I wonder, how many of you are either German or Scandinavian? Is it 70 or 80%, or even higher? And do you know what that means? We have a whole room full of stubborn, grouchy people!! When I was growing up my mom, who was English, said of my father, who is pure Norwegian, “You can always tell a Norwegian, but you can’t tell them much.” And sometimes as Swedes and Danes and Norwegians and Germans we put our feet down and they won’t move. In the old order of service when I would install officers in the church the old King James Version of I Corinthians 15:58 was used which read, “Be steadfast, unmovable” and those new officers and committee chairs said that they would have no trouble with that!! In a Lutheran understanding of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” we have changed the second verse to read, “Brothers, we are treading where we’ve always trod.”

So the answer to the question posed by the sermon title is an easy answer!! The sermon title asks, “Where will you stand?” And I bet you will answer – “Where I have always been standing!” And if you are standing in the right place that is the right answer. But if your feet or soul find the wrong footing than we ask God to give us the proper footing!

Some in the days that Paul wrote this letter were standing in the wrong steps. “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19).

Who are enemies of the cross of Christ? It might be us. We may stand against what the cross of Christ desires to do. We are an enemy of the cross of Christ when we live lives that do not bring God glory. An enemy of the cross is anyone who lives an ungodly life. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive our demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

At the time of Paul some folks felt that the body was evil but the spirit or soul was good. Therefore, if your body wanted to get drunk, sleep around, be as wicked as you desire, that is fine. It is the evil body just doing its thing, but all the while the spirit has a smile in the pleasure. I bet a number of people converted to that religion!! We are an enemy of the cross if we live ungodly, unholy and sinful lives. We cheapen grace if we rejoice in forgiveness but stumble in our call to follow Him, and are not concerned about that inconsistent witness.

The enemy of the cross is also the one who does not believe that the cross is God’s way of salvation and forgiveness. If anyone runs to their own works to establish their place before God, showing to Him how good they have been, they reject the cross – it becomes an enemy. To achieve eternal life, salvation and heaven without the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross is to live in unbelief. When Paul writes to Galatians he presents this dilemma to them, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (3:1-3)

Where do we stand? We can’t stand as an enemy of this cross. We can’t bring the greatest disgrace to God by rejecting the full work that Jesus did there. We must be confident that His gift of grace through Jesus is ours by a heart of trust. And we cannot be an enemy of this cross by living with a life that is defiant to God’s will. He desires us to be holy people. We stand as a friend of the cross – amazed that God would send a gift of His love to such an extent to us!! In our text Paul says, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philippians 3:20) Our mind and heart and soul find comfort that our feet stand there and that we have a living faith in Christ right here.

In the Gospel reading for today (Luke 13:34) Jesus laments where many people stood in relationship to Him, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” There was a lady, now older, who recounted this story about life on the farm where she had lived for many years. She was at her kitchen window and noticed a mother hen scurrying to gather her chicks. Then the woman saw a shadow move across the yard and in an instant knew that it must have been a chicken hawk. One chick had been too slow at answering the mother hen’s call and the hawk pounced on it. That much of the incident did not surprise the woman who had lived most of her life on that farm. What happened next amazed her.

She hadn’t noticed when the hawk had first cruised in, but in an instant the mother hen had left her other chicks and ran/flew across that yard as fast as a chicken can travel. The saver and the predator arrived at that same time and there was a ferocious collision. The hen emerged from the explosion of feathers, with blood splattered all over her white coat, with a little chick beneath her wing. The hawk flopped around until succumbing to the mortal wound.

And all for a chick, who didn’t stay close!! Jesus gives us a picture where we need to stand, or sit, or find refuge – all in His care. What a good place to be!! We find ourselves under His wings, with His gracious and strong hands upon us. We treasure the cross and we are thankful that for each of us individually, for every chick (and for us who aren’t chicks!!) Jesus came to live and die and bring us life. We stand secure and confident in Him. In the same chapter of our text we read, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” (Philippians 3:7-9)

This is how we stand. In our wonderfully stubborn ways we stand without compromise on the truth that through the cross of Christ and in His resurrection we have sins washed away and we are considered righteous. The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) And we stand upright and straight and confident not just how things will be with God upon death but how things are right now in life. I want to present you with a great challenge today. And it comes to us from the words that Paul uses at the beginning of the reading, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” (Philippians 3:17) Paul says, “Follow my example”. Sometimes folks will say, “Do what I say, NOT what I do.” We are strong in words but weak in actions. He calls us not just to ‘talk the talk’, but to ‘walk the walk’.

He is asking for much more here. If one of those in our Confirmation class, or a person who is a new believer in Christ, or one who is seeking to know about Christianity would come and say, “I want to know how a Christian is supposed to act and I want to know what a Christian is supposed to do.” You and I should be able to say to them, “A Christian should do as I do.” Could you say that? Can I say that? That is where we should stand.

And we stand there not gloating about how good we are, but how good God is that He would put us under His wings and protect us and save us and love us. St. Paul was not a boaster here in himself. He was the guy that called himself “the worst of sinners” (I Timothy 1:15), but he is also one who treasured that God gave him a second chance. Earlier in his writings he said, “Whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Philippians 1:27) We are to let our light shine before men that they will see our good deeds and give praise to our Father who is in heaven. (See Matthew 5:16)

The last verse of our text says, “Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.” (Philippians 4:1) How do you stand? Use all that stubbornness that God has gifted you with and stand firm in the Lord happy that you are His redeemed creation and that you can be an example to the entire world of a great Lord and Savior. That’s where we stand!! Amen!!