I've Fallen And I Will Get Up!

I've Fallen And I Will Get Up!

I. OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

Long before advertisers understood the science behind the power of spaced repetition, they knew it worked. The reason radio and television and YouTube and social media exist is not primarily entertainment, but advertising.

I spent long hours in front of the television at my grandfather's house as a child where, in-between cartoons and reruns of Matlock, I learned little jingles like, "The best part of waking up, is Folger's in your cup." And "Nabisco... ting."

There was another commercial for a company called Life Call. Life Call was a company that sold devices to be worn around the necks of those who had health difficulties and spent a significant amount of time alone in their homes. In the event of an emergency the wearer simply pushed a button and they were in contact a 24 hour emergency response service. The commercial said "Protect yourself with Life Call and you're never alone."

Perhaps the most famous line from the commercial is the voice of a woman called Mrs. Fletcher who has just pushed the button on her Life Call device and says, "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

While this little quote has been turned into a rap and parodied by many including Urkel on Family Matters there is some truth to the reality that there are moments when we fall and it seems impossible for us to get up.

The prophet Micah speaks of the fall of Jerusalem and its rise in:

Micah 7:8-11 (ESV)

8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;    when I fall, I shall rise;when I sit in darkness,    the Lord will be a light to me.9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord    because I have sinned against him,until he pleads my cause    and executes judgment for me.He will bring me out to the light;    I shall look upon his vindication.10 Then my enemy will see,    and shame will cover her who said to me,    “Where is the Lord your God?”My eyes will look upon her;    now she will be trampled down    like the mire of the streets.

11 A day for the building of your walls!    In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

His message is not "I've fallen and I can't get up" but "I've fallen and I will get up!"

II. INTRODUCTION:

The book of the prophet Micah is a short book contained in the book of the twelve minor prophets. It was written around the same time as the book Isaiah. It was during the time of the divided kingdom and both Israel and Judah were breaking the covenant that they had made with God. They had fallen into a lifestyle of consistent sin.

Micah warns them that the Assyrians are going to come and attack them and then eventually the Babylonians.

Most of the book contains Micah's accusations against Israel for their 500 years of falling and his warnings about God's judgment.

He says that the leaders are oppressing the people and the prophets are for hire. The land is filled with injustice and the poor are taken advantage of.

There are stiff warnings followed by promises of hope and restoration. I'm so grateful that the LORD always promises hope.

It is in Micah that we find the promise that Jesus the Messiah will come that the Scribes quoted to the magi who had come to look for the child Jesus (Micah 5:2; Matt 2:6).

Micah talks about the New Jerusalem and the promise God made to Abraham. God wants to bless Israel and Judah, but first he must cleanse it.

In Micah 7, Jerusalem is personified and she mentions her fall. She has fallen, but she is going to get up. She has been destroyed, but she is going to be rebuilt.

There are three lessons that we can take from this text:

III. PREACHING POINTS

1. We All Fall Down

Micah 7:8 "...when I fall..."

Falling is at the bookends of natural life. As we go from crawling to walking as toddlers we fall again and again. We put training wheels on bicycles until our children are ready to try riding without them. And when they do, they have moments when they fall. They scuff their knees.

Children play games that have been passed down for centuries as they sing:

Ring-a-ring-a-rosiesA pocket full of posiesA tissue, a tissueWe all fall down

We sing the rhyme and fall down on purpose, laughing and rolling.

Our nursery rhymes are filled with those who fall:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wallHumpty Dumpty had a great fallAll the king's horses and all the king's menCouldn't put Humpty together again

As we age falling can hurt more than it did when we were children. I am still recovering from falling on first base a few weeks ago at the church softball game!