WHAT THINK YE? FAILURE
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
Matthew 21:28 "BUT WHAT THINK YE? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, "SON, GO WORK TO DAY IN MY VINEYARD."
29. He answered and said, " I WILL NOT!" But afterward he REPENTED, and went.
30. And he came to the second son, and said likewise: and he answered and said, "I GO!" AND WENT NOT. Jesus ask, " Which of the two did the will of the Father?"
Esther 4:14 Who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Today, I ponder what is success?
How do we measure success?
I then ponder: How does God measure success?
Perhaps to understand success, we need to ponder FAILURE:
WHAT IS FAILURE?
For sometime I have pondered these?
Wisdom seems to elude me?
WHAT THINK YE?
Maybe, why even think?
Those words seem to stick in my mind: WHAT THINK YE?
I find Jesus asking the same question...
Matthew 21:28 "BUT WHAT THINK YE? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, "SON, GO WORK TO DAY IN MY VINEYARD." (Imperative command.) 29. He answered and said, " I WILL NOT!" But afterward he REPENTED, and went. 30. And he came to the second son, and said likewise: ( Son, GO, WORK!) and he answered and said, "I GO!" AND WENT NOT. Jesus ask, " Which of the two did the will of the Father?"
I ask you is this a lesson in success/failure?
Who is the failure? Success?
Maybe stubbornness, rebellion, laziness, dishonesty, and a lack of fear/respect hindered success?
What think ye?
As I ponder, I see 3 questions, and I try to evaluate the importance for ministry?
1) Who said it?
2) What did they say?
3) How did they say it?
I think: who said it and how it was said are very important?
What think ye?
A friend of mine finally got her husband to go to church.
The preacher preached hard on HELL.
The man vowed never to go to church again.
About 20 years later, he went to church, the pastor preached on HELL.
The wife cried and said, "Why God?"
He went to the altar and was saved.
On the way home, she asked him, what was the difference?
He replied, the first man preached in anger and bitterness, like he wanted me to go to Hell.
The pastor tonight preached in love and many tears, he was broken and spilled out, I could tell he wanted no man to go to that terrible place.
Recently, while at the altar praying, I pondered why God called me?
I tried to count my wonderful traits.
I finally came to the conclusion, my best trait was I was at the altar!
Maybe 80% of success is just being there and never giving up!
Babe Ruth, the great home run hitter, struck out almost twice as many times as he hit home runs?
We call him a success?
Colonel Harlan Sanders was a very poor man at retirement, he had failed at all his undertakings.
At 62, he played around with spices and herbs and started cooking chicken. He accidentally (???) met John Y. Brown a millionaire, and today Harlan Sanders is known around the world for Kentucky Fried Chicken.
His project has employed thousands from feed mills to teenagers in a restaurant.
Yet, how do we measure success?
Colonel Sanders met an Assemblies of God preacher named Waymon Rodgers, and accepted Jesus as his Savior.
He gave thousands to that church.
In 1974, Harlan gave a million dollars to LMU, my alma mater.
What think ye?
Yet, money/budget becomes a very poor goal.
There was a widow lady that gave her "LAST" meal to the preacher running for his life.
This giving the last is pure foolishness to most? What think ye?
Could this one meal have been her purpose in life?
A little girl suggested that her boss go visit the preacher for healing.
Namaan is a known Bible character, but what was her name?
Was this her purpose?
Uncle Moredica asked niece, Esther...(Esther 4:14) Who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
What think ye?
Some have never tasted failure?
They have never tried anything?
Is it better to try and fail than to have never accomplished anything?
What think ye?
Are we like Jonah, Jonah 4:6, that the comfort of the shade is better than getting in the dirt of life and teaching others?
What think ye?
Are clean hands a success?
Someday we will stand before the HIGH COURT, the lawyer Jesus, will have been promoted. He lays down the vestures of the lawyer and now wears a Judge’s robe.
We will not only be judged for our deeds, but motives, and WORDS?
Read Matthew 12:36. Did you read it? What think ye?
Let us look how many things can come into focus in regard to success and failure.
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into a piece of wood.
The first day the boy had driven many nails into the wood.
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails in the wood...
Soon the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the piece of wood.
He said, You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the wood.
The wood will never be the same.
When you say things in anger they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.
It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.
A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. (writer unknown)
I ponder if you would define success and failure?
COULD FEELING LIKE A FAILURE HINDER THE WORK OF GOD?
Can we fail and not be a failure?
I ponder can success and failure hinge ON GIVING?
What think ye?
As we continue, pondering failure and success in a different light.
What think ye? Or maybe why even bother pondering?
Success can be a direct result of planning and goal setting.
Failure is not--- not reaching the goal?
Failure is aimless drifting from the lack of self-discipline.
No one plans on failing, they fail to plan.
I rather you set a goal and shoot at the stars and hit the moon, than to land forever stranded in a mud puddle!
Good goal setting defines some reachable short and long term goals, but it also should set some distant dreams beyond our reach and ability.
In Matthew 21:28-31 But what think ye?
The man with two sons gives the imperative command... GO WORK.
THAT COMMAND STILL APPLIES, GO---WORK.
We have lazy people setting at fancy tables, waiting, serve me now.
We count them successes and we count those trained to serve great success.
This "FEED ME" attitude breeds rebellion, dishonesty, laziness, unreal expectations and demands upon the servants of God.
The table waiting hinders study and prayer, and genders more demanding. Real success must train workers for the harvest.
When I was taking my student teaching class in college we were given the option of Pass/Fail. You never had to really apply your self, you could hide behind a P, for pass. I refuse this.
I wanted an A. I wanted to work to do more than pass.
Somehow there grows a bad attitude within the camp of God, if I can just pass.
We need ZEAL and EFFORT to consume us.
We fear failure?
We fear people talking about us?
We want to live in the gray areas of life?
We are so oriented to praise and applause that we forget God’s word sometimes cuts asunder?
If success is numbers alone, our local cemetery is very successful and deems many trophies?
HE CAN NEVER FAIL THAT KEEPS TRYING!!
Study Luke 15:11-32 as a lesson on success and failure.
This is again the story of a man that had TWO SONS.
Often we call this a story of the Prodigal son, we miss 2/3 of the lesson.
#1) THE FATHER:
loving, compassionate; two sons; never debated or argued; never used force; never demanded rights; HE WAS A GIVER; HE EXPECTED HIS SON TO RETURN; he had a dream; HE WAS A FORGIVER AND NEVER THREW UP THE PAST; he gave his best on return; he accepted as son not servant.
#2) THE PRODIGAL:
STARTED SELF-CENTERED AND SELFISH; demanded and had unreal expectations, stubborn; rebellious; left home with no fear and respect; WASTED ALL; had a lottery mentality--- easy come easy go; habitually chose the wrong friends of a baser sort; aligned with pigs; ate pig food;
THERE COMES A CHANGE: HE REMEMBERS HOME; HE GOT UP; HE REALIZED BAD ATTITUDES; WASHED OFF; REPENTED; HEADED LONG JOURNEY HOME; REPENTED; SORRY; RETURNED; ACCEPTED DAD’S LOVE; RESTORATION; HAS LOVE AND RESPECT FOR FAMILY AND HOME; WAS THANKFUL.
#3 THE ELDER BROTHER:
He was always faithful; tried to please dad on surface level; saw his brother as a failure not as a human; he was very jealous; he was bitter and angry; ungrateful; forgot where his food came from; developed a bad attitude and went down from there; he never went and had a discussion with his dad--- he went to the rumor mill of
the servants; accusing;
HE WAS A GOOD SON BUT A BAD BROTHER!
This syndrome grows right in the presence of the father?
By all accounts the older brother was a success and #1 son.
Lost while at home?
Let us draw some conclusions,
you fit one of these success levels.
You know where you are?
Are you a feeder or an eater?
GIVER OR TAKER?
ARE YOU A FATHER IMAGE--- forgiving and receiving.
Are you a failure but willing to correct?
Are you a successful failure?
Can you not see the need of the brotherhood?
Do you see your need of forgiveness?
Do you see how clean you are and how everybody else needs a bath?
Do you repent and accept forgiveness?
WHO IS THE FAILURE?
Be a good son and a good brother!
God has a plan.
God can use failure to bring success?
The enemy can bring a failure from success?
You are not a failure.
The enemy has convinced God’s people of our failures and thus impedes our growth. Get up, wash off and head home.
Romans 8:28 is a great truth... AND WE KNOW (HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN) all things work together for the good ... this promise is to those that LOVE and are CALLED!
GET UP AND TRY AGAIN, AND AGAIN, UNTIL DELIVERANCE COMES!
Who is the failure? The quitter?
IT IS TIME TO PRESS ON; some where we will find the answer...
DON’T LOSE YOUR FAITH.
His servant, His student,
Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
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