By Ronald E. George Jr.
at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
Could
the church as a whole be called the army of the only true living God?
Are we a fighting unit?
Text:
Eph. 6:10-18 Eph.
6:10 (KJS) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. 13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints;
Before Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United
States, he served as a major general in the Tennessee militia.
During the War of 1812 his troops reached an all-time low in morale.
As a result they began arguing, bickering, and fighting among
themselves. It is reported that
Old Hickory called them all together on one occasion when tensions were at
their worst and said, "Gentlemen! Let's
remember, the enemy is over there."
Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.
His sobering reminder would be an appropriate word for
the church today. In fact, I
wonder if Christ sometimes looks down at us and says with a sigh,
"Christians, your Enemy is over there!
Stop your infighting! Pull
for one another. Support one
another. Believe in one another.
Care for one another. Pray
for one another. Love one
another." -- Charles R. Swindoll, Hope Again (Word, 1996), p. 45.
The church is involved
in a spiritual War with the devil and his armies for the lives and the souls
of men, women, boys, and girls..
I.
The army of the Lord must be strong in the Lord and the power of his might? Are we standing with the Lord and in his strength?
The captain of our army is Jesus and the warfare we are
involved in is spiritual. This is
war. We have to obey the command of the captain of our salvation who is Jesus.
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom [are] all
things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to
make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
We
are involved in a spiritual conflict. We
have got to stand. Three times
Paul says to stand and one time to withstand.
The only way we can be defeated in the church is to lay down or run
away. We are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
One pastor that I know
left his church after 10 months said that he was leaving because he knew if he
stayed it would be a fight. Anytime
anyone serves the Lord in the church it is going to be a fight with the enemy
the devil. How can you avoid the
fight ? Stay off of the
battlefield.
v.10-12. We wrestle against the powers of the invisible
forces of the devil..
II.
The Army of the Lord must be joined up!
Are we joined together with the Lord and with one another?
This is a volunteer service for the Lord and it is your
decision to serve or not. You
don't have to get involved in the work of the Lord.
In Uncle Sam's army you were always told to not to volunteer for
anything. But in God's army you must volunteer because the Lord has led
you to get involved in delivering the people from the grips of the devil.
Our symbols are baptism and communion with the Lord. Set those held in
the grasp of sin free.
III.
The Army of the Lord must be fighting and wrestling!
Are we fighting the good fight?
Put on your armor before going into battle.
Get involved. Participate
with the Lord in the work. Are
you at your post? The armor
is spiritual in nature and it is the product of a strong relationship with the
Lord of the armies.
1. The armor
is offensive in nature. It is not
a defensive position but we are created to go to battle.
There is no protection for the back.
You must go forward to win.
Here is an outline from a sermon preached by Dr. Roy Thompson:
1. The Devil
is out to destroy the people of God
2. The Devil
is out to destroy the Word of God
3. The Devil
is out to destroy the Son of God
4. The Devil
is out to destroy the Church of God
-- Sword of the Lord, 12-9-88, p. 1.
Before
Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States, he served as
a major general in the Tennessee militia.
During the War of 1812 his troops reached an all-time low in morale.
As a result they began arguing, bickering, and fighting among
themselves. It is reported that
Old Hickory called them all together on one occasion when tensions were at
their worst and said, "Gentlemen! Let's
remember, the enemy is over there."
His
sobering reminder would be an appropriate word for the church today.
In fact, I wonder if Christ sometimes looks down at us and says with a
sigh, "Christians, your Enemy is over there!
Stop your infighting! Pull
for one another. Support one
another. Believe in one another.
Care for one another. Pray
for one another. Love one
another."
III.
The Army of the Lord must hurry up and Wait.
Hurry up to get ready for the coming of the Captain and then
we must wait for his coming. We
are called to be waiters. Waiters
wait and serve as the Lord directs. Put
on your armor and continue to fight and wait for the Lord’s return.
IV.
The Army of the Lord must not quit, but continue to march on taking
ground for the Lord. Move up and out... Reach
up and out.. It’s
time to change. Can you imagine
an army suited up but never going anywhere?
That’s the picture of the church today.
The church is like a big toothless lion with all the potential but a
bite. The Lord invaded the earth
with his very presence on that first Christmas day.
But then he marched on to his death and resurrection.
Then he sent out his disciples to continue his work until his return.
On D-day the allies invaded Europe at Normandy then they continued to
battle the axis until V-E day. Victory
was complete. We are to continue
to labor and to work for the victory of the Lord on earth until he comes.
Matt
16:16 (KJS) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God. 17 And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It
is time for the church to storm the gates of hell and set those held in the
bondage of sin free. Set the
captives free..
How can the army of God be defeated?
The only way is if we don’t showing up for the battle.
Will we show up? How?
Begin to pray. V.18
We must pray always...
Are
you finished up? Have you
done your time? One person
described to me the time when it looked like he may be selected to go to
Vietnam. He had the chance to go
to Canada to escape his responsibility, but he didn’t. He stayed.
Are you prayed up?
Have you entered into the spiritual war? Fight the good fight on our knees.
Follow
the leadership of our captain by taking his hand and
1. Pray 2.
Love others 3. Serve
others 4.
Commit your self to the war.
5. Care
for the unlovable.
In the power of his might give yourself to follow the
captain who died for others. He bids you and me to come follow him, take up
our cross and die for others.
Look up for the captain of our salvation..
Join up with the Lord's volunteer army of believers.
Suit up with the Lord and get busy going out into the
battle.
Move up and out to the Lord's work. This is war. Now it
is time to begin to pray!