Shall Your Brethren Go to War While You Sit Here? (Arnold, MO Version)

Intro:

Good evening. I’m very thankful to be with you this weekend. I appreciate the invitation from the elders of the Arnold Church of Christ.

Avery and I are good friends since our days in preaching school together. We spent a lot of time together, including preaching for a year or so together at a little country congregation in Tennessee called the Antioch Church of Christ, and it’s really good to see him and Jamie and Teddy this weekend.

Do … Your … Job.

Fulfill … Your … Duty.

Step up!

Don’t be content to just sit on the sidelines!

These are some of the themes (and more) that we are going to explore in our youth rally this weekend!

On December 7th, 1941, can anybody tell me what happened in our nation’s history?

(Our country suffered a surprise attack that would later be called “a day of infamy” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.)

It was cold, it was calculated, and it came with a cost of 2403 American lives.

What I want us to think about this evening as we begin is what happened on December 8th, 1941 — and that is the vast number of American men who showed up to recruiting stations nationwide to fulfill their patriotic duty to defend this nation from foreign aggression.

These men (and even women in various roles, too) understood something — They understood the importance of duty, honor, country.

They understood that it was up to THEM to protect this nation, which meant protecting their loved ones and everything they held dear.

They understood that, “If I don’t step up in this hour when I am needed most,” and “if countless others were to cower in the face of fear and do the same,” then we might not have a country!

And so they turned out en masse to defend this nation.

I think of one such individual named Desmond Doss:

This particular guy is an amazing guy to study when it comes to this, because he signed up, and he didn’t even hold a gun!

That’s right — He was a conscientious objector. Anybody know what that means? (He didn’t believe in killing, even in war).

(I disagree with him on that particular detail — But Desmond Doss is still a fascinating individual to study, and he was truly a man of courage and understanding of duty, nonetheless).

You see even though Desmond Doss didn’t believe in fighting, he figured he would sign up to do his duty for the war effort by being a medic.

And that he did, undergoing a lot of difficulty, and dare I say persecution, to do so.

But here’s the amazing feat of Desmond Doss: In the battle of Okinawa on Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond, for his heroic efforts, received the medal of honor — The first ever conscientious objector to do so.

You see, Desmond Doss saved the lives of 75 (yes, 75!) American soldiers that day!

He would save one, fireman carrying him to the safety of a cliff below the battle, then hurry back to climb the rope ladder back up the cliff, run into the gunfire and save one more.

All the while, he kept praying to himself, “God, help me save one more. Help me save one more.”

And he did it to the tune of saving 75 lives of wounded American soldiers! And Desmond Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor!

It’s truly an amazing story!

Desmond Doss is just one example of countless American patriots who understood their duty for the fight.

Sometimes I wonder: if Pearl Harbor had happened in today’s day and age …

What would the response have been?

Would there be enough men to step up and fulfill their duty? (duty, honor, country)

Young people, would YOU step up?

Spiritually speaking, are enough young people stepping up and fulfilling their duty? (duty, honor, church)

That brings me to our discussion for this evening: “Shall your brethren go to war, and you stay here?”

Num. 32:6:

“And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?”

So what’s going on in this particular verse?

Moses is having to tell the tribes of Gad and Reuben to fulfill their duty.

They are getting ready to conquer the land of Canaan that God is giving them.

That is going to take place in the book of Joshua of course, but Moses is giving them a “pep talk,” if you will, to get them ready.

What’s the deal with Gad and Reuben?

Let’s read: (Read Num. 32:1-32 with a few comments).

Verse 6 - “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?!”

We’re talking about stepping up.

We’re talking about doing your job — fulfilling your duty!

That means not sitting on the sidelines, not sitting in the pews while your brethren do all the work!

Alright, three quick application points:

Shall Your Brethren Go to Worship While You Sit at Home?

We need to face the music on this — Some Christians just don’t see the need to assemble with the saints faithfully.

Some Christians will do so on a Sunday morning, but don’t you dare ask anything else from them — Sunday night? Wednesday night? “Out of the question!” “It’s just too much,” we hear.

My question for those who feel this way — and they even ask, “Do I HAVE to attend on Sunday night/afternoon” (or whatnot) — My question for them is always, “Why in the world would you NOT want to attend on Sunday night/Wednesday night?”

Let’s turn and read Heb. 10:24-31 (Read in Bible).

Question: What did Jesus promise us in Heb. 13:5?

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

And what do many Christians turn right around and do?

FORSAKE HIM by forsaking the assembly, among other things! :(

But that’s not the only thing I want to look at in this first sub-point …

Not only do I ask if you attend faithfully, but WHEN YOU’RE HERE, do you participate?

Young men, do you use your abilities to help lead in worship? (If not, why not?)

All of us — Do we actively participate in the worship services, worshipping in Spirit and in Truth?

For instance, why is it that some Christians outright refuse to sing? (comment about it)

Do you actively listen and pray along with the rest of us in our prayers?

Do you make application from the sermons in your daily life, or is the only application you find: “Brother ‘so and so’ sure needs to hear this?!”

(What about you?!)

Someone has said (in a book I believe) that there are too many Christians who act like “Pew Potatoes” (like couch potatoes, except on a pew!)

Is that the case with you?

Next …

Shall Your Brethren Go to Work Behind the Scenes While You Sit Here?

I hear really great things about the congregation here at Arnold - Always have!

I’m sure you guys have a lot of great workers, a lot of “unsung heroes” who don’t work for pats on the back — They do it because it’s the right thing to do!

And to that I’d point you to Gal. 6:9 - “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

The question is — Are you among them, young people?

We often sing, “I want to be a worker for the Lord!”

Are we telling the truth when we sing that?

Are you doing any work for the Lord at all?

Ask yourself that.

Doesn’t matter if it is leading out in front, or if it is behind the scenes — But are you working for the Lord?

If not, the question is why?

Don’t just sit while your brethren go to work!

But finally this morning …

Shall Your Brethren Go to Work Evangelizing While You Sit Here?

We ALL are subject to the Great Commission.

We all as Christians are required to bear fruit.

Matt. 3:10 - Jesus says, “Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Yes, I know part of that is bearing fruit such as the fruit of the Spirit, evidence of Christian growth in our lives.

We could also look at verses like “add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance (or self-control), etc.” (2 Peter 1:5-6)

But we also bear fruit to Christ (and very important fruit, at that) by making disciples of all the nations for Christ (Matt. 28:19).

If we’ve never done that, or at least never even attempted to do that, what does that say about our own walk with Christ?

What does it say about OUR discipleship if we aren’t even DISCIPLING?

Jesus says multiple times in the New Testament — “Some brought forth fruit an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold” (Matt. 13:8 and other passages).

The point being — Faithful Christians bear fruit in various amounts …

But faithful Christians WILL bear some fruit for the Lord.

It can’t help but be so … if we are truly shining our lights like we ought!

This particular sermon, young people, was perhaps THE … SERMON I have preached with the MOST responses out of any other sermon I’ve preached.

I think we had one person come forward after the sermon, another guy later that Sunday night apologized to the congregation, and several told ME they were sorry in person after the sermon.

And one guy was STILL apologizing for it at our VBS over a month later!

The reason being?

Well, the congregation had dropped the ball …

We had this evangelism booth that we do every year at a local festival.

Now, in a congregation of 130/140 some odd people, would you know that not one single person signed up to help with that evangelism booth?

Not a single one!

Lindsey my wife happened to be in the hospital during the event, so I couldn’t be there.

And nobody else signed up to be there either, so … Our elders had no choice but to cancel the event.

So … on the one hand, here I am extremely thankful because so many people at the congregation had helped us when our baby, and then my wife later were both in the hospital …

But then on the other hand, the congregation just totally whiffed on this evangelism opportunity in our community!

So I was in a difficult position — I just couldn’t let that slide!

So I preached this sermon!

“Shall your brethren … go to WAR … while you sit here?!” (I dreaded having to give this sermon!)

But as I said, the sermon ended up being effective!

And there were lots of responses!

I even had one of the elders tell me — “We (the congregation) needed to be called down on that.”

One good brother said, “I’m going to be the first one signed up on the list next year!

Young people, as we begin our lessons this weekend talking about the topic, “Do your job,” where are you on the sign up sheet?

Can the elders here at the Arnold Church of Christ depend on YOU? (Or maybe the elders of some other congregations represented here today — Can they depend on you?)

Can Avery depend on you?

Conclusion:

I don’t know what all works you are involved in here at Arnold and in the Greater St. Louis area — I know it’s probably a lot!

And I also know this — You’re needed!

Just as we talked about all those boys who signed up for WW2 at the beginning of this lesson — Why did they do it?

(Because they were NEEDED!)

And they did their duty!

Will you do YOUR duty in the Lord’s army?

Will you help with the war effort in the spiritual war we are in (Ephesians chapter 6)?

“Shall your brethren go to WAR while you sit here?!”