If Jesus said, “Stand firm & you will gain life” - what does that mean exactly? Stand firm how? Stand firm why? and what’s the benefit or purpose of it all?
We’re going to talk about that today.
We do see people taking stands on issues around us all the time, don’t we? - we have any Ron Paul fans in the house?
Here’s someone taking a stand-look at this on the screen
Ron Paul supporter cited 4 times in Minn.
An 18-year-old Republican's enthusiasm for presidential hopeful Ron Paul could cost him more than $550.
Cody Hauer has been cited four times in one week for displaying a 13-inch-by-40-inch "Ron Paul Revolution" decal in the rear window of his car. The problem is that such decals are illegal if they obstruct the driver's view.
"I support Ron Paul, the city police department doesn't," he said. "They gave me a DWR — driving while Republican."
Hauer said he'll argue in court that the law violates his First Amendment right to free speech.
"To be honest, I'm probably not going to win, but I'm going to go down fighting," he said.
any of you ever had your order messed up in the drive-thru of some fast food joint?
Iowa man charged with Taco Bell chalupa assault
A man who claimed he didn't get the taco he paid for has been charged with assault for allegedly pelting a Taco Bell clerk in the face with a chalupa.
Nancy Harrison told police she was working the drive-through Thursday night when Christopher Lame, 24, ordered some food.
He later came into the store, complaining he didn't get the taco he had ordered, police records say. Harrison said that when she asked for a receipt, he went back to his car and brought back the bag.
Harrison said she told him the store was closing, and as she turned away, a chalupa hit her in the face near her right eye.
Now if Jesus said, “Stand firm & you will gain life” I do not believe He was speaking of incidents like these.
So what is Christ asking us to stand firm for?
1. The reason for standing is freedom.
Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
God asked us to stand to solidify what has already been done.
Jesus Christ gave His life for us. He was innocently condemned to death, but He did it for all of us, all of humanity. He was beaten & bruised for all our mistakes, screw-ups, and sin.
Nailed to a cross for our redemption. Listen, He died for our freedom and He is asking us to take a stand! To stand up for what he has done not only in our lives, but the lives every person on the face of this planet. That’s why we stand for Christ.
We stand for freedom, what Christ has already done.
How do we stand for Christ?
2. The requirement for standing is fierceness.
fierceness = wild determination, unrestrained zeal (now, don’t throw a chalupa in anybody’s face) how? bible tells us,
Ephesians 6:14-18 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
a. The Belt of Truth - this is our foundation, it’s our character, & our integrity
b. The Breastplate of Righteousness - 2 types of Righteousness:
1. Inputed or given, when you gave your life to Christ, became a Christ-follower you were given the Righteousness
of Christ.
2. Chosen - it’s choosing to change & allowing God to work. choosing righteousness of our foundation, the Truth. choosing not to sin - not entering into corruptible convo - the things we take in, TV, movies, or substances, we choose righteousness.
c. The Gospel of Peace - shoes = surefooted - live a life of stability in Christ - this is what we display for the world to see. are you living a life of stability? or is it so full of ups and downs people really ? who you are or what you’re all about - do people know what you’re all about? or is it up in the air? This gospel of peace is surefootedness (i think i just made up a word) People see the peace of God front and center in your life.
d. The shield of Faith - The shield that Paul had in mind here is not the small, round buckler, but the oblong, door-like shield, measuring 4' x 2 ', curved to the shape of the body and carried by the Greek and Roman soldiers. When joined together, these large shields formed a wall behind which a body of troops could hide themselves from the rain of the enemy's missiles.
These military shields were made of wood, covered on the out- side with thick leather, which not only deadened the shock of the missile, but protected the frame of the shield from the fire-tipped darts used in the artillery of the ancients.
So, faith is the shield of the Christian soldier, defending him from the fierce attacks of the foe from within and without. The shield of faith is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. This shield cannot be pierced or destroyed by the fiercest fires of hatred or malice. The arrows of the evil one, though flaming with cruelty, & intent to harm are stopped by the shield and extinguished.
We are to stand in faith! Our faith in God that regardless of whatever is thrown our way, marriage troubles, job or work difficulties, children driving you crazy... whatever it is we are facing... no matter how big it is... God is bigger! and we have faith He is sovereign, He is in control and will lead us out of the mess. So we stand w/ the shield of faith.
e. The Helmet of Salvation - Why? b/c while standing the battle is in your mind. protect it!
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.” Eph. 4:22-24 How do we do that?
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Col. 3:2
The battle is in your mind, so put on the mind of Christ.
f. The Sword of the Spirit - what is the sword of the spirit?
1. Word of God. v.17 “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
Again, the word of God is our foundation. W/ the word we can battle all the temptations of life - that’s why it’s so important to get in the Word daily - build up your offense against the enemy - Jesus tempted in wilderness - what did He model, what did He do to attack or battle temptation? The Word of God. read Matt. 4:1-11 at 11 the devil left Him. The devil left b/c Jesus broke out the sword of the spirit. Now check this out, if Satan went after Jesus, will he come after you? That’s why we need to get in the word daily to stand against him.
2. Prayer v18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” - we are to pray daily as well. pray what? read again - about everything
We are to stand in fierceness, wild determination. b/c you will be tempted. You will come under attack. You will face challenging dilemmas. Will you stand?
The requirement for standing is fierceness. wild determination, unrestrained zeal - we have many ex. of men & women in scrip. standing for God - Daniel, Stephen, Esther, Joshua, Caleb, Jonathan.... and we have many ex. today - how many of you remember April 20th, 1999? That was the day of the Columbine H.S. tragedy - it was also the day that when faced with a life and death ? regarding her belief in God, Cassie Bernall said YES.
Stood fierce - does it get any fiercer than that?
She was a Christ-follower who walked the talk (vid)
Just like Rach, Shac, & Benny - As they faced death for their belief in God - they said YES and then said,
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Dan. 3:16-18
That’s standing fierce! that’s walking the walk - we are to stand fierce why, b/c of freedom. To solidify what Christ has already done.
3. The results of standing is fullness
“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents--which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.” Philippians 1:27-28
a. Jesus gets the credit - we cannot stand on our own - it is only by the power of God. that’s what we share.
b. Enemies are destroyed - the temptations, the attacks that come our way, when life is beating you up - STAND - and the enemy will leave. The strongholds, the bondage, the enormous pressures you feel b/c you you just can’t get over the hump, can’t kick it - listen, when we stand now God is taking the reigns & He holds the key to destroy what is dragging us down.
c. You get to see the power of God - you get to see the supernatural take place, right in front of your eyes. - how many of you have stories you could share w/ us of God turning around what appeared to be an impossible situation, what appeared to be a dead-end in life, that He turned for good.
d. Other Lives will be affected
You get the benefit of becoming a Christ-like example for others.
We have no idea the number of lives that can & will be changed when we stand for Christ. As others see us standing, the H.S. begins to work in their lives in a whole new realm, b/c you stood for the Truth. Just like Cassie Bernall, just like many others in scripture, just like someone you may know.
I want to introduce someone to you that I know.
Angie Chandler
stood for Christ and has witnessed the results of standing in her life.
Will you please welcome Angie....
What an amazing story! What portrait of beauty! A Portrait that God wants to paint in each of our lives.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
National Treasure by Cathleen Parks
Today we are here to talk about our National Treasure. We live in a country that is officially 231 years old. But unofficially the heart of our country started well before 231 years ago. The heart of America started way back with the yearnings of individuals who just wanted to worship the God of the Bible in freedom. They wanted the opportunity to explore scripture and apply their understandings to their lives. For various reasons, which we don’t have time to get into today, they simply weren’t allowed to do this. Over the course of time many of these individuals made their way to the North American chores. Once they got here they embarked on what they referred to as ‘The Holy Experiment’.
The experiment was to establish a community where all manners of life where grounded in scripture. The New England colonies have often been called "Bible Commonwealths" because they sought the guidance of the scriptures in regulating all aspects of the lives of their citizens. As they began developing criminal statutes Scripture was cited as authority behind the established laws.
The Holy Experiment was a huge vision dreamed of by just regular people. This dream affects every aspect of how we, as Americans, live our lives even today. I’d like to just take the opportunity to share with you some golden nuggets of truth and wisdom from some of our founding fathers and then briefly examine what any of this has to do with you and I and why this is a topic we chose to take up on Sunday morning - in church of all places.
George Washington - the oath that is still taken in court to this day started with G.W. pg. 35 (all quotes from, 'God in America' by Newt Gingrich)
in 1795 G.W. called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. In his speech he said... pg. 40-41
1 Peter 2:16 "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."
Thomas Jefferson - was the author of a ‘wall of separation between church and state’. *modern day definition
public buildings for church services, including the Capitol itself!
recommended that Congress provide $100.00 per year to a missionary of an Indian tribe.
in developing school curriculums he used the Bible as the teaching text to learn to read.
when Jefferson talked about the separation between church and state he was referring to the state being separate from the affairs of the church - not the other way around. I truly believe he’d be horrified to see how his words have been so manipulated by our current culture. An incredible quote of his confirms his heart on this issue. He said: pg. 42
Abraham Lincoln -
I love an excerpt that was written on a dinner he hosted at the White House. During the night’s closing prayer the pastor commented pg.54. I love his response pg. 54
He emphasized that our purpose is not to desire the Lord to be on our side - but don’t we ask for that a lot? Problems at work - Lord show them, change them, fix them. Problems at home - give them a reality check. From playing a football game to going to war - help us win! Lincoln’s point was that God is not to be on our side - we are to recognize that he is always on the RIGHT side - whether it’s ours or not - and our desire should be to be on his side. Joe often prays not that God would bless what he’s doing but that he would do what God is blessing.
Franklin Roosevelt -
elected for four terms
referred to God and our need to depend on him numerous times in his fireside chats, state of the union addresses, and ...
One of his final addresses was most poignant. pg. 71/72
Ronald Reagan - remember what I said that coming to America was referred to in our early history? The Holy Experiment. Listen to this quote by R.R. and it ties all of this together today. Pg. 103.
Cool huh?
You know I’ve reviewed all of this today for a couple of reasons.
One is it is so easy to forget where we’ve come from. To forget what others have sacrificed so that we can be here and talk openly about our love of God and our desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Two is to remind us to make sure our children know these things. Joe and I have it easy. Because our kids go to a Christian school they know more about our Christian heritage than I do. That’s an incredible blessing! If your kids don’t have that opportunity then you need to make sure you tell them.
Deuteronomy 4:5-9
"See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Three is because we need to remember our part in all of this. For many of the recent years the Christian church bought into the manipulated idea of the ‘separation of Church and state’. Because of this we’ve been remarkably quite in the political arena, with the exception of the election of G.B. where the Christian community really began to make their voices heard. But our true voice has yet to be discovered. How do I know it is important to God that we are a part of the political process? Because a huge part of the Old Testament is a history book. It is example after example of God showing himself in and through the nations. Either by raising up Godly leadership to rule the nations or by rescuing a nation of people who’ve turned from him and now in the consequence of the rebellion are crying out to him for restoration.
So what does that mean to us within the perspective of all we’ve talked about today and with the understanding that we are in the midst our political process that results in the election of our next President? We must get involved. Listen to what’s going on. Evaluate what we’re listening to. Here’s the challenge. Evaluate things according to Biblical principle. That doesn’t seem too hard but I am surprisingly it sure can be. We are so saturated in our own opinions and our own experiences that it is not uncommon for us to come across something in scripture and realize that our opinion my not totally line up with Biblical principle. Jesus himself understands this about us and wants us to understand it about ourselves. One day he’d told the Pharisees something that didn’t particularly agree with and they argued hey - how do we know you’re right on this - all we have is your word and this was Jesus’ reply
John 14-18 "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father."
So we must test everything we think against the word of God and where we see inconsistencies we decide if we are going to trust his judgement over our own and then we do exactly what Paul teaches us in Romans 12:1-3 where he tells us,
‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.’
So use this sober judgement to clearly see the political process that is unraveling on our tv sets every night. Make sure you are registered to vote. Evaluate things according to principal and not politics. Let principle trump politics in the process and vote. When we do this we absolutely follow the Biblical example of being vessels that God will use to influence the nations. Let’s be a part of what the early settlers called the Holy Experiment and Reagan referred to as the American Experiment. Let’s keep the experiment Holy. God blessed us with a Holy America - let’s do are part in maintaining the blessing.
The experiment was to establish a community where all manners of life where grounded in scripture. The New England colonies have often been called "Bible Commonwealths" because they sought the guidance of the scriptures in regulating all aspects of the lives of their citizens. As they began developing criminal statutes Scripture was cited as authority behind the established laws.
The Holy Experiment was a huge vision dreamed of by just regular people. This dream affects every aspect of how we, as Americans, live our lives even today. I’d like to just take the opportunity to share with you some golden nuggets of truth and wisdom from some of our founding fathers and then briefly examine what any of this has to do with you and I and why this is a topic we chose to take up on Sunday morning - in church of all places.
George Washington - the oath that is still taken in court to this day started with G.W. pg. 35 (all quotes from, 'God in America' by Newt Gingrich)
in 1795 G.W. called for a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. In his speech he said... pg. 40-41
1 Peter 2:16 "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."
Thomas Jefferson - was the author of a ‘wall of separation between church and state’. *modern day definition
public buildings for church services, including the Capitol itself!
recommended that Congress provide $100.00 per year to a missionary of an Indian tribe.
in developing school curriculums he used the Bible as the teaching text to learn to read.
when Jefferson talked about the separation between church and state he was referring to the state being separate from the affairs of the church - not the other way around. I truly believe he’d be horrified to see how his words have been so manipulated by our current culture. An incredible quote of his confirms his heart on this issue. He said: pg. 42
Abraham Lincoln -
I love an excerpt that was written on a dinner he hosted at the White House. During the night’s closing prayer the pastor commented pg.54. I love his response pg. 54
He emphasized that our purpose is not to desire the Lord to be on our side - but don’t we ask for that a lot? Problems at work - Lord show them, change them, fix them. Problems at home - give them a reality check. From playing a football game to going to war - help us win! Lincoln’s point was that God is not to be on our side - we are to recognize that he is always on the RIGHT side - whether it’s ours or not - and our desire should be to be on his side. Joe often prays not that God would bless what he’s doing but that he would do what God is blessing.
Franklin Roosevelt -
elected for four terms
referred to God and our need to depend on him numerous times in his fireside chats, state of the union addresses, and ...
One of his final addresses was most poignant. pg. 71/72
Ronald Reagan - remember what I said that coming to America was referred to in our early history? The Holy Experiment. Listen to this quote by R.R. and it ties all of this together today. Pg. 103.
Cool huh?
You know I’ve reviewed all of this today for a couple of reasons.
One is it is so easy to forget where we’ve come from. To forget what others have sacrificed so that we can be here and talk openly about our love of God and our desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Two is to remind us to make sure our children know these things. Joe and I have it easy. Because our kids go to a Christian school they know more about our Christian heritage than I do. That’s an incredible blessing! If your kids don’t have that opportunity then you need to make sure you tell them.
Deuteronomy 4:5-9
"See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Three is because we need to remember our part in all of this. For many of the recent years the Christian church bought into the manipulated idea of the ‘separation of Church and state’. Because of this we’ve been remarkably quite in the political arena, with the exception of the election of G.B. where the Christian community really began to make their voices heard. But our true voice has yet to be discovered. How do I know it is important to God that we are a part of the political process? Because a huge part of the Old Testament is a history book. It is example after example of God showing himself in and through the nations. Either by raising up Godly leadership to rule the nations or by rescuing a nation of people who’ve turned from him and now in the consequence of the rebellion are crying out to him for restoration.
So what does that mean to us within the perspective of all we’ve talked about today and with the understanding that we are in the midst our political process that results in the election of our next President? We must get involved. Listen to what’s going on. Evaluate what we’re listening to. Here’s the challenge. Evaluate things according to Biblical principle. That doesn’t seem too hard but I am surprisingly it sure can be. We are so saturated in our own opinions and our own experiences that it is not uncommon for us to come across something in scripture and realize that our opinion my not totally line up with Biblical principle. Jesus himself understands this about us and wants us to understand it about ourselves. One day he’d told the Pharisees something that didn’t particularly agree with and they argued hey - how do we know you’re right on this - all we have is your word and this was Jesus’ reply
John 14-18 "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father."
So we must test everything we think against the word of God and where we see inconsistencies we decide if we are going to trust his judgement over our own and then we do exactly what Paul teaches us in Romans 12:1-3 where he tells us,
‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.’
So use this sober judgement to clearly see the political process that is unraveling on our tv sets every night. Make sure you are registered to vote. Evaluate things according to principal and not politics. Let principle trump politics in the process and vote. When we do this we absolutely follow the Biblical example of being vessels that God will use to influence the nations. Let’s be a part of what the early settlers called the Holy Experiment and Reagan referred to as the American Experiment. Let’s keep the experiment Holy. God blessed us with a Holy America - let’s do are part in maintaining the blessing.
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