MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: Hebrews 11:5-9; Romans 13:7; Genesis 12:1-4
(A big part of the body and some illustrations in this sermon were adapted from a fine sermon by Steve Shepherd, “Veterans of War” that he contributed to Sermon Central.)
INTRO. I watched the funeral service for Colin Powell this last week held at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. It was very formal, conducted with almost all the pomp & ceremony of a state funeral.
But I was especially impressed by the expressions of faith, devotion & love of God & his fellow man. The pageantry of the service did not overwhelm its message - that God is alive & does work in the life of anyone who seeks to serve Him in whatever position he may hold.
I believe that the service was a fitting prelude to this week & the fact that this Thursday will be celebrated as "Veterans' Day."
ILL. Gen. Wm. T. Sherman once said, "You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars & I know. I’ve seen cities & homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is hell!"
A. I don’t mean to contradict one who has seen the horror of war, but after considering God’s Word I would have to say that war is not hell. Hell is far worse, but war is hellish.
ILL Consider WW2, for example. It’s basic statistics qualify it as by far the greatest war or perhaps the most hellish war in our history. In all, 61 countries with 1.7 billion people, 3/4th of the world’s population, took part.
The Soviet government calculated that the USSR lost 30% of its national wealth. In Germany, bombing & shelling had produced 5 billion cubic yards of rubble.
The human cost, including nearly 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, is estimated to have been 61 million dead - 25 million of those military & 36 million civilians. (Adapted: Steve Shepherd on Sermon Central)
What can we conclude from all these figures? War is hellish! And all our veterans of every war should be honored for offering their lives in service to our country.
B. Romans13:7 says, "Give honor to whom honor is due."
ILL. On May 13, 1938 the 11th of Nov. of each year became a national holiday - dedicated to peace & known as "Armistice Day."
Armistice Day was primarily set to honor veterans of WW1, but then came WW2 & the largest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, marines & airmen in our Nation’s history, followed by the Korean war.
So on June 1, 1954, the Act of 1938 was amended by striking out the words "Armistice Day" & replacing them with "Veterans Day."
Thus Nov. 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. I truly believe that they deserve both recognition & honor. God bless all our veterans!
C. Veterans of another kind need to be considered as well.
Philippians 1:27 says, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then… I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel."
We're to contend for the faith of the gospel. The word "contending" carries with it the idea of fighting a battle. Sadly, living for Christ in this world today is something like fighting a war.
Christians are strongly opposed by the attitudes & practices of many in this world today. And there are many veterans of the faith who fought in this battle against the world & deserve to be remem-bered & honored.
PROP. As we remember & honor our military veterans, let’s also consider three godly biblical veterans who have fought the war of faith - Enoch, Noah, & Abraham.
ILL In the early days of photography, when there were few cameras, & when it was a rare event to have one’s photo taken, an evangelist with a party of friends was enjoying a lovely summer afternoon in Glasgow, Scotland.
He carried with him a little leather case containing his Bible. As he walked along, some young people asked, "Please, will you take our picture?" thinking the little leather case contained a small camera.
Without a moment’s hesitation the evangelist said, "Oh, I have one already." The spokesman of the group asked in surprise,"When did you take our picture? You must have taken it when we weren’t looking."
"Well, anyway I have it, & here it is," said the preacher as he pulled out his well-worn Bible & said, "This is God’s photograph of every one of us," as he read Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned & come short of the glory of God."
Those words are true for all of us whether we want to admit it or not. We’ve all sinned. There is no one among us better than anybody else. But there was one better than the rest of us at one time in the history of mankind.
I. ENOCH
That person was Enoch - a man unlike anyone else in his day. He was a rare individual much like the "Unknown soldiers" honored in Arlington Cemetery.
We know almost nothing about Enoch's life. We do know that he was the father of Methuselah. And Genesis 5:24 adds, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."
Hebrews 11:5 adds, "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."
That's all we know about Enoch. He "pleased God," & He "walked with God." He was so godly that God did not allow him to die. He marched to the beat of a different drummer, & that drummer was God.
"Walking with God, pleasing God." That should be the goal for each of us. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it should be our goal.
There is a song that I love, & I wish I could sing it to you. But I can’t. So please listen as I read its words to you. Its title is “I’ll Walk with God.”
I'll walk with God From this day on.
His helping hand I'll lean upon.
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.
There is no death though eyes grow dim.
There is no fear when I'm near to him.
I'll lean on him forever, And he'll forsake me never.
He will not fail me as long as my faith is strong,
Whatever road I may walk along.
I'll walk with God, I'll take His hand.
I'll talk with God, He'll understand.
I'll pray to Him, Each day to Him,
And He'll hear the words that I say to Him.
His hand will guide me on my way.
And I'll never walk alone When I walk with God!
Songwriters: Nikolaus Brodszky / Paul Francis Webster (Slightly adapted)
II. NOAH
And how about Noah? Genesis 6:5, 8-9 says, "The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, & that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time…
"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, & he walked with God."
Hebrews 11:7 says, "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world & became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."
I see Noah as a man almost alone in his world. By faith, He did what God told him to do. He built an ark when no one else was building arks. He built an ark in a time when no one had ever seen a flood. The people didn’t feel any need for an ark, especially, the size of the one that Noah was building.
Who did he think he was? What did he know that they didn’t know? I am sure that most of the people, if not all of them, mocked him, thinking him to be some kind of crazy man.
How would you feel if your life contradicted what everybody else was doing?
ILL Did you see the 1993 movie entitled, "Rudy"? As long as he could remember, Rudy Ruettiger wanted to play football at the Univ. of Notre Dame. Only a few things stood in his way:
He didn’t have the size; he didn’t have the talent; he didn’t have the grades; & he didn’t have the money. What he did have was heart, & that made up for all that he lacked.
Someone said, "Rudy is a testament to anyone who not only has a dream but also the willingness to work hard to achieve it."
After dreaming about attending Notre Dame for years, a tragic accident in his home town convinced Rudy that he had better act if that dream were ever to become a reality.
Walking onto the Notre Dame campus with a duffle bag, $1,000, & his dream, Rudy began the long road of fighting against the odds.
Every action Rudy took was a small, hard-earned step toward his heart’s desire. His mentors may have helped to guide & support him with their advice & encouragement, but everything that Rudy accomplished came about as a result of his continual faithfulness to work toward his goal.
He simply refused to quit or abandon his dream, despite the obstacles & naysayers who tried to discourage him by saying that it was not attainable for him.
Rudy was a man who did something against all odds. He was somewhat similar to Noah, except that he didn’t work to save his family from certain death. Have you ever done something or went after something that was against all odds?
And what goals do you have for your life right now? Are they reachable? Are they reasonable in the sight of God?
Please remember that we can do more than we think we can. And if we walk by faith, like Noah did, we might just do far more than we ever imagined.
Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, & your plans will succeed." When we commit our plans to the Lord (if they are good & godly plans) then God will bless them!
Noah was a man almost alone in his world. And he & his family were saved because he did what God told him to do.
III. ABRAHAM
Genesis 12:1 & 4 say, "The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people & your father’s household & go to the land I will show you." "So Abram left, as the Lord had told him... Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran."
Hebrews 11:8-9 tells us, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed & went, even though he did not know where he was going."
"By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country, he lived in tents..."
I call Abraham a man obeying God against all human reason. He "went out not knowing where he was going."
Abraham was told to leave his home country, his home people, & go somewhere he’d never been, & start a new life. What Abraham did was against human reason! It didn’t make good sense to leave home & go somewhere he’d never been & didn’t even have a place to live.
This is certainly not like us today. Normally, if we make a move to a new location, new town, we generally know somebody there, we may already have a job & a place to live. BUT NOT ABRAHAM. He had to walk by complete faith & trust in God!
Matthew 6:25 says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear..."
Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom & his righteousness, & all these things will be given to you as well."
Abraham trusted God to take care of him & we need to do the same.
ILL Just after WWI, British Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, said to a group of preachers in Scotland: "It is your business to put my business out of business."
War is hellish & if there is one thing that could bring it to an end, it’s Christ & Christianity lived by those who worship Him. Let’s pray this will happen. In the meantime, let’s continue to honor our veterans - both our military veterans & our veterans of faith.
Let’s not only honor them, but join them in our dedication & faithfulness to Him who has given Himself for us – Jesus, our Savior & Lord.
INVITATION
