For all the centuries of human history - leaders of nations - peoples - have asked, “Why can’t we solve the basic problems of human kind? Why is it that each generation seems to fight the battles of the previous generation? Why are we personally continually struggling to change the stuff in our lives that drags us down - that threatens to tear us apart.”

The Apostle Paul answers these questions by focusing on the deep issues of the spiritual struggle that we’re all involved in. Satan and his forces - arrayed against us - seeking to lead us away from God and to our destruction.

Last week we saw that - in the midst of this struggle - God gives us a choice. We can try to imitate God’s strength - try to live the Christian life - struggling along trying to work all of this out on our own. Or we can choose to put our lives into God’s hands - to trust in His strength and protection - and victory over all that we struggle with.

What we want to come to understand is how we do that. What practical steps can we take to put our lives into God’s hands?

Ephesians 6:13 - Paul writes, “Therefore - in order to be strong in God’s strength - therefore, take up the full armor of God - God’s strength - so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

Imagine a football team - not the 49ers or Raiders - a football team -backed up against their own goal line. The defense lines up and simply stands - refusing to be intimidated - refusing to be moved - refusing to give even an inch to the opposition. That’s the idea here - a goal line stand. Only the game is a war - a struggle - that involves our eternal destiny and the character and quality of our lives today. Standing firm in God’s strength means a dogged determination - in the face of everything that’s against us - to be unmoved - unshaken - in our faith.

How do we do that? How do we stand firm in God’s Strength? In verse 13 there are two crucial truths that we need to understand.

First truth: Standing firm means choosing “to resist in the evil day.”

First of all that means we need to be prepared to resist.

Remember Joseph? Taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar - the government official who bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites - who had brought him down to Egypt? God made Joseph successful so he was put in charge of Potiphar’s house - all that Potiphar owned. Joseph gained favor in Potiphar’s sight. As God blessed Joseph and Joseph prospered. Potiphar prospered.

Then there was Mrs. Potiphar who looked at Joseph with desire - this young - single - handsome man. She said to him, “Lie with me.” Or as Doug put it when he was explaining this to the AWANA kids, “Come here big boy.”

Talk about a tough spot to be in - a struggle. There’s no place to run. On one hand how do you go and tell your boss - your owner - that his beloved wife is making advances at you? On the other hand, Mrs. Potiphar may have been a very desirable woman who was very much alone.

Joseph says to her, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house and he has put all that he owns in my charge - your husband trusts me. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife - a very tactful way of telling it like it is. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” Joseph’s answer is that strong. A man who’s heart is for God. “I’m not going there. Not even going to entertain the idea. Don’t even have to think about it.”

Day after day she comes with same offer - same temptation. Satan doesn’t give up easily. When she can’t talk him into sin she grabs his clothing. Without a moment’s hesitation he runs. (Genesis 39:1-20)

On his 50th wedding anniversary Henry Ford was asked to what he attributed his 50 years of happy marriage. Do you remember his answer? Henry Ford replied, "The formula is the same one I've used in making cars - just stick to one model." (1)

When we say, "I do" - the choice is made. We've made a commitment. "I'll stay faithful to you alone." When a woman - other than our wife - or a man - other than our husband - makes a move for us - there’s not even a question in our minds - the answer’s “no” and we’re already getting as far away as possible.

The choice to be here at 9:30 on Sunday morning is made Saturday night. It’s an easier choice - setting the alarm at night than in the morning when we’d rather pull the covers back over our heads.

Not every day is evil. Praise God for that. Not every day are we under the type of pressure and attack from Satan that Paul describes in verse 12. But there are days when circumstances and ongoing events in our lives stagger us - threaten to knock us off our feet. We’re discouraged - doubtful - weak. Days when it takes everything just to get out of bed - to hope in God and stand where we are - to maintain the simplest faith.

We can make a choice to resist before we come to the day of evil. That means making choices - to leave some people behind - to say no to their companionship - to stop being like them. We have to choose to go in a different direction - to stand for different things. To choose what to have in our lives - what to involve ourselves with - what to allow into our minds. To make choices that confirm our first choice of trusting God with our lives. Choices that draw us closer to God - keep us where He wants us to be. Now - so we’ll be prepared - strengthened - when our faith is challenged.

Choosing to stand firm means preparing to resist. Second - choosing to stand firm - resisting in the evil day - means that we resist with confidence in God’s promise of victory.

Paul writes, “we will be able to resist in the evil day.” In God’s strength it can be done. James explains the promise this way in James 4:7, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7b)

Have you ever seen a melodrama? One of those plays set in the old west. There’s a hero and a villain and a beautiful young heroin that the hero falls madly in love with. Remember this? Whenever the villain appears everyone hisses. Whenever the hero appears everyone cheers. For the young heroin people sigh - aahhh. The plot is basically the same. No matter what happens the ending is always the same.

The villain - you can hiss now - the villain kidnaps the young heroin - aahhh - and ties her to a railroad track. The train’s a comin’ and she’s about to die. At the last minute the hero - cheers - the hero comes - defeats the evil villain - hissss - and saves the heroin - aahhh. The villain always says something like, “Drat! Foiled again!” When we choose to resist Satan, we can almost hear him saying, “Drat! Foiled again!” Try that, “Drat! Foiled again!”

Satan appeals to our emotions. He works through fear - anxiety - depression - anger - our urges and desires - our pride and ego - the things we feel deep inside - things we’re aware of and things we’re not aware of. Satan is clever - cunning - malicious. Opposing the work of God - destroying - darkening - diluting - deceiving. For centuries Satan has plagued mankind with evil - defeating even the best among us.

But, Satan is like the Borg, “We are the Borg. Resistance if futile.” That’s Satan’s lie. You’re stuck living in this struggle. It’s hopeless. Well, in Jesus Christ, no its not. James writes, if we resist Satan, he will flee.

We’re not stuck with who we were. We don’t have to look at trash. We don’t have to put junk in our bodies. We don’t have to listen to garbage. We can learn from God and with the Holy Spirit working to change our hearts we can live in healthier relationships with others.

We have this privilege - this choice. We have this reassurance that Satan is defeated. When Satan comes after us - in the name of Jesus - in Christ’s strength - we can claim God’s promise of Satan’s defeat - we can resist - choosing to stand firm - Satan must flee. He’s defeated again and again. Amen!!

First truth - standing firm means choosing to resist in the evil day. Second, standing firm means choosing to occupy the territory won for us by Jesus.

Chuck Swindol, in his book, Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back - shares about a woman in his church - newly married - looking forward to each new day. One day, a knock came at her apartment door. Because her husband had already left for work, Susan - this woman - was a little uneasy about opening the door. But she did. Standing in front of her was a man she’d never seen before. He seemed nervous, and that increased her uneasiness. He inquired about the location of the manager’s apartment. She quickly gave him the information he needed and shut the door.

In only a few minutes, another knock came. Wary, but not enough to restrain her action, Susan opened the door again. The long blade of the same man’s knife pushed her back into the room. He locked and bolted the door, closed the drapes, and told her to take off all her clothes.

At that fearful moment, Susan - an outstanding Christian woman - looked into the face of the would-be rapist and, with remarkable calmness, said, “I am a Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ is watching over me right now, and He is not going to allow anything to happen to me He doesn’t want to occur.”

The man stared at her blankly. He was absolutely dumbfounded.

She continued, “Jesus Christ loves you. He wants to come into your life and become your Lord and Savior.” Then she asked rather pointedly, “Have you ever had the gospel explained to you in a way you could understand it?”

He lowered the blade and replied simply, “No.”

For the next hour and a half, Susan and the stranger discussed the claims of Christ. Confronted with his need for Jesus the stranger came to a moment of decision, bowed his head and in his own words accepted God’s gift of salvation. Shortly afterwards he was gone - never to return. (2)

Please don’t misunderstand me. Common sense and safety are always important. But, what should impress us when confronted by evil is that - in Jesus - we don’t have to be afraid or cower or look for excuses or retreat.

We often hear this phrase, “The best defense is a good offense.” Which true. But, its not what Paul has in mind when he writes, “having done everything - that is - choosing to resist - stand firm.”

If a castle is under attack - the battle is won not by the army charging out of the castle and overwhelming and defeating the enemy. Instead, they wage a defensive battle to hang onto what’s already theirs. If the castle can’t be taken the only thing left for the enemy is to leave. Victory comes when the inhabitants of the castle withstand the siege - stand firm.

Ray Stedman, teaching on this passage, Ray Stedman writes this, “In the Christian battle the offensive work was done over 1900 years ago at the cross and the resurrection. The Lord Jesus is the only one who has the power and strength to take the offensive in this great battle with the prince of darkness. But he has already done that. All that we possess as believers is already given to us. We do not fight for it. We do not battle to be saved, or fight to be justified, or forgiven, or accepted into the family of God. All these things are given to us.” (3)

Paul writes in Colossians 2 that Jesus Christ on the cross has taken all that is against us and “nailed it to the cross, disarming it, making a mockery of it, triumphing over it.” (Colossian 2:13-15)

Our calling is not to go out and beat people over the head with the Bible and force them to believe what we believe - to brand people and attack them as pagans and sinners. Jude writes that we’re to “earnestly defend the faith which once and for all God has given to His people.” (Jude 1:3) That means occupying - standing firm on what we believe - unmoved within what Jesus has already done for us and all that He has given to us - not giving an inch. The battle is won when the character of Christ - the life of Christ - His victory in us - is revealed to the world.

We’ve seen too brothers and sisters in Christ falter - stumble and fall away from their faith - who become ineffective for the Kingdom of God because they compromise with the world - accommodating sin - trying to live with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s Kingdom. We get distracted by our own self-doubts - our fears - what other people think about us - or what kind of name we’re making for ourselves - or what we possess. Satan loves to get us to compromise - to weaken our commitment - to be distracted by our priorities - priorities other than Jesus and living faithfully for Him.

Paul is urging us - don’t do it. Renew your commitment. Hold onto your faith. Pray for each other. Hold each other accountable. Encourage each other. Even if it costs you everything - choose to resist - to occupy - to stand firm.

Thinking about how this applies to us - each of us has a choice of where we’ll stand.

In Luke 11 we read that a man was brought to Jesus - a man who was possessed by a demon. This demon had caused the man to be blind and mute. Jesus cast out the demon and the man was able to see and speak. The religious leaders accused Jesus of being demon possessed. They said, “The only reason He’s able to do this is because He’s connected with Satan. He’s doing this by Satan’s authority and power.”

Jesus answered with an illustration. “When a strong man, with all of his weapons ready, guards his own house, all his belongings are safe. But, when a stronger man attacks him and defeats him, he carries away all the weapons the owner was depending on and divides up what he stole.”

The point being that Satan is powerless against Jesus. Jesus is always victorious over Satan and anything that Satan schemes to do.

Then Jesus gives them a choice. “He who is not with Me is against Me” You’re either with Me - standing in My strength - or you’re against Me - alone with Satan. There is no neutral ground. You see My authority - My strength - My victory. Where will you stand? (Matthew 12:22-30; Mark 3:20-30; Luke 11:14-23)

These are very difficult and uncertain days. We’re reminded of that every time we pick up a newspaper or turn the television. Every day our faith is challenged. Sometimes that challenge is as close as our own family. Where will you stand?

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1. Edward Tovmassian, Humor Is The Spice Of Life, page 64
2. Charles Swindol, Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back, page 137
3. Ray Stedman, from the sermon, “The Infallible Posture”