Introduction
To fail is to fall short, to be reduced in stature, to be perceived as weak, to break down, to fall, to not reach your purpose, to lack success. Even when you experience failure and all of us at some point will, it is important for us to realize that our failure has a destiny. That destiny is controlled by us. Failure is not a dead-end street or a event or circumstance that ends with the failure. Rather it is a circumstance or situation that has an ultimate goal. It reaches far beyond the moment that it occurs and affects us many years after it takes place. When it comes to failure God has given us the ability to establish how we control its ultimate effect on us, our children, and our future.
Scripture Teaching: 2 Corinthians 12:1-9
Key Verses: 2 Corinthians 12:9
. . . Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.”
We all fail. We all have weaknesses. The key thing is how we view our past failures from a God perspective and use them as opportunities for success in our future.
How Should We Approach Failure:
We should avoid failure at all cost...
Numbers 14:22 . . . Not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they tested me by refusing to listen.
Joshua 7:3-12 . . . Then Joshua cried out, “Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! Lord, what am I to say, now that Israel has fled from its enemies?” . . .But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! . . .That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat.”
Hebrews 4:6 . . . God’s rest is there for people to enter. But those who formerly heard the Good News failed to enter because they disobeyed God.
We can prevent failure by listening to God and doing what he says.
Matthew 7:24-27 . . . “Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse, because it is built on rock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will fall with a mighty crash.”
By listening to Christ and his instructions, we can avoid failure.
Joshua 8:1 . . . The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
1 Chronicles 28:20 . . . Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work. . . .is finished correctly.
Courage and perseverance help prevent failure, especially if we know that God approves of the task we are doing.
Proverbs 15:22 . . . Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.
Good advice helps prevent failure. A concert of wise counsel makes good music for success.
Lamentations 3:23 . . . Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.
God’s great faithfulness is like a fresh batch of bread delivered daily to sustain us. It not only helps prevent failure, but helps us start over after we have failed.
Isaiah 42:23 . . . Will not even one of you apply these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you?
We can avoid failure by learning from the mistakes of the past.
How do I control and redirect the destiny of my failures?
Failure has many lessons.
It teaches us how to not make the same mistake again.
Joshua 8:1-29
After Israel had been cleansed from Achan’s sin, Joshua prepared to attack Ai again-this time to win. Joshua had learned some lessons that we can follow: (1) confess your sins when God reveals them to you (7:19-21); and (2) when you fail, refocus on God, deal with the problem, and move on (7:22-25; 8:1). God wants the cycle of sin, repentance, and forgiveness to strengthen us, not weaken us. The lessons we learn from our failures should make us better able to handle the same situation the second time around. Because God is eager to give us cleansing, forgiveness, and strength, the only way to lose is to give up. We can tell what kind of people we are by what we do on the second and third attempts.
It helps us become more humble and useful.
Peter wept bitterly, not only because he realized that he had denied his Lord, the Messiah, but also because he had turned away from a very dear friend, a person who had loved and taught him for three years. Peter had said that he would never disown Christ, despite Jesus’ prediction (Mark 14:29-31; Luke 22:33-34). But when frightened, he went against all he had boldly promised. Unable to stand up for his Lord for even twelve hours, he had failed as a disciple and as a friend. We need to be aware of our own breaking points and not become overconfident or self-sufficient. If we fail him, we must remember that Christ can use those who recognize their failure. From this humiliating experience Peter learned much that would help him later when he assumed leadership of the young church.
1 Kings 8:33-34 . . . If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and call on your name and pray to you here in this Temple, then hear from heaven and forgive their sins and return them to this land you gave their ancestors.
Turning to God in repentance and trust is the best response we can have to our own failure.
Proverbs 24:16 . . . They may trip seven times, but each time they will rise again. But one calamity is enough to lay the wicked low.
Micah 7:8 . . . Though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord himself will be my light.
The best response to failure is to get up again, with the hope which faith in God brings.
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 . . . These events happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did or worship idols as some of them did.
Remember that failure can be helpful; it can teach us important lessons about what to avoid in the future. We need not repeat our mistakes!
2 Corinthians 4:9 . . . We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.
The best response to failure is to get up again, with the hope which God gives us through faith.
Joshua 8:1 . . . Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Don’t be afraid of failing again. Failure wins when you accept defeat and give up.
2 Timothy 2:12 . . . If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.
Failure isn’t the end-it’s about beginnings. You can recover and move on. There is a way out.
Hebrews 4:15-16 . . . This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses . . . So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God . . . [to] find grace to help us when we need it.
Realize that God’s work is not limited by our failures. He does not reject us in our weakness but rather embraces us so that we can receive strength to be all he intended us to be.
BIBLE READING: Matthew 1:1-17
GOD WORKS IN SPITE OF FAILURES.
In the first seventeen verses of Matthew we meet forty-six people whose lifetimes span two thousand years. All were ancestors of Jesus, but they varied considerably in personality, spirituality, and experience. Some were heroes of faith-like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David. Some had shady reputations-like Rahab and Tamar. Many were very ordinary-like Hezron, Aram, Nahshon, and Achim. And others were evil-like Manasseh and Abijah. God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he uses all kinds today to accomplish his will. And God wants to use you.
PROMISE FROM GOD:
Psalm 37:23-24 . . . The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.