How to Stand When They Want You to Fall - Part B

If you bow before God, you can stand before anyone. If you bow before God, you can stand before anyone. Remember Jesus said, don't fear people, don't feel fear man who can kill the body, fear God who can cast both body and soul into hell, fear Him. If you have a healthy fear of the Lord, a healthy respect for God and you bow before Him, that'll give you the power, the ability, the strength to stand. Christians all over the world are persecuted for their faith.

In many places, it's illegal to share the gospel, own a bible, and teach your kids about Jesus. But there are many brave believers still risking imprisonment and even death to live boldly for Christ. Connect with Skip Heitzig today as he encourages you how to stand strong in your faith in the face of opposition. But before we begin, we invite you to catch Skip's Sunday Message live online at 9 and 11 a.m. Just visit live.calvarynm.church.

That's 9 and 11 a.m. at live.calvarynm.church. Now we want to let you know about a resource that helps you dive even deeper into God's truths. You know those times you hear a sermon that really speaks to you? It's almost as if the pastor knows what you're personally going through and he teaches a message like you're the only one listening. Well, it's not that the pastor knows you personally, it's that God knows you personally.

Here's Skip Heitzig. In nearly 40 years of expository teaching, I still love hearing that one of my messages spoke to someone personally, that it urged them on to know God better or become more like Him. But that's not because of me, that's just the power of the Word of God doing the work of God in the hearts of the people of God. Get to know the God who knows you with Pastor Skip's Picks, a collection of some of Pastor Skip's most memorable teachings, including Is the Rapture Real?

and Overcoming an Anxious Mind. This four DVD collection is our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help keep this ministry connecting more people to Jesus. Call now to request your copy of Pastor Skip's Picks 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Okay, we're in Philippians Chapter 1 as Skip Heitzig gets into today's message. If we were to go back to the fourth century and get Augustine of Hippo, North Africa, who spiritualized so many texts of the scripture, put him in the room and sit next to him, the 10th century Bernard of Clairvaux. And for fun, let's add the 16th century reformer John Calvin next to him. And then to really spice things up, we'll go to the 18th century, we'll get John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. Just those three in and of themselves would be fireworks. Then let's go to the ninth century and put in Charles Haddon Spurgeon and D.L.

Moody. We'll go to the 20th century, we'll put C.S. Lewis in that room and Billy Graham. We'll go to the 21st century and put the likes of N.T.

Wright in there. I've got to tell you something, there is not going to be unanimity on every single point. It'll be a very, very lively discussion.

But at the end of the day, what you will have is unity when it comes to the essential historic Christian gospel. We're not much different than an athletic team. You've all heard of teams every season. The season starts out where there's bickering between some of the individual players on that team. They're kind of out for their own glory, out for themselves. But as the season moves on and they near the playoff, they know they need to act together because victory is in sight.

If they've made the playoff, they better give their best parts of who they are to the team so they can win the battle. So unity, then, doesn't mean uniformity or unanimity. It does, however, mean harmony. It means harmony.

It means we choose to work together. We choose to cooperate over the essentials. The essentials. I've always loved that little axiom from the reformation.

You've heard it. In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity. That was Jesus' passion. He prayed for unity.

In his high priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus prayed that they all may be one, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, was a medical doctor who became a pastor. Very interesting story on a personal level. He was a medical doctor, became an assistant pastor to Dr. G. Campbell Morgan of Westminster Chapel.

When Morgan died, the church was given to, as the pastor, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones. And one of the stories that Jones told is that before the Spanish Civil War in the great cities of Spain, like Barcelona and Madrid, that the psychological clinics treated large numbers of people for what he called little issues, personal problems, personal anxieties. But then the Civil War broke out.

And when it did, one of the most striking effects the Civil War had on the Spanish population is it virtually emptied the medical clinics overnight. They were suddenly all cured by a greater anxiety. No longer are they worried about little personal problems. Now they're worried about, will my husband be alive because of this war?

Will my son come home from the battlefield? And says Martin Lloyd-Jones, greater anxieties get rid of lesser anxieties. Why am I sharing that with you? Because just in case you're the type of person who likes to bicker and banter and meddle and gossip and divide, let me just say get into the real battle.

Quit using your sword against other Christians and realize there's this huge demonic onslaught and world that wants you to fall. So the team needs to get together. We need to work together and strive together. Unity. Unity will help you stand. Consistency followed by unity.

Here's a third leg on that stool. Bravery. Now watch Paul. Again, Paul's a prisoner, facing Caesar Nero, and he practiced what he preached, verse 28, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God.

The New Living translation renders it this way. Don't be intimidated by your enemies. Or, let's put it this way, don't let unbelievers scare you.

Don't let unbelievers scare you. Now look at that word terrified in verse 28. That's a word that refers to horses who easily get spooked and throw their riders off. You know, sometimes a horse will become afraid or terrified by meaningless things, like a little rabbit jumps out or a person gets too close and they get all nervous and they shoot up and they buck their riders off. And so when that happened, when a horse became terrified, what they would say in antiquity is the horse is battle shy.

Don't take this horse into battle. He's battle shy. Paul is saying don't be a battle shy believer. Don't be a battle shy.

Don't be afraid of unbelievers. Now nobody wants to fight unless you're insane. Nobody looks for a fight. Nobody wants to rush into battle.

But when the battle comes from the unbelieving world, Paul is saying don't be afraid to face the enemy. Don't you love that slogan? Have you seen it? No fear.

It's been around a while. No fear. And I first saw that. I said, hey, that's our slogan.

That belongs to the church. We can't be motivated by fear. Why? Because fear controls people. It cripples people. Fearful people can be manipulated easily.

They can be shut down easily. I've told you stories about some of my college professors who wanted to make me a public example because I was the stupid little Christian guy who believed Jesus and they would go out of their way to threaten or ridicule or intimidate me. Now the Philippians, they had some good reasons to be scared because believing in Jesus in Philippi, this colony of Rome, well we saw what happened to Paul there. He got thrown into jail. He got beaten up. That could happen to them. They could be executed.

They had already been ostracized by family members and by society. But here's what Paul says. Here's the gold in this verse. When that happens, when opposition comes your way for the sake of Christ, it's a sign from God.

Look at verse 28. Which is to them a proof of perdition but to you of salvation and that from God. That's just a way of saying when that happens, it shows you which side you're on and which side they're on. If you're getting hassled by unbelievers for the sake of Christ, when that happens, it shows you it's darkness against light. It proves who I am. It's a badge of honor.

It's a sign from God. So, can I encourage you? Be a brave non-conformist. I like non-conformists. I am one. Be a brave non-conformist. When you are, you will stand out like a diamond against a dark backdrop of this world. In a world that has rejected God for you to step forward and bravely announce your allegiance to Christ, you will be a refreshing exception.

And you'll make a difference. Remember when they tried to arrest Jesus? Well, they did arrest him, but they came to the garden.

Soldiers, well equipped, like swords and shields. And they come to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus said, who are you looking for? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He stood up and said, I am he.

They all fell backward. He didn't shrink away and go, no. He stood up. He presented himself. Or how about Stephen when he is surrounded by hostile people who want to kill him and they eventually did and he says he can't keep his mouth shut.

He says, look, I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Or how about Peter? Now he was a little skittish. He denied Christ three times to a servant chick in the garden of the high priest. He couldn't even give a testimony to a woman who said, aren't you one of the guys that followed him?

No, no, I'm not him. But then we see him filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost after an encounter with the resurrected Christ and he boldly, bravely preaches so it says the audience was cut to the heart. That's bravery. That's bravery. And that courage, verse 28, proves you're saved. And if you don't have it, ask God for it and step out and try it. Don't shrink from your world.

Stand up to it. One person can make a difference and actually change history. Have you heard the story of Telemachus?

Some of you have. Around 400 A.D., well you know what was happening in Rome in 400 A.D., the Colosseum was filled with spectators watching Bloodsport. They would sit there and their entertainment was watching people kill other people or animals kill other people. It's not unlike what we like to watch on violin television, but they just saw it in real life. And they were entertained by it.

One day a Syrian monk by the name of Telemachus, this little Syrian monk, was in the crowd, saw what was happening, was repulsed by it, and so this little Syrian monk runs down, jumps over the balustrade, goes out into the arena floor, waves his little monk arms, and says, in the name of Christ, forbear. Stop this. This is senseless.

This is nonsense. Because he interrupted their entertainment, like somebody switched the channel, they ordered him to be thrust through with a sword and killed. Some accounts say he was stoned to death, others say he was cut with a blade. But he died. His blood filled the arena floor and he died that day. But something happened. Over the next few months, the flow of people to be entertained by that Bloodsport diminished and a few months later it ended all together because one person stood bravely and said, that's not right.

So here's the point. If you bow before God, you can stand before anyone. If you bow before God, you can stand before anyone. Remember Jesus said, don't fear people, don't fear man who can kill the body, fear God who can cast both body and soul into hell.

Fear him. If you have a healthy fear of the Lord, a healthy respect for God, and you bow before him, that'll give you the power, the ability, the strength to stand. So we have three legs on this four-legged stool. We have consistency, unity, and we have bravery.

Let's finish it off and make it even more stable. You're not going to like this one. Agony. Agony. Verse 29, it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake.

I know you're saying, oh boy. Having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me. Now look at how he phrases that. It has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe but to suffer. There's two parts of that and the first part always guarantees the second part. If you believe in him, that's the first part, then you'll suffer for him, that's the second part. Paul said all those, finish out this verse with me, all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You know we never mention that, do we, to new believers, new converts? Probably rightfully so, but I think sometimes we give the impression to younger believers or brand new converts in the faith that, okay, you've made this decision now, the birds are just going to sing louder than ever before, the sky is going to be bluer, and all your problems are going to go away, all your struggles are going to go away.

It's true that the biggest battle has been won but you have now invited a whole host of new battles because Jesus said in this world you shall have tribulation. Jesus said they have hated me, don't be surprised when they hate you because you aligned yourself with me. But please look at how Paul writes, he says it's been granted to you, it's been given to you the privilege. He's saying God's doing you a favor, oh good, what is it? He's going to let you suffer.

Can I not have that favor please? Could God like give that gift to somebody else but not me? I like God's other gifts. I wish health and wealth preachers would study these verses more carefully because Paul sees suffering far differently than Americans see suffering. We think it's just the evil of all evils to suffer anything. Paul says if you suffer well and you suffer for the right reason, it's a privilege. In fact the word he uses granted comes from the word grace. Just as God has given you the grace to believe, God has given you the grace to suffer, the grace to suffer.

Listen, I know you don't see it as a gift but I'll tell you this gift will do more to build up your life and make you strong and bless you than just about anything else. It will. My challenge is that you become like popcorn. What I mean is, you know, most grains when you heat them up shrivel up and get hard, not so with popcorn, right?

You put 400 degrees Fahrenheit to that kernel of popcorn and a gas is emitted on the inside of that kernel that pushes out that hard exterior and cracks it and it becomes enlarged and it becomes a blessing, a delight to people. You know, suffering will do that for you. It will enlarge your life. It'll make you a delight to other people as you are tempered by that suffering and you become more valuable by that experience if you do it well and you do it for the right reason. In fact, in Philippians chapter 3, if by God's grace we ever get there, and we will, here's Paul's prayer. Listen to this, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering and even be shaped by death.

That's his prayer. I want a fellowship with the sufferings of Christ so that when I suffer for the reason that I'm attuned to and following Christ, I'm entering into a certain kind of fellowship. I've done many studies on the value of suffering.

Let me just shoot out a few little truths. When you suffer on earth, it makes you long for heaven. It does. I mean, you're a citizen of heaven so the more you suffer because of Christ on this earth, you think, I can't wait to get home and get a reward for this. It looks pretty good. Second, when you suffer on this earth, it produces patience in you.

It's very productive. It's like the young preacher that went to the old preacher and he said to the old man, could you pray for me? I'm an impatient young man.

You ever have that problem? You're impatient. This guy said, pray for patience. So the old preacher said, I'd love to. He bowed his head and he prayed, father, give this young man tribulation and suffering.

The young guy said, whoa, preacher, I didn't ask for that. I want patience. And the old man quoted to him the scripture, tribulation worketh patience.

This is how you get patience. You don't get it from reading the latest Christian book on it. You get it from going through the suffering that produces it. So it'll orient you toward heaven.

It'll give you patience on the earth. And the third thing suffering will do is make you sensitive to other believers who are suffering, at least it ought to. Do you know that right now over in the Middle East, there is a genocide going on of Christians who have been crucified, who have been beheaded, who have been ostracized, thousands, millions of brothers and sisters for the cause of Christ. Our suffering here, if people laugh at our bumper sticker or get mad that we are a bold Christian, is nothing compared to the sacrifice that they have. So what that does is it orients us to heaven. It brings us patience here, but it also gives us a sensitivity toward others who are suffering. However, as I already mentioned, make sure when you suffer that you suffer for the right reason. Look at the words. Look at how Paul writes.

He doesn't do it by accident. It has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. When you suffer, it should be on his behalf for his sake.

Isn't that exactly what our Lord said? Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. You know Jesus never said blessed are the persecuted. It's not a blessing to be persecuted if you're just being persecuted for no good reason, because some people get persecuted because they're weird. They're just weird person.

They're obnoxious. Their personality invites persecution. Jesus said make sure that when you get persecuted, you get persecuted for righteousness sake. I know people who try to represent the Lord in such a caustic manner. Listen, if you yell at a group of unbelievers, you uncircumcised Philistine, how does hell sound? You probably won't win their hearts, and you probably will get persecuted. It will not be for righteousness sake.

It will just be because you're weird. Jesus said in the world we need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Why have some of us turned that around? Some of us are as wise as doves, which aren't too bright, and harmless as serpents, which are deadly. I think when it comes to our witness for the world, that God is looking for sharp shooters, not machine gunners. When you launch that arrow of truth, when you speak that truth, when you pull that trigger of gospel truth, make sure it's well placed and well timed. As Paul said, let your speech always be filled with grace, seasoned with salt. So these four qualities are like the four legs on a chair or a stool. They will add stability to your life when the world wants you to fall, and they do. So my encouragement to you is don't fall, stand.

Stand tall, stand strong, stand together, even if it hurts. Do you remember those toys, I don't know if they still make them, but it used to be like this vinyl doll that was weighted at the bottom. You know it had it like a face painted on it, and no matter what you do to that doll, it always comes up upright because it's weighted. So you can punch it, it'll fall down, but it comes right back up. You can kick it, it'll fall down, come right back up. You can do it repeatedly, it keeps coming back up.

I picture Paul like that. Lock him up in prison. Okay, I'll preach to the guards. Thump, comes back up. Okay, get him out of prison.

Okay, I'll go visit the Philippian church and encourage them. Thump, comes back up. Okay, we'll kill him. But before you do, let me tell you about Jesus.

He's like the doll that keeps coming back up. May God make us like that. Stand, stand together, stand strong for His glory. That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from his series Technicolor Joy. Now, here's Skip to share how you can help keep this broadcast going strong, connecting more people like you to God's Word.

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