Introduction
Looking at our society, there are things set down as standards. There are various expectations placed on us, and even pressure us to fit into the mold of society. Sadly, many attitudes, perspectives, and behaviours do not match that which God would desire us to have. Nowadays people are coming up to be all types of things except what God desires us to be. Our high desires to belong, to be accepted, to feel loved, and all that leads us to conform to the standards of this world. We turn to throw Paul's counsel into the bin when he says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers [sisters], by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) You and I have been called to be different. A Christian is distinguished by his/her different lifestyle in the midst of a multitude. Beloved, dare to be different.
Today, we measure our righteousness to the sin of others. We have lost focus on the fact that Jesus Christ is the standard but not that which is in the world.
Daniel and his brothers found themselves in a similar situation as we find ourselves today. They were in a foreign land but dared to be different (Daniel 8:1).
As Christians and non-Christians, we must embrace the fact that we are sojourners on earth. I agree with Shakespeare when he says the world is a stage and we are all just actors; we all have entrance and exit. This world indeed is not our home, we are just passing through and our treasures are laid up in Heaven.
Our standard of measure to make it to this place is Jesus Christ who is "the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne." Hebrews 12:2, which is Heaven is only in Jesus Christ.
Precious one, for the joy of where our Father is preparing for us [Heaven], dare to be different.
How do I choose to be different in this present age?
This is the age, where sinful acts are praised and given popularity. This is the age where the odd person is one who wants to see the right thing done. In an information age where pornography and sex knock at your door, cheating - trade, contract, or relationship is deemed as smartness and wise.
How do you choose to be different?
1. IT STARTS WITH JESUS
(1John 5:11-12)
One thing that we must know is that, if you are not born again and transformed by the renewing of the mind, the only difference you can be is being more deadly to outsmart your compatriots.
As we have already indicated, our faith begins with Christ and ends with Christ.
Jesus calls on and receives the sinner when He says, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (HCSB) God will give you rest from slavery to sin, evil bondage, captivity, promise and fail, evil attacks etc. Just come to Jesus Christ to rewrite your story.
It starts with Jesus only who is "the way, the truth and the life", access to the Kingdom of God is not in anyone except Christ Jesus to those who are God's sons and daughters. John 1:12 gives the distinctive qualification of children of God as "...to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13 (HCSB)
Who then is Jesus? He is the one and only one with Him I have eternal life. "And this is the testimony [we have]: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life." 1 John 5:11-12 (HCSB)
This is Jesus Christ, He's our Saviour and Lord, through whom we are presented to God in His righteousness.
Remember this, without the new life in God through Christ, we have already missed the target of God's Kingdom. The need for this new life in Jesus Christ;
i. Jesus Empowers Us to be Different.
We cannot be different unless we receive divine help. The Psalmist says, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever." Psalms 73:26 (HCSB) The strength to be different is not in our abilities but in Christ's control of our lives. So Jesus did not leave us as orphans and said, "the Counselor, the Holy Spirit — the Father will send Him in My name — will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you." John 14:26 (HCSB)
The power to be different is in the Holy Spirit, "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" Acts 1:8 (KJV)
ii. Jesus Makes Us Co-Heirs of the Kingdom of God.
"When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “ Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:4-7 (HCSB) The life in the Kingdom is in the Son, the full assurance of our inheritance in God. "The one who has the Son has life" 1 John 5:12 (HCSB).
2. COME OUT AND BE DIFFERENT
(Titus 2:11-14, Daniel 1)
Belteshazzar, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego were simply in a pool of young ones taken into captivity. They had lost every right in their lives and only had the option to obey their slave masters. Meanwhile, they came out to be different.
Cast your mind to the things around us today, the very things we do in disobedience to our Father in Heaven are what we usually say, 'it is not me oooo', 'I had no choice', 'it was beyond me', etc.
In the midst of all that, God wants you to be different therefore, precious one, come out to be different.
The Apostle Paul had to deal with a messenger of Satan in His body but God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) Because of God's grace, we can come out and be different. "For the grace of God ... teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)
In coming out to be different you must;
i Be bold in the faith.
We actually compromise when we are afraid of the consequences of being different. We are afraid of what people would say, afraid of losing a job or loved one, afraid of being punished, afraid of rejection, afraid of our own lives, etc.
In face of death threats, the Church prayed, "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." Acts 4:29 (NIV) We need to pray when faced with threats.
Daniel came out boldly and said to the guard, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink." Daniel 1:12 (NIV)
You are compromising sexually because of what to eat and wear or a job or fear of losing a relationship. Note this; anything that drives on wheels of fear has no future, therefore, you have already lost it. It is blackmail. Be bold and come out to be different.
ii Expect Challenges.
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." John 15:18-19 (NIV)
The world is an enemy to all those who step out to be different. As children of light, the world with its darkness will come at us but we must stand firm to be different.
The world will reject, hate, lie about us, give false testimonies about us, unjustly accuse us, deny us what is rightfully ours, etc. Remember, they did it to our Master. As the hymnist says,
Go, labor on; spend, and be spent;
Thy joy to do the Father’s will;
It is the way the Master went;
Should not the servant tread it still?
Go, labor on: ’tis not for nought;
Thy earthly loss is heav’nly gain;
Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not;
The Master praises, what are men?
Go, labor on; your hands are weak,
Your knees are faint, your souls cast down;
Yet falter not; the prize you seek
Is near, a kingdom and a crown.
No matter the circumstances, come out boldly and be different. Always remember, it is not with our strength to do this but the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which strengthens and teaches us to all truth. It is in the grace He offers us that we are able to come out to be different (Titus 2:11-12).
Precious one, we are not to abuse the grace which also forgives us our sins. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1-2 (NIV)
3. STAND OUT! DON'T COMPROMISE
Daniel 3
"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)
After accepting Jesus Christ to be a child of God- that is when my dear, you became my true brother or sister, and boldly come out to be different, it is not the end, you must stand out firmly else you will be pushed to compromise.
A Christian brother/sister with sexual desires and being awakened every morning with the feeling of being caressed or spooned with good sex meanwhile, you are not married. If you do not stand out, you may be tempted to compromise. Especially, when beautiful sexy ladies and handsome guys are always within your reach. The passion way the devil has activated for young Christians is to masturbate with the idea that, I have not slept with anyone -it's a lie, watch out!.
Temptations are on this Christian journey every day without a break. It is the determined soul that conquers and keeps conquering.
How to stand out and not compromise;
i . You ought to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
They should become your guiding principles to live a life of integrity.
"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)
Fruit on a tree is not given to it, but they bear them through a gradual process called photosynthesis. You must bear the fruit of the Spirit, it is not given but comes from conscious desire and work on one's Christian maturity. They always prepare their food in the sunlight. Precious one, without Christ Jesus, who is the Light of the world (John 8:12), we cannot bear fruit to stand out.
When we bear the nine fruit, they become our strength when we grow weak. Eg. Self-control will keep us in check from wrong sexual desires. The three Jews stood out because they had forbearance or longsuffering and therefore would not compromise in any way even in the face of a burning furnace.
ii You ought to put on the whole armour of God.
"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." Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
The attack on us to compromise is not only physical, so he says, "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." Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
You may be wondering why is it so difficult to stand out in your life, the one thing you need is the whole armour of God.
The evil one may come against you with occasional diseases - those that only come during exams, against marriage - will make every relationship that could lead to marriage slip out, etc.
Precious one, do not despair, the belt of truth will save you, the breastplate of righteousness will protect you, your shoes of the gospel of peace will put you on higher grounds, the shield of faith will quench the evil flaming arrows towards you, the helmet of salvation will give you a place in the Kingdom and the sword of the Spirit will be your guide always.
To compromise is to lose your guards. Someone once told me, 'Ei Papa Ahenkan, life out there is so beautiful and sweet but what you speak of feels too boring. See someone promising you half of Ghana, then I'll do everything to get it.' I told her, that is a compromise. Would you leave the whole United States of America and let down your guards to take half of Ghana? She was quiet. God has promised us Heaven full of enjoyment, do not compromise on this little happiness the world gives.
Compromising is to let go of the joy set before you for some chicken change thinking it is enough.
"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 have done everything, to stand. Stand firm..." Ephesians 6:13-14 (NIV)
4. THE BIBLE: MY LIFE GUIDE
2 Timothy 3:14-17, Psalm 119:1-19
As you stand firm, hold onto your guide of life, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [Bible]." Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NIV)
As we stand out to be different without compromising, God expects us to do good works. God's goodness is not in the standards of this world but in His word to thoroughly equip us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17).
The Psalmist asked the question, "How can a young person [chosen one] stay on the path of purity [to be different]? By living according to your word." Psalms 119:9 (NIV)
You cannot have anyone in this pervert generation to be my guide as to whether I am right with God or not, God's word is my true guide in this new life. You can have role models to learn from, but the standard of your life is in Christ Jesus.
When I become different, I become blameless before God, then I am connected to the blessings in Psalm 119:1-2.
You can be different when you constantly measure yourself according to God's "laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed." (Psm. 119:4
In this dark and perverted generation, the only light Christians need is God's word which is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path (Psm. 119:105)
Beloved in Christ, let us seek Him with all our hearts so that we will not stray from His commandments.
Can we say we are different? YES! when we study God's word and show ourselves approved and as workmen who are not ashamed to be different. God's word must be hidden in our hearts so that we would not sin against Him.
We are to develop a disciplined devotional life with the use of SU's devotional guide; Daily Guide, Daily Power, and/or Daily Super Food.
This will practically sharpen us to stand against all the tricks and conning ways of the devil whiles we dare to be different.
Shalom aleichem...
