Making your stand in an evil world

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9 NIV).

Our world is engaged in a battle between the light and darkness, good and evil, integrity and corruption, holy and profane, pure and impure, pride and humility, and between the Lord of hosts and the prince of darkness.

The lives of over 7.5 billion people on this planet are the arena for this battle and the goal of the conquest. The world’s population is greater than ever, so the stakes for this spiritual war are the highest they have ever been.

So, like it or not, wanted or not, you are the object of war and in a battle for your life. Many will be overwhelmed by the forces of darkness. However, God is raising and equipping a group of believers that will stand up and answer the call to engage the enemy.

God’s Word points to a spiritual army infused by God’s Word and animated by God’s breath. Ezekiel envisioned a valley of dry, dead bones, representing the hopes and aspirations of God’s people. God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones and they came together, and flesh came upon them, but they were still laying there dead. God then tells Ezekiel to breathe upon the bones and as he did, the bones came to life and stood up on their feet, a vast army.

I believe this represents the army God is raising up today who respond to the Word of the Lord, experience the breath of God, and will rise to make a stand for God’s kingdom. I believe they will have supernatural victories and change the world.

Paul wrote to take our stand against the devil’s schemes, not against people, but against “rulers, authorities, powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:11).

To “stand” means to maintain our position in the face of pressure. Throughout history, this has been God’s call to those who serve Him — to take a stand.

• God spoke to Jeremiah, “Stand against the whole land … They will fight against you, but will not overcome you, for I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:17-19).
• God said to Ezekiel, “Stand up on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Ezekiel records, “As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet” (Ezekiel 2:1-2).
• To Daniel, God said, “Consider carefully the words I’m about to speak to you and stand up.” Daniel records, “When he said this to me, I stood up” (Daniel 10:11, 19).
• After experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter moved from the place of repose and fear into a place of courage and boldness (Acts 2).
• To Paul, God said, “Get up and stand on your feet. I’ve appeared to appoint you as a servant and as a witness” (Acts 26:16).

Today, principalities and powers want Christians to cower, retreat and run away. But God is calling us to stand in the face of the enemy and trust Him.

In the epic film “The Return of the King,” Aragorn made a stand against Sauron and his kingdom of darkness. “Hold your ground,” he said. “A day may come when the courage of men fails … but it is not this day.”

The Lord of the Rings was written by a Christian author, J.R.R. Tolkien, who put not-so-subtle messages of Christianity in his works.

The point is, when we feel surrounded, we can stand firm on the Word of the living God, and God will give us the victory. The Bible is filled with people who made a stand.

• When Israel was at the Red Sea, Moses said, “Stand still and see the glory of God.” They were out-equipped but not “out-faithed.”
• Gideon went from cowardice to boldness and though he was outnumbered, he was not “out-faithed.”
• David stood on God’s Word before Goliath. He was out-trained, but he was not “out-faithed.”
• Jehoshaphat was attacked by the Moabites and prayed. The answer came, “This battle is not yours, but the Lord’s.” He was “out-attacked” but not “out-faithed.”
• In one of the greatest sieges of human history, King Hezekiah got a word from Isaiah that the enemy would not prevail. The next morning, 185,000 enemy warriors were dead without Hezekiah ever raising a sword. He was out-maneuvered, but he was not “out-faithed.”

Surrounded, Elijah’s servant was frightened. Elijah asked God to “open his eyes.” God opened his eyes, and the servant saw chariots of fire and angels on all the hillsides. He was overwhelmed but not “out-faithed.”

Conversely, when King Ahaz was under attack, Isaiah gave him a message. He chose instead to seek help from the world. He was defeated. Ahaz refused to trust the living God. As a result, he was not even buried with the other kings of the nation.

The message is the clear message for us today. If we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all. If we don’t take our stand in faith, we won’t have a leg to stand on.

In this generation, we are all going to feel under pressure, both overwhelmed and under attack. But we can stand on God’s Word. Trust Him. Believe him. Put our faith in Him.

The forces of darkness, waves of wickedness, and a flood of evil and impurity are raging in our world today. The devil is trying to bully God’s people because when we make our stand against the kingdom of darkness, all hell turns loose against us.

But God’s Word is true: “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me” (Isaiah 54:17).

When you make your stand on the Word of God, hell will attack, but God will use those who prevail to change the world.