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Welcome to the Bible Study section of God's Message on the Web. I will be presenting a Bible Study lesson
each week. These lessons are from my personal notes or used by permission from licensing agreements to
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is for you to know the Bible. Open your mind to God's Message. Back to Bible Study Home
each week. These lessons are from my personal notes or used by permission from licensing agreements to
redeliver orally and not for profit and I encourage you to look up the Bible passages. Make sure that you
read everything and make your own opinion about the Bible Study lesson that is being presented to you.
Please keep it in the context of The Holy Bible. The only way to understand what God's Message is saying
is for you to know the Bible. Open your mind to God's Message. Back to Bible Study Home
Download this Bible Study "The Truest Measure of a Person" in MP3 or PodCast format
TheTruestMeasureOfAPerson.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Focus verse: Hebrews 11:6--Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must
believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him.
College football is big business in this country. Some of the one-game losses in the top five teams late in the
season cost the team that lost as much as 9 million dollars because the loss changed the bowl bid they would
receive. College football is a major industry, and that industry peaks every year during this week.
For years, college football also created a major national debate every year the first week in January. In years
past, there was a big argument about which team was truly the national champion. Only occasionally was
there consensus about the team that was the "true" national champion.
So in January, 1996, division one college football inaugurated a brand new system that would make that
debate unnecessary. Through a coalition of bowl games, the number one team would play the number two
team every year, and the winner would be the undisputed national champion. A tie breaker was even
inaugurated to make it impossible for the game to end in a tie. When that game was over, there would be a
winner; there would be a national champion.
I well remember when that game was played for the first time on January 2 of this year, 1996. I well
remember the endless television hype, the promotions, the predictions, the days of pre-game analysis. This
game was to be the dream game. A fast scoring, passing team (Florida) would play a powerful running team
(Nebraska). We were told again and again that this would be the most exciting, interesting game of the year.
To the shock and amazement of the analysts and the poor TV announcers who covered the game, it was a
real dud. It was a "no contest" game. Almost from beginning to end, it was a no contest game. Florida
suffered a devastating defeat.
In this country, losing is powerfully associated with failure. In 1995 Florida had an exceptional football
team. That year, they won every regular season game, and they broke a lot records doing it. But they lost
the national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl. So many regarded their year to be a failure.
To me, one of the worst interviews a person could be asked to give would be this interview: the losing
coach's interview after a national championship defeat that many expected him to win. Steve Spurier gave
that interview. This is what he said: Nebraska was the better team. The better team had beaten the Florida
team and the Florida coaches in every aspect of the game. The Nebraska team was probably the best team he
had seen in the six years that he had been the head coach at Florida. Nebraska was well prepared for the
game and played hard on every single play.
Spurier had a great team. His great team lost. Without hesitation, he respectfully acknowledged that he, his
coaches, and his team had been thoroughly defeated.
It is easy to enjoy victory. It is hard to deal with defeat. It is easy to enjoy success. It is hard to deal with
failure.
I. I have always had a profound respect and admiration for any person who refused to surrender his or
her life to failure.
A. I have great respect for a marriage that never experienced a serious marriage crisis.
1. That kind of marriage does not happen by accident.
a. It is no accident that Jesse and Mary Huff celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday.
b. It is no accident that Hazel and John Richards celebrated their 50 years of marriage yesterday.
c. It is no accident that Tom and Lou Porter just celebrated 51 years of successful marriage.
2. It takes commitment, hard work, love, sensitivity, and attentiveness to sustain a successful marriage.
B. But I have even greater respect for a married couple who suffers a devastating crisis in their marriage
and successfully puts their marriage back together.
1. To do that takes incredible courage and sacrifice.
2. No one understands how hard it is to do that except the couples who have done it.
3. It is much easier to sustain a good marriage than it is to successfully rebuild a troubled marriage.
C. I have great respect for a person who has never been married who builds a positive, productive life
that is filled with faith and involvement.
1. Building a positive, productive life that is focused on God when you live alone is a significant
accomplishment.
2. Having the support and encouragement of a mate who believes in you and encourages you is a
powerful asset in building a godly life.
3. Building a godly, involved life without that support and encouragement is a major accomplishment.
D. But I have even greater respect for a person who has experienced a devastating divorce and still
builds a positive, productive life that is focused on God.
1. A failed marriage can easily create a bitterness that will devour your heart and soul.
2. It is common for a failed marriage to destroy your confidence, to murder your self esteem, and to
strip you of any vestige of dignity or worth.
3. Building a faith-focused life while refusing to surrender to some of life's most powerful negative
forces is an incredible accomplishment.
E. I have great respect for any person who through integrity, honesty, faith, and hard work succeeds in
any career or business.
1. True success never comes easily.
2. It is not easy to succeed in any form in enterprise.
3. Success in anything takes sacrifice, commitment, and lots of hard work.
F. I have even greater respect for any person who through integrity, honesty, faith, and hard work
succeeds in a career or business after experiencing a career or business failure.
1. After such failure, it is hard to trust God.
2. It is hard to find any confidence in your ability.
3. It is awfully hard to continue to hold to your integrity, your honesty, and your faith.
4. Having failed once, it is hard to set aside your fears, restore your confidence, and rebuild your dreams.
II. As Christians, we struggle to develop faith in God--it is never easy to learn to trust God.
A. Perhaps the most difficult faith to develop is the faith that trusts God to help us overcome our
failures.
1. We all experience failures--many, many failures.
2. Every single failure we experience begins in our hearts and minds.
3. The most difficult faith to develop is the faith that allows God to help us discover and address the
failures that are within us.
B. A Christian must learn to trust that:
1. God can still the storms that rage "in here."
2. God can strengthen me to endure in the trying, demanding moments of my life "in here."
3. God can heal what is broken "in here."
4. God can help me understand what I do not grasp, help me see what I am blind to, help me face what I
have always run from.
C. That is the faith everyone of us must develop! Spiritual survival is dependent on that faith.
1. Everyone of us have storms "in here."
2. Everyone of us must deal with trying, demanding moments "in here."
3. Everyone of us has something broken "in here" that desperately needs to be healed, that only God
can heal.
4. Everyone of us have things that we do not grasp, blind spots, and things that we run from.
III. In the gospel of Matthew, we are told that Jesus told people that they had little faith four times.
A. In Matthew 6:30, he told those who were filled with anxiety about their physical needs that they
were people of little faith.
B. In Matthew 8:26, Jesus' disciples were filled with fear as a storm was swamping their boat, and
Jesus said that they had little faith.
C. In Matthew 14:31, Peter was walking to Jesus on a stormy sea at night.
1. When he was within reach of Jesus, he suddenly became afraid and began to sink.
2. Jesus said that he had little faith.
D. In Matthew 16:8, the disciples misunderstood a statement Jesus made.
1. They though Jesus was criticizing them.
2. Jesus said they had little faith.
E. People had little faith when:
1. Physical needs created a controlling anxiety.
2. They feared for survival in the presence of Jesus.
3. They were distracted from Jesus and became afraid.
4. They misunderstood Jesus.
In every area of life, we need great faith. In every dimension of our lives, we need faith. We urgently need to
learn how to trust God in all areas of human existence.
But in no area of life do we need faith more, do we need to trust God more, than in the areas of our failures.
Without faith, failure will defeat us. With faith, God can always help us rebuild our lives through a living
relationship with Jesus Christ.
We live in the presence of a God who forgives. We live in the family of a God who powerfully works within
us.
Even in your failures, you can glorify God. You can glorify him by accepting His forgiveness and allowing
Him to work in you.
Download this Bible Study "The Truest Measure of a Person" in MP3 or PodCast format
TheTruestMeasureOfAPerson.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Used with permission from David Chadwell, West-Ark Church of Christ
Visit God's Message Blog to comment on this Bible Study Lesson
http://godsmessageontheweb.blogspot.com/2007/11/truest-measure-of-person.html
Last updated on November 2nd 2007 God's Message on the Web
TheTruestMeasureOfAPerson.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Focus verse: Hebrews 11:6--Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must
believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him.
College football is big business in this country. Some of the one-game losses in the top five teams late in the
season cost the team that lost as much as 9 million dollars because the loss changed the bowl bid they would
receive. College football is a major industry, and that industry peaks every year during this week.
For years, college football also created a major national debate every year the first week in January. In years
past, there was a big argument about which team was truly the national champion. Only occasionally was
there consensus about the team that was the "true" national champion.
So in January, 1996, division one college football inaugurated a brand new system that would make that
debate unnecessary. Through a coalition of bowl games, the number one team would play the number two
team every year, and the winner would be the undisputed national champion. A tie breaker was even
inaugurated to make it impossible for the game to end in a tie. When that game was over, there would be a
winner; there would be a national champion.
I well remember when that game was played for the first time on January 2 of this year, 1996. I well
remember the endless television hype, the promotions, the predictions, the days of pre-game analysis. This
game was to be the dream game. A fast scoring, passing team (Florida) would play a powerful running team
(Nebraska). We were told again and again that this would be the most exciting, interesting game of the year.
To the shock and amazement of the analysts and the poor TV announcers who covered the game, it was a
real dud. It was a "no contest" game. Almost from beginning to end, it was a no contest game. Florida
suffered a devastating defeat.
In this country, losing is powerfully associated with failure. In 1995 Florida had an exceptional football
team. That year, they won every regular season game, and they broke a lot records doing it. But they lost
the national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl. So many regarded their year to be a failure.
To me, one of the worst interviews a person could be asked to give would be this interview: the losing
coach's interview after a national championship defeat that many expected him to win. Steve Spurier gave
that interview. This is what he said: Nebraska was the better team. The better team had beaten the Florida
team and the Florida coaches in every aspect of the game. The Nebraska team was probably the best team he
had seen in the six years that he had been the head coach at Florida. Nebraska was well prepared for the
game and played hard on every single play.
Spurier had a great team. His great team lost. Without hesitation, he respectfully acknowledged that he, his
coaches, and his team had been thoroughly defeated.
It is easy to enjoy victory. It is hard to deal with defeat. It is easy to enjoy success. It is hard to deal with
failure.
I. I have always had a profound respect and admiration for any person who refused to surrender his or
her life to failure.
A. I have great respect for a marriage that never experienced a serious marriage crisis.
1. That kind of marriage does not happen by accident.
a. It is no accident that Jesse and Mary Huff celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday.
b. It is no accident that Hazel and John Richards celebrated their 50 years of marriage yesterday.
c. It is no accident that Tom and Lou Porter just celebrated 51 years of successful marriage.
2. It takes commitment, hard work, love, sensitivity, and attentiveness to sustain a successful marriage.
B. But I have even greater respect for a married couple who suffers a devastating crisis in their marriage
and successfully puts their marriage back together.
1. To do that takes incredible courage and sacrifice.
2. No one understands how hard it is to do that except the couples who have done it.
3. It is much easier to sustain a good marriage than it is to successfully rebuild a troubled marriage.
C. I have great respect for a person who has never been married who builds a positive, productive life
that is filled with faith and involvement.
1. Building a positive, productive life that is focused on God when you live alone is a significant
accomplishment.
2. Having the support and encouragement of a mate who believes in you and encourages you is a
powerful asset in building a godly life.
3. Building a godly, involved life without that support and encouragement is a major accomplishment.
D. But I have even greater respect for a person who has experienced a devastating divorce and still
builds a positive, productive life that is focused on God.
1. A failed marriage can easily create a bitterness that will devour your heart and soul.
2. It is common for a failed marriage to destroy your confidence, to murder your self esteem, and to
strip you of any vestige of dignity or worth.
3. Building a faith-focused life while refusing to surrender to some of life's most powerful negative
forces is an incredible accomplishment.
E. I have great respect for any person who through integrity, honesty, faith, and hard work succeeds in
any career or business.
1. True success never comes easily.
2. It is not easy to succeed in any form in enterprise.
3. Success in anything takes sacrifice, commitment, and lots of hard work.
F. I have even greater respect for any person who through integrity, honesty, faith, and hard work
succeeds in a career or business after experiencing a career or business failure.
1. After such failure, it is hard to trust God.
2. It is hard to find any confidence in your ability.
3. It is awfully hard to continue to hold to your integrity, your honesty, and your faith.
4. Having failed once, it is hard to set aside your fears, restore your confidence, and rebuild your dreams.
II. As Christians, we struggle to develop faith in God--it is never easy to learn to trust God.
A. Perhaps the most difficult faith to develop is the faith that trusts God to help us overcome our
failures.
1. We all experience failures--many, many failures.
2. Every single failure we experience begins in our hearts and minds.
3. The most difficult faith to develop is the faith that allows God to help us discover and address the
failures that are within us.
B. A Christian must learn to trust that:
1. God can still the storms that rage "in here."
2. God can strengthen me to endure in the trying, demanding moments of my life "in here."
3. God can heal what is broken "in here."
4. God can help me understand what I do not grasp, help me see what I am blind to, help me face what I
have always run from.
C. That is the faith everyone of us must develop! Spiritual survival is dependent on that faith.
1. Everyone of us have storms "in here."
2. Everyone of us must deal with trying, demanding moments "in here."
3. Everyone of us has something broken "in here" that desperately needs to be healed, that only God
can heal.
4. Everyone of us have things that we do not grasp, blind spots, and things that we run from.
III. In the gospel of Matthew, we are told that Jesus told people that they had little faith four times.
A. In Matthew 6:30, he told those who were filled with anxiety about their physical needs that they
were people of little faith.
B. In Matthew 8:26, Jesus' disciples were filled with fear as a storm was swamping their boat, and
Jesus said that they had little faith.
C. In Matthew 14:31, Peter was walking to Jesus on a stormy sea at night.
1. When he was within reach of Jesus, he suddenly became afraid and began to sink.
2. Jesus said that he had little faith.
D. In Matthew 16:8, the disciples misunderstood a statement Jesus made.
1. They though Jesus was criticizing them.
2. Jesus said they had little faith.
E. People had little faith when:
1. Physical needs created a controlling anxiety.
2. They feared for survival in the presence of Jesus.
3. They were distracted from Jesus and became afraid.
4. They misunderstood Jesus.
In every area of life, we need great faith. In every dimension of our lives, we need faith. We urgently need to
learn how to trust God in all areas of human existence.
But in no area of life do we need faith more, do we need to trust God more, than in the areas of our failures.
Without faith, failure will defeat us. With faith, God can always help us rebuild our lives through a living
relationship with Jesus Christ.
We live in the presence of a God who forgives. We live in the family of a God who powerfully works within
us.
Even in your failures, you can glorify God. You can glorify him by accepting His forgiveness and allowing
Him to work in you.
Download this Bible Study "The Truest Measure of a Person" in MP3 or PodCast format
TheTruestMeasureOfAPerson.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Used with permission from David Chadwell, West-Ark Church of Christ
Visit God's Message Blog to comment on this Bible Study Lesson
http://godsmessageontheweb.blogspot.com/2007/11/truest-measure-of-person.html
Last updated on November 2nd 2007 God's Message on the Web