Sorry for the delay in the final installment of the “Stand Firm” teachings but nevertheless, here we are at the final chapter. So far we have discussed standing firm in God’s Word and standing firm in the world. This last topic is a little similar to the last one because it involves standing strong in the midst of unbelief and persecution but to take it to another level, we are to stand firm in the WAR. Yes, we are at war. I want to open with some verses that you may be familiar with but I think it sets the tone for our lesson. It is from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus.
Ephesians 6:10-17
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
This verse is speaking of the spiritual war that Christians fight everyday. Well, honestly everyone is fighting this war, except those that do not have Jesus Christ as their Savior are just fighting on the wrong side and don’t even know it!
I like how Paul tells us to put on the WHOLE armor of God; truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation and The Word of God. Without all of these things, we don’t stand a chance against Satan and his cronies. We say we have faith but yet don’t read the Word or we read the Word but yet have no faith or we think we are saved and don’t read the Word, have any faith and don’t really know the gospel. I think you get the picture. We need to have all of these things in order to survive the war.
But while we are definitely in a spiritual war (I like the term, “invisible war”) we can be in other wars as well. I have a good friend who is in Iraq and is literally in a war. I was in Desert Storm awhile ago so I know what it is like to be in a physical war as well. But you may be dealing with other wars: addictions, marriages, relationships, financial battles, children, etc. God’s Word assures that we have the ability to survive and win these battles as well. We just have to trust in God and sometimes it takes more than just saying “Okay God I trust you” because honestly sometimes we just don’t really mean it do we? We say we trust God but then we pick up that six pack we know we shouldn’t or we ask God to help our financial situations and then we go charge more debt to our credit cards!
The bottom line is we are asking God for help but we are not letting him help or worse yet, we don’t really want His help. We would rather hang around in our sin and feel sorry for ourselves. John 3:20-21 comes to mind dealing with this. Jesus said, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
You see when we sin, sometimes it is easier to just hang around in darkness and use our struggle as an excuse without really submitting to God. We can even fool ourselves into thinking we are saved and that God will just turn a blind eye to our sin because “He understands our struggle.” In reality we need to repent, turn to Christ and get on with our lives serving Him and leave our past behind!
If this offends anyone, I am sorry if you are offended but I cannot apologize for what God’s Word says. I care enough about you to share it with you.
In Exodus, Moses had a tough job. He rose to power over his own people, killed a guy and ran away and then when He was old, God told him to go back and lead His people out of Egypt. Now these people he eventually led away were tough to deal with. They were always complaining and whining and wanting more (anyone have kids???) Anyway, Moses was always pleading to God on their behalf and when they reached the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his army bearing down on them, you know they were freaking out!
Moses had the faith of God and knew they would be delivered when all hope seemed to be gone. Listen to what he told the Israelites:
Exodus 14:13-14
“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
They only needed to “be still.” All they had to do was to stand and watch the glory of God. Maybe you just need to “stand still” or maybe you need to “stand up” and get serious about the war that you are fighting. Maybe God is not helping because you are not letting Him. Or maybe some of you just need to “kneel down” to the Creator of the universe and submit FULLY to Him.
What ever wars we are fighting, we need to “Kneel Down” first to the feet of Jesus Christ and surrender all to Him and then we need to “Stand Up” and “Stand Firm” in God’s Word and glory in His grace and mercy. I leave you with a verse of encouragement from James the brother of Jesus:
James 5:8
“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
Amen and God bless and Come Lord Jesus Come!!
