We sing that glorious song, “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus ye Soldiers of the word, lift high His royal banner, ye must not be deterred.” We are prompted by the song to lift our banners high.
What Does It Mean to Stand Up For Jesus?
Lifting your banner high sounds like a commission for the Gospel’s sake doesn’t it? It seems Jesus expects us to be his soldiers of faith. What does that look like to you? Jesus wanted his followers to believe He is the savior and help Him do the Father’s work. Wow, Jesus wants men of faith to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God. Jesus came teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. As men began to follow him, He taught them so they might follow after Him and do his will. To those who chose to follow him he said this in Matthew 28:19, “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.”
Our commitment to God as faithful followers is real.Jesus spoke many parables on the subject of following after him and we can conclude that Jesus expects us to be doing the Father’s works, just as He did. Jesus stated in John 5:17, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” What was that work? Jesus said His work was to preach the good news as written in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” He sent the Apostles out to every city to fulfill this commission. In Mark 16:15 we read, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Belief in Jesus is Just the Beginning of our Work
God is calling you to do more than just believe He is Jesus, He wants you to uncover the mystery for others, just as it was uncovered for you. Jesus has made known the riches of the glory toward us. That glory starts with a personal relationship with all who would come and sit down with Him and drink from His cup and eat of His bread. This dispensation is given to us so we may pass it on to others in that same manner. Paul explains in Col 1:19, “since the day we heard it, we do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” We see that belief in Jesus is just the start, once we come out of the water of Baptism, we should be filled with joy, a joy that has us singing “Come on everyone let’s battle evil with Good. Let’s preach the Gospel, heal the broken hearted, break the chains that bind others to sin, open the eyes of man and show them the mystery, the blessed Gospel!”
Join Greater Phoenix Church of God This Sabbath
Come and join a band of Christian soldiers worshiping the Lord. Bring your voice, your instruments and your heart for Jesus this Sabbath. Christ has called you to stand up and put your belief in action. Hope to see you there.