When
to take a stand
INTRODUCTION: Have you ever had to
stand up for something you believe in? When we stand, it’s normally because
there is some sort of opposition facing us. So we have to muster up the courage
and take action to stand against that opposition.
When I’m trying to lose weight, I have to take a stand
against Friendly’s ice cream. I can’t
walk down a certain aisle at Food Lion because Friendly‘s Chocolate Almond Ice
Cream calls my name. All of my life I have had an affinity with Krispy Kreme
donuts. When I was a child my uncle was a baker at Krispy Kreme and brought
home a dozen donuts every day. Today, I try to enjoy one Krispy Kreme donuts on
my birthday if the “red” light is on. I can’t just go to the donut shop because
I’ll have to rebuke the enemy. Get behind me, Satan! Don’t buy that glazed
donut, Rick. When I’m spending time alone with Jesus reading His Word and
praying, I have to take a stand against my cell phone because it’s constantly
buzzing and dinging with updates!
Our world is polluted with so many images that aren’t
Christ like, and I have to daily take a stand for purity and holiness. I can’t
let garbage into my mind and heart. I have to take a stand against anything
that would hinder my relationship with God. See, we all have weaknesses and
temptations, and we will also face moments in our faith where we have to take a
stand against things that try to hinder where God desires us to be. The only
way we can live a God-honoring life is by taking a stand.
Tonight’s episode of AD The Bible Continues takes us
to Acts chapter 4, where we see Peter and John taking a stand for Christ.
Through God’s power, they healed a man, and the Sadducees (religious people)
didn’t like this or the message they were preaching, so they arrested Peter and
John and put them on trial. But during the trial, the court realized they had
no legal right to keep them. Before they let Peter and John go, they threatened
them. Let’s look at the threat and Peter and John’s response.
“Then
they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in
the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes:
to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help
speaking about what we have seen and heard’”
Acts 4:18-20
The religious men told Peter and John to stop teaching
in the name of Jesus. They told them to bow down and denounce their faith in
Christ. They told them to stop living out the very purpose of their being, and
in this moment after just being arrested, Peter and John stood up for Christ.
Even though they were facing threats, they took a stand and told the leaders
they would keep preaching and teaching Christ!
In life, we may face people or things that try to get
us to stop living for Christ. This could be caused by a temptation from the
evil one, a relationship, a family member, a job, a friend, or even a tragic
and unexpected event.
This is why Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:13: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the
faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (nlt).
Paul wouldn’t use this verbiage if we weren’t going to
face opposition—people, places, and things that will try to get us to back down
instead of to stand up.
Peter and John faced major opposition. They were
arrested, put in prison, and threatened, but they continued to stand for
Christ. So let’s look at what happened with them in Acts 4 and learn how we can
stand for Christ no matter what life brings our way.
Today, I want to give you three truths to help you
stand firm in your faith when life comes at you at full force.
1.
Jesus is our foundation.
In Acts 4, we see Peter and John take a strong stand
for Christ in the face of people who wanted to throw them in prison and even
destroy their lives. One key reason Peter and John were able to stand firm in
their faith is because Jesus was their foundation. Their lives were built on
the solid rock of Christ.
Look at Acts 4:8-12: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and
elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of
kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,
then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that
this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there
is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Peter believed that Jesus is the cornerstone. Jesus
was his everything. Jesus was his foundation. They were walking and talking in
the name of Jesus Christ. They knew that salvation was found in no one else.
Their lives were all about Jesus. He was their foundation.
When Jesus is our cornerstone, no matter what we face
in life, we have a firm foundation to stand on. We can stand on Him, for Him,
and we can walk in His strength, talk in His strength, and live in His
strength. Everything we are and do is all about Him!
We all face trouble and opposition, but we can take a
stand when we make Jesus our foundation. Jesus is a cornerstone and foundation
that will never crack or grow weary. He’s a cornerstone that makes a solid
foundation for us to stand on seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day!
When the storms of life come, Jesus is our firm foundation. Just like Peter and John, we must make Jesus
our foundation, the cornerstone we build our life on.
2.
We have to obey God in the midst of opposition.
Facing opposition isn’t a matter of “if” but “when,”
which means we will have many opportunities to obey or disobey. God hasn’t
called us to just believe—our faith must be a vibrant, active faith that we
live out. Peter and John had a vibrant, active faith.
Look at Acts 4:18-20 again: “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or
teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right
in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we
cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’”
This came down to whether Peter and John would stand
and obey God or bow down and give in to their fears, logic, and doubt. See, it’s easy to fall into the trap where we
know a lot but do little with what we know, especially in the face of
opposition.
Peter and John not only listened to God, but they also
obeyed and did what God told them at the
risk of their own lives! To stand firm in our faith, we have to do what James tells us. He says we can’t just be
hearers of the word; we also must be doers of the word regardless of the opposition we
face (James 1:22).
We must put feet to our faith and keep walking even
through the valley of the shadow of
death. We must keep walking through the rough terrain of the mountains of life,
and we must keep walking when the storms of life come against us.
I’ve found that one of the main challenges to obeying
God in the midst of opposition is that we can begin to wonder about the
outcome: Will God help us? Will God come through in the way we hope He will?
Will we have to suffer for standing firm?
We know that if God doesn’t show up the way we want
Him to, this could get real ugly really quick. Oftentimes, we have to battle
our flesh and common sense to stand firm. For Peter and John, common sense
would’ve been to keep a little quieter about Jesus so that they weren’t thrown
in prison, beaten, or, even worse, killed. Our flesh tells us to back up and
back down. Our flesh says, “Just go with the crowd. Be popular. Don’t ruffle
anyone’s feathers.”
But a major part of obeying God is standing firm and
trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with
all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit
to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Peter and John trusted God with all their hearts, and
they didn’t lean on their own understanding. They were “all in” for Jesus, no
matter the cost.
Living for Christ isn’t always easy. We will face
opposition. But we must obey God in the midst of opposition and stand firm
because He is worthy! Because He died for us, the least we can do is live for
Him. We must take a stand by being obedient.
3.
When we stand for Jesus, He shines through us.
It’s powerful to watch what happens when Peter and
John stand firm in their faith.
Acts 4:4 says, “But
many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to
about five thousand.”
Because they stood firm, many people heard the message
of Christ and believed. Many people were snatched out of the kingdom of
darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light because two men stood firm
in their faith in the face of opposition.
When we stand, people see Jesus in us and God will use
our boldness to bring people into a relationship with Him. These men stood firm
in their faith, and the number of men grew to five thousand. Wow! Powerful
things happen when we stand firm. When we stand firm in our faith, God will use
our resolve to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine!
I want to show you another way God shines through us
when we stand for Him.
Acts 4:13 says, “When
they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled,
ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been
with Jesus.”
We also see that people who hadn’t yet crossed the
line of faith were amazed and astonished by the courage and boldness of Peter
and John. People who didn’t even know Jesus were impacted by His Gospel through
the lives of two men who stood firm. The seed of the Gospel was planted into
the hearts of unbelievers because two men took a stand. I think it’s safe to
say that some of these people ended up accepting Christ as their Lord and
Savior. And it all began because of the boldness of two men who came under
attack. We must stand firm on the foundation of Jesus Christ because every time
we do, the seed of the Gospel is planted into hearts.
When we stand firm, we’re standing on the cornerstone
and Jesus is shining brightly through our lives. Our courage will encourage and
astonish people as we point them to Jesus by standing firm on the foundation of
Christ Jesus.
When we stand for Jesus, He will also shine through
our conversations and words.
Acts 4:31 says, “After
they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
When we stand firm and then we pray, the power of God
is released upon our lives in a powerful way. God’s power then gives us the
courage to speak the Word of God boldly.
I encourage you to stand firm in your faith and watch
Jesus shine through your words and your life!
Lastly, notice what happens in Acts 4:32-37:
“All
the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their
possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great
power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy
persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold
them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it
was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the
apostles called Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’), sold a field he
owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
When we stand firm for God and pray to Him, the Holy
Spirit gives us the power to stand together and let our light shine. God builds
His Church through people who stand firm on the solid foundation of Christ, who
pray, who are filled with the Spirit, and who stand together in faith. This is
how God built the early church, and this is how God is still building His
Church today. He’s looking for men and women who will stand for Him. No matter
the opposition, we must stand for God so that He can shine through us.
APPLICATION: It’s vitally important to me that you
understand you will face opposition
in life as you surrender your life to Christ. The enemy of your soul, Satan,
wants to do everything possible to oppose you and hinder you from coming to
Christ.
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I
want to encourage you to press past any opposition and to give your life to
Christ. Peter and John left everything to follow Jesus, and once Jesus became
their foundation, God used them to do mighty things that have literally
impacted millions and millions of people. When you surrender your life to
Christ, not only will He forgive you but He will also give you a new purpose
for living and begin to use your life to advance His kingdom.
After you make the decision to give your life to
Christ, stand with both feet firmly planted on Jesus. And as you stand on the
solid rock of Christ, be committed to praying and reading God’s Word, the
Bible. As you pray to God and follow His Word, He will give you the strength, direction,
and peace to make it through any challenge you face. He helped Peter and John,
and He will help you. And not only will He help you, but He will shine brightly
through your life and use you to impact your family, friends, and coworkers. He
will use you to be salt and light to the world around you.
Every day for the rest of our lives, we will face
circumstances and situations where we have to choose whether we will stand for
Christ. Peter and John had every reason in the world to not stand for Christ.
They were imprisoned, threatened, and their lives endangered, but they chose to
stand—and God did powerful things in and through their lives. They were bright
lights for Jesus. God wants you to be a bright light for Jesus.
At work, stand firm in your faith. At school, stand
firm in your faith. Around your family, stand firm in your faith. When no one
is watching, stand firm in your faith. In public, stand firm in your faith. In
the face of opposition, adversity, when all hell is breaking loose, stand firm
in your faith. God is faithful and wants us to be a light everywhere we go.
Remember that when we stand firm in our faith, God’s light shines brightly
through us.
CLOSING
First, some of you here may be wavering in your faith.
If that’s you, God says, “Fear not, trust in Me.” Jesus has overcome the world,
and He will help you overcome whatever you’re facing. Stand firm in Christ
today. God is with you. You aren’t alone. We all face challenges, and together
God wants us to stand firm, to obey Him, to grow in Him, and to let Him shine
through our lives.
Second, there may be some of you who haven’t ever
surrendered your life to Christ. I want you to know today that Jesus wants to
be the cornerstone of your life. He died on the cross and rose again so that
you could trust Him with your life. He did all this because He loves you. He
wants to forgive you and be the cornerstone of your life.
I want to give you an opportunity to start a
relationship with Him today. You don’t need to have everything figured out.
Today, just decide to surrender your life to Christ and make Him your
cornerstone, and He will help you clean up your life. Jesus died and three days
later rose from the dead so that we can be forgiven, born again, and made into
a new creation. He loves you, and there is nothing more that He wants right now
than to have a relationship with you. So if that’s you and you’re ready to
start a relationship with Jesus Christ, I’m going to count to three, and I just
want you to raise your hand. When you raise your hand, you’re saying to God, “I
want a relationship with You.”
So if that’s you, just raise your hand and I’m going
to lead you in a prayer.
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