God's Family is an Army (7)
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Our theme for this year is the Family. But not just any family, God’s, family.
There are many terms in scripture to describe God’s Family. Terms or ideas that describe the functionality of His family.
This morning I want to briefly look at one of those terms or ideas and that is the idea that God’s family is an Army.
When you hear the term army to describe the family of God, what comes to your mind?
Maybe you immediately think of the songs that we just sang. Songs like, Soldiers of Christ arise or maybe your like me and you think about the VBS song the Lord’s Army. (Sing).
The idea of the Family of God being an Army is not just conveyed through songs that we sing but it is also found in scripture.
In 2 Timothy 2:3 Paul calls on a young man named Timothy to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Many recognize this verse as being the theme verse for this letter. Because Paul outlines many things that a good soldier in the Lord’s Army must do. For example:
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
A good soldier must not be ashamed of the Gospel. 1:8-12
A good soldier of Christ must hold fast to the Gospel. 1:13-18
A good soldier of Christ must be strong in the Gospel and pass it on. 2:1-2
A good soldier of Christ must stay focused on the Gospel and be faithful in its promotion. 2:4-13
A Good Soldier of Christ must deal with others responsibly. 2:14-26
A Good Soldier of Christ must endure apostasy and persecution. 3:1-13
A Good Soldier of Christ must know and preach the Gospel. 3:14-4:5
A Good Soldier of Christ must never give up. 2 Tim 4:6-8
And finally, a Good Soldier must fight. 2 Tim 4:7-8
But not just any fight. They must fight the good fight, they must finish the race, they must keep the faith. And if they do then they will be rewarded… 2 Tim 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
The Apostle Paul not only coneys this idea of the followers of Christ being Soldiers in his Army but he also talks about the weapons and armor that soldiers in the Lord’s Army are to use. These items are recorded in the passage that Mr. Gerry read for us a few moments ago.
The items include the belt of truth, the Breast Plate of Righteousness, shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
You may wonder how each of these tools help us fight in the Lord’s Army. Rather than spending our time talking about each of these tools let me encourage you to go to our website where you can find lessons that Troy and I did over each of these tools.
For the purpose of this morning’s lesson, I just want us to recognize that this armor that is given to every Soldier in the Lord’s Army is a perfect one size fits all. Meaning that if you are a soldier of Christ than you have the tools necessary to go on the offense and defense. And this armor will allow you to be victorious as a soldier in the Lord’s Army.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Now as we continue this morning, I am well aware that the majority of us here at NW are very familiar with the idea of an Army since we live in a military community and many present today have served and are serving in the US military. But when we think about the Family of God as an Army what similarities or differences do we see? This morning I want to briefly highlight thee that stand out to me.
Both armies are called to make a commitment.
In the the US military everyone who joins must take an oath to affirm that they understand the commitment that they are making to support and defend the constitution for their entire military career.
The difference between this commitment and the commitment that Soldier’s of Christ make is that the US commitment is to defend the constitution where as our commitment is to defend a person.
The person in Jesus Christ, but not only He but his father also.
The Bible teaches that the chief commitment that a soldier in the Lord’s Army makes is to God Himself. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” Matt 22:37-40.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus is telling us that every fiber of our being, every facet of our lives must be committed to loving God and loving others.
Jesus never said that this commitment would be easy but it does make it less difficult when the leader of the Lord’s Army doesn't just simply say do what I ask but rather he says do what I do.
In John 3:16 we are reminded what he has done.
Though some of the things that our Leader may require of us, may be difficult, isn’t it that much easier to do what he requires when he has already done it himself. Jesus does not require of us something that he is not willing to do himself.
Jesus demonstrated for us what true commitment looks like by loving God and loving others enough to pay the ultimate price that is asked of any Soldier.
The least we can do is to follow his example and love God & Love our neighbors.
2. Both armies are called to defend against the enemy.
So as a Soldier in the Lord’s Army we are called to make a commitment to love God and one another and as part of this commitment we see the second thing that both armies have in common.
And that is both armies whether physical or spiritual are called to defend against the enemy.
In Ephesians 6 the passage that was read for us a few moments ago we were reminded about who the enemy is. Paul says this in Eph 6:11-13
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.
Paul teaches us here that in the Lord’s Army we don't fight or defend against flesh and blood but rather we defend against the devil and his schemes.
The Apostle Peter teaches us that we must be on constant guard against our enemy because he is constantly seeking people to defeat. 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
3. Leave no one behind.
Finally, this morning as we think about our commitment as a soldier in the Lord’s Army to love God and and one another and our commitment to defend against the Devil the last thing I want us to consider this morning is our commitment to leave no soldier behind.
In the US Army there is a policy that most are familiar with known as no man left behind. This policy or idea can be traced back to the French and Indian war.
You see a group of 600 men led by Robert Rogers an American frontier established a policy to make sure that every single member of the Rangers was accounted for post-battle.
This idea has continued and we have all heard of many heroic stories of how soldiers have gone to great lengths to make sure that no one is left behind in battle.
Even to this day there are countless people who are fighting to bring back service men and women who have been left on the battle field.
There is an organisation called the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency who has made it their mission to bring every solider home.
Every year they are able to return the remains of nearly 200 missing soldiers. And its their mission to not stop until every Soldier has been brought home.
Some of the Soldiers that our United States Military fight to bring home our known as POW or Prisoners of War.
When I think about our Commitment as soldiers in the Lord’s army to leave no soldier behind may I suggest that we have many POS’s that need our help. Not prisoners of earthly wars but prisoners of Satan.
We all know of Soldiers in the Lord’s Army who have fallen into the hands of Satan. Let me ask you this morning are you doing enough to make sure that they are not left behind. What are we doing to try to get them back. Millions of dollars are spent every year, as should be, to bring soldiers home but what are we doing about all the soldiers that we know of that need to be rescued.
I can only speak for myself, but I know that I haven't done near enough. Our country takes the concept of No man left behind very seriously, church it is time that we do too.
James in his letter reminds us of how important this is when he says this in James 5:19-20.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
As Soldiers in the Lord’s Army we must do are best to bring every soldier home so that their lives will be saved from eternal death.
Conclusion:
There is more that we could be said about the Lord’s Army but let me encourage you to spend time as a family discussing the three things that we have looked at this morning.
Let me encourage you to look for ways to fulfill your daily commitment to serve God by loving him and by loving your neighbor.
As a family talk about what it truly means to Love God and others the way that Jesus did and then come up with one way in which you are going to do that this week.
Also let me encourage you to spend time in God’s Word learning how you can better fulfill your commitment to defend yourself and others against the Devil. Spend time this weak studying Eph 6 so that you will be better equipped with the resources that God has given you to defend yourself against the Devil.
And then finally, let me encourage you to make a list of all the Prisoners of Satan that are closest to you. People that have wandered from the truth. Begin praying for those people but please don’t stop there. Let me encourage you to look at your list and simply reach out to one person on your list every week. Encourage that person by letting them know how much they are missed not only by their fellow soldiers but by their Lord and Savior. Ask them what you can do to help them to begin their journey back to where they need to be and then follow through.
We have all heard the phrase it takes a village or an army to raise a child well it also takes an Army to help one another to fulfil our commitment as Soldiers in the Lords Army. Let’s be people who never forget the commitment that we have made and always be willing to help one another fulfill theirs.