Who Will Stand Up?

Once upon a time there was a young insignificant boy. He spent much of his time alone with the animals he looked after for his father. Despite his youth, he was very brave and fearless as he fulfilled his solitary task among the beast of the field. His father’s sheep were rather helpless and defenseless against the other wild animals. On some occasions the boy would have to use a club and his bare hands to rescue a lamb from the mouth of a lion or a bear. The boy trusted God for the ability to save the sheep he was given to oversee.

This boy had seven older brothers. The three oldest brothers were soldiers in the king’s army and were stationed in the Valley of Strength in a stand-off with a terrifying army from the North. Every day the enemy camp sent its most fierce soldier, a powerful and scary man over nine feet tall, to stand in front of the king’s army and challenge them to a fight. This giant defied and challenged the king’s army for forty days while all the king’s men trembled and feared to take up the challenge.

On a day when the boy in obedience to his father brought bread and cheese to his older brothers and their captains, he witnessed this giant standing and defying the armies of the king and the Most High God. Taking offense to this insolence the boy turned and looked to his brothers and the king’s army and asked, “Is there a cause?”

Word of this got back to the king and he called for the young boy to be brought to him. As the boy stood before the king he said, “O King, let no one’s heart fail them because of being afraid. I will fight this giant because he has defied the armies of God.”

The king couldn’t help but notice how young and small the boy was…nor could he ignore his bravery. The king had the boy try on his very own uniform and armor but the lad protested that he wasn’t comfortable with the king’s gear, and insisted on using his own tools and talents to get the job done. And with his own skills and trust in God the small boy stood up to the giant with the large frame and even larger mouth, and accepted the challenge to fight.

At first the giant was completely insulted that this boy was the only one willing to accept his challenge. He told the boy, “I will feed your body to the birds of the air and the animals of the field.”

This threat from the giant did not discourage or scare the lad in any way. The boy simply countered with confidence and boldness in his God and said, “You have tried to intimidate me with your size and weapons, but all you have done is curse the God I serve and the God that I serve will deliver you into my hands. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds of the air and prove to all that God does not need armor and weapons to deliver me from your attack. God will save me this day and give me complete victory over you.”

And with that said, the young boy took a rock from his bag and put it in his sling and hit the giant in the forehead with such force that the rock sunk into his head. The enemy then fell to the ground and the boy took the giants own sword and cut off his head and left his body on the ground for the birds to feed upon. The boy was correct – God took up the cause of the boy because the boy had taken up the cause of his God. And with the strength of God the boy experienced an awesome victory.

The End

My dear friends and family in Christ, please hear my heart and what I am about to share with you. I’m sure that many of you recognize the story that I paraphrased above. You can read the complete story of David and Goliath in the first book of Samuel, chapter 17.

We currently live in a time where we as believers in Jesus Christ face some “Goliath” sized battles. And for many, the giants we face have a lot of people scared and undecided as to the way to fight the battle. We live in a culture that daily pushes against everything we believe and stand for. Many of us have quit standing! Instead, we have given in to the pressure to “get along,” “coexist,” “be tolerant,” and “accept the unacceptable” and all in the name of “love.”

Personally, I have reached the point of no longer being able to tolerate the intolerable. I can no longer accept that which is considered politically or even religiously correct when it is contrary to my basic beliefs. I can no longer sit down, shut up, and coexist with ideologies that are completely opposite of what I know to be the truth based on God’s words. I cannot allow the misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and misrepresentations of the love of God to be used as a weapon to force me into surrender.

I can however, by the power of God’s word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, step up and cross the line drawn in the sand at my feet. I can, do all things through Christ who strengths me. I can, stand up for Jesus and be undeterred, unashamed, and unaffected by a world that hates me simply because it hates Jesus. I can ask anyone who names the name of Christ to stand with me in departing from the iniquity of fear, and to stand up, speak out, and be heard.

I understand that what I am asking will cost some more than others. In some countries standing up for Jesus could cost some their lives and what little is left of their freedom. Even in America, the land of the free, standing up for Jesus can now present challenges that were never conceived of only a few years ago. We are witnessing a world that increases its intolerance and hatred for the gospel of Jesus Christ on a daily basis. This type of world is okay with religion and ideology that are willing to coexist. But if we stand on our most basic biblical principles we become public enemy number one.

We have all heard it said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” Well friends, we appear to have fallen and I’m not sure how many of us can get up. This challenge, by dark design, to push Christians down into ungodly submission, will not end on its own. The challenge will have to be met. Generations of Christian believers before us have met the challenge many times over and were responsible for the very freedoms we have enjoyed to date.

Nevertheless, it is now our time to take up the cause and make the stand. Our generation now has the responsibility to pay the price for the continued freedom to exercise ones faith for generations to come. We do not want to be remembered as the generation that not only lost our faith, but also lost the right to exercise this faith for years of generations to come.

Organize with other Christian believers right where you are and let your stand for Christ be seen and heard. Rise up and proclaim your faith! Don't be pushed back, put down, or silenced any longer. Refuse to give into the pressure from the culture to disobey the great commission. I believe it is in fact the “great commission” given to every believer in Christ to fulfill that is actually the primary target of satanic attack. The enemy has worked at every turn to suppress and discourage believers from sharing their faith in Christ.

The truth is that we Christians outnumber all the groups throughout America and the rest of the world that has given all of their time and energy to shutting the Christian gospel down. It is time to stand for God, boldly, without fear, and push back. Will you stand with those who name the name of Christ and declare your faith in Jesus? Will you stand up, speak out and be heard regardless of the world's hatred for the Son of the Living God and our Savior? Remember in John 15:18, Jesus pointed out that the world hated him first so marvel not that the world hates you for taking a stand for Jesus.

Randall M Mooney

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