- A failure vs. a person who fails
- The question is not whether we will fail, but how we will respond when we fail.
- Will failing be a stumbling block or a stepping sone (Proverbs 24:16)?
- Real failure is when you abandon your post.
- The one talent man (Matthew 25:24-30) assured his own failure by not pursuing success.
- Wicked: God considers inaction to be as evil as inappropriate actions.
- Slothful: Excuses for passivity are often just cloaks for laziness (Proverbs 22:13).
- Real failure is when you abandon your post.
- Paul had a stewardship entrusted to him (I Corinthians 9:16-17), and he was determined to be faithful in it.
- He knew from the beginning how much he would suffer for the Lord (Acts 9:16).
- He learned to endure, even appreciate, his “thorns” (II Corinthians 12:7-10).
- Are you willing to “take the shot”?
- Real failure is when you hedge your efforts.
- Demas was willing to be a “fellow worker” with Paul (Philemon 1:24).
- He “loved this present world” (II Timothy 4:9) and abandoned him.
- Was it the lust of the eye? The lust of the flesh? The pride of life? (I John 2:16)
- Whatever it was, it wasn’t his “first love” (Revelation 2:4-5).
- The widow (Luke 21:1-4).
- Her commitment to God’s work did not depend on her circumstances.
- Jesus cared about the hearts of the people, not the rocks of the temple.
- Are you committed or just involved?
- Demas was willing to be a “fellow worker” with Paul (Philemon 1:24).
- Real failure is when you “surrender to your past”.
- Judas did not see the significance of his betrayal until too late (Matthew 27:3-5).
- He could have been brought to repentance (II Corinthians 7:9-10).
- Instead he was driven to despair.
- If Jesus forgives us, we must find a way to forgive ourselves.
- “God is greater than our heart” (I John 3:20).
- Peter did not see the significance of his betrayal untill too late (Matthew 26:69-75).
- He trusted in Jesus, not himself (Matthew 14:28-32).
- Judas did not see the significance of his betrayal until too late (Matthew 27:3-5).
HH
October 07, 2010
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