MY GREATEST MISTAKES
April 6, 2008
The other day I was praying in my office. I began my prayer by telling God how I sorry I was for some areas I felt I had failed in & was asking for His forgiveness & help in those areas.
In my mind & prayer I began to list AREAS OF FAILURE in my life & began to realize the MISTAKES I’d made in these areas. Now, please don’t get me wrong, I’m not listing those things I’ve already asked for forgiveness of, those are dead, gone & forgiven.
I mean those THINGS I STRUGGLE WITH! I don’t know about you but if I were to write down all the mistakes of my life there wouldn’t be enough paper in the world or time in a year to do it.
In my mind, I mean to do the right thing but I don’t always accomplish the right thing. I think most of us are like that! I don’t think that anybody wakes up in the morning w/the intention of failing!
ALL CHRISTIANS ARE LIKE THAT! THERE ARE NO “PERFECT” CHRISTIANS! There was one & only one perfect man, the perfect Christian & we all know was JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! He was the only perfect man to have ever walked the face of the earth in all history.
But of all my MISTAKES there are a few that stand out! They are the most poignant in my life because they have affected me & still do effect me to this day.
I could mention many of them but most of them have anything to do with you nor would have the effect on you that I desire this discourse to have! But there are a few that I’d & would consider my “GREATEST MISTAKES!”
These are those that affect me on a daily basis! These are those that I deal with on an ongoing basis! These are those that I believe WILL AFFECT YOU AS THEY AFFECT ME!
These are the ones that I believe MANY IF NOT MOST CHRISTIANS deal with in their lives on a daily basis as well! These are those that if we were to overcome the flesh on, not only would our lives be better, not only our families would be better, but our Church would be better in a GREATER WAY THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE! I know! You’re thinking, “Hey! I could imagine quite a bit for our church right now!”
So could I but I realize it’s not going to happen my way! It has to happen “HIS WAY!” IT IS “HIS WAY” OR “NO WAY” AT ALL! THAT “IS” HIS WILL IN OUR LIVES & OUR CHURCH! CHANGING OUR “CHURCH NAME” WILL NOT FIX EVERYTHING BUT “CHANGING OUR MISTAKES” WILL MAKE A GREATER IMPACT THAN WE MIGHT REALIZE!
Do you ever find in your life the desire to do something well, something good but not seem to be able to do it? You have good intentions but you just always seem to fail at it, no matter how hard you try to you just seem to not be able to.
Paul struggled with the very same thing. I know, you’re thinking, “PAUL? THE GREAT MAN OF GOD?” Yea! Paul, the same one! He did! He had struggles just like you & me! That is one of the beautiful things about God’s word!
THEY’RE ALL JUST “MEN & WOMEN” LIKE YOU & ME! THEY HAVE THEIR UPS & DOWNS, SUCCESS & FAILURES, BATTLES & VICTORIES & STRUGGLES JUST LIKE YOU & ME! THIS GOES TO SHOW YOU & ME THAT WITH “HIS HELP” WE CAN DO IT!
Paul understood himself when he said in Romans 7:18-19
“For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not do, that I practice/do.”
I want to bare my soul to you this morning with the hope that it will help you to not make the same MISTAKES I have made & STRUGGLE with! If I were to take all the MISTAKES of my life and boil them down to the FEW GREATEST MISTAKES OF MY LIFE “THAT” I could do.
As I said a moment ago, I don’t believe these are MISTAKES I bare & carry alone but these are areas I think most will struggle with in their lives. More than likely you’re going to find some of the same struggles in your life. In fact, I’ll go one step further! I BELIEVE YOU “ARE” GOING TO FIND SOME OF THE SAME STRUGGLES!
It is in this sermon, this discourse that I hope YOU ARE ENCOURAGED to DO BETTER, KNOW YOURSELF A LITTLE BETTER, LIKE PAUL DID, & KNOWHOW TO OVERCOME THOSE AREAS OF STRUGGLE! These are things I’ve struggled with all my Christians life! There have been times of VICTORY but most of the time the struggle isn’t with the enemy as much as it is within myself!
Remember what Paul said a few moments ago...
“For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells...”
Paul’s statement was declaring war on his flesh! The first thing in battle is to single out your enemy for that battle & that war! Satan makes me do nothing, my greatest battle is within me! All he does is tempt me!
I. MY GREATEST MISTAKES IS IN PRAYER!
I Thessalonians 5:17 Paul encourages the Church of Thessolonica to “REJOICE EVERMORE!” & then he says...
“PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.”
When I look at all the GREAT MEN OF GOD they all had the same thing in common! They were “MEN OF PRAYER!” Billy Graham IS a “MAN OF PRAYER!” Smith Wigglesworth WAS a “MAN OF PRAYER!” Martin Luther WAS a “MAN OF PRAYER!” I can name you others who were “PEOPLE OF PRAYER!” Aime Simply McPherson WAS a “WOMAN OF PRAYER!” Kathryn Kulman WAS a WOMAN OF PRAYER!
NANNY CAREY WAS a WOMAN OF PRAYER! (She was my Great Grandmother. As a child I sat at her feet hearing stories of the Power of God that would make the hair on my neck stand on end!) There are others I’ve heard some of you talk about in this church who were PEOPLE OF PRAYER!
What does PRAYER do for me personally? PRAYER shows me the “WISDOM OF GOD” that I could never have within myself alone. PRAYER gives me “UNDERSTANDING OF GOD!” His great joys & His great disappointments! PRAYER helps me “UNDERSTAND GOD & HIS NATURE!” PRAYER helps me get a “BETTER VIEW OF GOD’S DESIRES & UNDERSTANDING OF HIS JUDGEMENTS!” PRAYER CHANGES THINGS & THE THING THAT PRAYER CHANGES MOST IS ME! PAUL KNEW THIS WHEN HE SAID WHAT HE DID IN OUT TEXT! PAUL WAS A MAN OF SORROWS & A MAN OF PRAYER!
HE STATED IN II CORINTHIANS 4:8-9
“WE ARE HARD PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE, YET NOT CRUSHED; WE ARE PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR ; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN; STRUCK DOWN BUT NOT DESTROYED...HE WHO RAISED UP THE LORD JESUS WILL ALSO RAISE US UP WITH JESUS...THEREFORE DO NOT LOSE HEART...FOR OUR LIGHT AFFLICTION IS BUT FOR A MOMENT, IS WORKING FOR US A
FAR MORE EXCEEDING & ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY.”
TELL ME THIS WAS NOT A “MAN OF PRAYER!” A MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT WAS TO BE CRUSHED FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST! A GREATER CAUSE THAN HIMSELF! HOW COULD A MERE MORTAL MAKE SUCH STATEMENTS EXCEPT HE BE A “MAN OF PRAYER?”
Colossians 4:2 says... “Continue earnestly in PRAYER...”
James 5:16 says “The effective fervent PRAYER of a
righteous man avails much.”
You’re effectiveness is based in YOUR PRAYER LIFE!
II. MY GREATEST MISTAKES IS TIME IN THE WORD!
Again, when I look at all the GREAT MEN OF GOD they all had the same thing in Common. THEY WERE “MEN OF THE WORD!” Being a man of the word shows you how to overcome the enemy! How to soundly defeat him in the midst of battle even before the battle begins!
David, the Psalmist, understood this principle in his life. He wrote that famous passage we all know in Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp unto my feet, & a light to my path.”
Folk, WE ARE ALL TOO INEXPERIENCED TO THINK THAT WE DON’T NEED THE WORD OF GOD AS MUCH AS WE DO. EXPERIENCE TELLS US WE NEED TO WORD OF GOD MORE THAN WE THINK. YOU’RE MOST LIKELY SAYING TO YOURSELF, “I KNOW THAT!” BUT “KNOWING & DOING” ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! WE HAVE TO DO MORE THAN JUST KNOW! WE HAVE TO MAKE APPLICATION!
David extols the virtues of God’s Word throughout all of Psalm 119! He says that He meditates on it all day! He says it makes him wiser than his enemies! He has more understanding than his teachers! His feet are restrained from evil because of THE WORD!
Think about that for a moment. Verse 101 says “My feet are restrained from every evil way, that I may keep Your word!” Folk, I could preach on Psalm 119 for a long time! Suffice it to say that WE CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH OF GOD’S WORD!
One of THE GREATEST FAILURES IN MY LIFE HAS BEEN IN HIS WORD! I STRUGGLE TO READ GOD’S WORD, TO DELIGHT IN HIS PRECEPTS THAT I MIGHT LIVE INI HIS GLORY!
Yet, You & I cannot afford to be without the “WORD OF GOD” in our lives! We need His Understanding in all things! Even Jesus understood this concept & this precept! While on the mount of Temptation He spoke to the enemy every single time with the WORD OF GOD!
Every time Satan tried to tempt Him he defeated the enemy with the WORD OF GOD! HE SAID “IT IS WRITTEN...” FOLK, WE HAVE THAT SAME AUTHORITY WITH GOD’S WORD! WE CAN SPEAK THE SAME THING THE ENEMY WHILE IN THE MIDST OF TEMPTATION, WE CAN SAY TO HIM “IT IS WRITTEN..!
III. MY GREATEST MISTAKES IS IN FAITH!
This all goes back to the first 2. How can I have GREAT FAITH if I’m not the “MAN OF PRAYER” OR A “MAN OF THE WORD?” THE ANSWER IS QUITE SIMPLE! “I CANNOT!” I CANNOT HAVE GREAT FAITH OR BE A MAN OF FAITH WITHOUT THE FIRST TWO!
FAITH WILL MOVE MOUNTAINS! Jesus said in Matthew 21:21
“...I say to you, if you have FAITH & do not doubt...if you say to this mountain, be removed & be cast into the sea, it will be done.”
How can a man have “GREAT FAITH” if he is not a “MAN OF PRAYER” or a “MAN OF THE WORD!” God’s word tells us, “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT FAITH!”
We all know Hebrews 11:1 tells us that...
“FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED
FOR & THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.”
BUT THE APPLICATION OF FAITH IS THE ACTION TAKEN UPON THINGS HOPED FOR & NOT SEEN. FAITH IS FIRST & FOREMOST BASED IN & ON OUR LOVE & TRUST IN GOD!
FAITH WILL SUSTAIN YOU WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS YOU! FAITH WILL CARRY YOU WHEN NOTHING ELSE WILL! FAITH WILL SEND YOU TO HEIGHTS WHEN THE WORLD SEEKS TO HOLD YOU DOWN! FAITH WILL GIVE YOU STRENGTH WHEN THE STORM RAGES! FAITH WILL PLEASE HIM WHEN YOUR FAITH IS IN HIM!
TO ACT IN FAITH IS A DECISION THAT HAS TO BE MADE BY NO ONE BUT YOU! IS FAITH EASY? NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! BUT THERE IS NOTHING AS EXCITING AS LIVING BY FAITH!
FAITH HAS TO BE EXERCISED & THE ONLY THING THAT WILL EXERCISE FAITH IS A TRIAL! WITHOUT A REASON TO USE FAITH WE WOULD NEVER USE IT! WE WOULD NEVER KNOW WHAT IT IS TO HAVE FAITH THEREFORE WE COULD NEVER REALLY PLEASE GOD BECAUSE YOU CAN’T PLEASE HIM WITHOUT FAITH!
JAMES 1:5 TELLS US THAT THE “...TRYING OF OUR FAITH WORKS PATIENCE.” THAT IS “TRIALS & TRIBULATION!” THAT IS NOT A BAD THING! DON’T GET ME WRONG! NOBODY WANTS TO OR LIKES TO GO THROUGH TRIALS & TRIBULATION BUT IT IS THOSE VERY THINGS THAT TEACH US & PROVE OUR FAITH!
HOW MANY TIMES HAS GOD PUT ME IN A FAITH EXERCISE! WHERE MY FAITH WAS TO BE EXERCISED & I RELINQUISHED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR COMFORT! THERE IS NOTHING COMFORTABLE ABOUT EXERCISING FAITH BUT THERE IS EVERYTHING NECESSARY ABOUT USING OUR FAITH! FOR IT IS IN THE USE OF OUR FAITH THAT THE ENEMY IS GREATLY DEFEATED & OUR WALK IS STRENGTHENED!
I Corinthians 10:13 tells us that “...there is no temptation common to man, but is God is faithful, to make a way of escape...”
THAT MEANS THAT I CORINTHIANS 10:13 REEKS & SCREAMS OF FAITH IN GOD!
4. MY GREATEST MISTAKES IS IN FASTING!
FASTING is one of those things that the church was built on. FASTING is one of those things that for the most part many don’t practice anymore. I remember my Great Grandma Cary used to FASTING regularly. I remember my mom & dad FASTING for God’s moving in church!
Lately we’ve been practicing FASTING through our “Sunday Night IMPACT” services in order to see God’s moving & souls saved! & GUESS WHAT! IT’S HAPPENING! IT’S BEGINNING TO HAPPEN! IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OVER NIGHT BUT IT DOES HAPPEN! IT HAPPENS AS WE “DO IT” APPLYING FAITH WITH FASTING
EASTER SUNDAY WE SAW PEOPLE GIVE THEIR HEARTS TO THE LORD! NOW WE HAVE TO HELP THE ALONG, TEACH THEM THE IMPORTANCE OF CHURCH & CHURCH ATTENDANCE!
I’VE BEEN TALKING TO THEM & ENCOURAGING THEM ABOUT ATTENDING! THEY HAVE TO LEARN! BUT FASTING WAS A PART OF THEM COMING TO BE SAVED! AS WE’VE BEEN PRAYING, READING THE WORD, EXERCISING FAITH, & PRACTICING THE SELDOM USED FASTING!
FASTING IS IMPORTANT IN THESE LAST DAYS & TIMES! FASTING IS THE WAY THAT AREA OF POWER THAT OVERCOMES THE ENEMY!
OVER MY LIFE AS A CHRISTIAN I’VE MANY TIMES FAILED IN THE GREATEST ARENAS OF LIFE IN THE CHRISTIAN REALM!
FOLK, IN MARK 8:29 JESUS CAST OUT A DEMON FROM A BOY. WHEN ASKED BY THE DISCIPLES WHY THEY COULD NOT CAST THE DEMON OUT JESUS ANSWERED THEM SAYING...
“...THIS KIND COME FORTH BY NOTHING,
BUT BY PRAYER & FASTING.”
IT WOULD SEEM THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE STRONGER THAN OTHERS BUT ALL HAVE TO SUBMIT TO THE “AUTHORITY OF GOD!” THE FASTING IS FOR OUR BENEFIT, IN STRENGTHENING, EMPOWERING, & EMBOLDENING!
CLOSING: OF THE MANY AREAS I’VE FAILED IN I’VE BOILED THEM ALL DOWN TO THESE FEW! THESE ARE THE AREAS THAT “AFFECT” ME ON AN ONGOING BASIS, FOR THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT AREAS OF MY LIFE AS A CHILD OF GOD!
MY GREATEST MISTAKES HAVE BEEN IN PRAYER, THE WORD, FAITH & FASTING!
PAUL SAID IN PHILIPPIANS 4:13;
“I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH
CHRIST JESUS WHO STRENGTHENS ME!”
“YOU” CAN DO MORE THAN YOU KNOW W/HIS HELP!
IT IS THROUGH HIS HELP! THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE MUST BEGIN TO PRACTICE IN OUR LIVES. WE CAN TAKE SMALL STEPS IN DOING THEM. MANY PEOPLE LACK PRAYER BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY HAVE TO SPEND HOURS BUT IF YOU JUST SPEND A LITTLE TIME. START SMALL BUT START! FAST A MEAL, SPEND A FEW MINUTES IN PRAYER DAILY, TAKE A LITTLE TIME EVERY DAY TO SPEND IN HIS WORD & EXERCISE YOUR FAITH!
