Stand

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Christ! Peace be to you in the name of Jesus. Today we’re going to talk about standing. I just want to give a little background: This morning we were praying and the Lord brought up three scriptures: Rom 14:4, Jude 1:24&25, and Eph 6:10-20; and that’s where we’re going to start, and we’re going to talk about standing.  Rom 14:4, Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. God is able to make his servant stand.  Jude 1:24&25, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, or keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen! God is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy; to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen! We need to believe these Words! Reading from the King James Version: Rom 14:4, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. God is able to make his servant stand, and God will hold him up. God is with his servants. If you are God’s servant, if you are obeying God, if you are speaking his Words, do not let Satan discourage you; nor anyone else who is speaking against you and judging you wickedly. Who are they to judge God’s servants? Be strong and obey the Father! Obey your Lord and stand! For He is able to make you stand! Amen! Thank God! Jude 1:24&25,  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen! God is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy! The Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness! Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow! Thank you Lord! Eph 6:10-20, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth; we need to have the truth of God’s Word in our hearts. Amen. Jesus is the truth. His Word is the truth. We must have his Word in our hearts. That’s how we are going to be able to stand: with our loins girt about with his truth, his Word; the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth; having on the breastplate of righteousness. We’re going to have to walk in righteousness. We’re going to have to hate evil and love righteousness. Repent of all evil in your life! As the Holy Spirit convinces you, repent of all evil. You won’t be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil if you allow disobedience in your life. You won’t be able to fulfill your ministry. Turn from it with all your heart. If you’re having trouble with it, call upon the Lord; come boldly before his throne of grace to find help in the time of need. Forsake the evil! Forsake the evil! It’s not worth it; it doesn’t matter how good it feels, or how good it looks, or whatever it is, forsake it! Forsake it! You don’t even have on your breastplate. You’re open prey for the Devil. If you’re walking in any sin, repent from it! Don’t say, oh I’m under grace. You know you are sinning! You out there who are born again believers, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and you have sin in your life, you know it! Repent! Turn back to God! Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; the Gospel gives us peace; peace with God through faith in the Gospel: Jesus died for our sins; He was crucified for our sins. He bore our sins in his body on the Cross. He was marred more than any man. He was buried in a tomb. On the third day the Father raised Him from the dead. He was crucified for our sins, and He was raised again for our justification. Your faith is in the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. So your feet are shod with the Gospel; you are walking in the Gospel; walking in faith, believing that you are made righteous: God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Glory to God! You must have all of this in your life in order to stand against the wiles of the Devil! The Devil has wiles. He has wicked servants; they want to bring you down; they want to destroy you! They sit in their closets and pray against you; they curse you. You have to stand! They talk one with another to try to bring you down. They are his servants. He has servants. He has wiles. He has ways. He has temptations, but God is with you! He will uphold you! He is able to make his servant stand! It doesn’t matter what they do; the scripture that I read earlier: Who are you to judge another man’s servant?! To his own master he stands or falls. So we have to stand before our Master.  Above all, taking the shield of faith; so your faith is in the Gospel; you know you’re justified. You know through the sacrifice of Jesus that you’ve been justified. Your faith is there. You’re walking with a clear conscience. You’ve confessed every sin. You don’t know of any sin in your life; if God shows you, you repent. You don’t want any sin in your life. You love God; you want to walk with Him. Folks, that’s the key: loving Him, loving one another, walking in love. None of this will work if you don’t have love, as we will read in 1 Cor 13. Thank you Lord! So you have the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; those fiery darts coming at you; you have the shield of faith. You’re justified; you know where you stand in Jesus. Jesus is causing you to stand. His righteousness, his shed Blood causes you to stand. All your sins have been washed. It doesn’t matter what they say; what you did in the past; whatever the Devil brings up to try to condemn you. You have the shield of faith: No! I believe that I’m justified by faith in his shed Blood! Amen! You stand in that faith! And then, you have the helmet of salvation: your mind is protected by your salvation. You are saved, born again, baptized in water, baptized in the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ bore your sins in his body on the Cross. The Devil cannot torment your mind. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind! Hallelujah! Your mind is sound in Christ. And you have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God! When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by the Devil, praise God, He said, It is written; He spoke the Word of God to Satan by the Holy Spirit. Notice, it says, the sword of the Spirit: It’s the Word of God with the Holy Spirit, wherewith you’ll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. You’ll be able to fight the good fight of faith; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. We must pray always in faith, in the Holy Spirit, watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Jesus said, Pray always; let’s go there, Luke 21:36, Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things. He was previously talking about all the evil that’s going to come upon the Earth. And it’s coming. Actually it’s already here, but it’s going to get worse. So Jesus said, Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Remember that scripture that we read, God is able to make you stand before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy! Hallelujah! We need to believe that. We need to believe that we can stand before the presence of God when Jesus returns with exceeding joy! Amen! Glory!

Rom 8:31-39, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Saints, it is a reality, it is the truth: Jesus is at the right hand of the Father; He is our Great High Priest, and He is making intercession for us. We need to believe that. That’s not a religious fairy tale. Jesus is alive! He’s at the right hand of the Father, and He’s interceding for us. We need to trust Him; that He’s with us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, that covers everything, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let’s turn to 1Cor 12:31. Chapter 12 talks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given for the edification of the body of Christ. Verse 31, But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Chapter 13, verse 1-13, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever lives and believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. In almost every message I do it comes down to love. It’s all about love. Without love it won’t work. We keep God’s Words because we love him! He loves us; we love Him; we keep his Words. We love Him; we obey Him. And that’s how we’re going to stand, and that’s how we’re going to be able to endure all the things that are coming upon the Earth; through prayer and faith, with God’s help. Love endures all things. Thank you Lord!