Looking Up, When Life Has Got You Down Sermon by Robert Parker, 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, 1 Peter 4:12-13

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Looking Up, When Life Has Got You Down

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Looking Up, When Life Has Got You Down

Contributed by Robert Parker on Jun 30, 2003 (message contributor)

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Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, 1 Peter 4:12-13

Denomination: Christian Church

Summary: No matter what hardships, mistakes or mishaps that can occur in life God allows us to Look up when Life has got us down. A message of encouragement during tough times...

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

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…