We've all seen the commercial of the elderly person crawling on the floor, reaching for a phone and crying out with frustration… "I've fallen down and I can't get up."
Having struggled with vertigo now for over 15 years… I have had my share of falls, and bumps, and bruises.
My wife too, knows what it is like to fall down. Her diabetes and neuropathy have resulted in more falls than we care to remember. She has cut her head and face, busted her knees open, broken ribs and wrists and dislocated joints.
Recently, one of the children of a family that attends our church had a terrible fall. Dad was making a U-turn when the passenger door suddenly flew open and the child went flying out and fell on the street. The boy sustained some severe road rash and a painful contusion to his head.
And each of us… at some time in our life have had a fall that has shaken us up, rattled us, broken or bruised us.
In Acts 20:7-12 there is a story about a young man who fell.
7On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" 11Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
In the account we just read from the Book of Acts, we learn of how poor Eutychus fell three stories to his death… Thank God the Apostle Paul was there… No doubt his great faith restored the young man's life.
What can we learn from this story? Well, if only Eutychus had stayed awake during church service, maybe he would not have fallen. Some folks might need a reminder in that area.
Still, it seems that no matter how good a church service is, or how great an individual's faith may be… we are all bound to have our falls. In fact some of the men of great faith in the Bible suffered terrible falls…
There is Noah who got drunk, Abraham who lied about his wife, Moses who murdered an Egyptian, David who committed adultery and then had a man murdered to cover up his sin and, of course, there is Peter who denied Christ three times. All of these individuals were men of great faith, and each of them stumbled, each of them fell.
If only they had paid attention!
When I was a boy I used to love to go to the circus. One of my favorite acts was the tightrope walker. It was amazing to watch the acrobats, high overhead, walking across a thin wire, almost effortlessly… fearlessly. But, if you looked carefully at their faces, they were filled with stress, their muscles were tight. And as the drum rolled and everyone watched, anxiety filled the air.
And as the audience watched, the big question on everyone's mind was… what?
Will they fall?
And if they did fall… my stomach would turn and I would feel as if I fell right along with them.
In some ways our Christian walk is like that. We may seem like acrobats on the high wire trying to maintain our balance, trying to keep from falling. One wrong step, one wrong move and… down we go. After all, didn't Jesus say… Matthew 7:13 NKJV "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
So some Christians are living in constant fear that they are going to make a mistake. They are afraid that they are going to mess up. They are scared that they are going to sin and go to hell. They are worried that they are going to fall.
But, Jesus didn't come to teach us fear. He came to teach us faith. And in John 10:10 he said that he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
A life filled with fear is not an abundant life. And a life based on fear is not a life of faith. But, when we walk by faith we realize that we aren't perfect, that we are going to make mistakes, and that God is still with us, for He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV) tells us…
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
And again in Psalm 145:14 the Word of God tells us that, " The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down."
So, be assured no Christian can fall without God offering to uphold and raise them up. And this is good news.
The Apostle Paul put it this way… 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NIV)
12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
But, how can we be careful not to fall?
Here are some warning signs from the Word of God.
1 Individualism – In the United States, rugged individualism has always been admired. But, often times a Christian will fall because they want to do something their own way and they stop listening to the advice of their Christian friends.
Proverbs 11:14 tells us, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."
So, to avoid this mistake, it is important to surround yourself with other Christians whom share solid Christian counsel. We find this at church, Bible studies, accountability partners… and of course our good friends.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NKJV) tells us,
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
That is why we should not isolate or be loners. As Christians we should be willing to admit when we need help and have friends of the faith whom we trust we can turn to.
Are your good friends Christians?
2 Materialism - Some Christians fall because they put their faith in material things, in their wealth and fortune. They feel their money will save them during difficult times.
But, Proverbs 11:28 tells us, "He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage."
Quite simply, we should never believe that money is the solution to all of life's problems.
3 Attitude - Some Christians fall because they become proud and arrogant. They think they are somehow better than other people. In fact, many non-Christians don't like some Christians because of this very thing.
The Word of God tells us in
Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
As Christians we need to remember that we are only Christians saved by grace. We haven't done anything special. Christ Jesus has done all the work. It is by His grace that we are saved.
Proverbs 24:16-17 (NKJV) tells us
16 a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
All too often Christians rejoice at the calamity of our enemies. We need to watch for this attitude, and avoid it. When we see bad things happen to bad people we need to say, "But for the grace of God, there go I."
4 Hardened Heart - Another area that Christians need to be aware of is the condition of the Hardened Heart. Sometimes we see an awful lot of injustice and cruelty in this world. We see Christians that act like non-Christians, we see the most horrendous deeds done in the name of religion, we find ourselves taken advantage of or misled or abused and our hearts grow hard. We stop caring and we stop praying and we stop believing that God can do anything.
But, the Word of God tells us in Proverbs 28:14, Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
We need to remember that God is still God, no matter what happens in this world, no matter what happens to us, and no matter what we have done. When we forget who God is, when we lose our respect or reverence for Him… we are setting ourselves up for a fall.
The Insurance Policy
Finally, the Bible provides an insurance policy for us. It does not provide that bad things won't happen, but it does allow us to weather those storms in our life when we could have done better. It helps soften the blow of our falls.
In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus said, 24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Some of you may be thinking that you have fallen.
Maybe you've been caught up by your individualism.
Maybe you've put your faith in your wealth.
Maybe you've developed a proud or haughty attitude.
Maybe you've hardened your heart.
Or maybe you're just holding onto your faith by a string. Maybe you've committed a great sin in your life and you feel that it is too late for you, there is no hope for you, God won't forgive you.
In Luke 15:4-7 Jesus said,
4 "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
Maybe you've been that sheep. Maybe you have fallen into sin and fallen away from God. Well, the Lord has been looking for you, and He wants to pick you up and carry you home. Won't you let Him? All you have to do is reach out to Him in prayer.
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