FAILURE & SUCCESS


The World, the Word & You! Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan

“HAVE YOU MISUNDERSTOOD THE CHRISTIAN LIFE? WERE YOU TOLD THAT ONCE YOU BECAME A CHRISTIAN, ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WOULD BE OVER? WELL, I GOT NEWS FOR YOU! BECOMING A CHRISTIAN DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY GIVE US A HAPPY LIFE!”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about FAILURE & SUCCESS…

… Many Christians fail to understand that once they become a Christian all their problems are not solved! Through often zealous and faulty evangelism, prospects for Christianity are told that to become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ ¾ will solve all your problems and even grant you success and a “happy life.” For sure, the opportunity to have these things is of course a reality for everyone who becomes a Christian, but the responsibility to gain it, is in YOUR HANDS, and not handed to any of us on a platter.

I want to talk today about FAILURE & SUCCESS, for either one is indeed a possibility for everyone who names the name of Christ. Now let’s face it, Christianity is not a magic bullet that can slash away all our failures, pain, and suffering, nor produce emotional well-being by itself. Therefore to this “issue of choice and personal responsibility,” I’ll address today. But before we get down to my message entitled: FAILURE & SUCCESS, we’ll pause one more time and listen to another moment of music. Don’t go away. This message today may be just for you…

…When I was a teenager, the “Rock n’ Roll” error had just started. As such, I listened to it regularly to the chagrin of my parents. One song that hit the top ten had the lyric, “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, don’t marry an ugly wife!”  I had to chuckle at that, for the song writer and singer indicated that happiness depends on the pleasantness of circumstances, people and relationships in our life. To some degree this is true, but for sure ¾ everyone wants to be happy for the rest of his or her life! Do you know that in the Bible there is a prescription for a “Happy Life?” However, must folks either don’t know about it, or they have not obeyed its principles God lays down for us.

As I stated earlier, many who hear the Gospel message tend to think that God offers instant happiness and success, if one just becomes a Christian.  But those who have, soon find out how elusive such happiness is! Of course this is explained to us in the Bible. For it is all bound up in who we are. Do you realize who you are? Scripture gives us an insight in,

1 Th 5:23 (NIV)  “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You see here Gods reveals a bit about our makeup. We are composed of three principle components ¾ a spirit, a soul, and a body. But, Scripture warns us that all of us are actually, in the spirit realm that is ¾ BORN DEAD!

Eph 2:1 (NIV)  "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,"

Eph 2:5 (NIV)  "made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."

Col 2:13 (NIV)  "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,"

You see, because of humanity’s first parents, Adam and Eve’s sin, the original creative aspect of the human being was altered. The “Spirit” man was given at creation and was alive to God, died when sin entered the world.

Rom 5:12 (NIV)  “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—“

So you and I from the moment of birth are born with a dead spirit. Only a soul and body is alive in this life until ¾ God restores life to that human spirit that is dead from birth in us. However, once this spirit is “renewed” or born alive again through the conversion process of Christianity ¾ new opportunities and abilities become ours to actually begin to have a “happy life” for the rest of your days. But here’s the “rub.”

Many Christians fail to understand the personal responsibility they have for their own emotional well-being and happiness, following conversion. It’s typical to think – “If Christians have the Holy Spirit living within them, if they have this new power and new life in them from the moment of the New Birth, doesn’t God heal all our problems of life and living?” Herein lies a great deception suffered by Christians today and as a result they experience depression, guilt, even much dissatisfaction and disappointment as it engulfs them and creates in effect ¾ a saved soul and a very unhappy life!

Now, I’m not one of those preachers today that promise you the world, and the sovereign power of God at your fingertips and lips. The Bible says no such thing, but it does give us prescription for a happy and successful life. It all begins with knowing “thyself.”

For starters, let’s go back to that verse that tells us about our very makeup. Paul the apostle wrote by divine inspiration,

1 Th 5:23 (NIV)  “…May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here the Bible teaches that human beings consist of three dimensions ¾ spirit, soul and body. At conversion to Christianity, God gives NEW LIFE to our dead “spirit.” Hence, it comes alive instantly and will remain so forever and ever. But man is composed of a body and soul too. This is where much error lies. The soul of man, that is the part that has consciousness to respond to the environment around us, is NOT CHANGED or made new at the moment of salvation. The soul must gradually be changed and developed over time by the leading of the NEW spirit implanted in every Christian. Our mind and emotions are part of the “soul,” and since it has been conditioned from birth by sin and its effects around us. Often it is damaged and operating in ways that have brought us, the “wages of sin.” All of us have experienced it in facing our anger, feeling depressed, suffering grief, loss, envy, guilt, unhappiness, jealousy and even loneliness and failure. But what every Christian needs to hear and know is ¾ ALL of this over time, can be changed! In fact, the responsibility for this to happen all depends upon you and me. Listen to Paul further words that describe this,

Rom 12:1-2 (NIV)  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Do you see what God says? He is telling us our minds and emotions, the attitudes and ways of our thinking must CHANGE! But, the change only occurs when we “yield” ourselves to God and His Word and ways. Only then will we move from FAILURE TO SUCCESS. This transformation is not automatic, friend; rather a process that begins at the New Birth when we trust Christ alone for our salvation and surrender to the Lordship and Saviorhood of our God, Jesus Christ.

This transformation process involves much time spent in prayer, study of God’s Word, yieldedness, submission to what God teaches, and practical application of it in our daily life and fellowship with other believers. You see, God wants every Christian to have a happy and successful life. But this doesn’t necessarily depend upon material and earthly things.

Permit me to give you some simple steps for success in the Christian life and to overcome failure and the unhappiness it often brings. First of all,

#1 REMIND YOURSELF OF WHO YOU ARE – Once you were dead in trespasses and sin, but now you are alive in Christ! That is significant and meaningful because as a child of God you are the most loved of all God’s creatures. As such, knowing this love upon us is infinite and will never be lost is the first step in a positive well-being in every situation. The Bible says,

Rom 8:28 (NIV)  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Eph 2:4-5 (NIV)  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

No earthly achievements or status can match the joy that comes from knowing you are loved just as you are! Secondly,

#2 REALIZE THAT YOU ARE AT YOUR BEST WHEN YOU ARE WEAK – Does that sound strange? It ought not to if you know anything about God and your relationship to Him. You see God delight to take our failures, shortcomings and even sins ¾ and when we recognize them before God and admit our inability to achieve success, happiness, and satisfaction ¾ He turns them into achievements for His glory and purpose. Whatever your failure in life, every Christian as the ability to turn it around for good and for God’s glory when we confess it, yield it to God, and seek His divine path through the sorrow, disappointment, failure and hurts of our sinful path. Why even for the great apostle Paul who was able to accomplish so much, he suffered an apparently difficult physical infirmity. Paul thought it hampered his service for God, but then God spoke and said,

2 Cor 12:9 (NLT)  “Each time [God] said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.”

Whatever your failure, unhappiness, disappointment or mess you are in, God wants to use it to restore you, equip you, and build you up from it and use it for His great glory and grace. The only think God wants is that you YIELD your weakness, failure, or sin to God. Have you, or are you still struggling with it, trying to fix it or are you just whining about it and wallowing in self pity?  Third,

#3 BEGIN TO THINK POSITIVELY, THE BIBLICAL WAY –  Now I stress “the biblical way,” because I’m not talking about human psychology that is often mixed with Christian messages. Thinking positively means we begin to reject the negative  “failure messages” so often that accompanies your condition or sins. Satan often whispers in our ears, “ you blew it, now there’s no chance for change, forgiveness, or a new start. It’s over!” That is the lying hiss of the devil to cause us to give up! God’s Word says it’s a lie. As a Christian, God starts us all on equal and forgiven ground. No matter what are your past failures, handicaps, or inabilities ¾ you can glory God, find complete happiness and satisfaction, and accomplish things that will count for all eternity. How? God says,

Rom 8:28-30 (NIV)  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Did you hear that? God will turn everything around for your good and His glory. Everything! This doesn’t mean He lifts us out of our circumstances, nor takes away our ailments, or the consequences of our failures. It means He uses them, and creates “good in and through them,” if only we will yield them to Christ. Got anything to yield to Christ? Then do it and watch God make everything that once worked against you to begin working for you! That’s the power of God. Fourth,

#4  TAKE ON A WHOLE NEW PESPECTIVE OF YOUR LIFE BY LOOKING FOR GOD’S WILL WITHIN IT – Indeed this is the power of the New Life in Christ. Someone has said it well, “bloom where you are planted.” Yes, whatever your circumstances, yield them to the Lord, offer them up as your gift for Him to glorify Himself in and through them and then take stock of where you are and what you are and begin to find out what you can do there, to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

Indeed, all our failures, sorrows, and unhappiness can be yielded to God, who turns these “coal” experiences into “diamonds” of light and beauty. How? The same way He does it physically, through time, tremendous pressure and then unearthing it by digging and exposing it to the light of day. There is a verse in Scripture that tells us such good truth here,

Psa 84:5-6 (NIV)  “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs...”

Our negative circumstances and experiences can be converted along with our spirit, soul and body and transformed into strength and glory for God. But we must take on the perspective of the psalmist.  Take your “valley of sorrows, disappointments, failures and sin” and TURN it into a spring of joy for God. Whenever you fail learn from it and move on. Whenever you dwell on your handicaps, determine to use them for positive good and God’s glory. Make your failures work for you and God will glorify them for Himself.

Yes, there is a biblical prescription for turning failure into success, but it can’t be yours until you turn the greatest failure into success, and that is your sinful life. The Bible tells us we are all born dead in sins and trespasses. That means the entire human race, rich or poor, educated or not, black or white ¾ all of us are born sinners and under the judgment and penalty of sin which is death. We all will die physically, but after physical death God warns there is a second death to fear more than the first!

Rev 2:11 (NIV)  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes [is saved] will not be hurt at all by the second death."

Rev 20:14 (NIV)  "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death."

God loved the human race so much, that He devised a plan to save us from this terrible penalty. He sent us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to bear it for us.

John 3:16 (NIV)  “”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus Christ was put to death on a cross in this life, to pay the full penalty of every man’s sins. Jesus Christ was the infinite God-Man who gave up His infinite life as a substitute payment for the sins of the entire world. All who come to God admitting their failures, sins, and evil, and surrendering to Christ as their God and Savior, are granted, Christ’s forgiveness and spared of the wages of sin, which is death in all eternity.

In addition to being forgiven of all our sins the moment we trust Christ, God makes alive our dead spirit which then can communicate with God, and enjoy His presence, truths and ways, but more… it has the power to change our corrupted souls and bodies into that which brings inner happiness, fullness of joy and complete satisfaction!

One day a preacher was walking through a cemetery, which he liked to do from time to time, just to read the epitaphs written on the gravestones. He came across one that took his breath away. It had one word engraved on the stone. It was the word  “FORGIVEN!”  How powerful and pregnant with the truth of Christianity. It doesn’t matter whether you are handicapped, or a failure in human terms ¾ what matters for all eternity is that one truth. ARE YOU FORGIVEN? You can be “if” you call upon Jesus Christ, and come to Him right now with all your burdens, sorrows, failures, disappointments, and grief. The Lord Jesus Christ is the HEALER of souls, the MENDER of hearts, the SATISFIER of all life and living.  Let Him come in and take what you have and turn it into a “diamond” for His glory. You see that is the business He is in, and He delights to do, but again ¾ it all depends upon you. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and a whole new world of happiness, joy, satisfaction, fulfillment and love will unfold to you. The Bible says,

Rom 10:9-10 (NIV)  “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

May God grant you His peace now and forevermore, AMEN…

…Indeed there is a prescription for a continued life of happiness while here on earth. But it involves your Christian responsibility to stop any and all sinful behavior; letting go of resentment and practicing forgiveness; purging anger on a daily basis; growing in the knowledge of the Word of God daily and practicing it in your life; and lastly reducing stress through regular meditation on the Word of God and prayer. There is no failure in Christianity except the failure to acknowledge it and move on. When we do we are on the road of success.

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 20 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.

For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(dennis@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/