Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!
Ephesians 6:10-18
WE LIVE IN A WISHY-WASHY WORLD, full of compromisers, fence-sitters, and indecisive folks who are afraid to take a stand. Now and then, however, someone dares to go against the flow—dares to be different for righteousness sake---for the kingdom of God. And when it happens, it is refreshing, so inspiring.
Before World War II, Nora Waln wrote a book exposing Hitler and his Nazi plotters. The book, Reaching for the Stars, was intercepted in the German mails on its way to an American publisher. She fled to London, rewrote the book from memory and sent copies to Heinrich Himmler, the Nazi hangman. He took vengeance by imprisoning severn of her anti-Nazi friends. Miss Waln went back to Germany in 1939 and offered her life for the freedom of these friends. Himmler offered to empty a whole prison if she would rewrite the book to make Hitler appear good. In refusing, she said, “I am willing to forfeit my life, but not my beliefs!”
She took a stand, even if it meant her death. By the way, did you notice how many times in our scripture passage the word, “stand” appears? Four times! Four times in just nine verses. Let’s take this word and build a sermon on it in the next few minutes.
1. STAND UP!
Some Christians are afraid to take a stand for their Lord. They may be shy, self-conscious, fearful, or suffer from a lack of confidence. They need to hear the apostle Paul saying to them as he wrote to Timothy: “Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” (II Timothy 1:8). They need also to remember what Jesus said in Luke 9:26: “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed.”
George Duffield wrote the words to a hymn that we often sing: Stand Up for Jesus. When we stand up courageously for the Lord, He will be there to strengthen, steady, and sustain us.
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
Billy Graham used to tell a story of a professing Christian who got a job in a lumber camp that had the reputation of being very ungodly. When a friend heard that he had been hired, he said to him, “If those lumberjacks ever find out you’re a Christian, your going to be in for a very hard time!” The man responded, “I know it, but I really need the job.” After he had been working at the camp for a year, he met the friend who had predicted the ridicule and persecution he would receive from the other lumberjacks. “Well, how did it go?” he asked the friend. “Did they give you a hard time?” “Oh no, not at all,” the man replied. “They didn’t give me a bit of trouble---they never found out that I was a Christian!” (Windows on the Word).
Can you imagine someone happily married who never let anyone know about his wife? When you stand for the Lord, you stand for the truth, for righteousness, for holiness. I saw a sign on a church marquee that read, WE PREVENT TRUTH DECAY! That church wanted the world to know that they stood for truth—God’s truth.
2. STAND AGAINST
Look at verse 11 of our scripture passage. We are called upon to stand against the devil’s schemes. We can’t do this until first we have the armor of God on. When we take a stand, we draw a line the sand---against all the isms of the world:
o Humanism
o Pluralism
o Universalism
o Materialism
o Secularism
o Atheism
o Hedonism
In a time of loose and sagging morals, Satan provides many rationalizations for improper behavior. Those who would be faithful in Christian living must not be ignorant of the devil’s schemes (II Cor.2:11). Wrong is always wrong despite efforts to excuse our actions!
Wrong is wrong even if we don’t get caught! Let’s remember what Proverbs 15:13 says: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good.”
Bumper Sticker: IF YOU DIDN’T GET CAUGHT, DID YOU REALLY DO IT?
Wrong is wrong, even if we do it for a good cause. The honorable purpose does not justify a dishonorable deed or action. The end never justifies the means. All sin is transgression of the law (I John 3:4; 5:17).
Wrong is wrong, even if others are doing worse things. It will be little comfort to the lost on the day of judgment to know that others committed worse sins. According to Proverbs 24:9, even the “thought of foolishness is sin.”
Wrong is wrong, even if it doesn’t bother the conscience. The conscience can be “trained” or “educated” to accept wrong-doing; even evil done in sincerity is sinful in the sight of a holy God.
Wrong is wrong, even if it is commonly considered acceptable. Exodus 23:2: “You shall not follow a multitude to do evil.”
In other words, there is never a right way to do wrong!
o Moses stood against the Egyptians
o David stood against Goliath
o Gideon stood against the Midianites
o Daniel stood against the King of Babylon
o Paul stood against the Judaizers
o Jesus stood against the Pharisees
The story is told of a man who, resisting the cost of the oats he fed his mule, began gradually to change over to sawdust in its diet. Day by day, the animal was fed less oats and more sawdust until, finally, it was all sawdust. Everything went fine for a while—but by the time the mule became satisfied with sawdust, he died of malnutrition! Don’t be satisfied with the ways of man or you will find yourself spiritually dead! (3.1.19 of The Preachers Illustration Service).
3. STAND FAST!
In Ephesians 6:13, Paul says, “Stand your ground, and after you have done everything you can, stand!”
Then in verse 14, he says, “Stand firm then.”
To the Thessalonian believers, he wrote, “Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord” (I Thess.3:7,8).
To stand fast is to never give up. Over in Revelation 2:10 a crown of life is provided for those who “stand fast.”
Fanny Crosby was only 6 weeks old when an incorrect salve was placed on her eyes and she became permanently blind. When she was 8 years old, she made a decision that would affect her entire life. She wrote these words:
Oh, what a happy soul I am
I am resolved that in this world
Content I will be
How many blessings I enjoy
That other people don’t
To weep and sigh because I’m blind
I cannot and I won’t.
She didn’t ask God to make her smart or make a wonderful man fall in love with her, or help her become rich or famous. She didn’t even pray for all the clothes she wanted. She didn’t even ask for a special task. But she did ask God for a way to serve Him the best way she could.
Doors were opened to Fanny so that she was able to attend a fine college for the blind. She became a prolific song-writer. She met and married a fine man. On one occasion she was invited to Washington D.C. and addressed the Congress. They gave her a standing ovation. At age 44, someone suggested that she write sacred songs and hymns.
This seemed to be the turning point in her life. She wrote over 8,000 hymns of praise and lived to be 95. We have many of her songs in our hymnals:
o All the Way My Savior Leads me
o Blessed Assurance
o Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
o I am Thine, O Lord
All this was accomplished because she asked only to serve! She did not stand against God because of her misfortune. She stood with what she had!
4. STAND BY!
This means that we are on call 24/7. We are available to be used of God whenever and wherever. We carry a spiritual “beeper.” It’s a sensitivity to the voice of God. We’re ready to do His service when called upon; we are dependable and trustworthy.
For an extraordinary pitcher he performed few extraordinary feats. Though a veteran of 21 seasons, in only one did he win more than 20 games. He never pitched a no-hitter and only once did he lead the league in any category (2.21 ERA, 1980). Yet on June 21, 1986, Don Sutton rubbed pitching elbows with the true legends of baseball by becoming the 13th pitcher to win 300 Games. His analysis of his success is worth noting. "A grinder and a mechanic" is what he calls himself. "I never considered myself flamboyant or exceptional. But all my life I’ve found a way to get the job done." And get it done he did. Through two decades, six presidential terms, and four trades, he consistently did what pitchers are supposed to do: win games. With tunnel vision devotion, he spent 21 seasons redefining greatness. He has been called the "family sedan" of baseball’s men on the mound. (Best Pastoral Illustrations Web Site).
Our pursuits are God’s pursuits. And in order to be ready we must have clean and pure hearts. We are to pass “God’s physical.” We have to be in shape, trained, equipped, so that we can be at our best when the time comes.
I Peter 3:15: “Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the reason for your hope.”
5. STAND STILL!
Exodus 14:13: “Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord…”
Sometimes, when we find ourselves in a difficult position we take quick and drastic action which may bring devastating results. We need to stand still and wait for God’s orders, as Moses and Israel did. We need patience and trust to go forward when God gives the command.
This is hard for us in our culture. We are busy people—schedules to keep, projects to finish, goals to achieve, appointments to keep, problems to solve, deadlines to meet.
But when we take time to wait on the Lord, several positive things happen:
o We are spiritually renewed (Isaiah 40:29-31)
o We have time to reevaluate our priorities
o Problems are more easily solved when exposed to the light of time
o We make better decisions
A man walked out of his house and fell into a pit. Realizing that he couldn’t get out, he waited for someone to come and save him.
o An environmentalist came by and wanted to ban the pit
o A lawyer came by and wanted to sue him because of the pit
o A realtor came by and wanted to sell the pit
o A fireman came along and wanted to condemn the pit
o An atheist came by and said the pit didn’t exist
o A priest came by and wanted to sprinkle the pit
o A charismatic came by and wanted to heal the pit
o A feminist came by and said a woman never would have fallen into the pit
o A contractor came by and wanted to fill in the pit
o A Democrat came by and wanted to tax the pit
o A Republican came by and wanted the throw the Democrat into the pit
o A pessimist came by and said, “You’ll never get out of that pit!”
o A soul-winner came by and led the man to Christ
o A pastor came by and offered a way out of the pit---sent his deacons to build a ladder so the man could get out
And now this man spends his time helping others get out of their own pits, teaching them to wait upon the Lord.
6. STAND ON!
The promise of God! They are yea and amen. As the hymn-writer put it, “they cannot fail when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail.”
Almighty God is the ultimate Promise-Keeper. What He says He will do, He will do!
When Crowfoot, the great chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in southern Alberta, gave the Canadian Pacific Railroad permission to cross the Blackfoot land from Medicine Hat to Calgary, he was given in return a lifetime railroad pass. Crowfoot put it in a leather case and carried it around his neck for the rest of his life. There is no record, however that he ever availed himself of the right to travel anywhere on the railroad.
The promises of God are often treated in the same way by Christians. They hang them on their walls in beautiful plaques; they treasure them in little promises boxes, but they do not claim them for themselves in times of need. Lord, help us to stand on the promises! (Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, #1101).
So there you have it…
STAND UP for God’s truth. Don’t be ashamed.
STAND AGAINST that which is evil.
STAND FAST in the day of testing and trouble.
STAND BY and be prepared to answer His call.
STAND STILL and wait upon the Lord’s leading.
STAND ON the promises of God.
