Get Up! A Spiritual Knockout: How getting knocked down can change your whole life. Nov. 16, 2008
Review: Acts 1-8 The Church is in a great transition: from inward (Jews) to outward (Gentiles)
C. S. Lewis said “God whispers to us in our pleasures; speaks in our consciences; but shouts in our pains.”
Explanation: Saul is the key to the transition: God takes the greatest threat to the church and makes him the greatest voice for the church! (The church is in transition)
• He is blinded by the light: Sometimes we think we are spiritual, living in the light, but we are blind.
• People love the darkness. But in darkness, disease and infection flourish. John 3:19-20
How do we handle sin in the church? Privately. Mt 18:15 God’s desire is not to embarrass people, but to heal people. God is mostly concerned with sin in the Church.
A Spiritual Knockdown can change your life: Sometimes we are living life according to our own plans and desires, thinking we are serving God, but we really need spiritual knockout to get on the right path.
I. He fell to the ground: When God shows, up, get down.
The Priests could not stand in the presence of God (1 Kings 8:11) (2 Chron 5:14)
• When the darkness of sin encounters God’s holiness – it turns to repentance
• Deut. 9:25 Moses "I fell down and lay before the Lord for forty days and nights when he was ready to destroy you.”
• 1 Chron. 21:16 (NLT) David fell down with face to the ground.
• Job 1:20 (KJV) Then Job arose, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
• Rev. 5:14 (KJV) And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him
Have you ever been “knocked out” spiritually?
We don’t need a nice, calm spiritual experience. We need a knockout!
Every knee will bow and confess…Rom 14:11 Bow now or bow later.
Physical and Spiritual attitude: You can bow down physically, but not spiritually: We have to get down before we can get up.
Humility: You are God, I am not!
You might be going through a knock out experience and its okay: let God have your attention. He is changing your life.
II. He picked himself up: Saul did not lay there licking his wounds – he got up.
Proverbs 24:16 (KJV) For a just man may fall seven times, and rises up again:
When the power of God knocks you down, he doesn’t intend for you to stay there
• Achan sinned, Joshua fell down – God said get up! (Josh. 7:10)
• Gideon worshipped God before the battle, God said, “Get up, I have given you victory.”
• Peter and James said to the lame man, “Get up and walk!”
• Peter was in prison when the angel said, “Get Up!” and his chains fell off.
• When you get knocked down, pick yourself up! Get up!
• You may have failed, get up!
• 2 Kings 7:3 (KJV) The four lepers, “Why sit here until we die?”
• Some people live their lives on the ground – get up!
• When David and his men had lost everything, they got up 1 Samuel 30:8
The word of the Lord is get up!
“But it’s hard to get up!”
• Through great personal struggle that Martin Luther nailed his thesis to the Wittenberg church doors.
• “My conscience is a prisoner of God’s Word. I cannot and will not recant, for to disobey one’s conscience is neither just nor safe. God help me. Amen.” Martin Luther before the Roman emperor
• This country was founded by people who stood for religious freedom. It wasn’t easy – it won’t be easy. Being a Christian might be hard at times, but having no hope or faith is much harder.
Perhaps we are headed for a spiritual knockout: we are facing a great threat to our faith. Perhaps God is using these days to get our attention. We cannot stay down, we must pick ourselves up.
III. They led him by the Hand: He needed some help: When you are blind and on the ground, get some help!
• The American idol of prideful independence does not work in Christianity.
• Moses: needed help from Aaron and Hur.
• David needed help from his men.
• Peter had James, Paul had Timothy
• Even Jesus asked his disciples to pray with him (and they failed)
We all have needy times, but we don’t have to build our house there.
IV. “They’re here!” The world is mad at the church for getting involved in moral issues, yet they ask the church for help when they need money. (It is amazing that people will ask for money from a church they would not darken the doors of).
• When their baby is sick in the hospital, they don’t call the ACLU, they call the church.
• When their marriage is falling apart, they don’t call the city council, they call the church.
• When their loved one dies, they call the church.
• But we are here to give, to serve. We are not called to protest, but to proclaim the Gospel message of God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ.
• We can scream, yell, and protest all the sin in the world, but until people come to Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, our words are empty.
When the world comes to us looking for an answer, will we be hiding in our sanctuary, or will we be standing tall proclaiming the Gospel.
Sermon Central: “Do you have deep, personal on-going personal relationship with a non-Christian?”
What kind of guy would take a job keeping a lighthouse? (Harrison Ford in Sabrina). The Church is the lighthouse keeper.
“Perhaps Western culture is nearing a point where the Christian faith can be successfully reintroduced. Maybe the collapse of the present order will lead to a new outbreak of revolutionary Christianity.” Howard A. Snyder “The Radical Wesley” 1980
The Mouthpiece of God: A word to sustain the weary:
Is my arm to short that I cannot redeem? The Lord has given me a tongue to sustain those who are weary…Who will contend with me? Bring it on! The earth will wear out like old clothes, but my salvation will last forever….the redeemed of the Lord shall return with singing…why are you afraid of men who die? He who is bowed down shall be released, he shall not die…You are my people. Wake yourself, stand up! Isaiah 50:2, 4, 8; 51:6, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17
We’re not going to bow! Daniel 3:27
I am not going to bow to political pressure that tells me to shut up
I am not going to back down to a reprobate culture that glorifies perversion and sin
I am not going to bow down to the inclination to withdraw in fear
I am not going to bow down to the self-centered greed of our culture.
I am not going to bow down to the god’s of self-indulgence.
I am not going to bow down to the condemnation of spiritual failure
I am not going to bow down to spiritual apathy of a secular minded Church
I will not bow down to discouragement, doubt, and fear.
The Lord is my God – whom shall I fear! What can man do to me?
When you get knocked down (Audience responds with "Get up!")
Even in the darkness.
Give the Lord your worship
He will never leave you
Proclaim the name of Jesus
He is our salvation
When you’re feeling weak now
Let your brother help you
Don’t let Satan beat you
Lord we have the victory
We will never bow down
Let the Spirit move you
Let him take you higher
The Lord is mighty
He is our salvation
I get down, I get back up! (Audio Adrenaline)
Put on the WHOLE ARMOR of God! Proclaim Jesus Christ!
