Why Do We Stand Out and Stand Up for Jesus?

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one drive at a time!

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

You’re about to hear some drive-time truth nuggets from God’s Word. After today’s episode, you’ll want to dig deeper into your own Bible.

This season we’re talking about “Standing Out and Standing Up for Jesus.” That’s not just something pastors, Bible teachers, and missionaries are called to do. It’s not a call for adults and teens only. It’s for every believer in Jesus.

Let me read our theme verse for this season:

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. (2 Cor. 5:13–14) 

We hope that gives you courage. Still, you might be thinking, Why? What difference can I make? Help me understand why I should stand out and stand up for Jesus?

Today Dannah Gresh, author of Lies Girls Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, is gonna open her Bible to help answer that question. She’s in the studio this season along with some other members of the True Girl Tour team. Today, it’s our lead teacher of more than twenty years: Suzy Weibel. 

Let’s get moving here on season 23, episode 2: “Why Do We Stand Out and Stand Up for Jesus?” 

Here’s Dannah!

Dannah Gresh: Welcome back! I’m in the True Girl studio with one of my best friends for . . . well, longer than you’ve probably been alive, True Girl!

Welcome Suzy Weibel!

Suzy Weibel: Hey! Yeah, ouch, it’s been a while! And, hello True Girl. 

Dannah: You’re not just my friend, but you’ve been serving at True Girl a really long time. What’s your role and I’d love to hear why you love it?

Suzy: All right, so yeah, it has been over twenty years, so it's definitely longer than these girls have been alive. I've been a lead teacher with True Girl through all that time, not always full-time, but always a lead teacher. 

And Dannah, here's the true story. You ready for some truth? 

Dannah: I want to hear it. 

Suzy: So what happened is, I was on your Teen Tour for Pure Freedom, right. I was playing some drums, doing some speaking. I was pretty comfy there. And then you started True Girl. There was one tour where you were short-staffed, and I think you needed a lead teacher. So you asked if I would go do a few dates. 

And I was like, “Okay, I don't really know if that's my jam. I'm kind of built to work with teens . . . . yada yada yada.” But of course, I went, and I loved it. I did. I loved them, and I spent the next eleven years as lead teacher on the tour team, and I got to write some great books with you during that time. 

But here's why I do it, other than the fact that it's just a blast. I don't think there could be a more important message that we could give our tween girls, especially during this particular Crazy Hair Tour, because (it pains me to say this) but the world is changing. Normal is not a godly thing these days. I also feel the weight of what we're saying to these girls. 

We're encouraging them to stand up and stand out, and I feel the weight of that. That takes so much courage. It's no small thing. 

Dannah: No, it's not a small thing. It's much harder than when you and I were tween girls. And you know, actually, my goal of this season is to help girls know that if they want to stand out and stand up for Jesus, they're not alone. 

And one of the ways I know that is this: in a lifetime of sharing the gospel at True Girl live events, a lot of girls—I mean, a ton of girls—have professed a decision to follow Jesus.

Suzy: Yes! And True Girls, that is the most important decision you will ever make—the decision to follow Jesus! No one is born a Christian.

I hear a lot of people says, “We are all God’s children.” We are all loved by God. We are all created in the image of God. But the Bible is pretty clear that you become God’s children. We’re not a Chrisitan because our parents are. They may introduce us to Jesus. You’re not a Christian just because you go to church. Church helps us grow in our faith.

But the Bible says, well let me just open mine here. I’m looking for Romans 10:9. Okay, here we go. This is what the Bible says about how to become a Christian:

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

It's a becoming. So, I grew up in the church, but I think what really formed me was that I learned to read really young. It's like the first word that I ever said was “bic,” which was book. I think that really hurt my mom's heart. 

Dannah: Not mom.

Suzy: It wasn't mom or even daddy. It was book. And I loved going in the car with my mom. I was a total mama's girl, so no matter where she went, no matter what she was up to, I wanted to be in that car with her, because I would read to her from a set of three devotional books that she had bought me called Little Visits with God. Then my mom and I would discuss the Bible verse for the day and the devotion that I had just read. 

I grew so much through those conversations and that time with my mom. And you know, my mom has been gone four years now, and I still miss the presence of the wisest woman I have ever known in my life. I think of her every day. 

But I was really prideful when I was growing up. I have to confess that. I wasn't much of a troublemaker. I've always kind of liked rules, but my brothers weren't the same way. My brothers were a little bit on the wild side. So I always thought that I was good and that my brothers were bad. 

I had a very black and white view of things. It took a while before I learned the idea, the concept that I was every bit as much in need of a Savior, as my brothers were. 

Dannah: I got in trouble a lot more than you. 

Suzy: Oh, my. It's an understatement.

I wasn't saved because I was good. I had to learn this. I was adopted as God's child because of His grace. Our sin has created a separation from God because He is perfectly holy. So He made a way for us to be with Him. We didn't make that way. He did. And that is by coming to earth as a man, Jesus, but still God, and paying the debt of our sin for us. It's like He took our punishment and he gave us His right standing with God in exchange. Isn't that awesome?

Dannah: So good. And what you just said, I mean, you couldn't help yourself. You had to jump on your soapbox and share the gospel right there. And I love that about you, that mission of the love of Christ and the truth of becoming a Christian is always on your lips. 

In fact, you’ve appeared at more True Girl events than me—than anyone, actually! 

Suzy: That’s crazy!

And at each one, we invite every mom to turn to her daughter and talk about if she’s ready to openly declare that Jesus is Lord and be saved. If she is, mom and daughter come down front together to pray with a counselor and talk. And then, they fill out a paper to just report their intention to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives. We, then, give that paper to the local church so they can follow up and invite that mom and daughter to be a part of their congregation in case they don’t have a church family.

But I love that moment! That’s my favorite moment every night when decisions are being verbalized. The girls are singing “Jesus Loves Me” over the audience as those moms and daughters pray. That seriously is just the best sound in the world! Angelic!

Dannah: I know. We’ve been doing that for decades. In fact, I recorded it at one of those events because I love it so much. Listen to this:

Girls Singing:

Jesus love me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.

Suzy: A truly sacred moment. I love that moment.

Dannah: Since 2010, we have been counting the numbers of girls—and sometimes moms—who make decisions at the event. We estimate that about 26,000 girls and moms have made that decision to follow Jesus, to profess Him with their mouths, at one of our live events since we started this ministry in the year—hold on to your seats—2003!

So, today I wanted to bring you here, Suzy, because you’re not just a lead teacher for True Girl, but also you’re a woman of the Word. Last week Lorelle and I talked about standing out and standing up for Jesus. 

I think about those 26,000 moms and daughters standing up for Jesus with . . . you, True Girl, as you listen. You’re not alone. Today, I want to answer the question: “Why? Why do we want to stand out and stand up for Jesus? Why do we want to do that?”

Suzy: A worthy question!

Dannah: To answer it, the Bible is full of girls and women who were so God-crazy that people barely understood them. And though there are more women than girls, we do see young girls making a difference in the Bible.

Suzy: Like, for example, Rhoda!

Dannah: Yes! Rhoda is one of my favorite people in the Bible. She’s barely in there—just a few short paragraphs. But Rhoda lived in a time when Christians weren’t just laughed at for loving Jesus, they were actually put in jail for it.

Suzy: And Rhoda’s story, that’s exactly what happened to the apostle Peter.

Let me read you part of Rhoda’s story. It comes from Acts chapter 12, starting in verse 1.

King Herod . . . began to persecute some believers in the church. He arrested Peter. . . . Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. (vv. 1–5)

Dannah: Oh, you’ve got to stop there. That part matters. The church prayed very earnestly for him. I want to say that, because, they didn’t panic. Panicking is what’s normal for us today. People are panicking all around us! The church doesn’t panic, it prays.

Suzy: And what happened? I’ll tell you what happened: God heard their prayers and answered them. God sent an angel to rescue Peter and get him out of that prison cell. So, let me keep reading for what happens next. I love this part!

[Peter] went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” 

She left him hanging there!

Dannah: That is hilarious!

Suzy: Let me finish:

“You’re out of your mind!” they said.” (vv. 12–15)

Dannah: In other words, “RHODA GIRL, YOU’RE CRAZY!”

They didn’t even believe what they were praying for, or they might have responded differently. So even in this prayer room full of Christians, a girl who stood out and stood up for Jesus was a little . . . unique.

Suzy: You bet she was! She was God-crazy enough to believe that what they prayed for, God would do. Not just that God could do it. I think we all think God can do it. She believed that He would do it.

And, He did! Let me read the end here. It’s so good.

Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. (v. 16)

Dannah: AMAZED! I love that word “amazed”! The people weren’t amazed at Peter, not at Rhoda, but they were amazed at God! They were amazed that Jesus—the very Savior they were standing up and standing out for—heard their prayers and answered them!

Suzy: I love this story because it tells us why we want to be God-crazy. It’s not to be loud or to bring attention to ourselves. It’s not to impress people with our accomplishments or our faith. It’s to point to Jesus; to help people be amazed at Him!

Dannah: Let me point out that Rhoda was a girl—the youngest in that room possibly. I kind of imagine that it took a lot of courage to march into that prayer meeting, interrupt it. I think if it had been me, I would have walked over to an adult and whispered, “Hey, can you tell everybody . . .” But no! She marches in and says, “Hey! Peter’s here!” She did it. She did it even though it maybe was intimidating. She was courageous!

Suzy: That took a lot of bravery. It reminds me of the theme verse for the True Girl Crazy Hair Tour, 2 Corinthians 5:13–14. I know this one by heart because we say it every night on stage so many times, because we want it to soak into the girls’ hearts.

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

Why are we willing to stand out and stand up for Jesus? It’s to bring glory to God.

Let me be clear, the goal is not to be loud and bring attention to ourselves. (Like, look at that crazy girl!) We want people to see and be amazed at what God does, who God is!

Dannah: Amen! You know, even though we want that and we declare that on stage, we are declaring it now for you as you listen, Suzy, I just want to acknowledge, it’s hard. It’s hard to be a God-crazy girl. It’s hard to courageously stand up for truth today. 

I’m wondering . . . let’s take this area of prayer where Rhoda was so courageous. Suzy, did you ever pray for something so unbelievable that people thought you were crazy, but God answered it?

Suzy: I wish I had more stories of doing that. Maybe that's a great goal, but there have been a couple of times and my daughters are kind of a story like that. 

So my daughters are grown women now, and they have kids. But we met them while we were doing an event with you in Santa Barbara. 

Dannah: I remember, yeah. 

Suzy: They were, at the time, they were teenagers. They were being passed around like hot potatoes through the foster care system. We wanted to adopt them, and they actually wanted to come here to Pennsylvania. And because they were teenagers, already, the court was taking their desires into consideration. 

But they had a caseworker that had been on their case for a long time. I don't know if you remember this, but she basically said, “Over my dead body are these girls leaving the state of California.” 

Dannah: Oh, I remember. 

Suzy: I think it was coming from a good place, like she would rather that they age out there in California where she could keep an eye on them because she had invested so much into them.

Dannah: And they had been passed around so much. 

Suzy: I think she was like, I'd rather they stay here, where I can keep an eye on them, than just like, roll the dice and send them off. 

Dannah: And, just to be clear, what you mean by aging out is at a certain age . . . Is it fourteen or eighteen? 

Suzy: Eighteen.

Dannah: At eighteen, they're no longer in foster care, and they're just kind of on their own. 

Suzy: On their own. They don't have a family.

Dannah: And she wanted to be a part of transitioning them to that.

Suzy: Yeah. So I think her intentions were good, but we in the church got to the business of praying. 

Dannah: I remember. I was one of them. 

Suzy: Yes, you were. And I knew that God would work it out. I did have that faith, but I have to confess: I also had this maybe not so kind imagination of how God would do it. I thought maybe she'd be fired from her job or something like that. But look what God did. Okay, check this out. She got a promotion! And the person who came in behind her to take their case, signed the case over to us, assigned the girls to us without hesitation. So He took care of everyone! 

Dannah: He took care of everyone. 

Suzy: God is good and kind and caring. 

Dannah: He is good, yeah. He is kind. He is caring. 

You know, True Girl, you might have something in your life right now. It might not be like Rhoda, where you have someone who's being persecuted for their faith, or maybe you do. You might not be like Suzy, where you're praying that you can have someone be a part of your family, be adopted into your family, but there's a roadblock. But I bet you have some problem in your life that seems too big, insurmountable, impossible. 

Here's your invitation. Pray like a God-crazy girl. Believe like a God-crazy girl. Call together your Christian friends and your church family like a God-crazy girl. And if maybe your mom or your dad or your brother or sister is struggling to believe, be the girl who believes. 

I remember when we adopted our daughter, Autumn from China, it was my thirteen-year-old daughter, Lexi, who was like, “Guys, we're supposed to adopt her. What are you kidding? Let's pray!” She was the one that had the faith! 

You might have to be the one like Rhoda to have the faith in the room. In fact, Suzy, let's just close out today. Would you pray over these sweet friends of ours, that they'd have the courage and the faith to pray God-crazy prayers, and that God would answer them.

Suzy: All right, let's go to Him in prayer. 

Father, thank You so much for this time here together and that You have adopted us into Your family, so that we are sisters and we just thank You for Your family. 

I pray for my sisters. I pray for my little sisters. I pray that you would increase the kind of faith that they have, that it would grow so that they not only know that you can do amazing things, more than they could ask or imagine, but also that You will do everything that You have promised. You are faithful, and if You say that something is going to happen when You make a promise in Your Word, You never fail to keep it. 

So let these girls have the kind of God-crazy faith that says, “I know who God is. I know what He has said, and I know that He will do it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Claire: What a great reminder. When we stand out and stand up for Jesus, other people are amazed—not at us, but at God. In other words, God is glorified!

Dannah and Suzy just made me want to come to a True Girl Crazy Hair Tour event to get more courage to stand out and stand up for Jesus. That event is a mom and daughter night designed to help you discover who God says you are. Each one features a different lineup of God-crazy women, with live worship, great Bible teaching, and lots of fun.

You can get tickets by visiting MyTrueGirl.com. That’s also where you can learn about the True Girl subscription box. Check it out. 

Now, does it seem like standing out and standing up for Jesus is really hard? Do you wonder how to become that kind of girl? Join us next time on the True Girl podcast when we share the secret to it.

I have another worship song from the True Girl Crazy Hair Tour to end with today. This is “Who You Say I Am” from Yancy, who will be appearing on tour with us in certain cities.

Song:

Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?
I was lost, but He brought me in
Oh, His love for me.
Oh, His love for me.

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed;
I'm a child of God, yes I am.

Free at last, He has ransomed me,
His grace runs deep.
While I was a slave to sin,
Jesus died for me.
Yes, He died for me.

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed,
I'm a child of God, yes I am.

In my Father's house
There's a place for me,
I'm a child of God, yes I am.
I'm a child of God, yes I am.¹

¹“Who You Say I Am,” Yancy, ℗ 2018 Yancy Ministries, Inc.

The True Girl podcast is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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