After Failure, Then What

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>After Failure, Then What</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="No Rules Not Right"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guarding Against Deception"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Ministry Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“After Failure, Then What?”Joshua 8.1-29, Berean Bible Church, January 7, 2001pm</B></div> <bR> <div>      Our standard of success or failure is the word and will of God.  Israel failed on that standard (see ch. 7), and they paid the price. Often we fail to react properly to adversity; to apply God’s wisdom to a decision; to treat someone with the proper respect; to exercise self-discipline in a sin struggle we have had; or to demonstrate love and grace to someone in need.  Often, we simply fail to do what God wants us to do, and to have the attitude he wants us to have. The good news is that God has grace to restore us and teach us after our failures. I recently saw a billboard advertisement for an insurance company. It had a huge eraser protruding from it. In big words it said, “CAR ACCIDENT” but “accident” looked as if it was being wiped away by the eraser. Along side, it said the insurance company “gets you back where you belong.” So does God’s grace.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1.  When we have failed at doing what God wants us to do, we need his encouragement (vss. 1-2, 7).</B></div> <div>      Joshua had just experienced failure at Ai, but God told him, “I have delivered Ai into your hands,” vs. 1.  Joshua had been discouraged after the previous battle (7.6-9), but here God encouraged him to go on. There are other prominent biblical saints who have failed and were restored by God, notably Peter (Lk 22.31-34, 54-61 . . . Jn 21.15-17) and Mark (Acts 15.36-41 . . . 2 Tim 4.17). Let’s face it, it is expected that we are going to fail occasionally, but God’s grace goes on, and it is in his grace that he expects us to go on with him.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2.  When we aren’t sure of what to do next, we need his direction (vss. 2, 18, 26-27).</B></div> <div>      Before we try to make up for mistakes on our own, we must get God’s direction. God gave clear instruction for the battle. It was to be “as he instructed” (vs. 27). Nothing more, nothing less. To adequately respond after our failures, we must pray for wisdom and consult the scriptures (James 1.5, Prov. 2 .6, “the Lord gives wisdom”). In your sorrow over your failure, don’t run ahead of God in trying to “fix it.”</div> <bR> <div> <B>3.  When we are unable to do what he wants us to do, we need his power (vss. 18-29, esp. 22, 24-25, 29).</B></div> <div>      This truth is a recurring theme in Joshua. If we want to experience success and effectiveness in serving God and doing his will, we absolutely must rely on his power. The battle of Ai was first approached as something Israel could handle on their own, without God’s help. They tragically found out how wrong they were. Their failure was not in the choice to do battle with Ai, but in the source of strength that they chose to use. Ai was the right battle, with the right goal, but they used the wrong power — their own. How often do we try to accomplish the right things, but in our own strength. Our own strength will lead to the works of the flesh, even with good intentions (Gal 5.16-21). We must rely on the Holy Spirit to experience his fruit in our lives (Gal 5.22-26). That’s the difference between spiritual success and failure.</div> <bR> <div>      Great people like Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein experienced many failures early in life, but they did not let their failure determine their future. Spiritually, don’t let your failures lock in and dictate your future. God has the grace to restore you, and he can help you move on to a life of pleasing him and doing his will.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>