There were more than 50,000 of them, and Congress decided to auction them off. Folks came from far and wide to bid and to be amused, for some of the items were really quite odd.

There was a giant plastic illuminated cat, designed to glow in the dark and scare mice away at night. There was a device, submitted by a Kansas farmer, which churned butter and rocked a baby’s cradle at the same time, but it never caught on. One of the most interesting inventions was a long curved pipe, used in the evening as you would go to sleep. One end was to be put in your mouth and the other end in your ear. That way, if you were a chronic snorer, you would wake yourself up first before anyone else was disturbed!

Well, there were more than 50,000 of those unsuccessful patent models, and most of them were rather ridiculous. But, the man who set up the auction, an inventor himself, was also a perceptive person who recognized that behind every single one of those laughable items was an idea, a lot of hard work, and a dream. So he wrote a book about the experience entitled "50,000 Broken Dreams."

I have never read the book, but the man who told me about it, Dr. Bruce Thielemann, the former pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh who has since died, said that when he read the book, he was struck by the fact that among the many failures and long-forgotten ideas of men and women who did not succeed, there were the names of some that we recognize today - names like Edison, Bell, Kodak and Firestone - people who, despite their failures the first time around, went on dreaming and inventing and oftentimes praying that one day their dreams would come true.

I don’t know about you, but that story is an encouragement to me. Because, living as we do, in a culture which is obsessed with the relentless pursuit of success, all of us need to acknowledge and accept the reality of failure.

Preparing for the first Super Bowl football game thirty-five years ago, Green Bay Packer coach Vice Lombardi said, "Winning isn’t everything - it’s the only thing." But in both professional and amateur sports, no athlete or team can win every time, no matter how good they are or how hard they try. Defeat is an inevitable part of the game.

So it is in business, in academics, in all of the other professions and surely in politics. When Senator Mo Udall lost his campaign for the presidency back in the 1980’s, he quipped, "I had the complete support of a vast majority who for some reason decided not to go to the polls." And more recently, as our country was caught up in the mass confusion and frustration of this past presidential election, a friend of mine said to me over lunch in late November, "If the loser, be it Al Gore or George W. Bush, can accept defeat graciously, he will also be a winner."

The truth is that we, each and every one of us, will have to face failure at some time or another in our journey through life. The question is, "How will be handle it?"

In the book of Exodus, chapter 3, we find Moses asking that question as God called him to lead the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery and on toward the Promised Land. Most of us remember Moses as a great man of faith, one of the heroes of Hebrew history.

But let us not forget that when the call came through the flames of the burning bush, Moses suffered a crisis in confidence and pleaded with God to send somebody else. Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people out of Egypt? "And, If I say to them that God has sent me to you and they ask me ‘What is His name?’ how shall I answer them?" And, I am not eloquent enough to speak for you, so please, I pray, send some other person in my place. (Selected verses from Exodus 3 and 4)

You see, Moses lost his confidence and suffered from the paralysis of analysis. He thought of all the reasons why he might fail, and convinced himself that he would fall flat on his face. And if that has ever happened to you, or if that is where you are today - wondering if you have what it takes to embrace the opportunities which God has in store for you, worrying that you’re not strong enough or smart enough or spiritually deep enough to see it through - then listen again to what God said to Moses: I will be with you! (Exodus 3:12) And I will teach you what to say and show you what to do. (Exodus 4:12)

And as Moses heard those words and took them to heart, God gave him the courage he needed to start the Exodus and lead his people toward the Promised Land.

Christian friends: if you need that kind of courage to overcome your lack of confidence to do what God is calling you to do, ask for it, pray for it, wait for it, and He will give it to you. Then trust God to help you do your best, and leave with Him all the rest. Victor Hugo put it this way: "Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace, for God is awake!"

We’re talking today about how we, as people of faith, can face failure. God gave Moses the courage he needed to overcome his loss of confidence. And that leads us to another biblical character named Peter who needed forgiveness to heal his guilt and his shame.

The 26th chapter of the gospel of Matthew tells the sad and tragic story of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus. Peter had promised to stand beside his Lord and Master through thick and thin, but when the chips were down and the pressure was on, Peter caved in.

Watching the mock trial from a safe distance, Peter listened as Caiphas and his tribunal accused Jesus of blasphemy and heresy against God. The die was cast - He was going to the cross. And in the courtyard outside, some people recognized Peter as a follower and friend of this prophet from Nazareth.

Three times they asked Peter, Are you with him? And three times he answered, I do not know the man! Then the cock crowed and the Bible says that Peter went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:69-75)

Why? Because he had denied his Lord and Master, he had betrayed his closest friend, and he had failed to keep his promise to stand with Jesus to the end. But by the grace of God, that was not the final chapter in Peter’s life.

If you will turn in your pew Bibles to John 21, you will find there one of the most important scenes in all of scripture. Peter and some of the disciples had gone back to fishing, and suddenly, the risen Christ appeared to them by the Sea of Galilee. More than likely, Peter had a hard time looking Jesus straight in the eye. But as Jesus looked at him, with compassion on His face and forgiveness in His heart, He set Peter free. Three times He asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Three times, Peter answered, Yes Lord, you know that I love you. And in that moment, Peter’s guilt was forgiven, his shame was absolved and his failure was redeemed as he heard Jesus say, Come follow me.

It could be that each of us and all of us need to hear those same words today, for we have not always kept our promises of loyalty and love to our family members and friends. And when we have failed to keep our commitments to the people whom we care about the most, when our relationships become strained or start to fall apart, it is then that we must depend on God’s grace and forgiveness to heal our hearts and bring us back together again.

In his daily devotional book, "Listening To Your Life," Frederick Buechner described it with these words: "When somebody you’ve wronged forgives you, you’re spared the dull and self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience. When you forgive somebody who has wronged you, you’re spared the dismal corrosion of bitterness and wounded pride. For both parties, forgiveness means the freedom to be at peace -- and to be glad in each other’s presence once more."

If you have come here today seeking the way of forgiveness, God is ready to help you find it. Confess your sin, turn your failures over to Him, and just as Jesus reached out to Peter, saying Come follow me, the Lord will lead you and whoever else needs it with you toward the hope of reconciliation.

Moses was afraid of failure, until God gave him the courage and confidence he needed to go on instead of giving up. Peter was paralyzed by failure until Jesus Christ forgave him and set him free. And there is one last person whom I commend to you this morning. Her story is not found in the Bible, but she is standing there in that long line of the communion of saints who faced failure with a deep and abiding faith. Her name was Ethel Waters and I have told you about her before. She was born into a family that was poor in material things yet rich in spiritual life and joy. As an African American a generation ago, she lacked many opportunities. But God gave her a powerful voice to sing praises to Him.

So it was that Billy Graham invited Ethel Waters to sing at his crusades. And one night, just before she walked out on the stage, a sound technician standing nearby asked her the question: "Do you ever get anxious or afraid?" Ethel Waters smiled, looked him in the eye and replied, "Young man, I’m not worried about nothing, because God don’t sponsor no flops!"

I share that story with you in closing because I believe deep down in my soul that what Ethel Waters said is true. We are imperfect, sinful people and no matter how hard we try, we are going to fail and fall flat on our faces from time to time.

But when that happens, let us never forget that God’s grace is sufficient for all of our needs, and He has promised to pick us up, to renew our strength and to lead us forward every step of the way.

And if at any point down the road, you begin to feel afraid, then look to Jesus, remember Moses and Peter, and listen to what Ethel Waters is still trying to tell us:

"God don’t sponsor no flops!"

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.