Failure

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FAILURE, THE BACK DOOR TO SUCCESS

A man was bothered with continual ringing in his ears, bulging eyes, and a flushed face.  Over a period of three years he went to doctor after doctor.  One took out his tonsils, one his appendix, another pulled all his teeth -- he even tried the goat gland treatment in Switzerland -- all to no avail.  Finally, one doctor told him there was no hope -- he had six months to live.  The poor fellow quit his job, sold all his belongings and decided to live it up in the time he had left.  He went to his tailor and ordered several suits and shirts.  The tailor measured his neck and wrote down 16 1/2.  The man corrected him:  15 1/2.  The tailor measured again:  16 1/2.  But the man insisted that he'd always worn a size 15 1/2.  "Well, all right," said the tailor, "but don't come back here complaining to me if you have ringing ears, bulging eyes and a flushed face!"

            I was listening to David Jeremiah's radio program and he told the story of a very successful businessman.  He said that the businessman was a Christian.  And David Jeremiah believed that he was.  He had done a great deal of good work for the Lord.  He had founded ministries and funded them with his own money.  He was well known in his community.  He had a wife and a family.  From all outward impressions, he was a model of a godly Christian businessman.  But financial difficulties took over his empire.  And as hard as it was for David Jeremiah to believe, the man conspired with two underworld characters to force his wife off the road and shoot his wife in the head.  The police suggested that he was involved in the brutal murder.  All the evidence pointed towards him.  The week before, he had taken out a very large insurance policy on his wife.  His own testimony was filled with inconsistency and holes.  Today, he is serving time for the murder of his wife.  Some would say he couldn't be a Christian and do something life that.  I'm not telling the story to debate whether he knows the Lord.  I'm just illustrating the story that even a person who seems to know the Lord can stray from the will of God.  How does it happen?  How did it happen to Moses?  I have a better question.  How does it happen to us? 

            Allow me to tell you how it happens.

 

FIRST -- IT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRY TO DO GOD'S WILL IN OUR OWN WISDOM             AND STRENGTH.

           

            Look at EXODUS 2:12 at Moses' actions just before killing the Egyptian.

12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (NIV)

            Moses never looked up.  There is not a word of prayer.  There is not a mention of a counsel with God.  Do you know why?  Moses is bright.  He has already proven his ability in the class room and the battlefield.  So when it comes to being the deliverer Moses, thinks, "I can handle that too." 

            I can not remember who it was that shared a vital principle with me, but I wrote it down several years ago.  Let me share it with you.  "We ought to go to the private place with God, before we go to the public place for God." 

            I have found that is true.  A.J.  was trying to move a large rock in our back yard.  He was pushing it with all his might.  His feet were dug into the ground; he was pushing the rock with his hands.  There where little beads of sweat on his forehead. As I watched him, he was gaining no headway with the rock.  So I asked him, "A.J., are you using all your strength?"  He said, "Yes, daddy."  I said, "No you're not, you haven't asked me to help."  So often, that is how it is with us.  We will use all of our strength, all of our own wisdom, but we will not ask for God's help.  Many times we fail as we attempt to do God's will in our own wisdom and strength. 

            We do that by buying what we think is the best curriculum, reproduce a quality sermon we heard.  Attend a seminar that brought success to another church.  But, we will forget about asking God.  We will forget about seeking God’s face.  It is never the curriculum or a sermon we heard or read, not is a seminar.  It is always God’s will.  

SECOND -- MANY TIMES WE WILL FAIL, BECAUSE WE TRY TO HIDE OUR SIN.

EXODUS 2:12

12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

            The world thinks that if we want to be successful, and have blown it, what we are to do is to hide our failures.  But God says we want to be successful we are to confess our failures.  Moses hid the body of the Egyptian he had slain. 

We love to cover up our sin, don't we?  How many here have ever tried to cover up their sin?  Do you remember what Adam and Eve were doing after they sinned?  They were hiding.  Do you remember when Cain killed his brother Abel?  What was the first thing that Cain did?   He hid the body of Abel? 

           

            I have a couple of excuses that people gave for auto accidents.  One has to do with a driver who hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk.  They asked him, "How is it that you ended up hitting the man?"  The driver said, "The guy was all over the road.  I had to swerve a number of times before I could hit him." 

            Here is the testimony of a driver who hit a telephone pole.  He said, "The telephone pole was approaching fast.  I attempted to swerve out of it's path when it struck my front end."  It is amazing what we will say, what we will do, to cover up our wrongs.  You know I believe that Moses was very sincere, and so were those folks who gave excuses for accidents.  But the problem is they are trying to hide their sin.  They are sincere, but they are sincerely wrong.  Up to this very moment Moses has been a success.  He has been the champion of Egypt.  But now his whole world comes crashing all around him. 

EXODUS 2:13-15

13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?" 14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known." 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. (NIV)

            I believe there are at least 2 results when we fail in trying to serve God.

1ST -- IT WILL MOVE YOU to FEAR.                         

 

EXODUS 2:14  "Moses was afraid"

 

            Moses runs for his life.  I have seen that in Christians.  They will attempt serve God in their own strength and blow it.  The result is they will run in fear.  I have seen it in pastors, and missionaries.  I have seen it in Sunday school teachers. 

ILLUSTRATION:  Reading the wrong bulletin.

            I know of one former pastor who was hurt so badly that he left the ministry.  He personally told me that he would never, ever seek being a pastor of any church.  He had no desire to be hurt so deeply again.  The fear of being hurt will drive you away from serving God. 

            Velva and I know of one missionary couple who raised their support.  They got to their field assignment and after being on the filed for only 3 months were told to pack up and return to the States.  They had a fear of germs. 

            Let me give some statistic on fear.  It is reported that Ann Landers receives an average of 10,000 letters each month. 

When asked what is the most prominate problem in the letters she said, "Fear." 

            It was said, that Stalin was so driven by fear that he had 8 bedrooms which could be locked up like a safety deposit box in a bank.  It is reported that no one ever knew which bedroom he would sleep in.

Perhaps you heard about the Japanese soldier who did not surrender after WWII.  He lived in a cave for 28 years in hiding.  He ate frogs, rats and snails.  When the islanders found him sick, they took him to a hospital.  When someone asked him if he knew the war was over, he said yes.  When asked why then didn't he come out of hiding he said, "I was afraid." 

Moses is now running in fear.   

2ND -- IT WILL KEEP YOU FROM  SERVING GOD.

             EXODUS 3:10

 

10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."  11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (NIV)

            When you come to Exodus 3:10, forty years have passed since Moses was by the well.  And he still has with drawls from serving God.  

            When you fail, the tendency will be to retreat, to crawl up into a shell and to say, "I'm through, I'm not going to serve God again."  You will convince yourself that you'll never serve God again.  The tendency will be to focus in on the failure and the criticism.  And you will say no to every opportunity of service. 

            Turn to I CORINTHIANS 6:11 Ray Steadman, former Pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, Calif. was preaching on I Corinthians 6:9-11.

 

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders   10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (NIV)

            He asked his congregation, "If that was true of your life, would you please stand?"  Over half of the church stood up.  What we need to realize is that God specializes in using failures.  Focus in on that.  Don't focus in on your past.  Don't focus on the murder in Egypt.  Don't focus on your failures.

            There is a young lady who was raised in a broken home.  Uninterested in High School, she fled to Las Vegas.  She became a call girl.  For several years she lived as a prostitute.  While on the streets someone shared the gospel with her and she came to know Jesus Christ as her savior.  She moved to another town, fell in love and told her boyfriend about her past.  His response was, "You're forgiven through Jesus Christ, and I forgive you."  They were married and eventually God called them into the ministry.  They went to seminary and today they have a very successful ministry.  I don't care how soiled your past has been, you are cleansed.  It is time that you realize that God can handle all the Egypt's of your life.  When you come back into service for God, keep in mind that it is God whom you are serving and it is God whom you're to please. 

                 

            When you are divinely crushed, when you are in the desert, you will learn at least 3 things. 

FIRST -- YOU WILL LEARN THE  POSITION OF A SERVANT.  

Look at:          Exodus 2:15-17  

Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. 

16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock.  17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. (NIV)

 

            Can you get the picture of what is going on in Exodus 2:15-17?  Moses is sitting by a well, and 7 young ladies approach the well, attempting to water their sheep.  But before they can provide the needed water, they are driven away.  The Hebrew words "DROVE THEM AWAY" is one very intensive Hebrew verb.  It means to use excessive force.  So Moses comes to their rescue and forces the shepherds away and even waters their flock.  Moses has no idea who the ladies are.  But he knows what it is like to lose everything.  When you are divinely crushed, it is amazing how it will pull your spirit towards others who are in need.   I have seen it in those who have experienced cancer, the loss of a loved one, or those who have been severely injured.  Those who have gone through the fire have an incredible compassion and desire to help those who are in affliction.  God has equipped them to minister to you.

            Would you look at:  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (NIV)

            Notice from verse 4, that the comfort you receive when you are in the desert.  God has opened the door for you to apply your comfort to others.  It is remarkable what a shepherd's heart God can give people who have suffered.  Moses has no idea who these 7 young ladies are.  But he has an incredible compassion for them.  I guarantee you that when you are crushed; you will learn to be sensitive to the pain of others.  You will understand what it means to be taken advantage of, ripped off, broken or misused.   When you have walked through the fire, you will then understand that it was God's great plan for your life.  You will come to see that it's part of your healing ministry. 

Look at Deuteronomy 32:10-12 and take a close look at the verbs. 

10In a desert land GOD found him, in a barren and howling waste. GOD shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 11  like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. 12  The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him. (NIV)

            Verse 11 describes what it is like to be in the desert, to be crushed.  It is a picture of an eagle who forces its young out of the nest.  The little eaglet falls helplessly towards the ground.  You can imagine the poor little eaglet falling head over heels, desperately flapping its wings and frankly calling out to its mother for help.  The eagle then sweeps down and spreads her incredible wings and catches her young and carries her young to great heights.  Do you know what the mother is trying to do?  She is trying to teach her young how to fly, so it will soar to new heights.  There will be times you feel as if you are falling, and you will be convinced that God has abandoned you, and you will cry out for God's help, but it will seem like he is silent.  You will wonder, what is God doing?  He is teaching you the position of a servant.  He is preparing you to soar to new heights so you can minister to other in a great way.

            So Moses learns the position of a servant and he ministers to the ladies.  There is a 2nd thing you will learn when you are in a crisis, or in a desert.

SECOND -- YOU WILL LEARN THE PAIN OF OBSCURITY. 

            You will learn what it is like to be alone.  I want you to see Moses' job description for 40 years. 

Exodus 2:21-23

21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.  22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land." 

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. (NIV)

            Verse 23 begins with monotony.  It says, "During that long period..."  You can feel the incredible day after day of never changing monotony.  The King James translates it this way:  "And it came to pass in the process of time..."  The New American Standard translates it:  "It came about in the course of those many days..."  the life that Moses knew as the prince of Pharaoh is over.  His life as a prince was quick pace, have it your way, servants quickly responding to your request. Now Moses’ life  knew has come to a slow, sluggish pace.  When you are in the desert, you will feel all alone.  Now remember, Moses was the hero of Egypt.  He was use to action.  He was use to a quick pace.  He was as the Bible says in Acts 7:22

           

22 Moses was  powerful in speech and action. (NIV)

  

            But life now has come to a grinding stop.  

            I remember when Velva and I moved from Portland, Oregon to Emmett, Idaho.  The population of Emmett is 4,700.  Shortly after moving there we soon learned that the main activity was driving up to the bakery and watching the dough rise.  I mean the pace was slow and it took some adjustment.  Well, Moses is now at a 40 year rest stop.  For 40 years he has been in a desert.  When you are being crushed there is an aloneness that you can not imagine. 

             I heard of a man who was deeply crushed with cutting remarks from his own church.  He said to his wife, "I don't want to go to that church any more.  People aren't friendly there.  They don't speak to me.  They walk away from me.  I just don't want to go there ever again."  His wife said, "You ought to go."  He replied, "But I don't want to go."  She said, "You need to go."  He said, "But I don't want to.  Why should I go?"  She said, "You're a member of the church, and after all, you're the pastor." 

            When you have been hurt deeply, you will feel so alone.  We are not use to being alone.  We're use to a rapid pace.  But not in God's classroom.  When you are in God's classroom, when God is preparing you for a future ministry, life comes to a grinding stop. 

You have heard the American prayer, "Lord, I want patience and I want it now!"  For 40 years Moses has been in the desert.  This is the pharaoh elect.  Remember, Moses is highly qualified in science, math, and in public speaking.  And now the he can only speak to sheep.  When you are divinely crushed, you will learn to be still. 

 

THIRD --  YOU WILL LEARN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. 

Exodus 2:24-25

24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. (NIV)

            Notice it says in verse 24 and 25, "GOD HEARD, GOD REMEMBERED, GOD LOOKED", and "GOD WAS CONCERNED."  No matter what your crisis, God has not forgotten you.  "GOD HEARD", the Hebrew word means to listen intently.  God hears your groaning.  Verse 24 says, "GOD REMEMBERED", the Hebrew word means to write it down.  God has your cry for help written down, it will not be forgotten.  Then it says, "GOD LOOKED," the Hebrew word means to look after.  God is looking after your need.  Then it says, "GOD WAS CONCERNED," the Hebrew word means to know by personal experience.  God knows personally the crisis you are in because he has experienced the same pain.  You can not escape that God is personally acquainted with your crisis.  Look at:

 

Psalm 139:9-10

If I rise on the wings of the dawn..., 0  even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (NIV)

            What does that mean?  It means even if you could travel the speed of light, you still could not flee God’s presence.  If you could travel the speed of light, at 186,000 miles per second, you would be at the moon in 11/3 seconds.  You would be at the closest star in 4 years.  What is God telling you?  He is telling you that you can not flee His presence.  But when you are in the desert you will question that God is even there.  You will forget that God hears your groaning.  And yet, you are precisely where God wants you to be.  God is preparing you for greater service by chipping off the rough edges.     

           

In Florence, Italy there is an 8 foot, white marble statue of David by Michelangelo.  He was working for the religious leaders of the church.  They had at great expense purchased that large block of marble and they became very disturbed that Michelangelo was chipping away so many pieces.  He was approached by one the leading religious figures who rebuked him for chipping away so much.  Michelangelo replied, "As the chips fall away, a perfect image emerges." 

            That's us as we are in the desert.  Your chips are falling away and the image of Christ is emerging.  When life doesn't make any sense, don't hurry the process.  It takes time to do a good piece of sculpture. 

Listen to these examples of inventions and ideas which some people said "couldn't be done" so they resisted the new.  1. The first successful cast-iron plow, invented in the United States in 1797, was rejected by New Jersey farmers under the theory that cast iron poisoned the land and stimulated the growth of weeds.  2. An eloquent authority in the United States declared that the introduction of the railroad would require the building of many insane asylums, since people would be driven mad with terror at the sight of locomotives rushing across the country.  3. In Germany, it was proved by "experts" that, if trains went at the frightful speed of 15 miles an hour, blood would spurt from the travelers' noses, and passengers would suffocate when going through tunnels.  4. Commodore Vanderbilt dismissed Westinghouse and his new air brakes for trains, stating, "I have no time to waste on fools."  5. Those who loaned Robert Fulton money for his steamboat project stipulated that their names be withheld for fear of ridicule were it known they supported anything so "foolhardy."  6. In 1881, when the New York Y. W. C. A.  announced typing lessons for women, vigorous protests were made on the grounds that the female constitution would break down under the strain.  7. Men insisted that iron ships would not float, that they would damage more easily than wooden ships when grounding, that it would be difficult to preserve the iron bottom from rust, and that iron would deflect the compass.  8. Joshua Coppersmith was arrested in Boston for trying to sell stock in the telephone.  "All well-informed people know that it is impossible to transmit the human voice over a wire."  9. The editor of the Springfield Republican refused an invitation to ride in an early automobile, claiming that it was incompatible with the dignity of his position.

There was a young man who took a short cut home late one night-through the cemetery.  And he fell in an open grave.  He called, he tried to climb out.  To no avail.  There was no one around to hear his cries or lend a hand.  So he settled down for the night in a corner of the darkened grave to await morning.  A little while later another peron came the same route through the cemetery, taking the same short cut home and fell in the same grave, and started clawing and shouting and trying to get out just as the first had done.  Suddenly, the second fellow heard a voice out of the dark corner of the grave saying, "You can't get out of here."  But he did!

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