• Are you still on the Lord’s side even if the spiritual battle for purity has been tough and demanding?
• “Everyone who is on the Lord’s side, come over here!”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ON THE LORD’S SIDE?

1. Personal Reflection: Am I on the Lord’s side?

• To reflect means to contemplate, to think about and to ponder seriously.
• When you reflect, you analyze your present standing in Christ.
• Are you still on the Lord’s side or have you abandoned your present position and went to the other side of the enemy?

Matthew 7:21 ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

• It is not what you say that counts but it is what you do.

This is what the text says of Aaron, their leader who was supposed to guide them to the truth.

Exodus 32:3-4 “So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.” Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

• Look at the extent of how the people have adopted to this new style of worship.

Exodus 32:5-6 “So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

Here are some Scriptures that talked about our present position in Christ:

Ephesians 2:4-6 “⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”,

 

Colossians 3:1 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”

Phil. 3:20 ²⁰ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Phil. 4:13 ^“I can do all things through ^[a]Christ who strengthens me.”

 

Col. 1:13 ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and ^[a]conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

2. Personal Decision: Am I fully convinced?

Joshua 24:15

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

There must not be doubts or double mindedness.

• “Come over here!” is an invitation for all of us.
• Come over to the winning team.
• Come over to the strongest team.
• Come over to the safest team and stay there.

Look carefully at these promises from God’s words.

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are ^[a]safe.”

• Declaring the name of the Lord Jesus is like being protected by a very strong tower or entering a fortified building or strong castle.
• It is good to be in the side of the Lord.

Psalms 84:11 ” For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.”

Isaiah 41:10 ” Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

 

Then, I must be fully convinced God’s word is true and is the final say?

Romans 1:18-32

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who ^[d]suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is ^[e]manifest ^[f]in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and ^[g]Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like ^[h]corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their ^[i]women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the ^[j]men, leaving the natural use of the ^[k]woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, ^[l]sexual immorality, wickedness, ^[m]covetousness, ^[n]maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ^31 [o]undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, ^[p]unforgiving, unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

3. Personal Commitment: Am I fully committed?

If I am on the Lord’s side, I must be fully dedicated and committed to where the Lord is.

Psalm 37:5 “Commit^[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.”

All of these have happened because they were on the wrong side of the line.

Exodus 32:25-26 “25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.” (Message: 26 So he stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the Lord’s side come over here!” So all the Levites gathered around him,)

But God is inviting us to change our position if you are not on his side.

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit^[a] your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.”

• It is an invitation that will decide between life or death.
• It is an invitation that will determine our eternal destiny.
• When you come to Christ, you are leaving the position of sin and going to the position of spiritual strength and security.

Revelation 3:20  ^“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

• He is standing at the door of our hearts knocking, wanting to get in.
• Once you let Him in, He will change you.
• He will make your life more meaningful and blessed.

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

• The surest sign that you belong to Christ is that you gather rather than
• You share God’s Word to others and testify of His goodness.
• That means you build people and bring them to Christ rather than to allow them to be destroyed by sin.

• It makes people irritable.
• It makes people bored.
• You lose their attention – So What?
• They can’t respond to the information.
• There is no decisive action or decision made.

 

 

Acts 9:1-4   Aliens are recognized by Jesus and the world.

9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”     NIV

 

Acts 19:8-9  Can others tell by your speech that you are an alien?

8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.    NIV

 

Acts 19:23-24  Aliens cause others to speak out – They stir up others – Great Disturbance

23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.  NIV

 

Acts 19:25-27  Aliens teach others and lead others to Christ – To the Way

25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.    NIV

 

Acts 11:25-26  Aliens attend classes and special meetings to receive an anointing.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.     NIV

 

Acts 13:1-3  Aliens boldly go where they are sent

13:1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.     NIV

 

Acts 16:13-15   Aliens are teachable and sensitive to the Lord’s Spirit.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.     NIV

 

Acts 13:21-22  Aliens do everything God asks them to do.

 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’     NIV

 

Acts 19:13-20  Aliens have special powers.

13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15[One day] the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.   When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.   20 In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.      NIV

 

Rom 12:6-8  Aliens have heavenly gifts to share with the world.

6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.   NIV

 

1 Cor 15:33-34   Aliens are careful who they hang out with.

33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God — I say this to your shame.      NIV

 

Rev 18:1-5    True aliens know it is time to separate from the ways of the world.

18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:

“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!  She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.   3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.  The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:  “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.         NIV

 

Eph 4:29   Paul said Aliens should have a different language.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.   NIV

 

The Vow of the Nazirite = Numbers 6 = A foreshadowing

• It was a vow of separation by males or females.
• It was a vow for life or for a specific period of time (30 days minimum).
• It was a vow of serving God and others, not a monastic life.
• It was a vow to be priest-like when you were not a levitical priest.
• Jesus was a Nazarene from Nazareth = He was already High Priest of all creation.