God’s Love in the Midst of Failure

Notes
Transcript
Handout
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Central Idea:
God's love persists through human failure. Understanding God's promises and the development of faith through trials are crucial for spiritual growth.
Introduction
Topic: The love of God in the midst of failure.
Olympic Examples
Mister Ozzu: Disqualified for starting too early (0.08 seconds after the gun).
Alex Walsh: Disqualified for turning early in the swimming event.
Reflection on athletes feeling like failures despite enormous dedication and talent.
Perception of Failure
Perception of Failure
Many people feel like failures when dreams don't come true.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
Righteous person prospers in whatever he does.
Contrasts with personal feelings of failure among believers.
Understanding God's Promises
Understanding God's Promises
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Ask and receive; God gives what is good for us.
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
Righteous prosper when delighting in God's law.
22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
Promises connected with keeping commandments.
Common Failures
Common Failures
Failure to Resist Temptation
Example of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:21: God's care for them despite their sin.
21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Different Kinds of Failure
Different Kinds of Failure
Peter's Denial: Jesus prepares Peter and redeems him afterward.
John 21: Jesus questions Peter’s love post-denial.
3 denials, 3 admonitions of love.
Non-Sinful Failures
Non-Sinful Failures
Jeremiah: Prophesied destruction, faced personal despair.
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
God's love and compassion never fail.
Biblical Perspectives on Failure
Biblical Perspectives on Failure
Joseph (Genesis 50:20): Perspective on su!ering and God's plans.
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Paul (Philippians 2:17): Embraces su!ering as sacrifice for others' faith.
17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Redefining Failure and Success
Redefining Failure and Success
23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
Paul’s hardships are not failures.
2 Corinthians 12:10
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Contentment in weaknesses for Christ's sake.The Role of Faith
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Trials produce endurance, leading to perfection.
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Faith as the victory that overcomes the world.
Conclusion
True success is maintaining faith through trials, not worldly circumstances.
Encouragement to see God's love and purpose beyond immediate failures.
Key Message: Maintain faith through life's challenges, understanding God's wisdom and love beyond immediate failures.
Study Questions
Study Questions
1. What does 1 John 3:22 and 5:14 say about receiving God's promises?
A) Only those who are perfect receive promises
B) Promises are automatic regardless of behavior
C) Promises are linked to keeping God's commandments
D) Promises are tied to unwavering faith
correct answer - C) Promises are linked to keeping God's commandments
2. How does 2 Corinthians 12:10 describe contentment?
A) Only during times of abundance
B) As an ideal state when ignoring problems
C) As a sign of giving up
D) Through acceptance of weaknesses for Christ's sake
correct answer - D) Through acceptance of weaknesses for Christ's sake
3. What does the lesson suggest about true success?
A) Maintaining faith through life's trials
B) Worldly recognition and fame
C) Constant positivity, regardless of circumstances
D) Achieving all desired goals
correct answer - A) Maintaining faith through life's trials
4. How does Psalm 1:3 describe a righteous person?
A) Like a rock, unmovable in any circumstance
B) Like a bird soaring in the skies
C) Like a tree planted by streams of water, prospering in all they do
D) Like a shining light on a hill
correct answer - C) Like a tree planted by streams of water, prospering in all they do
5. What concept does Paul emphasize in Philippians 2:17 regarding his hardships?
A) They should be avoided at all costs
B) They are punishments from God
C) They serve as sacrifices for others' faith
D) They are meaningless and burdensome
correct answer - C) They serve as sacrifices for others' faith
6. How does Genesis 50:20 reinterpret Joseph's experiences of suffering?
A) As reasons to lose faith
B) As part of God's plan for good
C) As failures without resolution
D) As a series of unfortunate events
correct answer - B) As part of God's plan for good
7. What lesson is highlighted by the example of Peter's denial and subsequent affirmation of love in John 21?
A) Denial is an unforgivable sin
B) Peter was never truly faithful
C) Failure is final and irreversible
D) Jesus offers redemption and restoration after failures
correct answer - D) Jesus offers redemption and restoration after failures
8. How does 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 redefine hardship?
A) As failures to be ashamed of
B) As non-failures, contributing to faith
C) As irrelevant experiences
D) As experiences of divine judgment
correct answer - B) As non-failures, contributing to faith
9. According to Matthew 7:7-11, what is promised to those who ask?
A) They will receive whatever they ask for immediately
B) They will never experience failure
C) God gives what is truly good for them
D) They will be given snakes instead of fish
correct answer - C) God gives what is truly good for them
10. What does 1 John 5:4 say about faith?
A) It's the key to material wealth
B) It's less critical than actions
C) It's only required in good times
D) It's the victory that overcomes the world
correct answer - D) It's the victory that overcomes the world
11. What role does God's love play in non-sinful failures, as highlighted in Lamentations 3:22-24?
A) God's love is conditional and limited
B) God's love punishes failures
C) Love is irrelevant in failures
D) God's love and compassion never fail
correct answer - D) God's love and compassion never fail
12. In Jeremiah's experience, what was a source of hope amid despair?
A) Political change
B) The unfailing love and compassion of God
C) Deliverance from enemies
D) New alliances
correct answer - B) The unfailing love and compassion of God
13. What is suggested by James 1:2-4 about trials?
A) They produce endurance and lead to perfection
B) They should be ignored
C) They are punishments for sins
D) They only bring suffering without purpose
correct answer - A) They produce endurance and lead to perfection