We Are Soldiers

If any church had a messed up situation, it was the Corinthians. They had things going on in their church that would make a sailor blush with shame; but they were young and ignorant in the faith - so, the Apostle Paul did what any good teacher would do - he sought to teach them.

And it is to the Corinthians that the Apostle Paul penned these words after speaking of the freedom we have been given in Christ:
'Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not give up.'
      - 2 Corinthians 4:1

I don't know how it is with others who have been diagnosed with cancer, I can only speak for myself. Personally, though a time is coming when we mount up with 'wings as eagles' and 'run and not grow weary' that time is not now.
My faith is weary and tired; yet, I have received mercy and this ministry and cannot give up.

I have a friend on another continent who is a strong believer; that person suffers from lupus. She keeps the faith, works as a private contractor and has a family. She does well - but she once shared with me that she struggles every day to get out of bed and not give up.

There was a time, not too long ago, that I felt like throwing in the towel in a particular ministry. But I didn't give up though I felt I had failed...I'll return to this in a little while.

Truthfully, the one group of people who often get weary and do not give up, do not surrender; the group of people who keep doing their job - it's the United States Armed Forces.
The Apostle Paul used many analogies in comparison to the Christian life; to the young pastor Timothy, twice he used the analogy of being a soldier. Paul was right - every believer is a soldier in the Army of God and we do not give up or surrender.

There are three things that make a soldier, a solder; this is especially true with the Lord Jesus Christ.

1) ALLEGIANCE.
- Every soldier swears allegiance to someone or some thing.
- The United States is different than any other nation in this regard. In England, they swear allegiance to the King or Queen. In the old Soviet Union, their allegiance was to the communist party. In Nazi Germany, their allegiance was to the Fueror. In other countries, the oath is given to the government.
This is not the case with the American military.
- We swear our allegiance to one thing, and one thing only; it is not the government, it is not a person, it is not a political party - our allegiance is to a document, the Constitution.
- When we take the oath we take it to the greatest set of ideals on Earth since God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and its second clause is this: '...to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'
This is our allegiance.
And with our allegiance comes rights, benefits and honors.

- The Soldier in the Army of God gives allegiance to a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. This comes in the form of a confession of truth by faith in humility. There is no other way to swear allegiance to God; it must be done through confession in the name of Christ.
- With this confession of faith and allegiance to Christ, the soldier receives the right to be called a child of God, the benefit of grace given through His shed blood and the honor of glorifying Him.

2) MISSION.
- No soldier, sailor, airman or marine has any purpose in the fight unless they have been given a mission. If you take away the mission, the purpose for that military man ceases to exist.
Now, every branch and every unit has a different mission; but the soldier of Christ's mission is two-fold:
To Make Disciples and Win the War.

- The first mission given to the soldier of Christ is to make disciples and it was given to us on the last day Jesus stood on the earth.
Surrounded by the eleven faithful apostles, just before the ascension, Jesus said, 'Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost....'

- Friend, that is our mission - to make disciples. The command is not to 'GO', the command is to make disciples. The truth is that Christians have gone and went so far and so long that the Great Commission is no longer pursued with an evangelical fervency; but rather it has become a worn-out catch phrase in the hearts of too many believers in our time.
- While we should solidify our calling to missions world wide, while we should support with all our hearts disaster relief, while we should seek to help the poor, the needy, the hurting and the elderly - the Christian must always do these ministries with the mission of making disciples in their mind.
- And quite frankly, disciples are better made in the place where you are a resident than in the place where you are a tourist.

- Once a disciple is made, then comes the second part of our mission as soldiers of Christ - Win the War.
- Many years ago, one lone warrior struggled up a hill one last time, to fight the ultimate battle of the ages. And then He died.
- Yet, in His death, the great shock and awe of God's victory rattled the universe in a manner never seen before or since - the war was over and Christ had won.
- But the sad truth is that there are still battles being waged in the lives of believers everyday simply because our enemy does not know he is defeated. And any person who has been in combat will tell you that the most dangerous enemy is the one who is beaten and does not know it for they will continue to charge you with reckless aggression.
- So, how do we win these battles? The truth is that many Christians are using the wrong weapons to fight these battles and they are becoming casulties at an alarming rate.
God told us through the prophet, 'Not by strength, not by might, but by My Spirit...'

That's how you win the war - through a daily battle of spiritual warfare in prayer, fasting and the blessed fellowship of believers who are called alongside you with the Holy Spirit of God.

** But there is a third thing that makes a solider, a soldier...

3) LOYALTY.
- Personally, I wouldn't give you a wooden nickel for a person who I had to serve with that wasn't loyal to the cause or the unit.

- In the Christian world, loyalty to the end for the Lord Jesus Christ is called the 'Perseverance of the Saints.' It means only those who are truly saved will persevere until the end.
It is these who will run and not grow weary; it is these who will mount up with wings as eagles; it is these who will be loyal to the Son of God, the Word of God and the People of God no matter what.

- We will do this, though we are tired. We will do it when things are dark and seem futile. We will do this, not because we have to, but because we have received God's wonderful mercy and we understand what it is like to need grace and mercy without anything to offer in return.

- That is why the true Christian does not give up - not when our spouses treat us badly, not when our church leaders seem wrong, not when our bosses act like morons; and we don't give up when we are stricken with sickness or even death.
We are Soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

- When I began this writing, I stated that there was a time in ministry when I wanted to give up but I didn't. That time was in 2011, a little over a year ago.
- I had been activated and sent to Spangdahlem, Germany with the 52nd Fighter Wing, as one of the Protestant Chaplains as the active duty chaplains rotated in and out to their new assignments.
- For 10 weeks, I preached every Sunday and I gave an altar call every time; but nobody even budged. I couldn't even get a child to stir in the balcony.

This was disheartening and disappointing because I had seen the Spirit of God move to every place I was sent, but it just wasn't happening - I felt defeated, almost as if the entire activation had been a waste of time.

- I never gave up  - I kept ministering as best I could, when I could; preaching week after week.
- On the very last Sunday I was there, the congregation came alive; I preached longer than I ever have before or since. When the altar call finally came, it was as if God opened up the floodgates. One after another walked the aisle.
Married couples came who were struggling.
Single men came to receive the Lord.
Wives came to pray for their husbands who were in Afghanistan.
And there were countless others who came; all of which was God being faithful in what He had promised through the ministry He has given me.

- The point is, when we do not give up on what the Lord is doing - He completes what He started. I know as well as you that it is hard at times.
It is hard when it seems you are alone and struggling.
It is hard when you don't know what God is doing in or through your life.
It is hard when your job stinks, your spouse is mad at you, your bills are piling up and your kids act like heathens.

But friend, as you grow tired, do not give up, whether you are in sickness or in health, for He who began a work in you is faithful to complete it.

You are engaged in the battle now (all Christians are), but you can only see one part of the battlefield where you stand.
Let Him, the One who can see the battlefield from Creation to the Second Coming guide your steps as you never give up for your work is for His glory.
We are Soldiers.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.