Choices That Will Change Your Life #9-Choosing to Stand

“CHOICES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE #9-CHOOSING TO STAND”

EPHESIANS 6:10-13

INTRO: We often sing:

“Stand up, stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the cross,

Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.

Take up the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer.

Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.”

We sing the words but I wonder how many of God’s people are truly

standing up for the Lord today? In Ephesians 6:10-18, the apostle

Paul emphasized the need to stand up for the Lord and stand against

the workings of the devil. He writes in Ephesians 6:13—“Wherefore

take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to

withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” I want you to

note the last five words in that verse—“…having done all, to stand.”

We must resolve by God’s grace,not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and

he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our

cause, or our Leader, or our armour, we give him advantage.(MATTHEW

HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master

CHOOSING TO STAND means that I’m not going back; I’m not caving

in; and I’m not going to regress or retreat. Jesus said in Matthew 10:

33—“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny

before my Father which is in heaven.” What does it mean to deny the

Lord? When I am under pressure, I back down or falter—that’s

denying the Lord. When I let doubt overwhelm me instead standing

on God’s truth—that’s denying the Lord. When I refuse to take a

stand for Christ—that’s denying the Lord. Christianity is not a secret

society. The people who know you best should be absolutely certain

that you love Jesus Christ as your highest priority. Something is

desperately wrong if they know Whom you serve. (James MacDonald. 10

Choices. p. 247). One day, if the Lord tarries, each of us will die. On your

tombstone will be written the summary of your life. Wouldn’t it be

great if these words were chiseled there: He confessed Jesus Christ or

She confessed Jesus Christ? Will you be remembered as one who took

a stand for Jesus Christ? Years from now, all that will matter to you is

a life of consist loyalty to Jesus Christ. Friend, do you regularly

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? I don’t mean just at church, but

everywhere you go. Is your loyalty to Him growing daily? Can you say

with conviction, “I cannot deny the Lord! Whatever else I get done in

this world, God help me, I will not deny Him. I will not lower the flag.

I will not back up or shut up or hide the reality of my allegiance to

Jesus Christ. I will not do that. I cannot do that.” (James MacDonald. 10

Choices. p. 248).

I want us to consider tonight CHOOSING TO STAND. Friends, this is

a powerful commitment. God can truly do some amazing things with

us when we totally yield our lives to HIM! The most powerful choice

we can make is: I will not, I cannot, I must not deny my Lord; I choose

to stand! Please note with me four things tonight…

(1) CHOOSE TO STAND BY SALTING THE EARTH

MATTHEW 5:13—“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his

savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for

nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

A. MAKE A DECISION. Friends, there is so much power in the decision of

CHOOSING TO STAND. One of the things that those who stand for Jesus

do is that they salt the earth. As followers of Jesus Christ we have

something that this world does not possess—we have the Spirit of God living

inside us. We must choose to salt the earth with God’s influence. No one

else can do what God has called us to do. We must recommit ourselves to

the task of salting the earth.What is the purpose of salt? :

TO PRESERVE.
TO PURIFY.

Friend, are you CHOOSING TO STAND by salting the earth? If not, then we

are not standing for the Lord. And if we are not standing for the Lord listen

to what Jesus says in the last part of this verse: “but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under the foot of men.”

B. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. By calling us salt, Jesus was referring to the

impact we can make when we stand up for HIM. Friends, there is nothing

quite like salt. Salt is salty. Jesus was saying, “When you’re around,

people should taste the difference!” (James MacDonald. 10 Choices. p. 252). We should

impact every single person we meet. We were made to impact people. We

may not think we have much influence but God made us to impact people’s

lives. Jude put in this way in Jude 1:20-23—“But ye, beloved, building up

yourselves on your most holy faith,praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep

yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ

unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And

others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating eventhe garment

spotted by the flesh.”

We should CHOOSE TO STAND BY SALTING THE EARTH and we should…

(2) CHOOSE TO STAND BY SHINING THE LIGHT

MATTHEW 5:14-16—“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an

hill cannot be hid. 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. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see

your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

A. THE PURPOSE OF SHINING THE LIGHT. Light’s purpose is to illuminate.

Our world is a dark place, but we can bring it light. I want you to note

something, both times, Jesus said, “Ye are..”—“Ye are the salt of the earth,”

“Ye are the light of the world…”. That is the very nature of who we are as

followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord saved us He gave us the

light of life. Jesus said in John 8:12—“…I am the light of the world: he that

followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shallhave the light of life.”

When the Lord says—“Ye are light of the world…” He means we reflect Him.

We are to be a reflection of His love, His grace, and His mercy. We should

reflect the light of His presence to those we meet. When we stand up for

HIM we let our light shine brightly!

B. THE PROBLEMS TO SHINING THE LIGHT.Friends, God did not save us

for us live in fear and faithlessness. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us—“For God

hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound

mind.” God’s desire is that we let our light shine brightly for HIM. Friends,

we are “the light of the world…” and we need to stop hiding our light! We

need to stop hiding our light where we work, we need to stop hiding our

light when around unbelievers, and we need to stop hiding our light when

we feel threatened or uneasy. Jesus said in v16—“Let your light so shine

before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father

which is in heaven.” Let’s let it shine! Let’s not cover it, hide it, or bury it!

Just LET IT SHINE! But we need to be aware that there are some things

that hide our light. What are these? :

UNCONFESSED SIN HIDES MY LIGHT. When we have unconfessed sin in our lives, Satan uses guilt and shame to convince us that we have no right to share our faith with others. The solution is to take care of our unconfessed sin (1 John 1:9).
UNDUE SUFFERING HIDES MY LIGHT. When we suffer from no fault of our own, when things get hard, and we fail to take them to God, then it can cause us to hide our light. Friends, God is our great burden bearer. We don’t have to carry our burdens alone. He invites us—“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). We are to be “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).
UNEASY SILENCE HIDES MY LIGHT. Friend, let me ask you, how many opportunities did you have to speak up for the Lord this past week but you kept silent because you felt uneasy? The more often we remain silent the easier it becomes for us to remain silent. The Bible tells us—“…sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15).

When we face difficulties, God gives us the grace to focus our energies and effort, our discouragements and grief into to something that shines forth His glory. This is part of what it means to STAND!

We should CHOOSE TO STAND BY SALTING THE EARTH, we should CHOOSE TO STAND BY SHINING THE LIGHT and we should…

(3) CHOOSE TO STAND BY A SINGLE FOCUS

JOHN 21:1-25

A. KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR MINISTRY. There are two things that cause

us cause us to stumble in our stand for the Lord quicker than anything

else. They are: discouragement and distraction. We all remember the bold

confession Peter made concerning standing for the Lord—“…Though all men

shall beoffended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Though I

should die with thee, yet will I notdeny thee. Likewise also said all the

disciples.” (Matthew 26:33, 35). Peter denied the Lord three times. But

did the Lord give up on Peter? NO! In discouragement, Peter and the

disciples had gone back to fishing. They got their eyes off their ministry.

John 21 records for us one of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

The disciples in despair had gone back to fishing but their fishing had

ended in defeat. They caught nothing! The Lord called out to them and

then invited them to come eat breakfast. (John 21:9-13). After breakfast,

Jesus spoke with Peter so that he might refocus his attention on the

ministry God had given him (John 21:15-17). There is no coincidence that

the Lord asked Peter to confirm his love three times. Peter had denied three

times now he must affirm his love and devotion three times. In other words,

Jesus was saying to Peter, “Peter you need to get your eyes back on the

ministry I called you to.” Lovingly, Jesus said, Peter, I’m not done with you

yet. I see what’s in your heart. You don’t’ want to deny me. You want to be

faithful to me. In fact, Jesus said to him, Peter, you’re going to be faithful to

Me. You’re going to give your life for me. (James MacDonald. 10 Choices. p. 257).

Friend, if you are going to stand up for the Lord you must keep your eyes on

your ministry. But also you must…

B. KEEP YOUR EYES OFF OTHER MEN. Peter had not much more than

affirmed his devotion to the Lord and His purpose and his impetuous

nature showed itself. Peter speaking of John asks—“…Lord, and what shall

this man do?” (John 21:21). Nothing will cause us to stumble quicker in

our stand for the Lord than having our eyes on other people. I think it is

important we see the Lord’s reply in v22—“…If I will that he tarry till I come,

what is thatto thee? follow thou me.” Jesus basically said, get your eyes off

of other people, Peter, and back on Me.”(James MacDonald. 10 Choices. p. 257). We waste

much valuable time looking at what others are doing. But listen to what

Romans 14:4 says—“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To

his ownmaster he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is

able to make him stand.”

Friend, have you lost your saltiness and hidden your light because you have been focusing on other Christians? If so, you need to get your eyes back on the Lord. The moment we get our eyes off HIM we become distracted and divided. WE MUST STAND BY A SINGLE FOCUS!

We should CHOOSE TO STAND BY SALTING THE EARTH, we should CHOOSE TO STAND BY SHINING THE LIGHT, we should CHOOSE TO STAND BY A SINGLE FOCUS and lastly, we should…

(4) CHOOSE TO STAND BY A SURRENDERED WILL

1 CORINTHIANS 16:13—“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like

men, be strong.”

A. CHOICES. The only way we can continue to stand for the Lord is if we

have surrendered our will to His. Each choice we are presented with comes

down to a decision between God’s will and our own way. The surrender of

our will comes when we say, “Not my will, Lord, but thine be done.”

B. CHALLENGES. 1 Corinthians 16:13 gives us four challenges that will

help us in our choices:

SEE. “Watch ye…”. Pay attention. Don’t compromise. Engage. Take a stand. Paul told the Corinthians to “to be…constantly on the alert, that their spiritual enemies might not gain advantage over them before they were aware of their danger. (AN EXPOSITION OF I CORINTHIANSby Charles Hodge. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Coyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).
STAND. “Stand fast in the faith…”. WE are to be determined. We are to be resolved in our commitment. WE need to root ourselves in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:6-7—“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye havebeen taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
STICK. “Quit you like men…”. Don’t waver and wallow in excessive emotion. Choose the path you are called to follow and stick to it! Don’t let your feeling determine your actions.
STRENGTHEN. “Be strong.” Don’t be passive, but be active. Step up. Stand up. Don’t show indifference. There is much at stake here. Life is short! WE MUST live it for Jesus!

CLOSING: Friend, will you take a stand for Jesus tonight? As we think about

our lives, let each of us, choose this: I WILL NOT DENY MY LORD.

Whatever comes my way, I choose to stand for JESUS!

Let our prayer tonight be: “I choose to stand for Jesus Christ. God

helping me, I cannot, I will not, I must not deny the Lord. Help me,

Lord. Help us all to choose to stand. Amen.”(James MacDonald. 10 Choices.

p. 263).

(PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, JULY 26, 2009)