Stand for God

Dear Brethren,

God has given us some wonderful examples of the patriarchs who learned to take a stand for God.  Their examples provide some most important life lessons for us.  God has given us their stories so that we too may learn to take a stand for Him and His perfect way.  They were not born with perfect faith, but had it developed in them by God over time.  Joseph, son of Jacob, endured many trials throughout his life.  We are to learn from what he learned.  When trials come – and they do come – we can look to Joseph’s example of patient endurance that comes only through a right faith. God goes into great detail for us.  That is why God has preserved such a lengthy record in the Scriptures.

A good lesson for us to learn is this:  When you read the bible – read it for detail.  The proof is in the details.  Protestants think they know their Bible because they know the story of Noah, or they know the story of Daniel in the Lion’s den.  They think that Noah brought a pair of all the animals onto the ark.  They do not know that Noah brought fourteen cows on board, for instance, because they don’t care about the details.

Have you ever noticed how every time you go back and read a section of Scripture, or just a few verses, you see things you’ve never seen before?  That is because the Bible is the living Word of God.  The Holy Spirit leads you into all truth (John 16:13).  In the flesh we never get it all – but we continue to learn more and more.  No one knows all of God’s truth – we all have a long way to go – don’t we?  When we revere God, and when we are obedient to Him we understand even more of His word.

Psalm 111:10  Reverence of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that keep His Commandments:

Proverbs 1:7  Reverence of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10  Reverence of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [One] is understanding.

Joseph’s life lesson is preserved for us.  It is for us to profit by.  When things go badly for us it is easy to think, “I’m the only one who has it this bad.”  Sickness or health issues, imprisonment, employment, age, accident, financial woes… our list is long, but just as with Joseph, God delivers us out of all of our problems.

Psalm 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

When Joseph was sold into slavery – he did not have a Bible to inspire him; he did not have a family or congregation to encourage him.  No!  Joseph stood alone—and he stood for God’s way.  Today is our only opportunity to take a stand for God’s Truth; we may never have another chance.

During the millennium, those who will be reigning and ruling with Jesus Christ will be saying to others, “This is the way, walk you in it” (Isaiah 30:21).  When do we learn to stand alone on our own two feet?  The answer is, we are to be learning now!  Do we take a stand for God’s righteousness today, or do we close our eyes?  Are we crowd-pleasers, preferring not to rock the boat or make waves?  Are we too fearful to make a decision for righteousness?

Through his ethical, moral and excellent attitude, Joseph rose in prominence.    Joseph stood for God, and He delivered him from every detention and confinement.  Can we too, stand for God’s way?  Here’s another important question that we must consider:  When we encounter difficult circumstances what do we choose to do?  We are warned to be uncompromising.  Some have failed the test that God sent to them – others have triumphed.

Daniel 12:2  Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

“Standing for God” means that we fully represent God’s way, especially when others fail to do so.  We will not go into the Kingdom of God until God knows that we will always take a positive stand for Him.  Today we will take a look at Joseph as he relentlessly endures, and gives God the credit for all.

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Sermon:  "Stand for God"  


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