A Soldier's Tasks and Training

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.

Thesis:

A hard fighting soldier has a different task and training when he is fighting with and for the Lord.

Know:

Soldiers of the Lord are trained and have responsibilities.

Feel:

Discipline and Dedication, Soldiers of the Lord must deny themselves and yield to the divine power that is in the spiritual realm because things do not always go as planned and you will be tempted to go off script.

Do:

Enlist and train to become a Hard Fighting Soldier.

Introduction:

Hiroo Onoda was a lieutenant in the Japanese army stationed on the Philippine island of Lubang during World War II. When his commander left the island, he ordered Onoda to stay and fight. “It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens we’ll come back for you,” he had said. Onoda faithfully carried out those orders for the next 29 years.

After the war, the Japanese government dropped leaflets to persuade him to come out of hiding but he dismissed them as Allied propaganda. He was even declared dead in 1959. In 1974 he encountered Norio Suzuki, a Japanese student who had gone in search of Onoda. Suzuki could not convince Onoda—who insisted he was still awaiting orders—to come out of hiding. Suzuki left but soon returned with a delegation that included Onoda’s brother and his former commander, who formally relieved the emaciated soldier of duty.

That is the commitment of a Christian disciple—continuing to keep our pledge to the Lord until he comes to relieve us of duty. The difference is that we will know right away when it happens.

Wilson, J. L., & Russell, R. (2015). Japanese Soldier Continues Fighting until 1974. In E. Ritzema (Ed.), 300 Illustrations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Today we are going to take a look at the Tasks and the Training of a Hard Fighting Soldier...

I. THE SOLDIER’S TASK

A. To follow.

They follow the orders of their leaders. The Christian follows the orders of Christ.

The soldier is forced to follow. The Christian follows by choice (Matt. 4:19).

Matthew 4:19 ESV

19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus will not make you follow, the hard fighting soldier makes a choice to follow...

John 21:22 ESV

22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

The hard fighting soldier is not worried about everybody else. He follows because of his own decision, outside of others decisions only.

B. To fight.

They fight to save their country. The Christian fights the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12).

He fights against sin, temptation, and Satan.

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.

This fight uses divine power and is not a fleshly endeavor...

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,

the hard fighting Christian soldier does not fight like the world. Therefore it requires training to be a hard fighting soldier...

Now that we have some tasks, let’s turn our attention to the training...

II. THE SOLDIER’S TRAINING

Note the words of Paul in

2 Timothy 2:3

2 Timothy 2:3 ESV

3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

A. Discipline.

Just as a runner needs discipline, so the Christian soldier needs self-control (1 Cor. 9:24–27). An uncontrolled Christian can be dangerous in many ways.

A hard fighting soldier is disciplined and has self-control

Self-control keeps him on the right path...

Self-control keeps him fighting the right things...

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 ESV

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Discipline must be employed in the soldiers training

This is life or death Discipline

Philippians 1:21 ESV

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Matters of life or death also require...

B. Dedication.

The soldier is dedicated to his work.

God wants all Christians to have this same obedience (John 2:1–5).

Many times things happen not according to the plan we have laid out, but the dedicated soldier will still show through inopportune times...

John 2:1–5 ESV

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

How do we respond when things happen that we did not make plans for?

Will we break our dedication and step out of character, or will we remain faithful to the race we are running?

C. Denial.

A soldier puts his country first, above personal plans and even above his family.

Christ must be first in our lives (Matt. 6:33).

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Seeking the kingdom is not the same as seeking the world.

Seeking the kingdom is different than seeking yourself.

A soldier denies the world and self.

Matthew 16:24 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

It is impossible for those who are in the flesh to see how “Denial” is gain in the kingdom of God the church.

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The natural person is not a hard fighting soldier of the Lord.

Would you like to become a hard fighting soldier for the Lord?

Conclusion:

To be a hard fighting soldier in the Lord, one must be changed and added to the ranks.

Your Task will be to Follow, as Christ commands.

You will be Tasked, to Fight, not as the world does or for what the world wants.

Training is required, Discipline, is vital to remaining on task in the Lord’s army.

Training, Dedication, because there will be a lot of distractions to pull you off course from waging war as the Lord sees fit.

Your Training, includes Denial, for those who are fit to serve by taking up your cross.