Our new church teaching series in Daniel has certainly set out a challenge. It’s affirming what we already know deep down – that our lives are supposed to look a whole lot different from the world we find ourselves a part of.
Daniel and others like him raise the bar in our journey of faith. They scream the obvious – that our faith and walk with God is supposed to look like something. The truth is sometimes uncomfortable, and as we continue to look at the book and life of this incredible man of God, we are forced into that wonderful place of self-examining our own walk of faith. The purpose is to draw us closer to truth, to challenge the parts of our lives where we are settling and possibly compromising on the kingdom message, and of course to inspire us to just simply start living it.

There’s is no doubt about it, there is a call on our lives as followers of Jesus to stand out and stand up, to be His “now” expression in the world and put His kingdom on display.
Every generation has faced the same challenge and no doubt tried to figure out what it looks like. How do we be in the world but not of it? How do we rub shoulders with our world and not have its ways and values rub off on us?

In a culture where anything goes except the Christian message, how on earth do we find our voice, stand up for what we believe, speak truth and not be seen as critical or judgemental?

How do we do this all with His expression of love?
I loved what Jeff Lucas said in the very first week and totally agree with his line of thought.
For too long, Christians have been known for what we don’t do. Ask most people what they think about followers of Jesus and the majority will probably give reference to rules and regulations. Grant it – there is something about what we say “no” to, that should reflect our inward holy condition that Jesus won for us. However there is something not right when we are known more for what we don’t do, rather than what we do.

The balance needs to be tipped in favour of what we actually do. Our actions should scream of an invisible kingdom of God, where He is good, where He is love and where He cares about every single person we have the pleasure of living on earth with.

We should be, and are a positive force for good on our planet.
So what exactly does that look like?
I had a moment last week. Knowing that Griff had asked me to pen something to send to you lovely people, my mind was on overload trying to refine a lot of thoughts into something short and sweet. I came across this little verse tucked away in the message version of Matthew
““Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant.”

Matthew 23:11-12 MSG
Even this statement itself is counter cultural. We live in a relatively selfish planet. Our lives revolve around ourselves and we serve our own needs. Jesus teaches something different – some call it an upside down kingdom. Putting others first. Sacrificing something to promote the wellbeing of another. That’s what the kingdom of God is all about.

It’s not about Standing out for standing outs sake, but standing out because we are citizens of heaven and live like heaven is on earth. Standing out and standing up because we have a cause that we believe in.
I am called. You are called to be different.
God has set apart a people called by his name and for his name
If you call yourself a follower of Jesus – you have one job, like His, to point people to our Heavenly Father.
I love that Daniel was successful, that he found favour with position and stood out from the others around him. At the start, his experience was positive. But when standing out became awkward, when standing out affected his walk and what he believed at his core – he didn’t alter to maintain position, but stayed true to the call of God on his life.
I often wonder will it be easy to stand when everyone else is sitting down…. Like Daniel, we must keep our eyes up. We need to walk close with God, understand His heart and literally fight to protect the heart of our King and what he stands for.

When we stray from God, we typically gravitate towards something else. It’s the subtle gravitation towards our culture that has the greatest impact.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Romans 12:1-2 MSG
Do you want to stand out?

Serve others

Love others.

Help others.

Encourage others.

Be light in the darkness.

Bring hope to the disappointed.

Be love.
Make what’s invisible, visible.
That’s standing out.