REALLIFE STUDY GROUP
"Stand
Up!"
ICEBREAKER:
Tell us a time when you had to stand up for yourself.
CONFESSION: By the grace of God I choose to stand up on the inside today. By the
power of the Holy Spirit I choose to
stand up to the enemy and any bully that tries to intimidate me. By the
blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony I will overcome. In the name of
Jesus I choose to stand up for the
Kingdom of God and for the truth of God's Word and His ways. In the name of the
Lord I choose to stand up with the
Lord and with my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. I understand to be outstanding I must withstand
the pressures of life in order to stand
in the times of adversity. I choose to stand
as a standard of righteousness in my
generation!
DEFINITION: Stand:
to arise, appoint, establish or set;
To Stand Up
means:
1. to
arise from a sitting or reclining position.
2. to
wear well; to remain sound and intact. This material just doesn't stand up well
when it's washed. Her work doesn't stand up under close scrutiny.
3. to
remain believable, to prove to be true or correct. His testimony will not stand
up in court. When the police checked the story, it did not stand up.
OUTLINE: Take a
Stand Principles
1. Standing
takes energy, determination and resolve.
In the movie Dances with
wolves one of the main characters, an
adopted Native American
woman, was named as a child "Stands
with fist" because she stood up against a bully. Sometimes it takes
tenacity and perseverance to keep standing when you cannot immediately see the
results you desire.
2.
Standing
takes you to a higher level.
You can see
from a fresh perspective and a higher position.
Stand
still and see the salvation of the Lord.
3. Standing
requires placing your feet on solid, stable "terra firma"
or ground. We must stand on the truth of God's
Word. King David said, “When my heart is
overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” In other words you can have working legs, the
ability and the strength to stand but if what you are standing on is unstable
you will still fall.
4. Standing
itself sometimes is enough to still your enemy. You could say when we stand we
are calling our enemy's bluff. Sometimes it is one of the greatest acts of
faith and is also one of the greatest ways of intimidating your enemy.
5. Standing
does not feel like forward movement but is an act of refusing to retreat
therefore an act of bravery. When you
are standing you are not losing ground.
6. Standing
establishes battle lines, territories and boundaries. God said to Joshua, “I
will give you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon.” That's enough devil!
7. Standing
requires positioning your stance for equal distribution of weight so as to
achieve balance. Symbolically when our lives are out of balance we often
succeed in one area while faltering in another. In the martial arts and boxing,
being able to defend your ground is all about your stance.
8. Standing
can only happen where there is unity of purpose and vision. The Bible says, no kingdom and no house divided
against itself can stand. (Mark 3:24-27 KJV)
TEXT:
Ephesians 6:11-14 KJV; Acts 7:54-58 KJV; Acts 14:8-10 KJV
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he
shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming?
and who shall stand when he
appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: (Malachi
3:1, 2 KJV)
And the men of Beth–shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?
and to whom shall he go up from us? (1 Samuel 6:20 KJV)
Who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand
in his holy place? (Psalm 24:3 KJV)
And the angel answering said unto him, I am
Gabriel, that stand in the
presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad
tidings. (Luke 1:19 KJV)
For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 3:8 KJV)
Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1 KJV)
The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the
house of the righteous shall stand.
(Proverbs 12:7 KJV)
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the
salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom
ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
(Exodus 14:13 KJV)
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (1 Corinthians 15:1 KJV)
Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord;
praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house
of our God...(Psalm 135:1-3 KJV)
...Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall
come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away
mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
(Exodus 33:18-23 KJV)
STUDY
GROUP QUESTIONS:
1. Why
is it often so difficult to stand up for ourselves or for what we believe in?
Pick a response or make up your own response.
a. Because
we are afraid of our adversary
b. Because
we are insecure
c. Because
we do not feel like what we say or do matters anyway
d. Because
we lack the ability to communicate what we believe
e. Because
we feel unprepared
f. Because
we are apathetic and do not care
g. Because
we are distracted
h. Because
we do not want to deal with the repercussions
i. __________________________________________________
2. Jesus,
as both High Priest and lamb, offered himself on the cross hanging in a standing position, he died for the
sins of a fallen mankind. He is the only
one who is able to stand before God on our behalf. What does it mean to you to
stand up for God?
3. Read
Acts 7:54-58. The last thing Stephen saw in a vision on earth was the first
thing he saw in heaven. I believe as he entered eternity all of heaven was
giving him a standing
ovation. Why do you think Jesus stood
up for Stephen? What would it
feel like to know Jesus stood up for you?
4. In
Acts 14:8-10, there is a story of a man who was crippled from his mother"s
womb. Something went wrong before he was born. It was not his fault. It says he
was impotent or powerless in his feet. So Paul walks by him and notices his
faith and yells at him with a loud voice, "Stand up
on your feet!" Some of us would get
mad and tell Paul off. How dare you tell me that. This man gets up and starts walking and
leaping. Sometimes all we need is permission to stand up emotionally,
intellectually, spiritually, physically, financially or even relationally. Have
you ever felt powerless in your life? In what area of your life have you ever
needed someone to give you permission to stand up?
5. 1
Samuel 5-6 is one of the weirdest, strangest, grossest, most bizarre stories in
the Bible. The Philistines get more than they bargain for when they steal the
Ark of the covenant from Israel. To cut to the chase, in every Philistine city
where the ark is taken everyone gets hemorrhoids! Then these guys send the ark
back to Israel with an offering of five golden hemorrhoids and five golden
mice. Can you imagine the first guy to look at those golden hemorrhoids. He had
to be thinking, Myrtle is that what I think it is and I hope they threw away
the mold. Well they put the ark with the offerings on a cart and sent it back
to Israel by way of a place called Beth-shemesh where over 50,000 people die
while looking in the ark. So the men of Beth-shemesh say, who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?
The answer is not in the box, it's outside the box. It's in the covenant, only
those in covenant with God. In your own words, what does it mean to be in
covenant with God?
6. In
Luke 1:19, an angel identifies himself by saying, "I am Gabriel I stand in
the presence of the Lord." Name one thing you could learn by just standing
in the presence of God.
PRAISE
REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS:
ACTION
POINT: This week I will take a stand against the kingdom
of darkness and for the Kingdom of light. I will give my time, energy and
resources to advance the cause of Christ. I may write a letter or make a call
or spend some extra time in prayer, but I will do something this week to take a
stand and voice my concerns and beliefs.