MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:3-4; James 1:2-3; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Luke 8:14; Philippians.3:8
In many church buildings, including ours, two flags are displayed - the Christian flag & the American flag. These two flags declare two types of freedom that are ours.
A. The American flag declares our freedom to go where we want to go, say what we want to say, live where we want to live, dream big dreams & pursue them.
Someone wrote:
It is the veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble
It is the veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
Veterans over the last two centuries have sacrificed so much to obtain & preserve these precious freedoms, & more besides.
Sadly, many churches today do not honor veterans. Some are led by people who have never served in the military, or have never been around anyone who has, so they do not understand the depth of emotion associated with veterans.
Still others do not celebrate because they feel that celebrating & honoring veterans is tantamount to celebrating & honoring war itself. Let me set the record straight on that. NO! It is NOT the same thing by any leap of the imagination!
War is from Satan. It is meant for no other reason than to satisfy some ungodly men. But as much as we hate war, we are forever grateful for our men & women who are willing to serve, to be totally separated from their loved ones, to fight & even die for those left at home.
That is why we honor veterans: To tell them “Thank you” for keeping us free.
B. That leads us to another symbol of freedom, the Christian Flag. The Christian Flag declares freedoms found only in Christ, who died to set us free - free from a life of futility, free from the tyranny of sin, regret, hate, & bitterness - free to love God & love our neighbors.
To serve either of these flags (& the freedoms they symbolize) faithfully & effectively, we must meet certain requirements. Before being called a military Veteran, one must first be a good soldier. But what does it take to become a Christian Veteran?
The Apostle Paul knew. Having enlisted in the Lord’s army after encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus & enduring countless dangers, toils, & snares, Paul was a Christian Veteran if there ever was one.
Toward the end of his life, while facing execution for his commitment to Christ, Paul sat in a cold Roman prison, cut off from the world with just a quill with which to write, & some parchment upon which to write.
Paul knew that he would soon be executed, so he wrote his final thoughts to a young preacher named Timothy, reminding him of what was truly important, & encouraging him to keep the faith.
In 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NKJV), Paul says: “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.”
In these 2 short verses Paul uses four E-words — enlist, endure, engage, & entangle — each representing a different aspect of what it takes to become a Veteran soldier of Christ. I start with Paul’s last E-word, which is — enlist.
I. ENLIST
You can’t become a Veteran if you don’t enlist. As Paul says in another translation, “A soldier wants to please his enlisting officer.” (2 Timothy 2:4 NCV)
A. As you know, our country no longer uses a forced draft. Recruitment officers are sent out to encourage people to volunteer, but men & women have the freedom to choose whether or not to serve in the American military today. And people make that choice for different reasons.
Some young people enlist in a sense of patriotism; others so they can go to college on a GI Bill. Some were raised in military families, & still others because they’re looking for direction or purpose for their lives.
No matter the reason, it’s a tough decision — to dedicate themselves for a time to the service of their country.
B. God does not force anyone to serve in His Kingdom, either. He does send out recruiters, like you & me, to encourage people to serve in His Army, but it’s our choice.
People make this decision for different reasons also. Maybe you were brought up with the faith of your parents, maybe you sensed God’s leading in your life, or maybe you came to Christ looking for a sense of purpose & direction & forgiveness. No matter the reason, it’s a life changing decision & not one to be taken lightly.
Following Jesus is a life-altering commitment. It’s a personal pledge that you are going to let Christ become the leader of your life. And I’m certain there are those here who would testify that it was the best decision they ever made!
II. ENDURE
The first step to becoming a spiritual Veteran is Enlisting. The next step is Enduring. American soldiers in every branch have a lot to endure, not the least of which is the grueling physical hardship experienced during basic training.
ILL. Scott Bayles, a preacher in IL. wrote, “My cousin enlisted in the Army & during basic training wrote letters home to his mom & dad. In one letter he talked about the gas chamber used to prepare them in case they were subjected to a gas attack.
“He said it was the worst thing he has ever endured. Your eyes feel like they have soap in them, & like someone is holding a lighter under your nose & you can’t breathe.”
Of course, there are many less physical hardships that soldiers have to endure as well. One of the most difficult things is just being away from their families. And then there’s the strictness of military life — often personified in ranking officers.
ILL. As I was preparing this sermon I read about an Air Force Major who was promoted to Colonel & assigned a new office. The first morning he was in his new office, an airman knocked on the door & asked permission to come in.
Just as the airman entered, the Colonel, desiring to impress the young airman, picked up his phone & began talking. “Yes, General, thank you. Yes, I will pass that information along to the President this afternoon. Yes sir. Goodbye, sir.”
Then, turning to the airman, he barked, “And what do you want?” The airman said, “Nothing important, sir. I just came to hook up your telephone.”
If you want to be a Veteran, you have to have endurance. As Paul told Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3 NKJV).
We should regularly thank God that we live where Christians don’t experience the kind of hardships they do in some other parts of the world — hardships like the ones Paul experienced. During his missionary journeys Paul was flogged, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned, & much more.
But even as blessed as we are in America, life is full of hardships. Bad things happen. Our faith if tested. James 1:2-3 (NLT) reminds us, “when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” As soldiers of Christ, we have to endure. So, we enlist, we endure. And next we engage.
III. ENGAGE
ILL. General 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!”
While I’ve never personally experienced the most horrible aspects of war, most of my immediate family did. As many of you know, my parents & two of my siblings were prisoners of the Japanese for 3 years during WW2, with another brother born in the Santo Tomas prison camp in Manila.
I have great appreciation & respect for those who have served in time of war. But even those who have been blessed to serve during peacetime must still be prepared. Through training exercises & combat practice they must remain vigilant, always prepared for battle.
As Christians we need to do the same. Paul explains in 2 Cor. 10:4-5 NCV, “We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought & make it give up and obey Christ.”
In other words, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we have to be prepared to engage in spiritual warfare. We battle temptation. We stand opposed to false beliefs & worldviews that are hostile to Christianity.
We are called to defend our faith with reason & precision. We can’t be afraid to stand up for Jesus, either in the public square or in our personal relationships.
God is counting on us to “capture every thought,” which means surrendering our thoughts to Christ’s leading, & also helping others to do the same — with gentleness & respect. You see, in the Lord’s Army, we don’t kill our enemies; rather, we make them our allies.
And in the Lord’s Army, we aren’t fighting alone. Just as soldiers in a squad, platoon, or company depend on each other, Christians rely on our church family to support & stand beside us. Even more, we have God by our side.
ILL. David Dykes, a Baptist minister, told an amazing story. He said, “During WW2, soldiers were often given Bibles that fit in their shirt pocket. I recall one veteran showing me his Bible.
“A German bullet had hit it & was stopped just as it reached Psalm 91. The bullet seemed as if it was pointing directly at Psalm 91:11, which says, ‘For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.’”
Isn’t that amazing? As Christians, we should never be afraid to engage our friends, co-workers or culture. After all, if God is for us, who can be against us?
So what have we learned? In order to be a Veteran we must Enlist, Endure, Engage, & finally, not get Entangled.
IV. ENTANGLED
The 4th E-word Paul uses in these two verses is Entangled: “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life” (2 Timothy 2:4 HCSB). When you serve the American flag, you are expected to be completely committed to your country & to allow nothing to prevent you from performing your duties & serving faithfully.
When you serve the Christian flag, you are also expected to be completely committed to Christ & His Kingdom. You are expected to serve Him faithfully, not allowing anything to keep you from doing His will.
ILL. An old man who used to pray every Wednesday night at the church’s prayer meeting always concluded his prayer the same way: “And, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life.”
It got to be too much for one fellow in the prayer meeting. He had heard the old man pray that last sentence over & over again. So when the old man said it again, the fellow jumped to his feet & shouted: “Lord, Lord, don’t do it! Kill the spider instead!”
Unfortunately, some Christians, after coming to Christ in faith, do get entangled in the affairs of this world. They let other things become more important to them than Jesus. In fact, Jesus told a parable about that very thing.
He told about a farmer who scattered seeds all over his land. Jesus said, “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.” (Luke 8:14 NLT)
We need to be careful about things that distract us from Jesus. Paul said (Philippians 3:8 NLT), “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.”
ILL. The following is attributed to “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, who held the heavyweight boxing title for 5 years at the end of the 19th century: “Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round.
“When your arms are so tired you can hardly lift your hands to guard yourself, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding & your eyes are black & you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw & put you to sleep, fight one more round - remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped.”
Christians, fight one more round. And after that round, fight another. We must keep on fighting to the end if we expect to experience victory.
As I said before, there are two types of freedom symbolized by two flags. As Christians we express our profound gratefulness to the Veterans who have served to preserve our political freedoms, which allow us to freely worship our Creator who gives us that greater freedom we all so desperately need.
INVITATION: Maybe you’re entangled in the cares & worries of life, maybe you’re afraid to engage people in spiritual conversation, maybe you’re enduring some hardship & need someone to stand with you & help you to fight the good fight.
Or maybe you haven’t enlisted yet in God’s army but you’re considering it & you need someone to talk to. I don’t know where you are in your relationship with God, but if there is anything I can do to help you become a spiritual Veteran, come & express your need while we stand & sing.
HYMN
(I wish to express my appreciation to Scott Bayles, Gene Shepherd, & Bruce Ball
on Sermon Central from whose sermons much of this message has been adapted.)
