Cast Down, but Not Destroyed

Sermon by Scott Goddard

2 Corinthians 4:9-11 (King James Version)

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.

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

"Well I’m just not sure anymore..."

"I started off on this trip, there were some problems. But now… it’s… I just don’t know…

 I’m not seeing anything."

What is that? It’s doubt. It’s fear. It’s uncertainty.

God is a God of miracles!

But not just that, God is a protector. God is our defender.

Defending from what? The devil and his ways of course… but…

Sometimes our greatest enemy is ourselves.

The serpent tempted Eve, but it was Eve who bit of the forbidden fruit. It was Adam who loved his wife, but in his weakness ate the forbidden fruit given from her. You see, we can blame the devil all day, and you’d be correct, but how often do we ponder and wonder why we can’t make a better choice. The Lord says CHOOSE good or evil (Deuteronomy 30:19). We were given free will. We can make choices. I bet the angels are left bewildered a whole lot looking upon humanity and even Christians and wonder, with all this power to choose, we make the choices we make. Today we can choose. Today you can choose. What choices will we make?

A Roman centurion chooses to walk up to Christ and Jesus is taken back by his faith. His actions, his Choice. He didn’t have to do it. But something compelled him to make that choice. If you want to stand out before God, make a choice in your life, in an area where you feel is stagnant. That thing that gnaws on your mind. Make a choice. Take those extra steps, maybe that’s where the change will take place.

The Bible says Luke 16:10: whoever can be trusted with small things can be trusted with big things.

Don’t overlook these little things in your life. Maybe you can be kinder to that person. Maybe you can give that extra attention. Maybe you can make that appointment. Maybe you can run those 15 minutes. Whatever it may be, I believe you can do it. What I speak today is about making a choice and making that change.

Maybe God is waiting to see if you’re for real? There are days where I feel like I should be the President because things seem like they’re going downhill, but am I out there campaigning? Am I out there networking and fundraising? No. That’s because I’m not real about it. I’m not doing anything about it. But whatever the first step is… I can’t bother asking God about that. I’m not serious about it. So, what I’m saying is… God watches us and is protecting us from making mistakes because we have foolish hearts. That comes with being human, and we are sheltered in many ways, and the reality is all around us is the most serious war against good and evil in the spiritual realm. For us to come to terms in the spiritual realm and have access to these miracles and answers we want, we have to be entrusted in the small things. God doesn’t need any more fools to be blessed. There have been too many over the ages. He does not want us to become puffed up in ourselves and to walk away from the truth. He wants us to be settled and immovable. Amen. He cares for us, and that means protecting us from ourselves. Our mistakes. Our foolishness. Our weakness. Our wandering.

Come meet your Father.

This is more than fire insurance as my dad use to say. A lot of people just don’t want to go to hell. But oh, there’s no reason not to want to desire to see your Lord. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t want to be closer to Him. The Lord opened His relationship open to everybody from all nations and tribes. He is awaiting you to come to Him closer. The walls might be closing in, but our focus is closer and closer. Narrower and narrower. He is all we can see. Don’t turn your head away. Dive in deeper with Him. Our Lord desires a closer relationship. I know you may need things, but keep praying. Keep seeking the Lord faithfully. But, don’t get too caught up with if you get this or that. Faith is to leave things in the hands of God ultimately. Because what happens if you don’t get what you want? Then what? I have learned this…

Don’t create this situation where you’re saying God I need this... and all the while you’re kind of appending a silent “or else” … to the end of that prayer. This is why the Lord said, Thy will be done. Our Father in Heaven… Thy will be done. Amen.

Paul says I have LEARNED to be content (Phillipians 4:11). It was something he had to learn. What have you learned? Maybe you’re on your way to learning. Some learn the easy way, some learn the hard way, but we shall all learn.

“I just don’t know… things are hard. I’m not sure I’m in God's grace on this…”

“I’ve prayed, but maybe that thing I was feeling wasn’t right” … “maybe I’m not fully honest with myself here… maybe I'm in over my head... who am I to think that?”

 If Paul ever followed that train of logic he would have had hundreds of reasons to stop. To throw in the towel. Just because it’s hard, just because I don’t feel like it, just because I’m embarrassed, just because people aren’t receiving it… just because I’m not seeing something happen… God is working still. Paul as he’s writing the New Testament … he’s saying this happened and that happened and with all due respect to Paul, He’s thinking about the things happening in his time. He’s focused on the work of his ministry. Nowhere does he mention the impact his writings would have in the future. Now I’d say to Paul, if you only knew! ........Millions, maybe billions would read those words and be impacted generation after generation when they open up the Bible. God works always. God is always doing something. The devil could only see it one way… I got you Paul. I have jailed this man. He’s stuck. He can’t reach the gentiles anymore. I’m going to get the church. I’m going to confuse all of them and they’re not going to serve right anymore. Paul can’t be there to rescue them anymore! Boy, was he wrong about that! Paul ended up doing more in that cell arguably then he ever could have done going city to city or town to town. Never underestimate your situation. God always had a plan!

Maybe our heart is in the right place, but our actions are not matching up. Faith without works is dead the Bible says. Maybe you just need some more action in your life. Maybe it’s small. I would say start small because honestly, if you’re not doing anything, don’t go big because you’re probably not doing hardly anything at all. Plus we’ve all got busy schedules. Unless you don’t, then maybe you can take on more. Bottom line, just start with one thing. Don’t overload yourself. But, make a change, make a choice. You don’t need a New Year’s resolution or a mentor or an accountability partner. No, do something for God is what I’m saying. He’s your partner, he’s your trainer, he’s your resolution. Hallelujah! Let God be with you.

Paul says we are cast down, but we are not destroyed. He was surrounded by bars. Metal bars. I don’t think for most of us that’s the case today, though there are those in that place and we are told to visit them. I respect people who have prison ministries and some of the greatest movements of God have been in prisons I’ve heard. Many men have found the Lord because they were tested greatly in those places. All the things we take for granted everyday are taken from them, and many are able to put aside their own will and find God’s will.

We are cast down but not destroyed.

Whatever we go through, you may be cast down, but you are not destroyed.

To be destroyed is to never have a chance again. To never make a choice again. To never be able to reach others again. To never breathe again. To never feel the sun fall upon your face again, to never be able to move again. We are not destroyed. If you’re not destroyed, you are intact. You are capable. You are capable in your state in some capacity. What I'm getting at is we are where we are because that is what we’re capable of. If you were capable of more God would probably give you more. He wants quality, not quantity. He doesn’t want a bunch of churned out stuff. He wants a labor of love. He wants it to be done right.

John 3:9 John the Baptist says “I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”

God doesn’t need more lip service, if your hearts not all there. He doesn’t need an entourage or an image. He wants people who are found worthy. Their faith brings them to that place. He wants people who have been made a life in Him. All the things they do all the ways they believe, they do in consideration to God. He doesn’t want the things we pray for to get in the way of our faith and our faithfulness. That is important to Him, I believe after coming to Christ, it’s the most important thing. He loves you and does not want to see your heart stray. He doesn’t want to see you falling out in some other lifestyle. The devil calls out … you could have this or that over here… but it’s all an illusion. The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy you..... BUT, GOD IS PROTECTING US. We are cast down, but not destroyed. We did not give into the devil, or else we’d be destroyed. We might be lacking in a certain area… maybe the whole thing, but no matter, we are where we are at because God does a work in us all. Are you losing things? You are cast down but not destroyed. Maybe it was too much for you.

God is the pruner of the branches. He is always working in us to ensure that we are bearing fruit properly and that we are healthy spiritually. (John 15:2)

It is in our Humility that we are made in his image because He, Jesus our Lord, was humble. There were many given blessings and great miracles in the Bible, but there is something about human nature to become bloated and spoiled and those people's hearts turned away from the Lord. From the United States now and back to the desert, back to the flood, back to the garden...... man has failed. It is not our blessings that define our integrity and our place before God, but it is our faith. It is our decisions. Hard decisions. Little, but important decisions. Big decisions. Decisions for ourselves in the sight of God. Decisions in the purity of our hearts and conscience. Decisions in light of a situation. These stem from faith and humility. God, grant us the mercy and grace to be who you want us to be today. God, steal away the things that draw me further from you, and keep me in the place that will keep me close and fruitful. Today this is my prayer, and I hope you will take it as your prayer too.