When I was a child, my dad served for a several years in the Navy. I still remember the stories he would tell my brother and I about his experiences in other countries and the dangers he faced along the way. Since we were just kids, we clung onto every word with a hunger for adventure. Sometimes my brother and I would go outside and act out a harrowing Naval voyage on a porch beside our single wide trailer. To us, joining the military was more about world exploration than homeland protection. Obviously, as you get older, your eyes are opened to the real danger and potential hardships a soldier faces each day. Now understand that this blog is not about the militia of man, seeing as I have no personal experience in this matter, but it is about the spiritual warfare that has raged since the fall of man. I have simply used my past recollections as a springboard. Whether we know it or not, humanity is faced with a greater threat than terrorism or even the possibility of nuclear war, for it is as the apostle Paul so clearly stated, "...we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
It is real, it is raging, and there ARE captives who need the Word of Truth to break the shackles of satan from off their hearts. It may be cliché but a Christian is not some side-liner on a sports field, he is a soldier on a battlefield! Now, I am not going to belabor this point, because if you are a Christian, you should already know this to some degree. All I want to do is leave you with a grand truth that for years I did not hear preached (Even while in Bible college. Imagine that!), nor did I myself teach it. I still mentally kick myself for not catching it sooner. I suppose we can easily forget that being a "hearer" of God's Word does not just mean we are to listen to sermons, but it is more about digging deep in personal, passionate study.
There is a specific passage that I am want to hone in on which has been a starting text for many sermons. It is 2 Timothy 2:3-4, which states, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." I could summarize every message that I have heard on these verses, it would be like this, "You better be a good soldier for the Lord! The way you can be a faithful fighter is by ENDURING WARFARE and not being ENTANGLED WITH THE WORLD (Gotta have some alliteration)! Why are you to be faithful? So, you can please the Master!!!" This is the gist of it and though it makes for "good" preaching , that is all it does (Of course, any preaching that only gives us half of God's truth, no matter how loud and spontaneous it may be, is of little profit). So, what is missing in this message? We have a call to action (Endure Hardness), we have a plea for separation (Do not be Entangled), and we have a reason for dedication (To please the Father). What could have possibly been left out that is so important? Notice, what Paul urges Timothy to do in the very first verse of the same chapter, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." This is the very foundation, the only way one CAN remain steadfast and set apart for God's glory. Somehow, in our personal zeal to be a "good soldier", we bypass the reality of grace and our overwhelming need for it in daily life. DO NOT EVER FORGET THIS, AS I PRAY THAT I NEVER WILL AS WELL - WITHOUT HIS GRACE THAT STRENGTHENS US, WE WILL NEVER BE A GOOD SOLDIER. GRACE FIRST. GUTS SECOND. This is imperative. In Ephesians 6, before Paul's exhortation for believers to put on the whole armor of God, he said, "...my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10)." Paul went on to say in verse 13, "...take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Truly, the first step in STANDING OUR GROUND is to be STRENGTHENED IN GOD.
If we are not careful, we can develop a mindset like Saul. What do I mean by this? It is recorded in 1 Samuel 17:33 that Saul was awestruck and also critical over David's willingness to fight Goliath, because he was young and inexperienced. Saul's faith rested more in the ability of man than the fact that God will work mightily in those who are available to Him. In verse 38, after David talked Saul into letting him face Goliath, Saul took his own armor and weapons and gave them to David. Of course, David refused them, but for Saul, his eyes once again would not see beyond worldly might. To simply rest in the ways of the Father was foreign to Saul. Now, let us notice what David boldly declared to Goliath, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied (vs. 45)." God's name is mightier than any Philistine numbskull (I'm sure Goliath did indeed end up with a "numb skull" [insert drum beat here])! David was a true soldier, not because of the weapon he used nor the armor he wore, but because of his faith in God's power and his passion for God's glory. May we start each day by reflecting on, resting in, and rejoicing over the infinite grace of Jesus Christ, then truly we can courageously proclaim, even in the "evil day", that "...the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S...(1 Samuel 17:47)"
It is real, it is raging, and there ARE captives who need the Word of Truth to break the shackles of satan from off their hearts. It may be cliché but a Christian is not some side-liner on a sports field, he is a soldier on a battlefield! Now, I am not going to belabor this point, because if you are a Christian, you should already know this to some degree. All I want to do is leave you with a grand truth that for years I did not hear preached (Even while in Bible college. Imagine that!), nor did I myself teach it. I still mentally kick myself for not catching it sooner. I suppose we can easily forget that being a "hearer" of God's Word does not just mean we are to listen to sermons, but it is more about digging deep in personal, passionate study.
There is a specific passage that I am want to hone in on which has been a starting text for many sermons. It is 2 Timothy 2:3-4, which states, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." I could summarize every message that I have heard on these verses, it would be like this, "You better be a good soldier for the Lord! The way you can be a faithful fighter is by ENDURING WARFARE and not being ENTANGLED WITH THE WORLD (Gotta have some alliteration)! Why are you to be faithful? So, you can please the Master!!!" This is the gist of it and though it makes for "good" preaching , that is all it does (Of course, any preaching that only gives us half of God's truth, no matter how loud and spontaneous it may be, is of little profit). So, what is missing in this message? We have a call to action (Endure Hardness), we have a plea for separation (Do not be Entangled), and we have a reason for dedication (To please the Father). What could have possibly been left out that is so important? Notice, what Paul urges Timothy to do in the very first verse of the same chapter, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." This is the very foundation, the only way one CAN remain steadfast and set apart for God's glory. Somehow, in our personal zeal to be a "good soldier", we bypass the reality of grace and our overwhelming need for it in daily life. DO NOT EVER FORGET THIS, AS I PRAY THAT I NEVER WILL AS WELL - WITHOUT HIS GRACE THAT STRENGTHENS US, WE WILL NEVER BE A GOOD SOLDIER. GRACE FIRST. GUTS SECOND. This is imperative. In Ephesians 6, before Paul's exhortation for believers to put on the whole armor of God, he said, "...my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10)." Paul went on to say in verse 13, "...take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Truly, the first step in STANDING OUR GROUND is to be STRENGTHENED IN GOD.
If we are not careful, we can develop a mindset like Saul. What do I mean by this? It is recorded in 1 Samuel 17:33 that Saul was awestruck and also critical over David's willingness to fight Goliath, because he was young and inexperienced. Saul's faith rested more in the ability of man than the fact that God will work mightily in those who are available to Him. In verse 38, after David talked Saul into letting him face Goliath, Saul took his own armor and weapons and gave them to David. Of course, David refused them, but for Saul, his eyes once again would not see beyond worldly might. To simply rest in the ways of the Father was foreign to Saul. Now, let us notice what David boldly declared to Goliath, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied (vs. 45)." God's name is mightier than any Philistine numbskull (I'm sure Goliath did indeed end up with a "numb skull" [insert drum beat here])! David was a true soldier, not because of the weapon he used nor the armor he wore, but because of his faith in God's power and his passion for God's glory. May we start each day by reflecting on, resting in, and rejoicing over the infinite grace of Jesus Christ, then truly we can courageously proclaim, even in the "evil day", that "...the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S...(1 Samuel 17:47)"
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