TURNING FAILURE INTO VICTORY
Beloved friends, I still remind your brother and pastor – Amara Uwaeziozi. I’m very glad today to meet you on this platform. I trust that the messages are reaching out to you for good, impacting on your life and bringing you into unity with our LORD JESUS CHRIST. I so much admire the people that have been encouraging us by way of calling, by way of texting – they’ve encouraged us to continue. And we give all the glory to GOD.
Today, I want to bring you a message titled, Turning Failure into Victor.
TURNING FAILURE INTO VICTORY
We will be reading from The Book of Joshua chapter 8. It’s a very long passage; but we will not finish it. It’s Joshua chapter 8.
Joshua 8:1-
1 Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them. 6 For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them. 7 Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
Let us pray.
PRYER
Heavenly Father The Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, as we bring this message unto YOUR People grant that YOUR People will hear, and turn their ears, O GOD, the itching ears, to be favorable to hear The Word of GOD and to have understanding and to act on what they have heard. LORD, because YOU have power to turn failure – to turn defeat into victory, grant, O GOD our Father, that this Word will make meaning in the lives of our hearers today…in JESUS Mighty Name. Amen!
There is no failure or mistake that cannot be remedied through the grace of GOD. Even at The Valley of Achor of trouble, we see it can be turned into a door of hope. The issue is not, on whose side The LORD is, but whether we are on the LORD’s side. One 19th Century British Bible Teacher called FW Robertson said, “Life, like war, is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor the best general who make the fewest false steps. Poor mediocrity may secure that; but he is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Forget mistakes; organize victories out of mistakes.” That’s the quote. Forget mistakes. Forget your mistakes; rather organise victories out of your mistakes.
Our bible portion narrates the acts of Joshua the Israeli army general. When they allow GOD to organise the victory out of their mistakes and failures they saw victory. The same thing will apply to us, when you allow GOD, when you come on this side of GOD and allow GOD to organise victory out of your many many mistakes and failures you will begin to see victory. That’s why the title of our messages is Turning Failures into Victory.
I prophesy to someone who is hearing me today, your failures will be turned into victory…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST. We should never seek to fail. But if we seek forgiveness of GOD and deal with our sin in the way GOD has prescribed, GOD will turn our failures into victory…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST. Amen!
There are five secrets of turning defeats into victory. Five secrets. Let me begin to enumerate them:
- Remember that GOD never forsakes HIS children, no matter how they fail HIM. GOD never abandons nor forsakes HIS children, no matter how they fail HIM – no matter how they fail HIM — lest you completely decide to move away from the side of GOD. In Joshua chapter 8 verse 1 says, Now the Lordsaid to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Do you know that this also was the very place where they had failure: where they were humiliated? The People of Ai humiliated them, and killed 36 warriors: soldiers – able-bodied men, because they set out presumptuously. But now they have decided to come on the side of GOD and allow GOD to organise the battle for them. GOD is now assuring them, as we: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you…”
I want to say to someone hearing me, yes you have failed in time past, but do not be afraid. Get on the side of GOD. GOD will organise victory out of your failures…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST. Have you disappointed GOD recently? Get down on your knees, repent and turn yourself to GOD, and your failures will turn to victory.
- Learn not to repeat the same mistakes. Learn not to repeat the same mistakes. You do the same thing today; you do it tomorrow, you do it tomorrow – no no no no no no. Learn not to repeat the same mistakes. The same mistakes! It’s what the Bible says. In Joshua chapter 8:1b, look at what the Bible says, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. That’s GOD speaking to General Joshua. HE gives him a strategy: take the whole army – no presumption this time. Last time they went to fight AI, he took only 2000 people. And that was not GOD-ordered. It was not GOD who told them to do that. But this time GOD said, take the whole army. Take the whole people.
Don’t underestimate the strength of your enemy. That shows an element of Pride and presumption. Learn to obey GOD. Eschew pride, arrogance. Deal with it biblically. Obey GOD.
Achan’s sin contributed to the failure. But deal with personal issues. Do not repeat sins. They lay ambush against you and bring failure. Don’t repeat mistakes. Don’t repeat mistakes.
- You may have to go back to the place of defeat and redo the things you did earlier. And sometimes it may require going back to the place you made mistake and redo – correct the things you did. The Bible says, remember where you have fallen. Repent and redo things. That’s in revelation. Remember where you have fallen. HE was speaking to The Church. Remember where you have fallen. Embrace the strategy of For Victory the presence of GOD is required for small task and big task. No presumption! Don’t assume you can do this on your own.
Utter dependence on GOD is required for overall victory. Waiting on GOD is important. HIS power is sufficient.
Friends, I see victory coming your way…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST. GOD is cancelling that sentence of death over your life…in the name of JESUS CHRIST. I see a correction of events that have marked failure in your life…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST.
- Recovery of lost ground is painful. Recovery of lost ground is painful. To recover lost ground. Defeat sometimes involves loss; but victory arises in it. Victory! When you have victory it erases the loss. And I see that this message coming to you is designed by GOD to enable you erase the losses you had, and victory will be on your way…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST.
In the battle of AI, 36 people were lost by the Israeli soldiers by the commander Joshua. But when victory came, they recovered their loss.
Victory is sweet. You see it every day. When people win in a football match, they sing and dance. That’s the much victory. Even people will sing in Igbo, ndị anyị ka aka na abara anyị mba. Ndị anyị ka aka – because they have won.
I can see you dancing victory song before the end of this year…in The Name of JESUS.
There is a prophet in the Bible Micah 7. Let’s read from Prophet Micah. Chapter 7. Michael Chapter 7. He said something that is very important. Micah 7:8. Hear what the Bible says.
Micah 7:8
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
I prophesied to someone today that you will arise from your failure…in The Mighty Name of JESUS CHRIST. Get up on your feet. It said, when I fall, I will arise. That’s not the end of me. Failure is not the end of me. Since I’m still alive, I will arise.
But you will only arise when you are on the LORD’s side.
- The fifth and of course the last, is to turn your defeats into victories. We need to remember the source of blessing. For you to turn your defeats into victories, you need to remember that GOD is the source of blessing. GOD! At the end of that battle, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to The LORD The GOD of Israel. He built it as prescribed. He offered sacrifices there to recognise that victory comes from The LORD. Victory is of The LORD. Victory comes from GOD.
So today, I begin to pray for those who have experienced failures, defeats, in their lives – you will have victory…in The Name of JESUS CHRIST. Maybe there is a youth, you regard yourself as a failure, and you are a disappointment to your parents, you do not know how you’ll come out of your situation. There is hope. Turn your life to JESUS CHRIST. HE is our Victory. JESUS is out Victory. Maybe you are like someone who doesn’t have a helper. The man at The Pool of Bethsaida said, I have no man to help me.
JESUS becomes your helper when you have no help. Some youths I listened to said, My uncle is not ready to help me. My aunt is not ready to help me.
Man, begin to come on the side of GOD, you will have someone who will help you. As the LORD lives, there are people who definitely when they come on The LORD’s side return their failures into victory.
Let us pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father The Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOU are always The One that corrects issues, turn situations around, because YOU have the power and capability to do so; as many as have heard YOUR Word and are trusting YOU, LORD, I pray, that YOU turn their defeats and failures into victory. Give then a testimony that YOUR Name may be glorified…in JESUS Mighty Name I pray. Amen!