Be Strong and Courageous  - The Power of 'The Path': Overcoming the Fear of Failure, Part 1

I've had the opportunity to coach, to be a teacher, to be a mentor, and to be a pastor. And the number one fear I hear from people over and over and over is the fear of failure. Today, we're going to learn God's solution to the fear of failure.

Stay with me. Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disciple Christians through the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. Thanks for joining us as we launch his newest series, Be Strong and Courageous. Over the next several programs, Chip will pinpoint eight prevalent fears Christians struggle with today while studying eight timeless psalms that act as antidotes to combat these destructive feelings. I hope you'll join us for every second of this teaching to discover how to deepen and strengthen your faith.

Well, if you're ready, grab your Bible and go to Psalm chapter 1 as we kick off this series with Chip's message, The Power of the Path, Overcoming the Fear of Failure. The most pervasive emotion that I see everywhere, whether you're young or old, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, whether you live in America or somewhere around the world, it's fear. People are afraid, and for good reason. I mean, think of just on the global scale, think of the wars, the climate issues, the people that have a little button that can push and cause a bomb to go off that literally destroys things.

Maybe more nationally, think of the polarization and people that are concerned about their kids or the future or all the division. I talk with people, and young people are afraid about the future and, is there going to be any life left for me? Older people are concerned as they look backward and think, what's happening to the family and to morals and to values? Some of us that have been doing life in the church are really concerned on bad days, fearful about the direction the church is going. There's never been a time, at least in my adult life, that I have seen people more fearful, more anxious, more afraid, and the research bears it out. And in every season, in every generation, God raises up people, his people, and his call to them is an anti-fear agenda. His call to them is, I want you to be strong and courageous, not to tremble. Don't be dismayed. Don't be afraid. In fact, God must know that fear is a big issue because scores and times over and over in scripture, he says, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Jesus, last night with his disciples, don't let your heart be troubled. Don't be afraid. And I want to share with you how to be bold and how to be courageous in the midst of a fearful world as God's people.

And there's something I want to share. It comes from a very parallel time. There's a new paradigm, there's new challenges, and three times God says to a new leader, be strong and courageous. Notice how the world has changed.

I'm in Joshua chapter one. It starts out like this. Moses, my servant is dead. I mean, for 40 years has been leading people. For 40 years, that's where you get direction. For 40 years, this is how life has worked. Bam, he's gone.

He's dead. And now you're the new leader. And God knew Joshua was going to be very, very afraid. As we pick it up, he says, now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan into the land that I'm about to give them. And so he's going to talk about, I have an agenda for you.

It's on the other side. There's going to be a lot of battles. And then three different times he's going to talk about, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Be strong and courageous. He says, no one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you.

Doesn't that sound familiar? That's the very thing Jesus has said to us. But notice what he says now to this new leader in a new responsibility with overwhelming challenges. And he knows he's afraid. So listen to what he says. Verse six, be strong and courageous.

Why? Because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to your forefathers to give them. In case he didn't hear it. Next verse, be strong and very courageous.

And then he gives him a resource. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left.

Why? That you might be successful wherever you go. Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything that's written in it. Promise. Then you will have prosperity and success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you everywhere you go.

Now, here's what I want you to get. There's a parallel between Joshua, new responsibility, a fearful situation, and three times God has said, be strong and courageous. If we had time to develop it, what you'd realize is you can be strong and courageous because he makes a promise. You are going to inherit this land.

There's a future for you and I'm promising it's true. The second thing is he gives him a resource that will give him power. He says, take this book of the law. In his day, it was the first five books, the Torah. In our day, it's all of scripture. And he says, God's word digested into your heart when you put it into practice will give you the power to be bold and to be courageous and to fulfill my will regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the difficulty, regardless of all the challenges. And then third, he says, I'll be with you, my presence.

And honestly, that's exactly what Jesus said to his disciples. And he says to you, and he says to me, yes, I can let my mind go. I can scroll and see all the difficulties. I can worry about the future. I can think about economics. I can see wars in different places. I can project fears into what will happen to my grandchildren.

I have issues. What about our health? What about this? What about that?

What about money? And there's no end to that. But God says for you and me that we can be strong and courageous if we understand he's promised some things to us. Second, he says there's power available through my word and my spirit.

And finally, I will be with you wherever you go. Here's the question. And this is what I want to spend our time on in this series about being strong and courageous. How do you experience that? How do you experience God's promises? How do you get into his word in such a way that there's power? I mean, there's real power to overcome hard things, to break addictions, to face tough stuff, to be the person who steps out and steps up.

And you're courageous, and you're strong. And how do you experience God's presence in all of this? I like to suggest that one of my heroes in Scripture is someone that goes through, I think, more difficulty, more pain, more opposition, more anxiety, more struggle than anybody in Scripture, and it's David.

And then he left us something that's super powerful. It's like his journal. Seventy-three of the 150 Psalms are written by David, and they became the songbook. And the Psalms are heart language. You know, when you struggle and when I struggle, and sometimes we're so excited and we thank God and things are going great and we have a hard time, what are the words that we could use? And you go to the Psalms, and the Psalms will give you a language. And sometimes we're mad and ticked off and angry and where's God?

And we've been betrayed. And I mean, there's emotions, and you can go to the Psalms and it gives words to those struggles and those hurts and it actually brings them to God. And the amazing thing about the Psalms is this, is that they were actually to be sung.

I don't know how this works, but I can tell you this. There's something about worship. There's something about music. There's something about taking truth and allowing it not just to hit our intellect, but our emotions that it wells up inside of us and it builds strength and courage.

And here's what I want to do with you. I want to walk through a series of Psalms that will strengthen your faith and allow you to conquer your fears. God has a plan for you and me that in this time of world history, when people are afraid, the call to the church, the call to regular people like me, regular people like you, whether you're 13 or 83, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, whether you're like just new in the Christian faith or whether you've walked with God for 50 years, it is God's will for you to be strong and to be courageous, to make a difference, to take a stand for truth, to love people, to be a difference maker, to be a lot like Jesus each and every day. And so to do that, we're going to walk through the Psalms and I can't think of a better place to start than Psalm 1.

The whole Psalter, all these songs, all this worship was for this nation of Israel. And Psalm 1 is going to be the place where he says there are two ways to live. There's God's way to live and there's promises of blessing and life and success and prosperity.

And there's the world's way. He says there's two paths and they're always in opposition. And then he's going to remind us and Jesus will come out with the same. Remember, he said there's a person who plants their life and lives their life on the rock. And he says the rock is when you take God's word, you digest it and you put it into practice. But Jesus said there's someone who hears God's word, they know the truth, they don't put it into practice and their life is like sand. All through the wisdom literature, we get a picture of the way of the wise and the way of the foolish. It's literally the word is a path. There's a path of life that leads one direction for success and blessing and prosperity.

And there's another path of foolishness that we think will be great, but ends in destruction. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and Chip will be back in just a minute to finish today's talk. But quickly, this program is only possible because of the generosity of listeners like you. Consider supporting us today by becoming a monthly partner. Learn more by going to livingontheedge.org.

That's livingontheedge.org. And thanks for doing whatever God leads you to do. Well, let's rejoin Chip now for the remainder of his message.

Jesus so often talked about two ways, two paths, two foundations, one that's rock, one that's sand. I kind of like to actually meet new people, and I'll find myself at an airport or sitting in a coffee shop and people I don't even know. I just kind of sit down and say, hey, how's it going today? And hey, what's the biggest challenge you face?

And whether they're young or old and because of where I live, they're from nationalities all around the world. And what you hear is anxiety, and what you hear is fear. And what I want you to know is that one of the most foundational fears is the fear of failure, the fear that your life's going to be just futile, the fear that your kids won't turn out right, the fear that you won't have enough money, the fear that you will fail personally, the fear that your job won't work out. We have them over and over and over, and it's all about I'm going to fail. I won't be successful. I'm not going to achieve my goals.

And in all that fear, it creates all kind of anxiety and all kind of relational problems. Listen to Psalm chapter 1, and notice there's a structure. The first three verses will talk about God's way. The last three verses will talk about the world's way, and we're going to look at two paths and you're going to learn how God wants you to have a prosperous, blessed, and successful life.

Now, by the way, don't get too carried away. That doesn't mean you're going to drive an Escalade tomorrow and your Maserati is on order and it's coming here and you'll never be sick and you're always going to be wealthy and healthy. No, he's talking about blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates day and night. And then he talks about the result of this path. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.

And in whatever he or whatever she does, you prosper. And so the first three verses as he opens this two ways, two paths about life, he's saying that you don't have to worry about being a failure if you follow the path that God has laid out. And David has written here that there's a path that brings about blessing and success.

And I want to break that down for you because I want you to understand the success is dependent on something very clearly. Notice the negatives in verse one. This person doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked.

What does it mean to walk in the counsel of the wicked? Counsel is words, it's messages. This is what's important. This is what will make you happy. Here is success. And you take in messages, you get the counsel. But notice the prefix, how blessed. This word blessed means happy. How joyful, how fulfilled is the man or the woman? Their pattern of life is not the internet.

It's not social media. It's not wealth, power, use people, get what you want, make yourself the center of life. He says he doesn't walk in that. But then he goes to the next one.

Notice the progression. He not only doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, he doesn't stand in the path of sinners. He says the man or the woman who's blessed by God, their closest connections, their deepest relationships, the people they admire aren't people whose life is going this direction. He's going to tell us later, it's people whose life is going this direction, God's way.

Proverbs 1320 says, he who dwells with wise men will be wise, but the companion of a fool will suffer harm. I remember a lady talking to me about her son. She said, I had a pretty deep talk with my son. He's starting to hang around with some people.

They're not a good influence. I'm watching some things happen in his life, happen in his values. He's on a bad track. And I sat him down. I said, son, let me tell you something. Show me your friends.

I'll show you your future. And that's basically what God's saying here. He says, if you want to be blessed, it doesn't mean there's not interaction. It doesn't mean we don't hang out with unbelievers and build relationships and build bridges. But he's saying the people that you do life with, the people that you admire where you stop and stand and have real depth, he says, they're not the wicked.

And then finally he goes to the third. He says, and does not sit in the seat of scoffers. Scoffers are people who make fun of God, make fun of God's word. You don't think this book can really be true? Jesus is the only way.

Come on, give me a break. A person who's blessed by God doesn't sit and allow scoffers to fill their mind with things that aren't true. And we live in a world where, especially in the educational system, it is anti-God. It is anti-family.

It is anti-life. And he says, if you want to be blessed by God, you're going to have to say no to some things. And then you have to say yes to some things. Look at verse two, by contrast, but his delight or her delight is in the law of the Lord. And this passage, really the law of the Lord is God's word in general. Some of you might be thinking to yourself, man, I have trouble reading the Bible. I have even more trouble understanding the Bible. You know, when I first opened the Bible, I didn't open it until I was 18.

And I think a lot of you probably came from backgrounds like me. Or sometimes I meet a lot of people that grew up in the church and sort of the Bible was pounded away and it's like, I don't get it and I don't want all those rules. The Bible is God's word to us with the desire to give you the very best. God cares about your happiness. In the right sense of it, God really wants you to be successful. He wants you to be a successful single person, a successful parent. He wants you to be successful in your work. He wants you to be successful in your relationships.

And all of the scripture is a guide that reveals the heart of God. Now, I'm going to be honest with you. You don't delight in it at first because I don't know about you, when I first started studying math and algebra and trigonometry, I not only didn't delight in it, you know, X plus X, but the two, I was just, I was confused. But as I practiced, as I learned, I just found, I loved math. I loved the puzzles of math.

My world came alive. The average follower of Jesus has never gotten into the Bible in a way and gotten enough help to get into the Bible in a way where it goes from, yes, maybe it's a duty as you start and then pretty soon you develop a discipline. But as you do that and as you learn, I will assure you it will become a delight. This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening to part one of Chip's message, The Power of the Path, Overcoming the Fear of Failure from our series, Be Strong and Courageous. Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful application for us to think about. Are you looking for a more resilient faith that can withstand life's harshest storms? If so, join Chip in his newest series as he dives into eight impactful psalms with powerful lessons for all of us. Discover what these passages teach us about conquering our anxieties, tackling injustice, facing death with confidence, and more. Unlock the power of these timeless psalms to experience a life totally dependent on God.

You're not going to want to miss a minute of this practical series. Chip's back in studio with me now, and Chip, we're just diving into this new series based in a handful of really impactful psalms. But the foundation of this teaching stems from Joshua chapter 1. Now, why did you begin there, and how does it act as a springboard for the other psalms we'll study together?

Well, great question, Dave. You know, our culture, our world, the church, friends, neighbors, people are fearful. People are struggling.

People are anxious. And Be Strong and Courageous was God's word when Joshua took over the mantle for Moses, and he had a group of people that were not very happy with him. He had a challenge in front of him.

He felt absolutely overwhelmed. And three different times, God said, number one, I'm here with you. Number two, you're going to get through this because I've made some promises.

And number three, here's your responsibility. You need to be strong, and you need to be courageous. But we're not talking about willpower. We're not talking about sort of pumping yourself up. What I wanted people to learn is how.

How does that happen? What happens inside of our minds, our hearts? What is it about connecting with God in such a way that it produces this courage? It doesn't mean you're not afraid.

It doesn't mean there aren't struggles. But there's something about a connection that's very intimate with God in the midst of challenges that allows you to have the supernatural strength and courage to overcome your fears, to quiet your anxieties, and be the person that you want to be and God wants you to be. And so you see that all through the Psalms in the most intimate of ways.

And I wanted to sit down personally and help the Living on the Edge family learn what it looks like to be strong and courageous from the inside out. Excited to study these timeless passages together, Chip. And let me encourage all of you to get our message notes for this series. They'll really help you get the most out of the various Psalms we'll be in. Download them under the broadcasts tab at livingontheedge.org.

App listeners tap fill in notes. Well, with that, here again is Chip. Well, thanks so much, Dave. I want to pause for just a minute and go back to that last thought that I gave at the end of the message where I talked about the average follower of Jesus has never gotten enough personal help to move from that part where, oh, I need to be in the Bible. It's a duty I ought, I should, I feel guilty when I don't, to actually then making it a discipline where, you know, you don't always feel like doing it, but it just becomes a part of your life. You get up, you read the Bible, you have a good cup of coffee, you talk with the Lord, or for some of you, you do it right before you go to bed. Over time with practice, it literally becomes a delight because instead of just am I going to do it and what am I getting out of it, you transcend that and you begin to walk on a path where you hear God's voice. And one of the things that breaks my heart is the great majority of Christians are not in the Bible for themselves on a regular basis.

And at best, they listen to a few podcasts. Maybe they read a devotional that someone else did. Psalm 1 is teaching us if you want to be strong, if you want to be successful, if you want to overcome the fear of failure, there's something about you personally getting into God's Word, studying in a way where the Word of God becomes the living Word by the Holy Spirit and builds conviction and it changes you. And so let me, if no one's ever done that with you, a bricklayer did that with me when I was a new Christian. And I know you may go to church, you may be in a Bible study, but if no one has ever met with you privately one-on-one and helped you learn to study the Bible and pray, could I encourage you to join me? Dave, could you give them the information about how they can connect into Daily Discipleship?

Be glad to, Chip. Through this free video resource, you can learn the basics of personal Bible study. For the entire course, you'll spend no more than 10 minutes with Chip in a particular passage of Scripture. Then he'll challenge you to study 10 more minutes on your own. So if you're looking for a practical way to deepen your relationship with God, let me encourage you to sign up for Daily Discipleship with Chip at LivingOnTheEdge.org. At Listeners Tap, Discipleship will join us next time as Chip continues his series, Be Strong and Courageous. Until then, I'm Dave Druey, thanking you for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.