Acts 14:19-21 ¶ And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
2 Corinthians 4:7-4:10
(7)But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
(8)We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (9) Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
We open this message with a most powerful statement concerning the power of God in us
2 Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
This verse sounds a note of victory in our spirits.
It has sister verses like:
1 John 4:4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
And 2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
And an all-time favorite...
Lu 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
I love this verse, but to be honest, it does perplex me sometimes, because, sometimes my experience just doesnt line up with this verse.
And thats where I have my problem. I know Gods word is true, but he said nothing shall by any means hurt me. Thats where I question, what does Jesus mean when he says nothing shall by any means hurt me?
I dont want to be doubtful, Im trying to be strong and keep up my faith confession. But if Im being honest. Ive been hurt more than a few times.
First of all, Ive been hurt physically. Ive got scars on my body to prove it. And some of you do too. I've also had my heart hurt. Ive felt the pain of losing someone close to me.
So I tell you the truth, Ive wrestled with this verse, because I know Jesus is right. But what about Paul and Silas and the beating they took. What about James who Herod killed.
So here's where I found my solid ground concerning this truth. The problem comes in when we define for ourselves what Jesus means when he says, nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Our humanity wants to say that means: Ill never be sick, and Ill never be rejected, and Ill never get into financial straits or situations that cause me pain.
The first problem with that is that it leads people to believe that the Christian life is problem free, and the Bible tells us clearly that is not true.
—All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
—Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
So the problem is not with what Jesus said, it is with our interpretation of what he meant. Jesus never meant that life wouldn't deal us some hard blows, and cause us grief and pain. He meant that it doesn't matter what life throws at us, or the devil tries to do to us, it cannot separate us from him. It cannot injure the relationship we have with him.
If we think that Jesus means we'll never experience hurt in this life, we can develop a dangerous mentality that looks at people and says: If you were living right you wouldnt be sick, if you were living right you wouldnt have gone through that divorce. If you were living right your children wouldn't be hooked on drugs, or caught up in a homosexual lifestyle.
Then on the other hand, when everything's going good for us, we can become self-righteous and look at people who are hurting, and say... You must not be living right, or you wouldnt be hurting.
Thats what Jobs comforters came to tell him:
Job 8:6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
In other words they were telling Job if his heart was right with God he wouldnt be having all those problems he was having. But in fact it was because his heart was right with God that he was having all those problems.
Job1:1¶ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Now lets look again at these verses...
2 Co 4:7 10 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
In Job 14:7-9 We see this new testament truth illustrated.
Job 14:7-9 says, For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
This is speaking about making a comeback. Although the tree is
cut off down to the ground, and it looks completely dead, and gone, yet through the scent of water it will rise again.
Friend, it doesnt matter who you are or how spiritual you are, at some point life is going to deal you a blow that will knock you down. (T.D Jakes refers to it as the Potholes of life). Unexpected, undesired, situations and problems that catch you off guard, and send your life into a spin.
The good news is, that even though we will all at some point encounter these unexpected unplanned for attacks, problems, and circumstances, and will undoubtedly be knocked down... If we keep our faith in Jesus and his Word, we will never be knocked out.
Tell your neighbor... I'll never be knocked out.
-I cant say that I will never be knocked down.
-I cant say that I will never be caught off guard.
-I cant say that I will never be confused, frustrated, troubled or perplexed.
I wish I could say that, but it wouldnt be true.
-I cant say that Ill never be sick.
-I cant say Ill never get snake bit like Paul.
Or have to walk through the fire furnace like the 3 Hebrew boys.
-I cant say that Ill never suffer criticism, or persecution.
-I cant say that I will never make a mistake.
-I cant say that Ill never struggle with my faith.
I have to be honest about it. I cant say any of these things for sure.
I wish I was spiritual enough, and holy enough to say it, and I could make it stick.
But I have to be honest... I dont have that much power. Im human. I fall down sometimes. I get hit by things sometimes, and sometimes life pushes me down. And sometimes we hit those potholes in the highway of life, and man can they throw things out of whack.
But here's what I can say for sure...
I can say... I'm going to make it.
I can say... Nothing shall separate me from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I can say: I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. 2 Tim 1:12
I can say: That we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Ro 8:28
I can say: In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Ro 8:37
And I can say, no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper.
I can say that even though I have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for he is with me, and his rod and staff they comfort me.
And I can say that even if I have to walk through the rivers, they will not overflow me, and even though I have to walk through the fires, I wont be burnt, and the flames wont even kindle on me.
So for the precious child of God who has been told by the devil that if they were really serving God they would never get knocked down, and they would never be hurt, I want to tell you something... the truth is, the only person who can be knocked down is the person who has dared to stand up.
And the only person, who has never been knocked down, is the person who has never tried to stand up.
So today if you feel like youve been knocked down, and had the breath knocked out of you, and been thrown off course...
I say: Join the crowd and just lift up your voice and say (Thank God.) I may have been knocked down, but Im still in the fight,
And Im going to make a great come back.
I want to help somebody today who has taken a hard hit, and it knocked the breath out of you, and you went down. You may even feel to some degree like you're still down, and trying to fight your way back up.
I want to tell you... Youre going to make it. What didn't kill you is making you stronger.
Lets return to our opening verses... Acts 14:19-20 ¶ And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe
Let me ask you a question. Do you think it hurt when those stones were hitting Paul? Of course it hurt.
I know I'm talking to someone right now and youre taking a pounding yourself. And the truth is... It hurts, and it doesnt make sense, and you dont understand it.
And I wish that I could take that pain away right now, and I wish could stop every stone thats being thrown at you. But I can't do it.
But I can tell you this... You're going to make it. You're going to survive this. You're going to beat this. You're going to come out wiser, and stronger, and bolder, and more settled and established in your faith. You're going to not only make it through this, but you are going to be able to help someone else get through their stoning.
Look what the Bible says... The people that were stoning Paul, literally thought he was dead.
Boy they must have celebrated; they must have really thrown a party. But the devil always celebrates too early.
The Bible says... Paul got up.
Whew, I feel like shouting right here. Paul got up. Yes he took a beating. It hurt. It left him bruised and battered, and wounded. But he got up.
And what did he do? Throw a pity party? Quit the ministry?
No, here's what the Bible says... Vs 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch.
Paul was knocked down, but he didnt die. Paul was knocked down, but he got back up. Paul was misused and abused, but he didn't quit. He got up, and he picked up where he left off.
He went right back to work, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and tearing down the works of the devil.
I feel a comeback anointing today, and I feel a getting up anointing.
I just want to remind you that all things work together for the good to them that love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose.
And finally... What the devil meant for evil, God is going to use for your good.
Let me take a minute to talk about some people who made a come back.
—The first one that really stands out to me is Joseph. From the pit, to the prison, to the palace.
—The 3 Hebrew boys coming through the fiery furnace.
—Daniel coming through the lions den.
—Lazarus, 4 days dead, but he got up.
—Of course the greatest come-back in history, is Jesus himself.
In every case these individuals were in a sense knocked down, and in every case they were faced with circumstances that were naturally and physically impossible.... But God.
That is what I want to say to you today. You may have been knocked down, but God says you're not out. In fact the Holy Spirit wants you to know your best days are ahead of you.
Your knock downs have really been a set-up for a come back.
You may have lost a round or two, but you're going to win the fight.
God is not through blessing you.
The sun will shine again.
weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.
It may seem like you're in your midnight hour right now but the thing that I love about midnight is this... it's gone in 60 seconds.
Tell your neighbor... like that, and snap your fingers.
You could be 60 seconds away from your breakthrough.
60 seconds away from a turn around and a divine reversal.
60 seconds away from a brand new chapter.
Exe 14:24-26 says, And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. [24] And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, [25] And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
I want to tell somebody, morning cometh, and joy cometh in the morning.
When the morning watch came, God looked into the host of the Egyptians, and he troubled them. That word "trouble" means to confuse, discomfit, vex, and destroy.
I know that in the dark of midnight, it seems like it is hopeless, and it seems like nothing could ever change this issue or this condition.
But I prophesy to you that God is getting ready to trouble your enemies. He 's been watching, and he's been observing their pride and their haughtiness, and he's getting ready to knock their wheels off.
Let me say it like this... God is getting ready to trouble your trouble.
Or let me say it like this... your trouble is in trouble.
You don't even know what trouble is until God troubles you.
Vs 30 says, and the children of Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
So my friend, you may have been knocked down, but you're not out... lift up your head, your redemption draweth nigh.
Your knock down has been a setup for a come-back.
Shout that out... I'm on my come-back.
