Do you have patio umbrellas?

We have 3 of them.  They are all 9’ in diameter.

One is in our patio dining table and the other 2 are stand-alone umbrellas plugged into 2 different bases to give them support.  One sits behind and over top of 2 Muskoka chairs where Anne and I often sit.  The other one is an “extra” that we set up behind our sectional if the sun is shining directly onto it.

All three block out the sun and the rain.  They are all attractive and add to the aesthetic of the patio.  They all have the same cranking mechanism to open up and close the umbrella.  Each one of them can tilt as well.

However, there is a key difference in one of them…

We generally leave the umbrellas up regardless of the weather, but whenever the wind starts to blow we crank them all down to reduce wind resistance to ensure they don’t blow away.

I noticed something today when the wind began to blow.  Two of the umbrellas held fast – no chance of them falling down or blowing away.  One of them fell down immediately.  As I watched it fall over I thought,

“I don’t want to be that kind of man – toppling over at the first sign of opposition.”

So why do the 2 umbrellas hold fast and the 1 umbrella falls over when the wind blows?  The secret to their strength lies in their base.  All three umbrellas are equal except for the base they stand upon.

The umbrella in the dining table has 2 points of support, at the ground level and at the table height.  The umbrella covering the Muskoka chairs has a very heavy cast iron 4 square foot base with a locking nut to hold the umbrella firm.

The weakest umbrella, the one that easily falls down, is in a light weight round metal base.  It has a locking nut as well, but the round base is too light and unstable because of its shape.  That’s the reason this umbrella cannot hold fast in the face of opposition.

What about you?  What kind of base are you standing upon?  Are you like the umbrellas holding fast to a firm foundation that can withstand strong winds?  Or, are you like the one umbrella standing upon a weak foundation that topples over when the wind comes?

What enables us to stand firm when we face opposition?  What is the foundation we need to be standing upon?

God/Jesus.

What does that mean?  How do we stand in Jesus?

King David spoke often about the Lord being his rock, his fortress, his refuge, his stronghold.
David would run to the Lord for His help.  David would stand in the Truth of who God is and what God had promised.  David also spoke about how the Lord would lift him out of a pit and put him on a rock.  The rock of Truth.

David had to choose to believe God, and that He is who He said He is.  He had to put his faith in God.

Jesus came saying that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He also said that if we want to build our lives on a firm foundation we need to obey His words.  Not just believe His words, but put them into practice.  We must believe that He is who He said He is, and then obey what He has asked us to do.

Belief in, and obedience to God is our rock.

Paul outlines how we can stand firm in the face of spiritual opposition: Truth, Faith, the Word of God, the righteousness and salvation of Christ, and the Gospel of the Kingdom.  This is a life that is built on belief in and obedience to Jesus and His Word.

The only firm foundation we can stand on is Jesus, believing and obeying the Truth.

If you find yourself “toppling over” in the face of opposition, take a look at where you’re standing on your own and not in Christ.  Where are you not believing in and obeying Him?

Let’s be wise “umbrellas” standing firm in Him.

Matthew 7:24, 25

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Psalm 40:2

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

Ephesians 6:14-17

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Psalm 18:2

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

As we sat in the sunshine looking out at the beautiful calm waters of Okanagan Lake my friend looked at me and said,

“I don’t think the enemy cares as much about Christ in us as he does about Christ coming out of us.”

That is brilliant.

Scripture clearly tells us that Christ is in us.  The Spirit of the Living God is alive in us.  In fact, it is Christ in us that is our hope of glory.  The Holy Spirit is like a river of living water inside us.  The miracle of our life in Christ is that we are in Him and He is in us by His spirit.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the pinnacle of our human existence in Self-Actualization.  That philosophy is built on the tenants of Humanistic Psychology.  As followers of Christ our goal is not self-actualization, but Jesus-actualization – more of Him and less of me.  We want to see more of the nature and character of Christ in our lives.

Have you been uniquely created, and crafted in the image of God?  Yes.  Do you have unique gifts, talents and abilities?  Yes.  Do you have unique experiences and perspectives that have shaped who you are?  Yes.  And, it is through the uniqueness of who you are that Jesus wants to demonstrate who He is.

Do we have a sin nature we need to take to the cross?  Yes.  Do we have sinful habits and desires we need to surrender to Jesus?  Yes.  Do we need to continue to fight for freedom from the lies of the enemy, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life?  Yes.

It is Christ in us by the power of His Spirit that cleanses us, and transformers us to be like Christ.  Our minds and hearts are renewed in Christ so we are more like Him.

And that is where the real power lies.

We must not stay in a complacent state of ignorant contentment to simply have Christ in us, but must endeavor to have Christ come out of us by way of a transformed life.  How do we live differently because Christ is in us?  How is our life in Christ put into action?

How does Jesus come out of us?

Scripture tells us in Philippians 2:12-13

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

This is basically saying that Christ is in you through your salvation, and now you need to work out your salvation so Christ will be demonstrated through you – and God makes you both willing and able to do that.  Jesus wants to work through you to impact the people around you.

Jesus is in us so He can flow out of us like living water to the quench the thirsty souls of those in our spheres of influence and authority.

Jesus is in you so He can work through you.

Don’t be content with simply having Christ in you.  Don’t be content with simply being saved.  Now we need to work out our salvation so Christ works through us for the benefit of others.  We need to grow in our understanding of how Jesus wants to love others through us.

You may be the only Jesus someone every meets.

How will you be His hands, His feet, His voice, His arms, His heart for someone today?

Our prayer needs to be, “Lord Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in me and through me today.  Jesus, by the power of your Spirit would you work in me and through me today.”

As James said, “…faith without deeds is useless.”  Jesus is in you so He can work through you.  Let’s make sure Jesus comes out of us in the form of love and good deeds toward others.

Jesus in you and Jesus through you.  Let Him out.

Romans 12:2

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

John 7:38

“’Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

Galatians 1:27

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

My son and I recently went to see the new King Arthur movie.  I was pleasantly surprised.

I’m sure all of us are familiar with the legend of King Arthur to some degree.  I was vaguely aware of the story of a beloved English King named Arthur who had ruled with amazing grace and strength.  His true identity as the chosen king was publicly revealed when he was able to pull the sword from the stone – Excalibur.

I didn’t go into this latest version of this legend with many preconceived ideas because I couldn’t remember previously seeing an epic movie about King Arthur.  I did know enough to know that the story had been told in myriad ways in modern history.

I understand that this latest version is told with a very different twist.  A twist I found very engaging…

Arthur is portrayed as a young man who is completely unaware of who he is.  He is actually the son of the murdered king, and, therefore, the rightful heir to the throne.  His father and mother were both killed when he was a toddler by his wicked uncle.  He was miraculously whisked away to safety down river in a boat.  (Very Moses-esque)

He ends up being taken in and raised by prostitutes in a brothel.  By his own confession he is the “bastard child of a prostitute”.  That is his identity.  That is who he believes he is.  Nothing more.

Through a miraculous event, Excalibur is revealed and the legend of a coming King – a new ruler with a Kingdom of freedom – grows and grows.  This terrifies the evil King who rules with fear and intimidation.  So, he sets out to find out who can pull the sword from the stone and kill the one who is able to claim Excalibur.

To cut a long story short, Arthur is able to pull the sword from the stone and is immediately imprisoned awaiting his execution.  He pleads with the evil king that he’s got the wrong man – “I am no King, I don’t want to be king.  I am a child of a prostitute.  I have no father.”

We are then invited into Arthur’s journey of discovery into who he really is.  He has to choose to believe the truth about himself, and the responsibility that comes with that truth.  He has to put aside what he has previously believed about himself.  It is a journey into apprehending his true identity.

I loved the perspective this film took on this epic tale.  A young man who doesn’t understand who he really is gets invited into a story far greater than himself – for the benefit of others.  He has a choice: will he hold to the lies he has believed and live a small life, or will he embrace the truth and become who he was created, crafted and called to be?

Do you know why I loved this story so much?  Because it’s our story!

We are all ‘King Arthurs’.  We are sons of the King – sons of God.  We have grown up in a world of lies, sowed by the evil one who is terrified of who we truly are.  And the only way we get hold of our true identity is by taking hold of our sword.  What Arthur called Excalibur, we call the Bible.

By pulling our Excalibur out of the stone of apathy, complacency, cowardice and unbelief we take up the sword of the Spirit and what we believe about ourselves begins to change.  The Truth transforms us when we take hold of it in both hands and own it.  We have a choice to believe the lies we have believed about ourselves, or believe the Truth that we are beloved sons of God called to rule in His authority as Kingdom ambassadors.

We have actually been tasked by our King to make His spiritual enemies a footstool for his feet by fighting for the freedom of His Kingdom in the lives of people trapped in darkness.

You are a ‘King Arthur’ called my God to take hold of His sword of Truth and rule in His name for the benefit of others.

“Excalibur” is your sword too!  Pick it up and believe the Truth of who you are.

Ephesians 6:7

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Psalm 110:1-3

“The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’  The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’  Your troops will be willing on your day of battle.  Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.”

2 Corinthians 6:18

“And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’”

1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message)

“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”