Spiritual Veterans

. We see a lot of rudeness, and much of it is directed toward the elderly.

Illus: Did you hear about the grandmother that was going to ride a bus downtown with her grandson? She got on the bus, and the bus driver was very rude to her. As she got on the bus with her grandchild, the bus driver looked at the young grandchild and said, "Wow, that is one ugly child!"

The grandmother was deeply hurt. She continued to get on the bus and found a seat next to a young man in the rear of the bus. The young man asked her, "What's wrong? You look upset." She replied, "I am. That bus driver just insulted me."

"You shouldn't take that from him," the young man replied. "He's a public worker and should give you respect. If I were you, I would take his badge number and report him." "You're right young man, I think I will report him." The young man said, "You go on up there and get his badge number. I'll hold your little monkey for you."

Society has to make adjustments for the elderly:

• Many times they can not hear correctly

• Many times they can not see clearly

• Many times they can not move as fast as we can

You can tell a lot about a nation by the way people treat their elderly. But also, you can tell a lot about a nation by the way people treat their veterans.

This is Veteran’s Day weekend. We want to honor and esteem all veterans, and especially those veterans who are with us in the worship service today.

In doing so, we want to take a look at what is required to become a true veteran of the cross of Christ.

In many churches they have two flags before the congregation.

• THE AMERICAN FLAG - represents our country

• THE CHRISTIAN FLAG - represents our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Kingdom

To serve either of these flags (and the kingdoms they represent) faithfully and effectively, one must meet certain requirements. We have to consider that -

I. IT IS A SERVICE OF CHOICE

Through the ages of time, nations have had to consider how they would recruit soldiers to fight their battles.

The first U.S. draft occurred during the Civil War, but in 1973, President Richard Nixon inaugurated the All Volunteer Force (AVF). Critics immediately stated they were concerned that volunteerism would not provide enough replacements should war come.

The military has had no trouble filling its ranks with top-quality people:

• Many military young men and woman are, in fact, better educated and brighter than their civilian counterparts

• During the first half of Fiscal Year 1990, for instance, 91 percent of new recruits had graduated from high school, compared with 75 percent of all 18-to 24-year-olds under the draft.

As of today, a young man does not have to be concerned about receiving a draft notice from Uncle Sam telling him he must SERVE!

America no longer compels men and women to serve in the military service of their country. They are asked to volunteer to serve.

Illus: The Libertarian party in this country promotes a volunteer army more so than other political parties. They state it this way in their party platform, “We oppose the draft (Selective Service), believing that the use of force to require individuals to serve in the armed forces or anywhere else is a violation of their rights, and that a well-paid volunteer army is a more effective means of national defense than the involuntary servitude exemplified by the draft.”

WHY HAVE WE GONE TO AN ALL VOLUNTEER ARMY? Because we recognize that anytime someone does something because they are forced to do it, they will not do it in the same manner as someone who does something because they are dedicated to doing it.

God must think the same way, because if you become a soldier of God it will be because you VOLUNTEERED. He does not force anyone to serve!

For example, he is not:

• Going to kick you out of bed on Sunday morning. He wants you to come to church because you are grateful for the opportunity to worship Him for His goodness to us.

• Going to knock you down and take your billfold and pull out the tithes and offerings that belong to Him. He wants you to give voluntarily.

• Going to force any sinner to accept Him.

Everything we do in our service for Him has to be because we love Him enough to serve.

The Holy Spirit who serves as the recruiting agent for the Kingdom of God, goes out into the lost world and does all that He can to recruit men and women to volunteer to serve. It is the will of God that all should serve, but He does not force anyone to serve.