RSS

Tag Archives: evil day

Stand Your Ground

As we go through the letter to the Ephesian church, I’m continuing to post about the spiritual battle that we’re in. The Apostle Paul had a lot of insight in this area. Of course not everything he wrote sounds good to me.

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 6:13

This is one of those scriptures that I have to take note of whether I like it or not. I’m told under the authority of the Holy Spirit to always be prepared to stand my ground.

This is a great lesson that the church needs to hear. So many people give up when things get hard. Some of us are under the impression that working for God should be all hearts and flowers.

Why then does Paul use the analogy of a warrior, fully armed, and dressed for battle? The fact is that there are spiritual forces that don’t want us to succeed in our service to the Lord. The victory comes from knowing that it’s the Holy Spirit giving you strength, and not giving up.

We need to learn how to stand in the center of opposition. The ancient Romans knew how to do this. It was the secret to the success of their army. Each of the Roman soldiers was taught how to defend a 3-foot square of ground from an invading army. When they stood, together, there was no way to break through their lines.

We need to get it into our heads that the only way to victory is to move forward in the Lord. Backing up WILL NOT get you out of the battle. It will only make you have to fight to regain that ground later.

Most of all, the thing about this verse that gives me the most trouble, is when Paul says when the day of evil comes. Not “if”, not “there might come a time when problems arise”. He tells us in a straight forward way that this day is coming whether you’re ready or not. So the best thing to do is prepare now.

The word that Paul uses for stand literally means to stand in opposition to. This word is used elsewhere in the Bible.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7

The word resist in this verse is the same word as stand that Paul used. We need to stand our ground and resist the devil. We’re told that if we do this, in submission to the Lord, the enemy will flee. It’s the time frame between the resisting and the fleeing that gives us the most problem.

Why would the devil ever flee from us? After all, we’re not that strong compared to him. The answer is back in the verse from Ephesians.

The phrase after you have done everything actually translates after you have fully accomplished your work. When you have done everything you were assigned to do by the Lord, then it’s time for the Holy Spirit to take over. One thing I’m certain about. The enemy is no match for the God I serve!

So, being forewarned with the knowledge that the day of evil is coming, we need to be ready. We must be fully armed and prepared to stand our ground in Christ. Then we will see the victory of God manifest in our situation.

Question: What are you going through right now that will require you to stand your ground?

Time is Money

28 Jan

In my last post I showed how we’re now living in an evil age. What is it that makes something evil?

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
Matthew 12:35

The Bible is clear; what makes something good or evil isn’t the thing itself – usually. It’s all based upon who the owner is. Things are evil simply because they’re owned by an evil being.

Well if it’s all about the owner – what about the age we live in?

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4

The devil is called the god of this age. According to Scripture, this age will last until the return of Christ. This age is evil because the owner is evil.

The real question is; what can we do about it? Let’s get back to the verse I first looked at in the last post.

Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

We’re told that this age requires us to be careful. We must walk in wisdom. Paul goes on to explain what he means by this.

We should be making the most of every opportunity. That’s an interesting phrase that this English translation doesn’t do justice to. It literally means redeeming or buying back the time. As Christians, we should be purchasing the time.

Look at it this way. All of time was created by and for God. Because of Adam’s fall, Satan has taken over this age. It’s now up to us to redeem time.

This leads to some interesting conclusions. If something can be bought and sold, that makes it a commodity. Think about time; in both the Scripture and our language many financial terms are associated with time.

We spend time, run out of time, save time, and lose time. Some people are on borrowed time. Many have too much time on their hands, some don’t have enough.

Time is a commodity. We’re exhorted to purchase time, because the days are evil.

What does all this have to do with revival? The fact is that we have to open the space needed for revival. God wants to bring about His will on earth through His church. Unless we open up the time for Him, nothing will be done.

In my next post I’ll talk about this in greater detail.

Questions: Is it easier to give God your time or your money? Why?

Prepared in the Evil Day

26 Jan

I want to see revival in the church. It’s obvious from what’s happening around us that we need it. The real question is; do we want it? And more than that, are we willing to do what it takes to lay hold of it?

Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

I used to teach that inanimate things couldn’t be evil or good. After spending some time studying this verse, I realized that I was wrong. Things like days and money can be evil. It’s actually talked about throughout the New Testament.

Maybe you might think that not all days are evil. After all, there was intense persecution of the church back then. That was Paul’s day he was talking about.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…
Galatians 1:3-4

One of the reasons that Christ went to the cross was to rescue us from this present evil age. That’s the time we live in. The age he’s talking about stretched from Paul’s day to the time when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom. If the age is evil, then all the days of that age are evil.

We live in evil days. Paul also talked about this in regard to the armor of God.

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 6:13

We need to be constantly walking in the spiritual armor. This is our protection from the evil age. This is not an option, or something that only needs to be done once in a while.

Jesus went to the cross to provide us with more than just a one-time salvation. His work is ongoing in our lives. He provided us with the armor we need to rescue us from this present evil age. We don’t need to be affected by it.

When will the evil day come? Every time you wake up in the morning. That’s why God’s armor is so important. The evil day is not on its way, it’s here.

As God’s people we should be prepared for what’s ahead. We are the ones who should be walking in victory over the challenges that face the world around us.

We need to spend time in the presence of the Lord. That’s where our strength is. In Him and in the power of the Holy Spirit, I have everything I need to face the evil days ahead of me.

How else could I walk in victory? If every day is evil, then in Christ every day is a victory through Him who gives me strength.

Question: How does this evil age manifest itself in our generation?

The Spirit and the Word

Tag Archives: evil day

Stand Your Ground

Time is Money

Prepared in the Evil Day

Follow on Twitter

Follow Blog via Email

Follow via RSS Feed

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories