Luke 5:1-5 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And they saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.“We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.
Everyone of you have fought the battle of failure. There are many different kinds of failure. Not all failure is sin. Nobody wants to be a failure. And nobody has to be a failure.
There is a difference between experiencing failure and learning from failure, even in suffering from failure, and actually being a failure. Everyone fails from time to time and hopefully we all learn from experiences of failures, but here is an important distinction. Remember it well.
I. To Fail Does Not Mean You Are A Failure
The devil would like for you to believe that every time you make a mistake, every time you stumble, every time you fail that you, yourself are a failure.
Life is more than a few happenings. No one is a total failure and no one has to fall all the time.
Satan turns the magnifying glass upon our own mistakes and failures and wants us to believe that our failures make us a failure. The devil likes blowing our failures out of proportion and he likes having us believe that we are no good.
The bible says
“My little children, sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus prays for us.
Luke 22:31-32 says:
¶And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
On the heels of every failure, you can look for Satan. Chiding, Sneering, Jeering, Blaming, Shaming, Condemning, Mocking, Accusing, and Lying. Pretending to be your friend, he tries to convince you that because you have failed you are a failure.
II. Failure Is Not A Disgrace
You may think it is. Others may think it is. The devil wants you to believe it is.
Romans 3:23 “ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Failure is not a disgrace, or at least it doesn't have to be.
Illustration: Boxing Champion James J. Corbett. When asked “What's the most important thing for a person to do to become the champion of the world.” Corbett replied “Fight one more round.”
Illustration: Walt Disney's rejected application to the Kansas City Star for a job as an artist. The editor sent him away, urging him to give up his idea.
The first time George Gershwin played the piano in public, they laughed him off the stage. Anybody who knows any thing about american composers knows about the music he wrote. Lullaby, Blue Monday and Rhapsody in Blue are among some of his masterpieces.
Michael Jorden was cut from his high school basketball team.
Jesus looked like a failure for a few days.
Failure is not a disgrace. It's always too soon to give up. God is not dead. He is still alive. With God all things are possible. He wants to lift us up above our circumstances, above our failures, above our mistakes, above our shortcomings and set our feet on the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ!
III. No One Is A Failure Who Tries
The only thing worse than a quitter is the fellow who is afraid to begin. I would rather attempt something great and fall than to attempt nothing and succeed. Achieving low aims, low goals, can be a greater failure than aiming for a higher target and missing.
Phillipians 3:14 says “I press toward the high mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul did not say I will coast toward the mark.
IV. Failure Is Not For Ever
Failure need never be final. You don't need to throw in the towel. The ball game isn't over until the last man is out.
Illustration: Cardinals 2011 season-David Freese.
There is always room for you to overcome and succeed.
When you know Jesus as your personal savior and Lord of your life you become the child of the King. Royal blood flows through your veins. A royal robe of righteousness is around your shoulders.
The next time the devil tries to tell you that you are a failure, that you are a worthless, you look him straight in the eye and tell him he is a liar. When he reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future.
When He talks to you he is talking to a child of the King. He's talking to a son or daughter of God. God is your Father, Jesus is your elder brother, angels are your guardians, heaven is your future home.
V. Refuse To Be Paralyzed By A Fear Of Failure.
Overcome your fears before they overcome you.
Illustration: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.
Illustration: There was a donkey who was placed between two luscious bales of hay.
And he starved to death trying to decide which one he was going to eat.
That's the way some people are. They are paralyzed by fear. We must refuse tobe paralyzed by the fear of failure.
Illustration: Abraham Lincoln was defeated by a landslide when he ran for the Illinois legislature. Afterward he went into business with a partner and it took 17years to pay back all his debt. He ran for congress and was badly defeated. He was even denied an appointment to the U.S. Land office. In 1856 he was defeated in his candidacy for vice-president. In 1858 he was defeated for a Senate seat by Douglas. But from the ruins and ashes of failures, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States.
Failure, don't be paralyzed by it. You are not alone the Lord is with you. Stand still and see the glory of the Lord.
Closing:
It was dawn on the sea of Galilee. The warming rays of the sun was melting away the early melting mists. Tired. Bedraggled, discouraged fishermen were coming back to shore after a long night of labor without any results.
When Jesus had told them to launch out into the deep and let down your nets. Peter shrugged his shoulders and said; “But Lord, we have taken absolutely nothing.” They had failed with a big capital “F”.
“Never the less, Lord we will put down the nets.” And that was faith with a big capital “F”. It is only faith that can replace failure. They did what Jesus said.
They had tried it their way and failed. And that's what happens when we try it our way.
But Peter turned around and did it Jesus' way. He launched out into the deep. And the results were astounding. They caught so many fish that their nets broke. That is fullness . That's another big capital “F”.
God wants you to have a life of fullness. Rather than a life of failure. God wants you to have a life of peace rather than a life of pieces. I tell you that when you do it God's way you will not go away empty.
Maybe you are disappointed in yourself in the frequency of your failures. I don't know of any more shattering disappointment than to be disappointed in yourself, to be disappointed in not achieving your personal goals. But there is no disappointment in Jesus.
I. To Fail doesn't mean you are a failure.
II. You don't have to be disgraced by your failure.
III. A person who keeps trying, is not a failure.
IV. Failure is temporary. It is never forever.
V. You must not let the fear of failure paralyze you.
