Romans 3:23 and James 3:2

Sooner or later, everyone will experience failure. There are some here today who have had more successes than failures yet failure is a universal experience. Some of the greatest people in history have had their life checkered with failure. Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive and that was to his brother. Albert Einstein failed math in school. Josephine Bake failed in her singing career in America before going to Paris and becoming a world-renowned singer. Walt Disney was fired because of a lack of creativity only to become the greatest graphic artist in history. Babe Ruth set the major league record for strikeouts and had 5 consecutive strikeouts in a World Series game. Michel Jordan failed to make his high school basketball team.

Some of the greatest figures throughout Scripture have experienced failure. God promised Abraham a son with his wife Sarah but after two decades they couldn’t wait and he impregnated his wife’s servant. Moses was a murderer and wanted fugitive before he became God’s chosen instrument to free his people from slavery. God made David a King and yet he committed adultery and then had her husband killed. And yet, he became a man after God’s own heart. Peter, the man whom Jesus called “The Rock” and said, “Upon you I will build my church” denied Jesus three times. Yet he becomes the leader of the disciples and the early church. Saul was the greatest persecutor of the early church and murdered many followers of Jesus only to become its greatest missionary, evangelist, theologian and church planter.