Never Too Late
All Things New Series: Week 2
BIG IDEA: God’s love is everlasting; You are never too old or too far gone to start over.
The fact is, everyone experiences failure in life. We all have setbacks and losses, and sometimes a defeat can seem overwhelming to you. Every once in a while, we are the ones that bring defeat on ourselves. But more often than not, it’s something that we have no control over.
This morning I want to do two things:
I want to share with you some of the causes of failure, and
I want to talk about what God’s Word says about getting a fresh start.
First, let’s look at…
Five Possible Causes For Failure
1. We fail when we don’t plan AHEAD.
You remember the old saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail?” I believe that one of the reasons we fail is because we tend to be impulsive, and we just don’t plan ahead like we should. Listen to the words of Jesus in one of His parables…
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Luke 14:28-29
Let me ask you something - was it raining when Noah began to build the ark? No! It didn’t rain for 120 years. Now, that’s what I call long-term planning! 120 years he worked on that ark. Planning is important…but we must also learn from Noah by following God’s plans, not just your own.
Bottom line: We fail because we don’t plan.
2. We fail when we think we have ARRIVED.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
We fail when we think we have it all together. You’re never going to get anywhere if you think you are already there! Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. My dad used to always say, “He who gets too big for his britches will eventually be exposed in the end!” That saying reminds me of another saying that Jesus used in one of His parables….
In the 14th chapter of Luke Jesus says to imagine that you go to a dinner party. You get there early and you make a mad dash to get past everybody else so you can get the seat of honor. Once you claim your seat, you sit down feeling real good…waving at all the little people seated out at the end of the table. A little bit later, the host comes to you, taps you on the shoulder and says, “Excuse me, I’m sorry but you’re in someone else’s seat. I’m going to have to ask you to move.” And now all the other seats have been filled, except the place at the end of the table. How embarrassing! You’re not waving at anybody now! You are the little people! Then Jesus applies this to everyone who’s attending the party, saying…
But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 14:10-11
That’s what pride does, it causes us to fail.
3. We fail when we’re AFRAID to take risks.
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
The moment you start worrying about what other people think, you are doomed. “The fear of man brings a snare”, in other words…it’s a trap! Church, the greatest failure you will ever face is the failure to try. Sometimes you just gotta take risks.
Every Christian’s life is marked by windows of opportunity that demand that you take a radical step of faith in order to follow Christ and fulfill His purposes for your life. And what makes that step radical is that it always involves significant risk. There are times where God will bring an opportunity and it may be in your marriage, it may be in your career, it may be with regard to your finances, it may be in regard to a relationship, and He's going to say, "In order to obey me, in order to follow me, in order to do exactly what I want you to do, this is what you need to do in this situation."
I’ll be the first to tell you, that’s a scary feeling. But listen carefully, no risk equals no faith. Write that one down….no risk quals no faith. And where there’s no faith, there’s no power, no joy, no intimacy with God, no pleasing of God, and no reward. Think about that.
4. We fail because we ABANDON our objective too soon.
The problem a lot of people have is that during trying times they just stop trying. I didn’t see the game, but Bro. James was telling me about the bowl game between Houston and Pittsburgh. Apparently Houston was down 25 points in the fourth quarter. Rather than give up, they force two consecutive onside kicks and successful complete a 2-point conversion tying for the third largest comeback in bowl history…if only I could say the same for Ole Miss’ bowl game against TCU.
The point is, you just keep on keeping on. You never give up. If at first you don’t succeed, guess what…you’re normal! Try again, you won’t be a failure unless you quit.
Did you know that Thomas Edison tried 200 different elements before he found the right one in his process of inventing the light bulb. He didn’t consider those experiments a failure, he considered them an education.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
5. The number one reason we fail is because we’re not ATTENTIVE to God.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
You see, God’s Word is filled with guidelines and principles to make our lives all that God wants us to be. But most of the time we’d rather listen to our feelings - “Well, I feel that this is the right thing to do, even if the Bible teaches differently.” And the fact is, God’s Word is often the exact opposite of our natural inclinations. The Bible teaches things such as, “In order to get you have to give; if you want to be honored you must first be humbles; the way up is down; the first shall be last and the last shall be first.”
The Bible is all about making our lives count for others, not ourselves. But we don’t like to hear that, so we ignore it. And when we ignore God, we get ourselves in trouble. But I don’t want to spend anymore time talking about the causes of failure, now I want to talk about what to do when we have failed. You see, God is more interested in our future than He is in our past. And the Bible shows us very clearly how to get a fresh start.
B. How to get a Fresh Start in life.
1. Accept RESPONSIBILITY.
Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
If you make a mistake, admit it. Own it, be honest with yourself and with others. Most of us are experts at passing the buck. It’s been in our natural sin nature ever since the beginning…Adam not only blamed Eve, he also blamed God - “The women You gave put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
We blame others, we blame the economy, we blame the government, we blame our parents…but the Bible teaches, If you want to start over, just admit your failures. I don’t know where we ever got the idea that we have to pretend that we are perfect. Newsflash…we’re not! I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect…so let’s quit blaming everyone else for our failures.
2. Stop REGRETTING and start REPENTING.
I’ll try not to spend a lot of time here since we just talked about repentance last week, but listen to this very important verse…
2 Cor. 7:10
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Now I want you to notice that there are two kinds of sorrow mentioned in this verse: godly sorrow, and worldly sorrow.
What’s the difference?
Well, godly sorrow brings a change of heart. It motivates you to do something - “By the grace of God I’m going to change, I’m going to be different; I’ve learned a lesson.”
Worldly Sorrow, on the other hand, is just demoralizing and depressing…it causes death -“Oh, I’m a failure; I could never be used by God again! I’m worthless.” One of the most devastating emotions in life is self-pity. You’ll never learn anything at a pity party. That’s worldly sorrow.
3. Forget the FORMER and focus on the FUTURE.
Listen to what Paul says in…
Philip. 3:13-14
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul is saying don’t let your defeats, defeat you. Some of you may be here this morning and you’re allowing you past to control your future…that’s a mistake. It’s kind of like me looking in the rearview mirror at a bunch of screaming kids while trying to safely drive a bus…someone’s gonna end up getting hurt.
Your past is past; it’s water under the bridge. You can’t change it, so stop worrying about it, and focus on the future. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what counts is where you’re going. If you’ve accepted the forgiveness that Jesus offers, your past no longer controls you.
I think a good example of this is the way in which Peter and Judas reacted differently to the failure in their life. Both Peter and Judas were disciples. Both denied Christ. Both were devastated by their own failure. But they responded to their failure in completely different ways.
Peter denied the Lord three times; the rooster crowed just as Jesus said it would and Peter “wept bitterly”. Imagine how Peter must have felt…like a complete failure; I’m sure he probably wondered how the Lord could ever him again. He felt genuine remorse and godly sorrow. But in the end, he stopped regretting and he repented. He changed, and the man who denied the Lord three times was the same man Jesus used 40 days later to preach and 3,000 people were saved.
Judas, on the other hand, simply had worldly sorrow…
Matthew 27:3-5
Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Peter repented, while Judas committed suicide.
I don’t care who you are or where you’ve been. You’re not done unless you choose to be and reject the grace of God. So, accept responsibility for your failure; stop regretting and start repenting; forget the former and focus on the future; and there’s a fourth and final step:
4. Trust God to work it out.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
You may look at your life and think, “Man what a mess! How could anything good come out of this?” I”ll be perfectly honest with you. I don’t know what my future holds, but I am confident in Who holds it!
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Do you want a fresh start? Listen to…
2 Cor. 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
God specializes in new beginnings; it’s never too late to start over. It’s called being “born again.” It’s not just turning over a new leaf, it’s trusting God to give you a new life. How does God take a minus in your life and turn it into a plus? He makes a Cross out of it. You see, God specializes in turning crucifixions into resurrections. And Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross so that you could have a second chance - a new beginning.
