Everyday, an Awesome Day!

A lot of people feel like failures. They feel like failures in some area of their lives. Failures as parents, adults, failures in career, in relationships, in business… I have even sat with friends who felt that they were failures as pastors.

The enemy delights in getting people to look back over their life and glance at their failures. He has perfected the art of bringing failure to light and causing us to look at how fallen we are.

It would be nice if there was a way to wipe the slate clean. To start again.

Ten Awesome Days

The Jews believed that God had three books that a persons name could end up in.

The first book contained the names of those who were good and righteous. The names in that book were the ones who would make it to heaven.

The second book contained the names of those who were not good, the unrighteous, the evil ones. The names in that book were the names of the ones who would go to hell.

The third book contained the names of those who were in between. They weren’t evil, but neither were they righteous. They weren’t good enough to go to heaven, but neither were they bad enough to send to hell.

Every new year the Jews had what were called Ten Awesome Days. The first ten days of the new year. They believed that in those ten days a person could get their names moved from those last two books into the book of the names with those going to heaven.

So they would pull out all the stops. During those ten days they would repay old debts. They would settle accounts. They would spend the first ten days confessing their sins. They would spend the first ten days making right the wrongs they had with others. In those first ten days they could work to get their name transferred to that book.

Everyone was looking forward to those Ten Awesome Days that came with the new year.

We know that salvation is not by works but by Jesus Christ. So they may have thought that they could work their way up to that list. But we know that our works will never save us.

At the same time, we know our works matter. Revelation says we will be judged according to our works...

Revelation 20:12 NKJV

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

While the Jews waited for those Ten Awesome days to come. For you and I with Jesus, everyday can be an awesome day!

Titus 3:4–6 NKJV

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

There are people who will hold your failures over your head. God is in the redeeming business. People will write you off when you fail them. But God does not run from your failures. He lifts up the fallen and gives them a chance to start again.

You fail, and God gives you another chance. You fail, and God gives another chance.

God is not like we are. Peter came to Jesus and ask him.

Matthew 18:21–22 NKJV

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Our God is a forgiving God.

1 John 2:1–2 NKJV

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

This whole book was written so that we may not sin… God doesn’t want anyone to sin. But if we have sinned, He has made a way.

I don’t care what label has been handed to you. You are not a failure.

Let’s be honest. We have all failed. You may be thinking about your failures as a spouse, or I failed as a parent…Christian. You may well have failed in some area. But you are not a failure.

Tell someone around you > You failed. But you are not a failure.

What is Failure?

Failure means you have tried and failed.

It does not mean you have been disgraced.

Failure does not mean that you are a failure.

There is a difference between failing and being a failure. Failure is falling down. Staying down is being a failure.

Failure means you have learned something.

Failure means you have to try doing it a different way. Failure does not mean “give up”, it means try harder.

Failure does not make you inferior, it means you are not perfect.

Failure is not wasted. It is an opportunity to start over again.

Today. It is the beginning of the rest of your life.

Jonah

Jonah failed God. Ran from God’s call on his life. Go to Ninevah!

Jonah had an awesome day. Sure it happened in the belly of a whale. But it is never too late to start on the right path with God.

David

David failed God when he brought another man’s wife into his home. He failed God when he tried to cover his sin up. He had many failures. But when the priest showed up to call him to account. David didn’t lift himself up in pride and have the priest killed. Instead he went to his knees and pleaded forgiveness with God.

Jacob

Was a thief and conniver. A deceiver. Collaborated with his mother to steal the blessing from his own brother. Jacob had to many failures to count in this one message. But he pursued God. He wrestled with God’s messenger. Even when his name was changed to Israel. We could see that he would still fall into those old patterns.

In one verse he would be Israel, God’s man. Then a few verses later, he’s back to being Jacob. He kept falling. But he never stayed down.

John Mark

Paul and Barnabas lost a friendship for a time over John Mark. John Mark failed them on one of their missionary journeys. Barnabas would not give up on John Mark.

So Paul and Silas went one way. Barnabas and John Mark went another. But years later Paul would write and ask for John Mark, that his ministry was profitable. John Mark failed, but he didn’t become a failure.

Proverbs 24:16 NKJV

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

Proverbs 24:16 NLT

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

The godly are going to fall, but they will get up again. The wicked stay down after one failure.

Simon Peter

He failed many times. Hid and followed Jesus as he was led to death. Tried to blend in among the spectators by the fire. Cursed to prove his pedigree of not being with Jesus. He failed. But Jesus was not done with Simon Peter. Peter had an AWESOME day coming.

He was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Preached this is what God has been promising. Told those who would hear him on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 what they must do to have the same experience.

Acts 2:38–39 NKJV

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Jeremiah 18:4 NKJV

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Everyone fails. It is time we are honest with each other and with ourselves.

The potter marred the vessel, so he made it again into another vessel. The potter had a vision of success in his mind. An end result. When that end product was not achieved the potter did not just throw it away. But made it again.

Put yourself in the place of the potter. There was a failure. But there is still some salvageable material on the wheel. So as the potter you know. I am going to try again. You are determined to see success. The clay has no other option but to stay in your hand and become what you intend for it to become.

This clay on the wheel may not have an option. But you and I do.

God is determined to see you become what He has purposed. As the clay our only need is to stay in the hand of the divine potter. I am going to fail, fall short sometimes. Fail as a husband, father, christian, business owner, as a pastor. But if I will choose to stay on the wheel and in His hand.

Settle in your mind and heart. I am going to be as determined as what God is to see His purpose in my life.

In a few minutes I will coming to a close, and I want us to all join each other around the front of this sanctuary in a few minutes. To let God have an the opportunity to minister to us.

You may have failed this past week. Maybe you weren’t the christian you know you should have been. Maybe you feel that you failed in your marriage, had that blow up argument over nothing. Maybe you feel like a failure as a parent or a friend.

The Jews waited and anticipated those ten awesome days. But you and I can turn to Jesus at any time. We can have an Awesome day any day. Today. Tomorrow...