WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.560 I gave this book to my husband about 40 or so years ago. It's called The Book of Heroic Failures, 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:15.860 the official handbook of the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain by Stephen Pyle, 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:23.359 with cartoons by Bill Tidy. Do you remember Bill Tidy? Well, I had the good sense to write in the 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:30.559 inside of the book, Peter definitely not a failure. I think that was probably a wise move. 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:37.799 There are all sorts of amusing tales in there of things that went wrong in all sorts of 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:43.120 circumstances, and so it's quite a good read just to pick up from a coffee table, as it were. 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:48.799 But as I was preparing for today and reading and reflecting on our passage and many others in the 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:58.659 Bible, I came to think that it too is perhaps a book of heroic failures. But the two are very, 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:05.259 very different. One is just a bit of a joke, the other is the book of life. 00:01:09.019 --> 00:01:14.420 Desmond Tutu said this in an interview in 2017. 00:01:14.420 --> 00:01:24.500 The pressure to succeed has a lot to do with why people overstep the line. It's a peculiar weakness 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:31.000 of Western culture where we have made a fetish of success. We give kudos to people who have 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:39.280 succeeded. We don't care in what they've succeeded as long as they've succeeded. The worst thing that 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:51.040 can happen to anybody in this cultural environment is to fail. It's a whole minefield. So we're going 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:59.240 to concentrate on the Psalm of David and explore failure through that. But do we in our culture tend 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:11.079 to chase success and seek to avoid failure? The background to this Psalm, as Tina said, was that 00:02:11.079 --> 00:02:19.159 Saul had fled from, sorry, David had fled from Saul who was pursuing him. Saul's jealousy had set him on a 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:25.759 course of pursuit of David to harm him. And David, having been to Nod, went on to Ashish, king of 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:30.799 Gath. But the servants of Gath. But the servants of Ashish recognized him as the one of whom it was 00:02:30.799 --> 00:02:38.319 sung, Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands. And as a result, David took the 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:46.519 words to heart and was rather afraid of Ashish, king of Gath. He then pretended to be insane and the upshot 00:02:46.519 --> 00:02:54.899 was that Ashish didn't want anything to do with him. David was now fleeing the Gaths as well. And out of 00:02:54.900 --> 00:03:04.060 this comes Psalm 56. David begins by asking for God's mercy and spelling out his problem. 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:09.759 And perhaps that's not a bad place for us to start when we come to God. He says, 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:16.099 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit. All day long they press their attack. 00:03:16.980 --> 00:03:22.319 My adversaries pursue me all day long. In their pride, many are attacking me. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:31.079 David feels beleaguered. Are there times when we feel beleaguered by circumstance? 00:03:34.579 --> 00:03:38.699 We can beat ourselves up when things go wrong and we feel a sense of failure. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:47.139 But it strikes me that if that's all we do, we've failed. We can blame others when things go wrong and 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:51.859 we have a sense of failure. But if that's all we do, we really have failed. 00:03:54.019 --> 00:03:57.759 In verses 3 and 4, David gives us a far better course of action. 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:08.060 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise. In God I trust and I'm not afraid. 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:11.319 What can mere mortals do to me? 00:04:13.640 --> 00:04:18.420 We can get bogged down with a sense of failure and things not going well for us. 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:22.319 So much so that we turn in and only see our own problems. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:23.899 Our own difficulties. 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:29.459 And I can give you an example of my own plight over the last few weeks. 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:33.239 I got a new phone probably about two or three weeks ago now. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.620 And I wanted to get everything set up. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:39.899 And most of it got set up very easily, very well. 00:04:41.219 --> 00:04:43.779 But it came to the banking mobile app. 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:46.599 And I hit a bit of a buffer. 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:49.000 And so I gave up. 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:51.519 Because it's a joint account, so Peter can do it. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:55.919 But yesterday I thought, come on Jean, this is getting at you. 00:04:56.039 --> 00:04:57.839 You've got things to do on the bank account. 00:04:57.939 --> 00:04:59.479 You've really got to sort this out. 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:04.659 And I recalled these verses which I've been pouring over, obviously, for a couple of weeks. 00:05:05.779 --> 00:05:07.459 So I brought this verse to mind. 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.680 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 00:05:11.659 --> 00:05:12.299 And I did. 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:15.339 And I said, come on, I've got to get this sorted out. 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:17.319 So I started. 00:05:17.859 --> 00:05:20.039 And I still seem to be going round in circles. 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.319 And I put it down. 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:23.120 And then I went away. 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:23.640 And I came back. 00:05:23.700 --> 00:05:26.120 Come on, you really, really have got to get this sorted. 00:05:27.340 --> 00:05:29.560 So I am trusting you, God, to get this sorted. 00:05:31.580 --> 00:05:32.740 So I started again. 00:05:33.760 --> 00:05:38.439 And then I must have given a wrong answer to one of the questions this automatic person was asking me. 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:40.220 And would you believe it? 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:43.759 The result was I got to speak to a real person. 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:48.439 Georgia was so lovely. 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:49.800 She was so kind. 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:51.460 And she sorted me out. 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:53.760 So I'm now back up and running. 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:58.100 So from failure has come success. 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:04.120 So if we stay bogged down and beleaguered in failure or things getting at us, 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:09.879 we maximize our failure and minimize what God can really do for us. 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:12.879 We lose sight of Jesus in it all. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:18.439 And fail to recognize him in every situation, even mobile apps. 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:22.040 And it really can be a downward spiral. 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:26.200 But failure doesn't have to define us. 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:30.979 I'm sure we can all identify with a sense of failure at some time in our lives. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:35.600 Not the everyday stuff or forgetting this or that or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:40.020 But the things that happen, if you let them, could ruin your life for a while at least. 00:06:40.019 --> 00:06:44.060 Now, this is an example from quite a long time ago. 00:06:44.060 --> 00:07:00.620 And I remember George Carey, who was then Bishop of Bath and Wells, who had written and produced an audio tape of the very first CTIC Lent group series I went to, saying something like this. 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:04.620 He says, if you're quoting examples, they must be within the last few years. 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:08.319 So I apologize for this going back to 1969. 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:14.459 He was very wise in that, but sometimes, sometimes. 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.459 It was early in 1916, September 69. 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:20.040 It was a new school year, a new maths teacher for me. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:29.040 And at the end of the year exams that had just been, I had only achieved 40% in contrast to the previous year where I'd won the maths prize. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:35.020 It was my first sense, or my first taste, rather, of academic failure. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:42.140 First lesson of the new school year, a new teacher getting to know the class identifies my poor mark with the comment, 00:07:42.700 --> 00:07:44.400 what happened to you, Miss McNair? 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.840 I could quite happily have slid under the desk. 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:53.259 But in reality, I don't suppose anyone else in the class remembers that incident now. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.340 And in fact, for me, it's very, very hazy. 00:07:56.339 --> 00:08:01.419 But fast forward four years and A-level results day. 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:06.739 One pass, one complementary ill level, one fail. 00:08:07.359 --> 00:08:09.919 Not enough for what I wanted to do next. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:14.319 But God was on it, in it. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:23.240 So my dad sat me down kindly to help me regroup and started by bringing me Matthew 6, verses 33 and 34. 00:08:24.339 --> 00:08:30.120 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:35.319 Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:38.799 Each day has enough trouble of its own. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:42.859 He got me to list the things in my favour. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:45.919 And we worked out a plan of action. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.599 Time precludes me from telling you the whole story. 00:08:48.699 --> 00:08:56.759 But suffice to say, the new course of my life was, I am sure, much more rewarding and grew me in a way I didn't expect. 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:03.539 The message for me, like David, is failure need not define you. 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:08.860 God wants something rather than has something better for you. 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:23.519 Lent is a time to take stock and not just look in on ourselves, but ask God through the Holy Spirit to help us identify areas of our lives where we have taken that wrong course. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:28.480 And to affirm those areas where we are very definitely on the right course. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:33.659 It's not failure that defines, but faith. 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:38.639 It's holding fast to Jesus when all around seems absolutely hopeless. 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:46.980 It's being bold and speaking about what following Jesus means to us and the difference faith in God makes to our lives. 00:09:46.980 --> 00:10:01.779 In this book of heroic failures, the Bible, Peter, the Apostle Peter, is often pictured as the one who gets it wrong by jumping in or not owning up to knowing Jesus, 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:05.820 as in the denials in the courtyard when Jesus was taken to Caiaphas. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:11.560 But remember, Jesus' first words to Simon Peter were, 00:10:12.019 --> 00:10:15.700 Come, follow me, in Mark 1, 17. 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:18.600 And his last words to him were, 00:10:18.680 --> 00:10:22.879 You must follow me, in John 21, verse 22. 00:10:24.280 --> 00:10:33.520 Every step of the way between those two challenges, Peter never failed to follow, even though he often stumbled. 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:39.220 Failure need not define you and didn't define Peter. 00:10:40.280 --> 00:10:42.020 Isn't that a huge encouragement? 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:47.039 We just, sorry, we need to keep following Jesus. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:53.600 We stumble, we get it wrong, but we keep following our master. 00:10:56.139 --> 00:10:58.279 Jesus changed Peter's life. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.059 He was a new person with new goals and new priorities. 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:07.159 He didn't become a perfect person, and he never stopped being Simon Peter. 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:11.360 We may wonder what Jesus saw in Simon. 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:18.439 That made him greet this potential disciple with a new name, Peter the Rock. 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:23.719 When Jesus chose his followers, he wasn't looking for models. 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:25.539 He was looking for real people. 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:29.919 He chose people who could be changed by his love. 00:11:30.439 --> 00:11:34.919 And then he sent them out to communicate that his acceptance was available to anyone, 00:11:35.459 --> 00:11:37.599 even to those who often fail. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:43.139 We may wonder what Jesus sees in us when he calls us to follow him. 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.219 But we know Jesus accepted Peter, and in spite of his failures, 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:49.699 Peter went on to do great things for God. 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:54.379 Failure need not define us. 00:11:57.020 --> 00:12:01.259 We can have such a fear of failure that we lose sight of the God who created us, 00:12:01.420 --> 00:12:06.860 loves us, wants us to know him fully, and to live without fear in his ways. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:12.600 David's enemies here in the psalm try to get under his skin. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:15.780 They try to bring him down from the pedestal they've put him on. 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:20.299 That rings a bit of what we do with our celebrities these days. 00:12:21.819 --> 00:12:24.799 They try to bring him down with schemes and conspiracies. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:27.559 They sought to destroy him. 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:33.419 As we heard in our prayers, there's a lot going on in our world today. 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:38.740 Where can we see the beginnings of those and identify those behaviours? 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.439 We talked about the persecuted Christians. 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:51.079 We can look on the Open Doors website or the Barnabas Trust website. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.100 And there's lots of stories. 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:55.959 Tim mentioned a few countries. 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:58.980 But there are so many countries in the world 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:04.579 where it really isn't safe to speak about Jesus. 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:09.600 And yet, and yet, people do. 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:13.259 And things happen. 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:19.159 But I think also, with media and social media, 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:25.759 it's very hard to overcome this notion that we're pursuing success. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:29.840 It's very hard for our young people 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:34.279 to be able to negotiate that. 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:39.299 And it's our responsibility to help, to guide them, 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:41.339 even if we don't quite understand it ourselves. 00:13:42.939 --> 00:13:48.799 One of my neighbours has a daughter in year eight. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.979 And she says it's so hard. 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.019 So very hard when she watches things on TikTok and this, that and the other. 00:13:55.099 --> 00:13:56.479 And says, Mum, I need this. 00:13:57.719 --> 00:13:58.479 You need it? 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:03.219 But she's bold enough to say, to try and direct her. 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:05.319 But it's exceedingly difficult. 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:12.540 Technology, as I am not thoroughly a bit of a technophobe, 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:14.820 but is a real problem. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.320 And I've just read a snippet yesterday in the paper about 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.760 the father of Molly Russell, 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:27.620 has called an Ofcam to be far bolder on regulating technology companies 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:32.320 after he met the mother of the murdered teenager, Brianna Gay. 00:14:33.539 --> 00:14:34.220 He said, 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.060 Big Tech was heading in the wrong direction, 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.060 with bosses resistant to change. 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:46.320 Do we want our young people to feel threatened, beleaguered? 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.000 Should we not be doing something about it 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:55.899 to help them avoid being drawn into these things, 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:58.759 which seek to destroy, 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:03.439 and yet portray themselves as things that are good? 00:15:08.439 --> 00:15:13.240 David recognises what these adversaries of him are trying to do. 00:15:13.959 --> 00:15:17.639 And he asks God to take note so that his enemies will turn back, 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:20.779 knowing that God is on his side. 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:22.579 As he says, 00:15:22.579 --> 00:15:25.519 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. 00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:30.319 By this I will know that God is for me. 00:15:31.959 --> 00:15:33.639 Shades of when Paul said, 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.279 What then shall we say in response to these things? 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:38.039 If God is for us, 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:40.100 who can be against us? 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:41.459 In Romans 8.31. 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:47.639 It takes boldness to speak for God, for Jesus. 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.360 But if we are to live our lives following Jesus, 00:15:51.659 --> 00:15:54.139 we must take those bold steps. 00:15:54.139 --> 00:16:00.019 David repeats some of his earlier verses then. 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:00.419 He says, 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:02.399 In God whose word I praise, 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:04.600 In the Lord whose word I praise, 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.379 In God I trust and am not afraid. 00:16:08.699 --> 00:16:10.179 Our hearts may be pounding, 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:12.159 but we are not afraid, 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.480 because we know God is on our case. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.220 David praises God's word. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:22.940 He trusts in God and is therefore not afraid of anyone or anything. 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:25.639 It's easier said than done. 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:28.779 But if we keep following Jesus, 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:30.320 we stand a chance. 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:33.480 Following David's example, 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:36.000 we can recognize that the many failings in the world, 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:37.159 in our own lives, 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.439 and the questions I find myself asking are things like, 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:42.059 Who do I pay heed to? 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.219 Who do I listen to? 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:46.339 Where does my information come from? 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:47.860 Is it trustworthy? 00:16:48.219 --> 00:16:48.819 Is it real? 00:16:49.939 --> 00:16:50.939 Who do I trust? 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:52.819 Who do I really trust? 00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:57.840 Can we say amen to, 00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:59.520 In God whose word I praise, 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:01.300 In the Lord whose word I praise, 00:17:01.760 --> 00:17:04.140 In God I trust and am not afraid. 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:06.660 What can mere mortals do to me? 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:07.759 Can we? 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:12.799 But David doesn't leave it there. 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.000 He finishes with thanksgiving, 00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:16.860 and a commitment to God, 00:17:17.259 --> 00:17:20.000 and recognizes he has come through this ordeal, 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.519 and asks to be kept from stumbling. 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:26.880 Then he can walk before God, 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:28.099 and in his light, 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:29.859 and know life. 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:33.539 I am undervoused to you, my God, 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:35.819 I will present my thank offerings to you, 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:38.299 for you have delivered me from death, 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:40.500 and my feet from stumbling, 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:42.740 that I may walk before God, 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:45.119 in the light of life. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.519 We don't want to stay in the darkness, 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.500 we want to be in that glorious light. 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:57.220 So as we continue our journey through Lent, 00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:01.619 can we learn to get the notion of failure, 00:18:01.619 --> 00:18:02.900 into a right perspective? 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:05.440 Can we give thanks for God's presence, 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:07.980 and bringing us through ordeals? 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:11.319 Can we commit again to following Jesus, 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.079 and to putting his teaching into practice? 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.019 Can we? 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:22.359 Then we will walk in the light of life with him. 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:25.419 Sometimes, 00:18:25.939 --> 00:18:29.720 we're in danger of maximizing our own failure, 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:31.339 and as a result, 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:32.839 we minimize the cross. 00:18:34.139 --> 00:18:36.779 Did Jesus suffer and die in vain? 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:39.259 Was that failure? 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:40.960 No. 00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:42.339 No. 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:44.259 And definitely no. 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:46.700 Without the cross, 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:48.279 we wouldn't be sitting here today. 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.519 Without the cross, 00:18:49.639 --> 00:18:51.240 our faith would be in vain. 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:54.279 When we confess our sin, 00:18:54.379 --> 00:18:55.819 and we are forgiven by God, 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:56.740 we must let it, 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:58.240 our confessed sins, 00:18:58.359 --> 00:18:58.599 go. 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:00.740 Really repent. 00:19:00.899 --> 00:19:01.839 Don't hang on to it. 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:03.339 Turn away from it. 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:05.379 Leave it at the cross, 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.059 and accept his forgiveness. 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:09.919 Otherwise, 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:13.459 Jesus did suffer and die in vain. 00:19:14.699 --> 00:19:16.480 The cross is everything. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.980 We're heading towards the cross this Lent. 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:24.879 Let us put our trust firmly in Jesus, 00:19:25.379 --> 00:19:26.099 in Jesus, 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:27.220 and have no fear, 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:29.579 and commit to following him 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:31.879 every step of the way this Lent, 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:32.820 this Easter, 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:34.720 and every day thereafter. 00:19:36.060 --> 00:19:39.160 Walk in the light of his presence. 00:19:40.600 --> 00:19:42.020 Let's do that together. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:44.240 Amen.