Christian life is not about how fast you can run.
It's not about how high you can climb.
It's about how well you bounce and a wise Old King called
Solomon. Once said for though, the
righteous fall seven times. They Rise Again, dream of the
day. When you first became a
Christian, you know, what the devil did to you, that day.
He painted an invisible Target on your back and every single
day, the devil and his demons are throwing Fiery dolls, fiery
arrows, at Christians around the world.
The devil, mark my words. He's trying to trip you up and
sometimes he'll use people to trip you up.
Not just, did you finally take him out?
Circumstance, maybe an infirmity that attacks you and sometimes
to know what he does. You'll dangle a juicy piece of
bait in front of you and he knows that that piece of bait to
you is irresistible and if he dangles at Temptation in front
of your eyes, you will grab on and your bite because let's be
honest. My the only Christian in the
room today who has ever fallen, I doubt it, we do fall, but when
we fall, what's our reaction? Do we lie down defeated.
Do we have a pity party feeling? Sorry for ourselves thinking,
I'm useless. God could never use me for the
kingdom. Well, that's what the devil
wants us to think. But, actually you and I is
Christine's need to learn the art of bouncing pay.
Now, if I had the privilege of knowing you for a little time
and you've been subscribed to this ministry.
You've probably heard me tell this story before, but please
forgive me. I'd really like to tell it
again. When my little boy, Samuel first
learn to walk. It was one of the most amazing
things I've ever seen. And if you're a mother, if
you're a father, you know, there's something pretty special
about child learning to walk. He said the child stands up and
they are so proud. They know that they've achieved
something and then they take one step, and then they fall down,
they get back up again, and then they take two steps.
And then they fall down again and then they get back up again.
They take 34 steps. The child might fall down a
hundred times a thousand times ten thousand times, but they
always rise again until something wonderful happens that
child eventually learns how to walk without falling and my dear
brother. My dear sister.
I can honestly look you in the face today and tell you every
single day. Day, I pray for you that you
would learn to walk without falling and I pray that for
myself too. Now, please don't misunderstand
me. I'm not preaching sinless,
perfection in this life. We will never be the finished
article until the Lord calls us home.
We will still have a sinful flesh and will make mistakes,
but that's what sanctification is all about is where God sort
of chips off. The edges takes the rough parts
of us and makes us more like his son.
The Lord Jesus. Christ.
And can I say this Holiness really should be our greatest
motivation. This life.
One of our greatest motivations is to be more like the Son of
God. The Lord Jesus Christ.
Why? Because Holiness equals
happiness. And when you start to walk in
the spirit and not in the flesh, then you know what you were
created for. Okay, I'd really like to share
with you. Now, some men in the Bible who
mastered, the art of bouncing. They knew what it was to be
tripped up. But they also knew what it was
to rise. Again.
Remember Joseph in the Bible. Joseph brothers, were so jealous
of him and they literally did trip him up and throw him into a
pit. He was then sold into slavery,
and when he was a slave in Egypt, he worked very hard.
He rolls up, he bounced back but then his boss's wife accused him
of assault. And Joseph was thrown back down
into a ditch into prison, but God Make sure that Joseph bounce
back. He took Joseph from the very
depths of prison and raised him up to very Heights of Egypt to
become the second. Most powerful, man.
And the Lord used Joseph mightily.
He rose again. What about the suffering?
Servant job. The devil really did paint a
Target on jobs back. And in one day job, lost
everything. He lost his livelihood.
He lost all of his animals. He lost his family, and he got
Afflicted with these terrible boils a whore.
Herbal health condition that itched him and tormented him.
And even his wife, his wife turned against him and whispered
Blasphemous things into his ear. But job, kept his eyes on the
Lord and the Lord ensured that job would one day, bounce back
and eventually God, restored, everything to job and even
double to what he had previously job.
Really did rise again. You remember, Daniel Daniel, of
course had enemies who really wanted to trip him up.
I looked everywhere. They could to try and find a
flaw in Daniels character. They wanted to find something in
his personal conduct that could bring him down.
They found nothing because Daniel was a man of God.
These man came up with a scheme, a plan, a way of deceiving, the
king Darius. So they put a law in place that
would prevent Daniel from worshipping the Lord God because
they knew that Daniel prayed to God three times.
And Daniel, of course, had to break the law.
He would continue to worship His God and prayed to the Lord.
And because of it, Daniel was thrown into the lions den.
But God was with him and God ensured that Daniel would bounce
from the bottom of that lines, then, right out into safety.
And because King Darius was quite annoyed that he'd been
deceived like this. He had those same Wicked Man,
thrown into the lions den. And let's just say this.
Those men didn't quite bounced back.
And then we come to the New Testament.
And we read about Peter who actually he didn't.
The Lord wants. He didn't deny the Lord twice.
He denied the Lord three times. Now, suppose that happened to
you, the would be a real Temptation.
Wouldn't that is think that's it?
I'm disqualified from Ministry. I have made such a mess.
How can God ever use me again? And I'm sure that thought passed
through Peters mind, but God did use Peter again.
God made sure. That Peter would bounce back and
one day, in fact, 50 days later from when he denied the Lord.
Lord, Peter was used mightily by the Holy Spirit to preach one of
the greatest sermons that was ever preached.
And it meant that three thousand Souls were brought into the
kingdom of Christ that day. And last but not least, who is
the one who truly rose again. It's the Lord, Jesus Christ.
The lord. Jesus was betrayed by one of his
closest friends. The Lord.
Jesus had many enemies who tried to trip him up and eventually.
He got put on a cross. He was beaten.
He was spat on. He was stripped naked crucified
dying there on a cross. And those are point when Jesus
died, and I imagine all of his enemies thought.
Yes, we've got him. That's it.
It's over. It's finished.
But the only thing that was finished, was our sin, our sin
was canceled for all those who have put their faith in the
Lord. Jesus Christ.
Our sin was removed gone buried at the bottom of the ocean and
it was finished forever. Jesus died for our sins there.
And the punishment was taken that day, but Jesus Christ was
not finished. They put Jesus Christ's body in
a tomb and one day went by Stillness, two days went by
Stillness. But on the third day, Jesus
Christ, rose again, and that is so powerful.
Because Jesus Christ, rose from the dead because Jesus Christ,
bounce back. That means that every single one
of us who put our faith in him or one day, bounce back east.
Bible teaches us. This, the all creation will one
day rise. The dead in Christ, those who
have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They will rise again to eternal life, those who have been dead
for thousands of years will rise.
Again, to be with the Savior, but the Bible also teaches this,
that those outside of Christ, the unbeliever.
They too will rise. They'll rise again, but they'll
rise to judgment to them be cast into hell for all of us.
Eternity my dear friend, if by any chance you're watching this
right now and you know, you have not yet received the Lord Jesus
Christ. You know that your sin has not
been canceled. You've not had that debt of all
the wrong, you've done ripped into and buried at the bottom of
the ocean. If you have not yet, come to the
Lord. Jesus Christ and said, have
mercy on me. I'm a sinner.
I plead with you come to him today and know that you will one
day bounce back. The Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, I do wonder if you've been subscribed to this channel for a
while. You thinking, Joe?
I don't think I've seen that video that you were talking
about earlier. Well, if you would like to watch
it, it's basically about three tactics that Satan has to try
and deceive us and tempt as into sin.
If you'd like to watch that video.
Please do click here. And if you haven't yet
subscribed to this ministry, please do.
It's such a thrill to have friends all around the world.
So if that's not you, please do subscribe, we'd love to have you
part of this.