Freeing Failure

Spoken at Riverlife Sunday EA Service on 29th June 2008:

Freeing Failure by Guest Speaker Senior Pastor Paul de Jong.

- We think that to fail is not godly.

- Failure focuses our finiteness, which in turn shows and reminds us of our dependence on God.

- Failure can be defined as valuable lessons embraced by champions.

- To lose in life is to expect never to fail, or fail to learn when we do.

- Failure is a human certainty.

- "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." - James 3:2

- Having the fear of failure is amongst our greatest failures.

- "for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." - Proverbs 24:16

- The reason for a certain failure has to be defined, and subsequently learnt from it.

- "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

- DO NOT LET FAILURE STOP YOU FROM HAVING A GO!

- Failure succeeds when we do not make the attempt.

- Failure is the unseen stepping stone of lasting success.

- LIVE LIMITED: Try. Fail. Fail to Try.

LIVE UNLIMITED: Try. Fail. Try Better. Fail Better. Continue to try beyond failure.

Just like in science, a failed experiment is not seen as a failure, but a learning point for scientists.

In life, we have a certain inclination to believe that failure equates to underachievement. Failure in the eyes of society portrays a person as being inadequate, falling short of what is required or expected. As Christians, let us emblazon the Godly spirit in our lives. Proclaim the victory that will be and is already ours through Christ, and denounce the devil and his plans. Let us not conform to the standards of this world, and place ourselves on worldly benchmarks. Understand the reasoning as to why God allowed you to fail, and you might just feel the heartbeat of God a little closer.

Failure is a gift, for without it we would never be able to achieve a higher standard for God.

~4Christ who lives in me~
†darrenshakers