September 17, 2025 • 7 mins
THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST
The Formula for Failure
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
God has a plan for our lives—a good and perfect plan, filled with purpose, peace, and victory through Christ. But we are not without opposition. The enemy of our souls, the devil, has a strategy too—a formula designed to derail us from walking in God’s best.
Music Composed By: Mike Outland
The Formula for Failure
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
God has a plan for our lives—a good and perfect plan, filled with purpose, peace, and victory through Christ. But we are not without opposition. The enemy of our souls, the devil, has a strategy too—a formula designed to derail us from walking in God’s best.
Music Composed By: Mike Outland
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
As we get ready for the word of God today
on morning moments for Jesus, the Lord wants to talk
to us about that there is a formula for failure.
My belief is and what the Lord is trying to
show me this morning is the key to success is
understanding that each and every day there is also a
formula that is plotted against us that we might fail.
(00:34):
So the best way to succeed in life is not
only to understand the pathway to success, but also be
mindful of the pitfalls that are out there that could
make us fail. And so that's what the Lord wants
to talk to us about today. And he comes to
us from one Peter, chapter five, in verse number eight.
(00:54):
You may know this verse well, but Peter writes here
he says, be sober, be vigili, because your adversary, the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.
God has a plan for our lives. There's no doubt
about that. It's a good plan. It's a perfect plan.
(01:17):
It's filled with purpose, it's filled with peace, it's filled
with victory through Christ Jesus. But we are not without opposition.
Want you to listen to what he says here. He said,
be sober. That means be serious about this, because fighting
the enemy is serious business for the Lord, and so
if we're in the right position to understand how serious
(01:39):
that attack is, then we are better equipped to avoid
it altogether. He says. Be vigilant. That means constantly aware
of what is going on in our lives, because we
have an adversary. That's somebody that's not only against us,
he's against the plan of God for us. And so
as we look at this this morning, the enemy of
(02:01):
our soul, the devil, is what Peter describes here. He
has a strategy. Also, God has a perfect plan. The
enemy has a plan against us as well, and that's
what we're going to talk about today. It's a formula.
It's a formula that's designed to derail us from walking.
In God's very best verse Peter here in five eight
(02:21):
he calls us to be sober and vigilant because we
do have an adversary that's actively actively looking for an opening,
an unguarded heart, a distracted mind, a weary soul, whatever
it is. He's looking for an opening in your life.
It's where he can cause you to fail. So what's
the best way to victory? Knowing that you can fail
(02:43):
if you do not be aware of what's going on
in your life. See the enemy's cunning. We know that
he doesn't usually attack with obvious weapons. Instead he uses
these subtle, methodical formulas that he comes up with. And
the Lord really this morning, as I was sitting and
just kind of meditating on this word, five steps came
(03:06):
to me through this formula that the enemy uses against us.
Use it all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
It's a process that his work since the garden, and
when we become unaware and unguarded, here's what happens. We
risk falling into this trap. So this morning it's a
five step process and they all begin with the letter D,
(03:29):
and I want to show them to you this morning.
The first thing is he tries to create doubt. You
remember in the Garden of Eden when he said did
God really say? What he was saying is he was
creating doubt. The first crack and the foundation always begins
with doubt. Satan introduced it to Eve with the question
yeay hath God said? That was in Genesis three and
(03:53):
verse number one. And he still uses the same tactic.
He whispers lies that make us question God's words, his goodness,
and his presence in our life. Now, when we start
to doubt God's promises, we stop standing on God's promises.
And when we stop standing on God's promises, doubt shifts
(04:13):
our focus from God's truth to our own reasoning. And
that's where he opens the door. And that doubt will
lead to discouragement. So how do you combat the doubt?
Faith in God's unchanging word is pivotal in everything that
we do. See, Speak truth into your life. When you're
(04:34):
feeling like you're doubting, Speak what you know to be truth.
Listen to what Romans, chapter ten and verse number seventeen said.
So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the
word of God. That's truth speak that when doubt begins
to enter into your mind, I'll give you another one
today and then we'll finish up the rest of them tomorrow.
(04:56):
But once doubt begins to creep in, it isn't long
before discouragement comes. Maybe you'll say it's not working out,
maybe you say you're giving up hope. But once doubt
takes root, discouragement will soon follow. That's a guarantee. We
look around at our circumstances. When we begin to feel disappointed, disheartened,
(05:19):
we begin to feel tired, unworthy, weary. Discouragement tells us
that things won't get better, that our prayers aren't being heard,
and that maybe God has forgotten us. All of this
discouragement begins to come in. Why because we let the
crack enter into our lives where doubt came in. So
the best way to come about that is in Psalm
(05:41):
forty two and verse five. Listen to this, David writes this,
why art thou cost down on my soul? And why
is this so disquieted in me? Hope in God? In
other words, he's talking to himself and said, why am
I feeling so discouraged when I know that I can
trust God. It doesn't matter what the enemy's trying to
(06:02):
tell me, doesn't matter what my emotions or my feelings
are trying to tell me. What the word of God
tells me is that we are confident of this very thing,
that when we pray, the Lord does hear us, and
we are confident that when he hears us, he will
answer according to his perfect will. That's the truth, that's
(06:23):
the word of God, and so you need to stand
on that. Today. This formula for failure is pivotal in
the next two days. Today and tomorrow we're going to
be covering these five things because I believe it's essential
to understand that if you're going to be successful in
your career, whether it be in your vision, whether it
be in your ministry, whether it be in your marriage,
or just your daily want with God, if you're going
(06:45):
to be successful, you have to understand, Yeah, there's a
formula for that, and God has that perfectly lined out
for you. But along the way you're going to see traps, obstacles, missteps,
and doubt and discourage begin to try to come into
your life. Don't give way to that. To to day,
you be safe, you be strong, and you be blessed.
(07:07):
Pray you have a great day. Lords, will we see
you back here again tomorrow Now until then, God bless
you and God keep you.
As we get ready for the word of God today
on morning moments for Jesus, the Lord wants to talk
to us about that there is a formula for failure.
My belief is and what the Lord is trying to
show me this morning is the key to success is
understanding that each and every day there is also a
formula that is plotted against us that we might fail.
(00:34):
So the best way to succeed in life is not
only to understand the pathway to success, but also be
mindful of the pitfalls that are out there that could
make us fail. And so that's what the Lord wants
to talk to us about today. And he comes to
us from one Peter, chapter five, in verse number eight.
(00:54):
You may know this verse well, but Peter writes here
he says, be sober, be vigili, because your adversary, the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.
God has a plan for our lives. There's no doubt
about that. It's a good plan. It's a perfect plan.
(01:17):
It's filled with purpose, it's filled with peace, it's filled
with victory through Christ Jesus. But we are not without opposition.
Want you to listen to what he says here. He said,
be sober. That means be serious about this, because fighting
the enemy is serious business for the Lord, and so
if we're in the right position to understand how serious
(01:39):
that attack is, then we are better equipped to avoid
it altogether. He says. Be vigilant. That means constantly aware
of what is going on in our lives, because we
have an adversary. That's somebody that's not only against us,
he's against the plan of God for us. And so
as we look at this this morning, the enemy of
(02:01):
our soul, the devil, is what Peter describes here. He
has a strategy. Also, God has a perfect plan. The
enemy has a plan against us as well, and that's
what we're going to talk about today. It's a formula.
It's a formula that's designed to derail us from walking.
In God's very best verse Peter here in five eight
(02:21):
he calls us to be sober and vigilant because we
do have an adversary that's actively actively looking for an opening,
an unguarded heart, a distracted mind, a weary soul, whatever
it is. He's looking for an opening in your life.
It's where he can cause you to fail. So what's
the best way to victory? Knowing that you can fail
(02:43):
if you do not be aware of what's going on
in your life. See the enemy's cunning. We know that
he doesn't usually attack with obvious weapons. Instead he uses
these subtle, methodical formulas that he comes up with. And
the Lord really this morning, as I was sitting and
just kind of meditating on this word, five steps came
(03:06):
to me through this formula that the enemy uses against us.
Use it all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
It's a process that his work since the garden, and
when we become unaware and unguarded, here's what happens. We
risk falling into this trap. So this morning it's a
five step process and they all begin with the letter D,
(03:29):
and I want to show them to you this morning.
The first thing is he tries to create doubt. You
remember in the Garden of Eden when he said did
God really say? What he was saying is he was
creating doubt. The first crack and the foundation always begins
with doubt. Satan introduced it to Eve with the question
yeay hath God said? That was in Genesis three and
(03:53):
verse number one. And he still uses the same tactic.
He whispers lies that make us question God's words, his goodness,
and his presence in our life. Now, when we start
to doubt God's promises, we stop standing on God's promises.
And when we stop standing on God's promises, doubt shifts
(04:13):
our focus from God's truth to our own reasoning. And
that's where he opens the door. And that doubt will
lead to discouragement. So how do you combat the doubt?
Faith in God's unchanging word is pivotal in everything that
we do. See, Speak truth into your life. When you're
(04:34):
feeling like you're doubting, Speak what you know to be truth.
Listen to what Romans, chapter ten and verse number seventeen said.
So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the
word of God. That's truth speak that when doubt begins
to enter into your mind, I'll give you another one
today and then we'll finish up the rest of them tomorrow.
(04:56):
But once doubt begins to creep in, it isn't long
before discouragement comes. Maybe you'll say it's not working out,
maybe you say you're giving up hope. But once doubt
takes root, discouragement will soon follow. That's a guarantee. We
look around at our circumstances. When we begin to feel disappointed, disheartened,
(05:19):
we begin to feel tired, unworthy, weary. Discouragement tells us
that things won't get better, that our prayers aren't being heard,
and that maybe God has forgotten us. All of this
discouragement begins to come in. Why because we let the
crack enter into our lives where doubt came in. So
the best way to come about that is in Psalm
(05:41):
forty two and verse five. Listen to this, David writes this,
why art thou cost down on my soul? And why
is this so disquieted in me? Hope in God? In
other words, he's talking to himself and said, why am
I feeling so discouraged when I know that I can
trust God. It doesn't matter what the enemy's trying to
(06:02):
tell me, doesn't matter what my emotions or my feelings
are trying to tell me. What the word of God
tells me is that we are confident of this very thing,
that when we pray, the Lord does hear us, and
we are confident that when he hears us, he will
answer according to his perfect will. That's the truth, that's
(06:23):
the word of God, and so you need to stand
on that. Today. This formula for failure is pivotal in
the next two days. Today and tomorrow we're going to
be covering these five things because I believe it's essential
to understand that if you're going to be successful in
your career, whether it be in your vision, whether it
be in your ministry, whether it be in your marriage,
or just your daily want with God, if you're going
(06:45):
to be successful, you have to understand, Yeah, there's a
formula for that, and God has that perfectly lined out
for you. But along the way you're going to see traps, obstacles, missteps,
and doubt and discourage begin to try to come into
your life. Don't give way to that. To to day,
you be safe, you be strong, and you be blessed.
(07:07):
Pray you have a great day. Lords, will we see
you back here again tomorrow Now until then, God bless
you and God keep you.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.