"Veterans Of The Kingdom Of God: Spirit Led, Kingdom Focused

I am excited for those who are going to Haiti this week. I am sure God has prepared some great opportunities; however, I’m sure those who have ministered in Haiti over the years like Pam or even Geri, could talk about some disappointments that have occurred. People sometime take advantage of you and they will take advantage of your grace and love. It is part of the cost of being a soldier and going into battle against the force of evil. Scars are to be expected but the good news is that although we may loose a few battles along the way; God promises us that we are going to win the war.

FOLLOWERS OF THE SPIRIT WILL WIN THE NATIONS FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. We never know how God might use our actions to bring about His victory in a person’s life. The military has a trauma system for mass casualties. The lightly injured are called ‘minimal’ because they don’t need immediate treatment. The next level is ‘delayed’ – they need treatment but they can wait. Then there is ‘Immediate’ because they have serious injuries but should survive if they get immediate treatment. The final category is ‘Expectant’ because the injuries are so severe that there is little hope.

There are many people in the world with “immediate’ or ‘expectant’ injuries to their souls who are in need of Jesus right now. There is no other remedy and there is no other hope other than Jesus. God has called you to bring the message of hope to the world. Paul writes: “No eyes has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” I Corinthians 2:9-10. God has given us the secret weapon of salvation for the world. He has given us the message of God’s grace and assurance of eternal life.

God has given us the greatest of gifts and when we share the gift with the world, we are offering them hope. Many people in this world simply have not heard about the gift of God’s grace and the hope that we receive through it. What hope is there in this world for the murderer, the prisoner, the person caught in a life of sin? Can therapy handout eternal forgivingness? Can prison take away their sins? Can Mohammad or Buddha give them forgiveness? No, only the blood of Jesus Christ. We are justified or made right through the blood of Jesus and this is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit.

Today we are not saying that we have the perfect country or that our veterans are perfect people. But we do have a faith that is still seen in our soldiers today. It is a faith not in the military power of our nation but a faith in our eternal God who is our commander and chief. God give orders to his people by speaking directly to their mind through the means of the Holy Spirit.

THE MIND OF CHRIST. Paul writes: “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” I Corinthians 2:15-16. When a soldier goes out into battle, the soldier has been trained to do the commands of the commanding officer. When we go out into the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of God going with us leading and directing our action; even giving us the words to say. The challenge for us is will we follow the direction the Holy Spirit is giving to our life.