The Lord's Side

In the wake of the whole event with the golden calf in Exodus 32, Moses sees that the people are out of control. This was the backdrop for our reading this morning, where we saw Moses say “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me!” (26). We learn that the sons of Levi were the ones who gathered on the Lord’s side, and at the instructions of Moses they proceeded to kill about three thousand men that day (28). Are you on the Lord’s side? We studied last week about the dark side, examining from the Scripture about Satan who is leading the forces of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Today let us examine the right side, the Lord’s side, in contrast to the dark side.

The first principle I want to mention is that you have an option.

We get to pick which team we’re on. This is not the NFL draft where a team picks you. In Joshua 24:15 Joshua gave the people a choice to serve the Lord or the gods of their fathers and of the Amorites. In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah told the prophets of Baal: “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” The choice to follow God is ours; nobody else can make this decision for us. It is a personal choice.

Don’t make the wrong choice. If you recall the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the end of the movie when Elsa made her choice by picking the wrong cup for Walter Donovan to drink from, leading to his death. The Grail Knight responded by saying “he chose poorly” (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0245517/quotes). Life is full of choices, as George Jones sang about several years ago. Sometimes it seems confusing which way to go. Dorothy came to a fork in the yellow brick road when the scarecrow first appears. She had a choice to make, and the scarecrow tried to help her out. He said “pardon me, that way is a very nice way…it’s pleasant down that way, too…of course people do go both ways” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yejtZgzB5Ik).

When it comes to the dark side and the Lord’s side, you can’t go both ways. Make sure you choose the right option by aligning yourself on the Lord’s side. It’s your option; choose wisely.

The second principle I want to mention is you have an opportunity. 

Look at this as the offensive side of things. Many people are watching basketball right now, commonly referred to as March Madness. They hear those terms offense and defense. Think about the Lord’s people being on offense with the things we can be proactive in regarding our Christianity. We get the opportunity to do good (Acts 10:38); to be servants (Jn. 13:14); to let our lights shine (Mt. 5:16); to teach others about the Lord (Mk. 5:19).

The other night I was listening to the Vanderbilt and Tennessee basketball game in the SEC tournament. Tennessee was being passive and letting Vanderbilt control what happened with the game. Tennessee went on to come from behind and defeat Vanderbilt because they stopped being passive and went on the offensive. Christianity is not for passive people. If you are letting the dark side dictate what happens in your life, you are going to fail.

Princess Anna sang with Hans in the movie Frozen Love is an Open Door. When those doors open, you have to go through them. In life we have open doors. If you are passive, you choose not to go through them. In Revelation 3:8 the Lord had put an open door before the Philadelphia congregation. This was some type of golden opportunity, but they were going to have to take advantage of it. Those on the Lord’s side need to take advantage of these opportunities.

The third and final principle I want to mention in conjunction with being on the Lord’s side is the fact that you have an opponent.

Look at this as the defensive side of things. With all of the things pertaining to the dark side we looked at last week, we need to understand that we as Christians need to know our opponent. In the sports world, it is understood that before you play your opponent, you must know your opponent to have the advantage.

In a post game press conference where coach Denny Green was questioned about the greatness of the other team, he said “they are who we thought they were” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWmQbk5h86w). We need to know our opponent, Satan. Sometimes we will be on the offensive as Christians, but sometimes we’re going to be on the defensive. These are the times that Satan comes against us. Don’t let Satan block us from our goal. In basketball defenders will try to block your shot and keep you from the goal. You must play defense as well to keep them from scoring. We can do this by taking up the full armor of God. Paul says:

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:14-17).

Christians need to stand up against the devil when he comes against us. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7). Our bodies are even equipped with certain defense mechanisms to protect us from certain harmful things. How much more should the body of Christ need to be on defense against the devil?

In Numbers 16 we have the account of Korah, a man who rallied 250 men to rise up with him against Moses, and in so doing they in the words of Moses were “…gathered together against the Lord” (11). These who were found going against the Lord were swallowed alive when the ground opened up taking them to Sheol. They were not on the Lord’s side, and we can read about their fate.

Which side will you pick? Proverbs 16:25 says “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” This morning don’t be caught on the other side from the Lord, for there are eternal consequences at stake. Abraham Lincoln once said “I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right, but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side” (https://www.haikudeck.com/the-lords-side-uncategorized-presentation-AjQI2BrDLP#slide-8). As we sing at times, “who will follow Jesus, who will make reply, I am on the Lord’s side, Master here am I” (http://www.hymnlyrics.org/lyricsw/who_will_follow_jesus.html).