How to Fail without Falling

1. Fail like someone who cannot fall. 

You're going to have to fail a lot to get where God wants you to be.  

It's like missing a shot in basketball.  

Missing a lot of shots means that you're taking a lot of shots. 

If you're not missing shots, you're only shooting layups

Jeremiah 8:4 (NIV)

4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?
    When someone turns away, do they not return?

Failure is no big deal.  If you have that fear, get that fear off of you!  

Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)

23 The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,

    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

If you fail, your Father, God, is there to catch you.  

Please do not fear failure!   

Our Father, God, is committed to catching you.  

Taking Godly risks becomes a thrill because we know that God is near. 

2. Fuel up twice what you think that you'll need.  

When a car runs out of fuel,  it stops.  

When a human runs out of fuel, they crash.

  

Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal, but then he faced Jezebel.  His fuel was low, so he crashed. 

1 Kings 19:5-7 (NIV)

5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 

6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

A lie of the devil is to fuel yourself up is selfish.  

It's good stewardship!   

Here are some areas to fuel. 

   

The Spiritual - 

I need 10 chapters of the Bible a day.  

What do you need?  

The answer is between you and God.  

Fuel up whatever you need.  

Physical- 

I need to be in the gym 4 to 5 times a week.  

What do you need?

Emotional-  

God told me to spend a evening of time with my daughter.  

I told God that I didn't have enough time.

He told me to do it anyway.  

That night my daughter told me 

"Daddy the best part of being me is you."

That one statement recharged my emotional tank.  

   

When God tells you to do something, it's less about getting it done for Him. 

It's more about how it's going to fill you up!  

Refuse to allow a lack of fuel to keep you from doing God's will. 

3. Forget all of your fake names.  

The devil is a liar, and there is no truth in Him.  

When the devil calls you a failure, a loser, a liar, or alone, He's the one that lying! 

Get that fake I.D. out of your wallet!

That's the best thing you can do in this New Year. 

When you let someone call you by a fake name, you'll always live up to it.   

Jacob means heel grabber, but Jakob means liar and deceiver. 

Genesis 32:24-28  (NIV)

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Half my time as a pastor is getting rid of fake names.  

When we got saved, not only did we get saved, but we got a new name. 

Genesis 35:18 New International Version (NIV)

18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.

Rachel put a curse on her own baby at her death by naming him son of my sorrow.  

His father, Israel, replaced his name with a blessing by changing it to son of my right hand.

4. Fight more aggressively than ever.  

The devil is coming at you aggressively.  

We can't defeat him passively.  

We need to hate him.  

Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  

We are to hate him not people.   

Proverbs 8:13  (NIV)

13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
    I hate pride and arrogance,
    evil behavior and perverse speech.

Romans 12:9 (NIV)

 ... Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

If we don't hate our enemy Satan, we will be tempted to tolerate Him.  

If we tolerate him, he causes havoc in our lives. 

What does fighting aggressively look like? 

  

A. We need to walk in authority.   

It is a state of control over someone or something.   

Luke 10:19 (NIV)

19 I (Jesus) have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  

The activity of the devil is a move that God's called you and I to stand up and stop. 

2. Walk with some swagger.  

Pride is being impressed with your own power. 

Swagger is walking with God who is the source of all power.  

Didn't David do that with Goliath? (1 Samuel 17:45)

Romans 8:11  (NIV)

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.

1 John 4:4 New International Version (NIV)

4 ... the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

   

The devil is deathly scared of you walking in who you are in Christ.  

I would never ever vote against you and God.

You and God were made to win. 

If you don't know Jesus, you can.   

You can go to heaven if you'd like.  

Revelation 3:20  (NIV)

20 Here I am! I (Jesus) stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Lord Jesus, come into my life. Forgive my past.  Take my future.  Be my Lord and Savior.  Amen! 

Preston Morrison, Gateway Church

http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/life/events/session/2018/12/29/getting-there-isnt-guaranteed

When You Feel Like Giving Up!

It's always easier to start something than to finish it.  

It's easier to get into something than it is to get out. 

It's easier to fill your schedule than it is to fulfill your schedule.  

It's easier to get into debt than it is to get out of debt.  

It's easier to make a commitment than to keep a commitment. 

Life becomes like a marathon as the race goes on and on.  

More and more people drop out.  

Life isn't easy. 

It's part of the character building process of God making us like Jesus. 

God doesn't make it easy.  

One of our enemies is discouragement. 

It is reoccurring and effects us all.  

Nehemiah 4:6-12 (NIRV)

6 So we rebuilt the wall. 

We repaired it until all of it was half as high as we wanted it to be.

The people worked with all their heart.

7 But Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Jerusalem’s walls continued to be repaired. 

The Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard about it too. 

They heard that the gaps in the wall were being filled in. 

So they were very angry. 

8 All of them made evil plans to come and fight against Jerusalem. 

They wanted to stir up trouble against it. 

9 But we prayed to our God. 

We put guards on duty day and night to watch out for danger.

10 During that time, the people in Judah spoke up. 

They said, “The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. 

Broken stones are piled up everywhere. 

They are in our way.

So we can’t rebuild the wall.”

11 And our enemies said, “We will be right there among them. 

We’ll kill them. 

We’ll put an end to their work. 

We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”

12 Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. 

They told us ten times, “No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”

Discouragement normally sets in at the midway point. 

We get discouraged when...

1. When something takes longer than expected.  

That cause fatigue. 

Nehemiah 4:10 A. They said, “The workers are getting weaker and weaker all the time. 

Most Americans are sleep deprived.  

That's why God created the Sabbath.  

When you're tired, you are more venerable to attacks from other people. 

Deuteronomy 25:18(NIRV)

You were tired and worn out. 

They met up with you on your journey. 

They attacked everyone who was lagging behind. 

They didn’t have any respect for God.  

When you are tired, you are being set up for an attack.

2. When something is more complicated than it should be, it causes frustration. 

Anytime you try to build anything. 

You're going to have trash.

Nehemiah 4:10 B. Broken stones are piled up everywhere.  

A. Trash is a part of life.  

Stuff you haven't dealt with.

B. You have to clean out the trash periodically (with sin it is confession and repentance).

C. If you don't, trash will eventually take over. 

Trash multiplies when you aren't watching.

D. You don't always know what's the trash in your life, but other people do. 

(Activities, relationships, attitudes, habit, misconceptions). 

What's the trash in your life?  

It's the stuff that keeps tripping you up. 
  

Psalm 25:16 (NIRV)

16 Turn to me and help me.
    I am lonely and hurting.

3. When I start to doubt my own ability, this causes a sense of failure.

Nehemiah 4:10c So we can’t rebuild the wall.”

How do you handle failure? 

How to you react when your plans collapse? 

How do your react when its taking longer than you thought, its more complicated than you thought, and you wonder if you have the ability to do this?

Do you give in to pity?  

Do you complain?  

Do you blame other people?  

If at first you don't succeed, that proves that you are normal.  

Successful people see failure as a temporary setback.  

This message is on learning the spiritual quality of resilience. 

There is no comeback without a setback? 
  

4. When the opposition grows stronger, this causes fear?

A. Criticism

B. Ridicule 

C. Threats  

Nehemiah 4: 11 And our enemies said, “We will be right there among them.

We’ll kill them. We’ll put an end to their work. 

We’ll do it before they even know it or see us.”  

Those who were listening to their enemies got discouraged first.

Nehemiah 4:12 Then the Jews who lived near our enemies came to us. 

They told us ten times, “No matter where you are, they’ll attack us.”

If you keep hanging out with negative people and viewing negative media, it will fill you with fear.  

All the news is bad now-a-days.  

What secret fear is causing you to be discouraged?  

Perfection,pressure,failure?

Do you have an intense desire to run?

What is God's cure when you feel like giving up? 

A. Reorganize whatever is not working.

You might be doing the right thing in the wrong way.

Nehemiah 4:13 (NIRV)

13 So I stationed some people behind the lowest parts of the wall. 

That’s where our enemies could easily attack us. 

I stationed the people family by family. 

They had their swords, spears and bows with them.

Nehemiah's new strategy was half will work and half will watch. 

The natural temptation is to give up on your dreams.  

Reorganize your budget, your diet, your schedule. 

You may need to clean out the time wasters and the clutter.  

What does your support group looks like?  

Join a Christian small group.  

Don't give up on your dream, but look at it from another point of view.

B. Refocus from yourself to your God. 

Nehemiah 4:14A (NIRV)

14 I looked things over. 

Then I stood up and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people. 

I said, “Don’t be afraid of your enemies. Remember the Lord. 

He is great and powerful. 

Have you been working for God, but you've forgotten God?  

Have you forgotten that God's been working on you and in you?

What should you remember when you are discouraged? 

a. God's goodness to you in the past. 

b. God's closeness to you in the present.

c. God's power for you in the future.

Get your mind off your discouraging circumstances and onto your God. 

Jonah 2:7 (TLB)

“When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. 

And my earnest prayer went to you in your holy Temple. 

Psalm 119:25 (TLB)

I am completely discouraged—I lie in the dust. 

Revive me by your Word.

Get in the word of God instead of social media. 

C. Resist the discouragement.  

Nehemiah 4:14 B (TLB)

14 “Don’t be afraid! 

Remember the Lord who is great and glorious; fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!”

Distraction and discouragement are two of Satan's weapons. 

James 4:7 Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  

Discouragement is a choice. 

You are choosing to listen to discouraging thoughts. 

Great people refused to be discouraged. Choose to be determined.  

Never give up if God is in it. 

What's unfinished in your life?  

Is it a relationship?  

Do you have unfinished business with God?  

What is it that God wants you to do, but you keep putting it off? 

Jeremiah 8:20  (TLB)

20 “The harvest is finished; the summer is over, and we are not saved.”    

  

Do you need to be saved? 

Baptized?  

Join a small group? 

Some of you are just barely holding on.  

Don't give up.  

Look up!  

The solution might be just around the corner. 

Tough times never stay, but tough people do.

Some of you are scared. 

Help us to do what Nehemiah did. 

Lord, today I want to refocus on you, and your goodness to me in the past.  

I need strength for the future.  

Help me to discard the clutter.  

Lord, give me the power to resist the discouragement.  

Discouragement is a choice and I choose to trust in you. 

Jesus please come into my life and manage my life. 

Please forgive me for my sins. 

I am turning from them.  

I surrender to you.

Romans 10:9-10 (TLB)

9 For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.

Notes from Rick Warren, Saddleback Church.