Call of Duty (2)

Ephesians 4:8 KJV 1900

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

In every soul two powers are struggling earnestly for victory. Unbelief is marshalling in its forces, led by Satan himself. His Job is to cut us off from the source of our strength. The faith of Jesus that we possess must marshal in its forces led by Christ himself. We have to take our post as hour by hour this conflict continues . Not sure if you believe it or not but this is hand to hand combat. Laurie the bible says that “All Power has been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Because Jesus has all power we are urged and encouraged to prepare for this combat , Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Go therefore and Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And Lo I am with you always even unto the ends of the age. So Jesus the one whom all power has been given will come to the help of those of us who Trust In Him!

The Call of Duty, Jesus has commissioned and called us all to duty. Each one of us will be given the power to go and make disciples. Theres a song we use to sing back in the day, “We are soldiers in the army” Thats the call of Duty, “Christ says when I be lifted i will draw all men to me: There is a work for each of one of us to do for Christ. Are you ready to stand and go to war. Fear not that that be for us are more than they that be against us!

Slide #2 As I look at the history of war, I see this is something that has been taking place for thousands of years. The Bible speaks about so many different wars, wars that ended in favor or Israel and some that didn’t. But there have been so many wars, there’s a Holy War or Jihad that’s been taking place for years in the middle east. 1/2 believes that Issac was the son of Promise and the other 1/2 believes that Ishmael was the son of promise. So, they have been at war for a long time.

Slide #3 I look at the war that’s taking place in Ukraine and Russia, I can’t help but notice the once very beautiful country and now look at how it’s been destroyed for reasons I will never understand, I see how helpless the people are in that region. it saddens me because none of Ukraine was expecting a war. But now that the fight has been brought to their doorstep, they are arming themselves on all sides of the country and they have been withstanding the fierce attacks from the enemy. It’s been just a little over 18-19 months and they are showing that they have some resilience, some fight in them.

There have been battles taking place in this world for thousands of years and from the looks of it, doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon. We also are in a battle, a spiritual battle. In no means am I ever comparing the two let’s not get that confused. I will say that for us as God fearing believers, we must know how to combat the tricks of the enemy. If we are not prayed up, and studied up we will be in a world of trouble.

Slide#4 Part Time Christians. In all human experiences a theoretical knowledge of truth has been proved to be insufficient for the saving of the soul, because it doesn’t bring forth the fruits of righteousness. Many of us take it for granted that we are Christians , simply because we subscribe to certain theological tenets, until we learn how to bring the truth into practical life, we have to learn how to love the truth and live the truth as it is in Jesus., that’s one reason why no power and grace that comes from the sanctification of the truth hasn’t been given. We can’t expect to have power come Friday at Sunset and all day sabbath if we haven’t been walking in truth walking with truth all week. Take it from it doesn’t work no matter how much we think it does it doesn’t. We can’t be Christians from 11-2pm on Sabbath and be mean and nasty to your husband or wife all during the week, we can’t be part time Christians because we are up against a full-time devil. 365 days a year 366 on leap year. Being part time doesn’t really pay the bills.so we cant expect being a part time Christian will give us that Power that only God can give.

The Apostle Paul was in the thick of the roman army not that he was enlisted in service but he was surrounded daily by the everyday operations of the military , he saw how the military worked , and moved and the battle gear they wore so for him to use the different analogies that he did to described our warfare through the roman military was visionary Paul did this to show us the importance or seriousness of the battle that we face every day and how we need to be prepared for the attack on the enemy, regardless if we know it or not there is a spiritual war raging in our lives. Paul trembled for the church as looking into the future, he saw the attacks which the church would suffer from the internal and external foes.

Slide #5 This armor that we see here on this soldier was something that Paul was accustomed to seeing every day. Paul was a master of using the everyday surroundings to speak to us spiritually. He saw that we needed the same type of clothing for the battle that the soldiers were in. In case you haven’t noticed we are in a war, our lives are a warfare. We struggle with the common calamities of human life. We struggle with the opposition from others and from ourselves, Paul tells us that we wrestle with the opposition of the powers of darkness-and with many enemies who try to keep us from God. The fight isn’t between you and I girl I can’t stand him although we make it about us and our feelings and how we were done wrong or left out . Were not taking the time to see this as a spiritual war. Satan will use those feelings and emotions and rejections against us . They chose him for the office and not me, that thing will fester , why does she get all the attention and privileges , that thing will fester. Satan can read your mind but he see down your blood line and look at those things your gggreat struggled with and he will use that against us. That’s why we need to put on Gods armor.

We have enemies to fight against, but we also have a captain to fight for and his name is Jesus, we have a banner to fight under a blood stained banner ,we have a God that will also fight for us and God has given us certain rules of war by which we are to govern ourselves. We must apply ourselves to our work for Christ and our duty as a Christian solider.

We as soldiers must be stout hearted, that just means that we need to be brave and determined, that’s why the writer says be strong in the Lord. We will have battles to fight down here on our way to heaven we will be tried every step of the way, that’s why we sharpen our sword, and we need to have courage.

This isn’t something that should be new to us because Joshua told us this way back in the beginning of the word, The Bible says to Be strong and of a good courage . Thats where Paul received it from. We have to be strong for service , be strong in suffering, strong for fighting. Listen to me good, spiritual strength and courage are very much necessary for our spiritual warfare. Stop walking around pouting about everything , how they did you wrong, satan is the one that’s doing you wrong. If you are not disciplining yourself to read your bible and pray every day how can you grow spiritually. Remember that song , read your bible pray everyday. Grow Grow Grow.

Either we are going to be on the bank or in the river you do both,Either you’re going to be strong in the Lord for his cause and for his sake and in his strength, or you’re not because we can’t stand in on our own Strength, our natural strength-is what I call perfect weakness. All our sufficiency comes from God, and God alone. It’s in Gods strength that we move forward. We move forward by acting out our faith, while we are acting out our faith, we need to call in grace from heaven to help us do what we can’t do for ourselves. We are in a war, and we need to be well armed. Theres no excuse for any of us not to be well armed. Are you ARMED?

Slide #6 . We must Know what we Believe, why we believe it and know where it’s found. We have the SDA logo, you’ve seen it before correct! Can anyone tell me what it represents? Im not trying to put you on the spot , I’m trying to show you how something can be right under our noses right in front of our eyes for years and we not pay attention to it , Just like the word of God is there , physical form , cell phones tablets but-are we using it as a guide to get through this life and to the next?

The Bible tells us that we must arm ourselves, Put on the whole armor of God! We need to make good use of the offensive and defensives weapons for repelling temptations and stratagems of Satan.

We need to be exercising all the Christian graces that we can which is the whole armor of God. This was given to us by grace from God! We don’t want any parts to be naked or exposed. The reason It’s called the armor of God is because God did two things, he both prepares and gives it to us. We have no armor of own that will be an amour that can stand the test of trial. The Amour that God gives is prepared for us, but you must put it on. What good is it if we don’t wear it every day, if we don’t exercise every day. Stop fainting and start praying.We must pray for grace, the reason why God assigned this to the Christian is so that we can be armed and able to stand against the wiles, tricks of the devil. That we may be able to hold out and overcome all the devils assaults, all of his deceits, all that he puts on us.

Slide#7 Hawaii 93 people lost their lives in this fire

Slide#8 Libya 11,00 people lost their lives and its estimated that 10,000 are missing.

Slide #9 Paul goes into detail showing us what our danger is , he says we need to put on the whole armor of God not one or two articles but the entire armor then he goes on to let us know ,considering what sort of enemy we are dealing with . Can’t have any cracks in your amour.

Slide#10 Matthew 24 This isn’t new to us because we have read the book and we are still reading and we will continue to read it, we know what’s to come. From the word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy we are without excuse.

Slide #11 The writer gives an entirely new wardrobe 1.we wrestle not against flesh and blood. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies that will say something to make you mad or get under your skin , this isn’t a fight against flesh and blood nor is it a fight against our corrupt nature but against several ranks of devils who have a government of which they exercise . We are in a battle with a subtle enemy, who uses tricks and schemes. (Bears game , all the tricks and schemes the offense uses to move the ball, the defense didn’t see them coming so they were not prepared. )Satan is the king of darkness , when you hear the word principalities and powers those are fallen angels , they are numerous , they work hard to trick us ..its the dark parts of the world were satan sets up his empire. Satan is a wicked spirit which means our danger is greater because they are unseen, they assault us even when we are not aware. Spiritual wickedness in high places , thats the air between earth and the stars ,The enemy strives to keep us from getting to heaven, prevent us from heavenly blessings . This is why we have to have faith in our christian warfare, because we have a spiritual enemy to wrestle with, so God gives us spiritual strength to call on when we are in danger..

Our duty is to put on the armour and stand your ground. You cant give in and yield, remember King Kochala would always ask his opponent to yield when they were fighting , we cant yield. Satan has been known to stand up against us , When he stands you stand up, we are soldiers in the army of God.. The bible must be studied , not alone for the doctrine it teaches , but for the practical lessons , we should never be surprised , we should never be without our amour on. Be prepared for an emergency for any call of duty. Be waiting and watching for every opportunity to present truth

To stand up against satan is to strive against sin, That you may be able to withstand in the evil day. If your not under some form of attack from the devil then you must be running along side with him. The devil hates Christ and all his followers.Stand your ground , resolve by Gods grace, resist the devil and he will flee from you. When we doubt God when we distrust God our armor will become useless

We are in a cosmic conflict and it is necessary for you and you to be strong in the Lord!The Idea of conflict appears previously in in Ephesians in contrast such as works vs grace(2:8-10),far vs near 2:17, Foreigners vs Citizens. 2:19, Old person New person4:22,24 darkness vs light 5:5 Fruit of the Spirit vs Unfruitful works 5:18. Why all of this to show you that the war, this war isn’t about flesh and blood that Is against us Mere humans. Its against the rulers of , 😈 Satan is working through Methodeia, Trickery, Tactics, Schemes! To overcome Gods people.. One thing that Paul was good at and thats Identifying the enemy, he referred to false doctrines as being the result of human trickery , or methodeia to overcome Gods people.Adam and eve were tricked so to speak by the enemy through his lies Gen 2:16, 17.Jesus himself labled Satan as a liar and the father of lies.. Christians can overcome this spiritual enemy by putting on the full armour of God.

Slide#12

The verb “ to put on “conveys the idea-of taking off the Old Clothes and permanently wearing the New Clothes.

Slide #13This gear this armor of God is so important that Paul gives us counsel twice in 6:11,13 but the key if you look closely in between is a description of the enemy. Which should show us that the only way to stand against the enemy is to put on the armor of God, which includes seven military devices.

The Bible says that we are too:

Slide #14

1.Gird your waist with Truth! (Isaiah 5:27 , then in 11:5 and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins)That simply means that you are ready to take on the task that has been set before you . As ministry leaders we should always be ready to take on the task,as parents and members of the Seventh day adventist church there is a task that has been set before us to share the three Angels message are you ready for the task. Are you mentally and physically ready for the task. Are you ready to deploy, get in position for battle. Jesus is calling for gospel workers. Who will respond? All who enter in service into the army of the Lord are not to be generals, captains or sergeant or even corporals. Some of us need to plant the seed and allow others the chance to water the seed through the Spirit and the word of God .Success depends on the fidelity of the soldier.

1A. By Wearing the belt of truth we as Christians should always be ready to fight against the enemy, There is absolutely no safeguard against Evil but Truth, No man can stand firm for right in whose heart the truth does not abide. There are many people in our churches who take it for granted that they understand what they believe But boy when controversy arises, they seem not to know their own weakness. Thats why God calls us to wake out of our sleep. What we have is the Living Truth the truth of the Gospel that transforms lives of believers. Many people have doubts about Jesus and who God is because they are doubting the Truth . You have to experience Jesus for yourself. You have to Put on Jesus who cares if your 3,4th Genn. Put on Jesus John 14:6 He is the WAY, Truth , Life.

Slide# 15

As soldiers of Christ we should be equipped with the breast plate of righteousness .Accept the righteousness of Jesus Put on the breastplate as it will protect your spiritual life.All who put te breastplate of righteousness , Christ righteousness will stand before him as chosen and faithful and true. Satan has no power over Christ righteousness. Eachh one of us will have a struggle too overcome sin in our hearts , this can be a painful and discouraging work, that’s because we can see the defects of character and the deformities , we have to stop looking at them and look at Jesus and put on his robe of righteousness. Isaiah 59:17 he put on Righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head .

Slide #16 another device is the shield of faith. Its actually a large shield that protects us from anything the enemy will throw at us. Soldiers would dip there Shields in-water to quench the fiery darts. Little word little faith .Faith is total trust in the lord under the most difficult situations we face.. To take up the shield of faith is to show that God is able , God is reliable that God is our refuge that God will see us through. Faith its impossible to please God. When Jesus comes back he will be looking for those of us who have the faith of Jesus.

Slide #17 Helmet of salvation to cover and protect the head and heart in battle. For us its to protect the mind from Doubt and discouragement , despair. We have to protect what goes in and what comes out. When we read the word of God our faith is strengthen. Only Jesus can protect us in battle, Its by his blood that the end time saints will overcome.

Slide#18

Another crucial piece to have in battle is to Shod your feet with readiness for the Gospel of peace, as christians we should always be ready to spread the Gospel that is peace or brings peace. Active involvement in proclaiming the Gospel is a weapon against Satan.

All of these different elements of amour our for our defense and protection. There is one , thank you Jesus there is one device designed for the attack,

Slide#19

The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Gods word has proven to be an effective weapon against the evil and his Imps. Two edged sword God speaks on one edge and we speak on the other edge. For this to be effective you have to read the word study the word .

Jesus overcame the enemy this same enemy through the word of God and so will we. Repetition deepens the Impression so the more we read and study the word of God the more its stays and sticks. In one hand we hold up the shield of faith and the other hand we hold up the sword of the spirit . Its the Spirit that makes the word of God effective in the human heart, so if we are not praying for the Spirit of God how effective will the word be.. Faith and the word of God are Inseparable,