Get Back Up: Overcome life with Joy in Adversity
John 16: 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, "Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God." 31 "You believe at last!" Jesus answered. 32 "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
God wants to not only whisper in our ear today, but shout into our hearts…
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ… you have overcome.
If the Spirit of God dwells in you… you have overcome.
If you are looking for direction from God… you will overcome!
Don’t live in defeat… breathe in the things of God… have victory in life, even in hardship.
Living with the knowledge that Jesus has overcome…
So this brings us to the question: How do we live as people who have overcome?
Breathe in Life… exhale ministry!
Breathe in life – His word, Prayer, Personal Disciplines, Surrender, find purpose, walk with God… by overcoming hardship/problems, by
How do we cope with reality in such a way not only to survive but live in victory? How are we overcomers?! How do we win every battle?
1. Remember God’s won the war (God Has Won the War!)
2. Be Led by the Holy Spirit:
a. (You Fight the Battles) You fight the battles… but It’s not our strength… Learn to follow Him
b. As long as God is with us… even from the flat of our back we can turn to Him.
3. Never Give Up!
Remember God’s won the war (God Has Won the War!)
John 16: 32 "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
This the moment of perspective… insight into the rest of your life.
This is essential for being encouraged… keeping perspective, and loving life!
IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE…
BUT REMEMBER… take heart… JESUS HAS OVERCOME…
• Bad things are going to happen to good people… take heart Jesus has overcome.
• Things are not always going to be perfect… take heart Jesus has overcome.
• The world may get worse… take heart Jesus has overcome.
• You will, not may, have hardship and trouble… take heart Jesus has overcome.
• Not everything works out like you think it should… take heart Jesus has overcome.
In life we have either put our full trust in God and really do believe… SIMPLY BELIEVE…
Or we hold control… and take it in our hands… worrying, forcing life, and then blaming God and others when it doesn’t work out.
Reality Check: YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE… take heart Jesus has overcome.
BUT, this only works if you are walking with God… if you are out of bounds, living in sin, not partnering with God in life… trouble is coming… and won’t have anything to hold on too… THAT’S REALITY.
I think we have a misconception in the church… we think God is only present if everything works out. if everyone remains healthy… and if illnesses are healed.
Reality is that trouble will come… and yes Jesus has overcome, but that is so that we might have strength to walk through hard situations well… because God gives us strength to do so…
A young child was diagnosed with a terminal disease. The parents knew that he would die soon. The child as well knew that his death would be soon. One night he was sitting in his mother’s lap watching television with her. He looked up into her eyes and said, “Mommy does it hurt to die?” The young mother was overcome with grief and had to leave the room for a moment to gather her emotions. She stood in the bathroom and prayed, “God what can I tell him?” She felt that the Lord gave her a word for him. She went back into the room and said, “Honey do you remember how so many times you have fallen asleep in front of the television and then the next morning you wake up in your room? Well I will tell you what happens. When you go to sleep your father comes in and with his strong arms he picks you up and carries you into your room. And then the next thing you know you wake up in your room. Well death is just like that. When you die, you fall asleep and Jesus Christ gathers you up in His strong arms and carries you to heaven. And then you wake up in another room!”
Reality: Trouble will come… take heart Jesus has overcome. So that you and I can handle anything that life might bring…
SO we will have trouble, Now What? How do we know what to do in the midst of hard moments?
To live a life in victory we must learn to be people of the Spirit…
People of the Spirit: led by the HS.
Absolutely vital to living a life of victory is learning to let go of control, be obedient to God and His word… and learn to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)
It’s interesting to note… in Ephesians Paul tells them to be “filled with the Spirit” … this was a tense verb which means… “keep on being filled” in other words what we are looking for is an ongoing relationship, not a one time experience… but walk with God, and keep walking with God.
In Randy Hurst’s little book called “The Helper”… he tells the story of a third world country that was given a communication satellite dish by the US for the international telephone service. The dish was constantly in motion, run by electric motors as it tracked the satellite in space. A government official unplugged the satellite dish one night, believing the motors would last longer if they were not in constant use. When he reconnected it the next morning, the satellite scanned the heavens looking for the signal and it burned the motor’s out. It was not designed for intermittent contact, but for constant contact.
In life… things are thrown at us all the time... how should you respond. At work, at home, in every place…
So much of life is balance…
o Learning when to step out by faith (Faith without risk is a contradiction)
o Learning when to be still by faith (Be Still and Know that I am God!)
o Learning when to speak up or shut up!
o When to stand up and when to simply pray!
o EACH OF THESE THINGS ARE DONE BY FAITH!
THERE WILL BE TROUBLE… BUT JESUS HAS OVERCOME!
SO LIVE AS PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT.
BUT HERE IS REALITY… There will be times you and I will fail!
• Moses: Bible says he was the meekest among men [meekness: strength under control] But what did he do? He lost control of his emotions and killed an Egyptian/later smote rock twice!
• Abraham: He is called the father of faith…but he left Canaan and went into Egypt, and lied about Sarah his wife, because he didn’t have enough faith that God would protect him…he failed in his area of strength!
• David: A picture of purity/apple of God’s eye/man after God’s own heart…but he committed adultery/failed in his area of strength!
• Peter: Denies Christ, even at the time of the Crucifixion… this one whom the church would be built.
Jesus told us… trouble will come, so when you fail… here is what we do… Never Give Up!
Perspective: There are no problems, only opportunities
James 1: 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
There will be trouble…
God has won the war…
Learn to walk in balance… as people of the Spirit…
But when you fail… Never give up…
When life is hard… never give up…
• Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded.
• Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
• Colonel Sanders had the construction of a new road put him out of business in 1967. He went to over 1,000 places trying to sell his chicken recipe before he found a buyer interested in his 11 herbs and spices. Seven years later, at the age of 75, Colonel Sanders sold his fried chicken company for a finger-lickin’ $15 million!
• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. Disney also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
• Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” He was expelled and refused admittance to Zurich Polytechnic School. The University of Bern turned down his Ph.D. dissertation as being irrelevant and fanciful.
• The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before 20th-Century Fox finally produced it. It went on to be one of the largest grossing movies in film history.
• When NFL running back Herschel Walker was in junior high school, he wanted to play football, but the coach told him he was too small. He advised young Herschel to go out for track instead. Never one to give up, he ignored the coach’s advice and began an intensive training program to build himself up. Only a few years later, Herschel Walker won the Heisman trophy.
• When General Douglas MacArthur applied for admission to West Point, he was turned down, not once but twice. But he tried a third time, was accepted and marched into the history books.
• Babe Ruth, considered by sports historians to be one of the greatest athlete of all time and famous for setting the home run record, also holds the record for strikeouts.
• Daniel is in the lion’s den…
• Shadrack, Meshak, and Abindigo are in the fiery furnace…
• Jonathan and his armor bearer stand before an army…
In this life… THERE WILL BE TROUBLE… BUT JESUS HAS OVERCOME!
SO LIVE AS PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT and Never Give Up!
1 John 4: 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Romans 12: 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
John 16: You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
THERE WILL BE TROUBLE… BUT JESUS HAS OVERCOME!
SO LIVE AS PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT…
Ones who never give up!
