The Point of Purity Podcasts - Episode 141: Stand Up Stand Out

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Episode #141 - "Stand Up Stand Out"

Transcript

One of the biggest obstacles we face, preventing us from being Super Men of God, is believing the lie of the enemy that says, “Well, you’re only human, and that means you’re going to sin.” Yes, we’re human. Yes, we have a tendency toward sin. But no, we do not have to give in to it. We sin because King Me is sitting on the throne of our hearts. We sin because we choose to.

Welcome to the Point of Purity Podcast! I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor ^TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #141. In this episode we continue our journey through my book entitled “Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.” This week’s episode is entitled “Stand Up Stand Out.”

Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, Barry Allen, and Tony Starke are names that mean nothing to an arch villain. However, the names Superman, Batman, Spiderman, The Flash, Iron Man, even Captain America and The Green Lantern, are just a few of the names that have struck fear into the hearts of such enemies as Lex Luthor, the Joker, the Green Goblin, Red Skull, and the Mandarin.

What does your name do to the heart of your spiritual enemy? Truth be told, absolutely nothing. Your earth-name has no bearing on what the archvillain of your soul does or does not do. However, as a Super Man of God, you do bear a name that is greatly feared by the enemy. As a born-again Christian, you bear the Heavenly name Teknon Theos (and no, I’m not making that up; in Biblical Greek it stands for “Child of God”).

That name represents a high and holy calling. You see that name is not given to just anyone. There is a certain criterion that must be met before ever being given the name Child of God. In John 1 12 we read that “to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” Once you have met God’s condition, your purpose in life is then to draw the attention of those around you to the Almighty, all-powerful God of the Universe (Matthew 5:14-16).

Is the life you’re building right now pointing others to Christ? God, and God alone, is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power” (Revelation 1:6). It’s not about you, and it’s not about me. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “From him and through him and to him are all things. To him (belongs) the glory forever” (Romans 11:36).

But why? Why is God alone worthy of all glory and honor? Consider this (if possible, read the following out loud—it’s powerful):

Only God is the first and the last—the beginning and the end (Revelation 21:6).
Only God is the curator of creation and the architect of it all (Isaiah 40:26).
Only God always was, always is, and always will be (Revelation 1:4).
He is the compassionate and gracious God, always slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6).
Only God is the source of eternal salvation; the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 5:9).
He alone is the bread of life (John 6:32).
He is the comforter, the Counselor, and the Chief Cornerstone.
He is the Father of glory, the Father of lights, the Righteous Father, and a father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).
He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).
He is the eternal, immortal, invisible, and only wise King (1 Timothy 1:17).
He is the God of Hosts; the God of my salvation; the God of all comfort; the God of all grace; the God of mercy; the God of peace; the God of retribution; and the God of truth.
He is the God who sees; the God who forgives; and the God who delivers me.
He is the Almighty, All Knowing, All Powerful, and always present God in my life.
It is He who built all things; He who forms the mountains and creates the wind; He who blotted out my transgressions; and it is He who comforts me.
He is the King of the Jews, the King of the nations, the King of all the earth, the King of heaven, the King of glory, the King of kings, and he is my king.
He is the Lord God Almighty; the Lord Most High; and the Lord who made heaven and earth.
He is the Lord our shield; the Lord our God; the Lord our Maker; and the Lord our Righteousness.
He is the Lord of glory, the Lord of Peace, the Lord of the harvest, and He is the Lord of Lords.
He is my all in all, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, and my stronghold.
He is my God and my Father; my ever-present help; my hiding place; my hope; and He is my redeemer.
To God alone I owe my respect, my honor, my praise, my worship, my attention, my service, my mind, my heart, my life and my all.

Wow! That’s quite a list! Can you begin to understand why our Heavenly Father, the One and only True God, is more than worthy of all of our honor, praise, worship, and glory? What a reason to stand up and shout out with everything you’ve got: “In my life, Lord, please be glorified today.”

Now, I have an important question for you. Is that your heart’s desire? Do you truly want to live a life that draws people to God? No matter what you do, when you do it, or where it’s being done, always do it for God’s glory. Always live in such a way that as people watch you, they see King Jesus and not King Me. We need to stand up and stand out!

Just think about that. God is not expecting you to live a life that occasionally, or even mostly, glorifies Him. Every aspect of your life, every moment of every day, is to be lived in such a way that He (and He alone) receives recognition, praise, and honor. When you live like that, you are being a Super Man of God.

Now that’s a tall order. I mean, living a life that in every way and at all times glorifies God is certainly a noble and holy endeavor. But is it really possible? Can you actually function in a way that every thought, every word, and every action is in every way reflecting to the world around you the absolute greatness, majesty, wonder and supremacy of the Almighty God of the Universe? My answer to you is yes—yes you can! Let me remind you that God will never command you to do something that is impossible to do. If He did, He would be setting you up to sin, and that’s against God’s nature.

One of the biggest obstacles we face, preventing us from being Super Men of God, is believing the lie of the enemy that says, “Well, you’re only human, and that means you’re going to sin.” Yes, we’re human. Yes, we have a natural human tendency toward sin. But no, we do not have to give in to it. We sin because King Me is sitting on the throne of our hearts. We sin because we choose to. We do what we do because in our hearts we want what we want.

OK, I want to read a couple of paragraphs to you from Chapter 5 of my book “Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.” It’s a simplified story with a powerful point. So here we go – and I quote:

“These guys were inseparable, best friends. Danny, Niah, Misha and Az grew up in the palace together. They loved running through the halls playing tag, or hide-and-seek, or “freak out Az,” as Niah used to call it. Now that they were teens, those games were left far behind them. Girls were all the rage. And oh, the fun they had sneaking mice into a girl’s room, then waiting to hear her scream.

“One morning just before sunrise, Danny awoke in a cold sweat. What he thought was just a nightmare full of clanging swords and blood-curdling screams had become a terrifying reality. The palace was being invaded! Within seconds his friends gathered in his room, wondering what they should do.

“Suddenly the door opened and one of the palace guards appeared. “Sires,” he said, “stay right here, latch the door behind me and don’t open it for anyone!”

“’What’s going on?’ Misha shouted, but the guard had already left. Terrified, Az ran to the door and slid the steel bar across the latch, sealing them in.

“Later that night the four friends lay their heads down on a strange pillow, under strange blankets on a strange bed in a strange room. Closing his eyes, Danny tried to review in his head the events that put him and his friends in this horrible place. The palace had been overrun, the guards slain, the King taken, and Danny and his friends captured. All in all, not a very good day. The sounds coming from outside their door were bizarre and ugly. Men spoke in a language they did not understand.

“Days later, in a palace in a new land, an official looking guy with red plumes on his shoulder pads and a weird crest emblazoned on his chest came into their room and introduced himself as Ashpenaz. At least, that’s what Danny thought he said; the language was so hard to understand.

“Ashpenaz explained to them that the reason their lives had been spared was because his King, the glorious and all-powerful Nebuchadnezzar, had chosen them to become servants in his palace.
Tomorrow morning would start their training. In the meantime, a feast had been prepared for them—in their honor. As the servants set the food on the table, Ashpenaz explained to them that this was a high privilege being given them. The meat, a delicacy in their land, had just been offered in sacrifice to Nabu. This indeed was a rare thing that the King was doing.

“Danny had to think fast. Meat offered to Nabu? Was that a person? A god? Should they eat it? It looked fantastic and smelled even better. His stomach growled, and he could feel his saliva glands working overtime. Glancing over at his friends, he could see the wide-eyed looks and growing smiles on their faces.

“Something deep inside him stirred. Something was telling him not to eat. Was the meat poisoned? That didn’t make sense. Why would the King capture them just to poison them? No, this feeling was something different.

“Then it hit him. To eat that meat would be to acknowledge that Nabu was God. They might be captives in a foreign country, there against their will; and they might be stuck in this place for a very long time, but that didn’t give them an excuse to forsake the true God and go against His will for their lives. God had to have a reason for allowing them to be there. They might never know what that reasoning might be, but that didn’t matter. This wasn’t about them.

“Danny turned to Ashpenaz and, to everyone’s shock, told the King’s chief official, ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ Seeing the surprise on Ashpenaz’s face, and the disappointment on his friends’ Danny continued. ‘Sir, we respectfully decline your offer. You see, we worship the one true God whose name is Elohim. It is the conviction of our hearts that if we eat anything that has been offered to another god, it will defile us—making us dirty in the eyes of the one true God.’

“Ashpenaz looked like a deer caught in the torchlight. He didn’t know what to say or do. His mouth just hung open, unable to form any words. Finally, shaking his head he said, ‘No one has ever rejected the King’s meat before. This is unheard of. If I don’t feed you this meal—if you don’t eat this food to build up your strength—the King will have my head!’

“Danny paused, thinking carefully how to phrase what was going on in his mind. Praying to God for help he said, ‘With all due respect, I would like to suggest a compromise. For the next ten days, feed us nothing but vegetables and water. At the end of the ten days, check in to see how we’re doing. If our health and well-being have declined, then you can do with us whatever you want.’

“It was totally out of character for Ashpenaz, but he was starting to like these guys, so he agreed. For the next ten days those boys ate nothing but vegetables and drank nothing but water. They would sit at their table, watching the other captives chowing down on the most mouth-watering dishes they had ever seen, while they gnawed away at raw carrots and leeks. They sipped at their glasses of water while the others chugged the King’s choice wines. They were the objects of ridicule, yet they continued to grow healthier and were better nourished than any of the other captives.

“At the end of the ten days, Ashpenaz was totally floored. He had no clue how they had done it, but those four boys were not only better physically than the rest, but they caught on to the language faster, understood all the literature they were reading, and Danny seemed to excel the most. Who woulda thunk that a veggie platter could do all that?” End quote

Let’s face it here. Daniel and his friends were put into a terrible situation, with no way out. No one would have blamed them for caving under the pressure to conform to the environment in which they were placed. But Daniel held his ground. He chose to stand up and stand out, no matter the cost. Furthermore, in a very real sense, Daniel was an alien in a foreign land. Think about this for a moment: As a son of God, you too are an alien in a foreign land. What is some of this world’s “food” that you need to abstain from, and why?

Now consider this: What was so “magical” about eating vegetables and water? What was it that really set Daniel and his friends apart? The answer? It was their faith in God and their solid conviction to honor and glorify God no matter what, no matter when, and no matter where. They were determined to stand up and stand out for God.

So, I have a challenge for you. In fact, I triple-dog dare you: starting today (right now) for the next ten days, separate yourself from all “foreign food” (e.g., television, X-box, computer activity – except for the necessities e.g., work etc.) and instead, invest that time choosing to “feed” upon God’s Word. Are you man enough to take the challenge to stand up and stand out? Oooooh, was that below the belt?

OK. Let’s hit the pause button until next week’s episode as we continue our journey through my book “Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.” If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry and how we minister to men across the globe who are struggling with sexual purity - be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at “ThePurityCoach.com.”

If you are a faithful follower of this podcast, then you know that we’ve been taking a deep-dive look into this book I’ve written entitled “Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.”

“Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel” is a 12-week men’s Bible study that is a fun look at what it means to be God’s Man of Steel in a world that is Anti-God, Anti-Christ, and Anti-Bible. So, let me encourage you to go to Amazon.com today and purchase your copy of “Are You a Super Man? Becoming God’s Man of Steel.”

And if you have not yet subscribed to this Point of Purity Podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!

So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor ^TM and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.

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The Point of Purity Podcast

Episode #141 - Stand Up Stand Out

New Episodes every Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern)

Episode #141 - "Stand Up Stand Out"

Transcript