Welcome. We are at war today people. I’m not talking about Iraq, I’m not talking about Afghanistan either. I’m talking about the war that is raging against the homeland of every Christian in the world. Today we’re going to talk about where that homeland is, about who is attacking it, and how we can become soldiers in defense of our homeland.

So where is this homeland? (Php 3:20) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: the world ‘conversation’ here means ‘community’ or ‘citizenship’. (Eph 2:19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; we are being told clearly here that we, as Christians, are citizens of Heaven, and that is our homeland.

Heaven is our permanent home, we are just passing through this world. (Heb 11:13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Heb 11:14) For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (Heb 11:15) And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. (Heb 11:16) But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. We’re just passing through my friends, being strangers on this earth while we are moving towards that heavenly city. Our time on earth will be as nothing compared to the eternal of the hereafter.

Now that we know our homeland, we need to know that it is under attack. Now our homeland does not exist in the physical plane, or at least does not exist in our material reality that we are able to detect. Our war is indeed one that is spiritual in nature. (Eph 6:11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Eph 6:12) 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. (Eph 6:13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Because we are loyal citizens we cannot sit back idly and ignore what is going on. (Jud 1:3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We have to struggle for the faith, that is what ‘contend’ means. We have to be engaged people! We have to stand for Jesus.

We cannot avoid this war, we are in the very middle of the thickest part of the battlefield which is the material reality in which we live. We are in the enemy’s very territory, and the worst thing about it is that our enemy knows we are here. (1Pe 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: he is seeking to devour us so that we cannot be loyal soldiers in the service of Christ. Satan is not going to literally eat us, but he is doing everything he can to silence us. When we are silenced, we are no longer a threat to him or his schemes to destroy as many as possible.

This world that we live in belongs to Satan at this point in time. It is his territory, and it is the battleground for the souls of men. (2Co 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. That verse sums up the situation pretty well. Satan is blinding men’s minds, and we’re struggling to shine the light of Christ so that we might bring as many as possible to salvation.

In this war, there are two sides. You are either with God, or you are against Him. There is no neutrality in the battle over men’s souls. (1Ti 6:12) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. Nothing in this verse tells us that we can be neutral. We are commanded to fight the fight of faith, and so if we do not, we are not following God’s word.

The United States military has a code of conduct that every member must uphold to the fullest of their ability. This code includes instructions on the duties and responsibilities of the soldier, on how they should conduct themselves, and how they should behave if they are captured by an enemy force. This code of conduct ensures that the soldier always knows what is expected of them in any situation.

We, as Christian soldiers, also have a code of conduct. The code itself is the entire Bible. We can draw from it some points that are very similar to the U.S. military code of conduct. Let’s look at six points we can make with the Bible that are similar to what you would find in the military code.

“I am a Christian, a soldier of Jesus Christ, my commander-in-chief. I am fighting to take the gospel of Christ to set free the lost and dying world. I will give my life for this cause.” With this statement we identify ourselves by who we truly are, not as just a member of some earthly nation, but as members of the community of God. We are announcing to the world our citizenship is in Heaven.

Paul knew his duty, and he did it. (2Ti 4:7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: with our statement we are confirming that we too know our duty, which is to bring the gospel of Christ to all the world. We will fight the good fight, and we will keep the faith.

We are also telling the world just how far our commitment goes. We are for life people! (Rom 14:8) For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. I stand for the Lord for life. I am His for life. Actually our commitment goes much further. We are not just His for life, we are His for eternity. I have no problem with giving my life if it is so required for the Lord.

Let’s look at the next statement. “I will never surrender. I will be steadfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of my Savior. If necessary, I will reprove, rebuke, and admonish with the doctrine of Christ.” (1Co 15:58) Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. We know that our work is worthwhile, we know that we are making a difference in the fight against the enemy. New souls are being snatched from the Devil’s jaws all the time. We have to, and will, continue in this line of work until such time as the Lord sees fit to call us home.

“When tempted, I will resist the devil and his servants with every effort. I will go to God’s Word for my escape and strength. I will not compromise or submit to “favors” or “pleasures” of sin for a season.” If we allow ourselves to be moved by the pleasures of sin, we will ultimately find ourselves on the wrong side of the fence. God has no need for spies. He has all the intel on the Devil that He needs. Giving into the pleasures of sin is to be effectively pinned down by the enemy’s attack. (Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

(Heb 11:24) By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Heb 11:25) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; now why would Moses do this? He had everything to gain. He would have been a man in high esteem among the Egyptians. But he turned his back on all of this and chose to suffer with God’s people. It is because he realized he would rather fight than betray God. He would rather suffer affliction and serve the Lord than have the world and turn away from Him. The same needs to be true of us.

“If overtaken by sin, I will not give up. I will seek help from God and my fellow-Christians. I will confess, forsake, and repent of my sins. I will be an example to believers. I will obey my Master in every way! I will obey the rules of those over me. I will support my leaders in every way.” This is a lot like being captured by the enemy. When we find ourselves in sin, we have to immediately right ourselves. (1Jn 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We also have to be examples in this world of darkness. (1Ti 4:12) Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Don’t just be an example in your youth, but for all your life! Do the right thing in your words, in conversation, in helping others, in all things.

We need to follow those that lead us. We have to follow our preachers, pastors, and ministers, and we have to obey the laws of the land in which we live. (1Pe 5:5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

“I will eagerly answer any who asks of the hope within me. I will speak of why I am a Christian, and why others should follow Jesus. I will avoid foolish, evil, or profane questions. I will not speak or act in any way that will shame my Lord or His church. I will strive to be an aid, encouragement, and help, and never a hindrance to Christ.” (1Pe 3:15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: This is an important function in the Christian life. Our biggest responsibility is to spread the word of God, so answering every person that asks us of our hope is fulfilling this requirement.

(Tit 3:9) But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. We have to avoid arguing over pointless questions and issues as they will pull away the focus from where it should be: on the Lord. I’m not saying that you cannot do things like read the Bible and ask questions, I don’t believe we are being denied that. It is demanding that we do not allow vain and foolish questions prevent the preaching of the gospel of Christ.

There have been those that deny Jesus through the usage of foolishness. Instead of hearing the whole gospel, they will interrupt and ask questions about things that have no bearing on the situation. They will use contentious arguments to avoid the true issue of salvation and truth. We are not to engage them in this line of arguments and instead will stick to that which really matters, Jesus Christ.

“I will never forget that Christ died for me and I belong to Him! I will never forget I am a soldier in God’s army, fighting the good fight of faith unto the end, when victory is finally won! I will remember I am responsible for my actions. I will trust in God, who is able to deliver me.” (Rom 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. We belong to God, and we cannot forget that. We cannot ever forget that we are soldiers in this war, soldiers for the Lord. We will keep up the battle until Jesus Christ Himself returns to the earth from on High and gives us leave to stop. Until then, we will fight the good fight.

I got to tell you folks, I snuck a peek at the last page, and guess what? We will win this war! Until this time comes, we must remember that we are responsible for our own actions. We cannot lay blame for our actions on anyone else other than ourselves. God doesn’t buy excuses.

We will also trust in God. (2Co 1:9) But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (2Co 1:10) Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; no one else can deliver us, only God can. We cannot save ourselves but we can rest assured that God will yet deliver us.

Never forget that we are in a war. The Devil has not, and will not forget this and he is constantly searching for ways to attack and remove us from the fight. Satan wants to pin down as many Christians as he can so that we cannot spread the glorious gospel of Jesus and lead people to salvation.

We have to keep in mind how we need to conduct ourselves in this fight so that we can be effective soldiers. We need to wear the whole armor of God so that we can resist the attacks of the Devil. We then need to keep ourselves armed at all times with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. And we have to practice with that weapon. You cannot just pick a sword up and be a master swordsman instantly, it takes years of practice. Wielding the Bible takes continual practice as well. How do we practice with the Bible? By reading it. By knowing it. By keeping it in our hearts continually.

Our standing orders are to preach the gospel of Christ to all the world. You have your orders soldier. You have your code of conduct. Now get out there and fight the good fight of faith! Keep an eye out for the Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, because He’s going to be arriving soon. Until next time, God bless.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.