I want to share a powerful message with you titled Fear of Failure. This is exactly where the enemy wants you—paralyzed, wrapped in fear, and terrified to step out and do anything for God because you are afraid you will fail. But that is a lie straight from the pits of hell!
Here is how we break down the word and look at how we can overcome this giant:
1. Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
We began tonight by reading from 1 John 4:18:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
If you are dealing with torment because of fear, it means you don’t fully understand the love of God or how much He cares for you. When we truly grasp His love, fear loses its grip. Being negative is easy and requires no effort, but staying positive requires spiritual work. We have to build ourselves up with scriptures like:
- Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
- Matthew 19:26: “…with God all things are possible.”
With God, there is no “I can’t”—there is only “Yes, I can”. God wants you to be successful in everything He has designed you to do.
2. Stir Up the Gift Within You
The enemy will constantly bark like a dog to breed fear and a lack of faith. But just like the moon keeps shining regardless of a barking dog, we have a job to do for God. We read in 2 Timothy 1:6–7:
“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
You cannot have power, love, or a sound mind if you are full of fear. God has given each of us spiritual gifts and talents to use for the body of Christ, and we cannot let laziness or fear cause spiritual paralysis.
3. What Determines Value?
We then looked at 2 Timothy 2:20–21 to understand our value in God’s house:
“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
You can choose what kind of vessel you want to be. When you purge yourself of fear and failure mindsets, you become sanctified and ready for the Master’s use.
4. Overcoming a Grasshopper Spirit
When facing big tasks, we often allow our fear to kill the solution before we even start. We look at our small resources—just like the disciples in John 6:9 who said:
“There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”
But with Jesus, what you have is always enough! If we allow fear to dominate, we develop a defeated vision, just like the ten spies in Numbers 13:33:
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
A “grasshopper spirit” becomes a prophetic word of doom that leads to anxiety and murmuring. The only ones who never fail are the ones who never try. As Proverbs 14:4 reminds us:
“Where no oxen are the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.”
A clean crib means no mess, but it also means no harvest or increase. Growth requires stepped-out faith and a willingness to make a mess along the way.
5. Life is a Test
We closed by looking at how challenges are meant to prove us. Judges 3:1 states:
“Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them…”
Life is a test, but failure is not final if you keep getting up. We looked at the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Colonel Sanders—men who faced decades of constant setbacks and failures, yet they never gave up and ultimately found incredible success.
Final Encouragement
Church, do not let fear take you down. Rise up, shake off the fear of failure, and trust in your God. As Jesus beautifully told those who were afraid: “Fear not, only believe.” Step out in faith this week and become exactly what God has designed you to be!