Onward Christian Soldiers

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."  II Timothy 2: 3-4

One of the saddest things to see in the Church today is how it has been gutted from its mission.  It is filled with Freudian introspection, motivational speaking, and doctrinal debates...but little power of God.

A false perspective of our calling in God can make us selfish, approaching salvation with the expectation of seeing sunshine & flowers everyday with a "genie god" who will make our every wish come true.  We want to be "blessed" and not "stressed", failing to understand how God is growing us up in Him (Romans 5:3-5; II Corinthians 4:17, 12:9-10; Philippians 1:29; James 1:2-3; Hebrew 12:10-11).

Many are therefore unprepared when entering into the spiritual war of which every Christian is a part.  They are traumatized to consider that God actually expects them to "endure hardness".  As a soldier for God, it is not about going where you want to go, saying what you want to say, doing what you want to do, eating what you want to eat, sleeping where you want to sleep...

That is why I think this message from Bert. H. Clendennen entitled "Soldiers" is so important.  It gets our focus as a believer in Christ off of ourselves and back on that which is most important: the Great Commission.

Are you prepared to be a solider?  Listen to this message and be encouraged.

commission: an authoritative order, charge, or direction granted for a particular action or function; to give the order that places a warship, military command, etc., in a state of complete readiness for active duty; to send on a mission.

• One of the great problems of the church is that we have got the notion that it is a democratic form of government.
• The Gospel doesn't need interpretation as much as it does a people who realize that we are under orders.  When we join the church we become part of a military organization; and once we do, we are not our own, but have been bought with a price.
• In a democracy, you have a choice and can still be right, but in a military order, you don't have any choice. 
• We are soldiers for Christ and we need to get that in our minds.  Throughout the Scriptures, God refers to His Church as an army with banners.

• The only hope for the lost is a militant church.
• A lot of the theology you hear today is a cheap grace sold on the marketplace of religion.
• People say that if you are having problems, then you are outside of the will of God.  But I tell you if you are not having problems, then you are outside of the will of God.  
• It is when you step out onto the front lines for God that you become a threat to the devil.
• God is looking for a few good folks who are not afraid to engage in this war with God.
• The devil is a defeated foe, but that must become a reality for you!  We don't have to win the victory (it is already won), but we must enforce that victory in our lives.
• To be a soldier, we must be found faithful.  God is looking for faithfulness in His people.
• The way to shipwreck the faith of the young is to let them think that the world is not their enemy but a misunderstood friend.
• Faithfulness is a commitment to a cause.  We must understand that the cause of God is bigger than we are and worth giving our lives for.
• Faithfulness is a product of our own will.  I commit myself to what I believe in.
• A man approached me one day and asked, "Pastor, please pray for me.  There is a sin I cannot stop doing."  I told him, "Before anyone is going to help you, you've got to stop lying.  I don't know what your trouble is, but whatever it is you willfully do it.  Just as you will to do it you can will not to do it if you belong to God."
• Your problem (whatever it is) is not based on some traumatic experience in your past.  You are a product of what you will to do and your will is governed by your devotion or lack of it.  
• If we love God, then we will be faithful to Him.  We will choose His ways over our own.  We will obey His commands.
• Being a soldier requires courage born out of conviction. 
• The best sex education a child could get is to know that you don't have sex until you get married.

• It takes more moral courage to stand for what is right than to face a war.
• Being a soldier requires discipline.  Discipline is the difference between an army and a mob.
• The love of Christ must strengthen us to do God's work and constrain us from indulging the flesh.
• I grew up doing what I wanted to do having and undisciplined attitude.  I slept where I wanted to sleep, ate what I wanted to eat, doing what I wanted to do.  But the military will change that attitude.
• Discipline means instant obedience.   The reason why most of the church never receives anything from God is because it takes them 3 days to decide to do what He told them to do.
• You cannot be afraid to be alone or afraid of the dark to be a soldier for God.  Fear only comes in when you are committed to something other than Christ.
• Jesus was a root out of dry ground.  He took nothing from this world and nothing of the world was in Him.
• We don't owe this world anything but the Gospel.
• All you have to do to go to Hell is do what is right in your own eyes.
• There are three things you can expect as a soldier of God:
• Hardships - There are going to be some trials, some tough times, and not everybody is going to love you!  But you can endure knowing that you have the best thing anyone could offer: Jesus Christ.  Happiness is Jesus!
• To Face the Enemy - Don't divulge information to the enemy, just tell him who you are in God.  Be ready to die before you bow to him.
• Be Part of the Greatest Victory This World Ever Knew Anything About - We must prepare our children to engage in the battle so that they will be able to stand. 
  
•  The ones on the front line are the first ones to make it home.