INTRODUCTION
Opening Statement: Today, there is an overabundance of resources available to people that want to become a success. From bookstores to emails, we are enticed with success. In fact, I get emails quite frequently that tell me for the right price I can get a college and graduate degrees up to the Ph.D level and never have to open a book or take an exam. Or, just flip through the channels and you will find an “infomercial” about how to become a success in business or the accumulating of wealth. This is indicative of what I am suggesting to you and that is: that success and the trappings of success have become a kind of god. We bow down and worship at the altar of success or of the successful without really thinking about what is involved. One person has said: “Most of us never see God in failure but only in success, a strange attitude for people who have the cross as the center of their faith.”
All of the success-focus has made us afraid of failure.
Disclaimer: Now, before I proceed, I have one caveat (kāʹvē-ăt´). Being successful at what you do is wonderful and commendable. In fact, achieving goals and making accomplishments for God’s glory can be a wonderful testimony of God at work in you. But there is something that you must remember, and this is my caveat. God is just as much in your failure as He is in your success. And I am even suggesting to you that many times we learn more from our failures than we do our successes. In fact, if we don’t know how to handle failure, more than likely, we won’t accomplish our goals or be a success.
Proposition: Therefore I am suggesting to you (in the words of one pastor that I read this week) that when you fail - fail forward. Failure is something we must learn to deal with. Let’s face it. We totally mess things up sometimes. As a result, I don’t want to talk to you about success today. I want to talk to you about failure.
Title: Handling Your Failure, Part 1
Illustration: It reminds me of senior league baseball. I loved playing baseball and definitely had some good games. But what stands out in my mind are the failures. I can remember leaning too far off of first base, and getting picked off. Failure. I can remember my pitcher was in a jam with the bases loaded in a tournament game. I was in left field and misjudged a fly ball. Man, I made the other team happy. But I felt like a failure. I can remember pitching in an All-Star game. I threw a fastball as hard as I could throw it. The hitter just blistered it. I think it went out of sight. Failure. I have failed in many other ways too.
One time I decided that I wanted to share the gospel with my entire block while I was living in Binghamton, New York. I made these really neat, seeker-sensitive invitations and passed them out door-to-door. The evening finally came. I had chairs set up in my apartment. Snacks were ready. But nobody came. Failure.
I can remember hunting one time with my dad. I was probably 15. We were driving up the road in a four-wheel drive and two grouse were just standing beside the road up ahead. You don’t know how bad I wanted to bag a grouse. Daddy told me exactly what to do and for some reason when I got out of the truck, my mind locked up. Instead of putting the bead on them and pulling the trigger, I start walking toward them – kind of like “Hey fellows, I’m going to shoot you so you might want to think about flying in the next second or so.” I never even pulled the trigger! Failure. Another incident that ties into this story happened with two of my board members when I was pastoring a church in upstate New York. Now I don’t hunt anymore because of other priorities, but I hunted in those days. We were on our way home from hunting camp in New York and I see another grouse beside of the road. Well, I convinced my church board members to let me out (I’m thinking, finally a chance to redeem myself with this grouse on the road thing). I put four #4 buckshot into my 12 gauge, pump action. It held five, I choose four. That’s significant. I start walking toward the location where I saw the grouse when we passed it on the road. Even though I knew where he was, I still couldn’t see him. I had the safety off and as soon as I heard this “helicopter sound” take off in front of me, I start pulling the trigger (this ones not going to get away). Limbs and tree-branches are falling down, and I looked later and there was like a tunnel through the branches of where I was shooting. Evidently I was shooting underneath the bird because on my fourth shot, the suction of the pellets going underneath him literally sucked him back down to the ground and he just landed and sat there. I bet he was thinking, “Man, I never knew that pastors were such crazy people!” I thought, now I’ve finally got him. I put the bead on him, pulled the trigger, and click…I never put that fifth shell in the gun.” By the way, I’ve never seen two church board members laughing so hard at their pastor. (I sure hope that bird has lived a good life and had many offspring and that psychologically he was ok.) Failure.
Illustration: John Maxwell was talking on a tape that I heard recently about the best player on his high school basketball team. John Thomas was a wonderful player, but he didn’t know how to handle failure. Every time he would go into a slump in a ballgame and miss a few shots, he’d begin to hang his head, and the coach many times had to take him out of the game. Maxwell says, “We needed him on the floor, but because he never learned how to handle failure, we lost our best player; he had the wrong attitude and the wrong perception of failure.”
Transition: Where can the Joey Nelson’s and the John Thomas’s of life go in God’s Word that would show us how to handle failure? Nobody in God’s Word shows us how to handle failure better than the apostle Paul.
Text: 2 Corinthians
Background: Second Corinthians is the most autobiographical of Paul’s epistles. Perhaps, it was due in part to the awkward situation in Corinth. It appears that some in and around the church were simply going to deny Paul the right to tell them what to do. They questioned his motives, denied his credentials, and alleged that there was misconduct on his part (2 Cor.7:2). All of this seemed to hinge on something very tedious and insignificant. This rebellious minority was stirring the people up against Paul due to his change in travel plans. Paul had planned two short visits with the Corinthians (1:15-16). When he didn’t show up, his enemies used that against him to undermine his integrity. They even questioned his financial integrity. So one of Paul’s arguments in this letter is that you can trust him because of how he handled failure in the light of odds stacked against him. In fact, if Paul wasn’t a real apostle with apostolic authority, he sure was putting up with a lot of headaches, backaches, and heartaches needlessly. That would be a great subtitle to the following passage: Headaches, Backaches, and Heartaches.
Recitation: 2 Corinthians 11:24 Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one. [This was an extremely painful experience (Deut.25:1-3). A switch was usually used. Sometimes a “scorpion” was used. It was a knotty rod embedded with sharp iron points.] 11:25 Three times I was beaten with a rod [This was a Roman punishment.]. Once I received a stoning. [A mob gathers and throws rocks at you until you’re dead.] Three times I suffered shipwreck. [Think about all the personal possessions he lost.] A night and a day I spent adrift in the open sea. [Think of the fear of what might be hungry down below while floating in the sea.] 11:26 I have been on journeys many times [I recently went over 3,200 miles for a few weeks and it wore me down. Paul did it for several years without a vehicle!], in dangers from rivers [Does the word “flashflood” mean anything to you? In West Virginia, it can be a frightening thing. Entire bridges can be totally removed in a few minutes. The destruction is fast and without mercy.], in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers, 11:27 in hard work and toil, through many sleepless nights [When you’re young, you think staying up all night is cool. When you’re older, a sleepless night is cruel.] in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing [Is there anything more uncomfortable than being ice-cold without a coat?]. 11:28 Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern for all the churches. [On top of all of this, he was trying to plant and pastor churches that were just not getting it.]
Notation: So much for the concept that “It must be God’s will if things work out perfectly.” I don’t see that in Paul’s life. Some false teachers were saying “It’s how many stars you have under your belt that determines success and victory. It’s how many converts you have.” Paul on the other hand said, “Men, it’s not all about stars; it’s also about scars endured for the sake of the gospel, and men, I have a bunch of them. How many do you have? You question my credentials, but how many scars do you bear for this cause in which I am engaged?” Paul sacrificed his body. Only God could be at work in Him! What great suffering have you endured for the sake of Christ? It’s a credential for ministry.
Recitation: 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. [Wiersbe states: “We are vessels so that God might use us. We are earthen vessels so that we might depend on God’s power and not our own…Sometimes God permits our vessels to be jarred so that some of the treasure will spill out and enrich others.” What follows, one author has suggested, is a play on the experiences of a gladiator or soldier.] 4:8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; 4:9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, 4:10 always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body.
Explanation: His opponents corner Paul and life is almost smothering him. Yet, after all of this, Paul seems to maintain perspective. How could Paul do this? What was it that enabled Paul to handle failure so victoriously? If anybody ever had some great reasons to feel like a failure, he did! I think we have our answer in two other 2 Corinthians passage.
Key Word: There are TWO KEY CONCEPTS to this – Perspective and Submission. If you’re going to handle failure and fail forward, you must maintain a right perspective and have an attitude of submission.
Recitation: 2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 4:17 For our momentary light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 4:18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
This is Called Perspective
Explanation: Somehow Paul could see God’s hand in the process. Paul thought that even though he had many failures along the way, when he saw what God was doing in him and through him to help others, he rejoiced in his failures. You see, Paul’s failures caused him to fix his perspective on God’s agenda like success never could have. Paul knew that the harder things were for him, the greater glory would come to Christ. People would see that only God can work in a failure.
Application: In order to handle your failure, God’s ultimate agenda for your life is paramount. God’s will usually does include a fair amount of suffering (4:8-12). Yet, Paul used this fact to demonstrate that the power of God can work through human weakness (1:5,9,10). Your suffering, your failure can be for His glory, in spite of the weakness of our humanity (4:7; 5:1-9). Paul’s suffering also argued for his integrity. One will only suffer for something they really believe in. Paul really believed in the message of Jesus and was willing to suffer for it. This authenticated his message. We will all have a chance to “authenticate” our message through suffering. Serving God, even in the tough times of failure, authenticate what we really believe. So when you fall, fall forward. Keep perspective. God’s doesn’t waste our failures, but uses them to even accomplish a greater good.
Observation: The mystery of human suffering will not be solved completely in this life. Sometimes we suffer simply because we are human. Our bodies change as we grow older, and we are susceptible to the normal problems of life. The same body that can bring us pleasures can also bring us pains. The same family members that delight us can also break our hearts. While we will never understand the origins of evil in this universe, God has repeatedly used the evil to accomplish a greater good.
Quotation: I shared this quote with my Sunday School class last week. “In fact, it’s not the good that we do that surprises me anymore; it’s the good that comes from the evil that we do that surprises me.” Sharon spoke up and said, you’re right, just look at Chuck Colson. Living and working for himself in the comfortable confines of the Whitehouse, his evil was turned to good.
Illustration: I watched this week as an emotional Mr. Walsh, point man in the “America’s Most Wanted” show, told the story of how a man kidnapped his 6 year old son Adam from a Sears department store. They later just found part of the boy. That experience changed his life. While God never willed such incredible evil to be done, He has used this experience to save thousands of lives because Mr. Walsh has dedicated his life to finding missing children, capturing habitual criminals, and passing laws that protect the innocent.
Question: Ask yourself the question, “What great evil has God turned into good in my life?” “What great evil is presently in my life that if I should turn it over to God, would bring glory and honor to the Savior?”
Recitation: 2 Corinthians 12:7a – 10 Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh [The Greek word is skolops, which can mean either a ‘stake’ which pegged him to the ground or a ‘splinter’ which constantly irritated him. It was something that stuck deeply in Paul, brought to him great discomfort and pain and God’s will defied extraction. As to what precisely the problem was, we do not know, only that it was some kind of disability from which the apostle wanted to be free.] was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. 12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 12:10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
This is Called Submission
Explanation: One of the keys to handling failure, to failing forward is submission. Paul thought he could persist and somehow twist God’s arm into doing what he wanted Him to do. Now, there is a time to persist. And by all means, ask the Lord. Paul did – three times! But then, there’s a time to submit and simply rely on the wisdom and plan of almighty God and trust Him, because He knows what He’s doing. Paul thought that being free from his problem would make him a better Christian, but just the opposite was true. Submitting to the Lord’s will was the higher road here.
Application: Settle the Lordship issue in your life. Turn over the controls. Let him be the boss. Let him be Lord. You’re going to have some failures along the way. But Christ’s power will match the failure. But you must surrender to His plan of His grace in you. Paul knew this to be one of the secrets to failing forward. We think “stars” and victory will make us a better Christian. God says sometimes it’s “scars” and defeat that make you a better servant.
Quotation: Another quote that has been in my mind lately is one that comes from C. S. Lewis. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who say to God, “Thy will be done.” And those to whom God will finally say, “Thy will be done.” If you arrogantly want things your way, have it…but know that my grace can’t be exalted in you.
CONCLUSION
Illustration: Tim Brown, professor of preaching at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI, shares a story that happened to one of his former students, Tim. Tim was sharp, gainfully employed after graduation, and he called one day to tell Professor Tim (both are named Tim) that he was sick and hospitalized. When Professor Tim made it to the hospital, they already had found out the news…leukemia…a battle he has since lost. After a few moments, Tim, the former student, said to his former professor.
“I have learned that life is not like a VCR.”
“What do you mean?” Professor Tim asked.
Long pause.
“It’s not like a VCR; you can’t fast-forward the bad parts. But I have learned that Jesus Christ is in every frame, and right now that is just enough.”
How many times have I wished that life had a fast-forward button that I could use to get through the tough times quickly OR a rewind button OR an “Edit, Undo” menu option that would allow me to backtrack and do things differently.
Some of us have made some pretty major blunders. We’ve messed up with our kids, our spouses, our morals, our plans, and this overwhelming sense of failure is so debilitating. In our present lives many suffer from ill-health, mental illness and disease that neither intercession nor medication overcomes. I want to borrow Tim’s words and say “Right now, Jesus Christ is in every frame and that is just enough.”
Prayer: Lord, we come to this table that you have given us in order that we might be reminded afresh that there is only one way that we will ever be of use in your kingdom, and that is to come to the end of our natural self, to consent to it and to accept it and to rise again to a new life of trust and confidence in you. Thank you for your faithfulness that you keep sending us reminders of our weakness in order that we might trust your strength. Without those reminders we would all get conceited and boastful and confident that we have what it takes. Help us to be reminded anew by this experience that without the death there can be no resurrection, that nothing that does not die shall ever rise again from the dead. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
