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ACTS 5:27-32

REVELATIONS 1:4-8

JOHN 20:19-31

SUNDAY REFLECTION

Stand up for Jesus is the theme for our reflection. To stand up for someone means to defend, support or protect him or her. To stand up for Jesus means to defend the name of our Lord and remain steadfast in our faith. We shall consider the following reasons for which we must stand firm for Jesus:

1. We stand up for Jesus because we have salvation through Him.

2. We stand up for Jesus by preaching the Gospel because through Him we listen to the voice of God.

3. We stand for up for Jesus because He is the beginning and the end.

Firstly, Jesus conquered death and saved us, for this reason, we stand up for Him. In the third Scripture reading, after John had reported that Jesus appeared to the disciples to prove His resurrection, John again wrote that “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31). John through his revelation also confirmed this fact that “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelations 1:5-6) Dear friend in the Lord, the only thing required of us as disciples and believers is to prove our appreciation and love to Jesus by standing up for Him, for He has taken our way our shame and condemnation and has given us eternal life through His suffering, death and resurrection.

Secondly, if we have accepted the fact that we must stand up for Jesus because we are saved through His name then what must we do? We must stand up for Jesus by witnessing to the world to come to His saving knowledge because it is through Him that we listen to the voice of God and do His will. It is for this reason that Peter and the other apostles were arrested in the first Scripture reading for preaching Christ, they stood up for Jesus and said “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:29-32). Beloved in the Lord, we have no excuse in our generation not to preach Christ wherever we are as a way of standing up for Jesus. Just like Peter and the other Apostles, we shall face opposition from Satan and his agents but we must stand up for Jesus through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We must remember that as we stand up for Jesus “… we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12-13). We must stand up for Jesus regardless of the situation, Paul further admonishes us to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfil your ministry. (2 Timothy 2:2-5). We are greatly encouraged to use our bodies and financial resources to stand up for Jesus through supporting the church and engaging in evangelistic activities. We must use our phones to share the Gospel on social media as one of the ways of standing up for Jesus, by doing this then we are fulfilling the great commission in Mattew 28:18-20, where Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Thirdly, why won’t we stand up for a Savior who is the beginning and the end?! With the assurance of Jesus’ second coming where all faithful believers shall be taken away into the eternal glory and Kingdom of God, we have nothing to do now but to stand up for Jesus even as we await His glorious advent. John in the second scripture reading assures us through his revelation that “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelations 1:7-8). Beloved in the Lord this is the good news and the motivation for which we must stand up for Jesus now for our reward will surely come.

In summary, we must stand up for Jesus because we are saved through Him, we must stand for Jesus by preaching Him to the world regardless of the challenges because through Him we listen to the voice of God, last but not the least, we are motivated to stand up for Jesus because He is the beginning and the end. May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to stand up for Jesus amidst the challenges and persecution so that when the Lord returns the second time, He shall find us to be good and faithful servants who are worthy of the Kingdom of God. Amen.