From the Prison of Failure to the Pinnacle of Success

Good morning! How many of you want a life of purpose and success? Success simply means the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. In other words, success will always look as different as there are goals and purposes.

I believe the desire for success is a natural desire. We see it in infants and in the elderly.

Babies cry until you give them what they want – Why do they stop crying, they succeeded in getting what they want.

We are all driven by the desire for success.

Whether it be:

A young man desiring to succeed in a High School football game

Or a grandma successfully finishing a quilt before Christmas

A young man or woman desiring to succeed in a business start-up

Or a grandfather trying to successfully explain the importance of masculinity to his grandson.

We at all levels of life desire to succeed.

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But success is hard and more often we experience failure in our lives than success.

Failure in our marriages

Failure in our relationship with God

Failure in business

Failure in our relationships with one another

Failure in life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And here lies the problem with failure.

Failure has a way of knocking us down and demoralizing us to the point we don’t want to get back up.

While failure stinks it does not have the be the end of your story.

Let me give you a list of some incredible failures –

Bill Gates – Had multiple tech stat-ups that failed before he created Microsoft

George Steinbrenner – Sunk a semi-pro basketball team into bankruptcy before be bought the New York Yankees. After failing as an owner during the 80’s and 90’s. He was critized for his controversial decisions and the lack of fan support for the team. And then came 1996-2003 when the Yankees went to the World series 6 times and is now one of the most profitable teams ever in the MLB.

Walt Disney – Fired from a news paper for having no creativity and failing in his first animated film studio -Laugh-O-Gram he persevered and eventually created the most profitable animation studio and company in the world, Disney.

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Maybe today you are experiencing some form of failure and you want to give up.

Maybe today you are experiencing some form of failure and you want to give up.

Failure in your marriage or relationships

Failure in your health

Failure in business or work place

Failure in your dreams or life.

Failure happens to us all, but it does not have to be the end of your story.

Today I want to help you see that there is a way to move past your failures and into success.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is an incredible story in the Bible about a young man named Joseph.

This story I hope along with the principles it teaches can give us all hope and a clear path to wading through failure and into success.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dream of Success

Genesis 37:5–11 ESV

Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

The Despair of Failure

Thrown into a pit by his brothers

Thrown into a pit by his brothers

Sold into slavery

Temporary Success

Genesis 39:1–6 ESV

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Bought by Potifer

Becomes the manger of all of his masters wealth and home.

Failure for doing what was right.

Accused of rape

Thrown into prison

(Joseph interprets two dreams in prison for the cupbearer and baker who were both thrown into prison for possible attempts at the life of the Pharos. The baker was killed, and the cupbearer was restored.)

Genesis 40:23 ESV

Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

(When the bad just gets worse.)

2 years later……

The worst thing about failure is when you think you come up from it and then you get hit all over again.

Realizing your potential and destiny.

The Pharo has a desturbing dream

Baker remembers Joseph and Joseph is called into interpret the dream.

7 years of plenty

7 years of famine.

Suggests that a wise manger must be brought in to oversee the process of saving grain during the seasons of plenty and distrusting during the famine.

Genesis 41:25–41 ESV

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.” This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph went from the pit to the palace because he trusted God’s vision for his life and refused to allow failure to be the end of his story.

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Every one of us at some point in time will experience failure and all of us at some point will experience overwhelming failure.

And this is why the Scriptures are so important in all areas of our lives.

2 Peter 1:2–4 ESV

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

The Scriptures are a very practical guide to living life to it’s fullest potential.

Let me share with you 5 Biblical principles that will take your life, marriage, business, and relationships to a new level.

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5 Biblical Principles that will take your life to a new level

See failure as an opportunity

1. To learn - Every failure Joseph experienced was used by God to prepare Joseph for his potential and destiny.

He learned how to manage plenty in Potifer’s home.

He learned how to manage and distribute little while in prison.

2. To correct a misguided attempts

Joseph started off as an arrogant brat

But God used the failures Joseph experienced to change his heart from self serving to a humble leader.

3. For a new direction…. Failure is not the end, it is an opportunity for a new beginning.)

3. For a new direction….

Failure is not the end, it is an opportunity for a new beginning.

Joseph was able to use his failures as guard rails to direct him to his purpose and potential in serving Egypt.

Serve others -

before others will serve your vision you must learn how to serve the vision of others.

Potifer and

Prison guard

Baker and Cup-bearer

Stop walking in fear –

Walk in hopeful expectation

Joseph kept his eyes on God’s vision for his life not on the failures.

Fear will paralyze you and keep you stuck in failure.

You serve a God who conquers death

A God of Life.

Remember you were not given a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind.

Rest – Sabbath -

Our society thinks a busy life is productive but the reality is a restful life is far more productive.

1. Helps you focus on God and His bigger vision for you.

2. Clears your mind so you can clearly see the problem

3. Gives you the clarity and energy to navigate the problem.

Serve a vision bigger than yourself –

Joseph started his journey by focusing on a self-centered vision.

In the end his success came when we focused on a vision that was bigger than himself.

Success is more than making money

Success is when you are able to bring lasting benefit to others.

Success is always bigger than you.

Dream big, dream of helping others,

(Coffee shop that employs mentally handicapped )

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Conclusion:

You have two choices in how you handle failure in your life.

You can give up and allow failure to define you.

Or you can press on and allow God through His word to define you.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Christ you are not a failure, you are more than a conqueror.

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(Communion- Have Todd come up)

See failure as an opportunity

Serve others

Stop walking in fear

Rest

Serve a vision bigger than yourself