Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4: 7 – 10, 14
(4:7) “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
(4:8) “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.”
(4:9) “Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”
Now go to verse 14… Get this in your spirit.
(4:14) “Knowing that the He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”
(4:17) “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
(4:18) “While we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
You may be seated….
Amen…
Today I want to talk about: “Looking up, when Life has got you down”…
Looking up… When Life… Has got you down…
INTRODUCTION:
Yes… Looking up, when life has gotten you down…
And as we are coming together this morning and as you get your pens
And bulletin ready because I want you to write down in large letters this
7-letter word as it will be the central theme of what we are talking about
today.
Just 7-Letters
Just 7-Letters
But when those seven letters are practiced with the power of God on your side… You are more than a conqueror…
You are an overcomer!!
You have a sense of invincibility that you may not have know existed in your life…
And then… You can look into the mirror of life and see deliverance right around the corner…
Yes, that 7-letter word I want you to write down is the word “COURAGE”
Courage…
Write it in big letters on your bulletin or note pad…
Tell your neighbor: “When life has got me down” God gives me courage….
Amen, and see, in our scripture this morning this is exactly where we
See the great Apostle Paul as he is writing to the church of Corinth just
25 years after the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…
You see, Paul’s entire ministry was a graphic, invaluable and continuing Illustration of courage…
Paul knew about weakness…
He knew about the calamities of life…
He knew that (even as a Christian), in the midst of suffering, Paul
Exemplified courage…
Paul knew something about courage… Paul knew something about courage…
So there is much we can learn from this passage of scripture…
It has been a word for me and I believe this is a word for someone in here today…
Lets go back to the scriptures for a moment… if you would go back to
Your bibles in book of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 8…
PT I. IT MUST BE GOD.
Paul said in verse 7
(4:7) “ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels (in other words, we have this treasure lodged in a weak body) or (We have this treasure in this frail vessel of clay)
That the Excellency of this power may be of God, and not of us…
What is Paul saying?
Paul is saying that this thing… This source of strength… This source of courage… This all-prevailing power…
This exceeding greatness…
This thing I can’t explain. Must be from God… It must be from God (Do I have witness today)
This thing that keeps getting me through…
This thing that keeps holding me up…
This thing that keeps me going …
It must (somebody say it must) … It must be from God…
It can’t be from me…
This power, that keeps making a way from mw when I don’t deserve it…
This strength that keeps pushing forward when the world is pushing me back…
This authority that keeps me agile when my enemies are trying to knock me of course…
It can’t be me…
It can’t be something I did…
Tell somebody: It must be God…
Tell Somebody else: It had to be God…
Let me hear you say it: I know it was God…
Somebody out there knows it was God…
I know it was God that saved my life…
I know it was God who made me right…
I know it was God who brought me to you…
I know it was God who got me out…
I know it was God who called me…
I know it was God who taught me…
When my back was against the wall…. It was God…
When my luck had run out… It was God…
When I had no where to go… It was God…
When I was on my way out…
God said, I’ll be your strong tower…
I’ll be your living water…
I’ll be your bread from heaven…
I’ll be your God of Salvation…
I’ll be your great I am…
And I can look up, when Life has got me down…
And all things will be possible through me, Somebody give Him some praise today…
I had to be God…
It had to be God…
See Paul knew that… Paul knew that it had to be God…
Paul knew that… he knew that through all the beatings, through all the persecution, through all of his afflictions, the shipwreck, his travels, his imprisonment and the turbulence of life… That the courage he demonstrated in Life was driven by his relationship with God…
In fact, if you turn just a few pages with me in this same book… In chapter 11 around the 24th verse you will see where Paul simultaneously gives you an autobiography of his sufferings and courage…
Somebody may be able to relate to some of this in your own life…
(11:24) Verse 24 where he says: Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. (I got whipped 39 times…)
But I pressed on…
(11:25) Three times I was beaten with Rods, once I was stoned, Three more times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I spent in the deep…
But I pressed on…
Verse 26 (11:26) In my journeys I saw the perils of water, the perils of robbers, the perils of my own country men, the perils of the heathen, the perils of the city… The perils of the wilderness… The perils of the sea… And the perils of being around false brethren.
(11:27) I was weary and in pain… I was hungry and thirsty… I was cold and naked… But I pressed on….
Someone once said that: “courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to push on in the face of it.”
Paul went through some stuff… And he knew it couldn’t be him, it had to be God who was getting him through…
That’s why I know that if you can relate to some of what Paul went through, the next few verses that we will focus on will be a word for you today…
PT II. KNOCKED DOWN, BUT NEVER KNOCKED OUT
Paul said it must be God… How do I know that well look at verse 8 with me for a moment?
And I don’t know who it is out there, but somebody needs to personalize this today, If you are that person I want you to replace the word “we are” with words “ I am”… Are you with me?
(4:8) We are (I am) troubled on every side, yet not distressed…
I am troubled on every side… But I am not distressed. That word distressed come from the Greek meaning to have “No way Out” …
(Another way of looking at it is like this… God is tell you that you may be hard pressed, but you’re not crushed…)
You may have troubles all around you, but I’m not shut in…
Come on Somebody…
You may be hedged in from every corner… But you are not hemmed in…
I may be persecuted, but not forsaken…
I may be pursued… But never abandoned
I may have problems… But I’m not stopping…
I may be hurting… But I’m never abandoned…
I may be cast down… But never cast out…
In fact, one translation of the scripture describes God’s word as to say I’ve been knocked down but never knocked out…
How many people know how it feels to be knocked down…
Knocked down on your Job…
Knock Down in your health…
Knocked Down on your finances…
Knocked Down in your life…
Knocked down by lies…
Knocked down by words…
Knocked down…
Just like a boxer that has gone 15 rounds in a heavyweight bout…
That Boxer in the course of that fight will take some shots…
He’ll feel the pain of those body blows…
He’ll take some shots to the jaw…
He’ll get some scars…
He’ll get some wounds in the ring…
And sometime during is life in the ring…
He will undoubtedly go down…
And when we go down… We get face to face with the mat…
We get face to face with defeat…
It is you against your opponent and your face is lying against the mat…
And just like a boxer that has been hit with a tough blow you are trying to get it together …
Because when you got hit… You got a little disoriented for a while…
When you got hit… You felt the pain for a while…
And when you got hit… You felt like you wanted to just fall down …
You were struck down… You were knocked down…
And just when you thought it was over…
Just as the walls of the pain started closing in on you…
Just when that clock started ticking on you…
Just as they started to count you out…
Jesus stepped in…
And when Jesus stepped in praise God
You started looking up…
And when you looked up to heaven…
You received your courage…
When you received your courage…
You Said, I can look up to that mountain!
I can beat that Giant!
I am gonna make it to my knees and pray…
I’m gonna get on my feet and walk…
I’m gonna stand up and give him praise…
I’m gonna lift my eyes unto the Lord…
And when Life has got me down on the mat…
When Life is trying to strike me down…
When the devil has tried to knock me down… In Jesus name I will not be knocked out…
I will not be struck down…
I will not be cast out…
I looked unto heaven…
I saw His mercy on my life…
I saw His blessings…
I saw His goodness…
People have been trying to take me down…
But I saw his Power…
People been trying to get me to fight…
But I saw his peace…
People been trying to take me away from my self…
But I saw His provision…
The invisible became visible…
The Untouchable… Became Touchable…
I can hear… The unheard of…
I can Look up when Life has got God and me down…
God, is right around the corner…
If you know Him Somebody give Him a hand praise this morning…
It’s all about God… It’s God…
It’s incredible and yes seemingly impossible to think about where you have come from and what you have come from and NOT give Him praise… Amen?
I mean thinking about what He has done and brought you through and NOT want to shout…
Just tell Him how much He means to you…
See It’s all about God…
Even when WE don’t do right… it’s all about God…
When Life seems like it is not going your way… It’s all about God…
When the world is not treating you right
When you feel knocked down… It’s all about God…
Pt. III.BELOVED… REJOICE… WHEN GLORY IS REVEALED…
I want you to turn your bibles to the book of first Peter, chapter 4 verses 12 – 13…
I Peter 4, verse 12 and 13… and we will get ready to go home…
When you get there say amen to me…
(1 Peter 4:12) “Beloved, I think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
(4:13) ”But rejoice, in as much as ye are partaker of Christ’s suffering, that when glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad with exceeding Joy.”
When the glory is revealed…
When the glory is revealed…
Listen closely to what is being said in the word of God…
God is saying to you: Beloved… Rejoice… When the Glory is revealed…
Beloved… Rejoice… When the Glory is revealed…
When you are hurt…
Beloved, Rejoice when the Glory is revealed…
When you’ve been afflicted with pain…
Beloved Rejoice when the Glory is revealed…
When You’ve been burdened down with stress and worry…
Beloved, Rejoice… When the glory has been revealed…
You’ve been hard pressed, hemmed in and forsaken…
You’ve been knocked down, struck down and kicked around…
You’ve been around the block and back again on the streets of hard knocks..
But God will whisper in your ear…
Beloved… I am speaking to you…
Beloved… I need to hear from you…
Beloved… You are not the things you think you are…
Beloved… I know what you are dealing with…
I know about the fiery trial that is trying to take you out…
I know about the hurt that vexing your spirit….
But beloved… I am not going to let you fall…
I am not going to let them harm you…
I am not going to allow this to happen to you…
So Beloved… Rejoice… For when the glory has been revealed…
When you have gone through the fire of affliction…
When Iron has sharpened Iron…
Next time you look up to me…
Next time you ask me…
Next time you cry to me…
I’m Gonna open up the windows of heaven…
I’m Gonna lift you up higher…
When I’m troubled… I’ll lift you up…
When I’m cast down… I’ll lift you up…
When I need courage… I’ll lift you up…
I’ve been persecuted…. But not forsaken…
I’ve been cast down… But not destroyed…
I’ve been Knocked Down… But never knocked out…
I’ve been put down… But never put out…
I’ve been held down… But never held out…
Because He’s Marvelous…
He’s Marvelous…
He Marvelous… In the noon day…
He’s marvelous … In the morning time…
He’s Marvelous … In the midnight hour…
He’s marvelous… For how he saved me…
He’s marvelous… For how he made me…
He marvelous… For what he does…
He marvelous … how He loves…
He’s marvelous because whatever is going on in our lives… Whatever we know we can’t handle on our own…
God will remind us through his word and through His people that we can look up, when life has got us down….
In fact, we are going home now but if you would turn to the 17th verse of 2 Corinthians you will see how will God describe what we define often times as crisis in our life and really how we have to look at obstacles that come our way in the journey we call life…
First in verse 14 He said:
(4:14) “Knowing that the He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”
In verse 17 he says
(4:17) “For our LIGHT affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
(4:18) “While we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
What we weigh ourselves down with God will call a light affliction…
That issue at your Job… A light Affliction…
That problem with your friend… A light affliction…
They are talking behind your back… A light affliction…
The Attack that you are dealing with… A light affliction…
For God says that He is working a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory…
God say seek the things that are eternal…
Seek the things that are not seen…
Lay up your treasures in heaven…
Be courageous…
And I promise… God is right around the corner for you today…
Remember: Success is never final… Failure is never fatal… But with God on your side it will be courage that will count…
God bless you Southern Mission…Keep pressing on for God
