Your last defeat= your next victory

[Captain Kirk]

[FONT='Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif']Your Last Defeat = Your Next Victory[/FONT]

Author: Pastor Gary Keesee | [FONT='Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif']Posted:[/FONT] Thursday, August 4, 2011 - 10:15pm
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[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']When was the last time you failed at something? Was it something small, or something big? Was it fun? Of course not! Failure is never fun. And it’s not a cliché to say we can always learn from it. In fact, having a proper understanding of failure is vital to our success.[/FONT][FONT='Times New Roman','serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Honda has a proper understanding of failure. Their engineers spend 95% of their time studying why the lawnmower wouldn’t start the first time, or why the gas mileage is higher on their new car model than it was on the old one. They know that their success lies in those failures.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']We[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif'] have to look at failures that same way. We’re all going to make mistakes. Most of us come into God’s Kingdom and we don’t know how to live life, so we fail. And the enemy loves to pervert our failures. He wants us to hesitate. He tries to rehearse our failures or paint a picture of the risks. He tells us that they’re permanent and we believe him. We stop. We don’t move forward because we’re afraid we’ll fail again.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Or, he blames the failure on God. That’s one of his favorites. He gets us questioning God. He used it on Joshua. In Joshua 1, Moses had died and God had put Joshua in charge. So, Joshua took off. He led the people to Jericho and the walls came down. Things were working just like God had said…until we get to Chapter 7.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Everyone has a Chapter 7. That’s where failure happened. There was a guy named Achan in Chapter 7. Achan had stolen some of the spoils from battle and Joshua had no clue. Unaware of Achan’s failure to follow God’s instructions, Joshua went ahead and sent men on to the next battle at Ai only to see his men killed.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']We’ve all had those moments when we begin to follow Christ and something happens that doesn’t match the picture, or the promise, in the Bible. If we don’t understand how to deal with failure, those moments may make us lose our courage. We might hesitate, or we might set up camp and never try again, or we might just try to run back to Egypt. So, we have to understand failure and how to deal with it.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Joshua had to learn. At first, like we all do, Joshua reacted. The enemy’s plan to have him blaming God worked. Joshua questioned God. Ever done that before? We all have. But God wasn’t having it. He told Joshua to GET UP![/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']See, people say that they wish Jesus would just show up. Trust me, you DON’T want that. Jesus isn’t going to show up and say, “Let’s have a group hug.” When the disciples freaked out that they were going to drown in the storm at sea, Jesus didn’t get up and comfort them. He said, “Where is your faith?” He’s going to say, “GET UP! Have you not read MY WORD? I already paid the price!” He WILL correct you.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']That’s exactly what God did to Joshua. He told him to get up. Then, He told Joshua exactly what had happened. See the failure wasn’t just on Achan’s part; it was also on Joshua’s. Joshua hadn’t sought instruction from God before he engaged Ai. God could have told him about Achan beforethey went to battle. Instead, Joshua assumed. We can NEVER assume things in the Kingdom. We can’t do anything based on our past victories. The enemy is already wise to them, and he’s already changed strategies.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Like Joshua, we don’t have to fail. If we go to God first, failure doesn’t have to happen. But, if we do fail, there are steps we can take to overcome the failure and move forward:[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']1. [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Ask God what happened[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']. If the Word says it, it’s God’s will. There are a lot of variables—things like unbelief and wrong expectations—that mess with the heart and can short circuit faith. If it didn’t happen, you need to ask God why.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']2. [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Pinpoint the short circuit[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']. Know who, what, why, when, where and how so it doesn’t happen again.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']3. [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Ask God how to fix it[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif'].[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']4. [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Get the plan on how to restore the loss[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif'].[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']5. [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Stand up and take action[/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif'].[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Sure, you’ll be tempted to be afraid. Ignore your feelings. God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous. You will have to be, too. You can feel afraid, but don’t act like it. Remember, if you’re not doing the hardest thing in your life, then you’re not growing.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']God has already prepared a way for you to go and succeed in a big way. Be confident to let the Holy Spirit teach you and train you, and reveal unique strategies to you. Keep your vision in front of your face. Write it down! Believe it’s possible; otherwise you’re destined to stay right where you are.[/FONT]
[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']God wants to advance His Kingdom in the earth through you. He’s depending on you to overcome failure and kick butt![/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif'][/FONT]
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[Mongoose]

Doug, this is great. Bless you brother.

[doc h fmf]

THANK YOU DOUG FOR ANOTHER GREAT SERMON.I LEARN FROM MY FAILURES , I LOOK AT WHAT I DID WRONG AND TRY NOT TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES AGAIN.

SEMPER FI DOUG GODBLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

STEPHEN DOC HANSEN HM3 fmf

[Bruce59]

I resemble those remarks