Standing For The Glory : Pastor Tony Samuels

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:2

Before you see the manifestation of the Glory of God in your life, there will be a place where you will have to take a stand. Stand means: to remain immoveable; to be fixed in a position. The enemy is after our appointment with the Glory of God. He does not want us to stand; he wants us to cave in, give up, and get out of his way.

As we look around our society, we see many people standing up for unrighteousness. The Lord needs us to stand up for His righteousness. The enemy is using outside pressure to get people to stop standing, but you must make a decision: I will not give in to outside pressure. 2 Corinthians 4:8 (TPT) says, Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. When you quit, you give in to the pressure, and it robs you of your appointment with the Glory of God.

You must realize that when you take a stand for the Lord, you get the attention of God, because a stand for God is one of the most awesome demonstrations of faith. When the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, they encountered a very difficult place; they ran right into the Red Sea while the Egyptians were pursing them. You would have thought, surely this is the end of the story, but it was an opportunity for them to see the Glory of God like no one had ever seen. Look what Moses told them as they stood in this very difficult place in Exodus 14:13-14 (AMP): Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.” You see, a rough spot cannot stop the goodness of God from coming in. When the Lord shows up, He makes impossibilities possible.

King David had to make a decision to stand up to Goliath, but standing was not something new for King David. He had to stand up to many things before facing Goliath: he had to stand up to the lion and the bear; but even more challenging, David had to stand up to some intangible things, like the rejection of his father, who did not even consider him to be the next king of Israel. He had to stand in the midst of the criticism of his brothers, who misjudged him and never saw him as someone who could take on Goliath. If you are going to stand, you have to be secure in your identity and who the Lord has created you to be. You can’t cave in to people pressure; you have to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

I have realized that when I make a stand for the Lord, in my identity, the Lord Himself stands with me. Look at what the Lord told Joshua as He encouraged Joshua to stand for Him in Joshua 1:5 (AMP): No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. You see, when you take a stand, you are not standing alone. The Lord Himself is standing with you, and if you stick with it, you will experience divine victory, and if need be, divine reversals.

Psalms 112:6-8 (TPT) says, Their circumstances will never shake them and others will never forget their example. They will not live in fear or dread of what may come, for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith. Steady and strong, they will not be afraid, but will calmly face their every foe until they all go down in defeat. Standing will always keep you in a place of victory. Ephesians 6:13 (AMP) says, Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. Our stand is an outward expression of our faith in the victory that Jesus won. Don’t let anything take away the victory that is already yours!

Be Blessed & Stand In The Victory!