Get Up One More Time

The call to “get up one more time” begins with thanksgiving because God has not left his people empty-handed when life gets hard. Romans 8:31 gives the believer something solid to hold: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” God gives his Word, his promises, and his Holy Spirit, and that means the child of God does not have to stay down when trouble hits.

Life is not “all sunshine and rainbows.” The world can beat a person to the knees and keep that person there “if you let it.” But the point is not how hard someone can hit back. The point is how hard life can hit and still, by the power of God, the believer keeps moving forward. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4 that the treasure of Christ shines in fragile clay jars, so the power is clearly from God and not from human strength.

Paul’s words tell the truth about trouble without pretending it is easy. The believer may be pressed on every side, perplexed, hunted down, and knocked down. But Paul also says not crushed, not driven to despair, never abandoned, and not destroyed. Suffering does not get the last word because the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in the people of God.

The body may be weak, and life may bring sickness, loss, disappointment, and empty places at the table. But the spirit is being renewed day by day. Present troubles look big right now, but in the light of eternity they are small and will not last long. The believer fixes the gaze on what cannot be seen because what is seen is passing away, but what God has promised will last forever.

The call also says to know who God’s children are. John says those who believe and receive Christ have the right to become children of God. That does not make them better than anybody else, but it does make them better off. The child of God belongs to a new family, and that family life has consequences: purity, righteousness, love for other believers, and prayer that actually matters.

God’s love does not excuse sin, but God’s love reaches sinners through Jesus Christ. The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil, not to leave people trapped under them. When a child of God falls, the Father does not come to stomp him down. God says, “Get up one more time. I love you, son. I love you, daughter.” Micah gives the final word: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise.”

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God gives power to rise again The fragile clay jar does not explain the treasure inside it. Paul makes it clear that the power to keep moving forward is from God and not from the person who looks strong on the outside. The believer who gets up one more time is not proving personal toughness, but leaning on the Holy Spirit who dwells within. [08:16]
• 2. Trouble hits, but God holds Paul does not pretend that life is easy, because pressure, confusion, attack, and being knocked down are all real. Yet each trouble has a boundary God sets: pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, hunted but not abandoned, knocked down but not destroyed. The enemy may hit hard, but he cannot rewrite what God has already spoken over his child. [11:26]
• 3. Children of God live differently The name “child of God” is not just a comforting label, it is a real family identity. John says God’s children do not make a practice of sin because God’s life is in them. Grace does not leave the baggage untouched, but begins to cleanse the mouth, the habits, the anger, and the attitudes that no longer fit the Father’s house. [30:48]
• 4. God’s love restores fallen children God’s mercy does not deny the fall, and God’s grace does not call sin harmless. But the Father’s voice calls the fallen child back up instead of letting shame become a permanent home. The words “I love you, son” become strength to repent, return, and keep walking with Jesus. [39:55]
• 5. The enemy cannot celebrate long Micah’s words turn defeat into defiance: “Do not rejoice over me my enemy. When I fall, I will arise.” Darkness may be real for a season, but the Lord becomes light to the one who looks to him and waits for the God of salvation. The fall is not the finish when God is still present.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:29] - Get Up One More Time
• [01:24] - Thankful for God’s Promises
• [03:18] - Life Hits Hard
• [07:16] - Paul’s Word to Corinth
• [08:16] - Power Comes From God
• [11:26] - Pressed But Not Crushed
• [13:50] - Suffering and the Life of Jesus
• [18:09] - Never Give Up
• [21:13] - Know Who You Are
• [24:29] - Already God’s Children
• [30:05] - The Devil Has No Rights
• [35:27] - Loved No Matter What
• [42:45] - When I Fall, I Will Arise
• [47:52] - God’s Everlasting Love

Bible Reading
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (ESV)
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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Observation Questions

1. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul lists four contrasts (e.g., "afflicted... but not crushed"). What do these contrasts reveal about the relationship between suffering and God’s sustaining power?
2. The sermon mentions that "the fragile clay jar does not explain the treasure inside it" (referring to 2 Corinthians 4:7). What does this metaphor teach about human weakness and God’s purpose? [08:16]
3. According to the sermon, how does Micah 7:8 ("When I fall, I will arise") challenge believers to respond to failure or attacks from the enemy? [43:15]

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Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Paul emphasize that "the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7) in the context of enduring hardship? How might this truth combat discouragement?
2. The sermon states, "The enemy may hit hard, but he cannot rewrite what God has already spoken over his child." [11:26] How does this idea connect to the promises in 2 Corinthians 4:14-18 about eternal perspective?
3. How does the identity of being a "child of God" (1 John 3:1) redefine a believer’s response to sin, as discussed in the sermon? [30:48]

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Application Questions

1. What’s one area of your life where you need to "get up one more time" and rely on God’s power instead of your own strength? How can you practically lean on the Holy Spirit this week?
2. The sermon says, "Present troubles look big right now, but in the light of eternity they are small." [19:12] What current struggle could you reframe by focusing on God’s eternal promises?
3. How might your daily habits or attitudes change if you fully embraced the truth that you are a "child of God" (John 1:12) with a new family identity? [21:39]
4. When have you experienced God’s voice saying, "I love you, son/daughter" after a failure? How can this truth help you repent and return to Him faster in the future? [39:55]
5. The sermon warns against letting shame become a "permanent home." [39:55] What step can you take this week to reject shame and embrace God’s restoration in a specific area?
6. Micah 7:8 declares defiance against the enemy’s mockery. What practical declaration (e.g., prayer, scripture, action) can you make to resist discouragement when you feel "knocked down"?