Will the real Christian please stand up!
Will the real Christian please tell the truth!
Does anyone remember the game show “To tell the truth?” In this game show they had a group of for people that would be giving questions by a panel of contestants in hope of picking the right person. Only one person of the four would actually respond with the correct answer and it was up to the panel to figure out who was telling the truth.
Hmmmm are you the Christian or is it you, wow I could not tell that you are a Christian by what you just said, hey do you think that is the real Christian over there? Ahh maybe not your right I do see what they are doing, hey maybe that person is the real Christian, oh maybe not did you just see what they did, wow. Will the real Christian please stand up!
Don’t you think that the world can tell the difference between the real Christian and the pretend, and what a real Christian is suppose to be like?
Let’s read this mornings Scripture focus, listen carefully to see if you can identify the real Christians in this passage.
Daniel 3:1-18
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Could you identify the real people of God? Sure you could it was not hard looking from the outside in….The real Christians stood up for God.
We sing a song that that talks about what a Christian can rely on if they stand up for God, and that is Standing on the Promises. It goes like this,
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I prevail, Standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises I now can see, Perfect,, present cleansing in the blood for me, standing in the liberty where Christ makes free, Standing on the Promises of God.
If we stand on the promises of God that cannot fail then we should never be just sitting on the premises and watching satan take hold.
I. Family we must take and stand on the Promises of God now and take a stand for our God today.
We look around us and see this world going deeper and deeper into the grips of satans hand with sin overwhelming the good. We need to take a stand and stand on the promises God has given us, here in the church, in the playground, in the school, in the workplace, and in our community and don’t let us forget parents, families, couples, singles, we must take a stand
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in our home first for God if we expect anything to go right on the outside.
Our lives are filled with challenges everyday, our country is facing challenges that have never been seen before, we are under attack from satan, the value placed on God is less and less. When will we stand up for the God the one who sent His Son to hang on the Cross to die for our Sins, When are we tomorrow? Before it becomes to late?
Good things come from those who take a stand, but also bad things come from people who also take a stand. But both are from someone standing up. So if the real Christian would stand up, the promises of God can be carried out and move past the bad.
Right now in this country we are dealing with school shootings, same sex marriages, murdering of unborn children, diseases ravaging not third world countries right here in our own county, divorce rate climbing, children being abused by the hundreds, and the list keeps growing and growing and growing…. All because people took a stand for the bad instead of the good.
II. So Where do people need to take a stand, since God stands on the promises He made for us?
We must witness- Jesus Christ told us and He means for us to do so. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 exactly how
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to witness, He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We must Discipleship -Folks if we fail to carry out Jesus’ Great Commission just described that means less and less disciples will be made and eventually the Church of God will no longer exist. So in order to discipleship we must train, educate, and work for God.
We must also be good stewards- You hear me talk about tithing and giving back to God a lot, but in order to keep the Church going and keep Christ’s mission going we must give back to Him what He has giving us, and He only asks for 10% or from your heart. We are the only ones that can financially keep this particular church going.
We must also be Spirit-filled as well. Don’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit. We must continue to renew and revitailize ourselves and not just wait for another Lay Renewal like we had this year. We must allow the Holy Spirit to dwell and work within us and the church so that we remain in one accord, shouting our gladness for God, Worshipping God more seriously, with more praise, and with a desiring heart.
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Just from these first few points, can you Stand up and be the Christian we are called to be? Can you stand up and be a Disciple for Christ, Can you stand up and be a good steward and quit holding back, Can you stand up and let the Holy Spirit lead you and this church, can you stand up and Witness for Christ as He called us to do?
In order for us to do all these things we must put some ingredients into the mixture.
We must be brave, face danager, handle difficulty, face uncertainty in the face knowing Christ is not an uncertain thing, pain that is overcome by the promises of God.
Stand with courage, stand up to be counted as a Christian on fire for Christ, defend a brother or sister if they are down so they don’t stand alone, but know if we are in the world and alone that we still can Stand up for Christ, as He hung alone for us on the Cross.
As I bring this message to a conclusion this morning, I want to ask you some questions, what is the largest problem facing our church today?
Is it the lack of the belief in God? NO
Is it the lack of the ability to do God’s work? No
Is it the lack of people in God’s Church? No
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The largest problem facing God’s Church here at Smyrna today is the lack of courage to stand up for Christ, which God has called us to do.
For the real Christian to stand up for God we must have courage wherever He leads us, not where we feel safe and comfortable.
Are you will to stand up for God, the God who always stands up for you?
*I do use Sermon Central as a resource and ask if I have used your work and not properly cited please let me know. I use outlines from time to time and allow the Lord to work through me to inspire the sermon writing.
