There was a time when I was a child that I wanted to be a first responder. Almost all children go through a phase like this, some stick with it and others move on to something else. At one time, I wanted to be a fireman, and then I change my mind and thought that a police officer would be so much better, but then I realized that if I joined the Army or the Navy, I would be a soldier! The men and women that we celebrated tonight were kids at some point daydreaming just like I did about becoming a first responder. As I pulled up to the parking lot at cornerstone church, I saw two beautiful helicopters, the San Antonio Police Department eagle helicopters! What an amazing sight. I got to talk to one of the pilots just before having to go inside to start the conference. The evening started with a very manly meal. And some good old tunes from a quartet that set the mood. When Ron Waterman was introduced, you could hear a pin drop. A former professional Wrestler and Firefighter, many men in that room looked at Ron as an inspiration when they were kids. But the highlight of the evening was not Ron's testimony or his challenging men to really man up. It was when Ron made an altar call and some 25 or 30 men including some prominent political figures in San Antonio made a choice to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. These few men made the single most important decision of their life! It's to these few men that put their trust on Jesus that I want to write this article to.
Ron mentioned the fact that the devil comes to Kill, to steal and to destroy. And when you put your trust on Jesus and turn your life over to him, the battle begins.
The moment you turn to Christ, Hell has your name on a bulletin board, and the more you serve your Savior, the bigger your name gets on that bulletin board.
The more like Christ you become, the harder it becomes to continue. The more help you need. The truth of the matter is that the devil will bother you and fight you, and oppose everything you do for the rest of your life.
Christians don’t realize that the longer they serve the Lord, the more they need Him:
· The more they need other Christians
· The more they need to pray
· The more they need to read the Bible
· The closer they need to be to the things of Jesus
This happens when Christians grow and are tested with personal trials and sufferings, pass the tests, and then get sent to the next level. Like a video game!
It takes a thoroughly trained, experienced, and purposefully armored soldier to see the battle all the way through.
I wonder how many combat veterans would be able to tell you stories of comrades they remember who got complacent after they had been around the battle a while, let down their guard, and get killed because they thought that since they had made it this far, the rest of the way would be “as easy as the first part.”
The reason that many Christians fail to live the way they should… the reason so many Christians go back to the way they were… the reason so many Christians end up separating their church lives from their family, friends, and co-workers… the reason many Christians are disappointed with their newly found faith in Christ because they are not expecting a lifelong battle.
When a person becomes a Christian, the last thing they need to be thinking is that the battle is over. The truth of the matter is – when a person gets saved, the battle is NOT over. What has happened, is that you have merely switched sides. The war that the new Christian has just become aware of has been going on for centuries. The reason we don’t realize that we’ve been in a universal war until now is because before we were saved, we were the good guys. In the eyes of the world, we were friends. Now we are enemies. And the forces of darkness do not like that one little bit.
It began when Satan wanted to become like the “most high God.” Isaiah tells us what the
Archangel, then called Lucifer (which means “Son of the Morning”), spoke (Isa. 14:13ff) “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Immediately following that incident, the Bible tells us that Satan lost his name and his position, then talked a third of the other angels in heaven into following him into the creation that God had made, and they all were banished from their eternal destiny with God, and have been deceiving mankind ever since, trying to get God’s creation to turn against Him. And the rest is history.
Then you were born. One day you realized that you were being deceived, and that you had been living your life apart from your Creator, and without any intentions of living your life for God, or to ask your Creator what you should do to serve him. You were living your life for yourself, and going along with the rest of the world thinking that you were being a good citizen.
But today day you realized that you were a sinner in need of a savior, and on your way to that place prepared for Satan and His angels, you repented – you changed directions – and you became a child of God, saved to serve the living God of all creation. At that moment in space and time; your life’s drive, determination, direction, and destiny changed forever. Permanently.
Now that you are saved, There are some things you need to be doing.
· Have an intentional quiet time with God every day and dedicate that day to Him.
· Every time you open your wallet, think about what you’re really spending it on. Have you included God who gave it all from the start.
· Take time to go out of your way to help a lost soul for no reason at all.
· Take time to work with your talents, not for yourself, but for the kingdom – helping the needy. You have to look.
· Take time to be with your church family faithfully every time the doors open. You don’t come to church for yourself only. You come for others.
· Ask yourself, What do my children see in my priorities. Can they see my helmet of salvation working towards the goal with fear and trembling?
