Which Army Are You In? - Veterans Day 2020

Which Army Are You In?

Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:

Psalm 1:1-2

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His Law he meditates day and night.”

And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”

Today we will be reading from Ephesians 6:10-20

This coming Wednesday is Veterans Day here in America.

In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I, then known as “the Great War.”

November 11th, known as Armistice Day, became a federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became known as Veterans Day.

And we do celebrate our veterans, those who have joined the armed forces of our country. Many of these veterans have faced the enemies of our nation on the battlefield and many did not survive the encounter. To our veterans, both living and dead, we say, “Thank you” on Veterans Day.

What is the actual legal meaning of the term “veteran?”

Under Title 38 of the U.S. Code a veteran is defined as a "person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable."

So, let’s keep that definition in mind for alter on …

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, before we read the main Scripture for today I’d like to show you a video of some of our fighting men; a video that impressed me very much.

(Video of a room full of Marines singing Days Of Elijah)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MtdyRDy4fU

To me it sure seems like these Marines are ready not only for physical warfare but for spiritual warfare as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We, as civilians, are probably not ready for physical warfare but we should be ready for spiritual warfare!

Let’s see what Ephesians 6:10-20 has to say about that …

(Prayer for help)

If I were to ask in any given crowd who in attendance had served in the military every single person in the crowd would know without doubt whether they had served or not.

Either you have been in the military or you have not.

There is a clear distinction, you either have or you have not.

In the physical realm in which we live that is true.

However, in the spiritual realm it is quite different.

Everyone is in an army! No one avoids being in a spiritual army.

What??? In a spiritual army! What is a spiritual army?

Let’s just start out by saying that there are only two spiritual armies.

In the passage we read today the Holy Spirit is speaking through the apostle Paul to those who belongs to the Army of the Lord.

That is all of us who love and serve Jesus.

We see this specifically in Ephesians 6:12 where it says,

“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.”

Now, when we see this term “heavenly realms” that is NOT to be interpreted as Heaven, the abode of God Himself or even what we call outer space.

This “heavenly realm” is translated from a Greek word that means “the sphere of spiritual activities both good and evil.”

We can see reports of this in action in Daniel 10.

In this chapter Daniel has seen a tremendously powerful vision and it has knocked him to the ground. An angel is dispatched from heaven in order to help Daniel. When the angel finally arrives he helps Daniel up to his hands and knees and finally gives him the strength to stand. Then the angel explains what has taken place.

Daniel 10:12-14

“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the (demonic) prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief (angelic) princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the (demonic) king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”