When
I was a young boy – going to Sunday School with my mom! – Sang this song I
really liked
A) It had hand motions and
everything – really fun!
B) I am not going to sing it
– you know I don’t do that well – but I will tell
you the words –
1) And I will even show you
the motions
I may never MARCH in the infantry
RIDE in the Cavalry / SHOOT the artillery
I may never SOAR over the enemy – but I’m in the Lord’s
army! YES SIR
C) I loved that song –
something inside the little kid in me who like playing army men – light on fire
1) GI
JOE – WHOLE COLLECTION
D) I liked the idea – I am
in the Lord’s army, me !
Soldier for Jesus –
E) I
had no idea what that meant – but I liked how it sounded
So
did Paul – I don’t know if they had army men – little Roman soldiers in his day
– GI Octavious
A) But the metaphor of the
Soldier was one that Paul LOVED!
AA)
He told Timothy to “fight the good fight” (1 Timothy 1:18).
B) He called Archippus, who
hosted a church in his home, a “fellow soldier” (Philemon 2).
1)
He likewise called Epaphroditus the gentle messenger to the church at
C)
In Ephesians 6 Paul described the Armor of God using each article of the
soldier’s armament as his object lesson for spiritual warfare
1)
2 Corinthians 10:3 The weapons of our warfare! .
Here
in Ch.2 Paul is encouraging Timothy to live a strong Christian life- Again he
uses the analogy of a Soldier.
2
Tim 2:3-5
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this
life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Paul
was well acquainted with the ways of the Roman Soldier!
A) When Claudius in Acts 23) ordered Paul to go to
B)
In
1) Paul was also chained to a soldier even as he wrote these words!
C) SO Paul
understood how good soldiers
behaved, and how they obeyed the commanding officer.
Consider
for a moment what Paul might have learned!
Facts about Roman Soldiers
Excerpt from The History of the Decline and Fall of the
A) The patriotism
of the Romans made them almost undefeatable.
B) Upon entering the army, soldiers took a solemn oath
1. never to desert was their standard, (The standard was a
golden eagle, an object of fondest devotion.)
2.
submit his own will to the commands of the leaders,
3.
sacrifice his life for the safety of the Emperor and the Empire.
C) Soldiers were inspired by pay which was excellent.
D)The
soldiers were also inspired by fear.
1. It was
impossible for cowardice or disobedience to escape the severest punishment.
2. Centurions were authorized to chastise
soldiers with blows.
3. Generals were authorized to chastise with death.
E) It was an inflexible maxim that the soldiers should
dread their officers more than the enemy.
That dread
produced in them!
1.
Firmness
2. Discipline. They were easily managed, obedient,
easily taught, and
willing to learn;
Valor
alone was not enough. Military exercises were vital and continuous.
1. These were held
morning and evening.
2. Even
if a soldier was older, he still did his exercises
daily.
3. Sheds were erected in the winter for
exercises.
4. Weapons used in the exercises were double the
weight of those used in actual warfare.
5. The only
difference in activity or circumstances
during peace and war
was the presence of blood on
the battlefields.
The
Romans were great Tac/ticians -They cultivated the science of tactics.{
Perfected their moves.
The Jewish
Historian Josephus wrote:
All their camp duties are performed with the same discipline, the
same regard for security: the procuring of wood, food-supplies, and water, as
required—each party has its allotted task; nothing is done without a word of
command. The same precision is maintained on the battlefield; nothing is done
unadvisedly or left to chance. (Josephus: Wars of the Jews: 3. 72-107
)
Paul
witnessed first hand the discipline and the devotion of the Roman Soldier and
drew a parrallel for the Christian life.
A) Interesting: Paul calls Timothy to be a
good Soldier of Jesus Christ!
Aa) Tells me it is possible
to be a Bad one!
B) Asked some friends in the
Military – what are the Characteristics of a good Soldier. 2 /25 yrs each
1) He does His Job without
grumbling or complaining { Honor, Courage, Commitment
2) He is focused – not
distracted by other things
3) He is Loyal – He wants to
please his commanding officer
C) Paul
basically says the same thing!
1) Endures hardship the
right way.
2) Not entangled
3) Wants to please his
Commander and Chief.
Consider
Paul’s words today: Glean some insights from my friends.
A) First thing Paul tells
Timothy is to endure Hardship as a good Soldier of
Jesus Christ
B)
2 Timothy 2:3 could also be translated "endure affliction together,"
"take your share of suffering," or "take your share of rough
treatment. "
C)
I Asked my friends – what are some of the hardships a Soldier faces today?
1)
You probably will not be surprised by their answers
#1
Hardship: Separation from family.
A) Always on call - Moments
notice – gone – away from loved ones - That by far is the hardest thing!
B) Some mentioned the
conditions –
1)
C) Battle – Being a Target
D) Loss of Life – Huge
1) Seeing friends get
wounded!
But each one of them talked about
how their training plays a big part in their enduring – the right way.
A) Called it a CONDITIONED RESPONSE!
B) Not that it is ROBOTIC –
they still have feelings and emotions –
1) Still deal with fear –
but it is their training that enables them to overcome fear – do their Job
C)
The heart of the good Soldier – He keeps going – Perseveres
Once, in the old wars, an English drummer-boy was taken prisoner by
the French.
They amused
themselves by making the lad play on his instrument, and presently one asked
him to sound the retreat.
D)
The drummer answered proudly that he had never learned that song!
E) It was the boast of
Napoleon’s soldiers — the guard dies, but never yields!
1)
We Christians are called to be faithful unto death, and Jesus promises us a
crown of life.
The
Lord puts us thru a Spiritual boot camp
Learn
a conditioned response!
A) His word is our weapon –
TRIED & PROVEN
B) The weapon of Prayer
C) Dependency upon the Power
of the Holy Spirit.
D) Conditioned response – Recognize
the battle not ignorant of the schemes of the Devil
1) Stand firm – Clothed in
the Armor
#1
He suffers hardship the right way!
#2 He is
focused! No one engaged in warfare entangles himself
with the affairs of this life.
A)
Paul’s perspective here is wartime – engaged ….
Not
peace time.
B) He
is focused – Not distracted or entangled.
1)
Can’t afford to be distracted, matter of life and death / His or of those
around him.
C) It's
often hard for us as Christians in the
1)
We live in a society that, while philosophically hostile to Christianity, has
not been hostile legally or politically
C) Unlike other countries in
the world where the battlelines are more clearly drawn.
1)
There Christians have often been required to make extreme sacrifices in every
area of life.
D) Here heroism for Christ's
cause is not thrust upon us, so we can forget we are warriors.
Though
our warfare may not seem evident, the battle is all around us. 2 Division
1) Battles in Society:
Unbelief
{ Tolerance
Against
Demonic forces – Strongholds – Demons over nations and cities
Humanistic
philosophies –
D)
It is easy for the Christian to just want to Check out – on this – what is the
use
1) Hide – give up –
2nd Personal hardships –
Against
temptation
Against
sin { Sin in our members – Wrestle with the flesh
Against
Worldliness { Standards of Morality
The Good Soldier doesn’t allow himself to
get entangled.
A)
The Greek word translated "entangled" is Empleko it means "to
interweave."
B)
Soldier in
C)
Soldier in
Success in the world is not his passion
D) Do His Job – make it out alive – Get Home
1)
The good Soldier is single minded – focused
E)
The position of the soldier demands detachment from all that would hinder his wholehearted obedience to the call of
His commander.
Liddell
and Scott write that empleko was used in secular writing meaning...
"to
entwine one's hand in another's clothes, so as to hold him."
Empleko pictures a soldier's sword becoming so entangled in
his cloak that he is unable to defend himself in battle!
Empleko
was also used of weaving or braiding the hair.
A) This picture reminds us
of Samson, a strong soldier, who lost his power because he got entangled with Delilah!
Worldly women
B) Lot LOOKED at
A)
Reminded him of
B)
Wasn’t long before Lot was living in
1)
Entangled in it !
C)
Sodom was having it’s way with
James
would call a soldier who entangles himself "a double-minded man, unstable
in all his ways." (Js1:8)
As Warren Wiersbe
quipped
"If
the men and women in the armed forces treated their orders with the same
carelessness the average Christian treats God’s Word—they would probably all be
court martialed!"
Sometimes we forget why we are here
A)
Talkiing with a friend the other day – Business
Hard to
not get entangled
B) Side
tracked – More Business – Success –
1) Accolades
– Acceptance
Soldiers
on a rescue mission:
A) Friends said: You can’t
get entangled or distracted, it means life and death – yours or those around
you
B) When we get distracted – it
is also a life and death thing – those around us who need rescued
C)
Don’t lose sight of why we are here.
D)
Not entangled – affairs of this life.
E)
Parable of the Sower – Thorns – Deceitfulness of Riches and the Cares of this
life.
# 3 The Good
Soldier is Loyal - , that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Acts
20 "I do not consider my life as
dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I
received from the Lord Jesus
The greatest joy of a Christian will be to
hear, "Well done, good and faithful soldier”…
MacArthur adds that
"a
spiritual Christian does not simply do minimum duty for his Lord, Christ Jesus,
but serves Him with everything he is and has."
Audie Murphy was an unlikely hero. Weighing in at only 112 pounds
and with the face of a child, Audie was 18 years old when he went overseas
during World War II. Nothing about him suggested a hero in the making. Yet when
called upon by his commanding officers to do the duty of a soldier, Murphy held
nothing back. By war’s end, the quiet boy from
For
the Roman soldier his motivation was fear of his superior – Our Motivation is
love
Christ
went to battle for us – Won the war –
More than Conquerors thru
Him who loved us!
Join
the Lord’s Army – The Benefits are Wonderful!