Pastor Brad DeLong - Get Back Up

as we look to his word this morning recently i have noticed more and more that the lord has been very specific with his word and with the messages here at apc he's helped us narrow the lens and get specific which i believe has fostered some hard work some healing spiritual health and revival and today will be no different we're going to turn to the book of micah chapter 7 which happens to be one of my brother-in-law lolo's favorite passages of scripture it's a great one and uh we you're going to enjoy this i believe and while you're getting there and turning i do want to echo what brother reaver said that we today honor those

who fell on that fateful day of september 11th and their families and all of our first responders and their memory today the prophet micah is tasked with delivering a message of conviction a message really of ultimate destruction about the people of judah and the people of the northern kingdom of israel his book and his message really are not all that encouraging as a whole especially as he's confronting the sin the idolatry of the people of israel but the final chapter in that final passage after this sentence of judgment is presented micah ends it all with a note of hope in the midst of the darkness in the midst of a fallen people he begins the

chapter discussing his sorrow for their sins and the state of the people around him but then he shifts his gaze in verse 7. in light of the darkness and the failures he says therefore i will look to the lord i will wait for the god of my salvation my god will hear me essentially i know we've fallen i know we've made mistakes but we're still looking up to the god of our salvation and that god still hears us and with that in mind verse 8 he says don't rejoice over me my enemy for when i fall i will arise and when i sit in darkness the lord will be a light to me i i

will bear the indignation of the lord because i've sinned against him until he pleads my case and executes justice for me he will bring me forth to the light and i will see his righteousness micah surveying the failure and the fallenness and the struggle of those around him and even himself he speaks a word that resonates loudly to the people of god even centuries and millennia later that when we fall it is not final and it is not fatal but with the lord's help and by his spirit and through his grace we are going to arise and we are going to get back up again and with that powerful rallying cry in mind i preached

you today from this title get back up get back up i'm going to warn you the lord has sent me on a mission today i'm on a mission to help someone get back up and i'm only on that mission because it's his mission i need you to pray with me before we move any further that the lord would see his mission fulfilled through his word and in our lives would you pray right now in the name of jesus we recognize there are some eternal things happening in this room this morning oh that you're moving things that were previously unmovable and this morning we're asking and you would let your word help us and get in

our hearts and get in our spirits and if there's anyone here today who is in need of the admonition and encouragement that they would hear that word and someone would get back up and get back on their feet and walk with you again in the name of jesus we pray in jesus name before you're seated would you look to your neighbor and tell them get back up you can be seated falling is often a fixture of life itself and in many ways especially in physical growth and maturity falling is fundamental to our development to our physical advancement in fact when the kids were born we learned about this and even in the biology classes in

which i actually paid attention i wasn't too keen on biology but the ones that i did pay attention in we learn in both these scenarios that children are born with a superpower of sorts that us older folks no longer seem to have because falling and stumbling are so prevalent in their development children are born with softer tissues and less rigid structures so that their continuous falling is not detrimental to their frames and to their bodies i actually noticed this phenomenon firsthand a couple months ago while we were on vacation and truly i witnessed it about every day my kids stumbling over different things but on that particular day my brother brian woke up and he

decided that morning that it was high time that my son wesley began to walk on his own instead of crawling around the vacation house with breakneck speed those that saw him know the kid could crawl the span of a hundred feet in a couple seconds flat i mean he was fast he could crawl faster than i could run i can't run very fast but he could still crawl fast so my brother armed with a sugar cookie in hand not just any sugar cookie one of those sugar cookies with all the icing on top the cookie itself is not sweet enough we got to have the icing on someone said that's but every degrees armed with

a sugar cookie in hand he bribes young wesley to his feet and begin to take his first steps and then the subsequent steps beyond that and as i observed his progress and his development i i also observed that a built-in component to that was his propensity to fall and to fail i watched him fall constantly as he learned to walk and i also monitored closely as he would consistently and persistently pick himself back up again and try again there were other times when he would fall and he'd get discouraged and he'd get frustrated so we'd come along and we'd pick him back up say no you got this you keep going you keep trying as

i observed this sequence over several moments of him walking it actually inspired this sermon so i took out my phone i started writing a working title in several notes and that drew a little bit of criticism from my wife who told me i think you missed your son's first steps writing sermon notes in a sermon title i did not miss his first steps but i did miss some right after his first death i was so inspired this moment of inspiration pointed me to the fact that falling stumbling struggling even failing are often built in characteristics within the development of a physical walk in progression and in like manner since the fall of adam falling and

failing seems to be a fixture in the lives of humanity from that day forward now this was not the original intention and it's not condoned in scripture by any stretch of the imagination but it is a constant in a mainstay in the scope of humanity falling which can be interpreted as failing missing the mark stumbling struggling wrestling even experiencing fatigue and weakness all of which are alluded to in in scripture falling has been an underlying issue in humanity and even the people of god from the beginning romans 3 tells us all have sinned and all have fallen short of the glory of god and in the context paul's speaking to the jews in in rome

and he opens the chapter by talking about the advantage that they have as a people of god that are the keepers of the word of god but then he turns it around in verse nine he says what then are we better than than they are we better than others not at all for we previously charged both jews and greeks that they're all under sin they've all fallen it goes on to say no one is righteous not even one in verse 27 or 21 he says but now apart from the law the righteousness of god has been made known to which the law and the prophets all testified and pointed to this righteousness is given through

faith in jesus christ to all who believe there's no difference between jew and gentile for all have sinned and all have fallen short of the glory of god even those who have the advantage of the word of god even those who've been raised among the people of god even those of us who have known this truth from the beginning of our lives all have sinned and fallen sure of the glory it's a fixture in a commonality among humanity but thankfully the scripture doesn't end there verse 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by christ jesus god presented christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his

blood to be received by faith he did this to demonstrate his righteousness because of his forbearance or his patience he had left the sins committed before him unpunished he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in jesus so yes falling is fundamental to fallen man it's it's a fixture found within the imperfections of humanity but i also have to pause long enough to say that it does not have to continue to be that way you don't have to live in constant state of fallenness and failure there is a way out there is a path of redemption there is

a way of forgiveness in a way to live an overcoming life beyond your mistakes and beyond your failures and beyond your fallenness and beyond your past you can repent of your past you can turn around and turn towards him you can be baptized in the name of jesus and have that past and all those mistakes and all those failures buried in his name you can receive the gift of the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues and that holy ghost will give you power to overcome in power to live in holiness and in righteousness and when you have been lifted out of the darkness of the mistakes of your past and as

you learn to walk with him and grow in him you don't have to trip and stumble over the same old things over and over and over again but as you grow in your faith and in spiritual maturity you can begin to overcome you can begin to move beyond you can begin to steady yourself through the word of god and the spirit of god and i don't believe it's contradictory for me to say yes falling is a commonality we all share all of sin all have fallen short but my hope and my prayer today is that triumph over in victory over sins would also be something we would all share as well in other words i

know that falling is common when walking is new it's a new experience it's often more common when you haven't walked for a long time but when you've been walking for years and for decades falling does not have to be nor should it be as much of a commonality in your life you can begin to walk with him and overcome those sins and that passage plagued you over and over again you can be set free from your failure i thought about it this week that if i as a 30 year old man tripped and fell regularly you would think something is up now if wesley walks by and he falls and he gets back up i

can't get back up like he does almost does a handstand getting up he'll be like oh he fell he's okay he's all right but if ten times during this service and this sermon i fell you'd be coming up here after like what is going on with this thing and what this guy needs some new shoes and i do trip on this from time to time hopefully you haven't noticed all that much try to pick up my feet and walk you'd be checking my equilibrium what is going something is wrong with that guy he's always fallen thankfully i don't fall as much as i did when i was an infant or a toddler i've learned to

walk without falling continually but when i do i will also be clear that there are consequences when you fall there's an after effect when i fall especially now if i fall you're going to hear it you're going to see it both physically and spiritually there is a clear consequence there's pain there's hurt there's a ripple effect when we fall so none of this today is to say that falling and failing is somehow condoned or okay in scripture in fact in romans 6 and 1 paul says what then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound shall we continue to fall that we can experience grace he says certainly not our god forbid just because

there's a safety in that when we fall that doesn't mean we should condone it or disregard it but on the same hand and in the same breath i'm also thankful our text encourages us that when we fall when we stumble when we fail and falter even then we will still arise that when we sit in darkness the lord will be a light to us he goes on to say yes i'll bear the indignation of the lord because i sinned against him until he pleads my case and executes justice for me but in the end he's going to bring me forth to the light i'm going to see his righteousness despite my struggle so yes falling

is a fixture falling is fundamental even to those of us who've been in this church all of our lives but i thank god today and i tell someone today that falling is not final and falling is not fatal that when i fall which is an important distinction from if i win i fall i have an advocate with the father the lord jesus christ he's faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me of all unrighteousness in hebrew says he will be merciful toward my iniquities and my failures and he will remember my sins no longer so whether today you're new in your journey with the with the lord and you're just

learning how to walk or maybe you've been here 50 years i remind you because of the grace of god that neither your falling or your failure are fatal this morning as long as you make up in your mind that i've got to get back up and i've got to walk with him again and i've got to continue to run the race with patience that i'm going to get back up even though i've fallen over and over again oh let me just stop here and help someone let me speak to us where we're at i remind the saints of god that even those of us who have been in church all our lives we still are

prone to failure and we're prone to mistakes paul says this much in first corinthians 10 and 12 he warns believers he warns the church let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall none of us are beyond falling in failure and when we do the bible reminds us in psalm 37 it was so interesting all these verses talk about righteous people and good people and people that believe it says the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord and the lord delights in its way though that good man fall he will not be utterly cast down for the lord upholds him with his hand that even a righteous man may fall

seven times proverbs 24 says but he will rise again he's going to get back up again the new living translation says it this way the godly may trip seven times they're going to fall they're going to fail but they will get up again they will get up again they will get up again so when you're held in his hand and you're walking with him i remind you you're falling in your failure it is not fatal it's not final it is not irreversible but psalm 145 says the lord himself upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down i need someone struggling today and someone who's in a pit of weakness or darkness

to hear me that you may have fallen and you may have failed and you may be weak and struggling right now but the lord still upholds you and he's going to raise up every person whose bowel load your failure is not final your struggle will not overcome you it will not defeat not even your weakness can keep you from him oh he still upholds you the rest of the chapter says this the eyes of all look expectantly to you lord the one who upholds us and you give them food and due season you open your hand and you satisfy the desire of every living thing it says the lord is righteous in all his ways

he's gracious and always works the lord is near to allah call upon him to all who call upon him in truth so i've come to help someone today with the help of the word of the lord someone who is broken and someone who's distressed and i've come to tell you yes you may have fallen but it's time to get back up again and it's time to walk a little further it's time to take hold of that hand that the psalmist talks about and let him pull you back up and walk with him it's time to get up and shake that shame and all that guilt and all that doubt and all that you ought to

take all that off you none of that is from him oh conviction is it'll draw you back but shame and give you ought to shake those off and say no no i'm going to get back up i'm not staying here i'm not dying here i'm going to walk with him i'm going to run the race and yes i failed and i fell but i'm going to get back up and walk again oh it's time to recognize your failure is not final and you've got to get back up been sidelined for too long you've disqualified yourself for too long you've kept yourself from the things of god and the things he called you to do i'm

talking to someone in the holy ghost today who's told yourself no i can't be used because i failed 10 years ago no get back up walk with him be used in the kingdom again and when you do when you get back up and when you rise from that failure and that darkness remember you stand with what the writer of hebrews describes as a great cloud of witnesses chapter 11 of hebrews it's called the hall of faith and i want to remind someone today that entire hall of faith is filled with men and women that fell at one point or another but got back up again it's the beauty of the bible that both the triumphs

and the absolute failures of the people of god are recognized if the failures weren't in there it'd be a lot slimmer it wouldn't be near the same book but god in his infinite wisdom and his grace chose to include the moments of failure and moments of weakness among other reasons so that you and i would you know how many times i've been encouraged i wouldn't i didn't want david to make a mistake but i've been encouraged that a man after god's own heart and a man used so mildly in a man who is the benchmark of faithfulness that man sinned and caused over 70 000 people to lose their lives failures the people of god

with that in mind the writer of hebrews lists men like abraham jacob moses gideon samson david the prophets all of which fell and failed miserably at times and he concludes chapter 11 by talking about how they overcame through faith and they persevere and despite their failures they're included in the hall of faith and then he opens chapter 12 by saying therefore you see therefore in scripture find out what it's there for therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin the writer is writing to believers church people he just assumes they've got sin lay aside the weight and the sin and

the failure and the mistakes and the missing in the mark and those times are broken in the stress which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race had set before us looking unto jesus the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross despise the shame someone despise that shame that's on your life today it does not need to be there you don't have to be subjected to that shame if jesus despises it and jesus laid it aside you want to leave that shame here today he sat down at the right hand of the throne of god in the presence of

our biblical heroes and those included in the hall of faith men and women who knew what it meant to fail men who lied doubted murdered disobeyed backslid and broke the laws of covenant with their perseverance and their faith in mind we are encouraged today to get back up and run the race again lay aside the weights and the sins that have been keeping you back lay aside the same old burdens in the same old hindrances in the same old habits and the same old hang-ups get beyond the same cycle of sin and failure and struggle and run the race again someone today get back up walk with him again run the race again looking under

jesus he says the author and finish of our faith i love that passage lay it aside get back up and look to jesus in the process the one who endured the cross and despised the shame and this this point is frequently more critical than we would think because oftentimes when we fall when we fail as soon as we do you all know this we start looking to the wrong places and we start listening to the wrong voices there is a reason micah had to speak to his enemy in his moment of distress rejoice not against me oh my enemy because when we fall i believe the enemy just starts to get louder and louder and

louder and if we're not careful we'll give ear to our enemy instead of to our redeemer as the enemy rejoices over us and heaps on the shame and the guilt and the condemnation but micah starts his retort by saying therefore i will look to the lord i will wait for the god of my salvation my god will hear me do not rejoice over me my enemy when i fall i will arise and when i sit in darkness the lord will be a light unto me look to him you can already tell i often parallel these passages in my own life find that application many of you already know i have a lot of dad analogies

i love being a dad and it helps me those who have small children know this they fall a lot and when they do they've got this innate response one of a couple but this one is always there milo and west will be walking through the house and they'll trip over the same toy that's been there 10 times i told them to pick it up they'll fall to hit the ground and they'll look up looking for mom and dad and i immediately hey you're good you're all right yeah yeah fine okay yeah i know you're kind of get up there you go yeah go on they'll look to me or to mirai and depending on my

response they'll know okay i'm okay they got this look sometimes am i all right am i okay am i paralyzed will i make it you're okay get up it matters where you look when you fall it matters where you turn to when you're low oh god help me to turn here and not always here help me to turn to this voice and not all of the ah help me to turn to your word and your report instead of everyone else and all the other noise and distractions help me to turn to a voice like my kids do they know i can trust dad dad will tell me straight that'll help me the voice that they

trust i've always said they acknowledge a voice that's always been there and i want to stress this morning this is not to diminish any failure or struggle or weakness but if you would just look up this morning i believe you'd hear your heavenly father telling you hey you're all right you're okay i know you're hurting i know there's pain i know there's consequences i know you fell and failed again i know how many times you've done that you don't have to remind me how many times you fail but i'm still telling you get up get i'mma help you up and let's walk again and let's run the race again i'm not leaving you there just

because you fell 10 times i'm carrying you with me get up and walk again this is not the end this is not final this is not fatal this struggle will not define you but someone's been listening to the voice of the enemy and he's told you now not this time it's the tenth time you can't recover from this you're gonna stay there and you're going to die there i wish you'd silence that voice and hear the word of the lord today the psalmist said it though the righteous fall he will not be utterly cast down the lord holds them in his hand you can get back up this morning you can walk out of here

in victory you don't have to walk out of here with depression or oppression or shame or guilt but you ought to leave here with that victory with that same grace of god that we sang about a moment this or a moment ago this morning and i would today and i believe that every person who's stumbling and struggling can get this word in their spirits and let the holy ghost pick you up and walk with him again you're his child you're his creation and you are more than a conqueror through jesus christ who loves you so it is time child of god to get back i told you i'm on a mission today because i've been

commissioned by a good shepherd who's on the mission himself he's the same god who went looking for peter after peter denied him three times and ran off to fish same god who knocked paul off his high horse then picked him back up and said walk with me same god when adam failed he went into the garden looking for him adam where are you son why are you in shame why are you covered like that same god who's typified in the parable of the prodigal waiting on that prodigal to come back home and running out to meet him it's the same god who spoke to us in matthew 18 reminded us that he cares for the

one sheep who has gone astray to leave 99 others in search of one who's lost and struggling and i feel him on the move this morning reaching for people of god that are falling in need of a shepherd in his voice i sense him in the room today offering strength help hope restoration and a hand to those who have fallen he's here today and he speaks to us from matthew 10 and 29 he asked his disciples he said are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin you think of all the things he kept track of in the universe he remembers what they're sold for and not one of them falls apart from your father's

will but the very hairs of your head are all numbered do not fear therefore you are more value than many sparrows in other words if he sees when every last sparrow falls he knows when you fall and you can look to the good shepherd who values you so much the hairs of your head are numbered therefore micah says i will look to the lord i will wait on the god of my salvation he'll hear me when i fall even when i fall and fail and struggle i get tripped up i can get back up with his help and through his grace in other words i have everything i need to get back up today including

a god who delights in mercy and even including his church who rallies behind us and helps us get up and keep walking i have every thing and i have everyone i need today to get back up musicians can come i got one more dad analogy for you i shared this with our students during the peak of covet fun times mila was just learning how to walk and we went out into the backyard one day she's walking near a narrow strip of grass and the terrain got a little rough now i was right behind her just like a good dad does not close enough to not let her fall but i was behind her terrain got

a little tricky dirt clumps different things wasn't as easy to walk as i recounted this story i thought someone is there today terrain's a little rough waves are a little more violent not as easy not as certain she's walking and predictably she falls over and starts to cry hit the ground she knew where to look i was crying out reaching out for dad went over and i picked her up dusted her off you're okay you're all right notice she had a little cut on her leg within about five seconds mama was there mama came running picked her up mom and dad walk in the house take her into the restroom you're all right mina you're

okay you're fine mom nursed her wound and we sent her on her way keep walking nothing earth shattering not life altering for her probably doesn't remember it but a powerful picture of what happens every day in the kingdom you fell you're struggling maybe it's not even sin maybe it's a weight maybe this is a low point for you and your heavenly father is so adamant that you get up that he stirred me and others you've fallen you look up heavenly father picks you up in the church and this analogy of the mama comes running you're all right we're going to get you back you're going to be healthy again you're going to serve again you're

going to keep walking with him and we're not leaving you here that's why paul told the church of galatia he said if your brother is overtaken in the fault you that are spiritual the church restore them in a spirit of weakness knowing that you can follow yourself bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of christ if you've fallen today or discouraged you're struggling you've got everything and you've got everyone you need i want you to stand with me right now i want to share one more word with you that the lord gave me this week and then i'm going to invite you to come early this week as i contemplated and prayed

over this day felt like the lord spoke to me told me that there is someone here today who is discouraged broken who's failed who's fallen someone that's low and you are considering and contemplating whether you should even get back up again or just give up i've come to tell you you ought to get up you should get up you need to get up child of god the church will be here to help you walk and we'll help you continue we'll help you grow even if you again if you've been a saint here all your life we can still fall the church is there to carry us and he's there to carry us so today i'm

specifically asking for two groups of people to come the first group is anyone needing strength today to get back up on their feet and i'm casting a wide net this morning for two reasons because i want to help some people in the room as many as we can and i also don't want anyone who has failed and sinned and made a mistake to let their shame keep them in their seat when they know they need the strength of the body and the strength of the spirit of god so today i'm asking for anyone who needs strength to get on their feet anyone who just needs strength in general you're going to come in just a

moment in the second group of people i'm going to invite anyone who has ever fallen before anyone who's ever failed and had someone else come alongside you at an altar say i'm going to pray for you i'm inviting you to come in church i remind you the stakes that there is someone i believe that's wondering should i even make the attempt it's eternal implications this morning i want to invite those who need strength and i want to invite those who have ever received it to begin to make your way out of your seat right now and come and find a place to pray would you come right now and lift your hands and that god

of all grace and that god of all mercy is going to meet you here and he's going to pick you up and if he's got to if necessary he will carry you oh there's some church family members there's some guests there's some saints of god and people of god that are in need of strength right now thank you to the body of christ for moving oh why would you come and pray pray the strength god oh someone's at a critical moment someone's in a critical time this altar calls pivotal for somebody and god can use you to pray over them and speak life into him let's pray church of darkness when i fall you are

there by myself of darkness is yours greater than life is i once was lost greater than life i is was lost you are there by myself you rescued me than life it is lost now foundation it is me is i once was lost it at is you rescued me me i once was lost greater than life is i once was lost greater than life is you're praying continue on thank you to the ministry of the body i want to pray right now i felt glad to pray for every person who would classify yourself as being in a low place you need the strength of god you need god to help you and uphold you you

just feel like you know what i'm low i need strength this is the place to be able to express that it's a safe environment it's the family of god i wonder if you just lift your hand right now you'd ask for prayer and say yeah i could use some prayer i need the peace of god i need the strength look around church we've got individuals across the room and i'm asking you right now to just mobilize just go and lay hands on individuals we're going to pray for those in a low place right now god sees them oh god you see him today we pray for him in the name of jesus oh oh god

the word says we call on your name from the lowest pit we felt cut off but on the day that we call on you you heard us and you came and you responded and right now i pray and respond to every person who feels low every person who feels dejected every person who feels hopeless right now oh they're precious in your sight i'll go and lift your voice church and pray for that family that individual oh jesus you're able to help you're able to give enough strength you're able to give strength and we speak that strength into these individuals and families in the precious name of jesus oh in jesus name in jesus name in

jesus name hallelujah i want to remind someone foreign and take away the shame of sin my conviction will work but my conviction comes to draw you near and to show you my goodness and my grace will cover over all shame and i will give you my glory in exchange for any shame of your past saith the lord oh yes you're already responding and i'm going to ask you to respond a little differently if you walked in with shane i'm going to ask you just you don't have to say this out loud i know that this can be sensitive i'm not here to embarrass anybody but if you would just verbally even and quietly leave it

here today and don't leave with that shame i wonder if you pray right now and if you didn't walk in with it pray for someone who did oh god we pray right now that every person who walked in with shame and guilt on their life and condemnation on their line that they'd be able to distinguish the lord and they would silence that voice of shame and guilt and i pray they'd leave lord with a healthy conviction and they leave lord with peace today we pray for our brothers and sisters and the family of god help them to leave it here i want to remind someone anyone struggling and anyone dealing with shame you are standing

in a room full of people who fell at one point but got back up again and the only reason they're here is they decided to get back up one more time than they fell and it might sound cliche or cheesy but it's the truth if you will simply get up at least one more time then you fall you will finish the race keep getting back up and as you walk with him you won't fall like you used to you'll live an overcoming life thank the lord for his presence and the spirit here today would you do that with me would you thank the lord for his word and his help oh i thank you lord

for that grace we sang about it we just heard about it thank you jesus for every bit of grace you poured out here today on your word it compels you jesus we thank you lord for your help today thank you jesus