A Soldier of God

OPEN WITH VIDEO, “Memorial Day Tribute”

Ask for all to stand who have served. or are currently serving in a branch of the US Military and recognize them!

This morning in this building and probably in buildings all across this nation, we remember and give honor to those brave men and women who laid down their lives for the good of this great nation and to support the cause of freedom and the defense of those who are weaker than we are, against the face of tyranny.

The Bible tells us this in ,

Romans 13:7 ESV

7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

At this time I would like for all of the men and the women who have served in any of the branches of the Unites States armed forces in the past, or those who are currently serving , to please stand at this time. I would like to ask for everyone in the room to remain quiet for a minute, as we take a moment to remember in our hearts and in our prayers those brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, who have fallen in the line of duty while serving this great nation.

PLAY TAPS VIDEO.

(Ask for the audience to honor those who stood with applause!)

Our nation is observing the holiday of Memorial Day this weekend and tomorrow. And by definition, Memorial Day is a national observance where we remember and honor the men and women who have died while serving this great nation in the U.S. armed forces.

And for many of us, this weekend represents a time to come together as family and friends and cook out and fellowship with one another, truly a time of blessing. But let me challenge to do something tomorrow; take a moment in your day and actually lift up a prayer of thanks for the men and the women who have given so much, everything in fact, for us to have the right to be called a free nation!

Take a moment and thank your great God and savior tomorrow (and every day, as far as that goes), for blessing you with a nation of democracy and one that has been built upon Biblical beliefs.

Regardless of how challenged those beliefs have become over the last several decades in this nation, through attacks of the enemy, there will always be God’s faithful REMNANT, who will seek Him and His face and His will for their lives and for this nation.

This remnant will never bow to the evil schemes and acts of the devil, but rather, they will bow and humble themselves before Yahweh, Himself, and seek His divine protection and favor and blessings upon this nation!

And so, in light of that premise alone, I will say that we should all stand resolute and with a backbone of iron and be a part of God’s faithful remnant and go before our great God and Savior and thank Him for and seek His blessings over our nation and our government and our very much so, OUR MILITARY!

Ask for someone to come up and lead in a prayer of blessing over our nation and our government and our military!

When we talk about remembering and honoring those brave men and women who have died serving and protecting this great nation, there is a title that we ascribe to them. In the same way that we ascribe titles to other occupations and services, we do so to those who serve in the military.

For instance, a man/woman who goes to medical school and graduates and then spends their life practicing medicine, we call them a..........DOCTOR.

A person who studies law in college and then graduates and practices law, we call a..........LAWYER!

Anyone who studies the art of cuisine and cooks professionally, we call them a............CHEF!

People who study and learn the art of acting, so as to be able to perform dramas and plays are referred to as........POLITICIANS (just kidding).......ACTORS/ACTRESSES!

Well, the same understanding applies to any of the branches of our military:

Now, I realize that it becomes more specific for each branch of the military: a Marine, a Naval person is a seaman, a member of the Air Force is an airman and a member of the Army is usually called a soldier.

BUT, in the general and basic understanding, an enlisted man or woman, who is trained as a skilled warrior, is commonly referred to as a soldier!

A man in the Navy is called a “sailor”

A person in the Marines, is called a Marine.

Air Force person is an airman.

Coast Guard is Coast Guardsman.

Army is a soldier.

Does everyone see what I am saying?

And even more broad spectrum, for the people who are in any of the branches, we could just refer to them as “servicemen/service women”.

For this message today, I would like to refer to one specific title, that I can use to relate back to the Bible, where this same title is used, referring to a military type scenario and make a point for this message today.

And in order to do so, I am going to start off by making reference to a specific serviceman that our nation has recognized and honored throughout the years and yet he is one that has never been named.

According to Webster’s dictionary, a skilled warrior and one who is an enlisted man/woman, can be called generically, a “soldier”.

I understand, as I have just stated, that in our country, modern day, a man/woman in the Army is referred to as a “soldier”.

I am of course speaking about the the serviceman who lies in Arlington Cemetery in the Tomb of the Unknown SOLDIER.

The first tomb that was placed there and the white sarcophagus that covers it, holds the remains of an unknown soldier of WW1, whose remains were brought to rest there in 1921.

But, historically, throughout the centuries, men who were trained in the art of combat were referred to as a soldier, right?

On the east panel of the tomb which faces Washington, D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory and Valor.

There are six wreaths, three sculpted onto the tomb, that represent the six major campaigns of WW1.

On the back of that tomb, there reads the inscription, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

This soldier, who gave everything that he had, in serving his country, lies for all times within a tomb which does not even bare his own name, let alone list any accolades about him or what he did in wartime.

Subsequently, the wars that followed WW1 (which were, WW2, the Korean and the Vietnam War), also had an unknown soldier be brought to rest in tombs, right out from the original WW1 tomb

There are no stories written about him and songs ascribing praise to his name and what all he did in battle.

He is nameless and for all times he will rest under the epitaph of, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

A soldier is trained to respond to the orders of their superiors and to serve with excellence, at all cost and and without regard to themselves and their own lives in the face of danger.

A soldier is “programmed”, if you will, to respond, by instinct to the environment of war, and to be combat ready at all times.

A soldier is pulled aside for a period of time of training, (boot camp, or basic training), to prepare them physically and mentally and as much as possible, emotionally, for the possibility of war and to understand the nature of receiving and giving orders in accordance with the will of their superiors.

Everything that the soldier is trained to do, both in combat and out of it, is for the good of their company, the good of their regimen, the good of their superiors, and ultimately for the good that which they represent, their country!

A soldier is taught that they represent the armed forces of the United States of America and that their conduct is to exemplify this!

A well trained soldier does not go out and seek a place or position, or opportunity in war times, so as to bring accolades and recognition and the praise of others upon himself.

A soldier is trained to think and respond for the good of his comrades and ultimately for the good of this nation!

When a soldier is brought into basic training one of the first things that they are taught, is to get it through their heads, that they now belong to the US government and as such they are no longer their own private property.

A soldier is taught that in order to survive in hostile combat conditions, they must stick together and watch each other’s backs.

They work as one functioning unit. Each one in the platoon, or squad, may have unique and individual roles that they must fulfill, but together those roles make up the good of the company and when all parts are functioning as one moving entity, it is difficult and near impossible to be stopped by the enemy!

To speak of, or describe a soldier in this day and age is very common, as the world that we live in is riddled with war and military terms are commonplace on the news, and in our media and movies all of time.

The same thing applies to the life and times of the Apostle Paul. Paul and the day and age in which he lived and ministered, were very much entrenched with warring and violence.

Both from the enormousness and powerful Roman army, as well as the factions that had begun rising up within the Jews, against the Roman rule, right around the time that Paul was being imprisoned and persecuted and killed.

Paul commonly used the metaphor of being a soldier and fighting in this very real and present conflict.

That is, the war that rages on and even more so today, in the present, modern world than when he lived!

We talk of the United States still being locked in the longest war in our nation’s history, the Afghanistan Conflict, which has thus lasted some 18 years, but in reality “we”, “us”, “you” and “I”, are still entrenched in a battle that has raged on for thousands of wars!

This world and the god of this world hates the followers of Jesus Christ! The enemy’s military manifesto is simple.......eradicate and silence the gospel message and all who spread it!

The Romans, under the likes of Nero, were notorious for killing the Christians.

But understand this, the killing of Christians around the world has escalated since then, not diminished.

I shared with my oldest daughter last night, that right now, in the present world that we live in, there are every month, on the average, 345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons, 105 Churches and Christian buildings are burned or attacked. There are some 245 million Christians experiencing high levels of persecution in the countries on the World Watch List ,right now!

So, yes, there is a war against our faith, and the enemy that leads this war, is none other than the devil himself and his army!

And in several of his epistles, you will see Paul speak about this war and how and what we have to fight with.

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2 Corinthians 6:7 NLT

7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

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2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

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Ephesians 6:10–12 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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.

Ephesians 6:10–11 NLT

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

And verses 13-17, where Paul continues speaking about the individual pieces of the armor that we have at our disposal.

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1 Timothy 1:18 ESV

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

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1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Paul also mentions fellow soldiers, whom he is warring alongside of, in some of his letters.

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Philippians 2:25 ESV

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

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Philemon 1–2 ESV

1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

Paul actually calls these brothers, his fellow SOLDIERS!

He could have used any number of descriptions when mentioning these people, but he was guided to use the analogy of a SOLDIER, someone that he in enlisted with and that he fights alongside of and for the same cause as!

The overall point that I am making here, is that Paul, under the guidance of Holy Spirit, made the analogy of natural warring to that of the spiritual war that rages on around us!

God, Himself uses warring metaphors and the implementations of a soldier to describe Himself, as in,

, “The LORD advances like a warrior; He stirs up His zeal like a soldier. He shouts, He roars aloud, He prevails over His enemies."

Isaiah 42:13 ESV

13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

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Isaiah 59:17 NLT

17 He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.

So, God, through His Holy Spirit, gave Paul the analogies of warring and that of a SOLDIER and how this applies to each every believer.

And if God gave it this way, then it is beneficial for us to study it and learn from this!

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2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

And in , Paul’s last letter that he wrote before he was killed, we find Paul instructing his beloved spiritual son, Timothy, to continue the fight as “good SOLDIER” of Jesus Christ.

And please note here, that what could have been a man writing on behalf of himself and a plea about his innocence before those who listen, in order to try and save his life; is instead, a letter written to a young man that Paul loved and cared for dearly.

A young man who Paul didn’t want to become fearful, after Paul was gone, and turn up M.I.A., or A.W.O.L.

Which is the case and has been the case since Jesus left this earth. People entering in to and beginning the war over the souls of mankind, but then deserting their post and running away, when the pains of the battle became uncomfortable.

For this reason, Jesus, Himself, numerous times, warned us about the cost of enlisting in His army. He chose you and I, but understand this, we still freely signed on and enlisted.

So Paul wrote to his beloved spiritual son and fellow soldier,Timothy, one last time and edified and encouraged him to stand strong as a soldier of Jesus Christ!

Listen to what says to Timothy in order to encourage him on in the battle.

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2 Timothy 2:1–7 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

In a war and in the heat of battle, you must be trained to make wise and life altering decisions.

This is what Paul is training Timothy to do in this passage, where he tells him, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

Paul was saying to Timothy, that your time is limited in this war and so, take what you have been trained in and train others who are worth your invested time, so that these faithful ones will be able to help train up other soldiers who will fight the good fight of faith.

We must understand, that investing in people (soldiers) who are truly sold out to cause of fighting for Jesus Christ, can be and will costly to us in numerous ways.

It will cost you your time, it will cost you your money, it will cost your tears and your happiness and your comforts in life and it may even cost you your very life, if required!

So, when you are investing that much of your life into others, you must make sure that they are truly sold out to Jesus and that they are, as Paul called them, “trustworthy and faithful”, so that they will continue the fight!

It’s easy to spend your time at the rear of the battlefield spinning your wheels and pouring yourself into people’s lives who are complacent and stagnant and non-committed, or as Jesus called them, “LUKE WARM”, because these people cost you hardly anything, other than some time.

These people are not faithful and they will not engage in the war that is going on and they will most definitely not invest themselves into what is required in training up and helping to equip more new soldiers for the battlefield!

I am not saying that we ignore and turn away from being a faithful and loving witness for these people, but those who you invest your life into, as a faithful disciple and a fellow soldier, is very important!

You want to know that these men and women will be there, fighting the good fight of faith alongside of you, because as tells us,

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 ESV

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

Ecclesiastes 4:9 NLT

9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

Trust me when I say to you, that on this battlefield in which we stand, when the lines have been drawn and people begin choosing sides and the heat of battle turns up bringing discomfort and requiring cost of “self”, you want SOLDIERS standing beside you who are FAITHFUL and SOLD OUT to their commanding officer, Jesus Christ!

It is painful and hurtful, when those who you have been fighting beside turn tail and run and leave you high and dry.

The reality is that your heavenly Father, almighty God, will not leave or forsake you, but the rejection and abandonment of those close to you on the battlefield hurts deeply!

Listen to the closing of Paul’s letter to Timothy in chapter 4, where Paul says, “Timothy, do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.”

It hurt Paul that his fellow soldiers turned and deserted him. But, Paul makes it definitely known to Timothy and to us, that the Lord stood right there with him and strengthened him.

Fighting as a SOLDIER of Jesus Christ will become costly to you and I, if we stay engaged in the war and do not desert Him! Paul also said to Timothy in this last letter, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

As the early Christian theologian and writer, Tertullian put it in his Address to Martyrs: ‘No soldier comes to the war surrounded by luxuries, nor goes into action from a comfortable bedroom, but from the makeshift and narrow tent, where every kind of hardness and severity and unpleasantness is to be found.’ Similarly, the Christian should not expect an easy time. If he is loyal to the gospel, he is sure to experience opposition and ridicule. He must ‘share in suffering’ with his comrades-in-arms.

Paul told Timothy that a GOOD SOLDIER will share in the sufferings alongside of his/her fellow soldiers.

And Paul also warned Timothy that no soldier gets entangled/involved in civilian pursuits and affairs, because a good soldier’s objective and desire of his heart, is to please the one who enlisted him!

Remember what I said earlier about how a soldier is trained in basic training and what they are taught and what they have ingrained into their minds and what they believe to be right?

Paul is saying and in fact the whole New Testament is saying the same thing.

A good soldier is not their own, they have been bought with a price; the price that bought us, is the precious blood of Jesus Christ!

A good soldier does not seek his own well being, but seeks to help out his fellow soldiers. ,

Philippians 2:3–5 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

A good soldier will pursue only what their commanding officer teaches them to do and will not abandon these things and try to sneak off and return to the civilian life that they had before enlisting.

Our commanding officer, Jesus the Christ, has told us to love our enemies and do good to those who would persecute us for His name’s sake, and not retaliate with hurtful words and acts of violence.

Jesus said that if we LOVE Him, then we will follow all of His commands.

Jesus has instructed us, to turn our back to the worldly life, as a wordly civilian, and deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him.

He told us to seek the kingdom of God FIRST in our lives, as His good soldiers!

We have, in our Army here in the United States, what is called the Reserves, which are basically part time- soldiers and part time civilians. Of course in war time, they go active.

Well understand this, when you become a SOLDIER for Jesus Christ. there are NO RESERVES. We are at war and the moment that you join the Lord’s army, you are FULL TIME from then on!

This reminds me of a man was coming out of church one day, and the pastor was standing at the door, as he always was, to shake hands with the worshippers. As he shook the man’s hand, he pulled him aside and said, “You really need to join the army of the Lord.”

The man replied, “I’m already in the army of the Lord, Pastor.”

So the Pastor enquired, “Then why do I only see you at Christmas and at Easter?”

The man whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”

The man whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”

Folks listen to me today, there are NO secret service members. You have been branded, marked as His own, by His Holy Spirit! You are wearing the garments of righteousness as your uniform and you are implemented with the armor of God as your protection and you wield the Sword of the Spirit as your weapon!

There is no HIDING your identity and there are to be no covert, hidden missions, (sneaking around to try and surprise the enemy. Trust me, the enemy was taken by surprise when Jesus Christ walked of that tomb, 2,000 years ago and he has been on they run ever since!) We, as the SOLDIERS of the Army of God, advance straight forward, like David ran to the battle lines to face the giant, so do we run straight to the battle lines to face our enemy.

Without fear of the enemy, because “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world!”

And we are to do everything that we do, out of love for Him and for one another and never to make ourselves look better, or bring accolades upon ourselves.

Just as the tomb of the Unknown Soldier reads, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God”, meaning that this soldiers service and everything that he did in battle, is known only by God; so also, are we as SOLDIERS of God, to do everything that we do so that God is gloried from it and so that only He knows of what we are doing and why we did it!

We are never to serve as His soldiers in such a way, so as to bring any form of glory or praise upon ourselves!

God alone deserves and is truly worthy of ALL HONOR AND GLORY and it is our duty as SOLDIERS in His army, to surrender our lives to His service and do everything that we do as a means of bringing Him that GLORY and HONOR that is due Him!

A good soldier stores up for themselves, “treasure in heaven”, not on earth.

The accolades and praise of men here on earth, is nothing compared to the praise of your Lord saying to you in heaven, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”

Sun Tzu, who wrote, The Art of War, mentioned in his book that, “The general who advances without coveting fame and whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”

That is what we remember this Memorial Day; that there are those soldiers, like the Unknown Soldier, who have given up everything of themselves to serve and better and protect and give freedom to others!

With no regard to self and abandoning everything that they once clung to do so.

“All gave some.........some gave ALL!”

I will close this message on being a soldier of God, by reading this poem that I found on the internet. Listen closely!

I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Scripture is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. I am a soldier.

I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards or candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all of my need. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. The devil cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier.

Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from His battlefield, He will promote me to captain and then allow me to rule with Him. I am a soldier in the army, and I’m marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around.

I am a soldier, marching heaven-bound. Here I Stand! Will you stand with me?