The Lord's Army - Pastor Jeff Schreve

[Music] today on from his heart with pastor jeff shreeve he begins a timely series called we are soldiers are you ready to suffer hardship as a soldier for christ today we'll discover the weapons needed to win the spiritual battles to come in a lesson called the lord's army [Music] [Music] my kids were little one of the things that debbie and i did was we got cassette tapes cds weren't really out at that time and everything was cassette tapes we had felt pretty big time because we had graduated from eight-track tapes and uh we had cassettes and it was all a bunch of kids songs on these cassettes and we'd play them in the house and we'd play them in the car and the kids liked to uh sing along and the songs even though they were kids songs they were good songs because they taught the kids important truths now one of the songs that played i had never heard this song before until we started playing the the kids songs and debbie kind of looked at me like really you've never heard this song she said we always sang it in vacation bible school i said well i didn't go to vacation bible school so that's probably why i've never heard of it but the song very familiar to many of you i'm in the lord's army i'm in the lord's army i may never march in the infantry and you know with kids you had uh motions you know so you'd march i may never march in the infantry ride in the cavalry shoot the artillery i may never zoom or the enemy but i'm in the lord's army hey that's a great song for kids and adults because it teaches a very important truth and that truth is this the moment that you put your faith and trust in jesus christ not only does he save you and take you out of darkness and move you into the kingdom of light not only does he adopt you into his family not only does he give you his holy spirit but he enlists you in his army every believer is in the lord's army the christian life is not a playground it's a battleground it's a battleground for the lord's army we're beginning a new series today entitled we are soldiers we are soldiers it's based on the verse in second timothy chapter 2 verse 3 where paul says to timothy suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of christ jesus we are soldiers we're in the lord's army and we need to remember as we go through this life that hey i'm a soldier i'm in the lord's army i'm called out to remember the lord as nehemiah said who is great and awesome and fight now in the lord's army it's not like the human army it's not like our united states military they fight on a physical plane we don't fight on a physical plane we fight on a spiritual plane the scripture says in ephesians chapter six your adversary or it says we don't wrestle we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the powers against the world forces of this darkness against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places it's a spiritual battle and our weapons are the sword of the spirit which is the word of god the shield of faith and the power of prayer that's what we bring to the table in this battle see we don't fight the muslims we don't fight the atheists we don't fight the agnostics we don't fight the liberals we don't fight the legalists we don't fight the apostates we're in a battle against the devil and his demonic horde now the devil in his demonic horde they use people but but the the people aren't the enemy the devil is the enemy your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour but resist him the scripture says firm in your face and we are in a battle and the enemy wants to steal and kill and destroy he's like the original terminator he he doesn't feel pity he doesn't care about you and and your family he wants to destroy you and your family and he never takes a break he never takes time off he never has a little r r he goes constantly to steal and to kill and destroy now paul wrote to timothy the last letter he ever wrote second timothy it was written about 67 a.d right at the same year that paul was beheaded for his faith in christ for preaching the gospel for never backing down now he wrote to timothy timothy is not although he paul led him to the lord and paul calls him my true child in the faith he calls him his son in the faith timothy was not like paul you know paul is stronger than an acre of garlic and sometimes you can read paul and just think man i don't have the discipline that that guy had i don't have the the courage that that guy had he's just amazing i mean five times he received 39 lashes from the jews three times he was beaten with rods uh once he was stoned a day and a night he spent in the deep all the things that he says in second corinthians chapter 11 the bad things that happened to him and many of us would be like good night after one time getting 39 lashes from the jews i think i'd go back into jerusalem and maybe teach at the school you know i just wouldn't want to be on the front lines he's such a front line guy well timothy is in ephesus ephesus is a tough place in ephesus they worship uh artemis the great god of goddess of the ephesians and there is much opposition to the gospel in ephesus but the lord is working in ephesus and timothy's the pastor in ephesus he's a young guy and paul tells him don't let people look down on your youthfulness he tells him he speaks to him because he's timid he says god hasn't given you a spirit of timidity but a power and love and discipline he tells timothy hey timothy you might be tempted to quit you might be tempted to leave your post but don't do it timothy because you're in the lord's army he says in second timothy chapter 2 you therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus and the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of christ jesus for no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier hey here's our question to ponder are you a good soldier of christ jesus how are you doing in this thing called being a soldier how are you doing in this thing called being faithful in the lord's army i want to share with you three characteristics of a good soldier of jesus christ and when the scripture says a good soldier that word good means valuable virtuous worthy a worthy soldier a soldier used as a metaphor of the champion of the cause of christ three characteristics first characteristic a good soldier of christ jesus suffers hardship suffers hardship verse 3 timothy suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of christ jesus a good soldier is willing to suffer hardship a good soldier will suffer hardship paul was in prison in rome and he knew that the end was near for him he said in chapter four the time of my departure is at hand i have fought a good fight i finished the course i've run the race he knew that it was it was over now when you read in the book of acts you read about paul being imprisoned in rome and he's in his own rented quarters and he is welcoming people into his own rented quarters he's under house arrest he's not under house arrest here this is not the first roman imprisonment this is his second roman imprisonment in the book of acts paul was eventually released from rome and he went on and ministered some more but then he was rearrested taken to rome and there was a totally different ball game he was put in chains and uh he was put in a dungeon and it was difficult and it was hard and there were afflictions and there were problems and he tells timothy hey suffer hardship with me as a good soldier in christ jesus he said in chapter 1 verse 8 join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of god you mark it down the true christian life it comes with adversity and suffering this is part of the deal it's part of the ball game just like a soldier if we send a soldier off to syria or afghanistan or iraq those those men those women they know then they're not going for a day at the beach this is a day in battle they're not going to disney world they're going to war and it's going to be tough and it's going to be hard and there's going to be suffering associated with that warfare the true christian life comes with adversity and suffering the scripture says in second timothy chapter chapter 3 verse 12 everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with christ jesus will be persecuted you will be pursued in a hostile manner people will come after you in a hostile manner if you're living godly in christ jesus you say well why is that well it's because the true christian life comes with hatred from the world that's what jesus said if you're going to really live for him if you're going to do the two things that we talk about all the time in our church to shine for christ and to share what the great things the lord has done for you if you're going to shine and share then the world is going to come after you jesus said in john chapter 15 if the world hates you you know that it has hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love its own but because you are not of the world but i chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you remember the word that i said to you a slave is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will persecute you if they kept my word they will keep yours also jesus said hey don't don't be surprised if the world doesn't stand up and clap and say oh we're so excited for you you're you've come to know christ and you're walking with the lord that is great no the world doesn't like that they don't want people to come to know christ the devil owns the world system the devil is he he has infiltrated the world and he controls the world and he's a deceiver and he deceives the scripture says the whole world and people don't like when you start to shine the light on their sins and you know if you're going to live for jesus christ you're going to be a good soldier a worthy soldier a virtuous soldier and really shine for christ and share the gospel and share what the lord has done in your life there will be people who will not be your friend anymore emily satterfield she's married now so that's not her name but she stood here with me some years ago and shared how she had lived a lesbian lifestyle for seven years from the time she was 15 until she was 22 and then she was saved marvelously saved radically saved and she began to witness constantly she is such a strong witness and letting people know that you have to repent and believe the gospel and that if you continue on in sin that all that's left for you is a christless hell and man she said that all her friends in the lifestyle of lesbianism that she was in man they dropped her like a hot rock they didn't want to have anything to do with her why because she destroys the narrative that i was born this way if emily was born this way then how come she's not this way anymore how come she is happily married and she uh attacks their whole narrative and so man they they do not like her and they come after her if you want to live godly in christ jesus you're going to suffer persecution and so it can cost you friends it can cost you your job we have heard about the the bakers in oregon they wouldn't violate their conscience and they wouldn't bake a wedding cake for a homosexual wedding and man the the hounds of hell were released upon them and they ended up losing their business as a result of that and having all these fines put upon them a little mom-and-pop bakery shop can cost you your job of a friend of mine who's in corporate america and he's a very strong christian very outspoken on facebook and social media and he told me before he said jeff i just know that's just a matter of time before my company comes down and tells me to shut it off to quit uh presenting christ to the world like i'm doing and he said i i believe that one day it's going to cost me my job hey it costs to serve jesus cost your friends cost you your job might cost you your freedom john bunyan who lived in the 1600s he spent 12 years incarcerated why was he incarcerated because he committed the crime of preaching the gospel spent 12 years in prison god used that time it wasn't wasted time he wrote pilgrim's progress while he was in prison and that book has been used for centuries to help people in the christian life may cost you your freedom hey it may cost your life paul's getting ready to get his head cut off cost him his life peter was crucified upside down all the disciples saved john were killed for their faith hey suffer hardship as a good soldier in christ jesus you say well jeff what is the way that i could get out of the hardship thing because i don't really like suffering i don't really like hardship i i kind of like to be in the lord's army but i'd like to be a reservist you know i'd like other people to go out there and maybe i could what's a way that i can get away from from the hardship aspect of this let me tell you how to do it this is really cool go awol if you go awol you leave your post you bail out you say it's too tough you do like john mark did on the first missionary journey you say hey paul barnabas this is too hard i'm out of here you take the next boat back to home do that don't shine don't share hide your light under a bushel zip your lip when people start talking about uh morality and they talk about uh that god is dead just don't say anything and you won't experience the suffering that comes from living godly in christ jesus but you know what you will experience jesus said this in mark chapter 8 verse 38 for whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation the son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels can you imagine what that would be like for the lord to return and you've been ashamed of him and he comes and now he is ashamed of you listen going awol is not an option for a good soldier a good soldier is willing to suffer hardship second characteristic a good soldier of christ jesus stays focused verse four no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier he doesn't entangle himself that word means to entwine to get consumed and distracted with everyday life listen the good soldier is on a mission and he realizes that i am here for a purpose we send our soldiers today if we send them to syria if we send them to afghanistan if we send them to iraq they are on a tour of duty they're not moving to that country to live like this is my new home they know this isn't there the the they're going away to a place that's not their home they're there for a purpose they're there for a mission and they uh are going to complete the mission and then come home because that's not their home they're just there on a mission you know the bible says that we are citizens of heaven and we're on a mission with the lord philippians chapter 3 for our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for a savior the lord jesus christ and he's going to transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory through the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself we're citizens of heaven and we're on a mission and the mission is given to us by the lord jesus christ himself in matthew 28 we call that the great commission our mission is the great commission where jesus said all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit teaching them to observe all that i have commanded you commanded you and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age that's our mission to make disciples we've kind of boiled it down to our mission is to shine for christ and to share and when we shine for christ when we share the gospel and share how the lord has saved us then then we make disciples that way because they have to hear the message we're citizens of heaven on a mission with the lord and see on our mission we have to stay focused just like the soldiers overseas they have to stay focused on what they're there for we have to stay focused the scripture says in hebrews chapter 12 therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses encompassing us let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us fixing our eyes on jesus the author and perfecter of faith the word fixing means to look away from everything else and put your eyes on him we're staying focused on him the one who enlisted us in the lord's army the one who has given us the mission in the great commission to fix your eyes on him and see we're to live for the approval of one the approval of one and that is jesus christ it doesn't matter who approves you in this life what matters is the approval of the one in whom you serve for whom you serve paul says so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier well who enlisted you as a soldier jesus jesus is the one who saves us he's the one who enlists us as a soldier and we live the christian life to please him and listen when all is said and done the only thing that matters in the end is when you stand before the lord and you hear him say well done thou good and faithful servant that's the only thing that matters that's the commendation and the approval from the one who matters and you know we we tend to use that a lot at funerals you know like everybody has that happen you know oh well you know old jim he was just a great guy we know that he's uh receiving from the lord well done good and faithful servant maybe he is maybe he's not i don't know i heard billy graham say one time on an interview he said i'm not so sure the lord's gonna tell me well done good and faithful servant i was like good night what's that going to do for me right a little nervous when i heard that billy's not going to get it but listen you know we see the the things that billy did and we say wow what a dynamic uh believer god used him so greatly and and god did but you don't know billy's heart i don't know billy's heart we don't know the things that he deals with he's not taking for granted that he's gonna he'll hear well done thou good and faithful servant and you and i don't need to take that for granted either we need to live every day to please the one who enlisted us and how do we do that how do we please the one who enlisted us now this is really important we please the one who enlisted us by being faithful to him by being faithful to him first corinthians chapter 4 verse 2 says this moreover it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful not creative not ingenious not winsome faithful faithful to the lord faithful to the lord's army faithful to man his post her post faithful to not go awol faithful to stand firm in the lord faithful to stand up stand up for jesus you soldiers of the cross hey our world is getting increasingly dark and it is a desperate time in america for christians to stand up for righteousness to stand up for the lord to stand up for truth and people say well don't get political listen abortion is not a political issue it's a moral issue the the sexual immorality that's not a political issue that's a moral issue and we need to stand up for the truth that god's word is true and what god says matters though every man may be a liar the lord is true we need to stand up for that [Applause] be faithful now one of the things when you think of the word faithful we we naturally think and rightly that being faithful means you're that you're dependable that you're reliable and that's exactly what uh the lord wants us to be that's how it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful a steward was one who managed his master's assets he had to be faithful with how he managed the assets and so you're reliable you're trustworthy paul told timothy hey timothy this is what you're supposed to do in verse two the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust these to faithful men timothy you're a faithful man i entrusted these things to you i taught you the gospel now i want you to teach the gospel to faithful men who are able to teach others also and that's how the gospel spreads when you tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so on and so on like the old shampoo commercial of a long time ago some of you are thinking i don't remember that shampoo commercial well you need to watch commercials from the 80s you'll hear it again that's how the gospel spreads as you tell two friends and then trust with faithful men and they entrust to faithful men and then it just explodes exponentially and we're to be faithful with what god has given us oh paul says to timothy in first timothy chapter six oh oh timothy guard what has been entrusted to you what had been entrusted to timothy the gospel the truth of god's word and he was supposed to guard it and he was supposed to share it listen we live in a world today where people are watering down the word of god where people are are cutting corners on the word of god massaging the word of god why because we want to make it politically correct because we don't want to hurt anybody's feelings listen we're our job is not to change the word of god our job is to speak the truth in love and let the chips fall where they may this is god's word i didn't write it i'm just commissioned by the lord to preach it and it's not my job or the job of any herald to change the message given to him from the king we share the message and if people don't want to hear the message well that's that's their business and if they want to kill the messenger well that happens but we never change the message you know the bible says in the book of jude right before the book of the revelations it's important where it's situated and right before the end comes what happens certain persons are going to creep into the church and they are going to turn the grace of god into a license to sin and that's what we're seeing in the church today we're seeing many many people preach grace grace grace but it's grace devoid of truth and you don't get saved with grace without truths because you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you three free by loving kindness and truth iniquity is atoned for truth is really really important and if you separate out and you just present grace without truth you lead people astray and they don't follow the lord they just say oh this is so wonderful i can live however i want and it doesn't matter [Music] it matters it matters to the lord be faithful he tells timothy you know king saul in the old testament he lost his kingdom why because he wasn't faithful to the lord he wasn't faithful to the word that god gave him he wasn't faithful to the commands of god what does a good soldier do he stays focused he lives for the approval of the one and he stays faithful to the one and jesus said be faithful until death and i'll give you the crown of life i love this story true story about charles jones charles jones was an insurance salesman who became a motivational speaker he was a tremendous salesman tremendous motivational speaker and he liked the word tremendous everywhere he went he would talk about oh this is tremendous and you're tremendous and that's tremendous and so they called him charles tremendous jones that was his nickname well charles tremendous jones was known as one of the greatest speakers who ever lived one of the greatest motivational speakers and he he made uh millions of dollars being a motivational speaker and going around the country and and he had uh awards from all over the place and accolades and and letters from presidents and all these things well he had him in a basement in his house in pennsylvania and that was kind of his trophy room and all these great things that he had achieved and accolades and all that stuff from the world and one day there was a big flood in his hometown and his basement filled with water and mud he said he went to the house and he walked down some steps and he just saw everything just covered in just mud and scum and it was just all ruined all his his great mementos and his heart sick as you can imagine and he said when he was walking down the steps to look at all the devastation he said the lord whispered to him and said charles don't worry about these things i was going to burn them up anyway and it really caught his attention oh it's so easy to get a tr attached to those things that don't matter listen a good soldier doesn't get attached to the things that aren't part of his world that aren't part of his citizenship he's just on a mission he's on tour and his job is to stay focused and to stay faithful and lastly a good soldier of christ jesus serves by the grace of god how do you do it it's by the grace of god you therefore verse one my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus listen you mark it down none of us can serve successfully in the power of the flesh you're never going to be a good soldier in the power of the flesh it's impossible to do it in the power of the flesh because you don't have it in you you don't have enough willpower you don't have enough discipline you don't have enough determination to handle it when the suffering comes you'll melt like a snow cone in phoenix and when all the pressure comes it's like in and of yourself you're not able to stand be strong in the lord the scripture says and in the strength of his might because you can't do it you know who thought they could do it peter peter at the last supper when jesus said all of you are going to betray me all of you are going to fall away you're going to leave me and peter said oh no lord i'm not hey these other guys might but i won't i am ready to go with you to prison and to death and jesus said really peter before a crows twice you're gonna not deny me three times deny that you even know me three times and we know the story that's what happened when peter who was so uh full of the the fact that i can do this thing because i'm so committed he couldn't do it and the power of the flesh he wilted and melted under the pressure and under the intense heat none of us can do it but all of us can abide in christ and be strengthened by his grace we can all do that how do i connect to god's grace how am i strengthened in the grace which is in christ jesus i do it by abiding that's what jesus said john chapter 15 a great chapter a good one to read today and to meditate on today i am the vine jesus said you are the branches and the branch cannot bear fruit of itself it has to abide in the vine so he said abide in me abide in me and you'll bear fruit you'll bear much fruit but you have to abide that's how a branch bears fruit it just it just abides in the vine it just stays connected to the vine as long as it stays connected to the vine the life-flowing sap the grace so to speak flows through the vine and there is fruit you know you never see a branch on a tree or a branch on a on a vine you never see that branch sweating it out you never see ah you can talk to it what are you doing trying to bear fruit it's so hard it's just so hard well that's that's not how it works they're just there man the life goes through now you you disconnect it from the vine and it doesn't bear anything branch cannot bear fruit of itself you know they're in the ancient world two ways that they would light a room you could light a wax candle you could burn the wick or you could light a lamp that was powered by olive oil symbol of the holy spirit some of you are here and you know what it the christian life for you is so hard this marriage thing is so hard this command from god to love your wife as christ loved the church oh so hard you need a pastor you don't know my wife no the wife her job to respect her husband i wrote a facebook post this week talked about a husband's number one need is respect he needs to be uh wanted and needed by his wife he he needs her to want him in their love life he he needs her to not badger him or nag nagged him or preach at him but to praise him and encourage him and lift him up and respect him and a lady responded and she said that's right but it's so hard to do that how do you do that when your husband never gives you any encouragement when he belittles you and he makes you do all the work and blah blah blah just on and on and on and he's just a horrible guy she's married to and i thought why'd you marry that guy he sounds terrible and i thought maybe he wasn't like that but maybe you've been badgering him and he became like that you never know it's like charles lowry said the guy came to him and he said well you know i'm a i'm a loser because my dad was an alcoholic that's why i'm a loser he said well that's one way to look at it but maybe your dad's an alcoholic because you're a loser you know it's like which one came first and so she said this lady she was just pouring out her heart and her husband was terrible how do i do that and i said you can't do it it's impossible in the power of the flesh it has to be done in the power of the holy spirit it can only be done by the grace of christ jesus our lord some of you are here and you know what you know why the christian life is so hard for you because you're burning the wick and the candle consumes itself when you burn the wick and you run out of wax and you're done and you're like i don't have anything else to give i'm done here you're not supposed to burn the wick you're supposed to burn the oil and the oil lamp when you light that wick and it burns the oil it can go for hour upon hour upon day upon day as it burns the oil that's the christian life it's a principle of abiding it's a principle of walking with the holy spirit of god of yielding yourself to the holy spirit of god that's how you stay faithful to the lord by the grace that is in christ jesus finally be strong in the lord and in the strength of his might listen i don't know where you are today but god does and you do maybe you're here and you know you say jeff i'm one who's kind of left my post i know i'm a believer i know i've put my faith in trust in jesus i know it's not just in my head it's real in my heart but but i felt the pressure the pressure to compromise with sin the pressure to go along to get along it at work and at school and and so i've just kind of left my post i've just kind of zipped my lip i'm not really shining i'm not sharing i'm just trying to stay under the radar i've gone awol not too late for you get back in the game to get back at your post to be strong in the grace which is in christ jesus our lord maybe you're here and you know what you're not you're not in the lord's army you've never trusted christ listen the lord army the lord's army wins we win and we spend forever in heaven with him and all those outside of the lord's army they die and go to hell you don't want to die and go to hell you can give your heart and life to jesus he'll save anybody who comes to him in repentance and faith you turn away from your sin and you turn to the savior and he'll save you and he will wrap his arms of love around you and he'll put you in his army and enlist you as a soldier to do battle to remember the lord who is great and awesome and fight in prayer to fight by standing up for the lord jesus christ no matter what comes your way by his grace and by his grace alone listen in order to win the spiritual battle you must have power within and that power only comes from the lord so here's the big question does the lord live in your life has there ever been a time when you've truly surrendered your heart to him now if not that can happen today with this simple prayer just say from your heart lord jesus i need you i know that i'm a sinner and i'm lost and i can't save myself but jesus i believe that you are god in the flesh i believe you died on the cross and rose again on the third day and right now jesus i ask you to forgive me of all my sins to come into my heart to be my lord and savior and i promise to follow you all the days of my life my friend if you'll pray that kind of prayer and mean it the lord will come in and your life will never be the same i would love to hear from you to know that you're watching to know that god is using this broadcast to make a difference in your life to know that you just prayed that prayer to receive christ as savior and lord please call that toll-free number take the time to let me know what's going on hey you really are important to god and you're important to us and we're here for you from his heart is the viewer-supported broadcast ministry of dr jeff shreeve who believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life god still loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life you can find out more about the plan when you go to from his heart.org [Music] from you

Channel: From His Heart Ministries

Views: 1,968

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: F2LWYpY6lY0

Length: 40min 14sec (2414 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 02 2020