The Power of Taking A Stand

"What do you want me to preach?" I, I actually had to pray, "God —" that's usually a good place to start — "What do you want me to say on this wonderful day?" And again, I — this sounds like I'm making it up, but I, I really felt immediately the Lord speak to me. And Bishop, I had a flashback. Many years ago, in the old ministry and training class, I remember you said to me one time, "Just preach the word. Just preach the word." So Bishop, that's what I'm going to do today: preach the word. And it just so happens that this word that I feel today is what Brother the Priest has exampled for many, many years. So I'm gonna read today from the book of Daniel, chapter three, and I'll begin at verse number one. I don't know how we do it here now. Do, do you like to sit for the word? Is that okay? You could just sit, or you can stand, whatever you want to do. We're going to be up and down anyway. So just let me read to you. I've got a little bit of a lengthy reading. Daniel chapter 3 and verse 1. The Bible says: "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breath thereof six cubits. He set it up in the plane of Dura, in the province of Babylon." As a side note, the plane of Durham — Dura means dwelling, or in your home. I just might toss out that the enemy has always wanted to set up idols in your home. But that's another, that's another deal. For the sake of time today, let me skip down to verse number four: "Then and Harold cried aloud, 'To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack but, sultry, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.'" In honor of Bishop today, I'm telling the Bishop the Priest joke. I know what the band was playing: "Great Balls of Fire." No, just kidding. I figured you'd like that one. I got the thumbs up.

Let's skip to verse 8: "Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, 'O king, live forever. Thou, O king, has made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of these various instruments — I won't repeat him — and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou has cast over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, they hadn't paid any attention to you. They serve not their gods, no worship the golden image which thou has set up.'" Verse number 14: "Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, 'Is it true, oh Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do you not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I set up?'" And they answered and said to the king, "Oh Nebuchadnezzar, we're not careful to answer thee in this manner. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fire furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto the, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up."

Thank you for allowing me to read quite a bit of scripture. I have one more that I want to share with you, that I think is important of this word today. It's found in Ephesians 6 and verse 13, just one verse. The Bible says: "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." The Amplified Version says: "Therefore put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to successfully resist and stand your ground in the evil day, and having done everything that the crisis demands, to stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, and victorious." And then lastly — I promise, I, I, I am going to quit reading the Bible in just a moment — but the Living Bible says this: "So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy wherever he

attacks, and when it is all over, when everything is said and done, you will still be standing up."

I thank God for Bishopville the Priest, who has stood for truth, for righteousness, for mercy, and for building the kingdom, and pouring into others, of whom I am one. And today I want to preach to you on this subject: the power of taking a stand. Why don't you just lift your hands one more time and just say, "Lord, speak to me through the word. Let me receive it and accomplish your purpose in my life today. In the name of Jesus." Everybody said amen. Amen.

History has been made by those who took a stand. The Spartan warriors are perhaps the most elite, highly trained soldiers of all time. And in 480 BC, the Persians advanced down toward the Greeks, and they had massive, overwhelming numbers and supplies. And so 300 Spartan warriors were dispatched to Thermopylae, which is just a narrow gap between the mountains and the sea. And they, they knew it was a feudal mission, but they were just hoping to hold them back for a day or so. But they were trained to stand, and they wound up holding them back for seven days, until their weapons literally broke, and they fought with bare hands, before at last being overwhelmed. But their stand so inspired the Greeks that they eventually defeated the invading Persians. Because they took a stand. They drew a line, and they saved their empire.

History has been made by those who would take a stand. Some of you may remember the guy at Tiananmen Square that stood by himself against the tank. Maybe Rosa Parks, who refused to sit at the back of the bus. How about the six million Americans who were under arms during World War II, that took a stand against Nazism and imperialism? These were not superheroes, but they were men like James Allen and Emmanuel Tharp and Marvin Tidwick, and many others — just common, everyday folks that just took a stand. And not to leave out the ladies, because Rosie the Riveters went into the factories to work on a massive scale never before seen, working long hours, and made a difference. In fact, World War II, it is said, has been won as much by machine shops as machine guns. It's really hard for us to imagine the, the magnitude of that time period. To date, in World War II, we lost an average of 220 American service personnel every day for four years. In fact, one unit, the US Air 8th Air Force in Europe, had 26,000 casualties. That's more than all the Marines in the Pacific. One-eighth Air Force pilot crawled out of his old, beat up, shot up B-24, and he said, "I may not be listed in Who's Who, but I'm listed and who's still standing."

Folks, in all of my years of battling our spiritual enemy, and my years of pastoring and preaching and planting churches, and trying to help leaders all over North America, I have come to this conclusion: it's not so much that you're outstanding, it's that you're still standing. Amen. And let me tell you, there is great power in just taking a stand, because there are times when you don't know what else to do. Amen. That's when you can just do like Moses, and stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. We can't stand in the gap. We can stand firm. And having done all, to stand, stand therefore. And I'll tell you why: because in our day and in our time, there is nothing more the devil would like to do than to push you around, and to move you backward, and to water down your faith and zeal, and to scare you away from your purpose. Because he wants you to run away. He wants you to sit down. He wants you to be quiet and just go along. And he wants you to give up on your dreams. And he wants you to give in to fear. But I'm here to tell somebody today, that something happens when you simply take a stand. Hallelujah. Standing is the spatula that turns fear into faith. It is the turning point, when you simply make up your mind. And it builds resolve in your heart, and that resolve makes its way down your backbone into your feet. And you rise up, and even when you don't know where to go, you stand at attention, and say to the Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, "I don't know what to do, but I know that you know how. And I'm going to wait. I'm going to stand, and make up my mind, that my

family will be saved, that everything is going to be all right, in Jesus' name."

There is great power in the simple act of decision: just standing your ground. Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. In fact, since I'm back home at Tennessee, just down the road a little bit, someone wrote a song, "You gotta stand for something, or you'll —" see, there's some more heathens here too. I knew it. I'd pull it out of you. "— or you'd fall for anything." I'm telling you, we're in a, a time where taking a stand has become somewhat unpopular. To claim absolutes in regard to faith and salvation and morality and God's word is really no longer fashionable. Instant communication, while a blessing in many ways, also kind of puts some pressure on us, and we tend to form or conform our opinions to those that we hear most often. And we are hearing a lot of opinions from every screen and every device. And it feels like that the world has just gone kind of crazy, and chaos reigns, and that God is nowhere to be found, and that the world is just too bad, and that nobody cares about you. And well, in reality, you've gone too far. But I'm here to declare today, that my faith is more valuable, and more important, and more powerful than my feelings. And God's word will trump anybody else's opinion. And God's word says in Romans 12 and 2: "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." I kind of feel like somebody today is going to take a stand, and you're going to feel the Holy Ghost moving in your life. Amen. And sometimes the worst pressure that we feel is the voices in our own head — voices of doubt and insecurity. Amen. I believe that today, somebody's going to stand against the spirit of fear, and you're going to stop backing up, and you're going to stop running away, and you're going to say, "Hey, this is the day that the Lord hath made. This is the day. If I was picking it, I would pick another day. But this is the day that the Lord hath made. I'm going to take a stand. I will rejoice. I have a choice in how I live, and in how I worship, and in what I do." Hallelujah. Today it changes in somebody's life. Today it changed. And it starts by making a stand in your spirit. Amen.

Power in making and taking a stand. I'm going to tell you, it takes courage to stand when you want to run. Peter Allison was a safari guide in Botswana, Africa. He said in his book that it is true that whenever you face a lion — you've heard it — it's true, the worst thing you can do is run, because on the safari, food runs. You don't want to be food. Put it together: First Peter 5 and 8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Our enemy Satan is a roaring lion, but he's on a very short leash. Amen. I want to tell you, one of the most spiritual things that you can do, when the enemy is roaring at you, and when you feel the hot breath of his roar, and you feel the pressure to give in, because maybe others are doing it, or whatever, and maybe you feel confused, and maybe you feel discouraged, and you feel alone, and maybe you don't see a way out of the situation, and you've exhausted all options, and when you have done all that you can do, and you're down to your last round of spiritual bullets — and having done all you can do, one more thing: you can stand. You can stand in the presence of God. And let me tell you what happens: God then will fight your battle for you. Amen. Amen. The devil has been pushing some of you around long enough. Don't waver on the promise of God. Don't waver on the purpose of God. Don't give up.

Recently, in our church in Saint Louis, we had a gentleman who had been away from God for 31 years. And when I say a way, I mean far away. He was doing things that just — that he knew better, all this stuff. Amen. Somebody here today might say, "Hey, been there, bought the T-shirt." But I want you to know today, that man said, "Hey, I'm going to take a stand against my own flesh and my own past." And guess what? I had the privilege of seeing him be refilled

with the Spirit of God, and baptized in the name of Jesus. And he hadn't missed a service since, because he said, "You know what? I'm tired of how I've done it, and where I am. And I'm going to make a stand today, against my past, against the guilt, against the shame." And I'm telling you, when you make a stand, guess what? God will show up, and he will stand with you. Oh, hallelujah. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place today. Amen.

Let me tell you, the battle you're in is worth fighting. Amen. It's worth fighting. And you are an overcomer, if you will just stay in the ring. Sometimes your strategy's out the window. You don't know what to do. But if you just make a stand, let the Lord fight for you. And guess what? He's already won. You fight from victory. You don't fight for victory. Think about it. That's a big difference. You fight from victory, not for victory. He's already won the battle. And if he shows up beside you, you can't have a better bodyguard. You can't have a better friend. Hallelujah. There's nobody like my Jesus. Hallelujah. Amen.

The Bible says in First Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain." Steadfast — I like that word. Someone said that the anvil outlasts the hammer, by just simply being steadfast. I want to be described as the man in Psalms 1. It says: "Blessed is the man, walketh not in the council of the ungodly, standeth in the way of sinners, sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit and his season. His leaf shall not wither. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Amen. That's just because of staying put. Amen. And then look at the rest of it, by contrast. Verse 4 says: "The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." In other words, the ungodly are spiritual tumbleweeds that just kind of catch the wind of whatever is going. No roots. And so it just — it has nothing to hold it. And if you're rootless, then you're also fruitless. And God wants you to have fruit, spiritual fruit, in your life. And so, to do that, we got to take a stand. We got to stay planted, so that God can nourish us and feed us. Amen. Oh, I think that I'm in a room full of people that say to themselves, "God, let me put roots down in the word of God." Amen. I don't want to put my, my, my — build my life and my walk, amen, on the things or opinions of others, or the philosophy of this world. But I want to build on the word of God. I want to be like a tree planted by the water. Because if the devil can move you just one bit, he'll move you the next bit. He's never satisfied. He'll keep pushing that. He'll keep pushing, until you become a shadow of yourself. I pray that we could stand firm, in Jesus' name.

Can I tell you, your soul, S-O-L-E, affects your soul, S-O-U-L. Think about that for a minute. Your soul — where you stand — positions you to receive God's blessing, or it opens you up to other situations. I want to receive the best from the Lord. I want to say, "Preach it, Pastor Allen." I want to say, "Thank you, worship team." Amen. I want to throw my hands in the air and receive what God wants for me. Praise God.

I want to bring you quickly three main points from our text that I read. Number one: when you stand for God, your stand will be noticed. When you stand for God, your stand will be noticed. Daniel and the three Hebrew fellows wound up servants to Nebuchadnezzar. He was the king of Babylon. He besieged Jerusalem. And these boys were in a godless land, and they were given godless names. And yet they took a stand, and people noticed. The first stand they took was not to eat the food — the food that everyone else was eating, that the king provided. And, and that paid off. Chapter 1, verse 15 says that at the end of 10 days, they were healthier and better nourished than all the young men who were eating the king's food. So

it started there. So what started off as subtle pressure on what to eat in chapter one, morphs into what to worship in chapter three. And that's the way it goes. When you give in just a little bit, the devil says, "Oh, I got a little open door here." And so when you come to chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar, he sets up this huge image of gold, and he wants everybody to worship it. He hires a band, and he tells everybody, "Listen, when you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack but, sultry, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the idol." I read the King James because I wanted to be exact here on these instruments. It says the cornet and the flute are wind instruments. The sac but and the sultry are string instruments. And the dulcimer is actually a pro percussion. I can't hardly say it. You beat on it. It's a percussion instrument. So the moral of the story is: when the call to worship comes from godless people, mouthing off, pulling your strings, or beating the drums, you need to pay attention. You need to be aware. Amen. I'm going to tell you something: we've had a real call of worship here today. Praise God. Amen.

And so when they heard us, the three Hebrew children took a stand. They knew they weren't to worship the idol. And so actually, they took a stand by the virtue of staying in the same position, because the Bible says they stood while everyone else bowed down. They just kept believing the same thing, kept doing the same thing. Listen, there's times when you may not feel like going to church. You may not feel saved. You may not feel like the Lord is anywhere near you. But I'm gonna tell you something: you just stay the course. You just worship God. Maybe you don't feel it, but sometimes you just do it. And I'll tell you this: you can act your way into feeling a whole lot better than you can feel your way into acting. In other words, you just do it, and the feeling will come later. Praise God. And so they did that. They stayed believing what they believed, and they would not bow down to the idol. And everyone else bowed. And then verse 8 says, there were certain Chaldeans that couldn't wait to go tattletail to Nebuchadnezzar. And I can just see them, you know, like school kids, you know, "Mr. Nazar, they're not bowing down like you said," making smug faces. That Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — you know, you just got to love those people, right? The truth is that we put people under conviction when we do take a stand. But they need you to stand, because you become a benchmark of righteousness — not an arrogant, self-righteous person, but a light of the world, a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden. Amen. I would tell you today, just keep on shining. Amen. Just keep on shining. Keep standing. Praise God. Amen.

It's time to stay standing. While everybody else was standing down, they stood up. And that got them noticed. Amen. "Stand down" is actually a military term. It means a relaxation from a state of readiness or alert. And we certainly are receiving messages in our culture, in our world, to stand down. "Don't get so excited about church. Don't get so excited about God. I mean, that worship could be toned down just a little bit. I mean, let's just tone down a little on the beliefs, and, and your evangelism." But can I tell you that standing down leads to laying down? And I believe it's not time to stand down. I think it's time to stand up, and to be counted, and to reach our world, and to let our faith go, and reach our neighbors, and send out more missionaries and daughter works. It's time to preach the only life-saving, apostolic message of salvation: repentance of sin, and baptism in the name of Jesus, and receiving the Holy Spirit in our life, that will transform our life. It's time for miracles. I believe that. I believe God still does miracles in our day. I believe God does miracles, and can do them right today, before we leave this place. Amen. You will get noticed.

Number two: when you stand for God, your stand will be tested. Verse 13 says Nebuchadnezzar got mad, flew into rage. He brought the boys back in, and he said, "Well, maybe you didn't understand. Maybe you didn't hear. Maybe you had your AirPods on, and your Bluetooth was off, and you didn't hear my band." And so

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He said, "What are you gonna do?" And they replied in verse 16: "O king, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us" — hallelujah — "from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thy hand, one way or another, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not. We made up our minds. We're going to take a stand." We, we thought about this already, and we've made up — it's better to think about it ahead of time, and make up your mind before the battle gets there. Amen. And you're going to have a lot better chance to decide then. Praise God. And so they said, "We're not going to bow down to the image which you set up."

Let me tell you: it's easy to stand if you know the outcome. But they didn't know what was going to happen. They — we're reading about it on the afterward, and we know that God delivers them. But, but can you say, "God, if you don't deliver me, I'm still going to stand on your word. I'm still not going to bow. I, I'm still going to do the —" Listen, I want to tell you today, that's really the only thing that will get you through the fire, is if you can get a "but if God don't deliver me" kind of attitude. That's what we need. We need an "even if God don't fix my problem" kind of spirit: "I'll serve him." We need — and "even if God don't answer my prayer, I will still stand for him." Job said it like this: "Though God slay me, yet will I serve him." That is standing on principle, and that standing on faith. That's standing in the gap, even when you can't move forward. There is something about the symbolism of standing that says, "Bring it on." Amen. "I am braced for the fight. I am ready for the test." And I believe that when you go through that test, if you will wait on God and stand for him, that God will supply everything that you need. God will equip you, if you will just wait for the supply wagon to come rolling in. Just wait. Just wait on God. The Bible says: "In your patience, possess ye your souls." I am told that in a remote helicopter or airplane crash, that if you're blessed enough to survive, the best thing to do is to stay close to that, that site, because the christ site will be easier to find than if you run away. Don't run away from the testing, because without a test, there could be no testimony. If you stand for God, it'll be tested.

Number three — and this is my favorite — when you stand for God, your God will stand for you. Amen. Verse 22 — therefore — and I didn't read this earlier, but let me read it. Verse 22: "Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of a fiery, burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished. He rose up in haste, and spake, and said to the councillors, 'Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' And they answered and said to the king, 'True.' Okay. Oh yeah, whatever you say, king. Yeah, true. You got it, king. He answered and said, 'Lo, I see four men. We threw three men in, but I see four. And they were bound, but I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'" Notice, church, that the fire was so hot that they fell down, and they were bound in the fire. But when the king looked in, there was a fourth man. And guess what? He was standing. And the three boys were standing. And they were loosed. And they didn't even smell like smoke. God told them — God: "Since you stood for me in their fiery trial, I'm going to stand for you in your fiery furnace." Hallelujah. I'm telling you, the only thing that the fire did was burn away what had them bound. Hallelujah. They went in low. They fell down. And sometimes we fall. Amen. Sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we're so low and scared, and we're not sure why: "I'm in this trial. Why did I mess up?" Amen. But hey,

you can change it today. You can stand for God. And when you stand for God, he will stand for you. I'm telling somebody today to stop running, to stop being afraid. Amen. Fear is running your life, and that is not of God. I want you to settle the issue and make up your mind. And when you do, you will find that the Judge of all the earth is standing right beside you. He will go in the fire with you. He will go in the hospital with you. He will go into the courtroom with you. Amen. He will walk into the halls of your school with you. And he will not let the fire harm you. It will help you. The battle that you are in is worth fighting, if you just stay in the ring. If you just stand for the Lord, the Lord will stand for you. And if God stands for you, it doesn't matter who leaves you, because "greater is he that is in the world, in me, that he that is in the world." If God is for you, who can be against you? Hallelujah. You can see it for just a moment.

I want to share with you a quick scripture. Paul was whining just a little bit, in Second Timothy two and four — and, uh, excuse me, Second Timothy four and ten. He said: "For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. He departed to Thessalonica. Titus unto Dalmatia. Crescents to Galatia." Verse 11, he says: "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with me, for he is profitable to me for the ministry." Then verse 16 — he just kind of listening to things. He's kind of whining just a little bit. Anybody ever find yourself there, listening to all the things that's gone wrong, and the people that have left you? That's what Paul was doing. Verse 16, he said: "That my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." It sounds like a country song, Bishop. They're writing a country song right here. Amen. "My wife left, dog left, trump won't start, but he's all gone." That's kind of Paul right here. But then he gets to verse 17, and he says — notwithstanding, "all my buddies left me" — he said, "But the Lord stood with me." And watch what he says: "And strengthen me, that by me the preaching might fully be known, and that all Gentiles might hear." Now he's building. He's saying, "You know what, there's some good things that happen." He said, "And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And furthermore, the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom." Thank God. Paul talks himself through it, and finally realizes that it doesn't matter who left him, who did — it's not standing with him — that when God stands with you, you get strengthened. You get noticed. You get delivered from every evil work. You get preserved. Hallelujah. It doesn't matter who walks out on you. God will always walk with you. He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Amen. God is better than anybody or anything else to have in this world. Amen. Take the whole world, but give me Jesus. When you stand for God, he will stand for you. He will stand for you.

Often in the Bible, you will find that God is actually referred to as sitting on the throne — Jesus sitting on the right hand of power, which of course represents authority, the right hand, the authority of God. But in Acts chapter 7, you find one of the few instances here — it's a little different. When they were stoning Stephen, Acts 7 and verse 55, the Bible says: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus" — he's not sitting, he's standing — "on the right hand of God." You know what I think is happening? I think when the world starts messing with God's children, God stands up. And when God stands up, it's kind of like your daddy getting up out of that easy chair, after he done told y'all to stop messing around. I remember me and my brother doing mischievous things, and eventually would get out of control. Finally, you'd, you'd hear that old recliner, that, that seat go down, and you'd hear the cushions of that arm — you know, he'd be putting his arms down, pushing himself up. And, uh, when Dad stood up, we knew, "Oh, it's about to get serious." We knew somebody's fixing

to get it. I believe somebody's fixing to get it, and it's the devil, right here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I believe that somebody's marriage is about to be reconciled. I believe that somebody's about to be blessed. I believe that somebody is about to get a better job. I believe somebody's about to get a miracle. I believe somebody's about to get the Holy Ghost. I believe somebody can be baptized, washing away all your sins, today. Because maybe you've been in a test. Maybe you've been in the fire. But today you can decide. You can take a stand. You can say, "God, I'm coming home. I can't fight this by myself anymore. I'm taking a stand." And I can sense the Savior. He's sitting, perhaps, but I can hear him right now. He sees that you're in a mess, but he sees you taking a stand. And he's kicking that chair down, and he's standing up, and he's saying, "Who's messing with my kids?" And listen, when our heavenly Father stands up, the devil scamper away like scared cats, and demons have to flee, and sickness has to go. And you can be delivered, and you can be healed. And God can touch your heart and your life. When our heavenly Father stands up, he will heal you and fill you, in Jesus' name.

Let's stand together right now. I feel the Holy Ghost in this place. I would love for the musicians to come at this time. I feel like God is standing right now. And he sees the battle you're in. He knows where you are. He knows what you're struggling with. Amen. I want you to come on down right now. And when you do, you're taking a stand. You're saying, "I got to get to the altar. I need to get to the front, because I'm going to tell the Lord today, I'm making up my mind. I'm going to follow the Lord." There is great power in the decision, and standing for the Lord. Somebody's been double-minded. You've been wavering. God is going to strengthen you today. God is going to help you. If you will stand for him, he will stand for you. Hallelujah. Oh, let's love him right now. Let's love him right now. Go ahead, go ahead and lift up your hands right now to the Lord, and say, "God, I'm taking a stand. I'm going to follow what you've been telling me to do. I'm going to go ahead and obey it today. I'm going to do it today. I'm taking a stand. I need to be baptized. You can do it today." Hallelujah. "I need the Holy Ghost right now." Why don't you just lift up your hands, and just begin to worship the Lord, as they begin to sing. You can get it right now. You can receive your miracle right now. The devil is a liar. He's been telling you lies. Amen. He is a delusive liar. Amen. I choose to believe the word of God. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Yes. Go ahead, in Jesus' name. Right now. Right now. Yes, yes, yes. Go ahead. Right now. Jesus, you are here. Has overcome.