Take A Stand (Matthew 14: 1-12)
Nothing in this world is as important as Jesus’s Kingdom
It doesn’t matter what you have accomplished here on earth
How much money you have made
Jesus is our king and he is king of all kings
We are going to talk about John the Baptist and the vicious murder that took place
We can learn a lt of the way that he lived and died
If we will remove ourselves and focus on what scripture tells us
This can help us take a bold stand for Jesus
Today and every single day of our lives, we are in a great spiritual struggle
Spiritual warfare is no joke
It is as real as it gets
We face it every day and the more that you do for God, the more Satan will come after you
Ephesians 6:10-13 Paul revealed our true enemies
Flesh is not our enemies
It is Satan himself, it is rulers of the darkness, it is spiritual wickedness
Spiritual warfare is real and we are taking it lightly
I have seen stuff that I can’t explain
Years ago, If you was to tell me some of the things that I have seen happen in my life to be true, I would have laughed at you
Listen to me right now my friend, we are at war and we are fighting every day this battle
So many people follow the devil willingly and many more are following him unwillingly and don’t even realize it
This world is in trouble and it seems as nobody cares
Nobody seems to be fighting against him
As if we have gave up
Wake up my friends - God is real but Satan is real as well
We are taking it lightly, we better open our eyes
These people we are talking about that murdered John the Baptist was spiritually blinded by the devil
We are acting like it doesn’t happen today in 2026
Stop reading this as if God is dead and Satan is dead
Jesus said it best in John 15: 18-21 - if the world hates you, just know it hated me first
It is like he knew this was going to be a problem in today’s time
He left this bible for us to read, to study, to help prepare us
They crucified Jesus and will not hesitate to crucify you
If God wouldn’t spare his own son, stop acting like you are better than Jesus, you are not exempt - open your eyes
1-4)
John the Baptist is in prison b/c he took a stand for Jesus and stood against King Herod
He confronted him for marrying his sister in law (Herodaias) which was his brother Philip’s wife
He told him it wasn’t lawful to have her
Herod divorced his first wife and married Herodaias
John the Baptist publicly told him that it was unlawful for him to do this
So, Herod had him put in prison just b/c he could
Please Recognize that we are all in a great spiritual struggle
5) Herod wanted to kill John the Baptist
But he was afraid of the people
B/C they considered John the Baptist to be a prophet
Believe it or not but a lot of people today wants to harm other people are afraid of the law
They are afraid of what other people would think or say about them
Keep in mind, not one time was Herod afraid of what God could do to him
And neither are the people today
Some reason, we tend to forget about what God thinks or what God is capable of
6-9) On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter danced for Herod and it pleased him
He was so pleased, he told her that he would give her whatever she wanted
Herodias made her daughter ask for the head of John the Baptist
You want to talk about evil and manipulation at it’s finest
Of course, Herod could not go back on his word and granted the request that she had made
This is where we are at even in today’s times
Instead of doing what is right, the right thing just don’t matter to some people in some situations
Evilness is a different animal and it does not discriminate
10-12) Herod sent for his people to go behead John
They did and his head was brought back on a platter and given to the girl
The girl then gave it to the mother
They buried the body and they went and told Jesus about it
I would say that there was no remorse from Herodias
She got what she was asking for
Let me share something with you
When we let wickedness and evil into our hearts
When sin takes place and it will when you allow those things to come into you
You will not have any remorse
You will do whatever it takes to hurt whoever and whenever to get what you are wanting
If you step back and look at your lives, when you committed sin, you did the same steps, it may have not been murder like this
But I assure you, it hurt someone if not multiple people and damage was done
This is why I am trying my best to get this message across as plainly as I can
Take a stand for Jesus and do what is right
Once we allow the bad to come in, they will take over your life
People will get hurt and you are hurting yourself as well, you just don’t realize it at the time b/c you are focused on selfish things that you are desiring
God is never surprised.
He was not surprised by any of these events that took place
And he is not surprised by any of the events that take place in todays time
Jesus Christ knew about all of our sins when He died on the cross for us.
He will certainly forgive anyone who turns to Him and trusts in Him for forgiveness and salvation.
Trust in the Lord to save you.
Are you willing to take a stand for Jesus today?
This will not always be easy
Most of the time, it will be painful - physically and mentally
Let me ask you, is he worth it?
You better believe he is
Nobody else may care, but God cares, so we must strive to live by His standards!
God has always cared, he has always been there for you
He is faithful, he is just, he is all love
Let me ask you, are you ready to take the stand for what is right
Are you ready to stop manipulating and hurting people around you for your own desires
God knows your hearts
He never stopped loving you
He wants you back
He wants you to take a stand on doing right
