TIME TO SOLDIER UP

2 Timoth 2: 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

The church is often referred to as The Army of the Lord. As an army, we have an enemy: Satan and sin. As an army, we have a commander-in-chief: Jesus Christ. As an army, we have orders. Jesus has ordered us to:

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them

to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you

alway, even unto the end of the world.

Mark 16:15 And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel

to every creature.

Luke 24:46-48 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ

to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission

of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

And ye are witnesses of these things.

When men and women join the United States Army, they take an oath. In honoring this one paragraph affirmation, United States soldiers willingly train, deploy, fight, and perhaps even die in order to follow the orders of their commander in chief.

Here is a paraphrase of that oath.

I, (state your name), having been appointed before the creation of the world, a soldier in the Army of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ under the conditions indicated in this document, the Holy Bible, the Word of God, do accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, defend, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the lost, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD.

As a soldier in the Army of the Lord, will you follow our commanders orders?

Will you honor your oath?

Will you attack the strongholds of sin, poverty, addiction, broken relationships, crime, and godlessness in your community?

Will you tend the spiritual wounds of your fellow soldiers when they fall?

Will you put on your gear (Ephesians 6: 10-18), lace up your boots, and march out to win back your community for the kingdom of God?

Be certain that the enemy is on the attack, using conventional and covert tactics against you; but know also, that our arsenal is equal to the task.

II Cor. 10:4, 5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty

through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and

every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing

into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Know also that, we will win the war, because our Commander has already won.

1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is

the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Revelations 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb

shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are

with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.