5.31.2009.Sermon.Keeping the faith
By William Akehurst, BA
HSWC
1 Timothy 6:12
Paul’s writings show us how to act and live in light of a military background.
So, Lets take a look at our Military for a moment
www.goarmy.com
Living the Army Values
IT MEANS YOU LIVE UP TO A HIGHER STANDARD
Many people know what the words Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage mean. But how often do you see someone actually live up to them? Soldiers learn these values in detail during Basic Combat Training
(BCT), from then on they live them every day in everything they do — whether they’re on the job or off. In short, the Seven Core Army Values listed below are what being a Soldier is all about.
Basic Combat Training: BCT All must go through training before they are ready for battle
1. Loyalty: Bear true faith and allegiance to Nation and Constitution
2. Duty: Fulfill your obligations
3. Respect: Treat people as they should be treated
4. Selfless Service: Put others before self
5. Honor; live up to the Army values
6. Integrity: doing what is right (legally and morally)
7. Personal courage: face fear, danger or adversity
Lets put this in a Christian perspective
Loyalty: Bear true faith and allegiance to the LORD
Duty: Fulfill your obligations…as unto the LORD
Respect: Treat people as they should be treated (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you)
Selfless Service: Put others before self (Love your neighbor as yourself)
Honor: live up to the Godly Values
Integrity: doing what is right (legally and morally and spiritually)
Personal courage: face fear, danger or adversity (Walk by faith)
As a soldier:
Stand upright
Keep the faith- protect it, live for it, do not defile it.
Walking by faith
Responsible soldiers: worthy of their position
Must act as a soldier, must keep to the code
Be Holy for I am Holy
Go and Sin no more
Soldiers fight for freedom
We fight for our faith
We battle the enemy: sin, the devil
The battle is won: Jesus is victory
Faith: Justified by faith
Keep the faith, be responsible soldiers
Be holy as I am holy; Go and sin no more
We must live and act as Christian soldiers, obedient to the LORD. Putting off that which is of this world (carnal) and putting on, taking on that which is eternal (spirit)
Soldier must obey his commander
Respect authority
Be a good soldier of the cross
Sin should have no dominion
Rom 8:1 who walk in the Spirit
* * *
All soldiers hold to the code: don’t leave a fallen soldier behind
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our LORD.
That said, if we are not to leave the ‘fallen’ behind, shouldn’t we be telling them about God’s gift of eternal life, hope and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our commander?
* * *
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Keeping the faith. Contending for the faith. Fighting the good fight.
KEEPING THE FAITH
To be a soldier, you must act and conduct yourself like a soldier
KEEPING = PROTECTING
Are we keeping the faith? Are we keeping=protecting it?
OUR ORDERS and OUR CONDUCT
As a soldier, You take orders from the commander and are to be obedient to those orders
OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS SOLDIERS
The Lord said, "Be holy as I am holy” We are ordered to conduct our lives in line with holiness
Jesus to woman who was to be stoned to death, "Go and sin no more"
WE ARE TO CHOOSE LIFE, NOT DEATH
CHOOSE TO LIVE FOR CHRIST
NOT CHOOSE TO LIVE FOR SIN
LIFE=CONFESSION, CHRIST, FORGIVENESS
DEATH=SIN, UNFORGIVENESS, UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
1 Peter 1:13-15 13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
PREPARING FOR BATTLE
Basic Combat Training (BCT)
The Armor of GOD
DEFENDING AND CONTENDING
Jude 1:3
[ Contend for the Faith ] Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
James Dobson and Focus on the Family are "CONTENDERS IN THE FAITH"
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
2 Timothy 4:1-8
1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
As a good soldier, do not let the fallen soldier behind:
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short (fallen short) of the glory of God;
Let us be good soldiers. Start today by sharing the truths of the Gospel of Christ.
Let’s not leave those fallen around us behind.
Tell your family, tell your neighbors, tell your friends.
Jesus is LORD
END: SOLDIERS PLEDGE
* * * The following is a GREAT BENEDICTION TOOL in itself. At the End, have Everyone Stand. READ IT AS A SOLDIER. HOOAH! That’s HALLELUJAH IN SHORT FORM!
’Soldier’s Pledge’
NEW ORLEANS (BP)--In closing his Aug. 28 chapel address at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, read a "Soldier’s Pledge" that Dallas-area pastor Jack Graham used
the week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year.
With no attributed author, the text reads as follows:
I AM A SOLDIER
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, of 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. I am faithful, capable, and dependable.
"If my God needs me, I am there.
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. 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, a prayer warrior. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His Kingdom!
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. 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.
"When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ.
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. 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, a prayer warrior. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain and then bring me back to rule this world with Him.
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, in the army, and I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around.
"I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, marching Heaven-bound. Here I stand! Will you stand with me?"
--30--
© Copyright 2009 Baptist Press
Original copy of this story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=14164
