Stand!

Stand!

1 Corinthians 16:13 AMPC

[13] Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith (your conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!

Paul was writing to the church in Corinth, and he had touched on different topics and issues going on in the church at the time. There were divisions and factions, with some forming groups around leaders such as Paul, Apollos, and Peter instead of focusing on Christ. Paul also had to address moral and sexual misconduct, as the church was tolerating behavior that Paul believed was incompatible with Christian teaching. There were also many conflicts among believers, as well as confusion about marriage, Christian freedom and mode of worship, particularly the Lord’s supper. The one closest to the verse above was issues on the resurrection of believers.

You would imagine that such a church would have fallen apart and become irrelevant, but this was a church that was highly gifted and zealous about the work of faith. This is what you get with the Holy Spirit; you may not always understand how He worls, but you can never deny His presence and impact in the midst of God's people. With a church with all these issues, God was still at work, backing up His Word with miracles, signs and wonders in diverse ways. This is the supporting evidence that lets us know that Christ is the owner of the church, and He has promised to build His church, and the gates of hell will not be able to overcome it. That is power 

When such a God backs you up, you focus on the big picture as well as the small details that matter. As we journey towards eternity with God, there are realities we have to face. As we have already noted, the devil will not give up fighting until it is truly over for him. This is what makes the message of Paul in the verse above quite relevant for our own time today. He charged his audience then, as well as all of us today, to be alert and on our guard. Why? It is because there is always the danger of losing sight of what matters. If I ever take my eyes off Jesus, there are so many distractions waiting to take His place in my heart. 

There is a reason why I need to stand form in my faith. My stand becomes a testimony, as well as a source of encouragement and strength to all those who may be going through tough times. God does not waste anything; if He permits it, be sure that He will use it for His glory, my blessing, and my joy. This stand involves truat in God, as well as a holy fervor. God demands holiness from all who seek to follow Him, and in whose lives He will be glorified. The verse above also tells me to act like men and be courageous. You will not know what it takes to be this kind of man unless and until God does a work in you. God seeks men who will represent Him well. Can He count on me? God’s time of favour is here.