STAND
“If thou, LORD, shouldest mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psalm 130:3
Psalm 130:3
If
God called us to account for every infraction, where would any of us be? Spurgeon says, “This verse shows that the
Psalmist was under a sense of sin, and felt it imperative upon him not only to
cry as a suppliant but to confess as a sinner.
Here he owns that he cannot stand before the great King in his own
righteousness, and he is so struck with a sense of the holiness of God, and the
rectitude of the law that he is convinced that no man of mortal race can answer
for himself before a Judge so perfect, concerning a law so divine.”
The
definition of stand means to remain or endure.
It has the idea of being wiped away.
We could not remain in the presence of a Holy God because of our
sinfulness. We cannot justify ourselves
before God. We have no ground upon which
to stand. We must be wiped from the
scene.
We
can rejoice that God does not reward us according to our iniquities, but is a
God of mercy. Exodus 33:21 holds another
use of the word, stand. “And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place
by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock.”
This usage means to station, but also has the idea of being
appointed or deputed. Praise the Lord!
There is a rock upon which we can stand.
That Rock is Christ. The God of
mercy has so ordained that we can stand beside Him clothed in righteousness
with our sin covered by the blood of His Son.
Are
you standing in that solid position? Or,
are you still standing in your sin ready to be wiped away?
STAND
“Seest thou a man diligent in his
business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean
men.” Proverbs 22:
Charles
Stanley wrote a book called, Success, God’s Way. It is an excellent book, by the way. He defines success as “the continuing
achievement of becoming the person God wants you to be and accomplishing the
goals God has helped you set.” Diligence
is one of the qualities necessary to see real success in your life. Success takes work. It doesn’t come to those who sit around
waiting for something grand to happen.
The
proverb teaches that those who learn to exercise diligence in their affairs
will be rewarded. They will be placing
or stationing themselves to stand before authorities and dignitaries. Truly, with diligence comes advancement. And, as a person grows in business, ministry,
or education there comes with it a greater social awareness and expertise. Further, those who are also successful notice
success. Hard workers respect other hard
workers.
The
third phrase of the proverbs says that the diligent will not stand before mean
men. It means that they will not be
placing themselves before obscure, insignificant or low men. The diligent person seeks out those who will
be a benefit to their goals. They are
“on their way up”. They are “climbing
the ladder.”
Good
choices aid in the success of the diligent.
Choices that are made with the future in mind, choices that create more
opportunity, these are the choices of the diligent, and thereby place him in
the position to move forward – to stand before kings.
What
choices are you making? Will they move
you forward? Will they help you to stand
before people with more authority and dignity than yourself? Or, are you feeding on the bottom of the pool?
STAND
“The LORD of hosts hath sworn,
saying, Surely as I have thought shall it come to pass: and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand.” Isaiah 14:24
Ezekiel
24:14 and 36:36 records, “I the LORD have spoken it: It shall come to pass, and
I will do it.” Here in Isaiah the Lord
is telling us the same thing. Whatever
He has spoken, He will do. But even
further, it will stand. The definition
is to be established, fixed, and fulfilled or to confirm or ratify. What He has said is firmly fixed. It will happen. You can “mark His word.”
In
Isaiah the Lord is assuring Israel that He will judge Assyria. The Israelites will be freed from
bondage. But as you read on down to
verse 26 you find, “This is the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched
out upon all nations. For the LORD of
hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back?”
It
gives me great comfort to know that God is still in control of the nations. As I read of the horrors in the Middle East
and see the impotency of the Western nations it creates real fear. But when I come back to the fact that God
has a plan. It is established in the
heavens. It will stand and be completed
just as He has purposed. Then, and only
then, can I rest confident that all of the noise of today is but a part of
God’s eternal plan of the ages. Not one
thing will go amiss. Not one thing will
be able to disannul or stop the hand of God.
How
great is our God – whose Word will stand for eternity! Do you believe Him?
STAND
“That your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
I Corinthians 2:5
I
remember when this verse came alive to me.
I was working so hard to be a “good Christian” and a good servant. I was putting everything I had into service
and ministry. I was reading books about
Christian growth and being faced with challenges. I didn’t see how I could ever measure up to
those Christians who got up at five o’clock to spend an entire hour in prayer,
or those who saw ten souls saved every day. As I was tempted to believe that I
had to do the same, I became very discouraged.
Then,
I heard the voice of my Saviour assure me that I was using the wrong measuring
rod. What He had led others to do was
not going to be the same thing He led me to do.
What they had learned and experienced would not be the same things for
me to experience and learn. I needed to
put my faith in His power to work in my life instead of looking at others.
To
stand, as used in this verse, means to exist, to be based upon or founded
in. I was guilty of basing my faith upon
the words and wisdom of men, instead of relying upon the power of God. Oh, not that I didn’t learn some great stuff,
but the wisdom of men can never supersede the actual power of God’s Holy Spirit
working in the life of the individual.
It brought me to Colossians 2:3, “In
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” True wisdom is found in Christ, in the fear
of the Lord. That is where I needed to
stand.
How
about you? Do you pay too much attention
to what men are saying and ignore the counsel of God? Are you, too, guilty of basing your faith
upon a wrong foundation? Where are you
standing?
STAND
“…and having done all, to
stand. Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness.” Ephesians 6:13b & 14
The
first use of the word “stand” in this verse means to continue safe and sound,
to stand unharmed, ready or prepared. It
is the quality of a steadfast mind, one who does not hesitate or wavier.
The
second definition places upon us a requirement.
It means to cause or make to stand, to place or to establish a thing
causing it to stand.
It
was a great revelation when the Lord showed me that this is what He actually
requires of his servants – that they be able to stand. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will fight for us. We are called upon to stand in our
place. To not waiver or hesitate. To be steadfast. That is our priority, and we are to be about
doing the things that will cause us to stand - things that will establish us
and place us in a strong position for His glory.
Then,
the Lord goes on to tell us what will be needed in order to stand. We need truth wrapped around us. We need a heart of righteousness and feet
that enable us to walk with a steady pace.
Feet shod – covered – so as to protect from temptations and persecutions
in order that the gospel may go forth.
So,
while “to stand” might sound like an inaction, it is most definitely requires
action. We are not to be just standing
around wondering what in the world is going on.
We are to be actively holding our place.
We are to be aware of our surroundings and anticipating the enemy’s
attack. Like watchmen on a tower, we are
to be vigilant.
So
are you? Are you vigilant? Or, are you just aimlessly wandering in your
Christian life and service? Do you stand
when temptation comes, or do you fall for every trick of the Devil? Are you in your place on Sunday, or sitting
on the couch?
No comments:
Post a Comment