Stand Firm
Introduction: Decadence and despair haunt many of America's youth. Perhaps fourteen-year-old Rod Matthews represents the most horrible extreme. Uninterested in baseball or books, Rod found one thing that did stimulate him: Death. His curiosity was intensely aroused by a rental video, Faces of Death, a collage of film clips of people dying violently. He wanted to see death happen in real life. So one winter day Rod lured a young friend into the woods and hammered him to death with a baseball bat. At Matthews's trial a child psychiatrist testified that the boy was not conventionally insane. He just "doesn't know right from wrong...He is morally handicapped."
(Charles Colson, Against the Night, pp. 21-22.)
I think that describes society today, not insane but just doesn't know right from wrong they are morally handicapped. It's impossible it seems to ignore the decadence and depravity around us. It was bad before, but there was at least an understanding, an acknowledgment of what sin is and that it was detestable and something to be ashamed of and repented of. Today sin is as casual, acceptable, and mainstream as anything in the world. In modern times, sin is applauded and promoted, while righteousness and virtue are mocked and despised. The images of raunchiness, fornication, hatred, violence, paganism, blasphemy, and all manner of wickedness surround us wherever we go. How can you escape it? We are strangers in a strange land.
In these hectic and stressful times it is natural for any Christian to feel discouraged. After all, It is only the Christian who would be discouraged at such depravity, false Christians couldn't care less. Sometimes we feel like throwing in the towel and giving up and surrender to evil and proclaim it the winner, lifting up our hands and saying what's the point? No one is listening.
The Bride of the Christ and the building of the church are different. The Bride of Christ is the true Church. Just as we saw in the churches in Revelation, there were those that were earnest for Christ, even if their fellow church goers were not, and the Lord gave them hope. The Lord is coming back for his bride and He is coming back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle. Holiness won't win you heaven, The very thought of evil is sin before God. You are in constant sin no matter what you do or how hard you try and therefor You need a Savior – your righteousness will not save you, only Jesus saves! We are made holy through the blood of Jesus. However, Mark 1:15 says repent and believe! Acts 2:38 says Repent and be baptized. He is not coming back for a harlot, like The prostitute wife of Hosea, He is not coming back for a bride who flirts with the world and is constantly caught in spiritual adultery. At the end of the season, the wheat will be harvested and the tares will be left behind! The sheep will be kept while the goats will be separated unto judgment!
“Therefor 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, ...” Eph. 6:13,14 We see how this verse closely parallels I Corinthians 16:13
“Be on your guard stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” -I Cor. 16:13
Transition: In Paul's letter to the immoral Corinthians we learn that we must Stand Ready, Stand Firm, and Stand Strong.
I. We Must Stand Ready
“Be on your guard. .”
Some other translations say 'be watchful', 'watch ye', 'be vigilant', 'be ready' etc. The point is a Christian is always in danger, and should always be watching out for the enemy who is constantly going to and fro looking for someone to devour. Paul saw the wolf around and in the Corinthian church and warns them to be ready and watching. The imagery is that of a watchman in a watchtower of on the castle wall looking for any sign of mischief outside the city walls. There are many reasons why Christians should be on guard: We must stand ready because there are many people who are watching us; God is watching us, He sees and takes notice of all our actions; the angels are watching and watching over us, and other Christians are watching us, for our good; and evil men are watching us to find some fault to diminish us in the eyes of others; and the devil is watching us and waiting for an opportunity to do cause trouble if possible.
Paul is warning an immature group of Christians in Corinth to be on their guard. Apparently, they hadn't been and needed a reminder to do so, they were fighting amongst themselves, there was no order in service, they misunderstood basic doctrine, they were allowing sin in the church and had one who was having an ongoing sexual relationship with his step mother. Something that was even unacceptable to the pagans, and yet it was going on their church. So the Corinthians had issues. The Enemy had his hands firmly in this church because they hadn't been watching and they weren't ready when their 'day of evil came'
The enemy is always looking to get you, searching for an opening to tempt you, looking for the next chance to drag you down and pull you away from God. He never rests, and neither should we. If he never stops prowling then we shouldn't never stop watching out for him. John 10:10 says that he is a thief that comes first to steal. He is waiting for you to be distracted with sugar plums so that he can rob you, not just FROM you, but ROB YOU from God. He steals the sheep, like Absalom who stole the hearts of the men of Israel from their king, He has no other desire but to steal the sheep from their shepherd, only to use them for his own selfish reasons. This is the reason we must be ready, alert, awake, and vigilant. Because as surely as the sun rises, the enemy comes sneaking around but if we are alert and watching we can see him from a distance and if we are ready we can resist him and the word promises that he will flee from us.
Think of all the damage that we bring on ourselves through spiritual neglect. Not watching over our own spiritual house. We often fail to consider the gradual, cumulative effect of sin in our lives.
In Saint Louis in 1984, an unemployed cleaning woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home. Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing city of bees. The whole attic became a hive, and the ceiling of the second- floor bedroom finally caved in under the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey and thousands of angry bees. While the woman escaped serious injury, she was unable to repair the damage of her accumulated neglect. (Robert T. Wentz: sermonillustrations.com)
How many disasters happen due to our neglect? Don't neglect your soul, Stand Ready. Watch over yourself, Pray to God, Read the Word, Go to Church. Stand Ready.
Notice the image of standing in Ephesians 6:13 “Therefor put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,” He is not talking of standing in victory but standing in battle with the armor of God on. You put armor on to prepare for war. The Christian soldier is ready to take his stand against the surges of the enemy.
Transition: Paul exhorts the Corinthians and us to Stand ready, secondly he states to Stand firm.
II. We Must Stand Firm
“Stand firm in the faith”
There was such a great need for the Corinthians to hear this they were to stand firm and not be tossed around by every whim of doctrine. Floating and flying to hear everything being taught. In short they were standing firm in the faith. In biblical times the Romans had a formation called the 'Repel Calvary formation' and it consisted of tightly packed soldiers that would form a firm wall with their shields and the secondary group behind them would protrude their spears, it was very effective in repelling stronger enemy, that would otherwise have an advantage. That's the idea of how we are to stand. Stand in a way that you are determined not to move. Stand ready, and Stand firm!
Ephesians 6:13 says to stand firm when the day of evil comes. Anytime the enemy comes, is an evil day, it is always someones evil day out there. But the last days are certainly going to be evil, we read in 2 Timothy 3:1 “But mark this there will be terrible times in the last days.” Among other things people will be arrogant, selfish, violent, wicked, mean, haters of good, but lovers of pleasure. That is what makes the days evil, it is sin. When the devil comes in like a flood we must stand firm to be a part of the standard that God is raising against him, because if we don't we will be swept away with the rest of those who didn't stand firm.
The Episcopal church has been in support of homosexual priests for a while now so it was no surprise to see them endorse gay marriage but then in 2011 the Presbyterian church (USA) voted to allow gays to be pastors, and July last month the supreme court ruled in favor of gay marriage, and this week, The First Baptist church in Greenville South Carolina has decided to ordain open homosexuals and transgenders as ministers.
I am appalled to see videos that show babies heads being shipped to places while people laugh about it, and I am scared where a society is headed with such nonchalance for human life. If no one cares for the most innocent among us how or why would they care for you or me? The word says that in the last days 'the love of many will wax cold.'
Every week or so it seems there is another shooting at a school, a church, a mall, a work place. It seems that we can't turn on the news without hearing about another terrorist plot. We see ethnic group rising up against ethnic group we see wars and hear about rumors of wars, and yet like in the days of Noah people go on building, planting, marrying, carrying on as if there is nothing to be concerned about. I believe we are living the those perilous times . . Because we don't see them as perilous.
Just as we are immoral today Paul tells the immoral Corinthians to stand firm in the Faith. Faith in what? Faith in who? We don't stand firm in the faith of ourselves. We don't put our faith in men. Men will let you down. Men are fallible. Men are sinful. We don't put our faith in things or idols, they take us away from God. If they don't fail you on their own God will make sure they fail you so that you will stop putting your faith in man and start putting your faith in God! We put our faith in Jesus Christ! We must stand firm in Christ, stand firm in His promises, stand firm in prayer, stand firmly against what is evil, sinful, wicked, and detestable to God!
Even when you are tired and discouraged, stand firm! Beginning a race is easy, it is finishing one that is difficult. . Time tests all metals, and it will test yours! Rushing into battle full of passion and adrenaline gets you through the first hour or the first day but as the battle wears on and on and your strength begins to dwindle and your passion begins to wane, and after many days on the Christian battlefield after your energy is spent- That is the time when our faith is truly tested. While a thousand fall at my left side and ten thousand fall at my right, it will not come near me! (Ps. 91:7) While others fall around us, I pray that our church would hold the line! Day after day week after week, year after year. It is a matter of patience and endurance. God bless veteran Christians that have served him faithfully for so many years!
Transition: We must stand ready, we must stand firm and finally, we must stand strong
III. We Must Stand Strong
“be men of courage; be strong”
'Be courageous' in the original language means 'Act like men'. Act like men, not like children. In a land full of middle aged children, study to be a man. Play the role of a man. Stand like a Man! Children are afraid of the smallest things. You should Expect the Storm to come! Because it will and once it does, Stand strong once it gets there! If the footmen weary you what will the horses do? Act Like men! There is a war coming and we don't have the time to spare playing about like children! It is going to take real strength and and sure courage to survive the tidal wive of filth that we must stand up to.
When we stand brave and stand strong, we stand out. Writing to the same group of people, Paul tells the Corinthians, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” It is when a church is sliding away from God, that real men stand up to the world, and then we will stand out to the church and be the example the rest need to follow.
The martyr Polycarp heard a voice, as he was being taken into the city, come from Heaven saying “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man!” While no one saw who spoke there were others there that claimed to have heard the voice. He was threatened to be eaten by wild animals and still refused to deny Christ and then threatened with fire, to which he essentially said “what are you waiting for? Do it.” and once they realized he wouldn't burn because of supernatural protection, someone took a knife and stabbed him to his death. But He will be remembered as a faithful servant and even at the age of 86 he had more courage than a young lion. He was strong in the face of persecution, and his strength has made him stand our amongst the church!
God wants a few good men to stand ready, stand firm, and stand strong.
Conclusion: In conclusion, I want to point out a different way to stand. Sometimes we are to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord! We read of a story in Exodus 14:13 where Moses tells a fleeing Israelite nation that has been ran down by an Egyptian army and one hardhearted Pharaoh. The situation couldn't be more dire. The Egyptians behind them, the Red Sea in front of them, the craggy rocks of Pi-hahiroth on the right, and the fortresses of Migdol and Baal-Zephon to their left. And Moses answered the worried 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.” Ex. 14:13, 14
It is a natural instinct to run when we are afraid. Moses tells them don't be afraid, because there is no reason to be afraid. God didn’t bring us this far to see us destroyed by Pharoah. I'm always amazed at how we forget what God has done in the past when facing a trying situation in the present. But until Self gets out of the way God can not be exalted and this is the reason behind many of our trials and difficulties. There are no atheists in a foxhole for a reason. It seems until we come to a place where we are not in control and no man or thing can help us, and after exhausting all other options, we then turn to God.
Whenever we find ourselves in trouble one of the biggest temptations is to trust ourselves and that leads us to make premature and foolish decisions. We run around asking everyone for their advise and then ignore it and then take our own, we rush to do something and make it worse because we didn't stand still and wait upon the Lord. Just because your problem isn't solved immediately doesn't mean it can't be solved. What a great thing it would be if we could learn to trust in the Lord and lean not upon our own understanding!
If you have exhausted all other options I encourage you now turn to God and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today
