Sermon Tone Analysis

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 ,

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

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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."

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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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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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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.