Sunday Sermons
Soldiers of Christ
Soldiers of Christ
Even though the Bible clearly describes Christians as soldiers who are involved in a battle against evil (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus”; 4:7 “I have fought the good fight”), at times Christians momentarily forget such truths.
Are there any great adventures any more?
John Eldredge in the book entitled Wild at Heart recalls the day when his son Luke asked him, “Dad, are there any castles anymore?” “As soon as he asked the question I knew what his young heart was wondering. Are there any great adventures anymore? Are there any great battles? I wanted to explain that indeed there are, but before I could reply he got this gleam in his eye and asked, ‘And are there any dragons?’” (p. 140). Of course, the answer is yes! There is a dragon far more real and dangerous than anything that a boy would read in the works of English fiction (Revelation 12:3-4). Eldredge contends that “A man must have a battle to fight, a great mission to his life that involves and yet transcends even home and family. He must have a cause to which he is devoted even unto death” (p. 141). In Ephesians 6:10ff we find that God has called us to be His intimateally, to join Him in the Great Battle. Do we realize that God wants us “with” Him in this battle? (“He who is not with Me” Matthew 12:30).
“But I have a small role to play”
One man said after seeing the movie Braveheart that he would love to be William Wallace, leading the charge with a big sword in his hand, but he sighed and said, “I feel like I’m the guy back there in the fourth row, with a hoe”. Yet read again the description of the Christian, any Christian, in Ephesians 6:10ff. Every Christian is a full armored, front-line soldier. There are no hoes or pea-shooters among the armor that is given. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (6:11), “in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (6:16). The devil’s lie is that you are really insignificant, that you are not armed for it anyway, and that you do not matter. Yet the truth of the matter is, “There is no other man who can replace you in your life, in the arena you’ve been called. If you leave your place in the line, it will remain empty. No one else can be who you are meant to be” (p. 142).
The heart given over to eternity
Eldredge writes that after he saw the movie Gladiator, he longed to be a man like Maximus. “Maximus is strong and courageous and fights so well; yet his heart is given over to eternity. He yearns for heaven but stays to fight so that others might be free” (p. 134). What this movie created in Maximus, the man who longs to be reunited with his dead wife and child, God had long before stressed to Christians, “Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above” (Colossians 3:1-2). We equally see a heart given over to eternity in Paul, “Having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better” (Philippians 1:23), and in the expression found in Ephesians 6:17 “the helmet of salvation”. The early Christians were willing to sacrifice, suffer ridicule, and risk everything, even the loss of life and possessions, because their hearts had already had been given over to eternity (Hebrews 10:34).
In the strength of His might: Ephesians 6:10
Jesus noted, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus is not mocking us and He is not belittling our need for God, rather He is stating the truth that we were created to depend upon God. We were made for union with Him and nothing about us works right out with that union. C.S. Lewis observed, “A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other”. Sadly, we live in a culture that belittles the person who trusts in God. Yet Jesus Himself was not embarrassed or ashamed to proudly proclaim, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing” (John 5:19); “I live because of the Father” (6:57); “The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works” (14:10). Centuries before, the warrior David proclaimed, “I love you, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:10).
Surprised by enemy fire?
The following story is mentioned by the late Stephen Ambrose in the book Citizen Soldiers: “Brig. Gen. Norman ‘Dutch’ Cota, assistant division commander of the 29th, came on a group of infantry pinned down by some Germans in a farmhouse. He asked the captain in command why his men were making no effort to take the building. ‘Sir, the Germans are in there, shooting at us’, the captain replied. ‘Well, I’ll tell you what, captain’, said Cota, unbuckling two grenades from his jacket. ‘You and your men start shooting at them. I’ll take a squad of men and you and your men watch carefully. I’ll show you how to take a house with Germans in it”. There is a lesson here for us, these men were pinned down because they seemed almost surprised that they were being shot at. “They’re shooting at us, Sir.” Hello? That’s what happens in war—you get shot at” (p. 86). As Christians, we cannot be shocked or intimidated when the devil takes aim at us or when we are the target of ridicule and persecution—we are in a war! (1 Peter 4:12; Matthew 13:21).
The arrow in the heart
“Everybody, in his journey to become a man, takes an arrow in the center of his heart, in the place of his strength” (p. 60). Even the warrior David, who was no pushover said, “For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me” (Psalm 109:22). When we become a Christian we have a shield that we can use to extinguish such flaming arrows (Ephesians 6:16),but before we became a Christian many of these arrows hit us with full impact. Various writers have observed that many men (and women) throw themselves into a career in the desperate attempt to prove to a father that they are worth something. Notice that Paul says, “all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). These are arrows that the devil sends, and the purpose of such arrows is to take us out; “to cripple or destroy your strength and get you out of the action” (p. 87). Carefully look back upon your life, especially the time that you were not a Christian, but even the arrows you have faced since then, many of the arrows are too well aimed, too consistent, and too accurate to be accidental. The reason the devil is trying so hard to take us out is because we can actually cause him a lot of trouble, and we can do some serious damage against his empire. As a solider of Christ, you could become a huge problem to him. God allows the arrows to come our way (1 Corinthians 10:13), yet we are asking the wrong questions if we are saying something like, “God, why did you let this happen to me?” “But to enter into a journey of initiation with God requires a new set of questions: What are you trying to teach me here? What issues in my heart are you trying to raise through this? What is it you want me to see? What are you asking me to let go of?” (p. 105). Remember why Jesus was sent to this world, “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1). In addition, instead of saying, like many men do of a wound they received, “It was no big deal”, God says it was. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
Do I have what it takes?
Often men fear to face this question, so they retreat and avoid confrontation or uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations. The devil and others have tried to convince us that we do not have what it takes, yet God says otherwise, “So that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13).
Soldier or Mercenary?
“A mercenary fights for pay, for his own benefit; his life is devoted to himself. ‘The quality of the true warrior’, says Bly, ‘is that he is in service to a purpose greater than himself’” (p. 142). So who are we fighting for? Are we trying to manipulate Christianity for self-gain or are we willing to risk everything for Christ? (Philippians 3:8-10). May I suggest, that if our feet are not shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15), then it is because the banner we are carrying is not God’s, but our own. “The world is a carnival of counterfeits—counterfeit battles, counterfeit adventures, counterfeit beauties. Men should think of it as a corruption of their strength. Battle your way to the top, says the world, and you are a man. Why is it then that the men who get there are often the emptiest, most frightened, prideful posers around? They are mercenaries, battling only to build their own kingdoms. The same holds true of the adventure addicts; no matter how much you spend, no matter how far you take your hobby, it’s merely that—a hobby” (pp. 149-150).
The Traitor Within
“However strong a castle may be, if a treacherous party resides inside (ready to betray at the first opportunity possible), the castle cannot be kept safe from the enemy. Traitors occupy our own hearts, ready to side with every temptation and to surrender to them all” (Sin and Temptation, John Owen). Often the denominational world has taught that man is inherently depraved and that nothing good resides in us, yet the Bible teaches that man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), therefore we must be capable of all sorts of good. Paul noted in the letter to the Romans, “I know that nothing good dwells in me” (Romans 7:18),yet he quickly noted that such referred to the “flesh”. The “flesh” is a corrupted self (Ephesians 4:22), it is not the true us, in the sense of who we can really become. “To put it bluntly, your flesh is a weasel, a poser, and a selfish pig” (p. 144). The “flesh” is only what we have allowed ourselves to become, but we do not have to stay that way.
To Stand Firm
“The world of posers is shaken by a real man. They’ll do whatever it takes to get you back in line—threaten you, bribe you, seduce you, undermine you. Many of us have actually been afraid to let our strength show up because the world doesn’t have a place for it. Fine. The world’s messed up. Let people feel the weight of who are and let them deal with it” (p. 151). I really like the expression, “Let people feel the weight of who you are”, that is, that you are a Christian. Moral, pure, uncompromising, faithful, genuine, true and honest. Let your light shine! (Philippians 2:15) For whoever heard of a battle without a strong “clash” where the two sides meet?
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
