Hi, my name is Rick Bloodworth. This is the Common Sense Christian channel, and it's Sunday, so we're going to be looking at a sermon. from God's Word. And this particular sermon, I suspect, is not going to be a necessarily easy one to hear because the theme of it is for the need for real men who are real Christians. And we're going to be looking at the fact that this is going to take strength and it's going to take courage, something that has been sadly lacking in recent years, and we're starting to see the results of the lack of strength and the lack of courage among so many, especially within And the community of the church. And so this is what we want to look at today. I want to start with two passages. One is found in Ephesians chapter six, starting in verse 13. It says this, Therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you've done everything, To stand, stand firm. Then three times in just a, a little over one verse, it tells us to stand. Are you willing to take stands? I believe most people are not. I believe most people will no longer risk becoming a target for wicked men. I believe that most people are much more comfortable with running and hiding and hunkering and trying to make themselves as small as possible. as opposed to those who are willing to take the stands that God expects them to do. In Ephesians chapter, excuse me, in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13, it says this, Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong, do everything in love. Well, that's five pretty important things when you think about it, isn't it? Be on your guard. We have evil surrounding us right now. Stand firm in the faith. God expects you to take a stand for what's right. When it says stand firm in the faith, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. That means that our stand has to be based upon the word of God, the word of Christ, what we read in the Bible. Be men of courage. Something I believe is sadly lacking today. I believe courage is something that has evaporated amongst most of our society. Be strong. We're going to be looking at this particular phrase in just a moment, but then it says to do everything in love. A lot of times people think that by taking a stand, you're somehow not being loving, but we're commanded to take that stand While doing it in love now, let me come back to this idea of being strong over 35 times within scripture We come across this phrase be strong and so it must be pretty important Excuse me six of those times we read of Joshua being commanded or encouraged to be strong. So a full one out of every six times that the phrase be strong is used, it's used towards Joshua. So let's go back and look at some of the places where Joshua, Joshua was encouraged to be strong. In Deuteronomy chapter 31 in verse seven, just before Moses died, Moses has been leading Israel throughout the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings. It was Moses who led them out of Egypt with all the plagues that were performed. It was Moses who brought down the 10 Commandments, as well as the hundreds of other commandments that God had given him on Mount Sinai. But now Moses is about to die. He's 120 years old. And his assistant Joshua is about to lead the Israelites into the promised land. And so in Deuteronomy 31 verse 7, Moses says this, Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, be strong. Courageous. Well, just a, a, a few verses later in Deuteronomy chapter 31 in verse 23. Now we find the Lord speaking to Joshua. It says, the Lord gave this command to Joshua, the son of none. Be strong and courageous for you'll bring the Israelites into the land. I promised them on oath and I myself will be with you. Well, now this is an important fact, because God is commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous because Joshua is going to be taking them into the promised land, into the land of Canaan. When was that promise made? Well, if you go back to Genesis chapter 15, you will read the fact that God told Abraham that his descendants would someday come back to the land of Canaan. He told him it would be 400 years from that point. And he told him the reason was because their sin had not yet reached its full measure. God gave the Canaanites 400 years to repent of their sin, but their sin just got worse and worse. The immorality within the nation of Canaan and all the peoples that made up that nation. It was just incredible from, from the idol worship that involved the sexual immorality some of which is almost unspeakable to the fact that they were actually sacrificing their children to these idols. Had to be punished and God was going to use the Israelites as the mechanism for which he was going to punish them just as he used Fire and brimstone at Sodom and Gomorrah just as he used water when he flooded the world Now he was going to use the Israelites to punish the nation of Canaan And then he was going to have them inhabit that nation. In Joshua chapter 1 in verse 6, we find the Lord speaking to Joshua again. And he says this, in verse 6, Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law. My servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it night and day so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Now Joshua is about to lead the people into Canaan. They're going to have to fight them in battle. And as Joshua is about to go and take this commission from God, one of the absolute requirements is that Joshua know what the commandments of God are, and that Joshua thinks about them day and night. So everything that Joshua is about to be doing, he has to be doing in accordance with God's commandments. Now, at the end of Joshua chapter one, or towards the end, we find the people talking to Joshua, and they say, only be strong and courageous. So six times, four by God, Joshua is commanded to be strong and courageous. Once by Moses, who is the leader at that time, but now Joshua is about to become leader. And now the people all say, be strong and courageous. This is an important factor in our lives. And I believe it's absolutely critical. For the time in which we live right now, our society is decaying. The land that I live in, the nation I live in America is becoming a cesspool of sin. The more I travel around the nation and the more the, the more I see just absolute open wickedness that seems to be just spilling out unashamedly into the streets had when these evil people begun their evil. Had righteous men taken a stand and said, no, you can't do that. I believe that would have suppressed the wickedness, but now the wicked people have become so comfortable in their wickedness and so used to it and so addicted to it that they demand it. And what was once something that would have been uncomfortable in telling the wicked not to be wicked. is now becoming something that's going to be very difficult to do. Because we didn't have a little courage to begin with, now it's going to take a lot of courage. And a lot of strength to take these stands. And so let me ask you, Christian men, are you willing to take the stand? Because I'm absolutely convinced that at this moment, we need real men who are genuine Christians to take a stand, because if we don't, the nation, I'm convinced will be lost. Now, there's some things that I believe that we need to understand as far as, as talking about this need. For strength and courage, and it is the commandment by Christ himself that we also have to have an absolute commitment to turning the other cheek. Well, now, how do these things coexist? Are these contradictory commandments to be strong and courageous and to turn the other cheek? Well, let's go back to the passage. that we find this in. It's Matthew chapter 5, verse 38. This is the Sermon on the Mount. You've heard it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you, take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go a mile with them, turn to So does this mean that Christians are just to be doormats for the world? Does this mean that if, that if a wicked man wants to take everything we have, that we just give it to him? If, if if a person comes to a church and wants help, do they have the right to demand that the church sell the church building and give him or her all of the church's funds? If, if one of our daughters or if our wives or one of our young ladies is, is threatened by a wicked man, do we just need to idly stand by and let that happen? I believe we've taken this responsibility to turn the other cheek and we've turned it into something that Christ never intended for it to be. I believe that what Christ was trying to tell us is that we cannot take vengeance, that we're not to retaliate against evil. But I believe as you look at the scriptures, you're also going to find that righteous people do have not only a right, but an obligation to defend themselves against wickedness. But now let's look at the first part, turning the other cheek and not taking vengeance. Hebrews chapter 10 in verse 30. The writer, through inspiration, goes back to an Old Testament principle. Hebrews 10 30. We know him who said, It is mine to avenge. I will repay and again the Lord will judge his people. It's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. One of the things that we understand by this turning the other cheek is that we're not to be taking revenge for ourselves. We're not to be retaliating and, and returning violence with violence or wickedness with wickedness. In Romans chapter 12 and verse 19 it says, do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. Do not become, oh, excuse me, do not become overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. So, we have these commandments, turn the other cheek, vengeance is mine, God said, so we're not to take vengeance. and, and understand and trust that God will repay all the while we're not to be overcome by evil, but we're to overcome evil with good. So again, let's come back to this idea of then do we just need to let wicked men do whatever they want? Do we, are we required to allow wicked men to attack the innocent? Do we have no right to defend ourselves? And, and I think this is the point that we really We need to understand as we talk about our requirements as Christians. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Well, this makes it very clear that we're not just to be doormats for wicked people and allow them to do anything because we're to put on the armor of God. That armor is for defense. Again, it's not for taking revenge. But there is a sense of justice that righteous men and women are expected to uphold. In verse 12 of Ephesians 6, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you will You may be able to stand your ground and after you've done everything to stand, stand firm then. And then the other passage that we read just a a few moments ago. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong, be strong. So we see that while we are to turn the other cheek and not to be taking revenge, in other words, we're not to return wickedness for wickedness. We also not only have the ability, but we have the requirement to defend ourselves against evil men by putting on the full armor of God. And again, we're not talking about somehow. taking revenge on people, but we have to understand the need for justice in this world. And I believe that's something that's being lost upon people. I believe there's a lot of people who are trying to be very good Christians who don't understand justice. They think if someone wants to sin, they just need to let them sin, no matter how terrible the sin is. That's why we see so many child molesters being released back into society to molest more Children. We've lost an understanding of the requirement for justice and we can have justice without revenge. And we can also defend ourselves. without taking revenge. Think about what Jesus did in his ministry. There were times when Jesus was accosted. People were wanting to kill him. People were wanting to do him harm. And so, I want to look at a few of these passages and see what Jesus did in these instances. The first is found in John chapter 8 and verse 58. I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abram, Abraham was born, I am. At this they picked up stones to stone him. Think about that. They picked up stones to stone him. Does that mean that Jesus just had to stand there and turn the other cheek and allow them to be wicked? But Jesus hid himself. slipping away from the temple grounds. Now, Jesus had a power we don't have. That's true. And, and he was able to hide himself, I suspect in ways that we wouldn't have the power to do. But I do believe that when it's within our power, that we don't need to just allow wicked men to be wicked to us. And these men who wanted to kill Jesus were not permitted to kill Jesus. So turning the other cheek does not mean just allowing people to kill you. John chapter 10 in verse 30. Jesus said, I and the Father are one. Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him. But Jesus said, I've shown you a great many miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? Well, they got into a conversation and by the time they got to verse 39, it said, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. So in other words, they were wanting to stone him at first, and then they were wanting to, to capture him, either to arrest him or so that they could go ahead and stone him. But Jesus escaped their grasp. We do not need to assist wicked men in being wicked by just standing there and doing nothing. We need to be strong and we need to be courageous. And we do need to turn the other cheek when the situation calls for it. But we, turning the other cheek, this commandment does not involve allowing wicked men just to further their wickedness at the price of the innocent. Another passage. In Luke chapter 4 and verse 28, after Jesus had been reading the scriptures in the synagogue, he pointed out to them who he was. And it said in verse 28 of Luke 4, the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things. They got him up, got up and drove him to the edge of the city and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built in order to throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went on his way. Time and time again, we see in Jesus's ministry where people actually wanted to kill him and he did not permit them to do so. So turning the other cheek cannot mean just allowing wicked. people to have carte blanche on their wickedness, to have unlimited access to doing whatever wicked things they do without any resistance from us. In, in John chapter 18 in verse four, we find Jesus at the point where he's in the garden of Gethsemane. He's on the verge of being crucified. But a group of men come against him with swords and clubs. They're a mob. You remember the old westerns that you may have used to see on TV when you'd have a mob of, of men just all liquored up and they had a rope and they were wanting to hang somebody. Well, this is essentially what's happening here. In verse 4, Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, Who is it you want? He asked this to the mob. Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. I am he, Jesus said. And Judas the traitor was standing there with him. When Jesus said, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. Now let me ask you this. Do you think that just happened? Do you just think this was like the Keystone cops where they were all so clumsy that they just tripped over their own feet? Or do you believe that power came from the Lord to have them fall back at this point? Whether Jesus's power or God's power, it doesn't matter. This was an angry mob who were ready to kill Jesus, but this was not the way. That Jesus was going to die. And so Jesus, when, when he was confronted, had the crowd fall back and fall to the ground. We see on each occasion, when evil men wanted to do evil to Christ, that he did not just permit them to do that wickedness. Part of our responsibility is to maintain the will of God. Now it's true that you and I don't have a perfect understanding of his will in every specific situation like Jesus did, and so we're just going to have to, to, to figure out as best we can in each situation, but we do need to understand that we have our obligation and our responsibility. In Proverbs chapter 19 and verse 11, it says a man's wisdom gives him patience. It's to his glory to overlook an offense. When we're offended, yes, we do turn the other cheek. But what do we do when people are ready to kill us? When they're ready to arrest us and imprison us and do whatever it is that they want to do to us? Do we have to comply with that? And the answer from Jesus's own life appears to be no. Now, we see within this same situation that we were reading of just a moment ago, where the mob was there and they weren't allowed to kill Jesus at that time, that Jesus did go with the wicked men and he allowed himself to be beaten and humiliated and mocked and spat upon. And then he allowed himself to be crucified because now was the time for him to offer the sacrifice. There are times where turning the other cheek is absolutely required, but only in accord with God's will. And I believe we need to be thinking about this and especially from the perspective of our responsibility to be strong and courageous. There's a couple more things that I'm absolutely convinced that we need to be thinking about. And that's the fact that Jesus never turned the other cheek on behalf of God or on behalf of the innocent. The command to turn the other cheek is an individual responsibility. It does involve our overlooking offenses. It does involve our not becoming violent. It does involve our not taking vengeance in that situation. We don't turn the other cheek on God's behalf. John, chapter two, in verse 13, when it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts, he found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, he said, get out of here. How dare you turn my father's house into a marketplace. So we see when people were sinning against God openly, challenging God openly, That Jesus did not turn the other cheek on God's behalf. As a matter of fact, he took matters very much into his own hands at that point, because God was not going to be insulted in such a way. And Jesus was strong and courageous. and took a stand. And it's the same thing when, when children were being brought to him and people tried to prevent that. In Luke chapter 18, verse 15, people were bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom belongs to such as these. Well, if Jesus, in something as simple as allowing children to approach him, took a stand for them, what do you think it means for us to take a stand for the innocent, the most innocent in our society? My father in law, before he died, imagine he was about 90 years old at this point, shared with me one of his regrets, and it was this. He looked back upon the removal of God from the school system. My father in law was a teacher for many years and a principal for many years. And he said when the Supreme Court was doing all these things, removing God from the public square and from the public schools, he said, we could have taken a stand. And he believed they could have prevented that from happening. When these wicked men and women on the Supreme Court, the so called Supreme Court, remove God from the schools. My father in law felt like a stand could have been taken. These men and women, by the way, on the Supreme Court who continually oppose God are someday going to face the true Supreme Court. I hope they repent. He also spoke about when abortion was legalized in America, how he felt like if enough people had taken a stand that they would have backed off of that. But there were very few people willing to take a stand, certainly not enough. And so the most innocent in society have been harmed, have been killed by the millions. God is removed from the public square and nobody said anything because I believe Christians thought it was the polite thing to do to turn the other cheek on God's behalf. Children are being slaughtered on a daily basis because Christians, I believe, think that they're supposed to turn the other cheek on behalf of the innocent. That's not the requirement. Turning the other cheek involves you not taking vengeance for yourself. It involves you not being violent. It involves you overlooking offenses, but it does not involve you becoming complicit with sin. If men are ever going to win this battle over Satan, they're going to have to take a stand and they're going to have to be courageous and they're going to have to put on the whole armor of God. Wickedness has spilled over into society. It's rampant. It's even spilled over into the schools to where our schools permit so much wickedness and permit so much just absolute perversion to be taught within their walls, within their classrooms. And it's even starting to leak over into the churches. Entire denominations are giving themselves over to sinful activity, supporting sinful activity, activity that the Bible defines as wrong and wicked and is something that will separate you from God. Entire denominations are saying, no, it's not wrong anymore. And they celebrate it and they congratulate themselves on their open mindedness. We are living right now in a society, we're sending our children to schools, and in some cases we're even going to, to worship at churches who have not taken the righteous stands that they need. Where are the men in all this? Let me say this, there's a lot of righteous women, a lot of virtuous women who are taking stands. And, and we should be eternally grateful for that, but there's not enough men, real men who are willing to take a stand. You may be afraid of making yourself a target, and I understand that it's prudent not to make yourself unnecessarily a target, but when the wicked's target is God, godly men better be putting themselves intentionally in the center of that bullseye of that target. Because if you don't take a stand for God, who will? Someday God will take care of all this. Someday Christ will come again. But we have an opportunity to do the right thing right now. We have an opportunity to take righteous stands for God and maybe return some semblance of righteousness to our society. It may be too late for that. Granted, we have an obligation to take a stand for innocent children and to stop letting men and women of perversion to influence them. We need to be strong and courageous and say you cannot do this with my children or with anybody else's children for that matter. We need real men who are real Christians, who will take a stand for God, and who will take a stand for righteousness, and who will take a stand for innocence without getting involved in the wickedness of revenge and violent sinful conduct. It's not going to be easy. But it's going to be necessary. The question is, where are you men? And are you going to be willing to take the stand that God requires you to take? And if you're not, ask yourself this question, what's going to happen to the innocent if you don't take a stand? One final thing, and this is something we always need to remember. We are going to win. We're on the winning side. We've read the end of the book and we see that God is going to win. You have to be on his side though. And you have to play according to his rules if you're going to be on that winning side. And as Joshua, the one who is told over and over, be strong and courageous, once said, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, We will serve the Lord. Where are you men? You're needed right now. Well, harder lesson today, wasn't it? But that's it for today. I hope it gives you something to think about. If you have comments on it, feel free to comment questions. Feel free to ask them. I'm not right on everything. And so if, if I've misspoken, feel free to mention that in the comments as well. I would consider you a friend for doing that. But again, until next time, I hope you'll think about these things. And as always, I pray that God will richly bless you as you seek to serve him.