NINE THINGS TO LEARN FROM TROUBLE
By
Jerry Falwell
II Corinthians 4:8-18
(References are from the Old King James.)
INTRODUCTION
The book of II Corinthians is about trouble, Paul’s physical weakness, and overcoming failure.
Principles of this sermon are for those who are facing a new marriage, a new business, or a new venture.
NINE THINGS TO LEARN FROM TROUBLE
1. We are just clay - we are not perfect, never have been perfect, and never will be perfect.
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (v. 7)
"Football is a game of mistakes; those who make the fewest mistakes, win." (Sam Rutigliano)
Clay pots: a. are never perfect, b. will break, c. will wear out, d. are usually put aside for new and better ones. Remember, we are clay. Therefore: Expect trouble in your next venture.
Set a goal: Aim at perfection.
Be realistic: Accept imperfection.
If you have failed in the past, don’t make excuses for your failure. If you make excuses, you re-establish the causes that made you fail in the first place.
Don’t blame others for your failure. If you blame others, you gloss over the weaknesses that made you fail.
Don’t blame circumstances for your failure. If you blame things, you blind yourself to: a. new paths to success, b. new friends who can help you succeed, and c. new ways to do things.
If you have failed, learn from Paul. "Forgetting those things which are behind. . .I press toward. . .the future." We have to always forget our failure and press towards perfection. But always realizing that we will never gain perfection.
If you are starting in a second marriage, realize that your mate will not be any more perfect than you are.
2. Life is a struggle - we must overcome our imperfections, overcome outward problems, and overcome circumstances.
"We are troubled on every side." (v. 9) The key to a successful life is to understand that troubles come to everyone - your parents, your teachers, your pastor, your friends, and to your spouse.
If you think there are no troubles in life - you’re setting yourself up for another fall, because one purpose of life is to overcome troubles.
Troubles don’t come from just one source. The Bible says they come from "every side." They come from church people, from your kids, from your boss, from the bank, from your spouse.
When you expect trouble, you have a correct view of life.
3. Make the choice that you will not go down.
The apostle Paul writes, "persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." (v. 9) Life is a choice. You choose to be happy, or you choose to be a loner. You choose to be irritable or mad at everyone, or you choose to be a workaholic. People who
are happy, optimistic, and positive, made a choice to be that way.
To begin again, you need to set a goal to be different. If you continue to live the way you were before failure, you will fail again. The attitudes that lead you to bankruptcy, will lead you to bankruptcy a second time. No amount of money will get you out of financial trouble, unless you change your attitude about life.
You have to choose to be happy, choose to be rich, choose to be successful, and choose to be a good employee. But most importantly, you have to choose to be a good husband, wife and parent.
4. Be ready to be tested again.
Paul said, "For we which live are always ready to be delivered unto death for Jesus sake." (v. 11) This means we are always ready to die or we always live on the edge of failure. Actually, successful people are just a step or two away from failure. In a race, there are usually just a few seconds between first and last place.
Don’t fear failure, that is if you have re-established new goals. If you don’t make any changes and fail again, that is sad. If you make changes and establish new goals, but you still fail, that is not the end of the world. It just means that what you have tried does not work.
5. Develop a hope in the future and a love for tomorrow.
Paul said, "We having the same spirit of faith, according to as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." (v. 13)
To begin again, you must believe in tomorrow. Even if yesterday was a terrible day and it rained on your parade, you must believe that tomorrow you can achieve great accomplishments for God.
There are different kinds of faith in life: a. faith in God that leads to salvation and works miracles, b. faith in yourself so that you know what you can do and can’t do, and c. faith in tomorrow that gives you an optimistic point of view that God will help you through any difficulty that comes tomorrow.
Remember, there is no time with God. He is right now living in the "tomorrow." He knows what is there, and is leading us into it. Therefore, lets trust Him and look forward to tomorrow.
6. God wants you to be successful next time.
Paul has told us, "For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many rebound to the glory of God." (v. 15) God has given us all things. He has given us eternal life, salvation, and His indwelling presence. God has given us a relationship to Himself so that now we are His children. God loves us as a father loves his child. Just as every father wants a child to grow and learn the lessons of life, so God wants us to grow in every area of our lives and learn all the lessons He has for us.
God wants us to be successful. It is not God’s will that any of us fail, but rather that all of us become triumphant. Then Paul said, "And thanks be unto God which always causes us to triumph in Christ." (II Cor. 2:14)
7. Be willing to pay a price.
When we come to our next challenge, we must recognize that there is a price for every victory. "For which cause we faint not, but so outward man parish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (v. 16)
Everything in life has a price. When you win, you pay the price up front in practice, discipline, and training. When you lose you pay the price afterwards in remorse, embarrassment, and lack of
achievement. When you see an educated lawyer, he has paid the price by going through college and law school. He has jumped all of the hurdles and answered all of the questions.
When you look at a successful author, he has paid several prices. He has mastered his content and has become an authority in the field. He has learned how to express himself. He usually has burned the midnight oil and sacrificed television shows, pleasure, and many other things that the average man goes after--just so he could write a book.
There is a price for success in every marriage. Both the husband and wife must pay the price. They must give up some of their selfishness and give up some of their privacy. They must pay the price of learning, talking, and sharing. There is a price in marriage and every successful marriage reflects both the man and woman who has paid that price.
When you see a child succeed in life, you know that there is a mother and father who has paid the price. Not just to send them to college. But they have taught them lessons, bandaged up their wounds, and seen them through difficult days. There is no such thing as an overnight success.
If you have failed, there is a price to pay for success. You may have to sell everything and move. You may have to be re-trained and go to school. You may have to start at the bottom. You may have to move to another company.
If you have broken your marriage, you have to start over again. You have to find out where you are wrong, and change yourself. What is the price of a successful marriage? You have to meet the partner half-way. The man who is always right, and wants the wife to give in at all times, is completely wrong. The same thing goes for the woman.
8. Learn from failures.
Paul tells us, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (v. 17) This means we should learn from our failures and be better.
I said a moment ago that there is a price for failure - remorse, regret, and shame. But there are other prices to pay, and the price can become a downpayment or investment in learning a new lesson to never make that failure again.
There is nothing wrong with failure, but everything is wrong when we don’t learn from our failures. Every child has probably fallen off of a bicycle trying to learn to ride. There is no embarrassment in that. But when you continue to fall off the bicycle for 20 years, there is something wrong.
A friend of mine told a story how he was driving, was in an accident, and one of his children was permanently damaged. The friend made the remark in a family gathering, "I’ll never drive again." Whether he meant it or not, no one knows. But an old uncle put him in the car, drove out into the woods, stopped, got out, walked around and made the father get out of the car. The uncle got in the passenger’s side and said, "Drive home, or walk." He made the father drive again, just to overcome any fear or barrier that the young father felt.
9. Look beyond tomorrow to eternity.
Paul tells us, "We look not at the things that are seen, but at the things which are not seen; the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (v.18)
If you have failed, what you need to do is to look beyond circumstances and other people. Look to Jesus Christ. If you failed in business, next time take Jesus as a partner. If you failed in a
relationship, next time make Jesus the primary One. If you failed in a marriage, next time make Jesus the center of the marriage.
Don’t just look at being better, or learning lessons. Look all the way into heaven to Jesus Christ.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Contact us and ask for a copy of The How To Book or use The How To Book Online (Falwell.com). It is a booklet that will answer many of the questions you are sure to have about living the Christian life. And when you contact us, tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
