STAND FIRM - OVERCOME AND RESIST

As we stand firm in the Faith we must take up the full armor of God. Below is quoted from Charles Spurgeon. Here he instructs us with the verse from 1 Peter 5:9 : But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”   

HOW WE MAY OVERCOME THIS ADVERSARY

“Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” This is our first means of defense. When Satan attacks us as an angel of light, we need not so much resist by open antagonism as by flight. There are some temptations that are to be overcome only by running away from them, but when Satan roars, we must raise the shout and the war cry. To run then would be cowardice and must entail certain destruction.

 

Suppose now that Satan roars with persecution, or suppose you are slandered, vilified, abused---will you give way? Then are you undone. Will you say, “No, never. By Him who called me to this work, I will see this battle out.” You have done well: you have resisted, and you will win the day. Has he assailed you with some temptation obnoxious to your spirit? Yield an inch, and you are undone, but become more watchful and vigilant over yourself in that particular sin, and resistance must certainly bring victory. Or has he injected blasphemy? Resist. Be more prayerful every time he is more active. He will soon give it up if you find that his attacks drive you to Christ. Often has Satan been nothing but a big black dog to drive Christ’s sheep nearer to the Master. Match Satan by turning his temptations to good account, and he will soon give up that method of warfare.

Resist him. But how? “Steadfast in the faith” Seek to obtain a clear knowledge of the doctrines of the gospel and then get a good grip of them. Be ready to die rather than give up a particle of God’s revealed truth. This will make you strong. Then take hold of the promises of God which are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Know that to every doctrine there is some opposite promise. Have ready for every attack some strong word commencing with “It is written.”

All the water outside a ship cannot sink it. It is the water inside that perils the ship’s safety. So if your faith can keep its hold and you can say, “Though he slay me yet will I trust in him,” Satan may batter your shield, but he has not wounded your flesh. The conflict may be long, but the victory is absolutely sure. Keep near to the cross, and you are safe. Throw your arms around the dying Savior. Let the droppings of His blood fall on your sins, and even if you cannot see Him, still believe in Him. Then let Satan roar, he cannot hurt; let him rage, his fury is vain; he may only show his teeth, for he certainly cannot bite. “Whom resist, steadfast in the faith.”

 

 

THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD - Stand Firm in the Faith

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
EPHESIANS 6:10-17

See Video
Full Armor of God
http://youtu.be/hsRm8rnmdLw
 


 

STANDING FIRM WHILE BEING ASSAILED

As we live the Christian life we do well to remember that there will be sufferings, afflictions, difficulties, trials, hardships and troubles. It is by the strength of the Lord that we are able to persevere and endure when under spiritual attacks. 2 Corinthians 4:7,8 says: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; “

In all this, Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. Our sufferings are no indication of our spiritual condition or how much God loves us or values us as a child of God. Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart.

We are in a spiritual battle and need spiritual armor to stand Firm in the battle. Ephesians 6 outlines the armor that every Christian is commanded to put on and is needed to be fruit-bearing, obedient, and committed in serving the Lord. One of those pieces of the armor is having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Eph.6:15.

The Christian is a soldier in the battle. No soldier goes to war without first being prepared to fight. This is why the study of Scripture is so important. The scriptures train us in how to be prepared and aware of the enemy that seeks to destroy our witness and our faith. There is warning in the bible of false teachers, Impostors and false brethren. We are not unaware of Satan’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11) and the schemes of the devil. Eph. 6:11.

C.H. Spurgeon wrote well of this:

“He who marches meets with rough terrain, or if as a warrior he dashes into the thick of conflict, he is assailed with weapons, and therefore he needs footwear suitable to meet his perils. The active and energetic Christian meets with temptation that others do not meet. Idle persons can hardly be said to be in danger; they are a stage beyond that and are already overcome. Satan barely needs to tempt them; they rather tempt him and are a fermenting mass in which sin multiplies exceedingly.

But earnest, laborious believers are sure to be assailed, even as fruit-bearing trees are certain to be visited by birds. Satan cannot tolerate a person who serves God earnestly, such a person does damage to the archenemy’s dominions and therefore must be incessantly assailed. The prince of darkness will try, if he can, to injure the person’s character, to break his communion with God, to spoil the simplicity of his faith, to make him proud of what he is doing, or to make him despair of success. In one way or another he will, if possible bruise the worker’s heel or trip him up or lame him altogether. Because of all these dangers, infinite mercy has provided gospel shoes for the believer’s feet, shoes of the best kind, such as only those warriors wear who serve the Lord of Hosts. "

In the New Testament, “Sufferings” is used both of Christ’s sufferings and of believers’ sufferings for His sake. In 1 Peter 5:9 Peter admonishes; Resist Satan; ”But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” But, self-centered Christians who serve the Lord halfheartedly and for their own interests and comfort seldom have to pay a price for their faith. They are of little threat to Satan’s work, thus they are of little benefit to Christ. They do not stand firm on the truths of scripture and defend the faith.

Our being born again, and being given hope through Christ by His resurrection, and obtaining an imperishable inheritance with Him and our protection by God’s power gives us reason to greatly rejoice.

Standing Firm in Adversity

Where is our faith during times of adversity, and how do we stand firm in our faith when trials and sufferings come. Suffering is a part of life. Everyone goes through some sort of suffering and adversities in their lives at one time or another, and no one is immune from it. Some go through more suffering then others. Job 5:7 says; "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward". It doesn't matter if you are a Christian or non-christian - all people suffer in this life. There are sorrows, pressures, need, loneliness, hunger, trials, unpopularity, physical pain, loss, disappointment.

Through these times in our life, we must Stand Firm in our Faith in Christ. God's promises are in the Scriptures to fortify the believer through times of trials, sufferings, and adversity. Our God is merciful and the Holy Spirit has been given to the believer to comfort us, and help us pray as we turn to Him in humility He strengthens us in our circumstances. Our standing in Christ is a firm foundation when times of trouble come.

We can deal with adversity and sufferings through our attitudes. But sometimes we can become distracted by our sufferings and lose site of God's call on our lives, and God's eternal purpose in all things. We must remind ourselves as Romans 8:28,29 says; "And all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the first born among many brethren;" This is where Faith works it's greatest effect in our lives. By Faith we trust God that their is a higher good God is working.

For those who are in ministry positions, Christians should remember to pray for these ones who are devoted to serve the Lord. Pastors, teachers, missionary workers, apologists and those who witness for Christ, especially those on the internet, need to be guarded by divine power. Those who are on the front lines need special prayer, remember those you know today in your prayers.

We may suffer only temporarily or we may suffer all our lives. The end result is that we all look forward to - is being with the Lord in Heaven. Those thoughts will put all things into proper perspective. No where in the Bible does it say that a Christian is exempt from tribulations and troubles. Sometimes God permits suffering as Paul says in Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake," We need to stay faithful during adversity, He is more then able to see us through.

Sometimes God may permit suffering - to speak through our lives as a testimony to comfort others. God might be using your suffering to inspire and strengthen others. Those of us that are enduring adversities can identify and sympathize with others in ways we have ourselves been comforted in Christ. This scripture gives reinforcement in our confidence of this fact -2 Corinthians 1:3,4, says; "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

So in the midst of suffering what is it that we learn, how is God glorified? The bible helps give us the answers. Jesus knowing that his disciples would face troubles comforted them by telling them in John 14:1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." Because of God's grace and mercy, We can look beyond suffering and adversity and see what God's higher purpose is, and what he wants to teach us. We can be encouraged and pray that God will reveal the reasons for the suffering, we can turn to His word and seek His instruction for our lives in whatever circumstances we are going through. Trust Him. His word will give us comfort, encouragement, understanding, truth and strength. Praise be to God.