Currently, we’re in a message series called “Dealing With Difficulties.” We’re talking about what the Bible has to say about dealing with the difficulties that we all face in life. Those difficulties loom in front of us like mountains to be climbed and overcome. God doesn’t want to see you overcome by difficulties, He wants to see you successful in life.
Success in God’s eyes does not depend on making a lot of money or making it to the top in your career. Success in God’s eyes is found by fulfilling God’s purpose for your life. It’s OK to want to have that kind of success in life and even pray for it. NIV Psalm 118:25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Yet there will be times in each of our lives when we fail. There will be times when you feel like giving up. Every successful person in the Bible had times when felt discouraged, when they had failed, when they had not lived up to God’s standard. The important thing is not to give up when you fail. Failure for the believer is not the end, but an opportunity to find a fresh start from God.
NIV Proverbs 24:16 Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. The point of this verse is not that the righteous man never falls, but that the righteous man rises again, he comes back. The wicked on the other hand, fall and can’t recover. Today, my message is entitled “Overcoming Failure.” Today as we look at God’s Word I want you to think about your own life. What failure hangs over your head? Keep it in mind during this message. What situations or circumstances haven’t worked out as you would have liked? No matter what you’ve failed at God wants you to rebound from that failure and find His success in life.
This message is for everyone who has failed in life and that includes all of us. God wants to give you a fresh start today. This morning, we’re going to look at the life of Peter. Peter and his fellow fisherman had been out fishing all night but hadn’t caught anything. Fishing was normally done at night so the fish couldn’t see the fisherman’s nets in the darkness. Yet after a long night of casting nets into the water, rowing to all the choice fishing spots, Peter had to admit that the trip was a failure. He would have nothing at all to show for all his hard work, nothing to take home to feed his family, let alone to sell in the market. Yet just a few hours later that same boat with the same fisherman, fishing at the wrong time of day would catch an enormous number of fish. What made the difference between the first and second fishing trips? What keys can we learn from this story about overcoming failure?
To hear more about this topic, listen to my October 14, 2007 message entitled Overcoming Failure
I stumbled across this post while researching a sermon on overcoming failure. Great post! Keep up the great work there in St. Louis!
Where can I find his voice???I try to listen to him but it seems like he is not talking to me!!!how can I hear his voice?