I am not so egotistical as to think that that many of you know me or know my story. Most of the time when I have gotten up to preach I generally have started with a joke or an attempt at humor. I always found it an easy way to get people to listen to me. (Especially when you have this kind of southern accent.) However, today is the first time in over 2 ½ years that I have gotten in a pulpit to preach.

I feel a little funny. I have preached for over 27 years but I have never preached where the subject of any of the messages I have ever preached has been my own life. I am really not the subject of this message either but yet this message did grow of my own life and experiences, especially over the last two years.

I feel a little like Paul when he was writing one of the books of the Bible. He needed to make a point and to make that point he had to talk about his own life's story. He had to tell some of his successes and some of his failures in order to teach a spiritual principle.

Today, I want to use my life story to teach some spiritual principles about what God does with a moral failure. That is what I want to talk about today. What does God do with a moral failure?

There are moral failures all around us. There are some here today. Some failures are public and very exposed. Some are hidden and rarely revealed. If you have ever made a bad mistake then you are the person I hope this message speaks to today.

I am speaking on this subject because I became a moral failure.

I started preaching at the age of 15. By the time I went to Seminary I had preached over 300 revivals. I went to Seminary on a scholarship from one of the most well known Evangelist of that time. I had a Bachelors degree, a Masters degree and an earned doctorate in the Ministry. I have had the privilege of Pastoring three wonderful churches. One of them was the 64th fasted growing church in America and the 2nd fastest growing in the State at the time. The churches I pastored saw tremndous growth. I served on staff at one of the greatest churches in the south. I preached to thousands of teenagers all over the country. I have had the privilege of speaking to 30,000 teenagers at a time, in coliseums and convention halls all around the country.

I served as President of two States Pastor's conferences and served as VP of the SCB' s Pastors Conference. We saw over 65 students go out from our ministry to Pastor or serve on staff. The last church I pastored was a dream for me. I got started a church from scratch. We organized a church outside the Bible belt and were growing by leaps and bounds. I have had a wonderful life.

Until….

On January 2, 1998 I resigned as the Pastor of First Baptist Weston in Ft. Lauderdale Fl. I resigned because I had been caught having an affair.

I had been married for over 16 years and had three wonderful children. To be accurate, I need to make it clear that my biggest sin was not having an affair or committing adultery. My biggest sin was in letting my marriage deteriorate so irrevocably. My former wife and I had been having problems almost since the beginning of our marriage. I should say that in this message I will not say, or even hint, about anything negative toward any other person. This message is about me and my failure and what God has done there. Any one who has worked with marriages knows that marriages fall apart for many reasons. I have to take the blame for allowing the marriage to die. According to the Bible, I was to be the spiritual leader and therefore the buck stops with me. It died! I have to take responsibility for it. By early fall of 98 the marriage was in jeopardy. There had often been talk of "leaving". We had been to see several people for counseling but not enough. I should have made sure more was done. I must admit that I personally was hesitant about counseling as I was afraid of who I could trust (honestly) with our problem. I have learned through this pilgrimage that I could have and should have done more to save the marriage. It did not happen. The details of the failed marriage are not appropriate in this context, I believe. Suffice it to say my biggest failure was in letting my marriage irretrievably die.

In the early fall of 97 I had become fairly desperate and felt very much trapped. I wanted out of my marriage but I could not get out. I could not get out for two reasons. I loved the Lord and wanted to serve him in the ministry. To divorce as a Pastor is anathema. I also could not leave because I loved my children more than life itself. They were young, all less than teenagers.

So in my desperation, I began to stray. At first it was simple. I had never been unfaithful in the entire 16 years of marriage, not even remotely close. I swore I never would be. But I began to indulge in a mental fantasy world. At first it was simply thoughts that I let linger. Then I started watching TV programs I should not have watched. Next I saw movies I should not have seen on TV. Then I discovered that I could see pictures on the Internet and no one would ever know.

For a very brief period of time I looked at pictures I should not have. It was terribly wrong and I can not believe I let it happen.

Like Samson I was convinced I could handle it. I knew my weakness and I toyed with it until I lost my strength. I use to think Samson was so stupid. I could not believe he could not see through Delilah and what she was trying to do. But I was as stupid as Samson was regarding my own faults.

In the process I met some one who I had a lot in common with. She had a marriage that was in as desperate a shape as mine. We began to talk about our "situations." To make a long story short, we eventually met and cried on each other's shoulders. That turned into far more. We ended up committing adultery. There is no excuse for it. It was wrong and it was sin. We both know that! I can not believe I let it happen. Neither of us ever thought what happened would happen.

The two things that had kept me in the marriage were gone. The "ministry" was over. I was exposed. My children were getting old enough to see the problems at home. It was getting to the point that excuses for separate bedrooms for almost five years were no good and they could no longer accept the lie that I had a bad back. My kids were getting a very poor picture of what a marriage was like. So I quit. I ran.

For a long time after that I hid in an emotional cave. I hide. I talked to no one. There were only one or two people I ever saw. I continued in the relationship that I was in. I did not try to hide it. I made foolish decisions on top of the ones I had already made. Sin is very blinding.

The next year and a half were the worst of my life. There is no way I can go into all the pain and agony I experienced and others around me experienced. I was employed then unemployed. I became completely broke with no job, no skills and no reputation. Everything I had in life was gone. I was losing everything of value to me in my life. Calamity after calamity came. I just rode it out. I was all alone except for one person, Ann, whom I had been having a relationship with since the fall of 98. I never stopped loving God or going to church, never, but I felt all alone. I would not pray because I knew God would not listen.

Things begin to slowly turn around. Ann made a personal commitment to Christ. I need to make it clear that Ann knew nothing about a personal relationship with Christ. She did not know the Bible. She knew right from wrong but nothing of spiritual things. I had grown to love her. She had to know what it meant to have a personal relationship to Christ. As hard as it is to believe, even in my sin, I could not, not tell her. She began to learn and grow. Then Ann and I moved to Ft. Lauderdale. We now were living together. We knew it was wrong but at the time we felt we had no choice. We were now genuinely in love. She was learning more and more about the Lord. I kept justifying things even though I knew better.

Then on Jan 4, 1999 Ann came to me. She had just finalized her divorce. Mine was not final. She said she had made a decision. There would be no more physical involvement between us. She said that I had led her to Christ and I should understand her commitment. She told me that she had made so many mistakes in her life. This time she wanted to do it right. I must be honest and tell you that I did not deal with this very well. I could not resist her convictions. I knew that would be wrong. Of all things I did not want to add to my failures by now standing in the way of the person I loved from getting to know Christ. After all, she was right! Yet, to be honest I did not want to say, "Ok that is fine with me." Yet, she was determined. I have never seen such determination to stay the course spiritually. From January 4, 1999 until August 14, 1999, the day of our wedding, she held fast in her determination. I did tell her that we were still living together and that was wrong. After all, I told her, no one is going to believe that were are not sexually active and living together. She told me that she and God would know and that is what mattered to her.

My divorce finally became formal. By this time so much damage had been done, there was no turning back. My first marriage was irrevocably gone. I had a new relationship with some one I now loved and wanted to spend my life with. I asked her to marry me. On August 14, Ann and I were married.

We were starting over.

I had asked God for several things:

1. I had begged God to forgive me. I had denied the Lord who had done so much for me. I never "denied him." I never stopped loving him. Yet I had committed adultery on Him even more than I had my former wife. Of all the people I hurt, I know I broke his heart.
2. I asked God for a second chance, a second chance at life. I asked him to help me not fail as a husband again. I am now married to Ann. I have a new family. I asked him to make my heart pure. I asked him for integrity. I asked him for a home filled with love and honor.
3. I asked God to help so many people I have hurt. I have confessed to my wife and asked for her forgiveness. We have resoled that and now have a relationship that seeks to have our children's best interest at heart. I confessed in tears to my children. I sent out a letter to Pastors across the nation confessing in great detail my sin. I finally confessed to Ann's ex husband.

After we were married God really began to work in my life again. I had absolutely no desire to ever be in ministry again in any way but I wanted to get back to God. Ann and I have earnestly been seeking to walk with God. We have become very active at Celebration Baptist in Jacksonville. Ann is growing. I can honestly tell you that I love Ann with all my heart. She is a "new creation." What God has done in this woman's heart is nothing short of a miracle. I honor, love and respect her. She is not perfect. However, she is a new creation in Christ Jesus. If you can believe it she is now working for the church as their financial secretary. Our Pastor's wife has been a mentor for her. Angie, my new stepdaughter, lives with us. She has gotten saved. My children are with me every other weekend and most holidays and much of the summers. I am working hard at being a good parent even though I am not the primary residential parent. We do share joint custody but my former wife is the primary residential parent. My former wife and I settled out of court and I am paying child support in the amount the court says it right. There was a settlement of cash from my Annuity, which became empty. The bulk of that went to my ex wife, taxes and legal fees.

I have a job with a Computer Technology Company. That is going well.

I NEVER EVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER STAND IN A PULPIT AGAIN.

It has been a long and hard road. The verse that Ann and I have claimed for our lives is one familiar to a lot of experienced Christians. Romans 8:28 says, "God works all things together for the good of those who are the called according to his purposes." We believe God is going to use our mistakes to make us more like him.

I have had several people asked me to pray about sharing what God has taught me through this. Up until now I have refused to do that. However after a lot of prayer and soul searching I am doing that today. I can not tell you everything God has taught me. He has taught me about failure, about marriage, about parenting, about compassion, about loving, about so many things. But today I want to share with you ten things about how God can lead a moral failure back through repentance.

Principles on Repenting of moral failure:

Please I want you to listen to this. If you have had a moral failure. If you have failed in any way listen. If you have some one in your family who has failed listen. I really want to do another lesson one day for people who have been let down by others, but today I want to talk to those of us who have failed.

1. There is no sin that is unforgivable.
I am here to tell you that God says he will forgive you of any sin you may commit. I know we have all heard of the "unpardonable sin." That sin refers to the rejecting of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is not a specific sin.

God says: 1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

God will forgive you. He will be just in doing so. All the unrightness with God is gone.

What sin have you committed?

• Adultery or some other sexual sin:
  He caught a woman in the act and forgave her. He said "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." Murder: David, the King of Israel, the man God called, "A man after my own heart," had Uriah, the husband of the woman he had an affair with, killed and God forgave him and still called him a man after his own heart.
• Stealing:
  Matthew, one of the disciples, was a lying and cheating corrupt Roman tax collector who Jesus forgave and used as a foundation for the Church to be built upon.
• Abortion:
  That is the taking of an innocent life. Again look at what God did for David. God will forgive you of that.
• Divorce:
  Jesus had an encounter with a woman from Samaria at a well outside of town. She had been married and divorced several times. God forgave her and put a well inside her that sprang up into eternal life. She became a transforming witness in that whole area of what Christ can do in a person's life. He used her in a way he could never have used his disciples.
• Hurt the church:
  The man who wrote two thirds of the New Testament was a man who persecuted the Church and put people to their death for simply being a part of Christianity – Saul or Paul. I could go on here for along time. I don't know what you have done but God can forgive you!

2. It is harder to forgive yourself than it is to get God's forgiveness.

Let me tell you something. God has paid the price for you to be forgiven. Jesus took that penalty on the cross. Your job is to confess and repent.

To confess means to acknowledge that sin. In other words you agree with God about it. Literally it means to say the same thing God says about it. "God I blew it. No excuses. No justification for what I did. What I did violated everything you are and what you stand for. I was wrong."

To repent means to change your directions. You can not do that on your own but you can want to and ask God to turn you. It means to do an about face. You say, "God I want to stop doing what I have done." If you are stealing you say God help me to stop stealing. If you are lying you stop. If you are having sex outside of marriage you ask God to help you stop. That is what it means to repent. So God forgives you when you repent and confess.

But it is hard to forgive yourself.

In my case, I had no excuses. I knew better. I had talked about the dangers of my sins. I had warned others of the same thing. I had seen others make the same mistakes. And I did it anyway. It was stupid, utterly stupid. How could I be so stupid? I confessed my sin. I said what God said about it. I confessed to everyone I knew to confess to.

However, a long period of time went by and I was still struggling. I had done everything I knew to do to repent and confess. I had done basically all the things I will talk about in this lesson. Yet I still had feelings of guilt. Let me tell you that there is a difference between guilt and feelings of guilt. My guilt was gone. Jesus had paid for it. I was forgiven but I still felt guilty. I am talking about an emotion more than a state of or condition of guilt.

I could go on. It was endless - the guilt. I remember we were going to Flamingo Road Church in South Florida where my friend Dan Southerland is the Pastor. They sang this chorus that ate me up. The words were…

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing. Power and majesty and Praise to the King, Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name. I sing for joy at the work of your hands, Forever I'll love you, Forever I will stand, Nothing compares to the promise I have in you.

I literally could not sing that song. I would break down and cry the whole time. I tried the first time or two to sing it and I could not. Ann would just take my hand and squeeze it. There was nothing she could say or do. When I would get to those words "Forever I'll love you, Forever I will stand,' I would die inside. I did not stand. I fell! Nothing did compare to him and I let him down. Mountains bowed down but I let him down.

Then Lee Shepard, my Pastor, preached a sermon on grace and talked about how God really does forgive us. He said, "Some of you are going to drag that ball and chain of guilty feelings around all your life. Give it to God!" It was then that God started lifting the feelings of guilt. I had heard it before but it all seemed new now. Lee knew me. He knew my sin. I know preachers don't preach to individual people but he did for those two weeks and he and I both know it. He was trying to help me see the same grace of Jesus I had presented to others for years was also available to me.

Then I heard one of my dear friends in concert, Charles Billinglsey. I heard him sing a song I had heard that song so many times before but that night it was like it was brand new. It said..

Just remember that the debt for your sin is paid in full. Paid in full, I've done the work I came to do. Paid in full, I've paid love's final price for you. When all Hell tries to tell you that you'll never win, just remember that the debt for your sin is paid in full.

I want you to know that a light came on. I knew I was forgiven. I went forward to the altar and gave my sin and my feelings of guilt to God. Now I don't want you to misunderstand me. I know the gravity of what I did. I know the consequences of what I did. But I can not undo it. I can not erase that. But I am not going to drag that ball and chain any more. The enemy has lost that part of the battle. I am forgiven and I am trusting God to help others and me the rest of the way! Give it to God. Accept his forgiveness and let God help others with dealing with it.

3. Give people more time than God or yourself to deal with your failure.

Now I know this may be hard for some of you but it is true. If you think it takes you longer to forgive yourself than it does for God to forgive you then listen to this. It takes people even longer to forgive you. I learned this principle. It is easier for people who were not touched by your failure to forgive you than it is for people who were effected by your failure.

I have preacher boys. We sent 65 students to Seminary from the church I pastored in Alabama. My sin was hard on those boys. People who followed my leadership were hurt greatly. The churches where I pastored were hurt badly.

Hear this. The more you care the more it hurts.

It is easy for me to forgive you of something you did to your neighbor. It is harder for me to forgive you of something you did to my kids or me.

Give God time to help heal their hurt. Understand that you can not always fix their hurt. Be understanding. Give them space. Don't get your feelings hurt when they fail to forgive you or are unable to forgive you. Hey when I was a Pastor people used to get mad at me for things I did not do. They would get upset or something and I struggled with it. I had to learn to live with the fact that I could not please everyone. Now in this case. They have a reason to be hurt. I did wrong. I can not be angry or condemn them for being hurt. Love them and be understanding. You may have to give them space. They will need time.

This is especially true to you who have hurt some one in your family. If you have broken your marriage vows, it will take your spouse longer to get over it than it will take you to.

Paul had a hard time forgiving John Mark for his failure. Barnabas was quicker to forgive because of his personal temperament. But Paul did forgive him. At the end of Paul's last letter, 2 Timothy he asked for Timothy to "bring Mark because he is profitable to me in the ministry." Give them time.

Now this is another message - but let me ask you something. If some one has hurt you, How long are you going to make them pay before you forgive them? Believe me they will pay all their lives for failure. You do not have to assist God in punishing them. He can handle it without your assistance. I learned that a lot of people wanted to see me suffer. It was a kind of vindication to them that God does not let you get by with sin. There is something in us that wants to see people who have hurt us suffer for it. I can tell you that you will never know how much they suffer. No matter what you see on the outside sin brings suffering. God does not have to lift a finger to punish. The sin itself carries its own destruction. You see "The wages of sin is death." That means that the natural consequences of violating God's laws will in and of themselves bring about pain and suffering. God did not have to punish me. The results of my stupid actions were devastating by them self. Get this. That is why the loving God does not want you to do those things to start with. That is why he says no and calls it sin. He is not out to rob you of a good time. He is out to protect you.

4. Make your confession as Broad as your sin.

This is a biblical principle.

If your sin is only between you and God confess it to God and to God alone. If no one else knows or is affected by it there is no need to make it public. For example, if you see your neighbor has a new car and you covet it or want it, all you need to do is to ask God to forgive you. Here is a principle, "Confession is good for your sin but it will kill your reputation." Remember God will forgive you. If you broadcast it - others may not.

However if your sin effected another person confess it to God and to that person. Matthew says,

"If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you leave the gift there and go get right with him." Matt 5:23-24

If you have sinned and it affected your wife or kids go confess to them. I have to do this with my kids all the time. I have to tell them I am sorry. I may have lost my temper or something like that.

If your sin affects a group confess to the group. For example, if you have spread rumors in a class abut some one that is not true or said something that should not have been said to the class then ask them to forgive you.

I will give you an example. In my life my sin has an effect that I can not measure. I pastored three churches. I served on the staff of two others. I have preached to literally several hundred thousand teenagers. There is no way I can confess to all of them. But I wanted to follow the biblical principle. Therefore I wrote a letter of full confession. I mailed that letter to a group of pastors and gave them my permission to use the letter in any way they thought best. Some shared it with their church. Others shared it with leaders. Others shared it with young preachers or married couples. God is using that letter.

God also used the writing of that letter to heal me. It was a catharsis or a cleansing for me to write it. To be honest with you it was not hard to write it. It was as tough as nails to mail it though. It is tougher still to talk about it. But now I don't have to retell it every time I see someone.

5. Know that forgiveness does not remove consequences.

David. What a perfect example. He committed adultery with a woman. Now God forgave him but she still was pregnant. The Bible said that the sword was never removed from his house. David lost the respect of his children and for a while his nation. His credibility was eroded.

This may be the lesson I want to emphasize as much as any. Guys God has forgiven me. We are moving on. There is a lot of joy in my life. I have a wife I love more than life itself. I now have five kids. I love them. We all get along great.

But there are consequences of what I did that will never go away. They put a stress on me personally. They put stress on my marriage. They put a stress on the kids. Some of those consequences will never die. I know that. I have had to learn to deal with that. Just when we think all is well there comes one of the consequences. At first we thought God was punishing us. No God has forgiven us. He does not keep punishing you after you have confessed and are forgiven. But the natural results of your failure can just keep coming some times.

Without going into a lot of details, here are examples. You see consequences come upon your kids. Their whole lives are different. They don't have normal schedules. The complications of our blended families can become astronomical. There are financial consequences that will never disappear in my life. My reputation, my career, my self image.

Listen, the effects of what you do last so much longer than the pleasure of what you do. Ann and I have counseled a couple of couples and individuals lately. One lady told me, "You divorced and you found love." But what I tried to make her understand is the price was so high. The pain is never ending.

This is hard to explain. I love my wife. I thank God for her. In so many ways she is the best thing in my life. She would not have been saved without knowing me. I would not have come back to God without her. We praise God for our relationship but we both know we were wrong. We both know that it is easier and best to repair than to tear down. We will forever deal with the consequences of our failure. You can not just walk away. We can not go back. That is not an option. To destroy our marriage would be wrong. We are married. We love each other. We are committed to building a great marriage and serving God. But we would both tell you today that the price is to high. We can both now look back and see what we could have done that we did not do to help save our marriages.

One of the consequences is accountability. Be prepared to be accountable. Broken trust is a hard thing to restore. We need it any way.

6. Know that along with forgiveness God can give you the grace to deal with the consequences.

The consequences don't disappear but neither does the grace of God.

Listen to this amazing truth. The children of Israel rebelled against God into the wilderness. God had them on the border of the promise land and was ready to lead them into victory. But their fear and lack of faith made them back out and not try. God said because of their disobedience they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And they did. Every adult male who was alive at the time of the faithless decision but two did die. But watch this. Even in their disobedience God provided for them. He led them with a pillar of fire and a cloud. He feed them with manna from Heaven. Even in their punishment God provided grace for them to get through it.

If you have had a moral failure and are dealing with the consequences know God will not leave you or forsake you. The other day my wife and I were faced with a financial consequence of the past. It was a direct result of some of the failure. It presented an impossible obstacle for us. It was devastating. I thought I would fall apart when we discovered it. Yet I felt the overwhelming presence of God assuring me that he would not leave me. I can tell you that that crisis created within me an utter abandonment where I crawled on the lap of God emotionally and said God if you don't do it it will not happen. I still do not know what is going to happen but I know God's grace is sufficient.

7. Know that God is not through with you yet.

David:
We have already talked about David and his sin? He had to deal with the consequences but yet God was not through with him.

What God did:
God places within David's heart a plan for the building of the very first temple. The most majestic place of worship the world had ever known. God goes on to call David, "A man after my own heart." Here is the point; He commits adultery, murder, and deception. Because of that he faces serious consequences but God is not through with him. God allowed him to come back and be used mightily.

Mark:
The sin: You know Mark don't you. He has a book of the Bible written by him and named for him. As a young man he was chosen by the Great Apostle Paul to go along with he and Barnabas on their famous missionary journeys to spread the gospel. He takes off with them on the first trip but something happens. At some point on the trip for some reason he quits and goes back home. Scholars debate on the reason. Some say he got homesick, Some say he was a rich spoiled kid and could not handle the rigors of such a trip and job. He just was a pansy and quit and went home to mommy. Some say he got sick. Personally I don't know. This I do know, HE QUIT. When it was time to go back on a second trip, Barnabas wanted to take him with them again. Ole Paul would have nothing to do with it. He said no way; I am not taking a quitter with me. Barnabas says no let's give him a second chance. Let him go again. The argument was so severe that Paul and Barnabas split up and went there separate ways.

The Consequences:
He was scared by missed opportunities. He was labeled a quitter. The second most famous preacher the world has ever known was through him.

What God did with him?
God assigns him to ole Barnabas. By the way the name Barnabas means "son of encouragement." Barnabas works with him and helps him get a new start. Now get this. By the time ole Paul is toward the end of his ministry and is in jail in Rome awaiting death he write s a letter to Timothy and says at the end, When you come "bring John mark with you because he is profitable to me in the ministry." Hello the boy is back! Then he becomes like a personal assistant to peter the great Apostle. Most Scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark is the personal recollections of the intimate moments of peter with Jesus.

Mark's name is written in history because God gave him a second chance.

Peter:
This one you probably know. He is the great apostle of the Lord Jesus. One of three men who were the closet physical companions of Jesus on Earth. What does he do? Just travel with Jesus for three years. Sleep at night on the ground next to the Messiah. Share the most intimate moments of Jesus' earthly life with him.

The sin:
You know the story. He trying to do the right thing followed Jesus and stand outside this trial. Then things get hot. He is hanging around the wrong people in the wrong place. They tell him that his accent betrays him. I don't know anything about that. Any way he says no I don't know him. They keep pressing and before you know it he is swearing and taking oaths that he has nothing to do with Jesus. Then he hears the sound in the night he would never forget. When he heard the cock crow he realized what he had done. HE FLAT DENIED EVEN KNOWING JESUS!

What did Jesus Do?
Can you imagine how Peter must have felt like s stupid idiot when he saw Jesus for the first time after the resurrection? You may remember that when word came to the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead that he outran everyone else to the tomb to see. Man guess what he must have felt like when Jesus came to the shore after all this was over. The two of them had a little talk. Jesus asked him, "Peter do you love me?" Now I would imagine that must have sting like fire. The question was very legitimate. He had denied him three times. Ole Peter sys yes lord. I do love you. Then Jesus does it again. "Do you love me," he asked a second time. Then it came a third time. Is there anyone that believes that he asked him three times for no reason? That third time was a ringing reminder of Peter of his failure.

What does Jesus do. He says, God feed my sheep. What? He put him right back in the people business. In essence Jesus brought him face to face with his din. Confronted him. Forgave him and restored him.

Rahab the Harlot:
I wish I had time to tell you her story. She was a prostitute and an enemy of God. Yet God came into her life. God used her mightily. It was through her line that David was born and eventually Jesus was born through her line as well. Three murders, Moses, David, and Paul wrote most of the Bible.

God is not through with you yet.

8. Share your pilgrimage with others so they can grow as well.

The Bible says it this way:

"Comfort others with the comfort you yourself received."

That is why I am here today. Learn to love other failures. Some of the greatest failures in this building have the potential to become the greatest ministers God has. I can tell you that in many ways my heart is much closer to God's now than ever. There is a lot of talk today about churches being "seeker sensitive." I want to tell you that some preacher did not invent this in the 20th century. This was invented by a carpenter from Nazareth. He was a friend of sinners.

Churches we exist for failures. Adulterers, prostitutes, liars, murders, thieves should no that they are welcome. I discovered that people can love you and put their arms around you and lead you out without being condescending and condemning. If you have failed reach out to help others. Ann and I were given a Small group at our church. It is one of the greatest thrills of my life. They are praying for me this morning. We went from zero to twelve. All of them are failures who God has given another chance. The other day one of the guys confessed his addiction to prescription drugs and how he almost lost his life. We are all praying with him through this. I had told him my story. I told him God could help him. He is doing it.

9. Learn to teach standards without condemning those who have broken them.

The law can only teach and condemn. God gave us rules and guidelines that need to be followed and taught. The standards must be given and taught, but we must realize that we are to love people when they don't measure up. James1: 13 says "So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgement." (NCV)

10. Know that God uses even your moral failures for your good if you are committed to him.

Roman 8:28 says,

"God works all things together for the good of those who are the called according to his purpose."

Man God can take your failures and use them to make you better. He will make it a part of the pattern he is weaving in your life.

I love kids. I love to watch them play. Some one e-mailed me this one day. I want to read it to you.

STORY

I was watching some little kids play soccer. These kids were only five or six years old, but they were playing a real game - a serious game. Two teams, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents. I didn't know any of them, so I was able to enjoy the game without the distraction of being anxious about winning or losing. I wished the parents and coaches could have done the same.

The teams were pretty evenly matched. I will just call them Team One and Team Two. Nobody scored in the first period. The kids were hilarious. They were clumsy and terribly inefficient. They fell over their own feet, they stumbled over the ball, they kicked at the ball and missed it but they didn't seem to care. They were having fun.

In the second quarter, the Team One coach pulled out what must have been his first team and put in the scrubs, except for his best player who now guarded the goal. The game took a dramatic turn. I guess winning is important even when you're five years old, because the Team Two coach left his best players in and the Team One scrubs were no match for them.

Team Two swarmed around the little guy who was now the Team One goalie. He was an outstanding athlete, but he was no match for three or four who were also very good. Team Two began to score. The One goalie gave it everything he had, recklessly throwing his body in front of incoming balls, trying valiantly to stop them.

Team Two scored two goals in quick succession. It infuriated the young boy. He became a raging maniac - shouting, running, diving. With all the stamina he could muster, he covered the boy who now had the ball, but that boy kicked it to another boy twenty feet away and by the time he repositioned himself, it was too late - they scored a third goal.

I soon learned who the goalie's parents were. They were nice, neat-looking people. I could tell that his dad had just come from the office -he still had his suit and tie on. They yelled encouragement to their son. I became totally absorbed, watching the boy on the field and his parents on the sidelines.

After the third goal, the little kid changed. He could see it was no use, he couldn't stop them. He didn't quit, but he became quite desperate, futility was written all over him. His father changed, too. He had been urging his son to try harder, yelling advice and encouragement. But then he changed.

He became anxious. He tried to say that it was okay - to hang in there. He grieved for the pain his son was feeling.

After the fourth goal, I knew what was going to happen. I've seen it before. The little boy needed help so badly and there was no help to be had. He retrieved the ball from the net and handed it to the referee and then he cried. He just stood there while huge tears rolled down both cheeks. He went to his knees and put his fists to his eyes - and he cried the tears of the helpless and brokenhearted.

When the boy went to his knees, I saw the father start onto the field. His wife clutched his arm and said, "Jim, don't. You'll embarrass him."

But he tore loose from her and ran onto the field. He wasn't supposed to-the game was still in progress. Suit, tie, dress shoes and all, he charged onto the field and he picked up his son so everybody would know that this was his boy and he hugged him and held him and cried with him. I've never been so proud of a man in my life.

He carried him off the field, and when he got close to the sidelines I heard him say, "Scotty, I'm so proud of you. You were great out there. I want everybody to know that you are my son."

Daddy," the boy sobbed, "I couldn't stop them. I tried, Daddy, I tried and tried and they scored on me."

Scotty, it doesn't matter how many times they scored on you. You're my son and I'm proud of you. I want you to go back out there and finish the game. I know you want to quit, but you can't. And, son, you're going to get scored on again, but it doesn't matter. Go on now"

It made a difference - I could tell it did. When you're all alone and you're getting scored on - and you can't stop them, it means a lot to know that it doesn't matter to those who love you. The little guy ran back on to the field - and they scored two more times but it was okay.

Let me tell what I have discovered. When I failed – God did not fail me! He ran out on the field and grabbed me in my tears and began putting the pieces back together. We all get scored on every day. We try so hard. We struggle with temptation and sin with every ounce of our being - and Satan laughs. And he scores again and the tears come . Go to your knees - sinful, convicted, helpless. And our Father - our Father - rushes right out onto the field - right in front of the whole crowd - the whole jeering, laughing world and He picks me up and He hugs me and He says, "Child, I'll never stop loving you. You don't have to be perfect for me to love you. Keep trying. Keep playing. Stay in the game. I am with you and I will never leave you. I want everybody to know that you are my child and because I control the outcome of this game, I will make you - A Winner."

• IF YOU HAVE FAILED. IT IS NOT TO LATE. LET GOD HEAL YOU.

• IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO GET IN TROUBLE – GET HELP.

• WHAT IS GRIPPIING YOU?

  • SAVED
  • FORGIVENESS
  • MARRIAGE
  • ANY PLACE OF STRUGGLE
  • ASK FOR HELP

1. No ___ is ____________________.
   1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
2. It is harder to forgive _____________ than it is to get __________ forgiveness.
3. Give _______ more ______ than God or yourself to deal with your failure.
4. Make your ___________________ as _____________________ as your sin. "If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you leave the gift there and go get right with him." Matt 5:23-24
5. Know that ________________ does not remove _____________________.
6. Along with forgiveness God can give you the ____________ to deal with the ____________________.
7. Know that God is not _____________ with you ________. David, John Mark, Peter, Rahab the Harlot.
8. _______________ your pilgrimage with others so they can grow as well
9. Learn to teach _______________ without __________________ those who have broken them. James1:13 "So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgement." (NCV)
10. Know that God uses even your moral ______________ for your ______________ if you are committed to him. Roman 8:28, "God works all things together for the good of those who are the called according to his purpose."

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