Jesus says, in Matthew, Chapter 12, Verse 30, “He that is not with me is against me.”
He wants you to take sides.
I want you to understand that taking sides may not be easy. When you take an active stand for God, you can expect to generate friction. Many forces will oppose you.
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Now, let me be clear: I don’t want conflict.
I don’t enjoy arguing or feeling out of place. Going against the grain never appeals to me.
The pressure and awkwardness that come with taking an unpopular position make me uncomfortable.
You might understand how I feel.
Of course, how we feel doesn’t matter. God wants us to obey Him.
When confronted by evil, I must…
Take sides.
You must take sides when you encounter evil.
When you received God’s salvation, God cleansed you from sin and gave you a new nature. Although Jesus makes you holy in God’s sight, you have a responsibility to do the right things in your personal and public life.
Let’s start with your personal life and…
Taking sides privately.
As a believer, you must live a confessed life. You have a sinful nature that you must mortify to allow God’s Spirit to prevail in your life (Romans 8:13).
God’s spirit dwells within you (1 Corinthians 3:16) and leads you into a lifestyle that pleases Him. That lifestyle leads to separation from the world.
Here’s God’s message for believers:
Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2 Corinthians 6:17
God wants us to avoid compliance with the world’s system. That separation frees us to do His will.
Jesus says we are in the world, but not of it (John 17:16).
I just want you to understand that, spiritually, the world is evil. Here’s how John describes it in his first epistle:
All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16
What does this mean on a personal level?
If you’ve accepted salvation, God requires holiness of you.
As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1 Peter 1:15
Even as you strive for personal holiness, you must also pursue outward separation.
You must begin…
Taking sides against darkness.
The world rejects Jesus. The world rejects all who follow Him. Jesus explains why in John, Chapter Three:
This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:19
Unbelievers will naturally hate you because of your faith. Knowing this, you might feel tempted to keep your faith to yourself. Don’t do that!
Never feel ashamed of your faith. Never compromise.
Instead, take sides.
Let the world see Jesus in you.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Don’t make the mistake of covering your light, so you can get along with the world. Instead, take sides.
Live a separated life. Let the surrounding people gain a knowledge of the holy by watching you.
Letting people see Jesus in you is a good thing. God, however, wants you to go further. He wants you to take an active role in the ongoing war.
We should be…
Taking sides in the battle.
Biblical separation requires personal choices and public action.
As Joshua prepared the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, he gave them this command:
Choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Joshua 24:15
As he spoke at the Jordan River, Joshua knew that every living Israelite had seen their parents die in the wilderness. They never enjoyed the full blessings of God.
The previous generation served the gods of Egypt and the surrounding countries.
In the wilderness, the Israelites seemed compelled to blend in with the world. That approach might have seemed easy at first, but it hurt them in the long run.
Trying to please both God and the world prevents you from enjoying God’s best for your life (Jeremiah 5:25).
Joshua knew that. When the time came for him to lead God’s people into the Promised Land, he made a public declaration:
As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 4:25
Joshua took sides. He decided and publicly announced his choice. Subsequently, he entered a prolonged battle.
You can expect a similar experience.
Next, let’s go back in the time to consider Moses and the “golden calf” incident.
Moses came down Mount Horeb after receiving God’s commandments. When he did, he saw that Israel had collectively fallen into sin. He saw the people dancing naked before a false god.
Seeing the gravity of the situation, Moses called on the people to take sides (Exodus 32:36). He asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side?”
He ordered those who were on the Lord’s side to take swords and kill those who weren’t.
Don’t misunderstand me. I know we live in a different age. I don’t think God wants us to go around killing people. What happened to Israel serves as an example from which we can learn (1 Corinthians 10:11).
We must take sides, but…
Taking sides involves conflict.
From the beginning of time, the forces of evil have fought against God and His people. The enemy is formidable.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12
Our enemy is powerful. We must fight (Jude 1:3), but we can only win by using God’s power.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds…
2 Corinthians 10:4
John, in the Revelation, reveals how we win.
They [believers] overcame him [the Anti Christ] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Revelation 12:11
Take sides. Stay with God. Be willing to sacrifice everything for Him.
Now, I need to tell you that the conflict has a practical aspect. Let’s think about…
Taking sides in controversy.
Believers must actively and publicly fight wickedness.
Ephesians,Chapter 5, Verse 11, commands us to:
Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Ephesians 5:11
The world wants you to believe that you have no business condemning sin. However,
John the Baptist
…would disagree with you. He publicly condemned the king. Taking sides cost him his life.
John the Baptist wasn’t the only person in the Bible who took sides in controversies.
Noah
…condemned the world (Hebrews 11:7).
Samuel
…condemned King Saul and hacked into pieces Agag, the king of the Amalekites.
David
…also took sides.
First Samuel, Chapter 17 tells us how, at one time, the Philistines were challenging Israel. A giant named Goliath publicly defied God and His people. Unfortunately, the army and king of Israel were afraid.
At that time, David was still a shepherd. One day, he brought food to his brothers on the battlefield.
It shocked David when he saw his king and countrymen cowering before the enemy. He asked the soldiers, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29).
As it was then, so it is now. God’s people sometimes sit on the sidelines rather than fight the battle.
There is a cause. Our lives and our nation are at stake.
Let’s not fail God by refusing to confront the giants of our time.
To illustrate what I mean, I’ll name a few…
Current Controversies
…that matter. We face unprecedented threats. We need to take sides.
Think about some issues of our day that require believers to take sides.
There’s the…
China Virus (COVID 19).
Sometimes, standing for freedom means that people will accuse you of being a “super spreader.” They’ll accuse you of jeopardizing public health.
In observance of the virus, many churches have closed to accommodate the enemy.
We also have the ongoing
Democrat Riots.
When the Democrat Party’s supporters started rioting, looting, and burning, as far back as 2017, how many people bowed to the mob?
How many people have bowed to the mob in 2020?
Some churches memorialized evil men, violent rapists, murderers, and abusers, as victims of racism and injustice. They elevated these criminals to a level of sainthood.
Some “Christians,” willingly accepted the Democrat Party’s claim of “systemic racism.”
It’s so much easier to go along with the crowd rather than to fight wickedness, isn’t it?
I am asking you to take Jesus’ side against evil.
Then, there is the…
Social Justice
…myth.
The terrorists of Black Lives Matter and the fascists of Antifa burn cities and loot stores. They kill people who hold opposing political and social views.
If you speak out against the social justice movement, you can expect the world to condemn you as a racist, bigot, or White supremacist.
Large corporations and professional sports leagues have sold out to these domestic terrorists.
Will you let those who promote violence entertain you? Will you give your time and money to people who condemn you as racist?
Do you want to finance police killers and the Communist revolution?
Do you feel good about supporting leagues and athletes who want to destroy your country and kill you?
Will you stay silent out of fear?
How many “Christians” take the easy way out, by going along with the mob?
Will you accept the Democrat Party’s hate in the form of “White privilege” and “White guilt?”
I want to take sides.
I think you should also take sides.
Jesus warns us that the end times are like the days of Sodom. In his day, Lot didn’t take sides. He “went along to get along.” He vexed his righteous soul. We can make a better choice regarding…
Perversion.
Recently, the Democrats in the entertainment industry confronted us with the normalization of pedophilia.
You might have seen it on Netflix.
Do you think Christians should take a stand against that?
Even…
College Football
…requires you to take sides in a moral, spiritual way.
Depending on the team, you might see players wear BLM political patches. You might see names on the back of jerseys replaced with words such as “Equality” and “Justice,” implying that their group of violent criminals and racists doesn’t have equality or justice.
In fact, reality is the other way around.
Now, let me ask you, do you enjoy watching people play sports as they flaunt violence, hatred, and racism?
I don’t think God wants me to do that.
Now is the time to
Take Sides!
I’ve only scratched the surface of the evil that surrounds us.
The world wants to intimidate us into silence. The world wants you to compromise your values.
Don’t give in to fear.
It’s time for a fresh start. It’s time to take sides.
I want you to join me on the Lord’s side!
Learn More about God
Improve your life with the following Bible messages by Bruce Tyson.
- Noah and Methuselah
- Limiting God
- Easter Celebration
- Doctrine of the Holy Trinity
- Put on Your Clothes (Part 3 of 4)
