FEAR LESS: FAILURE
Pastor Josh Weisbrod – September 13, 2020
KEY IDEA: I’d rather walk on the waves with Jesus than sit in a boat playing it safe.
KEY PASSAGE: “For God us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
SUMMARY: Everyone fears failure. Through Christ we can and will overcome failure, but we must take faith risks.
INTRODUCTION: We have a fear that if we take a risk in our life, everything will break apart so we keep risk up on a shelf. People around you can try to pull you down or pull you away from opportunities that God has for you.
Don’t let someone else’s past hurt keep you from the possibility of your future. When we listen to these voices around us that are trying to hold us back, we can begin to question--Am I good enough? Can I do this? What if no one shows up? What if I can’t . . . ?
The fear of failure can paralyze you. God’s called you to something, but if you are so afraid of it not working out or of failing, know that God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.
You will fail
· Christ was perfect. Everything He did was perfect. I am not perfect. I will not doing anything perfect. I need a Savior.
· Perfectionist – Your end goal is not possible. Do things to the best of your ability as unto the LORD, but know that your end goal is highly subjective, or when it really counts it is impossible. Perfectionism will drive you crazy because it is not possible. (James 3:2; 1 John 2:1)
· God is the constant. When you fail, remember these two things:
1. Allow yourself to feel disappointment but not disapproval
§ Just because you fail, it doesn’t make you a failure. Don’t allow your failure to take you from an action to an identity.
§ Failure might disappointment you, but it doesn’t need to define you.
2. Failure is an event, never a person
§ God doesn’t define you by your failure. He uses your failures to do something within you.
§ Peter denied Christ but he was not a failure. Jesus restored him and Peter led 3000 people to the LORD on the day of Pentecost.
§ Failure is an event, never a person.
§ Anyone can fail once. Can you fail more than once? We’ve been deceived into thinking: If you fail, you must be doing something wrong, so keep moving on until you find something you are good at.
§ Failure is part of the journey toward success.
§ We can rejoice in suffering knowing that our suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. Romans 5:3-5
§ Don’t be afraid of failure. God can use it to produce something in you.
You can overcome
· “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” Proverbs 24:16
· We need to redefine failure as the price that I pay on the road to God’s success.
· Illustration: Two groups of art students producing ceramic cups—one group focuses on quantity (100 each) and one group focuses on quality (1 each). The “quantity group” produced better cups with a higher quality. Why? As people we tend to overanalyze. The more pots they made, the more they learned and adjusted, and they ended up creating better cups the more they produced.
· Sometimes, we just have to get our hands dirty and make something. Make something knowing that you might fail, but with Christ you can overcome. We are so afraid of failing, sometimes we never even start.
· Some of us are more comfortable with a soul going to hell, than the possibility of failing.
· When you fail, don’t give up. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
· What you see as failure, God sees as an opportunity for growth.
You must take faith risks
· We cannot please God without taking faith risks. Hebrews 11:6
· We have the opportunity to tell people about the hope of Jesus Christ.
· Prudence, patience, and wisdom are important, but it is impossible to please God without taking risks.
· Peter walks on water. When he becomes afraid, he sinks. When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind stopped. Peter was the only one to walk on water and to walk hand-in-hand with Jesus on the water. (Matthew 14:22-33)
Conclusion: Failure is staying in the boat when Jesus calls you out on the water. We cannot please God without taking faith risks.
“I’d rather walk on the waves with Jesus than sit in a boat playing it safe.”
– Josh Weisbrod
REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Use these reflection questions as a way to deepen your relationship with God. Allow the Holy Spirit to shine a light into your heart.
1) What is something you’ve always wanted to do or want to do now, but you haven’t because you don’t think you could do it or you are afraid of failing?
2) If you were in the story of Peter walking on the water, who do you think you would be like most and why? Options:
· Peter and jump right out of the boat,
· one of the disciples who stayed in the boat watching because he didn’t think walking on water was even possible,
· one of the disciples who stayed in the boat because he was afraid to try the “impossible”,
· one of the disciples who was hanging over the edge of the boat and touching the water because he desperately wanted to walk on water to Jesus, but he was thinking too much about it to actually get out of the boat, or
· one of the disciples who would want to ask Jesus to personally come take his hand and help him out of the boat?
3) Have you, or someone you know, ever allowed a failure to become a part of your identity rather than just an event? What impact did that have on you or on someone you know?
4) What might it look like if we embraced failure as part of the journey and allowed God to develop what He wants to develop in us, rather than giving up or moving on to the next thing?
5) How can you “get your hands dirty for God” in this season of your life? Or what do you think God wants you to do right now? Or what is the next one step you could take to do something you’ve wanted to do but were afraid to do?
6) Identify an area for prayer.
· What area of your life do you feel like you are failing in right now and you need some encouragement and support? Or
What faith risk do you want to take in your life right now and do you need some encouragement and support?
Full Podcast Episode: http://banner.church/podcast/2020/9/17/fearless-fear-of-failure-91320