9, January 2005
Dakota Community Church
Soldier Boyz
Introduction:
2Timothy 2:3-7
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs–he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
Endure hardship? What does that mean? Does a good soldier endure hardship by letting the enemy walk all over him?
No the hardship a good soldier endures is the discipline of the job.
What are the civilian affairs here?
Illustration:
A soldier fighting over in Iraq received a letter from his girl friend that said she was breaking up with him. She also asked him to send the picture she had given him when he left because she needed it for her bridal announcement. The soldier was heart broken and told his friends of his terrible situation. So his whole platoon got together and brought all their pictures of their girlfriends, and put them in a box and gave them to him. So he put her picture in the box with the rest along with a note that said, “I’m sending back your picture to you, please remove it and send back the rest. For the life of me I can’t remember which one you are.”
My Poppa left for World War II when my mom was 2 years old and returned when she was 7.
Is that what the Lord wants? We should be so busy with church that our families are neglected?
No, in this war our family is a part of the battle front.
What are the civilian affairs then?
- Things that hinder our Devine purpose.
- The time wasters.
- The distractions, the habits and sins.
- The self directions.
Well how does a good soldier please his commanding officer then?
1. A good soldier knows the commander and what He wants.
It is all about relationship. The battle is real; the consequences of war are devastating. If you don’t know the commanding officer you run the risk of making up your own orders – that is fatal.
Who is directing your life if you aren’t hearing from Jesus?
Illustration:
In the movie CASUALTIES OF WAR, Michael J. Fox plays Private Eriksson, a soldier in Vietnam who is part of a squad that abducts and rapes a young Vietnamese girl. He didn’t participate in the crime.
Afterward, as he struggles with what has happened, he says to the other men in his squad, "Just because each of us might at any second be blown away, we’re acting like we can do anything we want, as though it doesn’t matter what we do. I’m thinking it’s just the opposite. Because we might be dead in the next split second, maybe we got to be extra careful what we do. Because maybe it matters more. Maybe it matters more that we ever know."
How in tune with what matters are you?
How aware of the commander’s heart are you on an average day?
Are you spending time with Jesus?
Who is influencing you most?
Proverbs 22: 24-25
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.
Acts 4:13
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
If you hang around with a bunch of Newfies you will start calling everyone buyz.
When the Brits were in town after one weak I had to concentrate not to say “Brilliant”
What does the bible say? Be imitators of Christ!
1Chronicles 20:4-8
4Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant. And they were subdued.
5Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
6Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant. 7So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
8These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
David killed Goliath and three of his men also did it.
2. A good soldier knows the weaponry.
Ephesians 6: 14-18
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
The shield quenches all the flaming arrows! The sword is an offensive weapon.
Knowing about them won’t do the trick – you have got to personalize them!
You have got to learn eventually how to load your own gun.
Acts 19: 11-16
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
3. A good soldier knows the enemy.
A soldier who is not alive and healthy and informed is no good to anyone including himself.
Ephesians 6: 10-12
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Illustration:
We recently watched a movie titled, “Behind Enemy Lines”. An American pilot is down behind enemy lines in Croatia, and trying to avoid search parties while making it to his pick up spot.
A professional assassin has been given the task of hunting him down, and this assassin has been required to take a member of the regular military with him. As they walk through the woods the professional is wisely looking at where he is putting his feet, in order to avoid booby traps.
The camera pans down to his feet and you see him pause slightly over a trigger sticking up out of the leaves, then widen his step to avoid it.
The poor soldier coming up right behind him is foolishly just plodding along daydreaming, and he steps down on the trigger.
Now he’s in a fix. The bomb won’t go off until he lifts his foot, but since the assassin didn’t want him along anyway, he just walks away and leaves the soldier frozen on top of this booby trap.
A few minutes later, after the assassin has gotten a few hundred yards further into the forest, an explosion can be heard from his back trail.
The enemy is a schemer! – He is a trickster – He uses smoke and mirrors!
Your experiences are not the important thing, what you believe about your experiences is what causes you problems.
Do not allow them to over ride the truth!
The enemy hates us because God loves us.
Isaiah 14: 12-18
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. "Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: "is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
He wants to be like the most high! He wants God to get blamed for his work and he wants credit for God’s work.
You need to know the enemy and you need to know who is not the enemy!
We have serious friendly fire issues!
4. A good soldier doesn’t panic under fire.
Worry is a misuse of your God given imagination.
Luke 21: 25-26
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
In the last days men’s hearts will fail them for fear!
Not for the things - for the fear of the things!
Fear is a crippler – do not ever make a decision based on fear, not even a “faith” decision.
If you find a lump don’t ignore it and say, “I’ll just believe God”
Psalm 27: 1-3
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.
Do not give place to fear.
Even things like fear of water and heights should be faced and conquered.
5. A good soldier is consumed with the cause.
We need to be like the allies in World War II.
We need to be like the Scotts under William Wallace.
We need to be like the mighty men under David.
Some things are worth dying for.
Revelation 12: 11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Some people believe you can never know how you will respond until you are in the situation.
That is wrong, you can know, you can determine in advance how you will behave.
Conclusion:
Do you believe in eternity? Do you believe life is a vapor?
Be all that you can be!
You can do it in the army!
If you would like the PowerPoint presentation of this message featuring Title page, points, and scriptures on military themed backgrounds contact me - dcormie@mts.net
