Richard Ellis Talks

Richard Ellis: Here’s what I know about everybody in this room and watching. You are under attack, and you’re going to be attacked if you’re not being attacked right now very soon. They’re coming. And if you know yourself well enough, you know how they’re coming. Right? Come on now, you’ve got to know your enemy. You know why? Because your enemy knows you.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. Thank you for allowing us to share this time with you. You may be stuck in traffic or stuck in life. Either way, today’s message is going to help you get on the right track as you learn how much God loves you right where you are.

Richard’s unique style checks all the boxes with a lot of hope, insight, truth, and of course, humor. Today’s talk with Richard will get our conversation started, but we want to keep it going with you. So let's stay in touch through our website, richardellis.com. But right now, let’s go ahead and get right into today’s talk. Here is Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today’s message is Take a Stand. It is hard to take a stand when you’re sitting on your butts. It’s all about how you spell that word, and it can go either way. You cannot take a stand sitting on your rear. I don’t know if he’s here today, but one of the guys in our church is a Brazilian, actually world champion, Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

And I’ve shared this before, but it still sticks with me. I went to see him fight one time, and I didn’t even know this was a thing. So guys, I’m going to sit down. He comes out, his opponent comes out, and he does this: he sits down. I’m like, “Dude, what are you doing?” So his opponent would come at him and he would start spinning. And you think, “Well, how’s he going to win?”

His opponent knew that when he took a seat, he was taking a stand because he had that guy wrapped up in a few minutes. So there are times when you have to take a seat to take a stand. Let me tell you something about people who take a stand. They’re not so much worried about the consequence because they’re more worried about the consequence of not taking a stand.

Who will I be and what will happen to me and my family in my world if I don’t take a stand? Not what’s going to happen. So when are you going to get up? What would it take to get you up if you’re not already up? How long can you sit and sit and sit on your butts? “Well, I would say something, but... I would do something, but... I could lose my job, I could lose some friends.”

Unfortunately in our world today, the people who don’t believe in God or anything about God too many times are the people who take a stand. And they don’t care. And they’re a formidable force because they don’t care if you like them. They have a cause and they take a stand. And so they stand up and then Christians sit and look at them and go, “Well, I’m afraid.”

What are you afraid of? See, I’m afraid too, not in the kind of way you think. I will take a stand before Jesus one day, and He will ask me some questions. I will give an account for what I did and did not do, and the stands I took or did not take. And so I am way more concerned about that than somebody liking me down here.

Go to Exodus chapter 14. It’s interesting even in comedy we call it stand-up. Even comedians have to take a stand. Exodus 14, verse 9. This is Moses leading the people out of Israel. So just before we get into this a little bit, let me add this. In the Old Testament, the battles were primarily physical battles. In the New Testament, the battles are spiritual.

So you see imagery and where you see in the Old Testament God fighting for Israel, you say, “Well, but we don’t have that anymore.” I’ll tell you what we do have: He still fights for me. I guarantee it, He fights for me. When I call out to Him and I need His help, He fights for me and He sends troops.

Exodus 14: So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near—and by the way, that’s near McAllen, if you’re wondering where that is, or Mexicali, as the Californians say—and when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them.

So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Naturally, we’re trapped between the enemy and the sea, we’re afraid. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Their only thought is, “We don’t want to go out there, we’d rather serve the Egyptians than go out and die.” That is a lie of the devil. You’re better off here serving the enemy, don’t try to escape, don’t try to do what God wants you to do, don’t even give Him a chance to deliver you. And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”

It means they didn’t even make heaven. You will never see these people again. The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over his army, his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, whom I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” Then look at verse 19: “And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them.”

I love this, the angel of God, singular, the angel. How many angels does it take? Turns out, one. How many you got? All I need is one. I got Him on the inside, I know I got angels on the outside, so what you got? You say, “Well, the enemy’s real.” So is my God. And greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.

If I take a stand and God tells me to take a stand, I hold that ground. You say, “Well, you’re going to get shot at.” That’s why you’ve got a shield of faith; we’re going to get to that in a minute. You say, “I’m under attack.” Sure you are. You can’t march on the gates of hell and not be under attack. But you can’t march on the gates of hell if you’re sitting on your butts.

The angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus, it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

If you keep reading the story, the Egyptians pursued, the water came down on them and they were delivered. You say, “Well, there’s no way forward.” You let God decide that. “I’m trapped.” You’re not trapped. “Well, there’s water, how are we going to cross the water?” He can part the water. You think He forgot how?

Romans 1. So, I had some sheetrock delivered to the house the other day. Don’t ever want to have any sheetrock delivered to my house again as long as I live, Lord willing. So this big truck pulls up, big boom, these guys are lifting up sheets of sheetrock and putting it inside the door of my house, they’re so good. There’s five of them; three of them from El Salvador, a Hispanic guy from Texas, he spoke better English. They’re loading it up on a deck in the house.

So this one guy named Noel is up there and one of these Salvadorians. So the guy up on the landing says, “You a preacher?” I said, “Yes sir, I am.” He said, “He’s a preacher,” the Salvadorian guy. He didn’t say anything. I said, “He ain’t admitting to being a preacher.” He said, “We got video, YouTube.” So they pulled that up. I said, “He is a preacher. He may not say anything about being a preacher, but I promise you he won’t deny Jesus.”

I start talking to this guy on the balcony, and within about seven minutes, Robert, who’s in the room and happened to be in the house at that time, and from me up to the balcony, this guy prays and becomes a Christian. Turns out, I then looked at the Salvadorian who I found out gets up every morning at 4:00 to pray before he goes to work. And I looked at Noel and I said, “This happened today because your friend loves you and has been praying for this day for a long time. That’s why this happened today.”

I’m going to keep telling you these stories. Why? Primarily because I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to those that believe, to the Jew first then to the Greek. That’s Romans 1:16. So let me ask you a question. Are you ashamed of the gospel? Before you answer this quickly, look at your last week. There’s a thing in courtrooms called a witness stand.

A lot of Christians need to think about their witness stand. Because there is no way, if you’re a Christian, that the Holy Spirit is not prompting you in situations and with people. If you are listening to His voice, you are hearing it. You may not like what He says, but He is going to prompt you to speak the gospel, that Jesus died, was buried, and raised from the dead.

When you keep your mouth shut, that is equivalent to being ashamed of the gospel. You may not like the sound of it, what is it? I remember when Jordan Spieth appeared on the scene and watched his demeanor, and then all of a sudden something happened. Jordan Spieth’s sister stepped up, and he has a special-needs sister. And he was not ashamed of his sister.

He didn’t try to keep her away from anybody so that she would be associated with him. She is his sister; He is my Savior. And you don’t try to not talk about people unless you’re ashamed of them. You say, “Well, you’re being mean.” No, you’re being mean because these poor people out there are suffering and dying and crying their guts out. They go to sleep some nights praying, asking God to send them somebody. And we show up, but we’re ashamed, and we don’t speak up.

I still miss a few, but I am getting tired of missing the few I miss. Galatians 5:1. This one says, “Stand fast.” And by the way, I’m going to highlight some of these because they are imperatives. These are not optional; these are commandments, imperative. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Jeff, stand up. You right there, stand up. A few weeks ago, I had a great visit with him and he made some decisions. It’s not been the same since. Could he fall on his butt? Absolutely. I asked him today, “How’s it going?” He says, “I don’t want to go back.” It doesn’t mean he can’t; it means that you take a stand. Who else feels that way, “I don’t want to go back”?

No, I don’t want any hands. I don’t need any hands. I’m not trying to get everybody in the room up because everybody in the room may not be able to stand and maybe you’re not at a place or you don’t know, maybe you still do kind of want to go back because you don’t know that going forward is better. Don’t sit down, John. This kind of thing is very encouraging because a ton of the people that are standing, I know where you’ve been and there’s nothing back there.

All right, you may be seated. You need to get around some people who have decided to take a stand. It doesn’t make them perfect; it doesn’t mean they can’t go down; it doesn’t mean they can’t screw up again. It just means they’ve decided things like this: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Don’t go back. Don’t get yourself entangled in that sin anymore. There’s nothing back there. I am probably getting shot at more right now than maybe any time in my life. And the problem with the enemy, the miscalculation is, “Oh, you want to shoot at me? Guess what, I’m going to shoot back. I got a sword, I’ll swing it.” And you think you’re just taking me on? Look around, look around.

Because I am not by myself. I got God in me and I got angels around me, so you better know what you’re doing and you better know how to bring it, because we know how to bring it. Ephesians 6. So if you’ll notice, we go back to Ephesians 6 quite a bit. Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, my brethren,” written to Christians, “be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.”

Be strong in Him, in His power. I got no power. Without Him, I got no power. I will fall, bam. By myself, I got no resistance, no power. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” So what are we trying to do? The enemy comes and he comes. You got to start by standing and you got to remain standing, and when he’s done, you’re still standing. Not on your butts, but standing.

How do you pull that off? We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, against principalities. It’s not your wife, your husband, your kids, your boss, the stranger, the guy who tried to flip you off or cut you off in traffic. Those are not your problems. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, against principalities, the powers against the rulers of darkness in this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand—in other words, to stand—in the evil day, and having done all to stand. So the attack comes, you hold your ground, the attack passes, you go, “We made it!” Right? Here’s what I know about everybody in this room and watching. You are under attack, and you’re going to be attacked if you’re not being attacked right now very soon.

They’re coming. And if you know yourself well enough, you know how they’re coming. Right? Come on now, you’ve got to know your enemy. You know why? Because your enemy knows you. There are daily briefings: “Okay, what do we got on Ellis? I’ll just throw a boom, boom, boom, boom, hit that, and we got him.” No, you don’t. “Well, he’s putting up some resistance lately.” Hit him anyway.

“Yeah, but it’s not working, Boss. He’s getting bold. He’s going to be a problem because now he’s trying to help other people fight.” Right? Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand. Stand, another imperative, verse 14. Not optional; this is a commandment.

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, 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.” Love the word “all.” Shield of faith, they’re firing at me. All, none of them are going to get through, all.

“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.” Now look at the context here of prayer: “Being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” So now it’s not just about you. Now you’re fighting, but sometimes you’re standing in the gap for someone else.

I think we’ve seen this in enough war movies, and some of you have been in enough wars to know this. Sometimes someone is under fire and you get between the fire and the person to provide some protection. Your shields, whatever you got, your vehicles, you get everything and surround the person who’s down because they’re under attack. They can’t lift a sword, they can’t lift a shield, they’re in trouble.

So then you stand in the gap and you pray that God will protect them. We all know people in trouble. And they don’t, for whatever reason, are not in a place to pray for themselves. So what are you doing? You wake up in the middle of the night, you go, “What is this about?” And then someone comes to mind and now you’re praying protection over what?

Because the enemy is going to take them out, but you mobilize troops to provide a safe place around them so he can’t do what he’s about to do. Then verse 19: “And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.”

If you’ve been praying boldness for me, oh, you’re in big trouble now. Because I’ve about had enough personally, and I’ve about had enough for other people that I know personally and what the enemy’s doing to them. He will get in your head. You get in your head, you start running traps and, “Oh, I’m going to leave because of this,” and, “Oh this,” and, “He said that.”

You get locked down on some little issue. Get some big pictures and make sure whatever you’re doing, it’s because God told you to do it and you heard His voice, not because you got emotional. You know how many people would be divorced today if they operated just out of emotion? I am not Jesus. I’m packing, but I am not Jesus.

I try to read as much scripture as I possibly can, but you can’t say as many words as I do for as many years as I do and you think, “Oh, it has to all be perfect.” It’s not going to be perfect. And you’re going to have to extend some grace. “Oh, he said that.” Okay, take the average. I bet there’s some F-bombs dropped in your house and we’re not sizing you up based on a couple of F-bombs.

So don’t be throwing me away when I ain’t throwing you away. And if you don’t know what an F-bomb is, ask an Air Force person and they will tell you. Philippians 1. Now this is Paul writing to these people that he knows. These are not random letters, church at Philippi. Philippians 1:27: “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”

When we take a stand, it makes the enemy nervous. They realize we’re in trouble, their imminent demise. For to you has—now look at verse 29, please look at this carefully. “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.”

It’s a privilege. But I’m telling you, it’s part of the package. You are going to suffer. No one likes not being liked, no one likes being rejected, no one likes any of this. But if you take a stand, someone is not going to like you. Stop trying to get everybody to like you. Now, you don’t have to be mean.

Philippians 4:1: “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast,” another imperative, “in the Lord, beloved.” Stand, stand, stand fast, withstand. 2 Thessalonians 2:15, two or three more and we’re done. 2 Thessalonians 2:15, keep going to the right. “Therefore, brethren,” Christians, “stand fast,” imperative again, it’s a command, “and hold the traditions which you were taught whether by word or our epistle.”

Hold your ground, stand your ground, stick to what you were told, what you were shown. Hebrews 11:35. Great chapter about faith and these people that took a stand, but just to make sure I included it as part of the process. Hebrews 11:35: “Women received their dead raised to life again.” That sounds good. But in the same verse: “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.”

I hear stories of dads who their children in front of them and the enemy, whoever it may be, the enemy tells the dad, “If you do not renounce Christ, we are going to kill your children in front of you.” Would you renounce Christ to save your kid? You say, “That’s a tough situation.” You better have taken a stand before you get to that spot. And I’ve heard stories where the kids look at their dad and say, “Dad, no. It’ll be okay, we’ll see you soon.”

Because they know how to take a stand. You say, “Well, that’s intense.” I’m just reading it out of the Bible. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance. So can it get rough? Oh, it can get rough. And when they come for you, they come for you. But not without God’s permission, which is a little confusing. But if you’re more interested in His glory than your good, you’re going to be okay.

“Well, I don’t want to suffer.” Let me tell you something: you deny Jesus, you’re going to suffer. You’re ashamed of the gospel, you’re going to suffer because you’re going to have to live with you.

Guest (Male): We’ll get back to Richard in a moment to close out today’s talk. But first, I want to share something with you about the program. Our mission is actually very simple: to take the planet. So it’s our prayer that these daily talks from Richard aren’t something you only hear and enjoy, but that they inspire you to share with others.

Together, we can do this. The message of the gospel is something everyone needs to hear, and that’s why it’s a huge priority to us. And you can join us in this important mission. Call us at 855-6-RICHARD to say you’re in. Or you can get on board with us through our website, richardellis.com. Well, here is Richard with some closing thoughts for us.

Richard Ellis: And the last one, James 4, verse 7. Now this is a very simple verse but very powerful when it comes to taking a stand. James 4:7: “Therefore submit to God.” Do not misquote this verse. A lot of people will quote the Bible and say, “The Bible says, ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’” And that is not what the Bible says.

The Bible says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” So if you’ve been trying to take the devil on without submitting to God, he just looked at you. You submit yourself to God and say, “Father, I yield my life. You’re not just my Savior, You’re my Lord. You’re the boss of me. So I submit to You.

So I am Your child. Whatever You want to do, game on, here we go.” Then you resist the devil. And the Bible talks about fleeing temptation, but this is cool. I don’t know what it looks like when the devil runs, but looks like he runs. Resist the devil, submit yourself to God, resist the devil, he will flee from you because you are submitted to God.

Stop running from the devil, make the devil run from you. Take a stand. Someone else took a stand, and that’s the only reason I can take a stand. And His sweet name is Jesus. And He took a stand on a hill called Calvary and was willing to die for my sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Died on the cross, shed His blood, buried, raised from the dead, did it all to pay for my sin and offered me eternal life. As a little boy, I said yes. And I’m highly recommending you take a stand today and say, “You know what? I’m not living this way anymore and I’m certainly not dying this way. I’m going to say yes to Jesus.” And I can assure you, it will be better, now and in the long run.

Guest (Male): This has been Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. The message of the gospel is one we take very seriously in our mission to reach the planet. And you have a vital part of doing that along with us. If you’ve been encouraged by these talks with Richard, be sure to tell someone about the change they’ve made in your life.

You can even share today’s talk with them through the website, richardellis.com. And we’d love to hear your story as well as to how these talks have made a difference to you. Give us a call, 855-6-RICHARD. You can also reach us through our website, richardellis.com. And while you’re there, check out all the pages we put together for you, richardellis.com.

Also, be sure to click on the contribute tab to send your very generous gift. If the program is making a difference to you, your gift will make a big difference to us. Until next time, thanks so much for listening to Richard Ellis Talks.