Failing Versus Being a Failure - David Mitts

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds": [5] eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Rom 2:1-10)

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I want to suggest something to you. What keeps us from success is the judgments we have in our heart.  Judgments that arose out of pain and disappointment.  Every hurt, every failure, every time we thought things should be one way and they turned out another. We think we know what we know in life, but a lot of what we “know” is based on what we have experienced and the conclusions that our responses to our life experiences have been.  These are what is called the judgments of our life.   God has given us the choice to make our own decisions and these decisions limit our lives. The problem is that we truly don’t have a pure standard to decide about life from.

BUT there is one source that can change the whole picture. That Source is the God who alone is good.

You see, there is only one true source of goodness in life and that is God.  God is the only reliable standard.   Now, the question of life that most deal with when they try to release their own judgments and grasp the idea of God is: “if God is good, then why???” Why do bad things happen if God is good?   The reason we ask the question is that we are afraid.  We are afraid that life won’t be good for us.  The problem is that what we call good and what God who is good isn’t the same.

Our goodness comes out of our judgments, our limited perspectives based in our pain and what we have decided to keep us, we think from more pain. This never works and becomes a prison of fear.

God doesn’t give us this fear.  He is love and gives us His Spirit of Love.  Love is the place where failure is just an event NOT an identity.  You see you can’t learn anything new without making many mistakes. Mistakes are only safe when you realize that they don’t define who you are.

God is good. God is love. God is safe. You can trust Him. You and I may not always understand and be able to control all the things that happen in our lives. BUT there is one thing we can always trust in, He is safe, he is good and He loves you.  He values you and your future enough to take failure out of the equation.  What do I mean by that? What do you think sin is?  It is failure, missing the mark.  

He gave His Son for our failure.  This means we are free to fail without fear that He will reject us.  He invites to accept that He is for us and not against us. 

Now, my question to you is,… will you surrender and receive His love for you.  Are you willing to be humble enough to consider that maybe not everything that you know about life and about you is all that there is to know?  Could you have a blind spot?  Could there be a blind spot even to who God truly is? Could you allow Him to reveal Himself t you and so reveal you to you? That is what salvation is… Simply receiving that you are valuable to Him as His child and that you are already a success.  You will make many mistakes along the way, but you are NOT a mistake, You ARE His
Child, chosen to win!

Let’s bow our heads not and let this reality in.

If you have never allowed God’s love to become your reality, then let’s end this silly game of performance-based living determining who you are.  It will never be enough, not enough money, not enough power.  Surrender your heart and allow the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to be enough for your sins, your failures. Allow that love price to be the price that ends all prices.  You will make mistakes but now you are free as a child of the King. Will you receive Him and His gift of salvation? Will you become born-again? If so, raise your hand and receive Jesus Christ as your savior!

Or maybe you have received Him once and now you forgot and have begun again trying to live a safe self-defined life and you want a breakthrough back into freedom to make mistakes and grow!  You want to recommit to live with the knowledge that you are forgiven, you are free! If that is you raise your hand.

One final group, the confused.  You vacillate between kingdoms. You love God but you find yourself in doubt and you want to surrender the doubt and confusion. Raise your hand.

OK, all 3 groups pray after me:

Father, I freshly receive the gift of salvation purchased for me with the blood and death of Jesus my Messiah.  I declare that I am forgiven and not a mistake.  I may make mistakes, sins, but I no longer of sin, no longer a mistake.  I am born again to a new relationship with you as your redeemed child! Halleluyah!