Soldiers Called to War: Good Soldiers of Jesus - Altoona

Our final lesson for the weekend… It has been a edifying weekend and I am glad we could come to be with you and do what we could to encourage you int he work you are doing for the Lord and for the battles you face daily… May God bless you as you continue to serve Him in the coming days and months - or whatever amount of time He gives you to fight for His cause in this life…

For our final lesson, we will be considering a passage in 2 Timothy chapter 2. You can turn there if you would like to follow along in your Bibles. Our text for our lesson will come from Paul’s instructions to His battle-worn soldier and fellow-worker who was facing many fears as He served in His ministry.

I would like to consider with you verses 3&4

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“3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

In this passage their are many things that can be helpful for us to remember as we face each day of our lives - and to keep along with our theme - each battle that we face as soldiers of Christ…

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CHRISTIANS ARE ENLISTED AS SOLDIERS

We are called to active-service… to be part of the battle fighting for souls, including ours. The Lord’s army does not have any “reserves,” those who are waiting to be called to war… Every Christian is called to service… to fight. There are no reserves and there is no retirement from God’s army…

And being called to active-service, he is no longer just a “civilian,” and this shows in his actions. He will not "entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life." Paul is not speaking about things that necessarily are wrong in themselves. It is not that you, as a Christian, should have no contact at all with your former friends and surroundings. He is not saying to not have a job or spend time with your family… but that you should never be caught up and enmeshed in all of these things. These things must not distract you or take you away to your service to God’s holy nation - his people. Everything comes a distant second to our service to Jesus. We are citizens of a different nation – a different kingdom, and we are pilgrims here in this world.

We are in the world but not of the world. Our citizenship is in Heaven. Our citizenship is where our hope is – where our savior is, and this needs to be where we put the emphasis. Whatever it may be that we do in this world, we need to keep in mind that we do it as a servant of God, a citizen of the Kingdom.

We are in a sense citizens physically of the nation of America, but this is not where we find our hope and purpose in life. Being Americans is not where we find our identity. Being Americans is not what we boast in and find pride in. It is our heavenly citizenship that we find all of these… America is not where our primary citizenship is. We are primarily citizens of Heaven. We dwell with Christ in the heavenly places, and because of this, we set our minds on things above…

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WHAT IS “THE WORLD” that John speaks of in this passage? John uses this word a few ways in His epistle.

– that which is temporal/passing away

, – Those who are not in fellowship with God and hate Christ and His people

– from the world vs from God (v6)… origination of the message…

– those under the domain of Satan

The world = John uses the phrase like we often do today, to talk about physical things, but also the reign/works of Satan and his followers - anything that can distract us and keep us away from the love of God and the brethren, mainly the physical things of life and the sins of life.

You should never allow earthly matters to interfere with the fulfillment of your duty to the Lord. Temporal concerns and activities, innocent in themselves, have neutralized the effectiveness of many doctrinally sound churches. Though they once labored faithfully in the primary purpose of serving Jesus Christ to advance His kingdom against the forces of darkness, they have unwittingly taken themselves out of the battle.

John says it clearly… If we love the world the love of the Father is NOT IN US!

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THERE IS A WAR TO FIGHT!

This is something we cannot stress enough. Timothy, as well as all of God’s people, are in an intense spiritual war. We are engaged in an intimate personal conflict with the supernatural enemy of God.

Once again, Paul says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, not a human enemy, but principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. Satan is against us, and He wants to destroy God’s people. Peter describes him as a lion who is walking about seeking someone to devour… Satan is coming against us. He is powerful… and he can make our lives difficult… It is no surprise then, that Paul makes this point to Timothy about being a soldier:

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Part of being a good soldier of Christ is to “endure hardship.” (v3). Paul knows this first hand. By adding "with me," Paul assures Timothy that he hasn't asked anything of him that he wasn't willing to do. In fact, Paul was writing from a prison cell more than likely. This shows Timothy that a good soldier will go through hardship. As a Christian in the Western world, I'd bet it is sometimes difficult for you to understand what serious spiritual warfare and suffering for Christ mean. Even though the secular environment in our society is becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity, you are not faced with loss of job, imprisonment, or execution because of your faith. With few exceptions, being a Christian won't keep you out of college or from getting a good job. But the more faithful you are as a Christian, the more Satan will put roadblocks, hardships, and rejection in the way, the more evident the spiritual warfare will become, and the more frequent and obvious the hardship will become.

You have been called to endure hardship, and every Christian who has gone before you has had his share. And although you haven't yet shed blood for your faith (), you will experience hardship as a Christian for your faithfulness—count on it. Jesus said, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (). But be encouraged for He also said, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" ().

Hardship will come from EVERY direction… From the world – the people and things of this world, and hardship can come from those who claim to be God’s people… Satan can use even those who are God’s people to get us to stumble and fall… Paul’s life showed all of these things…

I appreciate all of the ‘battle’ terminology that Paul uses in his epistles, because after we face all that the enemy throws at us, it can feel like we have been fighting a long war… sometimes it can be tiring and discouraging… But thankfully God gives us all that we need in order to be victorious over sin and death, to be courageous in the face of fear during battle, and to be faithful as soldiers. HE GIVES US WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BE MEN AND WOMEN OF NOBLE CHARACTER, JUST LIKE JESUS CHRIST.

Which brings us to our final point for today:

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WE SUBMITTED TO THE GREATEST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF WHEN WE BECAME CHRISTIANS!

Every great and successful army has a great commander leading the way, showing them an example of bravery and self-sacrifice…

I read a story about a... a young lieutenant named Richard Winters who, six days after D-Day, led his men to the outskirts of Carentan, France. As the officer in charge of Easy Company, of the 101st Airborne, he was tasked to clear the large French town of its German defenders. It would be a small battle, but it played a significant role in the massive effort to rid the world of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

As Winters led his company up the road toward town, the company started taking machine gun fire from a German MG42. The men instinctively dived for cover into ditches on either side of the road, and stayed there—they froze. Not only was the success of the mission in jeopardy, but the men were easy targets for enemy machine gun and sniper fire.

What happened next proved to be the turning point in the battle for Carentan—it's the stuff legends are made of. Lt. Winters went into the middle of the road and, with bullets hissing past him, started yelling at his troops to get up out of the ditches and engage the enemy. His words, coupled with his heroic action, motivated the men to get up, get in the fight, and gain a decisive victory over the Germans.

Winters' disregard for personal safety in his effort to save his men from certain death didn't just earn him a medal; his actions earned him the love, respect, and admiration of his men. They followed him faithfully from Carentan, through the nightmarish Battle of the Bulge, and on to triumph at Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

Soldiers willingly follow men like this, men who demonstrate acts of self-sacrifice in the most distressing of circumstances. How much more should we, as Christians, follow the One who endured suffering and death to rescue us from the most terrifying fate of all, an eternity in hell?

As Christians, we have the greatest commander that none can rival... Our Lord Jesus… He has given us such an example of courage and bravery. He has shown us what it means to sacrifice self for the sake of others. He is the one who deserves our devotion. We should be willing to follow this commander even to death if necessary…

The men who followed Lt. Winters through terrible conditions and battles in Europe did so willingly—he had earned their respect and affections. In an even greater way, the Lord deserves your honor, your affection, and your obedience for all He has done for you. His own courage on the battlefield is unparalleled. He stayed the course and went before you to win your freedom and eternal life. And now He seeks your loyal service in His army, and he gives us an example to follow in showing courage as we face the fears that come as we go out to battle each week.

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To show Christ the respect and honor He deserves as our commander, Paul tells Timothy that we, to be good soldiers, must make it our aim to please Jesus. The Christian's greatest desire is to please Christ, and his fondest hope is to be rewarded for faithful service, to hear his Master say, "Well done, good and faithful servant”

OUR AIM – PLEASING THE COMMANDER

With this hope in the forefront of our minds, our lives must be driven forward by our love for Jesus Christ. And make it your ambition, "whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him" ()

Paul also says in ,, “Walk as children of light… and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

This is what defines the life of a soldier of Christ… All we want to do is please Him. This is our mindset. We are seeking to please Him and to be like Him.

And, once again, we do this every day… A "soldier in active service" is a soldier 24 hours a day, every day of the year. His body, his health, his skills, his time—all that he is—belongs to the military. And whenever ordered into dangerous duty, he is expected to put his very life on the line without question or hesitation.

Just as the dutiful soldier places his life willingly on the line in the service of his commander, so also will you, as a faithful Christian, willingly deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ (). And you will find yourself echoing Paul's words: "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus" ().

In an even greater way, the Lord deserves your honor, your affection, and your obedience for all He has done for you. His own courage on the battlefield is unparalleled. He stayed the course and went before you to win your freedom and eternal life. And now He seeks your loyal service in His army.

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So to bring this lesson, and this series, to a close, I leave you with the following question:

ARE YOU A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST?

Are You in Active Service, Enduring Hardship, & Seeking TO Please Your Commander?

ARE YOU FIGHTING THE BATTLE AGAINST SIN IN YOUR LIFE, OR HAVE YOU ALREADY FALLEN?

ARE YOU FULFILLING THE MISSION YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY JESUS?

Are you a Soldier of Jesus Christ?