Don't Call It a Comeback III // Pastor Chuck Colegrove // May 11, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Amen, beautiful.
Well, I'm ready to preach God'sword.
Are you ready to receive it?
Today the year was 1990, andTodd Smith, a longtime
participant in the world ofhip-hop and rap, was being
overshadowed by the new risinggangsta stars of the new day and

(00:33):
era of rap.
And he was afraid.
Todd was afraid he was losinghis notoriety and his influence.
And he actually to hisgrandmother, who raised him,
that this was happening and hisrecord sales were declining and
he was certain that he was gonnabe forgotten.

(00:53):
And after she listened to himfor a while, she listened and
she listened and then finally,as he lamented, she stopped him
and she said you know what, todd, just knock him out.
And with that inspiration, llCool J wrote and released the

(01:17):
Grammy winning little track,title track to this sermon
series called Mama Said Knockyou Out.
It's the year that I learned ifyou can believe in you the way
mama believes in you, you can goon and knock them out.

(01:39):
Why don't you tell yourneighbor hey, don't call it a
comeback.
And then to the one you've beenignoring all service, just say
mama said knock you out.
Well, you missed it.
Don't do it now, team, youmissed it.

(02:01):
We're here in week three of thisseries called Don't Call it A
Comeback.
And man, last week I felt likewas a special weekend when we
said don't call it a comeback,call it a revival.
And how?
The righteous.
The key passage of this seriesis Proverbs 24, 16, and it says
that the righteous will fallseven times, but they'll get

(02:24):
right back up.
And it says that the righteouswill fall seven times but
they'll get right back up.
And the reality is that is whatan overcomer does in this world
, that is what a follower ofJesus does in this world.
We don't live, we're not goingto live sinless lives, we're
just trying to sin less.
And we're not going to beperfect, but we are living for
the perfecter, the author andthe finisher of our faith.

(02:46):
And so today we're not justcelebrating, we're not just
celebrating moms, but we'reactually celebrating every woman
in this house, every mother,every grandmother, every
spiritual mother, every womanwho stands in the gap for
someone that she loves and willrise up and declare to the

(03:08):
people around her mama saidknock you out.
And this is a Bible story thatI want to share with you.
But it's not just a Bible story, it's a battle cry.
So we don't call it a comeback,we call it a battle cry Because
I want to talk to you about theway that a woman, and
specifically a mother, can shapethe spiritual destiny of her

(03:31):
family with nothing more thanher obedience, her courage and
her voice.
Tell your neighbor mama said,knock you out.
I want to tell you today, injust a little bit of time, that
I have about a woman namedDeborah, and you can follow
along in your notes and readabout Deborah in Judges, chapter
4 and 5.

(03:53):
And I want you to get thispicture in your mind.
Israel is the chosen people ofGod.
You might say in our family,when we talk about the chosen of
my parents, it's the baby ofthe family.
That's me.
I can say it because I have themic.
So you might say that Israelwas the baby of the family.

(04:15):
They were the chosen people ofGod.
And although they were chosen,we read about Israel in a lot of
ways.
They're up and they're down.
They get up and then they falldown, they.
But they always seem to getback up again, because God is
the God of comebacks, god is theGod of restoration.
And so here are God's people,god's chosen.

(04:39):
They've been oppressed for 20years by King Jabin and his
military muscles, sisera.
Their homes have been invaded,their freedoms have been taken.
The highways are so dangerousno one wants to travel on the
highways.
The enemy is not just outsidethe city walls, but the enemy is
in the atmospheres, in theirpeace, in their identity.

(05:00):
And sometimes it feels so muchlike our own life, like we know
that there's an enemy that isseeking to kill and destroy and
steal, and we feel that enemy inso many ways.
And I'm just gonna tell youlike we live in times that
there's no doubt the end times,but times that it seems like the
enemy is prevailing.
But we have a promise in ourlife that on this rock, the

(05:25):
foundation of the revelation ofJesus Christ, the Lord and
Savior of our life, upon thatrock the church is built and the
gates of hell cannot prevailagainst it.
And so, in the middle of all ofthis chaos, under the shade of a
palm tree, sits a woman.
She's not in the war room, shedoesn't sit on the throne, she's
not in the war room, shedoesn't sit on the throne, she's

(05:46):
not wearing a crown, but she'sunder a tree and her name is
Deborah.
And what really gets me as Iread through these passages of
Scripture is the Scripturesdon't call her a prophet or a
warrior, but they refer to heras a mother.
Judges 5-7 says this Villagelife in Israel ceased, ceased

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until I Deborah arose, arose amother in Israel.
Wow, just like when I said thatverse, the lights came on.
It was like let there be lightcrescendo.
Listen to that passage ofscripture.
Village life had ceased until amother arose, until a mother

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got back up and made adeclaration.
While the men were hiding andthe leaders were passive and the
people were silent, deborah sawsomething that was revealed to
her and rose up and didn't justsee it, she called it out,
because mothers have thisGod-given instinct to see beyond

(06:58):
what's in front of them.
How many know your mom has eyesbehind the back of her head,
man, I'll never forget one timemy mom was getting after me,
yelling at me for not yellingbut like scolding me for
something, and I was making aface at her and she turned
around.
She said don't you ever makethat face again?
And I knew by the snap of herfinger I was in trouble In

(07:23):
church.
My dad pastored the church inGrand Rapids and my mom played
the organ for our worshipservices, a little different
than what this stage is.
But she would sit on that organand play and if I were messing
around and cutting up in church,she would snap that finger and
point at me and give me a look.
And I knew that look becausemom saw beyond what was actually

(07:45):
happening.
I think my mom knew before Iwas going to act up and was
trying to warn me with thatpoint and that look.
But mothers see beyond what's infront of them.
They sense when the enemy hasentered their home, not through
the front door but through thatscreen or that device, through

(08:05):
that accompany or circle ofinfluence of friends around
their children.
They notice when the joy ismissing from the dinner table.
They discern spiritual warfareand the subtle changes in tones
and temperature in their room.
And Deborah, she didn't justsee the problem, she called it
out and she called somebody up.

(08:26):
And when we read in the passageof Scripture in Judges, chapter
four, just for time's sake,trust me on the story Deborah
calls Barak and she says listen,it is obvious that God has
called you to lead the army ofGod against the enemy.
So rise up and go into Siseraand defeat them.

(08:46):
And she says I'll make surethat when you get there you'll
win the battle.
She wasn't gonna go fight thebattle, but she was gonna ensure
through her prayers, throughher voice, that victory would be
won.
And I'm gonna tell you.
I just wanna challenge momstoday.
I wanna challenge women of thishouse.
Deborah literally said toBarack Mama said knock you out.

(09:13):
Ll Cool J wasn't so original,after all.
Deborah actually said it firstGet up and go, defeat the enemy.
She doesn't pick up a sword,she doesn't steal a spotlight.
She points someone else andsays this is your time.

(09:36):
God is with you.
Get up and go.
I want to just encourage momsto rise up.
Mothers are divine encouragers.
They speak words that ignitedestinies.
They push children to believewhen doubt speaks loudly.
Come on, moms, let's rise up.
And don't you know thatscripture is full of women who,

(10:05):
when they rose up and spokesomething, it changed victories
for their family, even for theirnation.
Last week I mentioned it when Isaid this would be the title of
today's sermon that Rahab.
The Bible says Rahab was aharlot in Jericho, but she had

(10:29):
compassion and she hid the spiesof Israel in her home.
When the army came to find thespies and she hid them.
And because she hid them andprotected them, the Bible says
that those men said if we'recoming and she knew it.
By the way, rahab knew that theIsraelites were going to win

(10:50):
the war before the Israeliteseven began to fight.
She knew all those years inadvance.
All those years in advance, sheknew that Israel would win,
would defeat her town, her city,her Jericho was going down and
she knew it.
And she said before you leave,promise me that my family will

(11:12):
be protected.
Mama said knock you out,promise me that you'll protect
my family.
And they said you know what?
If you'll put this purple ropeout your window when we come to
defeat the city, we will protectyou.
Now, don't you know?
The Bible doesn't say it.

(11:32):
The Bible says one line thather entire household was saved.
But don't you know, mama roseup and mama made sure every
single one of those kids andeverybody connected to her house
were going to be in that house.
Listen, moms, you don't have tobe shy about making your kids
come to church when they'relittle, and you don't have to be

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shy about compelling your kidsto come to church when they're
older.
Just because they grow up andmove out doesn't mean you don't
have a voice in their life tosay you need to be in church.
Moms don't ever give up.
I watched my mom and my dadpray for over 30 years for the

(12:17):
salvation of my brother and theynever gave up For 30 years.
They prayed that prayer For 30years.
And my brother and mysister-in-law are in Houston
today with my mother on Mother'sDay and I know they're watching
this sermon and I'm so thankful.
I'm so thankful I have a momwho never stopped praying for

(12:46):
any of it my sister, my brother,my other sister, for me she
never stopped.
She prays for you more than youpray for you.
I can promise you that Mamadon't ever stop.
Rise up.
Rise up.
There was Rahab.
There was Ruth.
Ruth was a foreigner.
Ruth was not an Israelite, shewas not from Israel.

(13:08):
Ruth was not an Israelite, shewas not from Israel.
But she married a young manfrom Israel but he died and when
he died she really could havedone anything she wanted.
And her mother, naomi, was likeI'm going back to Israel and
Ruth said I'm going with you.
And Naomi was like no, youdon't have to go with me.
No, mama said, knock you outbecause I'm going with you.

(13:33):
And Ruth said your people willbe my people and your God will
be my God.
And don't you know what?
Ruth became thegreat-grandmother of David
because she refused to sit downand go away quietly.
She rose up and she made adeclaration of who would be her
God.
And it changes for generationswhen you make that declaration.

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And then there's Tamar.
Tamar is the mother of twins.
One of the twins was Perez, andPerez is in the lineage, if you
read Matthew, chapter one, ofJesus and Tamar.
Her first husband died andthere's this, this custom that

(14:22):
in the family, if someone dies,they're they're supposed to take
care of and keep the familyname going on.
And the Bible says Judahdisregarded that pledge.
But you know what, even thoughthe people around you would
disregard God's promises, godwill never give up on his
promise for you.
And Tamar held onto thatpromise and flexed a little

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muscle herself and ends up witha son in the lineage of Jesus
Christ.
Listen, moms, you might feeloverwhelmed, you might feel like
you might feel underqualified,you might feel like it's not
working out, but I'm just gonnatell you knock them out, knock

(15:08):
them out, knock them out.
Deborah turd a war song into aworship song, judges.
Chapter 5 is a worship song andthe Bible says because of
Deborah, because she stood up,israel had peace for 40 years.
Mom, when you rise up, there'sgenerational blessing that

(15:34):
follows.
And I want to close with thisstory and I'm going to read it
if it's okay with you.
I don't normally read a lot ofmy messages, but I want to read
this because I think the storyis so powerful and thank God I
print these notes in like 25 soI can read them.
So powerful and thank God Iprint these notes in like 25 so
I can read them.

(15:57):
In the night and early morningof August 8th and 9th, the
Japanese column slipped into thechannel between Sawah and
another area I can't read,undetected.
By 1 31 AM they signaled everyship attack.
Among those battered awake bythe exploding shells was a
19-year-old Navy signalman, 3rdClass Elgin Staples, of Akron,
ohio, on board the NewOrleans-class cruiser, the USS

(16:19):
Astoria, swept into the air andout of the sea from concussive
blasts.
Staples found himself dazed,wounded by shrapnel to his legs,
but alive thanks to his M1926inflatable rubber life belt
strapped around his waist.
I began treading water, he says, trying to stay calm as I felt

(16:42):
things brushing past my legs,knowing that if a shark attacked
me any moment would be my last.
And the sharks weren't the onlydanger the powerful current
threatened to sweep me out tosea.
Rescued nearly four hours laterby the destroyer, uss Bagley,
staples and other survivors weretasked to return to try to

(17:02):
salvage the heavily damaged andburning Astoria, which was now
attempting to beach itself inthe shallow waters.
Those efforts failed andAstoria took on a dangerous list
before finally sinking atapproximately 1,200 hours,
putting staples back into thewater still wearing that same
life belt.
More than 200 men were lostaboard the Astoria, with the

(17:28):
Allied dead totaling over 1,000.
709 were wounded.
He was picked up by the USSPresident Jackson the following
day and evacuated to NewCaledonia, and it was only then
that Staples felt safe enough toremove his lucky life belt.
To his surprise, he discoveredthat the belt that had saved him

(17:50):
from drowning twice had beenmanufactured by the Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company in hishometown, akron, ohio.
But soon the connection raneven deeper.
Returning home on leave shortlyafter battle, staples reunited
with his mother, vera MillerStaples.
Staples reunited with hismother, vera Miller Staples, in
2001,.

(18:14):
Recurring Staples writes aboutthis, recounting the story.
He writes this next.
After a quietly emotionalwelcome, I sat with my mother in
our kitchen table telling herabout my recent ordeal and
hearing what had happened athome since I had gone away.
My mother informed me that, todo her part, she had gotten a
part-time job at the Firestoneplant and, surprised, I jumped

(18:37):
up grabbing my life belt from myduffel bag and I put it on the
table in front of her.
Take a look at that, mom.
I said it was made right herein Akron at your plant.
She leaned forward and, takingthe rubber belt in her hands,
she read the label.
She had just heard the storyand knew that in the darkness of
that terrible night it was theone piece of rubber that had

(18:59):
saved my life.
When she looked up at me, hermouth and her eyes were open
wide with surprise.
She said, son, I'm an inspectorat Firestone and this is my
inspector number.
And she could hardly lift hervoice above a whisper.
How incredible that.

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What mom did to help make endsmeet around the house, to help
do her part for her country?
She inspected the very lifebelt that would save her son,
not once, but twice in C?
Moms, you never know.
You never know what that prayerwill do.
You never know what that wordencouragement will do.

(19:43):
You never know what thatcompelling stand-up mama said,
knock you out inspiration willdo.
I'm gonna tell you don't giveup, moms, because God has called
you into this season, into thistime and into this church to
help raise us up and lift us toa place that God is calling us.
Mama, please tell us, knocksomebody out.
Tell us that over and overagain.

(20:06):
Can you receive that word today?
Let's pray.