Have you ever failed before?
Of course, we all do because we are human beings of flesh and blood.
We all face failures in life.
We all have failed at some point in life.
But it is what you do after you failed that counts.
Because there are people after failing lose sight of the goal, never correct their mistakes and end up losing big time.
They never recover and are overcome with fear and discouragement.
But the truth us, without failure in life, there is no growth of wisdom or personal emotion and experience.
Without failure, there is no true success in business or career.
It is possible therefore to transform failures into stepping stone for success.
This is the secret that we need to learn from God's Word.
So, how do you do that?
First of all you need to understand that when you fail, it does not mean that you have blown everything away.
It just means you have some hard lessons to learn in life.
You must remember that when you fail, it does not mean you are a permanent loser.
It just mean that you are not as smart as you thought you were and so, you need to gain wisdom.
When you fail, it does not mean that you should give up and fade away completely.
No. It only means that you need the Lord to show you the next step forward.
When you fail, it does not mean that God has abandoned you and left you alone.
No. It only means that God has a much better plan for you to discover and fulfill.
And so, my brothers and sisters, failure in life is not a bad thing after all.
We must not be afraid to fail because failure is part of spiritual growth or Christian maturity.
The psalmist David declares.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV) 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
He recognized that he can fail in his flesh and in his heart (through illness and diseases or ups and downs of life) but God will give him new strength each day.
Failure is not the end in itself but part of the ongoing process by which God is molding our character for the better.
Let me share to you famous individuals who turned their failures into great success.
Let me start with the well known Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb.
Do you know that it took him 1,000 tries before he developed a successful prototype?
When he was asked by a reporter, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?"
He said, "I did not fail 1,000 times.
The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.
I just had to go through those steps one by one."
He succeed after failing many times.
Or did you know that basketball legend Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team because he was too short in his sophomore year?
After the incident, he went home, locked himself in his room and cried.
But rather than give up, he just played harder and better to prove that he was worth a shot.
And he did, after many years, he became one of the greatest NBA basketball star of all time.
Consider the genius, Albert Einstein.
He wasn't able to speak until he was almost 4 years old and his teacher said that he would never amount so much.
But he did not give up and later because of his great mind developed the general theory of relativity which became one of the the pillars of modern physics and was awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 1921.
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple at 30 years old was left devastated and depressed after being unceremoniously removed from the company he started.
Nevertheless, he is one of the greatest comeback stories of failure by correcting his mistakes and ultimately winning big in the industry.
Apple is now one of the most profitable company in the world because of him.
I could go on and on to tell you the stories of Walt Disney, of Oprah Winfrey and many more famous celebrities who started a failure at some time in life.
And probably you have your own story of failure turned into a success.
But here is the point.
Failure is common, but it can be overcome.
It can be defeated.
No need to end with a failed life, heartbroken and depressed.
Failure therefore can become life's greatest teacher to a person who knows how to persevere.
We overcome failure by not giving up, by accepting it, by analyzing it, by dissecting every part of it and looking at it from every possible angle until we learn from your mistakes and we finally achieve the sweet taste of victory.
It might look impossible at first but with God's help and much determination, it can be done.
And that taste of victory will forever be remembered in our memories because we trusted God and did not give up.
Today, we are going to talk about how to turn your failures into victories and improve from your mistakes.
Here in chapter 8, we find Joshua facing the same city that they were facing in chapter 7.
It was just a small city of Ai.
The first time Israel went up to do battle at Ai, they were defeated by the inhabitants of that city and 36 of their number lost their lives.
And so, Joshua and all the leaders were so depressed that they fell face down from morning until sunset.
The reasons for their defeat are many, but the primary reason was that there was sin in their midst that had not been dealt with.
That sin caused them a hard blow that put so much fear, so much depression and discouragement upon the camp.
They were finally able to clean the camp from sin and are now back in battle facing the same people once again.
But before they can be victorious, they have to face their failures until they learned their lessons well and ultimately succeed by setting an ambush.
And God had to lead them through the process.
So, what do you do when you fail?
You turn your failures into victory by learning and applying these three important principles from Joshua's experience.
My prayer for you this morning is that if ever you are being hindered in serving the Lord because of the past failures that you had, it is time to grow, face those failures and make a big comeback.
If ever you are about to give up in life because you failed several times in the past, you will someday make a rebound and win big.
The way is wide open for you to claim your victory in Christ.
TURNING FAILURE INTO VICTORY
1. INFUSE NEW COURAGE
Joshua 8:1-2 (NIV) "Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
The first thing we will notice as we start in this chapter is that God spoke directly to the heart of Joshua.
God told him not to fear and not to be discouraged.
This is exactly what he needs to hear directly addressing his emotional state.
God knew that allowing fears and discouragement in their minds can be very devastating to the entire nation.
They must therefore reject this feeling of hopelessness, of gloom and despair in their hearts if they are serious in conquering the Promised Land.
God was infusing new energy, new courage and new motivation in the mind of Joshua.
This is the first step to turn their failures into victory.
Then, notice how God commanded him to go up and attack Ai.
God told Joshua that in order for them to overcome their past failures, they had to fight back real hard and on the offensive.
Joshua had to gather all the able fighting men of Israel, talk to them heart to heart and invigorate them with new courage.
They must abandon their self-pity and fears in their hearts.
They must relinquish their pessimism and despondency.
They had to lookup, regain new strength and receive new incentive for battle.
That is the first principle in life on how to transform those failures into success.
Infusing new courage into our system is exactly what we need to do when we fail.
Because failure can drain us out of your strength and energy.
Failure can allow our minds to rehearse those discouraging blow that have left us empty and unable to stand up.
There are many problems that we face each day such as prolonged period of unemployment, probably stale marriage or a chronic health condition that would not go away.
Probably you have been to several doctors and still you are getting worse.
Your finances is running out fast and you don't know what to do.
Your children had failed you.
Your work was unacceptable.
You feel hopeless and weakened by these overwhelming problems.
There is hope ahead.
Look up and conquer your fears.
Some of you are probably here this morning with a very sad countenance thinking about those past mistakes you did at home, at school or at work.
Probably, the mistake cost you a lot financially and emotionally.
Or it cost you your physical health or even a conflict in relationship.
If you are in this condition, you must allow God to infuse new strength and new energy into your system by regular worship and prayer.
Let Him direct your very thoughts.
Only God can make us fit for battle.
Only God can give us new hope and a better future ahead that he promises us to receive.
Trust in Jesus right now.
Face your fears. Believe His eternal Word.
Live His Word.
Just like Joshua, God will deliver our enemies into our hands if we believe Him.
Remember God's first words to Joshua in the first chapter of the Book.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV) "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God knew that the way ahead is difficult and there would be problems along the way.
But if he would only be strong and courageous, he would make it.
In the same manner, God had to remind us over and over again of the necessity of such strength and courage to live for each day.
Because life is hard and tough.
There are difficulties ahead.
We need all the available courage and strength we could get from God.
And so, instead of rehearsing in our minds over and over those past we went through, we must not be discouraged and be on the offensive.
The apostle Paul told the Church at Corinth.
1 Cor. 16:13 (NIV) "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."
To turn those failures into victory, we must first infuse new courage into our system and reject fears and discouragement.
2. IMPLEMENT NEW STRATEGY
Joshua 8: 3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
Notice the new strategy that God told Joshua to implement.
The strategy used in Ai is very much different from that employed at Jericho.
God did not ask them to march around the walls of Ai seven times nor did the walls fall miraculously.
Israel was now directed to fight and conquer the city through normal hand to hand combat.
Their new military strategy is to set an ambush behind the city.
The word ambush means to lie in wait in a concealed position in order to attack the enemy.
This brings about an element of surprise that will assault the enemy in their most weakest or vulnerable area until they are defeated.
Such strategy is a wisdom from God.
To do this, they were first divided into two groups.
One group was led by Joshua assigned to advance to the City, be seen by the people of Ai and then flee.
The people from Ai after seeing them will be drawn to pursue them thinking that they were running away from them just as they did before.
But another group is to wait until all the men of Ai have departed, then to advance and ambush the city from behind.
After they have taken the city, they have to set it on fire.
God has given them a sure victory.
It was such a brilliant military strategy initiated by God upon Joshua and the entire army.
But notice the way it was set up.
Joshua is told to go up again and attack Ai.
That means he is to return to the place where they were defeated and where they experienced failure.
They have to meet the same group of people who brought this embarrassing setback upon them.
They must not evade them, they must not get away from them, but must face them head on.
That is what God wanted them to do if they desire to transition those failures into victories.
God wanted their places of defeat turned into places of triumph.
God wanted them to overcome their embarrassing setbacks by looking steady at the eyes of their enemies not flinching an eyelid.
But this time, they have recover and regained their fellowship with God.
This time, they have cleaned the camp from sin and have new courage to fight back.
In the same manner, though it is very difficult for us to do, we had to go to our places of defeat and implement new strategies by God's guidance.
We had to face our failures and learn from our mistakes if we want to succeed in life.
Sometimes, we have to deal with the same difficult people but with new methods of dealing with them.
Sometimes, we have to focus on the same ministry but looking at it in a different way.
Just like Steve Jobs who went back to the same apple company but now with new vigor and new ideas.
That is the best way to conquer our fears.
The truth is, we should not expect God to work the same way or lead the same way as before.
He is the Sovereign God, He is never limited to one particular method to accomplish His purposes.
We need to be open and sensitive to the various ways that God may lead us.
That is what gaining wisdom from the Lord is all about.
Victory would come by the power of God regardless of the strategy we used.
It will always come through faith in God's presence and provision.
But we must be willing to face our fears, learn from our past mistakes and move on.
Proverbs 24:6 (Message) "Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel."
First, God had to infuse new courage upon Israel.
Then, God had to teach them to implement new strategies for warfare by facing the same enemy.
In this way, they will learn from their mistakes and rebound from their failures.
Lastly, after gaining their victory, they have to attend a special time of worship.
3. INITIATE NEW COMMITMENT
Joshua 8: 34-35 (NIV) "34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them."
God was initiating a new spiritual commitment for Israel.
Joshua read all the words of the law to the people including the accompanied blessings and the curses.
They will be blessed when they obey God's Word but they will be cursed if they reject and disobey them.
They had to be reminded to follow carefully God's eternal Law so that they will not go back to the same mistake.
This is the key to victory.
Israel had to renew this commitment every now and then.
Remember the first thing that God told Joshua before he embarked into claiming the Promised Land.
Joshua 1:8 (NIV) "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
God's Word that is kept in our hearts and minds is the key to prosperity and success in all areas of life.
God's Word that is read, meditated daily and obeyed will always bring success.
Israel would not have failed and experienced a humiliating defeat if they have kept God's Word in the first place.
But when Achan missed that, he sinned and kept what was not his, he disobeyed God's Word and the entire Israel was guilty before God.
Now that they have regained their victory, it was important that a deeper commitment and a renewal of hearts must be given to reading God's Word.
In the same manner, we will always fail and make a lot of mistakes along the way if we are not faithful to obeying God's Word.
And so, if we want to avoid those failures in life, we have to commit ourselves to regular reading and study of God's Word.
Deeper commitment requires deeper faith and obedience.
The only way for us to turn those failures into success is when we pledge a commitment to follow God's Word.
In closing, let me tell you THE EXAMPLE OF PETER.
Peter's story is our story.
It is a story of grace, of love, of failure and fresh renewal by Jesus.
We all know that Peter has been with Jesus ever since Jesus handpicked his disciples.
He was one of the three beloved disciples and had always close to Jesus' heart.
He was supposed to be Peter, the rock and foundation of the church.
But during the time when he was most needed, he failed to deliver when he publicly denied Christ three times.
It was a great failure from the man who was supposed to be as strong as a rock.
It was so sudden and so unexpected that he was overcome with such fear, discouragement, sorrow and grief.
In fact, his own bold self-confidence and strength were killed that he came back to his previous profession of fishing thinking that he would never go back.
But he was wrong.
It was not the end of Peter.
It was the beginning of the new Peter.
Jesus searched or him, listened to his heart and gently restored him back by infusing new energy into his system.
"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
After struggling by saying, "Yes," then, Jesus told him to face his own failure by taking care of the sheep.
Three times, he had to remind Peter of his new responsibility until it hurts him.
Then, finally, Peter responded "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you..."
Because he failed in he past, gain wisdom humility, God can now use him more.
At the end, Jesus challenged him for greater commitment ahead.
If he followed Jesus all the way, it would mean sufferings and ultimately death for the sake of Christ.
And that, my brothers and sisters is the ultimate reason why we are here on earth - for the sake of Christ.
That is our ultimate success in life.
Let me read to you the whole story from the Bible.
John 21:15-19 (NIV)
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Do you want to follow Him?
Closing Prayer:
END.....
Joshua 8New International Version (NIV)
Ai Destroyed
8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night 4 with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. 8 When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
9 Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.
10 Early the next morning Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers.21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed[a] all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai[b] and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lordburnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. 33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
