Sermon Tone Analysis

Take a Stand for the Cause of Christ!

The Book of Acts - Part 56

Acts 16:35-17:9

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - August 31, 2014

"Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed."

*We've sung that great hymn many times.

The words were inspired by the life and death of a young a preacher who stood up for the Lord with all his heart.

His name was Dudley Tyng.

*Dudley preached boldly at his church and at the YMCA.

On March 30, 1858, over 5,000 came out to a meeting.

There, Dudley preached on these words from Exodus 10:11: "Ye that are men, go and serve the Lord!"

Over 1,000 men were saved that day.

*A couple of weeks later, on April 13, 1858, Dudley was maimed when his sleeve got caught in the cogs of a corn thrasher.

Four days later, his arm had to be amputated.

The shock of it all was so great that Dudley passed away two days later.

In his final minutes, Dudley took his father's hand and said, "Stand up for Jesus, Father, stand up for Jesus, and tell my brethren wherever you meet them, to stand up for Jesus."

Those were his final words.

*The next Sunday morning, Dudley’s friend, Rev. George Duffield preached from Ephesians 6:14, "Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth."

In closing, he read the poem he had written in honor of Dudley’s life.

*That's where we got the words "Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.

(1)

*"Stand up, stand up for Jesus!"

That call to action has never been more needed than now.

We must take a stand while we can.

And tonight's Scripture shows us some of the most important ways we can stand up for Jesus.

1. First: We must defend each other.

*As Christians, we must defend each other.

That's what Paul was trying to do in vs. 35-39.

Remember that Paul and Silas had been severely beaten.

Verse 23 tells us that the officers had "laid many stripes on them."

*But now in vs. 35, morning has come:

35.

And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, "Let those men go.''

36.

So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go.

Now therefore depart, and go in peace.''

37.

But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison.

And now do they put us out secretly?

No indeed!

Let them come themselves and get us out.''

38.

And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

39.

Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.

*More than once, Paul stood on his legal ground as a Roman citizen, and we might wonder why.

Being a citizen of Rome carried great privilege in that day.

Was Paul just trying to throw his weight around?

*William Barclay gave helpful insight when he said that: "Paul could stand on his status as a Roman citizen.

At times he claimed his rights, and to scourge a Roman citizen was a crime punishable by death.

But Paul was not standing on his status for his own sake.

He was standing up for the sake of the Christians he was leaving behind in Philippi.

Paul wanted it to be seen that they were not without influential friends."

(2)

*Paul was doing whatever he could do to defend the believers he was leaving behind.

That included the new Christians at the jailer's house and the new believers at Lydia's house in vs. 40.

Be sure that God wants us to defend each other.

It's one of the most important things we can do to stand up for Jesus.

*Also know for sure that our enemy is on the attack.

He is certainly attacking our families.

And every day, he is attacking the cause of Christ in the public square.

It's gotten so bad that the American Family Association puts out a newsletter on the Anti-Christian bigotry stories of the week.

*Just yesterday, I read a story about how California is trying to force Catholic universities to provide abortion as part of their health insurance plans.

Thankfully, there are godly lawyers fighting against travesties like that.

"One News Now" reported that Dana Cody of the Life Legal Defense Foundation and the Alliance Defending Freedom group wrote a joint letter to state officials on this issue.

*That letter mentioned a federal law that prohibits the state from discriminating against these colleges when it comes to abortion.

As Dana Cody said, "The colleges don't have to provide abortion, and by forcing them to, the state is violating what's referred to as the Weldon Amendment."

(3)

*Thank God for people like Dana Cody who are taking a stand for the cause of Christ!

We must do all we can to defend each other.

2. How can we stand up for Jesus?

Defend each other.

And develop each other.

*This is what Paul and Silas were doing in vs. 40: "They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them . .

."

The KJV says they "comforted" them.

It's the same basic word that Jesus used in John 14, when He called the Holy Spirit "The Comforter."

God wants us to work together with His Holy Spirit to give encouragement comfort and strength to each other.

*But Pastor Aaron Brown pointed out that this is not going to happen if we don't give our time.

Aaron said, "The first sacrifice we can make is the sacrifice of our time.

For many people, time has replaced money as their most valuable asset.

Work weeks are longer, leisure breaks are shorter, the pace of life is faster.

*Some years ago, an article in USA Today poked fun at the craziness of our schedules.

The author calculated that if we did all 'experts' say we're supposed to do to live a balanced, well-rounded life, it would take 42 hours a day to get it done."

Aaron said, "With lives like that, you make a huge statement to others when you joyfully offer them the gift of your time."

*Aaron also added this insight: "Early in my ministry I would get so frustrated when I would be trying to do something, or go somewhere, or prepare for a meeting, or sermon or class, and I would get interrupted by someone with a need or a question.

*But I've discovered over the years that what I once called interruptions are the times of God-given ministry!

It finally made sense to me when somebody said, 'Aaron, I just want to thank you for giving me the gift of time, because it made all the difference in my life, in the life of my family, and in my future with God.'" (4)

3. How can we stand up for Jesus?

We should do everything we can to develop each other, but sometimes we also have to depart for the Lord.

*There is a time to get up and go someplace new for the Lord.

Paul and Silas remind us of this truth in Acts 16:40 and 17:1.

Acts 16:40.

So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Acts 17:1.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

*There is a time to get up and go.

Mark 1:21-38 tells us about the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Capernaum:

21.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.

22.

And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

23.

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.

And he cried out,

24.

saying, "Let us alone!

What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?

Did You come to destroy us?