Sermon Tone Analysis

!! Dealing With Defeat

Dealing With The Seven Deadly D’s

James 3:2

James 3:2 KJV 2For in many things we offend all.

If any man offend not in word, the same /is/ a perfect man, /and/ able also to bridle the whole body.

This Morning I want to minister to you about Dealing With Defeat.

Sooner or later everyone in this sanctuary will fail at something.

Failure is a universal experience.

In fact the word of God says in James 3:2 2 We  all stumble in many ways.

The New Century Version says, “2 We all make many mistakes.

The New King James Version says, “2For we all stumble in many things.

The New Revised Standard Version says, 2 For all of us make many mistakes.”

Now I want to caution everyone that this does not give us the right to haphazardly live our lives as though nothing mattered.

This does not mean that we throw caution unto the wind and live just any way that we please.

James is just simply pointing out a fact of life and that fact is that everyone at one time or another will fail at something.

There are some here today who have had more failures than successes.

I also want to point out that God does have a set standard that we are to live by.

So again we are not free to throw caution to the wind and live our lives anyway we want to.

James is pointing out to us that making mistakes, stumbling, and failing is a part of life and we should expect.

Those who are devastated the most by their failures are those who think and believe that you can live life without ever making a single mistake.

We all have setbacks, failures, defeats, and losses in life.

Nobody is perfect.

Everybody makes mistakes.

Our failures and defeats in life can have a devastating effect on our lives if not properly dealt with or handled with the right attitude and frame of mind.

In fact the setbacks and defeats that we face in life can make us feel like Job felt.

Job 17:11 11My days are past; my purposes are broken off, /even/ the thoughts of my heart.

What is Job saying?

Job is saying, “ It’s over, my hope has disappeared, my hearts desires have been destroyed and my dreams have been shattered.

There’s nothing left for me.”

Have you ever felt that way?

Have you ever felt that because of a failure or defeat in life that it was all over?

Have you ever felt like your hope for the future had vanished?

Have you ever felt like your desires and dreams were shattered?

If you have ever felt like your dreams have been shattered and your hope for the future was gone that means that you are a part of the human race.

When we feel this way we feel defeated in life but it doesn’t have to end that way.

You can conquer those feelings of defeat and failure and move on to a brighter future if you will just learn from how to Deal With Defeat.

John Maxwell said, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”

Another writer said, “There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is only one way to be a looser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure.

In other words people that achieve success and win at life are those that have a proper perception of and response to failure.

They learn from their experience and look beyond the failure to the future and as a result become a better person.

*Failure is a training process that we go throw on our way to success.

* In other words you and I are not going to succeed without some amount of failure along the way.

The good news is that our failure does not have to be fatal or final.

The problem with us is that we have a fear of failure.

Fear of failure will do three things to us.

| It will stop us from trying.

The questions that will haunt us is.

What if I can’t do it?

Someone has rightly said, “I would rather try and fail than not have tried at all.

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| It can cause us to be indecisive.

We will never be able to make up our mind.

The question that will plague our minds will be.

What if I make the wrong choice?

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| It can cause us to have a perfectionist attitude.

What if I can’t please everyone?

That’s perhaps the biggest problem we have.

We want to please everybody when we no we can’t.

Our goal is not to please everybody but please God by doing what is right.

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Before I get into this message we need to understand that failing at accomplishing something does not make one a failure.

What makes a person a failure is their refusal to get up and get back in the game.

You need to remember that *" your failures are not final and  just because you fail at something does not make you a failure " !!!*

*We also need to remember that God is not surprised by our failures.*

Jesus knew about and foretold of Peter’s denial and failure in Matthew 26:33-34 33Peter answered and said unto him, Though all /men/ shall be offended because of thee, /yet/ will I never be offended.

34Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

No, our failures do not take God by surprise.

So with that let’s look at How To Deal With Defeat.

There are three question that we to answer in order to Properly Deal with Defeat.

·        What Are The Causes of Defeat:

·        Why Does Defeat Have Such A Devastating Affect On Us:

·        How Should We Respond To Defeat:

!!! 1.      I.

What Are The Causes of Defeat

#. *Defeat Comes When We Fail To Plan.*

It's like the old saying say’s, "If you fail to plan you're planning to fail."

In order to succeed or accomplish anything we must have a plan.

When we don’t have a plan to follow we have no idea where we are going or how we are going to get there.

The plan is simply help us understand where we are and where we are going and how we are going to get there.

\\ \\ Proverbs 27:12 12A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Another translation says, “Proverbs 27:12 "A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them.

But the simple minded man never looks and suffers the consequences."

\\ \\ Proverbs 16:9 NKJV A man’s heart plan his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.

We don’t go on vacation without first planning on where we are going, what we are going to do when we get there or how we are going to get there.

Before we hit the highway we consult the map for the best route.

Our daily lives are no different.

We should take time to plan our lives trusting God to direct our steps as we go.

If plan our lives without first consulting God than we are doomed to fail.

God is to be the primary focus of our lives.

We should never leave God out of our plans.

#. *Defeat Comes When We Think That We Have Arrived.*

A person that thinks that they have arrived can see no room in their lives for improvement.

They are perfect in their own eyes.

They feel and believe that no matter what comes against them they can’t be conquered.

This kind of person is self-sufficient and self-reliant.

*1 Corinthians 10:12 12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.*

This is a warning to the individuals who think they can stand on there on without the support of others.

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Proverbs 16:18 “Pride leads to destruction and arrogance to downfall.”

Pride and arrogance implies self-confidence that will eventually lead to the downfall and destruction of the individual.

\\ \\ We must confess with the Apostle Paul, “12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection!

But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead”.

(Philippians 4:12-13) \\ \\