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  THE STANDARD OF THE LORD LIFTED UP
  by Joshua Daniel
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of bearing the standard of
the Lord amidst worldly entanglements and spiritual battles.

Duration: 59:50 Topics: "Gods Presence", "Spiritual Victory"

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DESCRIPTION
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In this sermon, Joshua Daniel explores the powerful concept of lifting
up the standard of the Lord, drawing from biblical principles and
examples to illustrate the importance of exalting God's presence and
truth in our lives. He likely delves into the ways in which believers
can practically lift up the Lord's standard, whether in their personal
walk, in their communities, or in the midst of challenging
circumstances. With a focus on the transformative power of God's
presence, Joshua Daniel encourages listeners to seek a deeper
understanding of what it means to lift up the Lord's standard and to
experience the resulting freedom, joy, and victory. Through this
message, he invites believers to join him in embracing a higher standard
of living, one that reflects the glory and majesty of the Lord.

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CONTENT
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Now I am sure many of you have noticed this scripture before, and in
Isaiah 59 and the 19th verse. So shall they fear the name of the Lord
from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun, when the enemy
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a
standard against him. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the
Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Now my dear friends, this is a picture from a battlefield. There used to
be standards that represent the king who is in the midst of the battle,
and there would be standard bearers, and should the standard dip or for
any reason be lowered, oh, it was a signal to the whole army that the
commander has fallen. So if the standard dips, it was an ill omen for
the whole army, and sometimes they betook themselves to flight.

They said the battle is lost, the standard has fallen. So this is an
image from a battlefield. And no man who woreth entangleth himself with
the affairs of the world, we are told.

But you know how neck deep we are in this entanglement today. If you ask
some people, they will say it's debts. I'll never get out of debt.

If you ask other people, they say, as one young fellow said to me, I
asked him after one of my meetings in Dublin, Ireland, Hey, why is it
that you have got a fully shaven head? Oh, he said, I was working in
London, England, and I had just come out of prison. And why? Then he
went on to tell me, of course, but one of the questions he asked me was,
But Mr. Daniel, what do you do? I was just a unmarried young fellow at
that time, or perhaps just married. Whatever it is, he said, what do you
do to overcome this flesh? Or to answer the needs, as he called it, of
the flesh? This is what I did and went to prison.

Well, my dear friends, for a moment he put me on the spot in the sense
that I never thought about such a question. I never did. I said, the
Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for my needs as I travel from place to
place.

And temptations, of course, abound around me. But that does not mean
that I should be subject to them and become a victim to them. No.

So, my dear friends, there are those of us here who, instead of bearing
the standard of the Lord, are hardly able to keep our little agendas
afloat. So here's my little standard. This is what I must keep afloat.

You see, but that cannot be a Christian attitude. Never. How can I be
happy when my neighbor is not happy? You know, my dear friends, it is
very painful to read how the Rotunda, the Capitol, the Houses, the House
as well as the Senate were used for the preaching of the word of God.

You see, they thought nothing of that. They said, come on, come on in.
Preach the word.

And today there are voices that say, oh no, that can't be done.
Shouldn't be done by our Constitution. Never did the writers of the
Constitution ever imagine that it is going to be used against the
preaching of the word of God.

Never. And the nation set on a godless course. Never.

It's a very painful thing as you begin to read some of those things, you
know. I find it extremely painful. And when a standard, a great
standard, begins to dip, begins to falter and fall, you mean to say
there is not a group of people who are concerned? What kind of
mercenaries have we got here? People who can be bought up with money,
whose God is a dollar.

What's the good of having a hundred million such people? No man can
serve two masters. That is clear. No man, no preacher, no person can
serve two masters.

You see how even marriage has become a thing of advantage, where you
consider your pros and cons and weigh up every circumstance and
financial considerations, and then embark into the noble estate of
marriage. What for? To make more money. Is that the end of Christian
blessing? Did you ever say, what is the end of the cross? What is the
end? All right, the beginning, we know, a cleansing for our sins and a
new nature.

But what is the end? That Christ will dwell in you by faith. All right,
if Christ is dwelling in you, is it possible to block the effulgence,
the radiations of Jesus? You mean to say you're going to be such a
blocker that you can block it out? Now, some of these phrases which are
used in the pulpit as mere theological terms are to me very challenging
words. If Christ dwells in me, should Joshua, Daniel be seen? How can
that be? And all my ugliness be seen? And in a moment of provocation, or
in a time of stress, and all my base nature should spring out as in a
volcano? What's that? Who is inside? Who is abiding? Is this all a kind
of show business when you put on a nice appearance in a conference and
carry on that way? Or is it Christ abiding? My beloved people, listen,
don't you become, you know, I like the word coolie.

No, I don't know the word really because I have never been a coolie. A
coolie means a man who works for a paltry sum of money, almost like a
slave. And you say, hey, come on, fella, here's a pit, come on, dig it.

By and by, I'll think about what I'll give you. That's a coolie. And
when you get a coolie mind, oh, I'm going to get so much in wages and so
on.

Some of these coolies hardly know how to make any calculations. And even
if they are given a handsome wage, they hardly know how to use it. Their
minds have become enslaved.

You see, that's what I see in our pews. Minds that are localized, minds
that are enslaved, minds that are money-ridden, dirty minds. And when
they talk about doing anything for God, I say, forget it.

These are not the kind of people that will do a thing for God. It's all
big talk. It's religious enthusiasm.

They don't care if the standard dips. They only think of their own
advantage. My dear friends, listen, that's not discipleship.

That is not Christianity. By and large, that is exactly what we are
having to see today. Do we have people who will be standard bearers?
When the enemy comes in like a flood, some of you know the kind of
circles in which you work far better than me.

Someone told me this morning that a woman, you know, produced a
marvelous resume and landed a job for which she was hardly qualified.
And then from that point, began to climb and climb till she landed
herself a very high position. Well, such maneuvering and clambering and
such like stuff seems to be possible today.

And as you well know, the Eastern mind is geared for that kind of thing.
That is the essence of the Eastern mind. And when Jesus saw Nathanael,
Nathanael, an Israelite in whom there is no guile, no guile, no
pretense, no put on whitewash, just plain straight people.

How nice, you know, when you can deal with people whose yes is yes and
no is no. How simple life becomes. You don't need all this paperwork,
this signing and this promissory notes and this, that and the other.

I have little use for such things. I have hardly any use for such
things. Because I have to take care of the affairs of a fellowship.

Sometimes I have to make sure that the authorities, when they ask for a
paper, I must be able to produce that paper. Here is the receipt you
want. You see, unless they think that I have pocketed the money or
something.

Apart from that, you know, I have no use for such things. It makes life
so complicated and complex. And then the lawyers have to come in.

I like to keep the lawyers out. I won't go into a transaction in which a
lawyer is needed. No, I don't believe in that.

Things get only very complicated and also lawyers have their fears. They
have got to safeguard their clients. So this could happen, that could
happen.

And the person may default and so on and so forth. And then what do you
do? The judge would ask for these papers and so on and so forth. My dear
people, how beautiful life becomes when we just live a plain disciple's
life.

The simplicity of Jesus, it ennobles you. You don't become a pity-minded
person just weeping over these trifling things. There are things to weep
over.

The floods of ungodliness are deluging and inundating the nations. And
what we are doing is pathetic. Pathetic.

Why? Why should it be so? What was God's method when the standard of the
Lord, which he lifts up, was in danger of drooping in Jerusalem or any
place? What was God's method? God's method is the man. God's method is
you and me. That's all.

That's God's method. And you see in the scriptures, that's God's method.
Whenever there was failure, whenever there was defeat, whenever idolatry
spread, what was God's method? God's method was to raise a man.

All right. What you mean to say, we don't have people who will say,
Lord, whatever it may cost, I want to be that person. I want to be that
man.

What's the purpose of studying the Bible all through my life if I am not
geared to be that man? Who is God's method? Oh, it's very, very painful.
You know, there is a desire for self, and there is a leprosy of self.
You know, friends, you know how Elijah turned away the Syrian captain
after the healing of his leprosy.

The man had brought enormous wealth, and as a token of his gratitude,
when he offered it to the prophet, what did the prophet say? Is it such
a time? No, I will not take anything of you. But you know, the mind of
Elijah's servant was very different. In physical proximity, closeness,
Elijah's servant, he had been with Elijah, but he had imbibed nothing of
that spirit that was in Elijah, that freedom from materialism, let's
call it, or that unworldliness.

No, he had not imbibed any of it. So he said, my master has let this man
go off scot-free. Now let me go and take something of him.

So here he was running after the chariot of the Syrian captain, and the
captain elided. Oh, this man had a story concocted. You know, friends,
deceit, lies.

My goodness, I don't know how you deal with lies and liars. I don't
know. I have been raised in the midst of godly people.

No lies. And if there were any lies, there would be a savior judgment
from God. And so, having been brought up in such a manner, I find it
very difficult when I come up with a liar.

First, I can't believe that the man is saying lies. You see, lies are
something foreign to me. And in God's presence, God's company, there
should be, of course, no room for a lie.

For there is not a lie in heaven. And all liars shall have their place
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. All liars.

So there's no room for lies. There's no room for subtle behavior. You
know, there's no room for guile.

No. What a beautiful society. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.

That's liberty. I don't need to pry into your affairs. I don't need to
know.

I don't need to be suspicious that you're trying to do me in or gain an
advantage. No, it's simply not there. You don't find that in non-
Christian circles.

You don't find it in idolatry. Idolatry is all about gaining advantage
over the other person. What a, what a mindset.

Just the opposite of what Jesus gives us. You know, friends, if you
don't get rid of that leprosy, you know, Elijah said to this servant of
his, this leprosy shall cling to you and to your generations and to your
children. And that's exactly what some of us are doing.

We are giving them a leprosy that will cling to them. You want me to
give a leprosy to my children that is going to cling to them? Oh, my
dear people. This is an awful leprosy.

Leprosy of greed. Leprosy of untruth. Leprosy of ingratitude.

Leprosy of self-gain. You know, that's all the way you can think. You
have got eternal vision.

And that's all your eyes will see. What do I gain out of this? You know,
one of the most difficult places where the gospel has been greatly
resisted is in the Impal Valley in Manipur on the borders of Burma. And
there, you know, when I started preaching against idolatry and so on,
they wanted to really hurt me and stone me and so on and so forth.

But the Lord put it in my heart that right there, where these things
were planned against the gospel, right there, there should be a
testimony for the Lord. So, I do not know if this weekend they are
having some special gathering. You know, they have suffered a heavy
blockade with supplies cut off for over a long period.

And I really don't know how the poor are able to eat anything. No
supplies coming in. The only arterial road cut off by insurgents and
anarchists.

Well, in that valley, the Hindus, you know, who were very entrenched.
They said, all right, this gospel may go to the poor tribes, hill
tribes, not the hill tribes. And the hill tribes have their tribal
customs.

Their tribal headband and so on and so forth. Then when we started
preaching there, it brought us into collision with the strong Hindu
forces on the one hand and the strong supposedly Christian forces. Who
were these Christian forces? The Christian forces were the tribal people
who felt that they had every right to cut off the heads of the other
tribes.

They had every right. They had a mandate to do it from their
forefathers. And Christianity or no religion was going to keep them from
their tribal hatred.

So this kind of killing was going on. And here we were preaching love
and souls were getting converted from these warring tribes and all of
them were worshipping together. And I would say, I don't want a drop of
tribal blood in you.

Not a drop of any of that hereditary hatreds. You see, the same which I
say of caste, Christ needs to cleanse you of your blood. That family
blood of yours is tainted with worldliness, polluted, corrupt.

You need the blood of the cross to go through your arteries. My dear
people, you know, dealing with such situations, what is the big question
that some of them ask? What do we gain by turning to Jesus Christ? What
do we gain? My dear friends, the beauty of an inner cleansing, that is
lost upon the world today. And even the word born again has no special
connotation in this country.

What a sad thing. Born again thieves, born again liars? What is that?
Born again covenant breakers? Even the word born again is a matter of
frivolity. What do you mean? Born of Jesus? Born into the kingdom of
God? Born into a new nature? Oh my dear people, when the enemy has come
in like a flood and God wants to lift up a banner a standard against
him, are you going to help? If you turn to Jeremiah 4 chapter and the
sixth verse says, set up the standard towards Zion.

Retire, stay not, for I will bring evil from the north and a great
destruction. Here, Jeremiah was actually asking the people to not resist
the invader, but to go along, because here was prophecy being fulfilled.
And Jeremiah had prayed about this.

And for the return of the captivity, he had prayed about the return of
the captivity. If you turn to 2nd Chronicles 36 chapter, 2nd Chronicles
36 last chapter of the book, verse 20, And them that had escaped from
the sword, carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him
and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the
word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed
her sabbaths. So, the word of the Lord, which Jeremiah had prophesied
about a rebellious people, had come to pass.

And Jeremiah and Daniel had prayed for these people, interceded. You
know, my dear friends, when I talk about intercession, my own heart
condemns me. It grieved the Lord that there was no intercessor.

Today, we are all a very busy people, aren't we? And we take great pride
in the fact of saying, hey, I'm far too busy. Why didn't the Lord Jesus
Christ ever say those words? Wasn't he busy? He had only three years in
which to complete his mission. Wasn't he busy? And do you see our Lord
being wrought up into a hustle or a bustle and throwing his weight
around like you and I do? You know, do you see any of that? No.

He could take the time with the leper, with the blind man, with the
fallen woman. He could take the time. But here we are.

No time for intercession. Of course, we have time to bake. We have time
to eat.

We have time to visit. We have time for entertainment. We have time for
everything.

We have time even for the one-eyed monster. We have got time for
everything. But no time for God.

What a sad state. No time for Jesus. No time for intercession.

It grieved the Lord that there was no intercession. All right, but
Daniel had plenty of time, isn't he? He had nothing to do. He was the
first of the precedents.

You'll see him in Daniel 6 chapter. If you will please turn to Daniel 6
chapter. Now, when Cyrus came to the kingdom and he made a decree.

And in the decree he said, the last words of this chapter in 2nd
Chronicles was, Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his
God be with him and let him go up. Let him go up. The Lord stirred up
the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia and he made a proclamation throughout
all his kingdom.

What was it? Go and play ball. He made a proclamation. Go and play ball.

You see, that's the proclamation that people want today. Go and play
ball. What are you doing here? No, God didn't certainly.

The king Cyrus had more sense than that. He said, let them go up to
build the broken walls. You know friends, broken walls have you ever
surveyed a place which is hopelessly desolate, demolished by a tornado
or something.

And you are so told, hey, come on now, let's rebuild this place. And
it's got to be better than it was before. You think you like it? You
have to clean up.

You have to get things ready. Building is no easy project. It takes a
lot of your thinking and some of your sleep goes.

Well, see, that is the way to be real. Here, the king's commandment was,
let them go up. Who is there among you who will play the man? Of course,
these days we should say, who is there among you who will play the girl?
Isn't it? Because all men want to play the girl today.

They are more like a girl than they feel they have arrived. Listen, the
old British phrase says, play the man. And if people played the man and
their families, the families would not be where they are.

People like me who are preachers, if we play the man. You know, today
people are told. A friend, one of our brothers in Germany told me this.

He says, you know, unless that family corrects the boy at this stage,
they are going to have endless trouble. So I told the girl, the mother,
hey, you need to take care of your boy. You can't let him run around as
he pleases.

Oh, the mother said, I can't spank him because it is against the EU law.
European Union law. And this gentleman had the courage to tell her, when
the laws of God conflict with the laws of a government, you had better
obey the Lord's laws.

Yes. So there are many sensible people in the world today who see that
indisciplined children are not the ones to run a family. That's not
God's way.

So if you turn to the sixth chapter of Daniel, they said, you know, they
said, no, we can't find any fault in this man unless it is something
concerning the law of his God. The fifth verse. We can't find any fault
with this man.

So they got the king to sign that horrible decree, senseless decree.
Thirty days, nobody should pray to anybody except the king. What
rubbish.

We are coming very close to that nowadays. You see, you owe nothing to
anybody except the country or something. Whatever.

Look at Daniel's reaction. Tenth verse. Now, when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened
towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and
prayed.

As before. His windows being open. You know, friends, being open
witnesses of the Lord is a costly business today because we are marked
as fanatics, fools, hate mongers.

What we hate, do we? When we preach against homosexuality, they are
trying to promulgate laws all over, calling it hate laws. Is it hatred?
Teaching the word of God, is it hatred? Saving people from AIDS, is it
hatred? Saving people from early death, is it hatred? No. I would like
to be in a case where a judge hails me up and says, you're a hate
monger.

I'd like to tell him, tell him, sir, the average life expectancy of a
man in the United States is upwards of 74. Now it could be slightly
higher. And the life expectancy of a homosexual is about half, early
40s.

So if I keep a man from dying 35 years early, is that hate or is that
love? Do I get anything for my trouble? No. Everybody scoffs, everybody
laughs, everybody calls me a fanatic, but I don't care. You throw me
into prison, throw me wherever.

This is a miscarriage of justice. Now that is how our countries are
being run today. Right is not right and wrong is not wrong.

Wrong is right and right is wrong. And you and I are supposed to cringe
and say, okay, okay, that's fine. I'll cowtow.

Not me. What a sad day. And Daniel did not cowtow to this.

The Lord will lift up his standard. And what was the eventual
declaration of the same king? 26th verse. I make a decree that in every
dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,
for he is the living God.

And steadfast forever. I want all sportsmen here to tell me, all those
who love sport. You know, I have loved sport, but not this kind of
sport, where you catch hold of the fellow's shirt and trip him up just
before he shoots a goal.

What kind of nonsense is that? Is that sport? That's not sport. You
don't waste your time with such hooligans and bums. You catch a man by
his shirt and pull him? What nonsense is that? And the referee is afraid
he will run out of all the red cards.

So he gives them sparingly. That's not the way soccer is to be played,
or any game for that matter. Now tell me, does that kind of thing
compare anywhere with a king recognizing that everyone in my kingdom
should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living
God.

And steadfast forever, and his kingdom which shall not be destroyed, and
his dominion shall be even unto the end. Ten years after, I would like
to see how well some of these beer gobblers play the game. They will
have such big pot bellies, they will be hardly able to move.

My friends, listen, which would be greater? To bring the truth of God
upon a nation, or just say, hey, I've got a medal here, I've got a cup
here, and I held on to that position for barely four years. Barely four
years. All right, if you're a good sportsman, you will be also a person
who says, I will play far better for Jesus.

What a decree. Every man in my kingdom should know. I will lift up this
standard.

Let us pray. Let us tell God, Lord, when the standard appears to be
drooping, and people have not got the courage to even squeak, and judges
are carrying the law right into the sewage pool. Lord, at such a time,
have mercy upon us, we pray.

Let us not be just like barking dogs, just yelping a little and then
sleeping away. Oh, my father, give us the diligence that was in a
Jeremiah, the prayer that was in a Daniel, to reverse these horrible
trends. Lord, hear our prayer, and lift up this standard against this
tide of evil.

We want to do our part. I dare not die before I do a little part. Oh,
Lord, my God, have mercy on these dear people, every one of them.

They have a part to play in lifting high the standard. The battle is not
lost. The standard shall never droop.

We shall carry this battle forth and show forth that Jesus is Lord.
Please give us this great privilege, Lord, to show you to this lost
world. Give us this privilege, and give your children, some of your
children are far more faithful, far more unworldly than many of us.

Some of your hidden children who are prayer warriors, Lord, bless them,
be with them wherever they are. Some who have suffered far, far more
than anything that we have suffered. Please, Lord, be with them, I pray.

The Lord shall lift up a standard against the flood of evil. Do it,
Lord, do it. And use even people like us.

In Jesus' holy name. Amen.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/--ofRXT3rNg.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/joshua-daniel/the-standard-of-the-lord-lifted-up/
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