None of us want to fail, but everyone does at one point or another. As a kid maybe you remember failing a test at school, or maybe you didn’t make the sports or after school team. Maybe you failed multiple times at learning how to ride a bike, swim, or even get your license. But as we get older, the things that we are afraid of failure in seem to get scary. Things like failing to provide for our families, failing to find love, failing as a parents, or failing in our marriages. The fear of these things often seem to cripple us and wear heavily on our emotional and mental wellbeing.  In this week’s teaching we look at two different aspects of fearing failure. The fear that we might fail in the future, and those who fear their past failures have ruined them for good and talk about what the Bible says that can help us let go of some of this fear and empower us to make moves to take on this fear.

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MESSAGE NOTES

Fear Of Failure – the idea that if this doesn’t work out or that if I can’t do this..

  • I’m letting God/others down
  • I’ll make things worse or humiliate myself

 

When it comes to the Fear Of Failure, there are two types. This that feel they might fail and those fear their past failures has ruined them for good. Today, I hope to have time to look at both.

1 Samuel 13:15, 19

1 Samuel 14:1, 4-6

What are you facing right now?

  • Reconciliation with a person you’re at odds with?
  • Relocate your family to take a new job?
  • Moving to a cheaper part of the country for lower cost of living?
  • When to start dating again? Who to date when you do?
  • Lunching a new career, going back to college, starting a new business, getting involved in your local church, following God’s call in full-time ministry?

 

Five Things That Jonathan New

He knew that life wasn’t of more worth than the greater good.

 

Some of us just don’t want to risk….

  • Discomfort, Sacrifice, Struggle, Pain
  • “It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points our how the strong men stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who come short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Teddy Roosevelt.

Failure isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Never trying is.

 

When you find yourself saying “someone needs to fix this”, that’s how you know God is calling YOU into action.

 

He knew he needed backup. Don’t go alone.

1 Samuel 14:6-7

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

 

He knew he needed boundaries, conditions needed to be good. Not perfect, but good.

 

1 Samuel 14:8-10

 

  • They were aware that God’s path may be the harder one (it’s rarely the easier path).
  • We see an opportunity but balk because God wouldn’t want me to walk such a tough path.
  • Wouldn’t it be God’s plan FOR you to be stretched right now because of your choice to obey him?

He knew he needed to know it’s what God WANTED him to do. 

 

APPLICATION:

You’ve been asking God to change your circumstances. Maybe he has answered that prayer. Maybe you just need to get over the fear of failure and put yourself in the game.

 

God will call you to take faith risks.

 

Even if you you do the wrong thing for the right reason, God can still use that.

 

If God uses you or blesses you, it’s because of the condition of your heart. Not the location of your butt.