Do You Have a Big BUT? Part 2: Get Up!

The first thing we have to do to get rid of our big BUT is…GET UP!  In 1 Kings 19, Elijah the prophet fled to the desert when Jezebel threatened his life.  He was tired of running and he even prayed that he would just die there.  But God wasn’t done with him yet.  He had a mission for Elijah to complete.  So God sent an angel to minister to Elijah.  The angel said, “Get up and eat.”  After he was strengthened, he went to a cave where God manifested His glory to him and

 encouraged him to complete the work He had for Elijah to do. 

In Acts 9, when Peter healed a paralyzed man named Aeneas, he “got up” and ALL those living around him turned to the Lord!  Act 9:32-35 NIV “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.  "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”  I imagine after he “got up” he went out into the city and proclaimed what had happened to him.  This doesn’t say a few or some turned to the Lord, it says ALL!  Just this one act changed the lives of two whole towns!

The Lord got Paul’s attention in Acts 22 on the road to Damascus when He blinded him with a bright light.  Immediately he knew it was the Lord and asked “What shall I do, Lord?”  “Get up,” the Lord said, “and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.”  Countless people over many centuries were saved and are being saved today because of Paul’s obedience. He wrote 13 of the books in the New Testament including Romans.  

   

In all of these examples, the people were told to “get up.”  And after they obeyed that one thing, God used them.  Elijah “got up” and had an encounter with the Lord that strengthened him and kept him going.  Aeneas “got up” and shared a testimony that turned many people to the Lord.  Paul “got up” and took on an assignment that changed the lives of too many to count.  His words are still changing lives today. 

 So the first thing we must do get rid of our big BUT is to GET UP and start being obedient. We can’t do anything for the Lord sitting there on the couch.  Get up! Seek the Lord! Tell people what He has done for you and what He can do for them!  Many lives will be changed just by this one simple thing….GET UP!!