Guest Pastor: Larry Borgelt
We open with the Hymn of the same name:
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross.
Lift high His royal banner;
It must not suffer loss.
From vict’ry unto vict’ry
His army He shall lead
Till ev’ry foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus;
The trumpet call obey;
Stand forth in mighty conflict
In this His glorious day.
Let all His faithful serve Him
Against un-numbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger
And strength to strength oppose.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus;
Stand in His strength alone.
The arm of flesh will fail you,
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor;
Each piece put on with prayer.
Where duty calls or danger,
Be never wanting there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus;
The strife will not be long;
This day the din of battle,
The next the victor’s song.
The soldiers, overcoming,
There crown of life shall see
And with King of Glory
Shall reign eternally.
Events where standing occurs:
The Pledge of Alliance to the Flag
Singing of the National Anthem
In Church we stand out of respect to our Lord
Today is St. Stephen Day
He was the first martyr that stood up for Jesus.
According to Acts 6, he was chosen, along with six other men to do a material ministry, basically to wait on tables.
He then gives those present a history lesson from Abraham to Moses.
Well, this didn’t set well with them:
Verse 54 states:
“When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.” Unfortunately, Stephen is stoned to death.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Are we willing to stand up for Jesus?
If so, how do we do that?
Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us the way.
The Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Belt of Truth
This was the symbolic clothing of the Messiah in Isaiah 11:5
“Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
Breastplate of Righteousness
Here again, the warrior’s character is his defense. God himself is symbolically described as putting on a breastplate of righteousness, in Isaiah 59:17, when he goes forth to bring about justice.
Feet Fitted for Readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace
Isaiah 52:7
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Shield of Faith
Describes the large Roman shield covered with leather, which could be soaked in water and used to put out flame-tipped arrows.
Our faith in the Lord Jesus protects us from the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Helmet of Salvation
The helmet both protected the soldier and provided a striking symbol of military victory.
Our victory is the salvation Christ has won for us!
Sword of the Spirit
The Word of God, which is the Sword of the Spirit, has two messages
(like two edges of the sword). Those messages are:
God’s Law which shows us that we are sinners.
God’s Gospel which shows us that we have a Savior, who is Jesus Christ!
Pray in the Spirit
Both, Sword of the Spirit and Pray in the Spirit are reminders that the battle is spiritual and must be fought in God’s strength, depending on the Word of God through prayer.
What does that mean for us?
Tell others about Jesus!
Reminds me of a song we all know:
I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY
I love to tell the story
Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
Of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story,
Because I know it’s true;
It satisfies my longings
As nothing else would do.
Refrain:
I love to tell the story;
‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story,
‘Tis pleasant to repeat
What seems, each time I tell it,
More wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story,
For some have never heard
The message of salvation
From God’s own Holy Word.
Refrain
I love to tell the story,
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest.
And when in scenes of glory
I sing the new, new song,
‘Twill be the old, old story
That I have loved so long.
Refrain
We have the right equipment!!
So let’s stand up for Jesus!!
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