stand

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Stand Therefore

Stand ThereforeWe are in a war spiritually. This war has been going on even before Adam and Eve in the garden. Lucifer (satan, the devil) was cast out of heaven, along with a third of the angels (Isaiah 14:12), because satan wanted to be worshipped and lifted up. This was the beginning of the war of good vs. evil.

The devil is the epitome of all evil. He is evil. The Bible tells us that he “comes to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). This is his agenda with anything and anyone on earth. Don’t ever think for a moment that your enemy relaxes or gives up. No, he is relentless in pursuing you to destroy your walk with Christ, to make you think you are defeated, and to bring glory to himself while he is doing it. He is the father of lies.

 John 8:44 NIV

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Everyday we are challenged in this spiritual war to either press in and attack or to retreat and give up. God has given us His Word to help us daily in this war. We are not alone in this battle, our Mighty Warrior is constantly with us, fighting along side of us, to overcome any attack of the enemy.

We have to remember that we are not in a war against people, although at times it sure feels like we are, but this war is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).

We are to dress for success in this battle. I remember hearing about the Armor of God and even reading about it and really didn’t give it any thought. I felt I had the armor on because I was a Christian, but that is not necessarily the case. The attacks from the enemy are harsh and wickedly evil and sneaky. Being fully dressed in the Armor of God daily helps us to fight this battle as a courageous soldier we all need to be.

Read Eph. 6:10 – 18

Eph. 6:10 – 11 NKJV

“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.”

The Bible says put it on. Put on the full armor of God. Now, we’re not looking at metal, swords, leather, shields and helmets, but the armor that God’s talking about for us is a spiritual thing. It’s not something that you see. It’s not something that I see, but the devil sees it and God sees it. And the devil sees if it’s not there. Believe me, if he’s looking for somebody to attack, he’s going to pick the people who don’t have their armor on and don’t know how to use their offensive weapons against him. He’s going to look for lazy, passive people who just do nothing but sit around and whine and murmur about their problems all the time. We are in a war — a spiritual war. Paul tells us:

2 Cor. 10:3 – 5 NKJV

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

God didn’t leave us weaponless. We will see in this series that we have the biggest and only weapon of the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Eph. 6:13 – 14a NKJV

“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…”

STAND

Eph. 6:13 – 14 NKJV

“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,…”

In Eph. 6:11 – 13 we see the word “stand” four times:

Eph. 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand…”

Eph. 6:13 “…that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…”

Eph. 6:13 “…and having done all, to stand.”

Eph. 6:14 “Stand therefore…”

Stand therefore! This is before Paul even goes into the different parts of our spiritual armor. Paul is telling us to prepare ourselves for combat.

Once a soldier has on their full armor or uniform for combat, they can stand knowing they are prepared and ready for battle. Stand in battle position.

There’s some new sayings that are slowly becoming old – yet fit the message I want to get across today. They are: “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything,” and “If we don’t stand together, we’ll fall apart!”

Sometimes we can’t do anything but stand. When we’ve done all we know to do – many of us will allow the weight of our tribulations and trials to drop us to our knees. We give up. We quit. We lose the fight. But, God is calling you and I to a place that requires determination and fortitude…He’s calling us to …stand!

There are times we find ourselves in the place of uncertainty, we fly off the handle or take matters into our own hands. We must get to the place where we’ll not speak, not move, not act – sometimes, we must do nothing but stand!

Standing our ground is still winning! We are not giving up territory. We are not retreating. Standing is a battle position.

Many of God’s people walk out of their house every morning naked! Spiritually naked that is. Without the Armor of God! You must remember the enemy is going to shoot his arrows where he finds the weak spots. So, you must have the ‘whole’ armor on! You see you can’t stand without the whole armor! It would be like you were standing naked in a snowstorm expecting not to get cold! Rather foolish don’t you think? And yet, that’s how some Christians live their lives. They think they’ve got it all together. They have this attitude – ‘hey I can stand!’ Problem is, they are trying to stand on their own. You can’t stand on your own! It may be your own two feet that you stand on, but it’s by God’s grace and power that you can stand at all!

Paul tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Without the armor on, You will not be able to stand.

1 Cor. 10:12 – 13 NKJV

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear (endure) it.”

The Amplified Bible goes into much more detail on these verses:

1 Cor. 10:12 – 13 Amplified Bible

“Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin]. For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.”

First Corinthians 10:13 promises us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but with every temptation He will also provide the way out — the means of escape. The end result will be that we are capable and strong to patiently bear up under whatever negative circumstances we face.

“Temptation” can be translated in the Greek; “enticement to evil or testing in general, including various kinds of trials.”

I think we look at the word “temptation” and think of a sinful act. It can be that, but it also can be that we are tempted to react ungodly in a trial or battle or hardship. God wants us to stand firm under any situation we face today.

Sometimes we don’t get answers or relief from the battle in our timeframe, but to Stand and not be moved, is a battle position. Standing is winning!

The thing about God’s armor is that it’s ‘one size fits all!’ When Saul tried to assist little David in his fight against Goliath, he invited him to wear his armor. But, David could not because it was too big for him. It didn’t fit.

Many of God’s people look at the Armor of God and try to leave some articles at home declaring that they don’t fit their lives. Some may say, “Well, I don’t need that shield of faith because I just don’t believe in all that faith stuff.” Then how in the world did you ever get saved in the first place without faith?

Some would say, “Oh, truth doesn’t fit into my life, I don’t need that belt of truth. Telling the truth just hurts too much.” Fact is, truth might hurt a little, but lying will flat out kill you! You might say, what is truth? The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one goes to the Father accept through Him. The Bible is truth! Leaving the belt of Truth out of your armor is setting you up for failure and being vulnerable to the enemy.

No, this Armor of God is one-size-fits-all! In fact, if you think it doesn’t fit your life then you have to change your thinking or you are being deceived.

Eph. 6:13 Amplified Bible

“Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands],to stand [firmly in your place].”

“…and having done all…” There will come a time in every battle that, “after having done all,” after doing all we know, we stand and see the salvation of God. We stand, and watch God work.

This is exactly what happened to Moses and the children of Israel after fleeing from Pharaoh in Egypt.

Exodus 14:13 NKJV

“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today you shall see again no more forever.”

On one side was the Red Sea and on the other side were Pharaoh’s army. The Israelites had no place to go in either direction. They were up against a wall so to speak. It didn’t make sense to them. One minute they were leaving Egypt and captivity and excited about their future and then the next they were surrounded by impossibilities.   Did God make a mistake? Did they make a mistake? Did they hear God correctly to go posses their promised land? They started to second guess everything.

Exodus 14:11 – 12 NKJV

“Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

How quickly do we start grumbling and complaining about our circumstances when things don’t go our way or they seem impossible?  We are just like the Israelites. We complain when we don’t see answers to our prayers. We complain when we are challenged in life. We want out of hard situations instead of walking through them and possibly receiving a miracle of the parting of the red sea in our own lives.

Moses reminded them to Stand still and see the salvation of God. Too often we are busy and quick trying to get things done on our own power. We are busy complaining and murmuring to ever see the miracle God is trying to do in our midst.

We are to stand still. Stand therefore! Do not stir from the place where you are. Do not offer to run away, or to make your escape. We are to hold our ground. We are to look to God for deliverance and not our own abilities. Even in the midst of this possible tragedy God was protecting them.

Exodus 14:19 – 20 NKJV

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”

Wow, God was intervening. He was protecting them and kept them hidden from their enemy during the night. This was the beginning of the salvation of the Lord for them. God was setting them up for an even bigger miracle and victory.

If they would have fled from where they were, only destruction would have happened. Standing in the middle of hard situations shows your trust in God. It displays godly character. It sets you up for God’s salvation, His miracles, and His victory.

Remember that Jesus is our armor. All that the Armor of God is, is Jesus Christ’s character and strength.

 Jesus is our Armor

Jesus Christ is the Armor of God, think about it. Paul tells us to have on the belt of truth. Didn’t Jesus say He is “the truth, the way, and the life…” (John 14:6b, KJV).

Paul said to put on the breastplate of righteousness. Walking in Christ and His righteousness is equivalent to putting on the breastplate of righteousness.

2 Cor. 5:21 NKJV

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).”

Walking in peace is equivalent to putting on your shoes of peace.  Isaiah 9:6 calls Him the “Prince of Peace.”

Ephesians 2:13 -14a NIV

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace…”

Paul says to take the shield of faith. Is Jesus not our shield of faith? Does He not protect us from the evil one? God says he is our shield and the lifter of our head (Psalm 3:3).

Paul says to put on the helmet of salvation. Without Christ, there would be no plan of salvation. He is our help and our salvation!

Jesus is also the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. John tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NIV).

In essence, what we need to do is ‘put on Christ!‘ Paul said, “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27, NIV)

You can’t stand in this world without putting on Jesus! Once you put Him on, just stand!

Standing, ready for battle, in the middle of the battle, is a requirement. It is essential in winning the battle.

This is the introduction of the series; “Armor of God” that we will be having the next few weeks. Next week we look at the first piece of armor; “The Belt of Truth!” Be ready for battle. Be ready with your armor on everyday of your life. God gave it to us but we must put it on daily. Don’t leave home without it! Dress for success!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

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12 Steps To Overcome Opposition (Part 1)

Opposition and Spiritual Warfare

We cannot talk about Spiritual warfare without talking about opposition. When ever you are doing a work for the Lord, or when God is bringing healing in your life you will experience opposition. People will question your motives of why you are doing what you are doing. You may experience opposition from people you least expect it from. Opposition may come through financial difficulties or health issues, family members, or co-workers. The question is: “What is your reaction when someone opposes you?”

Opposition will come. It may come from those you would expect, or it may come from the least likely person or source.

The enemy will try to intimidate you in hopes to prevent you from moving forward or succeeding.

I want to take a look at a book in the Bible that will shows us opposition will come, but it will also shows us how to keep on keeping on!

Nehemiah

 Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra and a cupbearer to the king. He led the Jewish captives back to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. His faith in God and his love for his people are impressive – and this, in spite of hardship and opposition. Opposition from the outside and discouragement from the inside, yet the task of rebuilding was complete in only fifty-two days. As in the story of Nehemiah and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he experienced opposition all along the way from his enemies. From the time he was given permission from the king and scouted out the land, to the very end of completing the walls, Nehemiah was attacked. I want to look at this story and see the steps to combat opposition and break intimidation your enemy will try to throw at you.

Living in the Rubble

Nehemiah 1:3

“And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”

It is worth getting rid of the rubble in our lives. Sometimes the removal of rubble is costly. We may have to give up things. God might require change. Sometimes it is painful, but all the time it is worth cleaning up. Are you living in the rubble of broken dreams, or broken relationships? Do you look at the mess and think it is hopeless to try and rebuild? You need a different perspective on it. From God’s point of view He sees potential. He sees the finished product. Too many times we settle for the rubble and give up. We forget what was there. When God helps us rebuild He brings total healing to our foundation and starts to build up. He knows what needs to be integrated into the structure to fortify it. He knows the process we need to take to become whole again.

God is a god of completion. Just look at His creation and see His beautiful fruit, vegetation, trees, and people. A mango is complete from seed to growing into an adult ripe fruit. God will bring completion to your life too. It is easy to get frustrated when you don’t see the progress you want to see, but don’t get discouraged or give up. God has a plan and will rebuild you in His time.

Nehemiah 1:4 – 11 – Nehemiah’s prayer and cry to the Lord! he wept, and mourned, he fasted and prayed for many days.

Nehemiah 2:1-10 [READ] – Nehemiah sent to Jerusalem – Nehemiah didn’t tell anyone what was in his heart as he went out by night to see the destruction of the walls.

Nehemiah 2:11 – 17 [READ] – Nehemiah views the wall of Jerusalem

12 Steps to Overcome Opposition

1. Be wise to the words of the enemy.

Nehemiah 2:19 (HCSB)

“When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 

We have to be wise to the words the enemy uses to try and bring discouragement and fear in our lives. In the case of Nehemiah, he stayed strong at each attack.

Nehemiah 4:1 – 3

“But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and in a great rage, and he ridiculed the Jews. And he said before his brethren and the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things [at will and by themselves]? Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish seeing they are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, What they build – if a fox, climbs upon it, he will break down their stone wall.”

Isn’t it amazing how the very insults had to do with Nehemiah’s faith and his actions? This is how the enemy works. Satan tries to hit us with his best shot and targets the very core of who we are.

In this case, Sanballat ridicules Nehemiah and calls him, and the rest of the Jews, “feeble” and questions their actions of rebuilding the walls. Sanballat also mocks the worship practices of the Jews by saying, “Will they [try to bribe their God] with sacrifices?” He knew how the Jews worshipped, and attacked with words that could have brought discouragement and fear. Yet Nehemiah didn’t flinch.

The last phrase of Sandballat’s attack, “Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish seeing they are burned?” is actually prophetic as that is exactly what the Jews accomplished.

Tobiah attacked their actions by stating, “What they build – if a fox, climbs upon it, he will break down their stone wall” insinuating all the work the Jews were doing was weak and will be destroyed easily.

This gives us a good look at how the devil works in our life. He will scheme and mock our faith and actions hoping we will start believing his lies and become fearful.

We have to recognize his lies from the beginning. If we start believing them we will fail. You see we are in a spiritual battle everyday. You enlisted in this battle when you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and believed in God. You are a soldier. You have to be militant!

2. Be a strong and courageous soldier. 

2 Timothy 2:3-4 (HCSB)

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. To please the recruiter, no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of everyday life.”

Don’t get entangled with the concerns of everyday life. If you do, you will not see the enemy coming. We can trust God with our everyday concerns as we are delighting our self in Him and following His Word. We have to be strong and courageous as we work for the Lord or receive His healing touch of rebuilding.

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous many times. I believe this was because we as humans need that encouragement and reminder.

Joshua 1:6 – 9 (HCSB)

“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night, so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Joshua was just that, “strong and courageous.” He fought the inhabitants of the land and won. The Israelites did receive their promise land. He didn’t allow fear to creep in to his thinking.

Fear can paralyze us if we let it. Fear has the potential to tear us apart and possibly divide us. We have to believe in faith that God will be there for us. He promises this in His word.

Joshua 10:8 (CEV)

“Joshua,” the LORD said, “don’t be afraid of the Amorites. They will run away when you attack, and I will help you defeat them.” 

3. Know your authority in Christ.

Our job is to get in the battle position that God has commanded us and let God to the rest. This has always been my motto when ever I do ministry of any kind, be it preaching, leading worship, or even one on one with someone. I know God will do His part as I am faithful and do what God has called me to do.

God has called us. We must be strong and bold and unashamed. We walk in the authority that has been given to us through Christ.

Luke 10:19 (HCSB)

“Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you.”

Knowing this, we can be assured that God is with us and we should never be afraid of the enemy. The enemy wants us to believe we have no authority over him. Once we have this knowledge, he can’t do anything to us. He lies to us to believe he has power, but he doesn’t. Our fear can give him temporary power in that it stifles us and paralyzes us. That is why we need to not fear and to walk in the boldness God has given us.

3. know Your Authority In Christ

Authority over the enemy:

Isa 54:17 (HCSB)

“No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the LORD’s servants, and their righteousness is from Me.” This is the LORD’s declaration.” 

Mat 16:19 (KJV)

“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

Mar 6:7 (HCSB)

“He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits.” 

Mar 16:15-18 (ESV)

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

Eph 6:10-18 (HCSB) 

“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” 

Be looking for 12 Steps to Overcome Opposition Part 2 next week.

Blessings,

Pastor Kris Belfils

http://www.krisbelfils.com

http://www.hopefellowshipspokane.com