God’s
Word talks a lot about standing firm or strong in our faith. We are encouraged
to not put our faith in anything or anyone but Jesus and to live daily based on
that faith in Jesus.
One
of the great pictures of that is found in the book of Ezekiel. God sends
Ezekiel to the people of Israel in exile in Babylon. God tells Ezekiel that the
people are stubborn and rebellious and that they won’t listen to what he has to
say.
Ezekiel
3:8-9 says, “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your
forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your
forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a
rebellious house.”
God
will give Ezekiel the ability and endurance to stand strong in his faith and
obey what God tells him to do even when it is very hard.
What
do we need to be able to stand strong in faith in the face of unbelief and
opposition?
We
need to understand that the world’s system is based on conformity and that
God’s system is based on transformation.
Romans
12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The
world wants to make everyone alike, to fit in the same mold. God wants to
transform us by renewing our minds so we can know the perfect will of God.
Being
conformed, going along with the flow of the culture is easier than letting God
transform you and make you into the unique person He created you to be.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is not being conformed to the values of this
world but being transformed by God to be who He created you to be.
We
need to believe that the Bible is God’s Word.
2
Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”
The
Bible is not human opinion or human viewpoint or human thoughts. It is God’s
eternal, infallible, never-changing Word. It is God’s love letter to us that
reveals who He is, His ways, and His purpose. It also reveals who we were and
who Jesus has made us and what God says we can do.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that the Bible is God’s Word and
living based on the truth that God reveals through it.
We
need to believe that God’s Will is for our good.
Jeremiah
29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans
for welfare not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Following
God’s will always leads to two things:
God’s
Honor
Our
Good
God
will never lead us to things that are wrong or sinful or harmful. He will
always lead us to:
The
good because He is good
The
righteous because He is righteous
The
holy because He is holy
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing God’s will is for our good and
following His will.
I
can stand in faith in Jesus because:
He
will transform me into who I was created to be
His
Word is truth
His
will is always to honor Him and benefit me
Standing
in faith in Jesus is not about:
Being
condemning to others
Being
judgmental of others
Being
angry at others
Standing
in faith in Jesus is about:
Living
in complete trust in Jesus
Living
in daily obedience to Jesus
Living
in passionate love for Jesus
With
Faith in Jesus, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,
Joe
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