The familiar statement, "I Made It ", is a statement that implies achievement in the midst of overwhelming odds. It is a proclamation of accomplishment for someone who has had the deck stacked against him. Its a way of saying that, "In spite of the length of the journey; in spite of the roughness of the road and in spite of the many stumbling blocks which have been thrown in my way, I have overcome and I have reached my goal!¨
Now, we must note that the statement, "I Made It," does not refer to an ultimate goal, nor does it refer to a permanent victory.
As long as we are citizens of this world, and as long as we are housed in these mortal bodies, every achievement is temporary and every victory is short-lived; the celebration only lasts for a little while, and in many instances, it is only the prelude to another struggle. Yet, in the words of the songwriter, we are encouraged that Each victory will help you, some other to win." So even though the statement, I Made it¨, isnt permanent for mortal beings, it contains an element of encouragement which says to us that the same Grace which brought us thus far on our journey can be trusted to lead us all the way home.
It must also be noted that there is a vast difference between saying "I Made It" and saying "I've Got It Made¨. You see,I've got it made¨ is an statement of self-sufficiency and arrogance, while I Made It¨ is an statement of humble jubilation. I've Got it Made¨ is a statement of over-confidence and cockiness, while I Made It¨ is an statement of joy and relief. When a person says I've got it made¨, he isnt going any further. He acknowledges that he is already AT THE TOP. And when youre at the top, theres only one way to go from there.. DOWN. When a person-says, I've got it made, for all practical purposes, he is dead in his area of achievement. There are no more milestones, no more achievements, no more improvements, and no more accomplishments.
The Israelites who lived during the days of the prophet Amos felt that because of their strategic location, their economic prosperity, and their military might, they had it made, but their self-sufficient confidence was shattered by the words of the country preacher who thundered, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion , and trust in the mountain of Samaria "
Belshazzar felt that he had it made one day. He got so cocky that he took the gold and silver vessels which had been in the Temple at Jerusalem and used them for one of his elaborate drinking parties, but when the festivities got into high gear, he and his guests were frightened almost out of their senses by a hand out of nowhere, writing on the wall.
The rich fool spoken of in the 12th Chapter of Luke, thought that he had it made, when he tore down his small barns, built larger ones and stored away all of his surplus grain. He was so confident that he said, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up many years; take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry." But we all know that shortly after reciting that selfish and conceited soliloquy, God said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."
So we should be careful about saying that we have it made. Nobody has it made until he crosses over chilly Jordan and sets foot in the Promised Land.
But the statement, I Made It¨, is just a brief reflection of a journey over some territory that has been covered; its a celebration of a victory over adverse circumstances, however temporary. Let me give you a few examples of a person who is justified in participating in the I Made It¨ celebration.
When parents work hard and make great sacrifices to educate their children, and when they attend a Commencement Exercise and see their child walk across the stage and receive that diploma, they can say, 'I Made It."
When a man struggles for many years trying to pay for a home and he finally makes that last payment he can say, Hallelujah, I Made it."
When a widowed mother, or any mother who has had to rear a child without a husband and has maintained her decency and has kept high moral standards , despite the many temptations to do otherwise, sees her child receive some high honor or be appointed to some prestigious position, she can say, "Thank God, I made it."
When loyal and dedicated church members have achieved success in some ministry or some project that others predicted would fail, they can say, "Praise the Lord, we made it."
When a pastor reflects upon his years of service to a congregation and realizes that, for the most part, his pastorate has been an uphill struggle against organized opposition, and yet, he has not yielded to pressure tactics and has maintained a sense of dignity and direction, he can say, "Hallelujah, Bless God from Zion, Thank you Jesus, I Made It."
A.Now, as you search the pages of the Holy Bible you can find no person in a better position to say, "I Made It," than the Apostle Paul.
After his conversion on the Damascus Road , the rest of his life was a constant series of knock downs and recoveries.
If you follow his life as a minister and a missionary, you will find him constantly meeting stern opposition.
At Lystra, he was stoned and left to die; in Phillipi, he was beaten and thrown in jail; there was a conspiracy against him at Ephesus , and he had to be hustled out of jail at Jerusalem to escape an angry mob.
But after each incident, he said, in essence, "Thank God, I Made It."
B.Listen to the beautiful language he uses as he writes his second letter to the Corinthians.
He employs a series of paradoxical statements to express his situation:
"We are troubled on every side, yet, not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; we are persecuted, but not forsaken; we are cast down but not destroyed."
In other words, despite all the known and imaginable weapons used to stop me, I can still say, I made it...
not by my own merit...
not by my own wit...
not by my own know-how.
not by my own ingenuity,
but by the grace of God,
Yes, I made it.¡¨
I am what I am by the grace of God!
C.Lets take a brief look at the powerful words that Paul uses to describe the enormity of his opposition. He says
We are troubled on every side,
We are perplexed,
We are persecuted, and
We are cast down.
D.Think about these four very negative statements:
Troubled, Persecuted, Perplexed, and Cast Down.
That's a whole lot to have going against you at the same time.
Let¡¦s look at them one by one.
E.To be troubled means to be harassed, to worry and to feel discomfort.
Now, Paul says that he is troubled on every side.
No matter where he turned, he suffered harassment
He was harassed by the Jews with whom he had once collaborated to wipe out Christianity.
He was harassed by Christians who didn't trust him and felt that his so-called conversion on the Road to Damascus was nothing but a hoax.
He was harassed by the citizens of Ephesus who saw him as a threat to their economy. He was harassed by the Thessalonians who looked upon him as one who was turning the world upside down.
Yes, he was troubled on every side. No matter where he went, he was made to feel discomfort.
F.Next, he states that he was perplexed: he was confused.
He didn't have all the answers himself.
He was disturbed about his own inability to completely rid himself of his carnal nature.
He knew that he had been hand-picked by God to proclaim His eternal message .
He knew that he was anointed to warn others of the impending dangers of sin, yet he could not shake off his fleshly desires.
He said, "When I would do good, evil is present with me. He said that his fleshly lusts occurred with such an invariable degree of frequency that he called it a "law."
G.And then Paul said that he was persecuted.
Paul was persecuted verbally as well as physically.
He was lied on and spied on...He was criticized and brutalized. He was misused, falsely accused and physically abused.
He was the victim of many scourgings...He suffered many whippings...Yes, he was beaten with many stripes.
And finally Paul said that he was cast down.
He was constantly being knocked down and thrown into the valley of despair.
Malicious lies were circulated concerning his motives, in an attempt to keep him from reaching his highest potential as an evangelist.
A serious ailment kept him in constant pain. But this thorn in the flesh kept him from developing a super-ego: Yes, Paul was cast down.
But despite all of these formidable enemies, Paul still say's, "I Made It."
I am pressed at every point, but I'm not hemmed in.
There are road blocks at every juncture of the highway, but I still managed to escape.
Every effort was made to keep me down, but by the grace of God I got up anyway. Yes, I Made It.
So, we can identify with Paul when he says, we are troubled on every side...
We can relate to him when he says, we are perplexed.
And certainly we know what it means to be persecuted and to be cast down.
We've traveled the same road as Paul, and just like him, we can also say that we've made it.
Yes, by the grace of God, we've made it.
B. We've had many ups and downs, but we've made it. We know how it feels to be Almost to the ground
But, thank you Jesus, we made it.
The mountains get a little too steep, but we made it.
Sometimes our friends made us cry, but still, we made it
We've had to drink from the old bitter cup, but we made it.
We got tired but we never gave up. Thank You Jesus, we made it
How did we make it? I'll tell you how.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come,
twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."
"Even SO Come Lord Jesus"
