(Ephesians 6:10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (18) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
(Gal 5:1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
(Eph 6:14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
(Phi 4:1) Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
(2 Thes 2:15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Some of us are uniquely trained to live in anticipation of the unexpected, which enables us to remain relatively calm when conflict, catastrophe, or chaos comes. It is called thinking clearly. Others, of course, are panic prone and never anticipate anything out of the ordinary.
I remember serving on the Mobile Strike Team while serving in the United States Air Force, which meant that our team's responsibility was to guard and protect the flight line in an emergency. It was critical that our pilots remain safe in their take off and landings and our responsibility was to insure that they were not hindered from that in any way. We were to remain awake, alert, and ARMED at all times, waiting patiently and watching carefully for any sort of attempt disruption.
Over the next couple of days, I want to look carefully at our text and discover two things about it:
1) What we must do to be ready for anything.
2) What we can do when there is nothing more we can do.
Let's begin by understanding that, as Christians, we are in a war and we ARE soldiers. We are told to be "good" soldiers, and of course, we have been "issued" all we need to combat and defeat the enemy we face. Notice I said DEFEAT! That is something few believers ever seem to grasp. Many seem to think that God has designed it so that the devil kicks us around until we die or get raptured. We pat ourselves on the back constantly reminding ourselves that we are SINNERS saved by grace with the emphasis upon SINNERS and not upon SALVATION or GRACE.
I have often said that the problem with most Christians is not a matter of "can" or "can't", but "will" or "won't". Scripture makes it perfectly clear that GOD CAN and GOD WILL, but if we won't, He can't. In other words, He has provided for us all that we need to live godly in Christ Jesus and to be MORE than conquerors, but if we WON'T, He can't make us, anymore than a Commander can give a soldier all that he needs to get the job done in battle, but if the soldier doesn't use the resources provided him, the Commander cannot win the battle for him.
We will pursue this further, but when we learn not to DOUBT, but BELIEVE, we can STAND confidently equipped for every good work and against every godless work.
BLESSINGS!
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