I want to talk to you about success, and then I want to talk to you about failure today. You see, all successful people have two things in common. Number one, they're successful. And number two, they have all failed their way to success. So often, when we look at successful people, we think that they just make every right decision and they do nothing wrong. Yet all successful people have failed many, many times.

Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame tried over a thousand times to get people to accept his secret recipe before he finally had someone buy it. Walt Disney went to over a hundred banks asking them to help him finance a theme park and each one of them rejected him. He was also fired from a newspaper because he wasn't creative enough! George Lucas spent over four years shopping his "Star Wars" script to numerous studios before he finally found someone willing to take a chance on him. Clarence Birdseye went bankrupt seven times before developing the flash freezing process, which revolutionized the entire frozen food industry. The Decca records company said to the Beatles that they really didn't like their sound and that guitar music was on its way out!

I think we all have felt like Louise Fletcher Tarkington who, in her great prose, wrote, "I wish there were some wonderful place in the land of beginning again where all of our mistakes and all of our heartaches and all of our poor selfish grief, could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again."

I know there's something that we all have in common today. We've all failed. Maybe I need to take a poll to make sure. I mean I shouldn't assume, should I? We all fail, and with that failure comes a desire, and that desire is to have another chance.

All of us want what I call a do-over. We do something, we make a wrong decision, we think, "Oh, I would like to do that over again." In golf, it's called a "mulligan." It's a way to have another chance to redeem ourselves, and every one of us has what I call "second chance wishes." We think, "I wish that I could go back to that part of my life and do it over again. I wish that I would have made another decision at that point in my life." Every parent wishes he or she could have do-overs. Every person in every significant relationship wishes that he or she could have some do-overs. Among the many decisions that we make, there are some that, if we could, we would like to do over.

Jonah felt that way. Our famous failure example, today, is from the Bible. If Jonah were here today, he would say to you and me, "God will give you a second chance. He'll give you an opportunity to look at what you have done, back up, reverse, make a u-turn, and head in a different direction."

Speaking of those who wish they could do something over again and have a do-over, I love the story of the bricklayer. He tried to move 500 pounds of bricks from the top of a four-story building to the sidewalk below. The problem was, he tried to do it alone. These are his very words, taken from his insurance claim form:

"It would have taken too long to carry the bricks down by hand, so I decided to put them in a barrel and lower them by a pulley, which I had fastened to the top of the building. So after tying the rope securely at ground level, I went up to the top of the building, I fastened the rope around the barrel, I loaded it with bricks, and I swung it out over the sidewalk for the descent. Then I went down to the sidewalk and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. Since I only weigh 140 pounds, the 500-pound load jerked me from the ground so fast I didn't have time to think about letting go of the rope. As I passed between the second and third floors, I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and the lacerations on my upper body. I held tightly to the rope, until I reached the top where my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb. At the same time, however, the barrel hit the sidewalk with a bang and the bottom fell out. With the weight of the bricks gone, the barrel weighed only about 40 pounds, so my 140-pound body began a swift descent. Then I met the empty barrel coming up. This accounts for my broken ankle. Slowed only slightly, I continued the descent until I landed on the pile of bricks. This accounts for my sprained back and broken collarbone."

I love this next line. I would like to disagree with it. The guy says at this point, "I lost my presence of mind completely." That's debatable. "I let go of the rope. And the empty barrel came crashing down on me. This accounts for my head injuries. As for the last question on your insurance claim form – "What would I do if the same situation arose again? - please be advised, I'm finished trying to do the job all by myself."

The guy with the barrel and the bricks, you know what he wanted? He wanted a do-over! He wanted another opportunity to go back and say, "Let me see if I can get it right this time."

But the Bible has amazing words for you and me about a do-over, a second chance, another opportunity. The apostle Paul said, "Therefore, if any person be in Christ, he or she is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold all things become new" ( 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Moses, who committed murder and became a life-taker, after a confrontation with God, he went from being a life-taker to a life-saver. Paul, who harassed Christians, after an encounter with God, he brought healing to the body of Christ. John, in a moment of blind bigotry, wanting to send fire down from heaven on the Samaritans because they weren't "like him," was privileged to see the new Jerusalem with all types of tribes and nations that would bow before God. Peter, who messed up three times, would become the preacher of the Pentecost.

When you look at the Bible, and I love God's word, it doesn't try to hide the failures. If you want to see the longest list of mess-ups, don't look in the mirror, look in the Bible. Those people weren't puritan perfect, and they got in the Bible, anyway. Count the woman from Samaria who had tried five husbands, and Gideon who set up an idol on the very spot that he had received the call from God, and Sarah who laughed at God even though she had witnessed a lifetime of well-kept promises. Add David, the adulterer, Eve, the apple-picker, Zacchaeus, the crooked tax guy. Before you tally up your sins, count theirs. Before you throw in the towel on yourself, read the list of every person mentioned above and you'll be looking at nothing less than an amazing roster of divine comebacks.

Jonah, he was a divine comeback. You know the story. God had wanted him to go to Nineveh to preach the gospel. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh and went, instead, in the opposite direction. You talk about disobedience; he did everything that God didn't want him to do. While he was on the boat, God created a storm. There are 12 amazing words in the story of Jonah that I want to read to you: "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time" (Jonah 3:1). God came back to Jonah and said, I'm going to give you another chance. You've blown opportunity number one. Let me give you another opportunity to change things, to make amends, and to do the right thing. Can you imagine how Jonah felt when he knew that he had been disobedient, causing major problems? He was truly in over his head. Can you imagine how Jonah felt when the word of the Lord came to him a second time?

What does it mean that God gives us a second chance? It means five things.

Number one: It means the first chance is lost. When we have a second opportunity, it means that we have lost the first opportunity. We are forgiven of our sins, we get a new lease on life, but there's a difference between forgiveness of sins and the consequences of sin. Every one of us, being forgiven by God, can also say that there are consequences to the sin that we committed. So when God comes to us a second time and we have a second opportunity or a second chance, it's a wonderful thing. But what it does mean is we lost the first opportunity.

The second thing it means, when God gives us a second opportunity after our failures, is that grace is needed. When you look at Jonah's life, everything that God wanted him to do he did the opposite. God said to go to Nineveh and Jonah headed two thousand miles in the opposite direction. God said go by land, Jonah went by sea. God said go east, Jonah went west. God said arise and go to Nineveh, and Jonah went down in the hull of the ship. God said to preach and Jonah went to sleep. God said to live for others and Jonah said he wanted to live for himself. Every one of us understands the attitude of Jonah, do we not? Have we not at times said, I think I will control my own life and I think I will call my own shots. And God, I know that You're a good God, but I think that in this case I know a little more about this.

How many of you have, at one time in your life, had a little tug of war with God. Happens almost daily, does it not? Grace is needed in those times. Justice is when we get what we deserve and mercy is getting what we don't deserve. But grace is when we get what we don't deserve at any time throughout our lives. And grace is needed during our failures and mistakes. The great Christian mystic Brother Lawrence once said that when he made a mistake, he didn't spend any time thinking on it. He just confessed it and moved on, and he reminded God each time he failed that it was natural to fail without God. He said, I always fall. Grace is needed.

I love the story of St. Peter who was at the pearly gate when a man came to enter in. He told the man that he needed a thousand points to get in. "Let us look at your life and we'll judge your life according to the points each one of your good works deserves."

So the man said, "Well, I went to church every Sunday…"

And Peter said, "That's 50 points."

The man said, "Well, I tithed. I gave 10% of my money to the church."

St. Peter said, "That's 25 points."

Now the guy is starting to get desperate because he needs a thousand points, and he only has 75. He gets to thinking a little bit. "I also taught a Sunday school class."

Peter said, "That's another 25."

Now the guy is in a panic. He said, "My goodness, I only have a hundred points. I need a thousand points. I'm not going to get into heaven but by the grace of God!"

Peter smiled and said, "Come on in."

We all need the grace of God in our lives and in our failures, we are reminded not only of who we are in our feet of clay and our humanity, but we're reminded of who God is and the grace that He supplies.

When God gives you and me a second chance after our failures, the third thing that it means is that God has a purpose for our lives. In other words, God isn't done with us yet.

This morning, Sheila (Schuller Coleman) interviewed Jason Black and talked about his two accidents that easily could have cost him his life, one a near decapitation. Then we were blessed by his ministry of music. As I sat there, I thought to myself that God wasn't finished with Jason yet. He still had a purpose for Jason. And, by the way, check your pulse. Go ahead and check it. Check your pulse. I'm going to assume that you're living. Would you validate that? If you still have a pulse, can I tell you something? There's a reason why you're still alive. God isn't finished with you yet, either. He still has plans for you. He still has a future for you. He still has a mission and a purpose for you.

It's a wonderful, wonderful thought to realize that you and I breathe today because God still has a purpose for us. So, in spite of our failures and mistakes, we get a do-over, and we get a do-over because of grace-over. And we get grace-over because God still has a purpose for our lives.

Number four: when we have a second opportunity or chance to come back from failure, it gives us an opportunity to make a better choice. It gives us a second chance to make the right choice, because the first time, perhaps we made the wrong choice. And boy, don't we like to have an opportunity to do it over?

I love the parable of the fox, wolf, and bear. One day they went hunting together. Each one caught a deer and they discussed how to divide the spoils. The bear asked the wolf how he thought it should be done. The wolf said that everyone should get one deer. Suddenly the bear ate the wolf. Then the bear asked the fox how he proposed to divvy things up. The fox offered the bear his deer and said the bear should have the wolf's deer, as well. "Where did you get such wisdom," asked the bear.

"From the wolf," replied the fox.

When we have a second opportunity, it gives us a chance to make the right choice. It gives us a chance to be obedient. Obedience. Probably the two most important words that can change your life or my life are the words, "Yes Lord."

Two kids were walking to their elementary school and one kid said to his buddy, "I figured out a system that helps me get along with my mom. She tells me what to do and I do it. It works." It's the same system for getting along with God. Obedience.

Finally, the fifth thing I would say to you, when we get an opportunity to do it over again and come back from our failures, it gives us the chance to be different. To stand up after we fall. To sing after we cry. It gives us hope instead of despair. It allows us to have an opportunity to be different.

It's what happened in Jonah's life. He went to the city of Nineveh, 120,000 people, and he preached the gospel. Some amazing things happened in his life. It gave him a chance to be different. It gave him a chance to see what God could do in his life. It gave him a chance to see what would happen when he was obedient to God. Isn't it true? Some of the best lessons we've ever received, some of the most important lessons we've ever learned, we learned during difficult times.

One day I sat down and I wrote this to myself: "My best lessons were birthed in bad times. I learned people skills by dealing with difficult people." Did you ever have to do that? "I learned to listen when a good friend told me I didn't. I learned leadership when I realized that others weren't following me. I learned about forgiveness when I needed someone to forgive me. I learned to ask questions when I ran out of answers. I learned not to take myself seriously once I understood no one else did."

Think back in your past. Is it not true that some of the greatest lessons that you ever learned, some of the greatest lessons that have ever been applied to your life were applied after you had a second opportunity? We all grew up with the nursery rhyme, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again." That's true. The king's horses and the king's men couldn't do anything for Humpty Dumpty, but we serve a God of restoration. We serve a God of healing. We serve a God of forgiveness. We serve a God that gives us hope. What does that mean? When we fall, when we're broken, when everyone around us looks at us and says there's no hope, no chance of redemption in this person's life, it means that what they're saying is not true. We can have hope. We can be redeemed. We can have a second chance.

In my book, Failing Forward, there's a chapter that is very simple. It's entitled, "Say Goodbye to Yesterday." Sometimes that's not easy. In fact, sometimes we look in our book of life and no matter what chapter we're in, we want to go back and relive the problems and the failures and the mistakes and the disobediences in earlier chapters of our lives.

I have a sign in my office that helps me get perspective. The sign just reads: "Yesterday ended last night." For you, my friend, yesterday ended last night, as well. And coming to the Crystal Cathedral and hearing the message of salvation is an opportunity for you and me to realize that God is the God of second chances. And that the do-overs that you want in your life, and the do-overs that I want in my life, the second chance opportunities that we desire, they're yours and they're mine.

So, take advantage of the second chances. Do what Jonah did. Do what all of the famous failures did. They all failed, but they failed their way to success. They learned from their failures. In fact, here's what they discovered. Are you ready? They discovered that sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. Make your failures and mistakes learning experiences and God will give you a second chance.

© Copyright Hour of Power 2009. This message was delivered by John Maxwell from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral and aired on the Hour of Power, August 30, 2009.

Read more about this week's pastor, John C. Maxwell.