GOD IS DOING A NEW THING: Failure is not the enemy - May 21, 2023

 GOD IS DOING A NEW THING: Failure is not the enemy - May 21, 2023

INTRODUCTION

God is doing a new thing.

We must have faith to do the new thing.

I.  FAILURE

The Book of Heroic Failures, was written by Stephen Pile in 1979. It is a book written in celebration of human inadequacy in all its forms.

My favourite story took part in 1978. During the fireman’s strike in England, the British army took over emergency fire-fighting and drove the "Green Goddess" rather than red fire engines.

On January 14 the soldiers were called out by an elderly lady in South London. She wanted them to retrieve her cat who was stuck up a tree. The soldiers arrived with impressive haste and they very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat.

The lady was so grateful that she invited the squad of heroes in for tea. Later as they drove off making their fond farewells and enthusiastic waving of arms, they actually ran over the cat and killed it.

“In 1928 a group of the world’s most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Present were:

The president of the largest utility company.
The greatest wheat speculator.
The president of the New York Stock Exchange.
A number of the President’s Cabinet.
The greatest “bear” in Wall Street.
The president of the Bank of International Settlements.
The head of the world’s greatest monopoly.

Collectively, these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the United States Treasury, and for years newspapers and magazines had been printing their success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples. Twenty-five years later, let’s see what happened to these men.

The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life, and died broke.

The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died abroad, insolvent.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was recently released from Sing Sing Prison.

The member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.

The greatest “bear” in Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, committed suicide.

The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser, committed suicide.

The head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide.

As I said all of us need to give our attention to the subject of failure.”

Pulpit Helps, November 1976, p. 12.

A.  Failure because we don’t know everything

“When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭14‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  Failure because we get distracted

Walking on the water (Matthew 14:28-29)

Denial (Mark 14:66-72)

C.  Failure because we get scared

Elijah - Jezebel (1 Kings 17-19)

D.  Failure because we quit

John Mark (Acts 13:13)

Lessons of Failure by Fred Van Hoven

Lord, are you trying to tell me something?

For... Failure does not mean I’m a failure;

It only means that I have not yet succeeded.

Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing;

It does mean I have learned something.

Failure does not mean I have been a fool;

It does mean I had enough faith to experiment.

Failure does not mean I have disgraced;

It does mean I have dared to try.

Failure does not mean I don’t have it;

It does mean I have something to do in a different way.

Failure does not mean I am inferior;

It does mean I am not perfect.

Failure does not mean I have wasted my life;

It does mean that I have an excuse to start over.

Failure does not mean that I should give up;

It does mean that I should try harder.

Failure does not mean that I will never make it;

It does mean that I need more practice.

Failure does not mean that you have abandoned me;

It does mean that you must have a better idea .

“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.”

Anonymous

II.  SUCCESS

* There was a guy, a general, who lost two-thirds of all the battles he fought in the American Revolution. George Washington. He won the war.

* There was another guy who graduated 42nd out of a class of 43. Then he went out and conquered Europe. Napoleon.

* There’s a guy who lost almost every election he ran for – 10 or 12 – until finally he was elected President. Abraham Lincoln. He lost more than he won.

* Edison tried over 200 different elements before he figured out what was the right element to use in the light bulb. Over 200 failures before he had a success.

* In 21 years, Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs but he struck out 1330 times. He struck out nearly twice as often as he hit a home run. He once said, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from taking a swing."

* A famous novelist in England, John Creasy, got 753 rejection slips from publishers before he published his first book. He went on to publish 564 books. Can you imagine the persistence of the man putting up with over 700 rejections before his first book got published and then went on in his lifetime to publish 500 more?

* R.P. Macy failed seven times as an entrepreneur in retailing and then he started Macy’s department store.

A.  God is the source of our success

B.  We enjoy success despite who we are

• Noah – He drank too much, but, God used him to build the ark to save the world. (Genesis 6-9)
• Abraham and Sarah – They were an old, washed-up couple who God used to build a nation.  (Genesis 11-25)
• Joseph – He was an entitled teen who went through God’s classroom, training him to save both Egypt and Israel.  (Genesis 37-50)
• Moses – He was a stutterer who was God’s spokesman and leader.  (Exodus 3-4)
• Rahab – She was a prostitute who God used to help his spies and overtake Jericho. (Joshua 2)
• Jonah – He was the escapist who God brought back to save Nineveh. (Jonah 1-3)
• Esther – She was the adopted orphan who became Queen to save Israel. (Esther 1-8)
• Peter – He was the quitter who God brought back to start the Kingdom. (Matthew 26, John 21, Acts 1-2)
• Paul – He was the enemy who became the most prolific Christian in the New Testament.  (Acts 7-9)

C.  Biblical examples of success

1.  Gideon - military victory of 300 men and against an innumerable army (Judges 6-8)

2.  David - overcame personal sin and celebrated God’s forgiveness (Psalm 51)

3.  Mary - obedient in light of the impossibility of the moment (Luke 1:38)

4.  Peter - followed the angels instructions (Acts 12:1-8)

III.  FAITH TO FAIL

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street."

Anonymous

A.  Faith to try

Thomas Edison was asked by a laboratory worker how he could go on after thousands of failures. Thomas Edison’s reply was. "Failures? I haven’t failed. I have found thousands of combinations that will not work."

As we know, he did not quit. A few days later he invented the light bulb.

1.  Noah and the ark

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

2.  Abraham and his son

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

3.  ‬ Moses

a.  Uncertainty in his ability

b.  Uncertainty in God’s ability

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.”

‭‭ Deuteronomy‬ ‭34‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  Faith to fail

“Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.” So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace. The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’ ” One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.” So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans.”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭3‬-‭16a‬ ‭NIV‬

C.   Faith to succeed

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“There is no such thing as failure inside the will of God. There is no such thing as real success outside the will of God.”

Anonymous

CONCLUSION

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”

Anonymous

Failure is real.  Success is possible.  We need faith that is not afraid to fail!

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.