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Success and Failure

Success and Failure
Words of Faith 6-15-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 17
[32] When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." [33] At that, Paul left the Council. [34] A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

If there had been an "Athens Post" daily newspaper, it might have reported that the Apostle Paul opened to mixed reviews at Mars Hill and the show closed over night.
The stumbling block was the resurrection of the dead. This was something that the intellectual elite could not comprehend. Only a few became believers. From a practical perspective we would be tempted to call the whole Athens mission a miserable failure.
But wait a minute! By what standard was the effort at Athens a failure? Many judge the work at Athens to be a failure because no church was founded there. Others point to the paltry results. There is little doubt that Paul felt bruised and discouraged by the time he got to the next destination in Corinth, but was this a failure?
Failure and success cannot be judged by such human standards. Failure occurs only when we rebel against the command or leading of God. In Athens, Paul seemed to be listening and seeking to respond in every way he knew. Success is not a matter of body counts or soul counts. As long as Paul faithfully proclaimed the Gospel in response to the leading of the Spirit, then Athens was a success even if not a single person came to believe.
Beside, how can we judge the impact that God will choose to have through a single life changed? "Only a few believed" including Dionysius and a woman named Demaris. We do not know any more from Scripture about these two but they were likely named for a reason.
Dionysius was a member of the elite University council. He was not without influence upon others. There is a tradition that Dionysius later became the first bishop of the church at Athens and died a martyr in that city under the emperor Domitian. Would he have counted Paul's effort to be a failure?
We know almost nothing about Demaris except that she joined the ranks of other women converts such as Lydia and Priscilla. Scholars suggest that because women were not allowed in the Areopagus, she may have been either a prostitute or a foreign traveler who met Paul in the marketplace or listened from afar. In either case, did she think of Paul as a failure? God alone knows the lives she influenced as a believer. Who can judge the "value" or success of a single soul that come to the Lord?
So how do we judge failure and success in our lives and churches? We tend to look to numbers. Numbers are important. After all, God wrote a whole book called Numbers. But numbers are not everything.
We talk about getting "the most bang for the buck" in our ministry efforts but judging solely by this standard, Jesus was a miserable failure! He only worked for three years, spent most of His time with only twelve men and lost most of His following when He died. There must be different ways to measure success.
Suppose that you teach a small Bible study or Sunday School class and only a handful ever attend. Is that failure? If you are faithful to what the Spirit is leading, it is a raging success. We never know when God is working toward a goal that may be a general away.
Here is a powerful example you may be familiar with.
In 1855, a Sunday School teacher named Kimbell, led a 19-year old shoe clerk to Jesus Christ. He in turn became a Sunday School teacher leading other youth to Christ. Later he became a world renowned evangelist. His name -- Dwight L. Moody. He led hundreds of thousands to Christ in the USA and England. Though poorly educated, Moody, in one of his English trips, influenced the well-educated and cultured theologian, Frederick B. Meyer to change his preaching style and emphasis. Later F.B Meyer came to the USA on an evangelistic tour. On one occasion a discouraged preacher, Wilbur Chapman, was in the audience and through his preaching influenced him to become an evangelist. As his evangelistic ministry grew, he needed an assistant, so he hired a former baseball player with high school education to help him. His name - Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday won over 1 million persons to Christ. In 1924 in Charlotte, NC, a prayer group was formed, which met regularly. When the depression started, they became convinced it was God's judgement on the nation. They specifically prayed for another revival, and Mordecai Ham responded. Later, when Ham became an evangelist and he was preaching, a 16 year old farm lad was converted. His name -- Billy Graham. Billy Graham has preached to millions of ordinary persons, as well as to kings, presidents and prime ministers. But it all started with a Sunday School teacher named Kimbell who reached one. If he only reached one, was he a failure?

Lord, help me to trust You even when I do not see the fruit. Help me to listen when I do not clearly know the way. Help me to be faithful even when the world judges me to be a failure. May I be found faithful. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.