Honoring All Vets

INTRO. – ILL.- Military expectations. While talking to a potential recruit, the military recruiter said, "Exactly what kind of job are you looking for in the military?"

The high school kid said, "I’m looking for something with an enlistment bonus of about $20,000, where I won’t have to work too hard, and won’t have to deploy overseas.

The recruiter said, "Well, what if I could hook you up with a skill that allowed you to come straight in as an E-7, where you’ll only work weekdays, and you can have the base of your choice and stay there as long as you want?"

The young recruit sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?" The recruiter replied, "Yeah, but you started it."

Military life is not easy. You don’t get you want when you enlist. Here is how “not” to honor a Vet.

ILL.- Oct. 27, 2005, CALEDONIA, Mich. - A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war was fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.

“It was a shock,” said Suzette Boler, a 40-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three. “I was hurt. I felt abandoned by people I thought cared for me. I sat down on the floor and cried for probably two hours.”

Officials at her former workplace, Benefit Management Administrators Inc., confirmed that Boler was dismissed when she didn’t report to work the day after she said goodbye to her husband of 22 years.

Brothers and sisters, perhaps we don’t know all the details of this firing, but it sure sounds like she and her Vet husband were not treated with due honor and respect.

ILL.- Someone wrote: IT IS THE VETERAN

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag,

Who serves under the Flag.

Today we want to honor all our armed service veterans. To you, veterans, we owe a debt of gratitude because you were willing to go, to serve and to give on behalf of the United States of America! God bless you!

PROP.- Let’s think about some veterans of the faith who also deserve some recognition or honor from us.

1- Veteran Enoch walked with God

2- Veteran Noah worked for God

3- Veteran Jacob worshipped God

I. VETERAN ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD

Heb. 11:5 “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

Faith walks with God. Faith talks with God. Faith spends time with God.

ILL.- The English professor emphasized in his class the importance of developing an extensive vocabulary. He said, “You have my assurance if you will repeat a word eight or ten times, it will be yours for life.”

In the back of the class, an attractive young woman sighed, closed her eyes, and whispered softly to herself, “Steve, Steve, Steve….”

Have you ever been so absorbed with a person that you wanted to be with them ALL the time? Like a couple in love? That may be rare, but it’s very similar to what it means to walk with God.

ILL.- I have read that Buddhists have a saying, which goes like this: “Life is divided into three parts. The first part is for pleasure. The second part is for the accumulation of money and goods and the third part is for religion.”

Most people divide their lives. Some time for this and some for that, BUT ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD CONTINUALLY, DAY IN AND DAY OUT! There was no such thing as sacred and secular. Everything was sacred to him because of His walk with God! God was with him in everything; everywhere he went and everything he did.

For most of us, it’s pretty easy to walk with God on Sunday morning. We sing the songs, partake of communion, listen to the message, give an offering and we consider these a great act of faith in God. BUT ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD!

Enoch walked with God on Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday morning and all week long. Faith walks with God.