STAND!

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

One of the many wonderful things about our God is that He always finishes what HE starts. We know that this is something we should do, and some may try, but it is not something that we always do. But the Bible says that "he will." Not he might, not he’ll try, not when he gets around to it, but HE WILL. I love that! You cannot always depend upon the promises of people but you can always be sure that whatever God promises HE WILL DO! And, as his children, he has wants us to finish what we start too. In this first chapter of Philippians, Paul is encouraging the saints at Philippi to faithfully continue on in their work for Christ. As part of his encouragement he shares how joy has triumphed over suffering in his own life. Also, he tells them that he wants to come and see them personally, to tell them these things, but encourages them to faithfully carry on, even if he does not.

Philippians 1:27-28 "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

• STAND FAITHFUL Keep serving. Be a constant & consistent example to others.
• STAND FAST Keep strong in Christ. Stay close with your church brethren/family (fellow soldiers).
• STAND FIRM Keep steady in your testimony. Do not waver!
• STAND FEARLESS Keep soul-winning. Fight for the cause of Christ & win souls to him!
• STAND FIXED Keep settled and stable in the Word of God.

These are not traits that you are born with. These are traits that you have to set your mind upon and determine that you will not waver. And, you must trust the Lord to see you through no matter what. The trouble with most of us is that when the first breezes of a storm start to blow, we run. Some never stop running. Let me encourage you if I can. I am not a young girl, nor am I an elderly woman, but I have been through some storms in my lifetime. Some caught me off guard, while others I steered myself right into. There were times when I wondered where God was, but he was there. There were times when I thought I was all alone, but he was there. There were times when I thought I couldn’t take another step, and he was there. As I look back at these storms and see the damage that some of them did, I am ever so grateful to my Saviour for having been my constant stay. I cannot fathom where I would be today, were it not for the Lord. The wonderful news for you is, He wants to do that for all his children! God paid the ultimate price for us. How hard can it be to just stand? This brings to my mind the words of a song that has been a great encouragement to me..... "Stand, when you can’t go any farther, you just stand. For he knows your joy and sorrow and he’s the one who holds tomorrow, and he has you safely in his wondrous plan.......When all your strength is gone and you feel you can’t go on, he says, ‘you don’t have to walk, just stand’."

JAEL: Does the enemy of God feel safe in your tent?

JAEL - Judges 4 & 5 While attending a Ladies Retreat one year, there was an evangelist’s wife that had set up a book table. I scanned the books as I often do, and found a set of ladies devotional books that I have come to love. In one of the devotional books it discusses women who were only mentioned once in the Bible. After reading the book, I decided that my Sunday School lessons for the summer would have this theme, "If you could be known for one event, what one event would you be known for?" My Daddy taught me that you can learn something from everyone. It might a lesson on how to be, or a lesson on how not to be, but everyone can teach you something. Think about this. What if God decided to use you as an example to teach others, and He decided to record that example in his most precious Book? I wonder what kind of an example you would be? Would you be the one used for how TO be, or how NOT to be? For example, I will use King David. A tremendous man he was. The apple of God’s eye. In his youth he was known and a "lion slayer" & "giant killer" but in his adulthood he was known as "an adulterer." Sadly, though the death of Goliath was a great victory, it was all forgotten when he stole another man’s wife. The great thing about King David though was that he was not only a good repenter, he was a quick repenter. That is why he was able to continue to be the apple of God’s eye. Many people consider King David to be a great man, and perhaps he is their "hero of the faith" and there is nothing wrong with that. His quick and true repentance makes him a great example to us. I have a new "hero of the faith" and her name is JAEL. I absolutely love this woman’s story. I think it is because I can identify with it a little bit. You can read the story of Jael in Judges chapter four. Joshua has died by this time and the Israelites are continuing in their backslidden state and serving Baalim. (Judges 1:7) God sold them into the hands of their enemies to teach them a lesson. However, God continued to have mercy on them by providing them with judges that he would use to help deliver them. But each time a judge died they would return to their sinful ways and God would have to judge them again. (Like little children that cannot be trusted and must be continually supervised.) At this time, God has given them Deborah, a judge, and Barak. After reading this again and again, the thing I could not understand about the story was what was in this for Jael? Why did she kill Sisera? He was not after her. And why did Sisera pick THAT tent? I. Her Hospitality (Judges 4:18-20) " And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him." There was a "code of hospitality": 1.The guest was always invited in. 2. The guest was provided with food & drink. 3. The guest was protected by the host. 4. The guest never left empt handed. It would have been an outrage for her not to do all that she did for him. Hospitality means to receive or entertain strangers or guests without reward; to be kind and generous. In, Ro. 12:13 Paul instructs the believers to be "given to hospitality" and "distributing to the necessity of the saints." Hospitality can be a ministry all by itself. Jael made her guest feel welcome, secure and safe. II. Her Hostility (Judges 4:21) "Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." It took me a while, and asking my pastor a lot of questions, to understand WHY she did this. What did Sisera ever do to her? The answer is in v. 11. "Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh." Now, understand that hostility is not a bad thing, as long as you hate what God hates and stay under HIS control. This was some "super-human" strength right here! I mean, it had to be one feld swoop with that hammer. I’m guessing it wasn’t a little tap,tap,tap right? The Kenites were related to the Israelites through Moses. So Jael’s husband, Heber, had turned his back on their family and made leagues with the enemy. Maybe Jael felt ashamed of her husband for doing that. Maybe he embarrassed her in front of her family. Jael couldn’t fix this because she was the wife. Where Heber went, Jael went. How often do we align ourselves with the enemy and drag innocent people along with us? Think about this. Heber is off fighting a war and has left his wife unprotected. She is not with her family or his. She is out here in a tent that is pitched so that the ENEMY will know where to find the Israelites! That means SHE is in a tent that is a signal for the ENEMY to know how to find her FAMILY!!!! I can’t speak for other Mom’s but one of the most dangerous places for ANYONE to be is in between me and my children, or any of my other family members for that matter. Then I asked, but why THIS tent? Sisera went to this tent because Heber lived there. Heber was his friend now, which meant Heber had lost his testimony. Sometimes, your enemies become your "friends" because you are no longer a conviction to them. Heber had severed himself from God’s people. (Judges 4:11) "God often brings ruin on His enemies when they are most elevated." III. Her Heroism. (Judges 4:9 & 5:24-27) " Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent." God already told Deborah that victory would come through a woman (4:9). So it was God that moved Jael to put that nail through Sisera’s temple. Now she could see her family again, and she was a hero! Wait! How do we know that she was free to see her family? Well, Judges 4:16 tells us that "there was not a man left." Heber died that day with the enemy that he has aligned himself with. How sad that Jael had to lose her husband due to his own sin. It is sad to think that we could lose our testimony and put innocent lives in danger. Jael was alone with the enemy because of her husband’s sin. I wonder how many lives we affect on a daily basis due to our sin? If you read on into chapter five you will find Sisera’s mother crying. Another person affected by Heber’s sin. Innocent people DO suffer due to our bad choices. Think about it. Does the enemy of God feel safe in YOUR tent? Jael had some good CHARACTER TRAITS that we can learn from: 1. Courage - to do what needs to be done. Take a stand! 2. Resourceful - use what you have to do the job. 3. Decisive - decide to right no matter what! (God will handle the rest.) 4. Hospitable - kind.....even to the enemy. 5. Hostile - hated what God hated.

TRAIN THEM FOR HIM

Mark 10:13-16 " And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." As the mother of four, precious children I am so thankful that the Lord loves kids. I am thankful that he does not put an age limit on salvation or service. I am thankful that regardless of who we are or where we come from, that he will allow anyone, young or old, to be saved. I know that a child has to come to an age of understanding before they can be saved (we call it the "age of accountability") but that age is different for everyone. I have friends who were saved as young as the age of three. There are some who think that is impossible, and that no three year old could possibly trust Christ as Saviour and truly know what they are doing. Ah, but they can. I am thankful that God knows the heart and mind of us all, and he will save anyone who believes and trusts in him. As parents, we know our children. But NO ONE knows us, inside & out, like GOD knows us. God knows who understands and who doesn’t. God knows who believes and who doesn’t. I started praying for my children before they were ever born. I asked the Lord to help me to be the kind of mother who kept them in His house, and trained them right. I also asked him to touch their hearts and that they would be saved at a young age. I prayed this fervently because I wanted them to know Christ as Saviour before they got old enough to be hardened by this old sinful world. I am thankful that they have all made a profession of faith. Even now, I still pray that if they ever have a doubt that they would be brave enough to come to me or someone they trust and ask questions, to settle things in their hearts, so that they would not live a life of doubt and fear. After they were born again, I started asking the Lord to touch their hearts about their service for him. I have never asked the Lord to call my sons to be preachers, or my daughters to be preachers wives, but I have asked him to keep their hearts soft so that they will yield to whatever it is that GOD wants them to do. I hope and pray that they will want to be in the Lord's ministry someday. I hope to see them serving faithfully in their local, New Testament, King James Bible preaching, independent, fundamental, Baptist church someday. I do not know if that will happen but I hope and I pray for it everyday. I ask the Lord to give them a "servant’s heart." That is not where it ends though. I can’t just ask the Lord for that and then send my children out into the world with a "here’s hopin’!" attitude. No. I have to keep them in God’s house CONSTANTLY and CONSISTENTLY, as well as, LIVE AT HOME WHAT WE LIVE AT CHURCH. I also try to show them different ways that they can serve the Lord, now, while they are young. To many times we have the attitude that children cannot serve because they are to young. That is wrong. I know of about five thousand people that would have not had lunch one day had the Lord thought that a child was not allowed to help. (See John9:9-13) Now, I am not talking about being in an authoritative position, I am talking about helping (which is serving). Kids can do all kinds of things to help in God’s house. They can pick up trash, and take it out. They can vacuum, dust, help the older saints in and out of their cars, hold doors, pass out bulletins, the list goes on and on. They can also worship as good (and sometimes better) than most older people. I’ve heard nine-year-old bus kids pray the Holy Ghost right down in the middle of the congregation. I’ve heard junior church kids sing until you just knew the angels of heaven were standing there with them. I’ve even heard some teenage boys preach with such power that the altars were filled when they were done. Now, I don’t know how big your church is. Mine is,... I guess,... medium. We are not huge and we are not itty-bitty either. We do not have hundreds but when we gather, we gather to worship. We do not have tons of children, but we do have some. Some are bus kids, and some are the children of our members. But there are only a select few that are there faithfully. When I say faithfully, I mean, EVERY time the doors are open. EVERY TIME. No matter the weather, no matter the day of the week, no matter the time of the year, no matter the holiday, no matter the family reunion, no matter what...THEY ARE THERE. We certainly do not have so many that we can "spare a few". My children are part of that select few. So, when they are there, I give them jobs to do. The other faithful children have things that they do as well. We have a family that works together in the bus ministry. By family I mean, FAMILY...Dad, Mom, children, and they all work the route, and ride the route...TOGETHER. This is how it should be, families worshiping together, and working together. The Bible says, " Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6. There is no age limit here. God says to "train up". That means we are to start them out that way and never stop. If we do not train them, who will? The world would certainly love an opportunity to train them. The world would love to have your child serving them. Why not teach them to serve God instead, while they are young? If you are a parent that is trying to train your child to follow Christ, and to do right, keep it up. Do not let anyone discourage you from it. Do not let anyone discourage your child from it either! There will be people tell you that your child can't do this job or that job, but yet they do not want to do it. You hang in there! There will be people tell you that your children will hate you when they grow up for making them go. You hang in there! No matter what anyone tells you, working in the church, or around the church, or for the church, WILL NOT hurt your child. You keep them as close to it and in it as much as is humanly possible. The world will take every chance it gets to draw them away, so you take every chance you get to keep them in. DO NOT LET ANYONE DISCOURAGE YOUR SERVICE FOR CHRIST, OR YOUR CHILD’S. When the disciples rebuked people for bringing their children to Jesus, it displeased the Lord. (Mark 10:14). It may get hard sometimes. You may feel like you are not doing any good but let me quote an old saying, "only one life t'will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last." Train them for HIM. Matthew 18:1-7 " At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"