ARE YOU ENGAGED?
2 TIMOTHY 2:1-4
There is a spiritual war that has raged through the ages. This spiritual warfare is the seemingly never ending battle between God and His kingdom and Satan and his forces. Ephesians 6:12 describes it this way: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This warfare includes the daily battle between the old man assisted by a host of powerful satanic influences and the new man empowered by God, the Holy Spirit. In this spiritual battle you are either engaged, AWOL or siding with the enemy. To be engaged as a Christian soldier means to:
I. Follow Orders of the Commander-in-Chief Explicitly
A. II Timothy 2:3-4 “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
B. Obedience to the Marching orders
1. In boot camp, you are taught to obey orders. There are times those orders seem to make no sense. You are to trust that your superior officers know something that you don’t know and that by obeying what may seem crazy, you will help achieve the goal of victory in battle
2. Titus 1:3 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work”
3. "A soldier on active service … must be wholly at his commanding officer’s disposal." (2 Timothy 2:4 NEB)
C. No Malingering Allowed
1. To malinger is to pretend to be sick or injured to avoid work.
2. One who malingers remains feeble and weak in Christian faith in order to evade duty and orders issued by the Captain of the Lord of Hosts.
D. AWOL
1. A soldier on active duty is always a soldier. He can’t call a "time-out" in the middle of battle.
2. Ecclesiastes 8:8 (NASB) “...there is no discharge in the time of war...”
3. A willingness to accept an assignment to suffer is the sure mark of a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
II. Know and Avoid Fraternizing with the Enemy
A. Know the Enemy
1. I Peter 5:8 “Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
2. II Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
B. Avoid Fraternization
1. James mentions three enemies we must not fraternize if we want to be at peace with God:
a. The World (4:4) – The world system or society that is contrary to God
b. The Flesh (4:1,5) – The old nature with its desires and actions.
c. The Devil – (4:6-7) – The archenemy of our souls.
2. “If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I ...daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?” - C. H. Spurgeon
3. Peter (1) first deserted the Lord, (2) later fraternized with the enemy, (3) then, denied the Lord, (4) afterwards committed perjury, and (5) finally, he cursed and blasphemed. Sin was progressive in his case
4. 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what communion has light with darkness?”
C. Keep Focused
1. II Timothy 2:4 “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
2. Entangles – (empleko from en = in + pléko = tie, braid, twist - pléko is used of the Roman soldiers "weaving a crown of thorns" to mock Jesus in Mat 27:29) means in general to interconnect closely and so to wrap or twist together and thus entwine, intertwine, braid, entangle and finally to be caught in. Figuratively empleko means to become involved in an activity to the point of interference with other activities or objectives.
3. Empleko pictures a soldier’s sword becoming so entangled in his cloak that he is unable to defend himself in battle! The position of the soldier demands detachment from all that would hinder his wholehearted obedience to the call of His commander. James would call a soldier who entangles himself "a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8) Like a single-minded soldier, we should respond to the orders of our commanding officer, the Lord Jesus, with unquestioning and immediate obedience.
4. During the Civil War, it is said that there was a man who was sympathetic to both sides. He lived, you see, in a border line state. Finally, he decided that he would achieve a compromise. He put on a mixed uniform, wearing the Confederate gray coat, and the Union blue trousers. All went well, it seems, until his town became engaged in a hard fought battle, and he was spotted by advancing troops. You guessed it: The soldiers from the north shot him in the coat, and the Southern gunmen shot him in the pants! If you are going to serve in a battle, you must resolve with ALL your being to put on the uniform without apologies. – copied
III. Be Equipped to Fight the Battle
A. II Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”
B. In "The Encourager," Charles Mylander writes: "Sunrise was dawning when Los Angeles motorcycle police officer Bob Vernon saw a red pickup truck speed through a stop sign. This guy must be late to work, he thought to himself. He turned on his emergency lights and radioed that he was in pursuit. The pickup pulled over, and the officer approached. "Meanwhile in the truck, the driver thought, “The cops already know!” He was scared. He rested his hand on the same gun he had used a few moments before to rob a twenty-four-hour market. The sack of stolen money was beside him on the seat. “The officer said, ’Good morning, sir, may I see your –’” He never finished the sentence. The driver shoved his gun toward the policeman’s chest and fired from just inches away. The cop was knocked flat seven feet away. "A few seconds later, to the shock of the criminal, the officer stood up, pulled his service revolver, and fired twice. The first bullet went through the open window and smashed the windshield. The second tore through the door and ripped into the driver’s left leg. "’Don’t shoot!’ the thief screamed, throwing the gun and sack of money out the pickup window. “What saved the policeman’s life was dozens of layers of Kevlar, the super strong fabric used for bulletproof vests. Only three-eighths of an inch thick, Kevlar can stop bullets cold.” In Ephesians 6, the Bible instructs every Christian to put on the full armor of God. Simple qualities like righteousness and faith can deflect what the Enemy of souls may fire at us. – Mike Neifert Lynn, Indiana
C. Ephesians 6:11-13 “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
D. When we fail to don the full armor of God we become vulnerable to becoming casualties of war.
IV. Stand Fast in the Face of Opposition
A. When I read about the seven great implements of that armor, I find only one place that we are undefended, and that is right in the small of our back. You don’t need anything there if you are facing in the right direction. If you are not running, you don’t need to worry about getting hit in that place. – Tom Malone
B. I Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
C. II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
D. Good soldiers do not turn and run home or quit. A Good Soldier is Firm, Focused, and Faithful.
E. There is a famous story from Sparta. A Spartan king boasted to a visiting king about the walls of Sparta. The visiting king looked around and could see no walls. He said to the Spartan king, "Where are these walls about which you boast so much?" His host pointed at his bodyguard of magnificent troops. "These," he said, "are the walls of Sparta; every man is a brick." So also does God desire to preserve His gospel, not with lifeless walls, but through the activation of living men and women into His service. – William Barclay
F. Someone said,"Lots of people go A.W.O.L. the first time they hear a shot." But then there are those who make a difference in the world because they refuse to bend, bow, or break. Will you be one of them?
G. 1 Corinthians 16:3 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”
Disclaimer: In addition to prayer and Bible study, source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible. Please feel free to use this message as God’s Holy Spirit directs your heart.
