TEXT: Joel 3:9
TITLE: MOBILIZED FOR MISSION
NIV – “Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.”
TLB – “Announce this far and wide: Get ready for war! Conscript your best soldiers; collect all your armies.”
“Make this announcement among the nations: ‘Prepare for war; call your warriors; gather all your soldiers and march!” (Good News Bible: Today’s English Version)
In case you haven’t realized it already we are engaged in a war. We are fighting for the souls of our children, our spouses, our neighbors, our fellow workers, our friends, and even our own souls. It is time to proclaim to the Church “PREPARE FOR WAR”; “CALL YOUR WARRIORS TOGETHER!”
War is serious business. Life and death are decided by the outcome of war. Freedom or bondage is decided by the outcome of war. Nobody can remain neutral when war comes to your country. Satan has invaded our country (territory) and we can’t remain neutral. We must choose sides; we must take a stand.
It is time to declare war on Satan!
In Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s inaugural address, he called for faith in America’s future. He said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Today I want to call for faith in the Church. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. We don’t have to fear the devil because Jesus died to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 – “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Secretary of State Hull conferred with two Japanese diplomats. While they talked, Japanese planes attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which lay at anchor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. {You and I don’t have time to talk and reason with the devil. While we do he is destroying our friends, and family. All we have time to do is declare war on him and to make preparations to engage him. Negotiations broke down when the devil deceived Adam and Eve.}
President Roosevelt addressed Congress the next day. He said December 7th was "a date which will live in infamy." The United States declared war against Japan. Three days later, on December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. America then declared war on those countries. Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance known as the Axis. Six other nations eventually joined the Axis. The United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union were the major powers fighting the Axis. They were called the Allies. The Allies totaled 50 nations by the end of the war.
How long will we wait before we declare war on the devil? Will he have to strike a devastating blow against us before we get serious about doing battle against him? Will he have to kill one of our children before we declare war; will he have to destroy our spouse before we declare war; will he have to destroy the unity of our church before we get mad and declare war on him? The results of waiting to long can have devastating consequences. The devil is pulling all of his resources in to fight against the church. He has called together his legion of forces to fight against the church: demon possession, drug addiction, pornography, sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, family problems, church schisms etc. What are we going to do about it?
We have to mobilize ourselves together if we are going to defeat him. We have got to join together in this fight if we are going to be victorious. One person can’t fight him alone. We must call all of the warriors together in unity under the commander (Jesus and his pastor) if we are going to defeat the enemy.
The Field Manual for the Armed Services of the United States defines mobilize as “The process by which the Armed Forces or part of them, are brought to a state of readiness for war or other national emergencies. This includes activating all or part of the reserve components as well as assembling and organizing personnel, supplies, and materials.”
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines mobilize as: “To put into movement or circulation; to release for bodily use; to assemble and make ready for war duty; to marshal (as resources) for action.”
It is past time that everybody who is a part of this church get ready for war. It is time that the reserves be called in, those who have been sitting on the sidelines or waiting in the wings. Everyone must become active if you as a church are going to defeat the enemy. Everybody must be made ready for war if you are to be victorious. One or two can’t defeat the enemy; it will take all of us!
It is not time for those who are active to get lazy or give up. It is time to press in; It is time to turn the fire up on the enemy; It is time we get rough with the enemy. Matthew 11:12 - "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
There are to many people in this church as well as in other churches who have been on the reserve list for to long. There are too many who have been on an inactive list and it is time for you to be activated. It’s time to call in the reserves. It is also time to draft people. Everyone is important and everyone is needed. We are engaged in an all out war. I am pleading with each of you here today, THIS CHURCH NEEDS YOUR HELP! THE KINGDOM OF GOD NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Listen again to our text from The Living Bible: “Announce this far and wide: Get ready for war! Conscript your best soldiers; collect all your armies.”
The military draft is also called conscription. It is a system of selecting men/women for required military service.
Since ancient times, governments have conscripted men whenever they needed larger military forces than they felt they could get through voluntary enlistment’s. Many countries use a draft during wartime. Some nations also draft men—and women in a few countries—in peacetime. Other countries have never had a draft.
In 1973, the U.S. government stopped drafting men and began accepting only volunteers into its armed forces. The government also created a stand-by draft, which was administered by the Selective Service system, a federal agency. Under the stand-by draft, men who had reached the age of 18 were required to register with the Selective Service System through local draft boards. The stand-by draft was discontinued in 1975. In 1980, however, congress passed legislation resuming registration requirements for the draft. Under the new law, men who reached the age of 19 or 20 in 1980 were required to register with the Selective Service System that year. Beginning in 1981, all men were required to register for the draft as they reached the age of 18.
When you became a Christian you were entered into Heaven’s stand-by draft to be used when it became necessary. The call is going out because the need is great. We need to draft Christians into the Lord’s army so we can mobilize ourselves against the enemy and defeat him. Some of you are going to have to be drafted if this church is going to achieve victory.
The church has been depending on volunteers for to long and we aren’t getting anything done. There are so many positions and ministries to be done but nobody is volunteering. It is time that we discover what the gifts of our people are and draft them into the service of the Lord so we can mobilize against the enemy. If you are called upon to serve you need to be ready and willing to accept the challenge.
If you go by the name of Christian but all you want to do is sit on the sidelines and do nothing then what you need to do is go back to the altar and check your relationship with the Lord. There is no room for sideline Christians in the Kingdom of God. There is no room for lazy Christians in the Kingdom of God. Lazy and Christian are not compatible terms, they don’t go together.
If you are going to defeat the devil and win souls into the Kingdom of God every person who is a part of this Church must be mobilized for war.
Do you remember the Persian Gulf War, sometimes called Operation Desert Storm that was fought in early 1991 between Iraq and a coalition of 39 countries organized mainly by the U.S. and the United Nations? This war took place chiefly in Iraq and the tiny oil-rich nation of Kuwait.
By mid-January, the coalition had mobilized about 670,000 troops, 3,500 tanks, and 1,800 combat aircraft in the Persian Gulf region. The troops came from 28 coalition members and included about 450,000 troops from the U.S. Many of the rest of the troops came from Britain & France and such Arab countries as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. The coalition also had about 200 warships in the Persian Gulf region, including 6 U.S. aircraft carriers and 2 U.S. battleships.
On January 17, 1991, after months of pressuring Iraq to leave Kuwait, the coalition began bombing Iraqi military and industrial targets. In late February, the coalition launched a massive ground attack into Kuwait and southern Iraq and quickly defeated the Iraqis. On February 26, Hussein ordered his troops to leave Kuwait. The coalition ended all military operations at 8 a.m. on February 28th, about 100 hours after the ground attack had begun.
The reason the coalition was so successful and won the battle in such a short time was because of the massive efforts of mobilization that took place. The U. S. would not have been as effective by themselves. If we as a church will mobilize our people together we to can be just as effective against the enemy of our souls, the devil but 1 or 2 can’t do it by themselves.
The question is not will there be a war. We are already engaged in the war. The question is, will we help fight to defeat the enemy? Or will we just sit around on the sidelines while the enemy destroys those around us. Are we going to still try to negotiate with the enemy while he destroys those around us?
We need to ask ourselves, do we want the enemy to win? Be careful how you answer that. All we have to do for the enemy to win is nothing. If we do nothing he is sure to win. But if we mobilize ourselves and train for battle we will be victorious. Our commander and chief is none other than Jesus Himself. We can’t lose with Him.
One or two people can’t win the battle it will take all of us. A fully mobilized church will always be victorious.
Are you ready to be mobilized for the battle? Are you ready to defeat the devil? Are you ready for us to add new members to the church? If so then join me at the altar, but only if you are serious. You coming will be an indication that your pastor and especially the Lord can count on you for the end of this year & the beginning of another year.
