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.