Failure Is Not Final
Sermon
Defining Moments
First Lesson Sermons For Advent/Christmas/Epiphany
We are offered wonderful news from the Bible on this eighth Sunday of Epiphany. God has a way of bringing us the very personal lives of his chosen people. We are God's chosen whether we fit the profile of the clergy or as laity -- or, as my family would say, normal people. The story told in Hosea is one of great personal pain and suffering and brokenheartedness on the part of this prophet of God. His beloved wife Gomer leaves his home and hearth for a life of infidelity. She pursues other lovers but soon presents a picture of frustration and despair as she is disposed of by her uncommitted lovers. However, though she chose to leave Hosea's home, he never let her out of his heart. He yearned for her and passionately sought to find her and return her to the family with tender, loving kindness and affection.
This story of the tenderness and devotion of Hosea searching and finding Gomer is used by God to demonstrate how he loves his people who have "played the harlot" with his heart and devotion. Israel found themselves in a wilderness, the valley of Achor, which became known as the door of hope. Out of the failure of Israel to be faithful and committed to God, he provided a door of hope -- a way out of their failure and despair.
The Lord, in speaking to Hosea, reached back into the history of Israel to show him that he, the Lord, was still in control. He reminded Hosea of the scene of great destruction and pathos of which we can read in Joshua 7 and 8. The story is one of the disobedience of the family of Achan and the consequences of their greed and sin. Joshua and the children of Israel were praising God and reveling in the victory of the battle of Jericho. Now it was time to push forward to capture the town of Ai. Spies from Israel reported to Joshua that Ai would be so easy to take that there was no need for a full army to be sent to battle. So a detachment was sent forth to capture Ai, but they were defeated and had to flee from the men of Ai.
Needless to say, this was a humiliating turn of events. Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord, wailing and questioning God's leadership. God was quick to let Joshua know that Israel was experiencing the logical consequences of sin and transgression and gave instructions on how to deal with this situation. It would not be a pretty sight. It turned out that Achan was the culprit, and he and his family and all that belonged to him plus the stolen property were taken out to the valley. There they were stoned to death and burned, and to this day the name of the place is called the Valley of Achor (trouble).
What is significant about this story, however, is that immediately the Lord turned from his burning anger and used this valley of trouble to show Israel how he, the Lord, could provide hope and victory to those who are committed to him and obey his guidance through all things. God gave explicit instructions as to how the battle against Ai was to be fought, and they obeyed. This time there was resounding victory. So the valley of Achor (trouble) became the door of hope.
How many of us have felt locked in a valley of grief and despair? Is that where you are now? No one is free of disasters, of failures that may or may not be of our own making. Today you must hear the word of God to you: failure is not final. There is a door of hope wherever you are in the valley. This valley of Achor is the door of hope for everyone who longs for the tenderness of the Father's love.
One of my favorite stories of failure not being final is the one about Babe Ruth, the home-run champion of the world. The other part of that story is that he also led in strikeouts! Thank goodness there is no award for strikeout champion. Babe Ruth said, "Anybody can get on base. I don't want to spend my life just being on base, so I go for the center field fence." And so he struck out occasionally!
Bernie Marcus was an executive with Handy Man stores, but one day corporate headquarters was displeased with earnings and fired Bernie. He didn't know what to do. He felt like a complete failure. That was for him the valley of Achor. Then some friends pointed him to the door of hope, and they began a new concept in the hardware business called "Home Depot." Everybody laughed at the idea, including a dear friend of mine who was in the hardware business. "It'll never amount to anything," was his verdict. Well, we all know the success story of Home Depot. Bernie Marcus decided that failure is not final.
The biggest failure in corporate history since the Edsel is New Coke. Sergio Zyman was the man who had been a sterling performer at the Coca-Cola Company. He had introduced Diet Coke, and it was an overnight success with stock prices soaring. Then Sergio Zyman went to the corporation and said, "I used to work with Pepsi and they had assessed the taste values of the younger generation, and we need to reformulate Coke's taste." They agreed and called it New Coke. This new product was launched with great excitement and fanfare. But everyone who tasted it said, "This is awful, the worst stuff we've ever tasted." How would you like to have your whole career riding on a can of New Coke? He was a hero no longer. He became their scapegoat. New Coke was taken off the market and the old Coke was reintroduced as Classic Coke. Sergio Zyman went away to do some consulting for a while. He was trudging through his valley of Achor. Classic Coke came back stronger than it had ever been before, and that year became the best year in Coca-Cola's history up to that point. Officials at Coca-Cola said, "We wish we could have a New Coke debacle every ten years. It would do wonders for our company." Now Zyman has been rehired by Coke and he has a fine executive position. He is considered a hero and not the butt of jokes. He found the door of hope in his valley of Achor. Failure is not final!
Many of the disciples whom Jesus chose were not known for their successful lives. For example, Levi (Matthew) was lumped right in there with sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2:13-22). He was not the most respected man in the community. In fact, Matthew was a well-hated man. Even as Matthew was sitting at the tax collectors' table, his heart must have been aching. He must have heard about Jesus and tried to catch a glimpse of him as he passed by. He probably even tried to slip into the group following Jesus to hear what he had to say. Matthew was really like a man without a country because he had sold out to Rome, but they considered him good only to collect taxes, and the Jews hated him with a passion and had nothing but scorn for him. His self-esteem had hit rock bottom and he hated himself for what he had become. He knew he was a failure -- to himself, to his people -- and he ached for restoration. His valley of Achor seemed to have no door of hope until Jesus walked by and opened it wide. Matthew did not hesitate a moment, but got up from his changing table, left all the papers and money on the table, and followed Jesus. When the door of hope opened, he bolted through it. Here was his chance to put his failures behind him and get on with life in Christ. Failure is not final!
The disciple who probably had the brightest and most promising beginning was Simon Peter. He was smart and quick-witted, devoted to Jesus, and seemingly fearless in the face of trouble. His star was ascending and burning brightly. He seemed to know all the right answers, and then his eclipse began. It was only partial, at first, almost immediately following one of Peter's brilliant confessions that "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." He had been praised for that statement and he was feeling good about himself. Then Jesus began to tell his followers about the days and events to come -- all very distasteful -- and Peter took his first steps into the valley of Achor (Matthew 16:16, 21-23). He heard words coming at him from Jesus that cut like a whip across his face. All who heard it were shocked: "Out of my way, Satan!"
But wait, Peter was to walk still deeper into the valley of Achor. Failure was stalking him, demoralizing and crippling him. Yes, there were glimpses of hope; Peter was present at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), and suggested that they stay there. (He probably felt safe there.) Peter was also present with Jesus in Gethsemane along with James and John, but none of them could stay awake to be with Jesus as he agonized in prayer. The door of hope was cracked, but Peter could not push it open. And now, as Caiaphas and the high priests ridiculed and humiliated Jesus, Peter was hanging around the edges, following at a distance. Then Peter seemed to lunge into the depth of the valley of Achor. Suddenly, he heard the cock crow three times and he remembered what Jesus had said, and he went out and wept bitterly. The worst had happened. He had denied his Lord. Is your valley of Achor filled with regrets -- "Why did I do that, or say that?"; "How could I have been so stupid?"; "If only I had...." Is your valley choked with words you'd like to recall or shameful attitudes? Well, it seems that we're all in good company, but we can take heart. There is a door of hope at the end of the valley. The door of Resurrection! The women who went to the tomb to minister to Jesus found the stone rolled away. Angels who were there told them that Jesus was risen and to go tell his disciples and Peter! Can you imagine the heartstopping joy they all experienced? But none so much as Peter. Failure is not final!
Later Jesus appeared to Simon Peter and asked him three times, "Do you love me?" It grieved Peter that Jesus needed so much reassurance. Perhaps it was the parallel to Peter's three denials. Then fifty days later Simon Peter was at Pentecost and preached with such power from God that the church was formed and three thousand people were saved that day. A new day was inaugurated in this world -- failure is not final! The valley of Achor has become the door of hope.
A film clip from the movie Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, features a scene in which Sean Penn, surrounded by some crusty old prison guards, is being taken from his cell to the execution chamber. One of the guards calls out, "Dead man walking." That is the way a lot of people live. They are dead men/women walking because they have determined that their failure is final. Haven't you been around people who just seem to be losers? It's because they have decided that they are failures -- in marriage, career, church relationships -- life in general. They act as if they had a great big "F" (for failure) on their forehead instead of a great big "H" for the door of hope.
Failures are people who won't take a risk, won't even try. The Bible strongly admonishes people to take a risk: don't just stand there wringing your hands, do something, even if it is wrong. Jesus said, "Because you are neither hot nor cold I will spew thee out of my mouth," to the church at Laodicea. Sometimes we make bad decisions, choices that are not the best, but the Bible only condemns those who do not try.
Failure is not final unless you want it to be. Failure is not final because God doesn't want it to be. We need to go through the issues in our own lives and determine how we are engaging ourselves in life. I believe in heaven and hell. But I have found another chapter of hell right here. Do you know who the most miserable people are? Not the ones who have tried and failed. The most miserable people I know are those who never decide. They are living in hell every day. They can't make up their minds. They can see both sides; they keep all their options open, but they never want to close off an avenue or an option. There comes a time you have to choose. You can't live life always having your options open. You are living in an indecision hell. And your life goes down as mediocre, unhappy. You have made no mistakes; there is no scar tissue; there is no manure in your barn. When you die, you are gone. Nobody remembers you for the good things or the bad things, and while you are here, you drive everybody crazy because you are caught in the hell of indecision.
When I first came to Atlanta, the dean of the Textile School at Georgia Tech was in our church, and he asked if I would like to meet Coach Bobby Dodd. Of course, I wanted to meet him; any red-blooded American boy wants to meet a legendary coach who has won impossible football games. So the dean and I went out to Rose Bowl Field to meet Coach Dodd. It was a great day. This tall, lanky Tennessean said, "Do you know why we call this Rose Bowl Field? We bought this field with the money that Georgia Tech made when they played in the 1928 Rose Bowl, and I never let the boys forget it." When we got in the car to go home after the conversation, the dean turned to me and asked if I knew the significance of the coach's statement. Then he told me the most amazing story.
In 1928 Georgia Tech went out to California to play the University of California in the Rose Bowl. It was a big deal then, and it would be a big deal today. The first half of the football game was as tight as it could be -- both teams struggling in the middle of the field; neither team could do anything. They came down to the final minutes of the first half and Georgia Tech fumbled. In those days the rules allowed you to pick up a fumble and run with it. So the opposing team, the University of California, picked up the fumble. The boy ran 68 yards the wrong way. He was tackled by his own man just a few feet from his own goal. He had almost scored a touchdown for Georgia Tech. His name, Roy Reigals, is legendary now. There were a few more seconds to play. Tech pushed them back over the goal and scored two points, and those two points were the margin of victory in that game. The half was over, and they went to the locker room. Coach Nibs Price of the University of California looked at his boys, and knew they were disillusioned about what had happened. Roy Reigals went over to a corner, wrapped a blanket around himself, and sobbed during the whole halftime. The coaches did what was normally done by coaches during the halftime, getting the players ready to go back on the field. Then he turned to the team and said, "The team that started the first half is going to start the second." The boys got up, ran down the tunnel and out onto the field to start the second half of the Rose Bowl, except for Roy Reigals. He sat in the corner with a blanket around him, sobbing. The coach went over to him and said, "Roy, I said that the team that started the first half will start the second." Roy said, "I can't go out there. I've embarrassed you. I've embarrassed the team. I've embarrassed the University of California, and my family. Everyone connected with me at all has been embarrassed by this horrible thing I've done. I will not play any more football ever." Coach Nibs Price looked at him and said, "Roy, I said to you that the team that started the first half will start the second." Finally, Roy Reigals understood what he was talking about, pulled himself together, ran down the tunnel, and joined the team. Sports historians tell us that nobody ever played a better half of football than Roy Reigals in the 1928 Rose Bowl. The team that started the first half will start the second.
Hear me. If the Bible has anything to say, it is clear -- failure is not final. Failure is not final. God loves you in your valley of Achor enough to provide the door of hope. God loves you with your scars, because of your scars. The Lord we serve has scars. Failure is not final.
This story of the tenderness and devotion of Hosea searching and finding Gomer is used by God to demonstrate how he loves his people who have "played the harlot" with his heart and devotion. Israel found themselves in a wilderness, the valley of Achor, which became known as the door of hope. Out of the failure of Israel to be faithful and committed to God, he provided a door of hope -- a way out of their failure and despair.
The Lord, in speaking to Hosea, reached back into the history of Israel to show him that he, the Lord, was still in control. He reminded Hosea of the scene of great destruction and pathos of which we can read in Joshua 7 and 8. The story is one of the disobedience of the family of Achan and the consequences of their greed and sin. Joshua and the children of Israel were praising God and reveling in the victory of the battle of Jericho. Now it was time to push forward to capture the town of Ai. Spies from Israel reported to Joshua that Ai would be so easy to take that there was no need for a full army to be sent to battle. So a detachment was sent forth to capture Ai, but they were defeated and had to flee from the men of Ai.
Needless to say, this was a humiliating turn of events. Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord, wailing and questioning God's leadership. God was quick to let Joshua know that Israel was experiencing the logical consequences of sin and transgression and gave instructions on how to deal with this situation. It would not be a pretty sight. It turned out that Achan was the culprit, and he and his family and all that belonged to him plus the stolen property were taken out to the valley. There they were stoned to death and burned, and to this day the name of the place is called the Valley of Achor (trouble).
What is significant about this story, however, is that immediately the Lord turned from his burning anger and used this valley of trouble to show Israel how he, the Lord, could provide hope and victory to those who are committed to him and obey his guidance through all things. God gave explicit instructions as to how the battle against Ai was to be fought, and they obeyed. This time there was resounding victory. So the valley of Achor (trouble) became the door of hope.
How many of us have felt locked in a valley of grief and despair? Is that where you are now? No one is free of disasters, of failures that may or may not be of our own making. Today you must hear the word of God to you: failure is not final. There is a door of hope wherever you are in the valley. This valley of Achor is the door of hope for everyone who longs for the tenderness of the Father's love.
One of my favorite stories of failure not being final is the one about Babe Ruth, the home-run champion of the world. The other part of that story is that he also led in strikeouts! Thank goodness there is no award for strikeout champion. Babe Ruth said, "Anybody can get on base. I don't want to spend my life just being on base, so I go for the center field fence." And so he struck out occasionally!
Bernie Marcus was an executive with Handy Man stores, but one day corporate headquarters was displeased with earnings and fired Bernie. He didn't know what to do. He felt like a complete failure. That was for him the valley of Achor. Then some friends pointed him to the door of hope, and they began a new concept in the hardware business called "Home Depot." Everybody laughed at the idea, including a dear friend of mine who was in the hardware business. "It'll never amount to anything," was his verdict. Well, we all know the success story of Home Depot. Bernie Marcus decided that failure is not final.
The biggest failure in corporate history since the Edsel is New Coke. Sergio Zyman was the man who had been a sterling performer at the Coca-Cola Company. He had introduced Diet Coke, and it was an overnight success with stock prices soaring. Then Sergio Zyman went to the corporation and said, "I used to work with Pepsi and they had assessed the taste values of the younger generation, and we need to reformulate Coke's taste." They agreed and called it New Coke. This new product was launched with great excitement and fanfare. But everyone who tasted it said, "This is awful, the worst stuff we've ever tasted." How would you like to have your whole career riding on a can of New Coke? He was a hero no longer. He became their scapegoat. New Coke was taken off the market and the old Coke was reintroduced as Classic Coke. Sergio Zyman went away to do some consulting for a while. He was trudging through his valley of Achor. Classic Coke came back stronger than it had ever been before, and that year became the best year in Coca-Cola's history up to that point. Officials at Coca-Cola said, "We wish we could have a New Coke debacle every ten years. It would do wonders for our company." Now Zyman has been rehired by Coke and he has a fine executive position. He is considered a hero and not the butt of jokes. He found the door of hope in his valley of Achor. Failure is not final!
Many of the disciples whom Jesus chose were not known for their successful lives. For example, Levi (Matthew) was lumped right in there with sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2:13-22). He was not the most respected man in the community. In fact, Matthew was a well-hated man. Even as Matthew was sitting at the tax collectors' table, his heart must have been aching. He must have heard about Jesus and tried to catch a glimpse of him as he passed by. He probably even tried to slip into the group following Jesus to hear what he had to say. Matthew was really like a man without a country because he had sold out to Rome, but they considered him good only to collect taxes, and the Jews hated him with a passion and had nothing but scorn for him. His self-esteem had hit rock bottom and he hated himself for what he had become. He knew he was a failure -- to himself, to his people -- and he ached for restoration. His valley of Achor seemed to have no door of hope until Jesus walked by and opened it wide. Matthew did not hesitate a moment, but got up from his changing table, left all the papers and money on the table, and followed Jesus. When the door of hope opened, he bolted through it. Here was his chance to put his failures behind him and get on with life in Christ. Failure is not final!
The disciple who probably had the brightest and most promising beginning was Simon Peter. He was smart and quick-witted, devoted to Jesus, and seemingly fearless in the face of trouble. His star was ascending and burning brightly. He seemed to know all the right answers, and then his eclipse began. It was only partial, at first, almost immediately following one of Peter's brilliant confessions that "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." He had been praised for that statement and he was feeling good about himself. Then Jesus began to tell his followers about the days and events to come -- all very distasteful -- and Peter took his first steps into the valley of Achor (Matthew 16:16, 21-23). He heard words coming at him from Jesus that cut like a whip across his face. All who heard it were shocked: "Out of my way, Satan!"
But wait, Peter was to walk still deeper into the valley of Achor. Failure was stalking him, demoralizing and crippling him. Yes, there were glimpses of hope; Peter was present at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), and suggested that they stay there. (He probably felt safe there.) Peter was also present with Jesus in Gethsemane along with James and John, but none of them could stay awake to be with Jesus as he agonized in prayer. The door of hope was cracked, but Peter could not push it open. And now, as Caiaphas and the high priests ridiculed and humiliated Jesus, Peter was hanging around the edges, following at a distance. Then Peter seemed to lunge into the depth of the valley of Achor. Suddenly, he heard the cock crow three times and he remembered what Jesus had said, and he went out and wept bitterly. The worst had happened. He had denied his Lord. Is your valley of Achor filled with regrets -- "Why did I do that, or say that?"; "How could I have been so stupid?"; "If only I had...." Is your valley choked with words you'd like to recall or shameful attitudes? Well, it seems that we're all in good company, but we can take heart. There is a door of hope at the end of the valley. The door of Resurrection! The women who went to the tomb to minister to Jesus found the stone rolled away. Angels who were there told them that Jesus was risen and to go tell his disciples and Peter! Can you imagine the heartstopping joy they all experienced? But none so much as Peter. Failure is not final!
Later Jesus appeared to Simon Peter and asked him three times, "Do you love me?" It grieved Peter that Jesus needed so much reassurance. Perhaps it was the parallel to Peter's three denials. Then fifty days later Simon Peter was at Pentecost and preached with such power from God that the church was formed and three thousand people were saved that day. A new day was inaugurated in this world -- failure is not final! The valley of Achor has become the door of hope.
A film clip from the movie Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, features a scene in which Sean Penn, surrounded by some crusty old prison guards, is being taken from his cell to the execution chamber. One of the guards calls out, "Dead man walking." That is the way a lot of people live. They are dead men/women walking because they have determined that their failure is final. Haven't you been around people who just seem to be losers? It's because they have decided that they are failures -- in marriage, career, church relationships -- life in general. They act as if they had a great big "F" (for failure) on their forehead instead of a great big "H" for the door of hope.
Failures are people who won't take a risk, won't even try. The Bible strongly admonishes people to take a risk: don't just stand there wringing your hands, do something, even if it is wrong. Jesus said, "Because you are neither hot nor cold I will spew thee out of my mouth," to the church at Laodicea. Sometimes we make bad decisions, choices that are not the best, but the Bible only condemns those who do not try.
Failure is not final unless you want it to be. Failure is not final because God doesn't want it to be. We need to go through the issues in our own lives and determine how we are engaging ourselves in life. I believe in heaven and hell. But I have found another chapter of hell right here. Do you know who the most miserable people are? Not the ones who have tried and failed. The most miserable people I know are those who never decide. They are living in hell every day. They can't make up their minds. They can see both sides; they keep all their options open, but they never want to close off an avenue or an option. There comes a time you have to choose. You can't live life always having your options open. You are living in an indecision hell. And your life goes down as mediocre, unhappy. You have made no mistakes; there is no scar tissue; there is no manure in your barn. When you die, you are gone. Nobody remembers you for the good things or the bad things, and while you are here, you drive everybody crazy because you are caught in the hell of indecision.
When I first came to Atlanta, the dean of the Textile School at Georgia Tech was in our church, and he asked if I would like to meet Coach Bobby Dodd. Of course, I wanted to meet him; any red-blooded American boy wants to meet a legendary coach who has won impossible football games. So the dean and I went out to Rose Bowl Field to meet Coach Dodd. It was a great day. This tall, lanky Tennessean said, "Do you know why we call this Rose Bowl Field? We bought this field with the money that Georgia Tech made when they played in the 1928 Rose Bowl, and I never let the boys forget it." When we got in the car to go home after the conversation, the dean turned to me and asked if I knew the significance of the coach's statement. Then he told me the most amazing story.
In 1928 Georgia Tech went out to California to play the University of California in the Rose Bowl. It was a big deal then, and it would be a big deal today. The first half of the football game was as tight as it could be -- both teams struggling in the middle of the field; neither team could do anything. They came down to the final minutes of the first half and Georgia Tech fumbled. In those days the rules allowed you to pick up a fumble and run with it. So the opposing team, the University of California, picked up the fumble. The boy ran 68 yards the wrong way. He was tackled by his own man just a few feet from his own goal. He had almost scored a touchdown for Georgia Tech. His name, Roy Reigals, is legendary now. There were a few more seconds to play. Tech pushed them back over the goal and scored two points, and those two points were the margin of victory in that game. The half was over, and they went to the locker room. Coach Nibs Price of the University of California looked at his boys, and knew they were disillusioned about what had happened. Roy Reigals went over to a corner, wrapped a blanket around himself, and sobbed during the whole halftime. The coaches did what was normally done by coaches during the halftime, getting the players ready to go back on the field. Then he turned to the team and said, "The team that started the first half is going to start the second." The boys got up, ran down the tunnel and out onto the field to start the second half of the Rose Bowl, except for Roy Reigals. He sat in the corner with a blanket around him, sobbing. The coach went over to him and said, "Roy, I said that the team that started the first half will start the second." Roy said, "I can't go out there. I've embarrassed you. I've embarrassed the team. I've embarrassed the University of California, and my family. Everyone connected with me at all has been embarrassed by this horrible thing I've done. I will not play any more football ever." Coach Nibs Price looked at him and said, "Roy, I said to you that the team that started the first half will start the second." Finally, Roy Reigals understood what he was talking about, pulled himself together, ran down the tunnel, and joined the team. Sports historians tell us that nobody ever played a better half of football than Roy Reigals in the 1928 Rose Bowl. The team that started the first half will start the second.
Hear me. If the Bible has anything to say, it is clear -- failure is not final. Failure is not final. God loves you in your valley of Achor enough to provide the door of hope. God loves you with your scars, because of your scars. The Lord we serve has scars. Failure is not final.
