When under fire, stand firm.
Y'all, sometimes life is just hard. You think things are going so well only to have everything thrown off track. You feel secure in what you're doing, only to have everything questioned. You feel confidant people understand you and agree with you, only to have them disappoint you. As Mark puts it, we are all just a bunch of messy weirdos. Ain't that the truth! We need to remember who we are fighting, but more than that, we need to remember why we are fighting each and every day of our earthly existence.
John 10:10 states "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 says this "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."
Romans 5:3-5 proclaims "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
I know that is a lot to absorb at once but hear me out. We have a real enemy. The devil (thief). He is seeking to steal our joy, our purpose. He seeks to kill our hope and passion for the Lord. He seeks to destroy our families, our church bodies, our world. Honestly, he is doing a phenomenal job. I look around me and see families falling apart, church bodies not desiring to deal with sin in their lives, and a nation giving themselves over to the evil desires of their hearts. I want to encourage you today to FIGHT. If you are a true believer in the Lord, stand firm. Don't allow your pride, your convenience, or your fleshly pleasures, to take you off the path the Lord desires for you.
The 2 Corinthians verse above tells us we will suffer. We will be afflicted, perplexed, and struck down. However we will NEVER be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, or destroyed. God is with us. Can I get an AMEN!?! God takes it a step further in Romans where He states we can rejoice in our suffering (our discomforts, awkward conversations, the whole sanctification process). Each time we stand firm and fight against our real enemy, we produce endurance. We are able to do it again and again until our character changes and it becomes like second nature. When our character is being redeemed through sanctification, the hope we have explodes in our hearts. That hope has no where else to go but out of our lives and poured into those around us. Hallelujah!
We need to get real. Get real with our sin. Get real with the fact some days we don't want to change, and we like ourselves just the way we are. But also get real with the fact that isn't okay. God desires us to be like Jesus and we can't do that if we aren't ready and willing to address the sins in our lives. Yes, it is awkward when someone calls us out. Yes, we have to fight the desire to get defensive and angry. But my question for you is...if you are a true believer, isn't your desire to be like Jesus no matter the cost? If it's not, you need to get real with the fact, you might not be His to begin with. I know that hurts. But I love you to much to let you sit back and think you are saved because you said a prayer when you were 5 and got dunked. Tim Keller states "It's impossible to meet the real Jesus and leave indifferent."
1 Corinthians 15:58 says it beautifully "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Friends, this is not our home. We should feel uncomfortable here. Stand firm. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Rejoice in your suffering. Be immovable for the Lord. Don't for a second let the enemy steal your joy and your purpose to bring glory to God and to make Him known. Allow Him to sanctify your life. I love you all. Till next time.
Worship with me today!