Transition: Two weeks ago I shared with you the idea that we are living in a Postmodern society that in many respects is much like the First Century world in that Christianity is seen as a threat or is looked upon in a very negative light.
Last Week I shared with you some ideas of how we as Modern day Christians can Share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people in this postmodern era. Today I want to remind you that we are at war, and I’m not talking about the War in Iraq, or the War on Terrorism. If you have you Bible’s turn with me to the book of 1 Samuel 17:20-26.
Text:
“Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.”
Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.
As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel."
David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
The analogy of the Church being the Army of the Living God is found in several passages of Scripture in the New Testament, as is the idea that we as Christians are soldiers in the Lord’s Army. Paul refers to a couple of his associates in the ministry as "fellow soldiers." And in 2 Timothy 2:3 He, encouraged Timothy to "Endure hardship......like a good soldier of Christ Jesus"
Jesus realized that we are in a Spiritual war for the souls of men, women boys and girls, and in Matthew 16:18, while talking to the Apostle Peter, Jesus He described this war by saying, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
Ancient cities were all built with walls around them. The walls generally had several gates in them. The purpose of these gates was not to keep people in, but to keep their enemies out. When the city came under attack, the best thing they could do was to shut the gates, and gather everyone up behind the walls. The weakest places in this kind of a defense system were the gates. And almost without exception, the opposing army would usually choose to begin their attack there. So when Jesus said, "The gates of Hell shall not prevail" against the church he wasn’t talking about the church holding it’s ground against Satan’s attack. Instead He was saying that they gates of Hell would not be able to prevail, or stand up under our attacks.
With this statement Jesus was saying, "My church is to be like a mighty army, aggressively driving back the boundaries of darkness as it extends the Kingdom of God to all persons everywhere."
But, unfortunately, many of our churches are retreating, just like the Israelites did when Goliath confronted them on the battlefield. Many of our churches today seem to be satisfied to just hold their heads above water. Other churches are being pushed around and beaten back by the Devil and the Forces of Darkness. The Devil is taunting the church today, just as Goliath taunted the army of Israel. Churches all over our nation are sliding backwards instead of surging forward.
Several years ago there was a movement to remove several hymns that speak of war or battle from our hymnals. Those who were in favor of this argued that as Christians we should not sing such great hymns as Onward Christian Soldiers and Stand Up Stand up for Jesus. Let me remind you of some of the words of these great Hymns.
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on Before!
Christ the Royal Master leads against the foe;
Forward into battle, see his banners go!
and
"Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss;
From victory unto victory, His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.
They said these militant hymns were inappropriate, and should not be in a Christian hymnal because they were endorsing War.
Perhaps another reason could be that many of our churches today have lost their militant spirit, and do not want to be reminded of what they are not doing. The church today needs not only to keep singing militant hymns, like these. But it also needs to recover the militant spirit that it once had. The church needs to see itself as an Army - marching into battle, it needs to see itself advancing against the enemy, and it needs to see itself conquering the Goliaths of the world for Jesus Christ.
Like never before the church of Jesus Christ needs to go on the offensive. We can’t afford to sit back and keep letting Satan expand his territory. Instead we need to be the ones conquering territory and expanding the Kingdom of God? This morning I want to share four things with you that I believe every church in America needs to do.
I. First of all, The Church needs to develop an aggressive attitude or mindset.
An aggressive mind is alert, and takes advantage of every opportunity it is given. An aggressive mindset is quick to seize the initiative. That is vitally important for an army to be successful.
The most tragic war in American History was the Civil war, sometimes referred to as the War Between the States. As you know it began in 1861 and lasted until 1865. More American’s lost their lives during the Civil War than in all of the other wars we have fought put together.
And one of the real tragedies of the Civil War is that it lasted much longer than it had to. The Union Army was much larger and better equipped than the Confederate army. In the last year of the war the North had more than one million men in uniform. While the South probably had no more than 200,000. But the Union had a big problem. Several of their top Generals were simply not aggressive enough. But, after President Lincoln turned the Union Army over to the Ulysses S. Grant the balance of the war quickly swung to the North and the Confederate forces were eventually forced to surrender.
On one occasion, as President Lincoln was inspecting the Union troops, he made the following comment to one of his aids, He said, "Look at that, Bro. Washburn, as far as the eye can see, do you know what that is?" Washburn replied, "The army of the Potomac." Lincoln replied, "No, Bro. Washburn, it is General McClellan’s bodyguard." Lincoln then commented on General McClellan himself, He said, "He is a superb organizer. He has good points but he can’t fight."
On another occasion Lincoln said to William Seward, his Secretary of State, "We have you know, Mr. Seward, a sad progression of generals, McCellen, Burnside, Hooker, and Mead. They all wait to be attacked. It is not their nature to attack first."
As the Army of the Living God, we need to ask ourselves some questions this morning. "Are we like McClellan’s army, a bodyguard for the status quo? Is it our nature to attack? Or do we wait to be attacked first?
Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War I, said, "No army can march on a retreating mind." The church today needs to realize that it is at war. We must understand that we are in a spiritual battle for the souls of men, women, boys and girls. We have been on the defensive for too long, it’s time we take the battle to the Devil.
The church must not be content to sit back in a defensive position until the Lord returns. Instead, we must have an aggressive mind and take advantage of every opportunity to claim new territory for the Kingdom of God.
II. Next, in order for the church to be like an army it must have a global strategy.
Our mission is clear. Acts 1:8 explains it perhaps better than any other verse in the Bible. It says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Our God given mission is to win the world for Christ. But between us and the world is our nation. And between us and our nation is our state. And between us and our state is our community. And of course, That’s where we need to start. We need to develop a strategy that will help us reach Franklin, and Simpson County, for Jesus Christ. We must think globally and act locally.
In war, real war, every soldier has a job to do. Some are on the front lines doing the fighting. Some work in communications, making sure the army is able to communicate with one another and with headquarters. Some work in supply, making sure the army has all of the supplies it needs. While others never see the battlefield, instead they are busy back at headquarters developing strategy.
But everyone in the Army has a job to do - and they do it under the command of their leader. No army would ever stand a chance of winning a war with untrained, uncommitted, undisciplined troops, half of which go AWOL on a regular basis. (But unfortunately, that is a pretty good description of the Army of the Living God today.)
The largest church in the world is Central Gospel Church, in Seoul, Korea. It has an estimated membership of 500,000 people, and is growing at a rate of 10,000 members a month. The pastor, Paul Y. Cho, has his city divided into 12 districts with numerous small cell groups that meet together once a week in each district. Each of these cell groups is made up of somewhere around 10-15 families. These cell groups have a clear goal or objective: Which is: to win two people to Christ every year. - Knowing that if they get two heads of households to accept Christ as their Savior, that more than likely their entire families will also become believers. Pastor Cho once said, "On the wall of our church offices are maps and charts for each district. In fact, it looks like a military strategy room. This is a war we are fighting. The enemy is the devil. The battlefield is the hearts of lost humanity. The object is to get as many souls saved as possible before Jesus comes."
And of Course Pastor Cho is right. We are in a war, and if the Church in America doesn’t wake up and realize that then Satan is going to continue to have his way with us.
The early church is a good example of a church that was on the offensive. It had to survive in a world that in many ways was much worse than ours. Yet, in only a few short years, the early church had turned the first century world upside down for Christ. Why, because unlike the Israelite Army they didn’t run and hide when Satan stood up to challenge them. Instead, like David they put their trust in God, and did something equally as amazing.
But unfortunately many of our churches are made up of people who just aren’t equipped for the type of Spiritual Warfare that needs to be used against the forces of Evil.
III. Third for the church to be like an army it must have a disciplined membership.
A veteran returned home from Vietnam and went to church one Sunday. He came home disgusted. His mother wanted to know why. He said, "We sang, ’Onward Christian Soldiers...Marching as to war...’But Mom, If we had marched together under our commander in Vietnam the way Christians march into battle The Viet Cong would have easily driven us into the sea."
Unfortunately, most churches today are long on membership and short on discipleship & commitment. What really matters to God is Spiritual discipline and dedication.
One of the greatest battles in American History, was the battle of the Alamo, which was fought back in 1836. There 150 Texans, under the command of Col. William B. Travis, at the Alamo. And for 13 days those 150 men, held off the siege of 5,000 Mexican troops under the command of General Santa Anna. Eventually, they lost the battle and were all killed. But their resistance gave Sam Houston time to gather an army and win Texas her independence from Mexico a month later. One night during the siege, a group of Texans slipped out of the Alamo and stuffed the Mexican cannons full of mud. The next day when his army attempted to fire the cannons, they exploded. When word came to General Santa Anna what had happened, he exploded. In an angry rage he said, "It is interesting don’t you think, that 150 men are so under whelmed by our overwhelming forces that they send raiding parties against us. Do you think it’s possible they know something about this army that I do not."
Could it be that Satan and the forces of evil know something about The Church in America that we have not yet recognized about ourselves? Could it be that Satan knows that many Christians today lack the dedication, discipline and the will, that is necessary to win the war!
We must realize that Jesus is not looking for spectators but for soldiers. As members in the Army of the Living God, we must be disciplined, dedicated, and obedient. Which reminds me of something I read a few years ago entitled: I Am a Solider, it goes like this:
I am a soldier in the army of my God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer.
The Holy Bible 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 either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army;
but 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.
If He needs me in the Sunday school to teach the children,
work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn I’ll be there.
He can use me because 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, 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.
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 needs.
I am more than a conqueror.
I will always triumph.
I can do all things through Christ.
Devils 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 this 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.
~author unknown~
When we become a Christian we don’t just join a church, we join a cause - a cause that deserves our best, a cause for which we should be willing to live for and die for.
IV. The fourth essential for the church to be like an army is that it must have adequate resources.
No army is foolish enough to go into battle without enough supplies and resources to win. You have to have enough to match the enemy - enough size, enough weight, enough power - to overcome the enemy or he will overcome and overpower you. (Luke 14:31).
But does the Church have the necessary resources to go into battle? Some people are not sure. But I believe we do. Jesus said, "The gates of hell will not stand against you." Obviously that means that Christ will give us the strength, courage and resources necessary to do the job, just as He did for David in his Battle against Goliath. No General in his right mind would send his army into battle without the necessary resources. So obviously God will not do that either. In fact, God’s resources are without limit. All we need to do is ask, and He is more than willing to provide us with all of the resources we need to fight and win this Spiritual War.
Conclusion: The Marines have always been an elite fighting force. For years there slogan has been “We are looking for a Few Good Men.”
A Pastor by the name of David Schaal said that his Marine Corps Boot camp lasted 18 weeks. He says that during that 18 week period the recruits were never, ever called Marines. David says that the very last week of Boot Camp was filled with excitement because they all knew they were getting ready to to graduate. Then their Drill Instructors gave all of them a patch to iron on our camouflaged uniform. The Patch simply said- U.S. Marine! He says, “We were finally WORTHY of calling ourselves Marines. David Schall says to this day one of the proudest moments of his life, was right after graduation, when his Senior Drill Instructor, looked him in the eye and said, ‘Congratulations Marine”- The Marine Corps is a very proud, exclusive fighting organization, not everybody can become a Marine.
But on the other hand, the Army of The Living God is an army that welcomes everyone. Like our Military, the Army of the Living God, is an all volunteer army. If you want to join, you must begin by volunteering for service. Of course you do that by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and committing your life to obeying and serving Him. Have you done that this morning. Are you a Soldier in the Lord’s Army? If not you can join up this morning.
