of the plainest statements in the Bible. I have had so many evidences of His direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will that I have no doubt that this power comes from above." God knows what is good for us better than we ourselves. Let's not make the mistake of judging God's overall plan for our lives by that portion which happened to be revealed today. God has all eternity in which to bring His plans to fulfillment for our lives. Think not in terms of today, but in terms of eternity. After all, that's where we'll spend most of our existence.

Henry Ford said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."

The passage of Scripture we have just read was written by a man who knew what it means to be tried. His name is Simon Peter. One day, while the Lord was talking to Peter, He said to him, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." (Luke 22:31- NIV)

Now what Jesus said was true of Peter is also true of us, maybe in a lesser or greater degree. Satan certainly wants to sift each of us, to see if he can make us fall. We know from the story of Peter that indeed he did fall. In fact, Peter failed not just once, but several times, in his walk with the Lord. We are all aware that on the night Christ was betrayed, Peter failed. Later, he buckled under the pressure of opinion in the church, and separated himself from some with whom he had been having fellowship just because some other believers who did not approve came to see him.

We must be aware that our faith is to be tried. Here, in verse 7, it tells us the reason that God allows us to be tempted by Satan; it also reveals the reason that God Himself might chose to send testing into our life. The reason is so that our faith, which if of great value, may prove to be genuine, firm and unmovable, well grounded in the Word of God, which brings praise and glory and honor to the cause of Christ.

I. The value of tried faith. James 1:2-8 talks to us about faith and trials. Let's see what light this passage can shed on the subject of faith and failure for us. It reads like this:

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (NIV)

1. We must realize that any trial can end up in several ways. It can end up with victorious faith, which has conquered all the circumstances. It can result in total failure, in our being totally overcome. Or it can result in many combinations of the two. I believe the latter is what happens most of the time.

2. We must realize that failure is one of the greatest tests of our faith. It is one thing to overcome temptation or trial, and have our faith strengthened. It is quite another to fail, and then still have the faith to continue on.

3. We must learn that failure can cause us to doubt ourselves; to doubt our own ability to be a strong and victorious Christian.

4. We must realize that failure can cause us to doubt the opinion, advice, or counsel of others.

5. We must be aware that failure can even cause us to doubt God's ability to love us, to care for us, and to keep us.

II. The failure of Peter. Luke 22:34 tells us that one of Peter's instances of failure was foretold. There, it says, Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." (NIV) Now knowing Peter, I am sure that he viewed this prophecy of Christ as being groundless, without any basis in fact. Peter was confident of the fact that he would not fail.

Now let's back up a couple of verses, and see what we can learn. There, these words are found, spoken by Jesus. "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." (NIV)

1. Note that Jesus did not pray for Peter to be delivered from this trial of his faith.

2. Learn also that Jesus did not ask that Peter would not fail in this time of trial and testing. He did not ask for Peter to be delivered from the fault of overconfidence, from the sin of pride.

3. Recognize that Jesus did ask that Peter's faith would not fail.

4. These are important to learn. It was necessary for Peter to be tried, and to fail, so Jesus did not ask the Father to let this cup of testing pass from Peter. But it was of utmost importance to the kingdom of God that Peter's faith not fail, for he was a chosen vessel, one destined to be greatly used by God.

5. Peter took some steps to overcome failure. What were they?

(1). Peter accepted his failure, for the Bible says he went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:62).

(2). Peter knew that Jesus was praying for him - He is also praying for us (1 John 2:1-2). There, these words are recorded: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (NIV)

(3). Peter learned that Jesus believed in him - He also believes in us (Romans 5:8). Here, we find his confidence in us is so great that ". . . God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NIV)

(4). Peter was anxious to see Christ (Luke 24:12); here, on hearing that Jesus had risen, we find these words: Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. (NIV) - we must also be anxious to see Him, especially after a failure.

(5). Peter had once believed in himself (Luke 22:33), but he would learn to trust the Holy Spirit (John 21:18) There, it says, "I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."(NIV) - we must also quit believing in ourselves and begin learning to trust the Holy Spirit to guide us. It is one thing to have a proper amount of self-confidence, but quite another to become over-confident, perhaps even cocky, or filled with pride at our own supposed inability to fail or to sin.

Over-confidence in self will almost always result in failure. But it is impossible to over- depend on the Holy Spirit and His guidance. If we truly follow Him, we will never fall. He will lead us into all truth, not only in what we believe, but in the way we live, and in our motives for the way we live. Trusting the Holy Spirit's guidance cannot end in failure. We need to use good judgment when we find something we do not understand; seek to find out what God has revealed to others about the subject through the Holy Spirit.

Too often, we lean to our own understanding, rather than acknowledging the Lord's will in all our ways. We also tend to lean only to our own interpretation of a matter, rather than seeking guidance from others. When we do this, we are asking to fail.

III. The failure of Judas. Scripture records the failure of another of the disciples, Judas. Now where Peter is known for overcoming his failure, and becoming a strong pillar of the early church, Judas must be known for being overcome by his failure. Now I am sure Judas was just as sorry for his wrong actions, for his failure, as Simon Peter was. But there was a great difference in the way the two men dealt with failure.

1. Judas, in true sorrow, sought to undo his past, but he did it in his own way. Matthew 27:5 says, So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (NIV)

2. Judas decision to deal with his failure himself, without allowing God to have a part, resulted in even more failure on his part.

3. We must learn that we cannot undo our failures; if we try to do so without the help of the Lord, our fall could be as complete as that of Judas.

4. We will overcome our failure if we work hand-in-hand with the Holy Spirit as He reveals the truths of God to us. He will show us not only what to do, but how to do it. And He will then give us the strength to carry out what we need to do.

CONCLUSION: Now understand that God may not undo your past for you. There will most certainly be things which you must do yourself to make the past as right as it can be made. But God has promised that if we repent, and ask, He will forgive us for the wrongs we have done.

What must we do to allow God to help us? First, we must admit our failures; we must admit that we are not perfect, nor ever will be perfect in this life. Secondly, we must learn from the failures of the past, and turn them into the success stories of the future.

We must certainly ask for God's forgiveness, as well as forgiveness from those we may have injured or hurt by our failure. God will forgive us, and we will find that people are possibly more forgiving than we thought. Even if they are not, we must move on from our failure, for to dwell there is also to fail.

Once God has forgiven us, we move on in His grace. He is a gracious and merciful God. He does not dwell on the past, but says that if we admit our sins, repent of them, ask His forgiveness, then He will wash them away, and never remember then any more against us. If God does not dwell on our past, why should we?

As Lowell wrote: "It's not failure, but low aim that is a crime."

Or, as Teddy Roosevelt believed: "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much, not suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.:

Let's begin to deal with our failures as a new beginning, rather than as the end. For life is full of new beginnings, and will always be so until we finish our walk with the Lord on this earth. Begin anew right now if you need to. And then remember, always, that any failure can be the time for a new beginning, leading to a successful completion of our life here.

When events don't go as you had planned and you are feeling like a complete failure, remember what the great missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor, once said: "I have failed, I am failing, I will fail, But Jesus never fails."

Osage Gospel Lighthouse, Linn, MO 4-6-97 am