Don't Call It a Comeback II // Pastor Chuck Colegrove // May 4, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Church.
What a day already it's been.
Come on, what a day to be inGod's house, huh, I mean, I'm
just saying that's prettyspecial to have that kind of
response in terms of baptismsand people making this decision

(00:22):
to follow Jesus.
I mean, I was thinking like I'mover.
I'm just overjoyed, I'm sothankful Prayers are being
answered in this house and Ijust wanna just lean in just

(00:45):
before I preach, like, if you,we'll have, we just got brand
new invite cards that we broughtin just for you, because I
think what's happening here istoo good to keep to ourself and
so, just as a way of extendingan opportunity, you can bring it
to the coffee shop, into themarketplace at your office, the
water cooler, while you'rewalking on the street.

(01:08):
Just have some cards with youto invite people in, because man
, god is moving and we don'twant to be an interruption to
what's happening.
We want to be just the catalystand the ambassador to what the
Holy Spirit is doing in thishouse.
So, come on, just lean in andget people here with you that
need Jesus close to you but farfrom God.

(01:28):
Right, and we're gonna seethose experiences.
And, man, I was shedding a tear,which would be a surprise to
some of you Shedding a tear thismorning watching people be
baptized, because I've heardtheir stories, I've seen them
invest their lives in smallgroups and just to see the
transformation in their lives,in their families.

(01:49):
Hey, listen, we're on our wayto our best year yet, right Four
months down and, man, I want tojust say God, show me how good
it can get, show me how good itcan get.
God, listen, I'm ready topreach God's word.
Are you ready to receive it?
Today?
The year was 2024, and it was aSunday.

(02:12):
I know this for a fact becausea little thing in the fall was
October 2024, and it was aSunday evening.
Because on Sunday eveningsthere's a little thing called
Sunday night football.
Sunday evenings there's alittle thing called Sunday Night
Football, and I think the game,if I remember correctly, it was
the Dallas Cowboys versusPittsburgh Steelers.
So an iconic matchup.
And you know I'm a fan of sport,of all kind of sport.

(02:34):
I love sports, I love watchingsports, and it's nothing to have
a game on in the background ofwhatever else is going on and me
kind of like dual multitasking.
Whatever else is going on andme kind of like dual
multitasking.
I think we had some people inthe house and we're watching the
game and it cut to a commercialwhich I thought might be.
I'm a marketing major and so itmight be one of my favorite
commercials.

(02:54):
I've seen Nike's had some goodcommercials, apple has had some
good commercials, but this was aHonda commercial and it was so
powerful as I watched it becausethe narrator did something
powerful.
He said a script and then heflipped the script and it really
changed words that seem likedefeating words into words of

(03:15):
powerful victory.
In fact, we have it right nowfor you to watch it.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
So hey, check it out my dreams the more I seem to
learn, the more I seem to lose.
I want to carry on, but nottoday.
This is the point.
I give up, but not today.
I want to carry on.

(04:01):
The more I seem to lose, themore I seem to learn.
My dreams will destroy mydoubts.
You will see me at the top.
This is the last time you won'tremember my name.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Amen, amen, powerful, powerful when the script will
get flipped.
And what I know is this is thatis the year that I was reminded
that if I'm still living, god'snot done, and what might seem
like words of defeat around mylife, god can actually flip it

(04:48):
for his glory and for my good.
Hey, why don't you just leanover to your neighbor and just
say hey, don't call it acomeback, and the one you've
been ignoring all service, bumpthem and say God's about to flip
the script.
Jesus, stop the script.
Jesus, stop the clock, stop theclock.

(05:13):
That's why we only have oneservice, because we can just
carry on for a little extra.
Some of you have been askingwhen we're going to two services
, and we are.
It will be September 7th,coming out of the summer
birthday weekend.
We're going to turn 13, 12,.
No 12, 2012 to 2025 is 13.

(05:37):
It's going to be our 13thbirthday.
Into the teen years, everybodyand teenagers do things twice as
nice, and so we're going to goto two services.
Here we are in week two of ourseries Don't Call it A Comeback,
and last week we leaned in onthe idea that we don't call it a

(05:59):
comeback, it's a calling back.
It's a calling Because it's notabout how many times we fall.
It's what we do when we falland when we get back up and we
get going again.
That is the space of rightstanding for our life Not that
we fall, but that we get back up.
Do you see this?

(06:20):
Look at in the key verse,proverbs 24 and 16,.
It says for though therighteous fall seven times, they
rise again.
What makes us righteous?
The blood of Jesus, the work heaccomplished on the cross and
our willingness to stand back upwhen we fall.
It's not being perfect.

(06:42):
It doesn't take perfection tobe righteous, it just takes a
heart that says I'm not going tostay down.
Rejoice, not against me, o myenemies.
When I fall, I shall arise.
All right, I'm going to try notto get too excited today.
Hey, we all fall down, but weget back up, we get back up.

(07:10):
Tell your neighbor, we get backup.
So this week, here's my thoughtfor this week the setback is not
a death sentence, it's a divinesetup.
The setback is not a deathsentence, it's a divine setup.
The setback is not a deathsentence, it's a divine setup.
God doesn't write tragedieswithout flipping the final

(07:34):
chapter into triumph.
And I'm going to tell you todayyou're not here by accident in
this house, but also you're notwhere you're at in your life by
accident, and don't discount thefact that God knows exactly
where you are.
He knows where you are.
In fact, my spiritual fatherused to say does it ever occur

(07:56):
to you that nothing ever occursto God?
It's not a surprise whereyou're at and God's just waiting
for the right moment.
He doesn't deal in drama, hedeals in deliverance, he deals
in reformation, he deals inrestoration and he is flipping

(08:19):
the script in your life for whatseemed like defeat will be
victory.
You're being positioned forpurpose.
So how do we go from a setbackto a setup?
Because the Bible declares thatGod can make all things

(08:39):
beautiful in its time.
So even the ugly spots of ourlife can become beautiful in
God's hands.
But I'm gonna tell you we havea part to play.
Sometimes y'all go so quiet.

(09:00):
It's like I'm waiting for likea kickback and then you're like
just you're gonna say you gottagive, give me better, preach,
better preach, better PC.
So check this out.
Here's, here's our spot inturning a setback into a setup,
because we can all agree thatthe promises of God are yes and

(09:21):
amen, through Jesus, that he'snever failed, that he's always
faithful, that he provides a waywhen there is no way.
He is the miracle worker, thepromise keeper, the way maker,
and even when we can't see it,he's working in our life.
We can all agree about that.
So, if that's true, that meansGod will do what he said he will

(09:44):
do.
But there's something I have todo to turn us back to a setup.
Are you ready?
The first thing is this youmust recognize what you've
neglected.
So this is one of those.
The vacuum's coming into theroom.
It's going to like get on ourfeet a little bit.
We might feel like I'm steppingon your toes, but it's because
we need to keep moving forwardand we need to make sure

(10:07):
everybody goes with us.
So you need to recognize whatyou've been, what you've
neglected.
You might say it like this weneed to be mindful.
Before God can rebuildsomething, you must recognize
what's been ignored, overlookedand left unchecked.
You cannot fight.
Well, let me just say this whatare the things that we overlook
and neglect in our life?

(10:28):
Some of us?
We neglect our prayer life.
We neglect the puritycommitment that we've made.
We've neglected passion.
And I'm going to tell you youcannot fight a public battle
with a private prayer life onpause.
Some of you wonder why thebattle is so tough.
It's because the time youshould be spending in private

(10:50):
prayer you're investing andneglecting.
You're investing in somethingelse.
You're neglecting your ownprivate prayer.
And we're going to agree withyou.
We're going to stand with you,we're going to pray with you,
we're going to believe with youand believe for you.
But there is a part you play.
You can't neglect the privateprayer time because life is
going to hit you.

(11:10):
Sometimes life hits us like afreight train and sometimes life
hits us like a quiet whisperand what seemed like it wouldn't
be that big of a deal hits usharder than we thought.
But here's the truth.
Jesus never promised a painlesslife.
He promised his presence,filled within the pain.

(11:37):
It's going to be painful attimes, but that doesn't mean
God's not there.
He actually is close to thebroken.
He's close to the ones that aredown and out.
He's even closer when wemention his name.
So he says this in John 16, 33,the world will have its problems
and setbacks, but take heart,because I've overcome the world.

(11:59):
So he's already accomplishedvictory for us.
We know there's gonna bedifficult days.
We know that we're gonna facepain.
But don't count pain as themiss, that God's missing in the
environment.
Just because we're having paindoesn't mean God's not there.
So we've all had these setbacksdreams that have been deferred,

(12:23):
relationships that havecrumbled, ministry moments that
have fallen flat.
God, I'm the chief.
I live in those moments.
I'm like if you knew how manySundays I want to keep driving
until I ran out of gas and startover.
But thank God, it's not all onme and it's not all on you.

(12:45):
We just gotta get back up andkeep going, because God is
listen.
The setbacks in your life don'tdefine you unless you hand them
the pen.
Amen, amen, amen, amen.
But God says let me rewrite thestory.

(13:08):
He's not intimidated by yourfailure.
He's intent to finish the work.
Look at Hebrews 12 and 2.
It says this looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of
our faith, for who the joy thatwas set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, andhas sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Looking to Jesus, the authorand the finisher, god is going

(13:32):
to write the story.
In fact, in Psalms 139, verses15 through 18, my favorite
passage of scripture.
It actually says that God haswritten down every day of our
life before we've lived one ofthem.
So don't give the setback thepen to write the story.
Let the pen stay in the hand ofthe author and the finisher of
your life, because he knows howto turn it for your good.

(13:55):
He knows.
Tell your neighbor, he knows.
So setbacks are just divinedisguises for setups, because
God is about to flip the scriptin your life.
So you have to recognize what'sbeen neglected.
The second thing you have to dois you have to repent of what
you've hidden.
You might say you need to.

(14:18):
If the first step is to bemindful, the next step is to be
intentional.
That repentance is not justconfessing, it's confronting
what's been buried.
You can't conquer what youcover.
You can't conquer what youcover.
You can't heal what you hide.
And you can't walk in powerwhile walking in pretense.

(14:38):
Or you might say it like thisGod can't fix what you won't
face face.

(15:00):
Let me take you to the battle ofAI.
That's not artificialintelligence.
It's actually a city in theBible.
It's a small city, but I wantto tell you, if you overlook the
small things in your life, theywill have devastating
consequences.
Joshua has just seen the wallsof Jericho fall down, not by

(15:26):
lifting a sword, but by liftinga shout.
And they walk the walls, theyshout, the walls fall down, the
city's in chaos and God hadcommanded because this was the
first battle on this side of thepromised land, all their work
until getting to the JordanRiver had been on the other side
, on the promises coming side ofthe promise, like it's not here

(15:50):
yet.
But on this side of Jerichowe're in the promised land and
God sets up for Jericho to bethe first city to fall, as God
allows his people to startinhabiting the place that he's
promised them Uniquely.
Let me tell you this not inyour notes that God did not move

(16:11):
the people out in advance ofhis people moving in, because he
said if he moved the people outtoo early, the wilderness would
overtake it and it would be toohard for God's people to get in
there and set up camp.
Isn't that interesting that Godwill keep your enemy in the
place where you think you belonguntil you're ready to conquer

(16:32):
it?
That might be a whole notherseries.
So they conquer Jericho.
And everything God said andagain, this is principle.
Remember the Bible is principle.
Concepts and promises, patternsthat have repeated themselves

(16:56):
from Old Testament to NewTestament.
The pattern really stays thesame, even though Jesus Christ
once and for all made thesacrifice for our sins.
It was the same pattern of theOld Testament.
But this is what happens.
God says this is the first cityin the promised land.
And what do we do with first?
We give it to God, the tithe,the first 10%.

(17:21):
We don't just give 10% of ourincome, we give the first 10% of
our income because the firstbelongs to God.
So God says give me the entirecity.
Destroy the city.
Don't take the gold, don't takethe spoils of war, don't take
any of it.
Destroy it all.
Save one family, rahab's family,because she saved the spies

(17:43):
back in the day.
So that was the only familythat survived Jericho.
By the way, rahab found herselfin the lineage of Jesus.
So there's another whole sermonseries that might be Mother's
Day.
And Mama said knock you out.
So we're on this side ofJericho.

(18:15):
God says destroy everything.
They didn't even raise a sword,they only lifted their voices.
Victory was fresh, confidencewas high.
And look at Joshua 6 and 27.
So the Lord was with Joshua andhis fame spread out through,
spread throughout all thecountry.
It's that last line, this isthe last time.

(18:35):
You won't remember my name, notfor my name's sake, but for his
name.
Don't remember me for me,remember me for the audience of
one making Jesus famous.
But that next territory to takewas Ai.

(18:57):
It's pronounced Ai, and it'sinteresting to me that it was a
small town, a simple battle, butit became a bitter defeat.
But it became a bitter defeat.
They sent some guys to checkout the land and they were like,
hey, it's such a small town, wedon't need to send the entire
army, let's just send 3,000people to fight this battle.

(19:19):
I mean, there's millions ofIsraelites at this time, there's
30,000, 300,000.
You name how many warriors youwant and they're there, but
we're just gonna send 3,000,300,000,.
You name how many warriors youwant and they're there, but
we're just gonna send 3,000,because, man, we took Jericho
just by screaming.
So it became bitter defeat.

(19:41):
Why was that?
Was it a lack of strategy?
No.
Was it a lack of strength?
Nope, it was because of hiddensin.
You see, in Jericho, whenJoshua passed on God's command
to destroy and to just burn itall up, no one gets out, except
Rahab and her family, don't takeanything.

(20:03):
Achan saw something.
He saw something, he wantedsomething, he took something and
he hid something.
He saw something, he wantedsomething, he took something and
he hid something.
Joshua 7, 4, 6,.
After the battle at Ai, it says,the hearts of the people melted
in fear and became like waterbecause they couldn't understand

(20:26):
how did we have such a greatvictory, such a public victory,
and then such a humiliatingdefeat?
It's because something washidden.
Let me just tell you this Sinthat is hidden is sin that
destroys.
Jesus died on a cross and shedhis blood one time to cover our

(20:58):
past sins, our present sins andour future sins.
But you know what?
It will be hard for the bloodof Jesus to find the sin that's
hidden.

(21:27):
Joshua tried to strategize hisway around what only surrender
could solve.
He leaned on strength when heshould have leaned into the
spirit, because yesterday's oilwill not win today's war.
And I know we love the God ofcomfort.
We love the God.
He is the God of comfort.
The Holy Spirit is ourcomforter and we can be

(21:49):
comforted, but we cannot missthe importance of the God who
commands.
And when God's comforting,that's great, but when God
commands, we better payattention and not conceal
anything around us.
Joshua 7, 10,.
God says to Joshua he saysstand up, because Joshua's on

(22:12):
his face crying about the loss,about the defeat.
And God says, hey, stand up,get off your face, get back up
and go conquer the land.
We're going to do it the rightway.
We're going to do it the rightway.
Get off your face, get intoposition, confront what's been
concealed, because if you won'tconfront it, you'll never

(22:33):
conquer it.
So he had to go find what theproblem was in the camp and the
Holy Spirit revealed who theproblem was.
And this is where we need to besensitive, because I'm going to
tell you, not one person inthis room has the capacity, the
space or the authority to pointa finger at anybody else, but

(22:58):
only to look in the mirror atourself and say Lord, create a
clean heart in me and renew aright spirit in me, and if there
is anything hidden in my heart,let it be revealed in front of
you, the God that can fix it.
We go to God for salvation, wego to one another for healing,

(23:18):
but listen, we're not here topoint our fingers at one person
because, listen, I hate sin andI hate that there might be sin
in your life, but I've got toomuch sin in my life to be
pointing my finger at you.
Thank you Akin's confession.

(23:45):
I'm gonna tell you.
When Akin finally confessed heactually God opened up and just
the entire Achan's entire tentand surrounding area was gone.
You say that's mean.
Well, there was a command andsomebody neglected the command

(24:09):
and concealed the sin.
Listen, we're going to sin.
The Bible says all have sinnedand fallen short of the glory of
God.
And I know it's not popular topreach about sin.
So I'm sorry, not sorry BecauseI think I'm here on a mandate

(24:31):
today that God's about to do inyou what you've only dreamed
about and only asked for andimagined.
And I'm just going to tell youthis he can't do it if you're
concealing something.
So listen, there's no shame incoming to an altar and repenting

(24:51):
, because if we don't repent ofit, we can't be relieved of it.
Achan's confession was brutalbut necessary.
Achan's confession was brutalbut necessary.

(25:13):
You've got to dig up whatyou've buried before God will
build it.
So you have to recognize whatyou've neglected, you have to
repent for what you've hidden.
And I'm just going to tell youthere's no one in this room my
mom's watching online, so my momdoes not have to worry about

(25:35):
this statement but all the restof us?
We have to be honest aboutwhat's been hidden in our life.
So recognize what you'veneglected, repent of what has
been concealed.
And the third one rise up withwhat you've learned, because God

(25:59):
never puts us to a spot withoutthe capacity to build us back
up.
God never lets you stay downunless you decide you're going
to stay down.
The right standing comes bygetting back up and moving
forward with what you learned.
You might say be encouraged, bemindful.

(26:20):
There are things I need to payattention to Be.
What was the second one?
I was so good I forgot it.
Be intentional, because there'sgoing to be things that you
might be hiding, that you didn'treally mean to hide in your
life, but you just got so goodat covering it up you forgot it.
But be encouraged, becausewhere you are now, you don't

(26:43):
have to stay.
This is where God can flip thescript, because God doesn't
waste pain, he uses it.
Amen.
You can rise up with wisdom andauthority and the fire of God
in your life, because the groundthat broke you can now become
the ground you own.
God told Joshua get back up andgo conquer.

(27:09):
Ai it's yours.
It's yours, now that you'vecleaned out what needed to be
cleaned out, go forward andconquer.
And that's what I'm declaringto you.
If you'll be mindful, if you'llbe intentional, you can be
encouraged, because the victoryin your life is coming and the
ground that, once buried you isgoing to be the ground that you
own.
What tripped you up will bewhere you trample man.

(27:36):
We used to sing a song when Iwas a kid.
I went to the enemy's camp andI took back what he stole from
me and we'd say it again I tookback what he stole from me and

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we'd say it one more time I tookback what he stole from me and
we'd get to a spot because theenemy is under my feet.
If you'll be mindful and beintentional, you can stand on
top of what used to just reallytake you out.

(28:19):
The devil is under your feetbecause you're not going back to
where you were.
You're getting ready to stepinto where you were born to be.
After repentance, afterexposure, comes restoration.
Joshua 8.1, don't be afraid anddo not be discouraged.

(28:39):
I have delivered them into yourhands.
I've delivered the king of AIinto your hands.
The same battlefield thatshamed you will be the soil
where your breakthrough springsup.
Did you hear that?
Let me say that, for clarity'ssake the same battlefield that

(28:59):
shamed you will be the soilwhere your breakthrough springs
up.
This is what God's saying toyou today.
I said we wouldn't have acomeback.
I think I'm lying.
Your calling is not canceled.
Tell your neighbor, yourcalling's not canceled.

(29:20):
Your purpose is not paused.
Your future is not finished.
God's about to flip the script.
Hey, let me ask you what's yourAI?

(29:50):
Not your chat GPT.
What's knocked the breath outof you this week, this month?
Remember those declarations wemade to start the year.
What's trying to take that outof you?

(30:13):
Maybe it's betrayal, rejection,hidden failure.
No one saw, but you'll neverforget.
Maybe it's betrayal, rejection,hidden failure.
No one saw, but you'll neverforget.
See that, see how that works.
No one knows it, no one saw it,but you can't forget it until
you face it.
God says I'm not done.

(30:39):
You know what he told Joshua.
He told Joshua lift up thejavelin, lift up, lift up that
weapon, and as long as you holdthat up, your army will defeat

(31:03):
the enemy.
God's saying listen, I'm notdone.
The javelin's in your hand.
Victory is in your hand.
Deliverance in your hand,healing in your hand.
Deliverance in your hand,healing in your hand,

(31:23):
forgiveness, forgiveness, joshua8, 18.
Hold it out toward Ai, thejavelin that is in your hand,
for into your hand I willdeliver this city.
The difference between thefirst time they went to Ai and

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the second time, god's presencewas leading the way.
So how do you get from setbackto set up to a spirit-filled and
spirit-led victory?
You recognize what you'veneglected, you repent of what
you've hidden.
You rise with what you'velearned because, hey, we don't
call it a comeback, we call itrevival.

(32:08):
We call it revival.
Bitterness may bury you, butfaith will raise you.
You're not done, you're not toofar gone, you're not too broken
.
Your setback is just a commabecause God's not finished

(32:33):
writing.
So be encouraged, because Godturns graves into gardens,
defeats into destinies andsetbacks into setups.
Don't wait, don't settle, don'tstay down, stand back up, face

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it, let God fix it.
Don't call it a comeback.
Don't stay down, stand back up,face it, let God fix it.
Don't call it a comeback,because the champion in you has
been there all the time, justwaiting to be released.
Can you receive that word today?
Amen.