FAILURES AND SUCCESSES OF A LEADER

FACING FAILURE

This is one of the most important lessons in "Biblical Management Principles” as it deals with failure. It explains the basic causes of failure, and biblical principles to apply and turn failures into success.

What Causes Failure?

There are three basic reasons for failure:

Failure in Relationships

Many leaders fail because they have an improper relationship with God. When they try to build a work for God on a poor spiritual foundation, it collapses. Some leaders get so busy doing "God's work" that they neglect prayer, Bible study, fasting, and seeking the Lord and His will. Others lose their first intense love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be a leader, you must have close fellowship with God. Many leaders who have failed discover that their problem began with a failure in their own personal relationship with God.

Failure by Commission

Failure by commission" means failure caused by your own sinful actions. Such acts or sins of "commission" result in failure.

Failure By omission

"Failure by omission" means failure caused by what you do not do. Sins of "omission" are things the Word of God says you should do but which you fail to do (Jas.4:17, Mat.23:23).

Leaders Who Triumphed Over Their Failures

The Bible contains many examples of great men who at some point in their lives failed as leaders:

·         Abraham: He lied about Sarah being his wife for fear he would be killed and his wife taken from him. Yet he is called a man of faith and the "friend of God.”

·         Moses: In anger he struck the rock and called forth water instead of speaking to the rock as God directed. Yet the Bible says there has never been another prophet as great as Moses.

·         King David: He committed adultery with another man's wife, then had the man killed to try to cover his sin. Yet he was a great king and is called "a man after God's own heart.”

·         Jonah: He went the opposite direction when God called him to preach in Nineveh. Later he preached the greatest revival in history. The whole city repented.

·         Joshua: Joshua was so discouraged that he longed to be back on the other side of Jordan in the wilderness. At another time he was deceived by the Gibeonites. Yet this man went on to conquer the land promised by God.

·         Elijah: As powerful as he was, He was hiding from a woman, Jezebel; he was fearful, despondent, and requesting to die. Yet Elijah returned to demonstrate God's power before the entire nation of Israel at Mt. Carmel.

·         Peter: This man denied Jesus, but later became a great leader in the early church.

·         The Apostle Paul: The Apostle Paul also faced failure in many occasions as we read from his various letters. However, Apostle Paul successfully spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, raising up great churches and leaders throughout the nations of the world

Leaders who Ended in Defeat

The Bible also contains many examples of leaders whose lives ended in failure and defeat. These leaders include Samson, Saul, Uzziah, Eli, Judas etc.

What Made The Difference?

Some of these leaders recovered from their failures and went on to be great men of God. Others never changed. Their lives ended in defeat. The difference can be examined from the lives of David and King Saul. David's failure seems so much greater than that of Saul. But what made the difference was repentance.  

Saul never confessed his sin to God, repented, and asked forgiveness. He admitted he had failed, but he blamed his failure on other people (1 Sam.15: 24-28). David admitted his failure and humbly repented before God (Psalm 51).

When you fail

When you fail there are Biblical guidelines which, if you follow them, can turn failure into success. One of the models is the story of Jonah. Jonah was trying to run away from the task God gave him. Like Jonah, there are steps you can take in correcting your failure:

Revealing: When you fail ask God to reveal the cause of that failure. As long as you do not acknowledge your failure you will remain a failure (Prov. 28:13, 1 John1:8).

Repenting: After the cause of your failure is revealed, you must repent (1 John1:9). Jonah acknowledged his sin before God, repented, and asked forgiveness (Jonah 2).

Returning: True repentance involves a change in direction. You must return to a point of failure where you first sinned and correct your error.

Restoring: When Jonah recognized his failure began by heading the opposite direction from Nineveh, he reversed directions. He went towards Nineveh. He corrected his failure (Jonah 3:3). He did what he could to make things right. This is restoration. You also need time to restore yourself and rebuild your spiritual strength after failure.

To restore spiritual strength you must:

·         Study God's Word

·         Spend time in prayer and fasting

·         Review the basic causes of failure to avoid reoccurrence

·         Review strategies of spiritual warfare

·         Rest physically for the devil can take advantage of your exhausted body.

On To Success!

Like Jonah, after you have taken these steps, put your failure behind you and go on to success. There several examples, in the Bible, of men who failed but admitted their failure and asked forgiveness of God and went on to success. This is the Biblical pattern for turning failure into success.

Learning from Failure

In 2 Corinthians 1: 8-10 Paul explained that problems in Asia taught him an important lesson..."we should not trust in ourselves, but in God." This is a great lesson to learn from failure. Paul had learned that even though the outward man perished, the inward man was being renewed.

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

 (Joshua 1:8)

The true principles of success are revealed in the Bible. A proper spiritual foundation is necessary in order to apply Biblical success principles in your life and ministry.

What Is Success?

Unlike worldly standards, in God's Kingdom success is the maximum use of one's gifts and abilities within the range of responsibilities given by God. You are successful when you properly use your spiritual resources for the work of God. The standard of success set by God is called "faithfulness.”

The basis of success in the world is changing and temporal. In God's Kingdom, the basis of success is stable and eternal because it is based on revealed truth. In the world, people are motivated by greed, pride, and the desire for fame. Believers are motivated to succeed for God's glory.

 Our model is the Lord Jesus Christ, not the rich. The goal in God's Kingdom is Christ-likeness, not power and money. Success in God's Kingdom emphasizes giving instead of getting, serving instead of position, humbleness instead of pride, weakness instead of power. Success is measured by what you do compared to what you could be doing, what you are compared to what you could be.

Secrets of Success

It is God’s desire that we succeed in ministry. Spiritual "secrets of success" are not really secret since they are openly declared in God's Word. The following are some basic principles as revealed in the Word of God:

·         Have a proper heart attitude (1 Sam.16:7): A proper heart attitude includes love, humility, obedience, a serving spirit, and true holiness.

·         Know the source of success: It is ‘who you know’ that makes you success.  Relationship is based on who you know. All of life is based on relationship (Dan.11:33-34).

·         Seek the Lord: Seeking the Lord means waiting on Him by inquiring of Him, praying, and studying the Word in order to know Him and do His will (2 Chro.31:20-21).

·         Meditate upon the Word (Josh.1:8): "Meditate" means "to think about, dwell on, recall, and study in detail.”

·         Obey the Word (1 Chro.22:11-12): It is not just meditation that results in success; it is also obedience to the Word.

·         Be called of God: You will not be successful unless you know and minister in the specific calling of God, using the spiritual gifts given of you.

·         Experience God’s Presence: It is the presence of God that prospers ministry (Gen.39:2-3)

·         Have God’s anointing: You need anointing to be successful in ministry.

·         Face problems and Decisions: Refusing to face problems and decisions leads to failure.

·         Know your purpose: This involves having spiritual vision, knowledge of why you exist and what God has called you to do (Phil.3:13)

·         Have a plan: You can never achieve your purpose unless you have a plan to do so.

·         Implement the plan: Having a good plan is not enough to achieve your purpose in ministry. You must also implement the plan.

·         Live a holy life: You will only be successful in ministry if you live a holy life. Sin guarantees failure (Prov.28:13)

·         Seek wisdom from God: You must have wisdom from God to be a successful leader (Jas.1:5)

·         Strive for excellence: Do not settle for "good enough.” (Phil.1:10)

·         Do all for God’s Glory: If you do everything for God's glory instead of your own, you will be successful (Col.3:17).

·         Seek First the kingdom: You will be successful if the Kingdom of God is your priority (Mat.6:33)

·         Follow the examples: Jesus is the example of every spiritual leader; all others are failure (John13:15).

Decision, Discipline, Direction, Determination

One statement summarizes success: ‘Follow the example of Jesus in decision, discipline, direction, and determination.’ Apostle Paul did the same (1 Cor.9:24-27).

The Price of Success

The more successful you are, the more God requires of you (LK.12:48). This is the price of success.