You Can’t Do Much Without A Stand

Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:13
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.
Ephesians 6:14
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

When soldiers are protecting a city from being attacked and taken over, they go outside that city and build a fighting position. From that fighting position, they will observe enemy movements. From that fighting position, they will launch attacks. They will do their best not to move backward from that position. If they move backward it is either a strategy or a loss that would seriously worry the commanders. That fighting position is the battlefront. That fighting position is supplied with food, weapons, and soldiers. That fighting position is the first-line defense of the city. Without a secure fighting position, the city and the soldiers are at great risk. That fighting position is what our text today calls a stand. You can’t do much without a stand!

A stand is a firm ground where a wrestler pushes his or her opponent from. If you keep shifting your stand in wrestling, you will lose miserably. To win in wrestling, you should ensure you have a firm stand to launch from. The wrestler’s stand in wrestling is everything. You can’t do much without a stand!

A boxer who is pushed to the ropes or a corner all the time is on the way to losing because they have no stand, they seem to be running from attack, instead of defending and attacking. A boxer who is always pushed to a corner or the ropes has no stand. A boxer needs a stand where they also attack and defend themselves. Without a stand, the bout is lost. You can’t do much without a stand!

In philosophy and disciplines of logical thinking, you need a premise from which you reason. You need a basic assumption from which you operate. A solid argument requires a premise. A solid conclusion has a basic assumption. If the premise or basic assumption changes, the whole argument collapses. For example, the creation story is based on the premise that a Creator God exists. Without the existence of a Creator God, the entire conclusions and teachings of creation are null and void. Another example is the big bang theory. The big bang triggered the evolutionary process of all life. If the big bang is disapproved or doubted, then the entire logic of the evolutionary process will collapse. That premise or that assumption is what the Bible today calls a stand. You can’t do much without a stand!

The Bible teaches us today that a Christian needs a stand. To overcome the temptations of satan you need a stand. In order to have a stand, you must put on the full armor of God. Putting on the full armor of God is studying and understanding the teachings of the Bible and the will of God. Putting on the full armor of God is developing an unshakable faith. When you put on the full armor of God, you will be able to take a stand. With a stand, no schemes of the devil will bring you down, Ephesians 6:11. With a stand when the day of evil comes, the day of bad occurrences, the day of pain and hurt, and challenges, you will not lose your Christian fighting position, Ephesians 6:13. You will not let the devil win. Like Job, you will remain faithful amidst the evil things happening to you. When the day of evil comes you will stand like Job. After a serious battle, after everything else, you will still be found standing. After a night of battle, when there is a cease-fire or when morning breaks, you will still be standing. You can’t do much without a stand!

A standing soldier is a living soldier. A fallen soldier is a dead soldier. A dead soldier has been hit by the enemy. A fallen wrestler is a wrestler who has lost at the count of ten. A fallen boxer is one who has been knocked out. A fallen argument is one that is no longer convincing. A fallen Christian is one who has given in to temptation and has backslid or lost faith and stopped worshipping. Anything other than standing is a fall and a failure. That is why the Bible tells us to do everything to stand, to remain standing, Ephesians 6:13 tells us that after everything else, we should still be standing. You can’t do much without a stand!

We need a stand in everything. Many governments have a stand that they do not negotiate with terrorists. That stand informs how they deal with a situation where their people are captured by terrorists. Without a stand, you will be swayed and confused by everyone and everything. You can’t do much without a stand!

We need a stand on witchcraft. When witchcraft as an option tempts us, we remain firm on our stand. We need a stand on sexual immorality. When we are allured to sexual sins, we remain firm on our stand. We need a stand on corruption, abuse of office, and embezzlement of funds. We need a stand on Bible teachings so that we are not swayed by all teachings that come. We need a stand on the Bible. Do we follow the Bible fully or in somethings, we can put the Bible aside? We need a stand on everything and anything and where we stand. You can’t do much without a stand!

Joseph had a stand on sexual issues when Mrs. Potiphar offered him free sex. Daniel had a stand on prayer when a decree for no one to pray was issued. Eve ate the forbidden fruit because she had no stand. Samson lost in a big way because in the presence of Delilah his stand weakened and changed. You can’t do much without a stand!

A good solid stand is based on God’s word the Bible. When your stand is biblical and faithfulness to God, God will fortify your stand. God will protect you and favor you at that position. You will never be disappointed in that stand. My stand is to determine everything based on how it is consistent with the Bible and my faith in God. I take a stand on God’s side and on what His word commands me to do in all aspects of life. May God help us to have such a stand, a firm stand based on the Bible and faithfulness to Him, an immovable stand, in Jesus’ name, Amen!