Chris Tomlin wrote the lyrics, "The cross before me/the world behind/no turning back/raise the banner high/it's not for us/it's all for You" As we sang this song the other day in church God brought new meaning to it for me...
Isaiah 49:22 (NIV) reads "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.'" The King James version of that same verse reads: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders."
So many people have issues with the holiness standards of the United Pentecostal Church, but it's not about us. It's not about me, or you, or your Pastor...it's about God. These are His standards and He choses to use them as a banner to the nations declaring that we are His church! I heard a preacher say that our holiness standards are to the Spirit world like the American flag is to the earthly world...you know us by the flag we wave. If you see a battleship coming you look for the flag to identify which country that ship is from. It's that same for God's church.Our holiness standards are a flag waving high in the air saying "Look at us!! Come to where we are and you will find the living God!" If we look and act like every other person out in the world then how will the hurting know who to come to for answers? We need to get over our fear of rejection, fear of submission, or whatever it is holding us back and raise our banners high, because it's not for us, it's all for Him.
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