Having Done All, Stand!

“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

(Col. 2: 15 NKJV)

Because of the blood of Christ and His sacrifice, we have victory. There is no debate. No question. The enemy knows this. He knows he’s lost and is doing all he can to take down as many as possible before Christ comes back.

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

(Deut. 31: 6 NKJV)

But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to Me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” (Isa. 43:1-4 MSG)

He doesn’t say after you have done all He commands in order to have victory, to sit down.

HE SAYS STAND! GOD IS OUR GREAT DEFENDER!

^“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which, you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

(Eph. 6:10-18 NKJV)

1. Recognizing Your Enemy

“When you’ve lived long enough, you start to realize that life is not really the playground that we believed it was when we were younger, it is, in fact, a battlefield.”

“As soldiers, if we want to be victorious, we must first understand who our enemy is and how they operate.

If you want to address the issues that exist in the physical and visible, you need to address the INVISIBLE AND SPIRITUAL

“Your real enemy is not your government or your family. It’s not your past or your lack, etc. Your real enemy is not of the physical world.”

“Then He said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.”

(Ezek. 8:15-16 NKJV)

The weapons of the enemy.

• Fear
• Intimidation
• Lies
• Isolation (depression)

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8 NKJV)

2. Overcoming Your Enemy

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

(John 16: 33 NKJV)

What are our weapons?

• Prayer
• Worship

“But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.”

(Ps. 22:3 NKJV)

“One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, ‘These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!’ She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, ‘Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!’ And it was gone, just like that. When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood. The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum-security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.  Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.” (Acts 16:16-40 MSG)