When You Are Down To Nothing God Is Up To Something – Part 1 of 5

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being with us today. We are kicking off a sermon series about comfort in hard times.

Often in life, there are things that go on, and it just keeps going on. Now we have sermons in the past about things like “Demons And Demonic Attacks” and “Why God Might Allow Things To Happen In Your Life,” like Satan to torment you, or when bad things happen.

All of those sermons – you can check all those out on our website. Just go there, type in those keywords, search them. I can’t link to them all in the video, but I’ll link to a few throughout this sermon that you can just click on, on the card, if you’re on the YouTube channel, and that’ll direct you there.

But in the meantime, search those keywords on our website, and you will be brought directly to those sermons.

So, like I said, we’re kicking off a sermon series about comfort and hard times. It’s going to be a five-part sermon series. So I encourage you, if you haven’t already, hit that bell icon. Hit the subscribe button to stay tuned each week when we post a continuation of this sermon series.

In addition, I will put a card here which will link to the playlist. If you’re watching on our YouTube channel, you can click on that, go to all of those, so you can continue to stay updated on this playlist.

You could share that playlist on your social media with your friends and family to help social media ministries reach more people, because that’s what we are trying to do. We are working hard to fulfill the great commission, going into all the world.

That includes the worlds of social media like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter – all of these places. We’re going there. We’re preaching the gospel. Our goal: we want to outnumber the bad content currently, we have our work cut out for us because there is so much negative content out there that even when we post someone else, it’s like a hundredfold against us.

So, help us out. Share this. Let’s grow like wildfire and take back social media for the kingdom of God. So, let’s dive in. Today, we are talking about down and up. You say, “Well, what does that mean? It’s not really a good keyword. It doesn’t really give me anything.”

Well, stay tuned. If things aren’t going well in your life, seems like everything is just such a hassle, and you wonder why, you say, “Why can’t anything simply work out?” We have a sermon about “Asking God Why.” Check that out. It’ll be very insightful for you.

Don’t worry, though, because when you are down to nothing, God is up to something. There we go, down and up. When you’re down to nothing, God is always up to something. Trust in God. We have a sermon series about that.

“Don’t Worry. Trust In God.” You can check that out. I’ll put it in a card up here. Don’t worry, Trust in God, because no matter what, when you are down to nothing, God is up to something.

When you’re struggling through life and, and it seems like no matter what, you know, you go to whatever. You’re going to make your coffee. Oh, no, we’re out of beans. You go to do this, oh, man, the creamer’s almost out. Whatever, it’s just one thing after another.

You’re going to tie your shoe, and bam, the lace breaks, and now you’re already late. It, all these little things that continue to add up. Now, we’ve talked about this in sermons before, and I’ve, I’ve given you stories about that, about the little things in life and, and we’re going to come to that later on where I’ll tell you that story again.

So, stay tuned to that in the future. Again, if you haven’t already, please hit that subscribe button to continue tuning in to our sermons. Remember, though, down and up. When God is always up to something, and when you are down to nothing, He definitely is.

So, God may be allowing you to sink to some lower state to remind you that you need Him. Now, of course, any type of sickness or illness or disease or trauma or evil or tragedy is never the Will of God.

He’s never going to, to allow or put something like that in your life to teach you. However, He may use those things to teach you something. Now that doesn’t mean He’s going to use sickness to teach you. No. The devil is responsible for all of that. Stealing your health.

Okay, it’s never God’s Will for someone to be sick to teach them a lesson. But the Bible does say that God will use all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

That means that no matter what happens in life, even if it is a tragedy, God can use that for good. But it’s not God that’s putting that there for some reason. He is in, God is simply redeeming or using the things of the enemy and turning them around for the good of those who believe in and follow and do the Word of God.

We have a sermon on “God Puts You Through Trouble.” So check that one out. That’s a good one that might help with some of those questions and dilemmas in life. Just trust, though, that God will deliver you and see you through your troubles no matter what as long as you continually seek Him.

Sometimes you might be going through things that would serve as a great reminder to you that you need to call out and reach out to God, because He is your provider. He is your healer. He is your redeemer, and the Bible tells you all of these things. But sometimes you just may not be listening, or you may not be receiving them.

And so, you need to renew your mind and realign it with the word of God to, to focus in on the promises of God’s word, and then you will be able to receive that. Lamentations 3:25 says, “The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.”

So, if you continue to put your hope in the Lord, Yahweh, and you continue to seek Him, He is good to you. That’s a promise. And, and if he is good to you, that means right there, this one verse can prove God would never give you sickness, because sickness is not good for you.

God would never cause someone in your life to die because that’s not good for you. That’s the devil coming to steal, kill, and destroy.

Now, could God use that? Probably. Most definitely. Maybe you were sick, and now you have a powerful testimony. That’s not God, though, that gave you that sickness. That was the devil, because that would not be good. And the Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him and to those who seek Him.

Remember that. There are many other verses in the Bible that will support this. We’re not doing that teaching on that right now but, but there are, if you want to dig into it, feel free. You can start searching that.

You can dive in. You can meditate on that, and you can learn and feel free. If you have any questions or comments, post them below on the YouTube channel. Or go to our Discord server and engage in the sermon discussions there.

Let’s go to Psalms 34:7. Psalms 34:7 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.” This is a powerful and important verse for you to remember at all times.

You have angels encamped around you. The angel of the Lord, capital L-O-R-D. So, that’s Yahweh. The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear Him.

Not everyone has guardian angels. Only those who fear the Lord. Only those who have that reverent awe, not afraid as in terror, but reverent awe, knowing and honoring the Lord God. If you have that, if you choose to live your life for Jesus, for Yahweh, He has angels protecting you and camping around you.

Do you know what that means? It means wherever you are, there are angels off in the distance strategically positioned around your position to support you. Like a moat around a castle, these angels are encamped around you. And what does it say, and He delivers them.

Now in the Psalms, this “he” is a lowercase “H” in your modern translations. In the– in the Hebrew, it’s also he, not and the Lord delivers them, or Yahweh delivers them. This is specifically saying that these angels are encamping around you, and it’s the angels that will deliver you, provided that you fear the Lord.

So, the angels of God encamp around you, and those angels work to fight off enemy attacks around your position. They are constantly working to fight for you as long as you are doing the word of God. The Bible also says that “Angels hearken to the word of the Lord.”

That means if you speak scripture, those angels encamping around you they are listening. They’re not waiting for you to pray to them. They don’t want your prayers. They’re not waiting for you to say, “God, please have those angels fight something off.”

No. They are waiting for you to command them, because we were created higher than angels. And so, how do you command them? You use the Word of the Lord.

You speak scripture, and they’re like, “Now we can get to work. We’ve been waiting, camping around here. We are warriors waiting for our battle commands.” And if you speak scripture, they get to work.

You may not even know what you need to tell them to do. Start speaking scripture. These angels know what they’re supposed to do because God and has them there for a purpose, to help you. Now it says the Lord will be your helper as well.

The Bible says that and, and the Holy Spirit will be your helper. So, you have a whole army with you that will help you. They will deliver you and see you through your troubles as long as you continue to seek God. So, remember that when things are going wrong, one thing after another, yes, you may be going through a trial or trouble.

Let’s go to James, James 1:2 and 3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

We have a sermon on that, “It Builds Character.” Way back in the beginning, we had a sermon on how character is built through the trials and perseverance. So, remember that when things go wrong, yes, there could be a trial that you are going through.

So, start looking at that trial as an opportunity for you to learn something, because even though it might not be God’s will, well, not might, not if, it is not God’s will for that to happen. Now, some trials might be but– but a sickness would definitely not be.

There are certain things in the Bible that would never be God’s will. It would never be God’s will for you to have a demon tormenting you, or possessing you, that don’t possess but influencing you.

And so, if something like that is happening, though it doesn’t mean God can’t use it. If you get sick, maybe you are going to learn from that sickness about how to overcome that sickness. How commanding healing, not doctors or medicines, and referring other people and things like that.

But whatever trial you’re going through, think about how that is going to build character and perseverance for you. Because yes, things can be down and up in this life. And so, if you are down, just try to get through that down part to get to the up. What can you do to help you do that?

You gotta seek the Lord. Dive in. Find these promises. They are in the Bible. So, whatever you’re going through, any type of hardship or trial, study the Word because those promises of the Lord are in there.

And if you receive them, not – not going back and forth on maybe, this is true, maybe it’s not, but truly believing and being ready to receive from God. Then you will receive them because He can’t go back on His Word, and it is right here for you.

So, whenever you’re having those difficult times, work very hard to keep your composure and seek God in that difficulty. I mentioned we have a sermon on “God Allows Satan,” or “Why God Allows Satan.” You can check that one out. But remember, when you are down, God is up to something.

Let’s go to James 1:4, James 1:4 another good inspirational verse. “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” So, at the very least, no matter what you’re going through in any type of trial or trouble, just think of it as you are going to become more mature through this.

Now that doesn’t mean that you need to endure your trials or live in your trials. That would never be God’s will. He does not want that for you. Remember what we said in Lamentations, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him.”

Now, no good parent, no good father would willingly put their kid through a tough time. They’re not going to do that. They’re going to try to help the child learn. And yes, if the child does something wrong or causes something, there is that law of sowing and reaping.

If the child sows some wickedness, they might reap the consequences of that wickedness. But that would not be the parents’ will for that to happen. Any good parent, that is, and God is a good parent to you, He is a good father. He is the best father.

So, remember that. That if you are in some type of tough situation right now, what can you do to get out of it? The best thing is– is to find out what that situation is. You probably know what it is, but think about it. Meditate on it and find verses that correspond to that.

Let’s say, “Oh, I have financial struggles.” Find some verses in the Bible on finance, prosperity, success, and figure it out and see what it says. And it– and it says, “Oh my God will provide everything you need according to his glorious riches.”

Okay. Well, why don’t you have it? Well, find out why? Or maybe like, you will be prosperous and successful. Okay. Well, why if you do what this – Okay, look, there’s, there are always conditions. I– He will open up this, the floodgates of Heaven. What if you bring the tithe to the storehouse?

There are always things in there. In popular society and modern biblical teachings and, and a lot of people just talking, they seem to forget the part about doing whatever the verse says, and they just focus on the receiving.

Now, that’s just not church in general, or the Body of Christ in general. That’s just people and society in general. We always like to focus on the positive, but we never really like to focus on the work part of it. So, think of those verses. Find those verses. Find those promises and then discover what the condition is.

Let’s say we don’t want to call it a condition because God’s love is unconditional. But there are things like the law of sowing and reaping.

So, if there are prosperity and success verses, find out what did it take for that prosperity and success to come, because oftentimes, it was some type of action or belief or faith that you have to have for your life to make it happen.

When you do this, God does this. There’s a saying that “God is the unmoved mover.” Meaning, He’s not going to move, but when you start doing things, God moves. Why? Because He set up these rules in advance. The sis– like the sun. The sun rises every day and sets every night. No matter what.

God put that motion in place, that is set up like clockwork, we call it. God has these things set up like angels hearkening to the Word of the Lord. That’s in the Bible. So, when you start speaking the scripture, these angels get to work. You don’t need to pray to God for the angels to get to work.

No, you just need to speak the scripture. The Bible says that by His stripes we are healed. And so, what we need to do is follow Jesus’ example. We don’t pray for healing. We command healing.

There are these systems that are put in place, that if you dive into whatever the trouble area is in your life, and find the Bible verses on it, and study the situations, you will unlock the key to that success in that area, to getting out of whatever that trial or trouble is.

Because God doesn’t want you to be in it. And then you can learn from that experience. To help others not go through the same thing – not by some earthly means, but by a heavenly means.

So, remember Jesus always knew that when that there were downs and ups in lives, and that when Jesus was down, because He was down. He had periods of of trouble and trial, specifically toward the end of His life.

He knew this. See, that’s when he prayed “The Gethsemane Prayer.” We have a sermon on that. Jesus knew this, and later, during the worst moment in His life, he cried out to God, saying, “Why, Father, have you forsaken me?” That’s a verse.

Let’s go to Matthew 27:46. “About 3:00 in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi lama sabachthani,’ —which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” He cried out to His Father, asking why His Father had forsaken him.

Now, the good news for you is that the Bible also says God will never leave you. God will never forsake you. Why is that true? Because God already for, had forsaken Jesus. Jesus took the punishment for your sins. Meaning, He was forsaken, so you don’t have to be.

Unbelievable. So, the Lord your God will never leave you nor forsake you, and that is a truth you can hold on to. So, there should never ever be a point in your life where you ask God, “Why have you forsaken me?” because you have never been forsaken, and you will never be forsaken, because Jesus took that punishment for you.

And see, that’s what I’m saying. There are some things you may not receive in your life. If you are thinking you have been forsaken during a period in your life, you are– you are latching on to something that was never yours.

That forsakenness, that’s never yours. Jesus paid that penalty. He was forsaken, so you don’t have to be. He took the punishment for your sins. So, now you believe in Jesus. His blood covers you, and you are redeemed.

See, when Jesus was down, God was up. He was up to something. He knew the plan. He knew he was going to be raised from the dead. We have an entire sermon series called “The Resurrection, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.”

Check that out. It is an excellent series that will give you valuable insight on all of those things. Jesus’ death, resurrection, Hell, purgatory, and Heaven. It’s a seven-part series, and you might say, “Well, I don’t believe in purgatory.”

Check out the sermon series, because guess what? We don’t believe in it either, but we have these sermons about these topics to educate you more on these subjects. Down and up, guys. Remember, you don’t know what God is up to at all times.

But you need to have faith that no matter what, when you’re feeling down, God is up to something. Because God is always working for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose. That means that you must dive into the Word, know what it says, and take hold of those promises.

If you’re struggling in any certain area in your life, whether it’s finances, health, relationships, uh, community, belonging, friendships, whatever. Your marriage, your– your love life, whatever it is, if you’re struggling with a sin, some type of addiction, or a– a demonic area, or you feel like the spiritual warfare is heavy, or you have an illness of whether it’s a mental illness, or you think you have some emotional trauma, we can help. Reach out.

We can also refer you to certain scriptures and help you grab hold of these promises, because all of those things I mentioned, you should never be struggling with. You should be thriving in those areas. Thriving in health. Thriving in wellness. Thriving in financial prosperity. Because why? God designed it that way for you.

If you listen to Him, everything is provided. The Bible says, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Does that sound like you should be ever in a period of poverty, of trial, of trouble? No, you shouldn’t.

Let’s pray. Father, thank you so much for this message that we’re kicking off, a great sermon series. I ask that each and every person out there would be inspired to return again. That they would grab hold of this.

That they would be inspired to dive into the Word, to study these verses to figure out whatever is going on in their life. That they would lean into you. That they would listen to the Holy Spirit, and that they would renew their mind.

Renew their own minds, and that they would be single-minded, focused on the Word of God only. Not what other people say, not what the world believes, not on modern medicines or society trends, or anything like that.

Not what the world is saying, but on your truth. Not focusing on the facts. The fact is, they might have something. They might be diagnosed with something, but the truth says they are free. The truth says they are healed, that they would focus on the truth and grab onto the truth, being single-minded, and remember that there are things that can comfort them in these hard times.

But mainly that, that thing isn’t a thing at all. That it is you, Father, and your son. That they would dive into the Bible and see their need for you, knowing and understanding your will to make them prosperous and successful. Fully healed and fully free so that they may go out and do what you have commanded them to do.

In Jesus’ name. Amen. Thanks so much for being with us this week. Come back next week as we continue this sermon series. Have a great week, and God bless.