Christian Soldiers
Preached for Veteran’s Day
2 Timothy 2:3-4
Tomorrow we observe Veterans’ Day. It wasn’t always called “Veterans’ Day. On May 13, 1938, the 11th of November was dedicated as “Armistice Day” — Armistice means a truce to stop fighting. It was a day set aside to honor the veterans of WWI. President Woodrow Wilson stated that WW1 would be “the war to end all wars.” Sadly, a few years later WW2 became the greatest mobilization of military personnel in America’s history. The word “Armistice” was removed and replaced with the word “Veterans.” It became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
Today we are proud to honor all our military veterans. They deserve recognition and honor as the Bible says, “Give honor to whom honor is due” (Rom. 13:7). May the Lord bless our veterans.
In this message I want to consider another kind of veteran. A veteran of a warfare every Christian is enlisted in as a soldier of Jesus Christ. The warfare I speak of is a spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. READ TEXT (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
I. The soldier’s TASK.
A. FOLLOW their commander. Veterans learned to follow the orders of their leaders. The Christian follows the orders of the captain of their salvation—Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:10). We seek His approval (v. 4).
B. FIGHT the enemy. Veterans fought to defend our country against enemies who would attack her. The Christian soldier fights against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY— In 2001, the Seattle Times reported about an eighteen-year-old who took a Seattle police car for a joyride. The theft was reported on law-enforcement broadcasts. A patrol officer in downtown Seattle spotted it and immediately gave chase but lost sight of the stolen vehicle after pausing to check for oncoming traffic at an intersection. It was then that a second police car pulled up and, thinking the stopped car was the stolen vehicle, rammed it from behind.
Two policemen in the car that had been hit thought they were under attack. So they pulled out their guns and started shooting. A police spokesperson said the officers involved, two in the rammed car and one in the other, exchanged more than twenty rounds before they discovered their mistake! THEY WERE SHOOTING AT ONE ANOTHER!
1. Soldiers fight to defend (Phil. 1:7, 17).
2. Soldiers fight to gain ground.
3. Soldiers fight to win.
II. The soldier’s TRAINING (2 Tim. 2:3).
A. DISCIPLINE.Every soldier needs to learn discipline. He learns this by enduring hardness and learning to be tough in bootcamp.
PARTIAL SERMON: see PDF for full sermon
