Stand

"10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" (Ephesians 6:10-18)

       Yesterday, I preached a sermon entitled "Stand." Here are three things that we must have in order to stand. 

1.  Armour.  In Ephesians 6, verses 11,13, and 14, we are told that we need the armour of God in order to stand.  Obviously, the armour of God is a longer study than I could write about here.  However, I believe that many Christians are missing pieces of this armour, and thus falling prey to the devil.  Oh, for a generation that once again realalized that we are in a battle, and that God has given us all the protection we need, if we will just avail ourselves of it!  (On a side note, many "professing" Christians have never donned the "helmet of salvation."  They have never been born again; therefore, they won't last when the fighting gets hot.)

2.  Belief.  12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.  (II Timothy 1:12-14).  Why did Paul stand?  He knew what he believed.  Think of it is way-  "No one ever stands for a cause they don't believe in."  And as Christians, it isn't just a belief or a faith- we have THE faith!  Paul didn't say that he had kept a faith, or some church denomination's faith, or that he had been a person of faith, or that he had finished his journey of faith- he simply said "I have kept the faith"!!! (II Timothy 4:7)

3.  Conviction.  "And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" (I Samuel 17:29).  "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."  We must become men and women of conviction, purposing in our own hearts to "just do right."  Most battles are not won or lost on the battlefield, they are decided long before that.  The preparation, the planning, the determination, the conviction- this is what will bring success! 

       Recently, I was talking to a man before one of our concerts, and he asked if I was going to do a good job.  I told him that I would try, to which he responded, "I have a sign on my computer that reads, 'Don't try- just do.'"  As I later reflected on what he said, I realized that many Christians spend their lives "trying" to do right, while a few simply "do" right.  Which kind of Christian are you?

                                                       "If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything."

"How is it That Ye Have No Faith?" (Part Two)

       Love.  I truly believe that this is what the disciples were missing; they didn't understand God's love!  I John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."  If "perfect love" casteth out fear, then what is perfect love?  Is it us loving God perfectly?  No, because I John 4:10 says, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  

       What, then, is "perfect love"?  The answer is found in I John 4:16-17, which says, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."  Verse 17 starts out by saying, "Herein is our love made perfect," thus referencing what has just been said in verse 16.  What does verse 16 say is the way to have "perfect love"?  It gives us three keys-

       #1.  We must KNOW God's love.  Think about it- no one ever experienced God's love without first KNOWING that it existed!  That may sound elementary, but it's true.  We can't be made perfect in God's love without first knowing that it exists.

       #2.  We must BELIEVE God's love.  Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."  No one can get saved without BELIEVING on Jesus Christ.  And why do we believe on Him for Salvation?  Because of the love that He poured out on Calvary!  If a person doesn't BELIEVE that Jesus loves them, then why would they trust Him for Salvation?

       #3.  We must DWELL in God's love.  I believe that this is where most Christians, including myself, fail.  We KNOW about the love of God, we BELIEVE in the love of God, and yet we often fail to DWELL in the love of God.  Dwelling in God's love is simply this - a conscious, continuous state of making God’s love our habitation.  Dwelling in God’s love is like dwelling in your house- you live there.  Dwelling in God's love is accepting the fact that God loves us so much that He has given us everything we need, and that He will take care of us in every situation.  Luke 12:6-7 says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”  What is Jesus saying in these verses?  Fear not, because God loves you!  

       Regardless of what we go through, God is in complete control.  If you are His child, then he has already promised to work everything out for your good (Romans 8:28).  He does ALL things well!  Do I fully understand why everything in my life happens the way it does?  No, I don't.  But when the  circumstances of life are beyond my control, I know that I can safely trust the Love of God!

        

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure—

The saints’ and angels’ song.

"How is it That Ye Have No Faith?" (Part One)

       Fear, Distress, Anxiety, Worry.  We could go on and on and on.  Let's be honest with ourselves; we all face these things.  Now, contrast that list with the following list- Faith, Hope, Endurance, Trust.  These two lists are at complete odds with each other; they simply cannot co-exist.  All we must do is simply choose the second list over the first.  That sounds like a simple enough solution, but it's extremely hard to do!

       So often we end up like Peter-  stepping out of the boat, only to take our eyes off of Jesus and start sinking!  At which point we quickly call out to God to save us, which He always does; we are then left wondering why we ever took our eyes off of Him in the first place.  

       Mark 4:35-41 tells us the following story- "And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

       There are five things that stuck out to me in this story-

1.  Jesus led the disciples into the storm!  Chew on that for a minute!  There are times in our lives when God will lead us into a storm, simply to test and strengthen our faith.  However, I'm so thankful that He never abandons us in the storm!  (Now, I'm not saying that God creates every storm that we go through.  There are some things that happen that God does not orchestrate; for example, school shootings, terrorist attacks, etc.  However, God is always in control of the storm, He can always teach us something through the storm, and He does all things well.)

2.  Jesus was asleep during the storm!  Remember this- God is never in a hurry, but always on time.  Jesus wasn't sleeping because He didn't care about the disciples, or because He wasn't aware of what was going on.  He was simply allowing them to learn a lesson!

3.  The disciples actually had the audacity to ask Jesus, the creator of the universe, if He cared that they were dying!  I don't know about you, but I'm sitting here thinking- "Come on guys, of course he cares!  Besides, do you think you are actually going to sink with Jesus in the boat?  I mean, what's He gonna do; watch you go down, and then go water-walking?  YOU GUYS HAVE LOST YOUR MINDS!"   
Yet how is it, that we are so often the same way?  We are conscious of the fact that God will never fail us, and yet we lose sight of that fact in the moment that we need God the most!

4.  Jesus calmed the storm, but only after the disciples gave up in desperation and asked Him to!  Wow!  How many times do I struggle through storms longer that necessary, just because I don’t surrender and ask God for help?!  Now, I'm not saying that God will immediately calm the storm in the circumstances, but He will always calm the storm in our heart and give us peace if we allow Him to.

5.  In the end, the disciples still didn't understand who Jesus was!  That's unbelievable!!!  They went through the entire storm and saw Jesus do a great miracle, only to say, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"  How often are we just like the disciples?  We go through a great storm, ask God to help us, see Him work in a mighty way, and then act shocked that He was powerful enough to answer our request?  After all, He's God!

       In this story, though, there is one thing that caught my attention above everything else.  After calming the storm, Jesus asked the disciples, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"  Tomorrow, I will post what I believe to be the answer.  It's one of the most freeing, life-changing truths I have ever learned!

Why Be Faithful? (Reason #3)

       #3.  Christians are watching.  In particular, there are young Christians watching.  Not necessarily young physically, but young Spiritually.  We probably all know people in our family, our church, or our school, who haven't been a Christian for very long.  That doesn't make them any less important or less valuable than any one else; it just means that they haven't been walking with God as long as some other Christians, and thus can often be more susceptable to being "blown about by every wind of doctrine."

       It is vitally important that a young Christian reguarly studies the Bible for himself, spends time in prayer to God, and begins to build good habits.  If he doesn't see older, more mature Christians (such as friends, parents, or older siblings) already doing these things, then he will probably be less likely to continue doing them himself.  Oh, friend, if you take your walk with God in a serious manner, remember that there are others watching you.

       You may say, "I'm young and inexperienced; no one is watching me."  Friends, we need to get rid of the idea that we are too young to make a difference!  We would do well to heed Paul's advice to Timothy- "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (I Tim. 4:12)  

       For example, my younger siblings (Joshua especially but others as well) have challenged me (and still are challenging me) more in the area of Scripture memory, than ALL the sermons I heard in my life combined!  Now, don't get me wrong, preaching from the pulpit is VITALLY important for all of us; I'm not saying it's not.  All I'm saying is that my younger siblings, mostly by their actions and also by their words, influenced me to start memorizing the Bible!  

       Luke 16:10a says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much."  You will never be faithful in big things, until you learn to be faithful in the every-day things.  God doesn't care how popular you are, how well known you are, or how talented you are; He just wants you to be faithful where you are!  Oh young man, young lady- if you will just decide NOW to be faithful, then one day you will reap a great, eternal reward!

Let us live for but one thing- to hear our Master say, 

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21)

Why Be Faithful (Reason #2)

       #2.  The world is watching and waiting.  Matthew 5:13-16 says, "¹³ Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. ¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  How can we expect people to be drawn to God, unless they see us living faithfully for Him?  We can try to witness all we want to, but if we don't base our life on the foundations and principles of the Bible, we won't get very far.

       I have a very dear friend who is a pastor.  Over the past few years, he has shared with me about his un-saved daughter.  Her lost condition was a great burden to him, as it would be to any parent.  He tried to be a light to her, but she didn't seem to have any interest in the Lord.  Well, I talked to my friend on the phone the other day, and he had great news- a lady in a store had witnessed to his daughter, and his daughter had become a Christian!  He then related to me something incredible that his daughter told him after she got saved.  She said, "Dad, all the miracles that I heard people talk about; I wasn't convinced that they were real.  But I was sure that what I saw in you was real!"  Even when she was lost in sin, she was still watching her dad; she saw that he had something real.  Wow! If an unbeliever was watching my life, could they tell that I had something real?

       Dear Christian, our passion for the lost should affect every area of our lives!  It should affect what we do, where we go, what we watch, what we say, the way we dress, the music we listen to; it should affect everything about us!  If my friend would have been unfaithful, he then would have had a bad testimony; in which case, his daughter may never have gotten saved.  And if that dear lady in the store hadn't been faithful to tell that girl about Jesus, she still may never have gotten saved.  Hey, there are lost people who need to hear the Gospel, and also see it lived out in front of them!  It's time that we get serious about the Great Commission, and it all starts with living a surrendered, faithful life.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Gal. 6:9)

Why Be Faithful? (Reason #1)

       Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some things that God is speaking to me about.  One thing that God has been teaching me is that I need to be faithful- faithful in prayer, faithful in reading the Bible, faithful in Scripture memory, faithful in evangelism; faithful in every area of life.  Some folks may ask, "Why?  Why does all this matter, and is it still important?"  Over the next three days, I am going to share three reasons (from the Bible) why the race is still worth running.

       #1. God still cares.  God wants an intimate relationship with each one of us, and the only way to get that is by spending time with Him.  We think that we can live our lives how we want during the week, and then expect to meet God on Sunday.  It just doesn't work like that!  Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."  A friend recently emailed me, and in the course of the email he asked how he could pray for me.  (This is just a rabbit trail, but you can tell that someone truly cares about you if they ask how they can pray for you!)  One of the things I asked him to pray was that I would have an increased hunger and thirst for God.  As I wrote that, I thought, "You know, an appetite for righteousness is not something that God gives automatically, it's something that must be developed.  God will give us SITUATIONS that can deepen our walk with Him, IF we allow them to."

       Think of it like this- everyone gets hungry physically (some of us more than others :).  In the same way, everyone gets hungry spiritually.  The only thing is, most people don't know that their spirit is hungry, they just know they need something to satisfy them on the inside.  That's why people turn to entertainment, wealth, success, etc.  They are trying to satisfy the craving that's inside of them.

       Now, let's go back to the physical man for a minute.  At first, he is not a picky eater.  Think about it, a baby will put just about ANYTHING into their mouth!  However, over time, that child develops likes and dislikes.  If his mother feeds him healthy food, he learns to enjoy healthy food.  If his mother feeds him junk food, he learns to enjoy junk food.  In the same way, if we choose to fill our life with carnal things, we develop an appetite for carnal things.  BUT IF WE FILL OUR LIFE WITH SPIRITUAL THINGS, WE BEGINS TO DESIRE SPIRITUAL THINGS!  It's not rocket science, it's just the law of nature; appetites are developed!

       Colossians 3:1-3 says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."  God still cares where our affections are; He still cares what we do!  Some people say, "Well, saying that you ought to read your Bible and pray EVERY DAY is being legalistic!"  Well, JESUS said in Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  We seem to find time to eat, and yet we can't find time to read the Bible and pray?  Christians in America are in bad shape!  (Now, lest you think that I'm preaching down at someone, I need to apply what I'm writing as much or more that anyone else does.  The things I write here are normally things that God is dealing with me on, and He wouldn't need to deal with me if I had it all together!)

       Think of the great heroes of the faith, and of the great Christians you know now.  I guarantee you that if they were, or are being, greatly used of God, it was only as they spent time with Him.  Think about it this way- we can do nothing apart from God (John 15:5); He is the one who does the work, not us.  Therefore, when we are not abiding in Him, we don't bring forth fruit (John 15:4).

       Luke 22:39 says (talking of Jesus), "And he came out, and went, as he was wont (in the habit of doing; accustomed), to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed Him."  Two verses later, we find Jesus praying.  He made it a habit to spend time alone with His Father.  Now, if Jesus needed to do that, how much more do we!  Think also of Daniel- he made prayer a habit (Daniel 6:10)!  Hey, it's time we started obeying God, not just because we feel like it, but because it's the right thing to do!  John 14:15 says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

       Now, it is possible to do everything I just talked about (Bible-reading, prayer, scripture memory, witnessing, etc.), WITHOUT loving God.  That leads to legalism.  People become legalists when they keep doing the right things, but with the wrong attitude (sounds to me like pharisees!).  However, many Christians take another wrong approach by saying, "All this stuff about 'being consistent and disciplined' sounds like legalism; I think I will just follow God in my own way."  Now, they wouldn't say it quite like that with their words, but that's what they are saying with their actions.  They don't want to live a disciplined life, so they find an excuse not to.  That's called taking the wrong approach with the wrong attitude, and it's no better than being a legalist!

       In closing, I want to leave you with this thought.  Joshua 24:15, one of the most popular verses in the Bible, says this- "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Notice what Joshua didn't say.  He didn't say that he would serve God when he felt like it.  He didn't say that he would serve God when it was convenient or when he had time.  He didn't say that he would serve God when he was on an emotional high.  He simply said, "We will."  Period.  End of story.  He made a decision to serve God, and to be disciplined about it.  Read God's charge to Joshua in Josh. 1:1-9.  Then think about this- God said to Joshua in verse 7, "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law."  God expected Joshua to know the law and to do it!  God also told Joshua to meditate on the law. (v.8)  Meditation is kind of difficult if you don't have any Scriptures memorized!  God blessed Joshua just like He said He would, but only because Joshua made a decision to do what was right.  

Who will you serve?  The choice is yours. 

       
       

How We Can Limit God (Part One)

       Wow, some of you are probably wondering if I dropped of the face of the earth!  Well, I didn't! (Obviously, or else I wouldn't be writing this!)  Anyways, I won't make excuses for not posting the last month; I simply didn't make time for it.  However, now that I am sitting down to write again, I am going to be doing a three-part series on "How We Can Limit God." (Much of what I will be writing is not original with me; it's based on sermons from my pastor, Joseph Brown.)

       First of all, it may shock some of you to hear that we can limit God.  You may be asking, "What do you mean by saying that we can limit God, and how can we do that?"  Well, thank-you for asking, and this week I will be covering the first way that we can limit God.  Before I get to that, however, we need to understand that the Bible specifically speaks of our ability to limit God.

       Psalm 78:41 (speaking of the Israelites) says this, "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."  I don't know about you, but this verse scares me!  Just think, we have the ability to limit the power of God in our lives!  That thought should give us some fear of the Lord! 

       So, how can we limit God?  One way is having a lack of faith.  Here are some references which give accounts of how Jesus worked while He was on this earth. All of these verses specifically mention the faith of a person- Luke 7:9, Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:19, and Luke 18:42.  This list is by no means exclusive; these are simply verses I found while paging through the book of Luke!  Now, contrast these verses with Luke 9:41, in which Jesus said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?"  Jesus said this after his disciples failed to cast a devil out of a boy.  Clearly, God only works when faith is present.!
    
       Hebrews eleven is known as the "Hall of Faith."  Verse six says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him (speaking of God); for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  If it is impossible to be saved without faith, we surely can't expect God to work in our lives if we don't have faith!

       Now, the good news is that we don't need an enormous amount of faith in order to see God work in our lives.  One of my favorite verses on faith is Mark 9:24, which says this, "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."  In the very next verse, Jesus cast a devil out of the man's son.  This man didn't have a great amount of faith; he simply believed!

       God wants to do the impossible in, and through, His children.  II Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."  The question is, "Will we have faith?"