We’ve been examining Matthew 14:22-33 and we
have paused for a while on verses 29-31: “Then Peter got down out of the
boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the
wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried, out, ‘Lord save me!’ ”
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little
faith,” He said, “Why did you doubt?”
Last week we looked at the whole idea of
fear and discovered how fear is unnatural for those of us who have
experienced the power of God in our lives. We have a mighty God and we
are His people, He will not abandon us as we follow Him in faith and
obedience. We have nothing to fear when we move forward in obedience to
God.
This week I want us to think of failure.
Peter, in our passage today, began walking on water
toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he “was afraid and began to
sink.” It wasn’t Peter’s finest hour. He tried to walk on water –
even succeeded for a time – but then he failed.
Failure is not a popular topic. None of us like
stories of failure. Our hearts are awakened by stories of courage and
victory. Not failure. But failure is part of life, and yes it is part of
the Christian life.
And that’s where the trouble comes. We don’t like to
admit that there is failure in the Christian life and very often we don’t
know what to do with failure in the Christian life. We are sometimes
unkind to toward those who fail morally. We lack the patience to walk
beside others who fail in attempting to lead. We hold grudges and refuse
to forgive those who have failed us in some way.
And very often we may be quick to accept the grace of
God for our own failures, but are slow to forgive ourselves and sometimes
even slower to forgive others.
All of this springs from a false picture we have of a
Christian. We often think that a Christian is one who has it all
together, meets every challenge in life with great faith and spirit-filled
energy. A Christian is one who is never depressed, never lacking wisdom
and rarely needs to depend on anyone for help, guidance or support. They
go from victory to victory and never make a mistake.
And very often we look at other Christians around us
and say, “Boy, they have it all together.” A woman left our church not to
long ago and one of the reasons she gave was, “The people at Markham
Baptist have it all together. I don’t fit in.”
In many ways it is a demonic picture, especially when
such a feeling makes our own self-esteem take a nose dive. But the idea
of a perfect Christian who has it all together is a prevalent picture in
evangelical Christianity. I’m not sure where it came from but it didn’t
come from Scripture.
Think of Abraham. He is a great man of faith, leaves
his home and travels to a land he had never seen and didn’t even know it
existed, except that God promised it to him. We know him to be a man of
faith.
Another time, we read in Genesis 22, that God said to
him, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and go to the
region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains I will tell you about.”(verse 2).
And Abraham, being a man of faith obeys. The text
(verse 7) says, “Very early the next morning he takes his son up the
mountain,” and when Isaac says, “Dad I see we have the fire and the
wood but aren’t we forgetting something?” What’s that?” asks Abraham.
“Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham says, “God will provide the lamb for the
burnt offering.” Then he binds his son, lays him on the altar, and as he
raises the knife to slay his son, the Lord stops him. He was a man of
faith.
That’s how we remember Abraham.
But do you know he failed God? In Genesis 12 we read
of how a famine comes into the land and instead of trusting God, Abraham
goes down into Egypt. (In Scripture Egypt is always a bad part of the
middle east – it symbolized paganism, of turning away from God). Then
when he arrives, he fears for his life and convinces his wife Sarah to
tell a lie – tell the people that you are my sister because if we tell the
people the truth, that we are married, then they will kill me to take you.
And so they tell the lie. Instead of trusting God
they tell the lie and Pharoah ends up taking Sarah, whom he believes to be
Abraham’s sister to his palace. Thankfully God intervenes and the
situation is put right before it’s too late. Abraham failed God.
And if you read through the book of Genesis, you come
to chapter 20 and you discover that Abraham fell into the very same sin
when he moved to the border of the Philistines. And this time King
Abimelech takes Sarah, believing her to be Abraham’s sister. Once again
God has to intervene because Abraham had failed again.
And all through Scripture we see the people of God to
be failures in some part of their lives. Jacob is a conniving cheat.
Moses has an issue with obedience and trust (Numbers 20). David is an
adulterer and a murderer. Peter takes his eyes of Jesus and sinks into
the dark waters. Later he will deny Jesus three times. And even after
that we read in the New Testament book of Galatians that he treated the
new Gentile converts to Christianity as second class citizens and Paul has
to correct him. And yes, even Paul was a failure – he writes to his young
pastor friend Timothy and says,
“Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners
of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy
so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his
unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and
receive eternal life.” (I Timothy 1:15,16)
So we need to abandon this picture of the
super-deluxe perfect Christian. He or she doesn’t exist in Scripture and
he or she doesn’t exist today. We all fail and will fail. We as a church
as we move forward together will make mistakes. We won’t treat one
another as we should. We won’t be as faithful as we should be. We won’t
hear God’s voice perfectly. We will be disobedient and unruly – we will
fail. That’s not good news and it may shatter your image, but it’s the
truth. We will fail.
But here’s part of the good news. That won’t
surprise God. Can you imagine God in heaven saying to His angels, “Look
at the people of Markham Baptist. This is a shocker. I thought they were
perfect. But look at the mistake they’ve made there. Wow. What a
surprise.”
No. God knows us perfectly and he knows we will
fail. So I think we need to take a second look at failure and understand
its role in the Christian life.
I think the first lesson we need to take in, at least
as I read Scripture, is that our failures are not always a sign that we
are outside the will of God. To be sure some failure is the result of our
sin and lack of faith to trust God to provide and lead and we need to
confess that if it is the case. But not all failure is the result of sin.
The first person who comes to mind is Joseph. In
the closing chapters of Genesis we meet Joseph, a son of Jacob. As we read
his story we discover that he spends year after year in an Egyptian prison
– not exactly a roaring success. Was he in prison because he was outside
the will of God? Was he in jail because God abandoned him? No, in fact we
are told again and again, “The Lord was with Joseph.” (Genesis 39:2,23)
Joseph was in prison primarily because of the sins of his brothers who
sold him into slavery and also because he stood up for what was right when
tempted by Potiphar’s wife (see Genesis 39) Joseph went through long years
of what many would call failure because of circumstances, not his sin.
In the New Testament in the book of Acts we like to
think of amazing growth of the early church. We think of the 3,000 that
were added to the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). We like to
talk of those who were added to the church daily (Acts 2:47) because of
their united witness.
But the book of Acts is filled with accounts of
Christians being stoned to death, imprisoned, beaten, chased in the city,
chased in the country.
For the thousands of people of whom we read who
responded to the gospel, there were thousands who didn’t. We read of
whole cities that rise up in protest to the gospel.
Was the whole early church endeavour a huge success?
Well, in some ways, no. Does that mean that they were outside the will of
God? No.
We sometimes have a wrong attitude toward failure.
It is thought that if we fail then we must have displeased God in some
way, or taken a step outside His will OR God must be displeased with us
and we are some how bad. And that’s not always the case. It may be that
the situation we are facing is difficult and hard and won’t be changed, or
corrected, or improved our first try.
When we fail instead of despairing and maybe giving
up - the better attitude is to ask:
-
are we doing the right thing?
-
are we doing the right thing the wrong
way? What can we learn? What do we need to do differently to succeed the
next time?
-
Are we doing the right thing for the
right reasons? God must always be glorified.
We think this way in science. Ask anyone involved in
experiments and they’ll tell you any failed experiment only gives you more
information about how to do the experiment right the next time. So we
have that famous quote from Thomas Edison who when asked about all his
failed attempts to invent the light bulb. He said they weren’t failures –
he considered them to be successes because from them he learned 999 ways
that the light bulb didn’t work.
So, as we move forward as a church we will experience
failures. We will have difficulties – let’s look at them honestly and if
there is sin to confess, then let us confess it. But let’s not always
think that we are outside the will of God or that God has abandoned us
because we failed. Let’s take time to evaluate and ask:
-
are we doing the right thing?
-
are we doing the right thing the wrong
way? What can we learn? What do we need to do differently to succeed the
next time?
-
Are we doing the right thing for the
right reasons? God must always be glorified.
That’s the first lesson – just because we experience
failure doesn’t mean that we are outside the will of God.
Second lesson from Scripture as I read it is that an
endeavour is not a failure if we are faithful.
It is faith that God seeks from us. Turn your Bibles
to Hebrews chapter 11. The Book of Hebrews is toward the back of your
Bible, though not at the very back. It comes just before the book of
James.
Hebrews 11 begins with these verses: “Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is
what the ancients were commended for.” It is faith that the
ancients, that is the people of God in the past, were commended for. The
text does not say that they were commended for success, or progress. It
is faith.
Then the writer goes on to hold up for us those who
have gone on before who have demonstrated faith. In verse four he talks
about Abel, verse five he talks about Enoch, verse 7 he speaks of Noah,
verse 8 he begins to talk about Abraham – then look at verse 13. “All
these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not
receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance.”
From the world’s point of view these people were
failures. They didn’t obtain what they longed for. But in God’s eyes
they were held in high esteem because they had faith – they trusted God –
they were part of a long progression of people God was using and is using
to usher in His kingdom, His reign, His plan, His will in this world.
They had faith and with the eyes of faith they could see the things
promised and welcomed them from a distance.
Can you see what we are trying to do here at Markham
Baptist Church? Can you with the eyes of faith envision what a
multi-generational church would look like that reaches out to the next
generation? Can you see a multi-generational church where young and old
are gathered together worshipping God, praising God shoulder to shoulder –
like we will be in heaven – standing next to each other, encouraging each
other, teaching each other, building each other up for the glory of God?
Do you see a multi-generational church where everyone
is being fed and everyone is being nurtured in the faith – but for a very
clear purpose – not so that we can all become spiritually fat and say hey,
aren’t we wonderful we’ve gone to prayer meeting and Bible study?
Do you see a multi-generational church where everyone
matters and we have a clear purpose to glorify God by intentionally
reaching out to the next generation by taking the time to draw alongside
young people in our church; taking the time to train, equip, disciple and
nurture their faith?
Do you see it with the eyes of faith?
Do you see our Christian Education program breaking
at the seams with toddlers and preschoolers and elementary kids and
teenagers all hungry for the word of God – thirsty for a relationship with
the living God? Because they see God demonstrated in you and me?
Do you see the high school across the road filled with young people
who have come to faith because of our witness – who are strengthened in
their faith because of your encouragement and prayers? Can you see it
with the eyes of faith? Can you see a high school filled with kids who
are living for Christ in the midst of a generation that knows nothing of
the truth of Christ?
Can you see the high school with a Christian group
that meets weekly to pray and disciple and reach out to others and it is
the largest gathering of students in the life of that school? Can you see
it with the eyes of faith?
Do you see the high school teachers, the principal
and the vice principlal, the caretakers, the café workers, all being
transformed and being brought into God’s marvelous light?
Do you see it? It’s a vision that takes faith to
see.
We may fail. But the truth is it doesn’t matter
because what we are called to is faithfulness. It may be that the next
generation will succeed at this vision and not us. But that doesn’t
matter, it is faithfulness that matters.
I’ll never forget Craig Waldron calling me up soon
after we voted yes in principle to the strategy of a multi-generational
church that reaches out to the next generation – and you should have heard
the joy in his voice. He said to me, ‘Tom I saw this for our church 15
years ago. You don’t how happy I am to hear that our church is going in
this direction.” And it was soon after that – that he passed away. He
died not receive the things promised, he only saw them and “welcomed
them from a distance.”
It is faith that matters.
Third lesson we learn about failure is that we have a
limited view of what failure is and what success is.
The truth is often what we think is a great failure
God is able to use and transform into a great victory.
One of my favorite stories Michael Cassidy a South
African evangelist tells is of his first evangelistic crusade with Youth
for Christ in South Africa. He preached his heart out and then he gave
the invitation and the only two people came forward, an old drunk and a
little boy. For years Michael Cassidy called it the worst day of his
evangelistic career. But some thirty years later he met a man who asked
him if he remembered that crusade. Michael said, “Do I ever. It was an
awful night.”
The man said, “do you remember who responded to your
invitation?” “Yes, said Michael, “An old drunk and a little boy.” The man
looked at Michael and said, “I was that little boy, and today I train
evangelists to preach the word of God.”
Michael Cassidy says he was humbled and overjoyed all
at the same time. Overjoyed that he was enabled to see that God used that
one man to train hundreds of evangelists. But humbled because all this
time he had belittled the work that God had done that night and had
thought it was insignificant.
Sometimes what we think are our greatest failures God
uses in ways we cannot imagine or see.
Our failures are not always a sign that we outside
the will of God. We are not failures if we are faithful. We have a
limited view of what is failure and what is success – God is able to take
what we think is failure and turn it into something good for the
kingdom.
The fourth and final lesson - I’ve told you that one
part of the good news is that our failures don’t surprise God. The other
part of the good news is that our failures are not fatal. It was Max
Lucado in his book focusing on the cross of Christ who said, because of
the cross we learn that life is not futile, our death is not final, and
our failures are not fatal. 1
God has an amazing ability to forgive, to extend
grace. In Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace increased all the
more.”
When you go home today read Romans 5 and look how
God’s grace is described. We read in verse 15 that it overflows – calling
to mind a river which cannot be contained by its banks. It just flows out
and fills every crevice, every cavity – enveloping every thing in its
path. So for those who have placed their faith in Christ, God is able to
cover your failures with His grace.
A few verses later in Romans 5 (verse 17) we read
that God’s grace is abundant – calling to mind that time when you stood on
the edge of the ocean watching the waves come crashing against shore –
hitting the rocks and spraying up in the air. You are there for what
seems like hours and the waves never stop coming in, wave upon wave until
your eyes grow tired and your brain grows dizzy and still wave upon wave
upon wave crashes in out of inexhaustible fullness. This is the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Abundant.
Our failures are not fatal. Jesus reaches into the
water and pulls Peter up and keeps him from sinking to the bottom. Our
failures are not fatal.
That’s why we call this table a table of
celebration. We come to this table and recognize that God’s son Jesus was
crucified for us – His blood was spilt and His body was broken – He was
put to death for us. And we pray for forgiveness.
But we can come with a
sense of celebration for we know that God’s grace toward us in Christ is
bigger than our failures – that we can be completely forgiven, completely
renewed, and because of God’s great grace for us in Christ our failures
are not fatal.
