Stand Out

Written By Susie Raybould

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This is the second message by Pastor Steve in a three-part series. The first message in this series, ‘Stand Up’, encouraged us to stand up and embrace the fulness of the identity that the Father God has for us. This second message, ‘Stand Out’, focuses on how we can live boldly and courageously in the Kingdom of God.

As disciples, we must make a commitment to live in the culture of the kingdom that God has put us into.

We cannot be contaminated by the world.

When we embrace King Jesus and His kingdom, we make His values our values. To stand out therefore means that we know the times we are in spiritually, and we live as God has called us to live. It means that our lives are different and we live as bold men and women.

There is an urgency about the times we are in. Critical times require a critical response. If my granddaughter was about to walk into the path of a lorry, I would run into the road and grab her to keep her safe. With the immediate threat of danger, I wouldn’t respond casually, but urgently.

When we are awakened to the times, we recognise the urgency of living for God’s Kingdom and our response is to stand out by embracing His kingdom and not the kingdom of the world.

Colossians 1:13-14 tells us that God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves. If you are in Christ, you belong to a new kingdom. There is a new way of operating, and this new way is demonstrated in Colossians 3:1, where Paul encourages us to set our hearts on things above, where Christ is.

The question for us then is, where is your heart set? Where is your mind set? Whatever we set our thoughts and passions to, our actions will follow.

Don’t focus on your earthly life. Set your longings and thoughts to God’s thoughts.

Romans 11:13-14 says, ‘Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.’

This is how we should live. Is there anything you need to stop doing today. ‍

Don’t be half-hearted. True fulfilment comes from true surrender.

We are living in days of the mobilisation of the body of Christ and everybody has a part to play- including you.

Stand up. Stand out. There are stories God has written in your destiny that you if you don't stand up and stand out, will never happen.

Here are three ways in which we can apply this today:

1-       Radical consecration.

This means setting yourself apart for God. It means not looking anywhere else, no other god and no other idols. It means that you’re committed to relationship with God.

2-       Build an altar.

Commit to a time and place that you meet with God. Make this strong. Are you building that altar? Other altars produce fruit we don’t want, but an altar with God produces good fruit.

Psalm 5:3, Psalm 27:4 and Psalm 73:26 all show us how to pursue God. The strength of your altar and relationship with God matters. Resist sin, shift atmospheres, pray things into being, and spend time with Jesus.

3-       Eliminate distractions.

We are in urgent times, and we need an ‘urgent’ mentality, which means that we must order priorities correctly.

Forget what has happened, and focus on what God is doing now (Isaiah 43:18-19).

 ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.’

When we fix our gaze on Jesus and live according to His kingdom, we will stand out. These are exciting times to be alive, and God wants you to stand up, stand out and stand strong.

-           Taken from Pastor Steve’s message.

Next Steps:

Susie Raybould
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21 Days of Prayer and Fasting: Kingdom Identity
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Stand Up