A Call to Arms to the Soldiers of God! By: Richard P. Duffield - 02/01Please keep in mind that this and all the studies contained within this website are my own personal studies, they don't necessarily represent my Church's views or my Pastors'...Be blessed!
A Call to Arms to the Soldiers of God! By: Richard P. Duffield - 02/01
(Please keep in mind that some formatting is lost when converting to HTML, if you'd like the study in it's entirety in MS Word, e-mail me & ask, it's free!)
It's an urgent and yet timeless call that the Spirit of God is directing me to trumpet to the brethren!
I'm beginning this writing with a hesitancy of sorts due to the
fact that I don't know why the urge to write it came up in me!
I've been reading and digesting books over the last week or so
about finding and entering into the presence of God when I'm all
of the sudden burdened to pen this paper. (In His Steps by S.
Sheldon, Faith Beyond Reason by A.Z.Tozer, God Encounters by E.Towns
and now God Catchers by T.Tenny)
Hold onto your seats, I have to believe that this one is right
on time and quite important to our walk with God at this particular
instance in time! (Of course it's important but never more
than now!)
Please note that this treatise is explicitly directed to those
of the family of faith, those who by the grace of God and through
repentance and faith in what Jesus the Christ did on the cross
of our behalf have been "born again" as described by
our Lord in John 3! (vs. 3: Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. And vs. 5 Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto
thee, You must be born again.)
If the above doesn't apply to you, please understand that this
should be read again after you've filled the above mentioned requirements
if you really wish to understand what I'm talking about! Why do
I say that?
1 Cor. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
One could also read 2 Cor. 3:14 through 17 to see more Biblical proof why I say what I said
(Certainly it would be my pleasure to assist you in accomplishing what is in fact the most important thing a human being can accomplish while on this planet earth, secure his or her eternal salvation!)
FOREWORD.
The basic premise of what I'm about to expound on is that as children of God, adopted into His royal family, we are as well recruits or conscripts (SOLDIERS) in His army to overthrow the devil and his forces of evil. We can find scriptural basis for declaring such, see the following: 2 Tim. 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer.
(Our Commanding Officer in this case being Jesus Christ as mentioned in verse 3 above!)
Philemon1:2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: Here Paul is talking about a brother in Christ and specifically refers to him as a soldier, a fellow soldier Having said that, we have to agree that we are in fact soldiers and as such have a job to do! That job is not a static job; it is one of action, one that requires diligence on our parts, NOT COMPLACENCY, NOT APATHY! We were just involved in a Presidential election, there were forces of evil out in droves, eager to elect the one they felt best represented their views, opinions, goals. Their candidate was in fact there to take ground in the battle against good and evil! Those who championed causes such as homosexuality , abortion rights, the furthering of evolutionary teachings to our children and keeping prayer out of school registered their votes en masse to elect their mouthpiece, and as President of our country! They joined forces and mounted an offensive to further the cause of their commander Satan without regard to the eternal cost because as soldiers they simply do as their commander orders! Did they complain about the time it took, about the long lines? NO! Were they complacent? NO! As soldiers they don't even have the right to complain or be apathetic! Nothing less than that was the truth! Praise God that in this case our candidate won, our representative who would champion our causes and try to take back lost ground for good and God won but the battle showed me for one some serious faults in our attitudes as soldiers!
There were and are a large quantity of Christian believers who voted for parties and not for the issues! By not putting their learned behavior (flesh) down to where it rightly belonged, they in fact went over to the other side and joined in with the forces of evil! What I cannot stress enough in these opening statements is the fact that we are engaged in a battle, a battle where our Commander (Jesus the Christ) is at war with the enemy, Satan himself! NOTHING LESS than that is the hard, glaring TRUTH! This is no game we're in, this is a battle for the souls on this planet who've not decided their fate by choosing Jesus as Lord!
And for some of those who have decided but like seeds planted on shallow soil are vacillating back and forth! What am I saying? I'm saying that this battle is REAL and this battle is SERIOUS!
We'd have to agree that King David is an exception to the rule when we speak about soldiers of God but please note that at about 14 yrs., when he fought Goliath the Giant, he had little if any real battle experience!
He was drafted into the army of God by necessity as no other man would fight for God at that time!
The point is that you need to start where you are, if you are a new Christian, start there! If you've walked with God for 50 years and haven't joined the battle to the best of your abilities, start where you are!
A Giant problem today is that our opponents are oftentimes cleverly disguised! For example, the mouthpiece of Satan in the last election called himself a Christian! He attends church every Sunday and quotes scripture to boot! The battle is not promised to be an easy one or a clear cut one, sometimes we will appear to be battling against those we love, but never the less, if we're true children and soldiers, we must take up arms and depend upon His Holy Spirit to direct us! The battle is raging, souls are being lost, what are we doing?
God has given us this important part in the battle, to BY CHOICE determine in our hearts to follow Him no matter where it takes us and to be diligent in doing so! We are in a war, the outcome which has been determined already and is spoken of in the Book of Revelation, but what is at stake are the souls of those who are lost! Our efforts now can & will determine the population of heaven! (And hell!) What'll it be?
Do you see that we are in a battle? Do you agree that as soldiers, we must fight to the death? Even if you don't yet completely agree, read on, I'm confident that God's word will open your eyes to this truth
WAR!
The Bible tells us that
we are at war! At WAR I said, not playing a game, not tip-toeing
through the tulips, but at WAR! Are you armed to
fight? What types of weapons are you carrying? If you are armed,
are your weapons "cocked and locked" or are they empty?
Are you outfitted for battle? (Helmet, armor, etc?)
When I say war, I'm just repeating what the Holy Spirit said in
God's word! See for yourself
Romans 7:23 but I see another law at work in the members of
my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
Flesh, Satan, and worldly influences to name a few are warring
for control of our minds and actions! Isn't that what Paul is
saying?
2Cor.10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage
war as the world does. Isn't this scripture clearly
indicating that we are in fact at war? See how we are clearly
made to understand that this is a battle that we're in? It
clearly indicates the presence of a battle going on between two
opposing sides! In this instance it's differentiating between
the battle techniques of ours and of the world that is at
war with us!
1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers
in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war
against your soul. What is Peter telling us here?
Isn't he reminding us that we are in a foreign land fighting
against forces that are actively waging war against our
souls? That's what he said! Much like a soldier walking in
a minefield, we are being cautioned to be careful and what
else does a good soldier do? Does he carefully go around the mines
leaving them for other unsuspecting souls to walk on them at a
later date? No, he disarms them and tries to stop the ones
who are setting the mines!
What actions are we taking right now to stop the mines from
being laid? What ACTIVE STANCE are we taking today
to ensure the safe travel of those coming up from behind us? Aren't
our children also affected by these mines? Aren't the children
of our children just as precious? What part are we playing today
in disarming those who are setting landmines, laying booby traps
for our very children?
In the last Presidential battle, or for that matter the last local
election of local officials, did we do as good soldiers should
do and prepare for the fight? Did we through the Holy
Spirit's guidance decide who best answered the issues according
to our Commander's wishes and stretch out the lines of battle
and fight it through to the end? Or did we simply mark the political
party we usually vote for? Or just as bad, did we simply not show
up for the battle? Did we assume an ACTIVE, RIGHTEOUS
stance or were we apathetic?
I know I'm talking to somebody here, it's not my intention to heap on condemnation, don't misconstrue my intentions, I am simply asking questions that could and possibly should bring Holy conviction!
FIGHT!
Some might say that we
are not to be so active, that we should trust God and not be so
forceful with our attitudes and opinions What does God tell
us on that issue?
1Cor.9:26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air. Here we
see Paul speaking of his stance regarding his faith! He
certainly appears to have made it clear that there is a required
amount of energy that we should expend if we are going to
call ourselves children of God and as such Soldiers of His cross!
He speaks of RUNNING, he speaks of FIGHTING! Not
an inactive stance! This scripture shows us that after
we're saved that there are things that are required of us!
It takes discipline and determination on our parts to make
an impact that's felt in the realms of darkness! Our inactivity
on the other hand is definitely detrimental to the kingdom of
light! I'm not saying you have to produce results in the battle
of God against the kingdom of darkness to be saved! That's not
what I'm implying, what I'm saying is that you are a soldier,
STAND UP AND FIGHT! Your salvation does not balance
upon works, does not rely on your production, but as a Soldier
of Jesus' cross, do your part and walk with your head high
knowing you did your best! One wounded soldier actually takes
at least 2 out of the battle, if you are not fighting and doing
your part, you'll cause others to be taken out of the battle to
help you along! Remember that what we accomplish as soldiers after
we've volunteered for service wins or loses us rewards as Paul
spoke of, it doesn't gain us our salvation! That was
secured by God's grace, through our faith in what Jesus did on
the cross! We can see the parallel with the natural, a good
soldier gets ribbons and or medals, bad soldiers get the brig
or simply miss out on any rewards. They might be bad but they
are still soldiers, we might not accomplish much in God's fight
but we're still His children and saved by His grace. We
can however be a deserter, that's a choice we make and carry out
with our will and exactly the same principle can be seen in walking
away from God. Remember, it's really not what we do or don't
do that saves us, it's what He did! HOWEVER, as appreciative
soldiers we must do our part to further the cause of the
One who gave His life for us! We think, oh, I'll leave that to
others, maybe younger ones, they have more strength or energy.
That's a trap from Satan's pit, do your part, carry your weight,
fight the good fight!
1Tim.1:18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping
with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following
them you may fight the good fight, (wage the good warfare
says the NKJV). Again, we see that there is a fight going
on, that Timothy is admonished to fight this fight to the best
of his ability, to give it his all! (As are all those who
are called by His Name!) Once we clearly understand that there
is a war being waged, that this war is against our very soul and
the souls of our loved ones, then maybe we will take it seriously
and fight as Paul is instructing us!
You see, on the battlefield, you are either taking ground or
losing ground! Even in such battles as the one often spoken
of when saying, "All's quiet on the Western front",
which literally took years in an apparent stalemate, one must
remember that the land at first belonged to one side, then the
stalemate occurred, and eventually, little by little the land
was lost by one side and gained by the other! One side was little
by little gaining ground, the other little by little loosing ground!
That's how it works!
This is exactly the same principle we face today as soldiers of
Jesus' cross!
If we are not taking ground for our Lord, we're loosing it
to Satan! NO TRUCE HAS BEEN MADE!
1Tim.6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made
your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. We
are in a fight! Whether we have our gloves on, our weapons loaded,
whether we're ready or not, WE ARE IN A FIGHT! We
are at WAR! Make no mistakes about it! Satan is not taking
prisoners, he is breaking all the rules of the Geneva Convention!
His prisoners are being tortured and summarily executed!
Do you see yet?
2Tim.4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the faith. Again Paul likens his entire
life as being a fight, one that he was proud to have been in!
He likens all that he's gone through to a race, a fight to the
finish you might say, but nevertheless a fight! Nothing else would
adequately describe his walk with Jesus and please understand
that today, more than ever, Satan will not give up easily so the
fight can and probably will get dirty! Have you taken off the
white gloves, have you donned your brass knuckles?
Were you to breathe your last breath right now would you say with
all certainly that you had "fought the good fight" to
the best of your ability? Would you rest assured that you had "kept the faith" as Paul declared? If you can't answer that with a clean conscience, then why not? It's not too late!
VIOLENCE!
Where does that word fit
in? Aren't we to "turn the other cheek"? That is exactly
how Satan has gotten us deceived! He made us to believe that our
votes don't really count! (Didn't this election PROVE that
EVERY VOTE COUNTS? God won by about 500 votes out of this
entire country! Think about it! Calvary Worship Center (or your place of worship) could have decided the outcome of this year's Presidential Election!) He makes us to believe that our opinions
are too harsh, that we shouldn't inflict our beliefs onto the
unsaved!
Or why don't we understand that we are all free to believe what
we want? Lies, all Lies! THEY ARE ALL LIES FROM HELL! We
need to base our beliefs strictly on what God has already revealed
in His Word!
What did Jesus say about our activity level? Should we take an
active stance or be apathetic? Read on
Matt.11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it
by force. NIV says: From the days
of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been
forcefully advancing, and forceful men
lay hold of it. This is a declaration that it will take a
different mindset than what we're used to! We must be ready
to do things we've not done before! There must be lines of
battle drawn, steps must be taken, preparations need to be
made to further the fight against darkness if we are to prevail!
Am I saying that we won't win if not? Not exactly, I'd be a fool
to say that because the end of the entire war is clearly depicted
in the 20th Chapter of Revelations! What I am saying is how
many losses would you determine are acceptable? How many soldiers
or potential soldiers can we "write off" and still
keep a clear conscience before God? Will any of your loved
ones go with Satan and those whose names are not written in the
Book of Life? What can you personally do to lessen our losses?
Shouldn't we meditate on these questions now before it's too
late? Are you ready to get your hands dirty? Are you ready
to follow orders from your Commander in Chief regardless
if it means your physical life or the loss of all that you hold
dear in order to positively affect the outcome according to the
"bigger picture"?
These are some of the questions that you still have time to ponder,
still have time to decide your position on and take positive
and active steps to accomplish! It's not too late, GET
READY FOR BATTLE!
Wait! There's more to say, much more
CONTEND!
Continuing on with pretty
much the same train of thought, even building on the foundation
already being laid let's see what Jude has to say about our position
as a Soldier of Jesus' Cross
Jude 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to
you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge
you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted
to the saints. Jude here uses a Greek word that signifies
wrestle, do battle, vigorously! He admonishes us to BATTLE
VIGOROUSLY!
Why did he use such a description to describe our role? Isn't
it obvious by now? We are soldiers and as such we must not
only fight back but we must do so vigorously! Also
notice in the above passage that Jude tells us that it is a job
once and for always entrusted to the saints! (We can't sidestep
this duty!) I can't help but think about real examples and here
goes another. If a soldier is drafted (or volunteers) and is sent
to a foreign battlefield, he is issued weapons and assigned a
duty, a position in the forces of the side he's on. When he arrives
at the battlefield, if he's neglected to take his weapon or decides
after a few bullets fly overhead that he doesn't wish to fight
anymore, the definition for this soldier is: A SOLDIER IN TROUBLE!
You see, there is generally only TWO options when you come
face to face with the enemy, kill or be killed! There'll
be no time to talk, to explain anything, there will only be time
to act or react If you can somehow signal the fact that
you have no weapon or do not wish to fight, you still have only
TWO options: 1. You are made a prisoner, or 2. You are
killed in action by the enemy. (Or better put you are killed without
action!)
War by it's very definition means a state of open, armed conflict
carried on between nations, states, or parties. It is a
condition of ACTIVE contention, antagonism, and hostilities!
It warns us in it's definition that it is OPEN, ARMED conflict
and hostilities!
What part do we misunderstand? Are you contending (wrestling,
battling vigorously) today? Am I?
Why not? What is our excuse? It's not the Pastor's job alone! He's our earthly Field Commander, are we being good soldiers? What excuse can we give our Commander in Chief when we come before His BEMA seat of judgment??? Certainly after reading this paper there will be none that will suffice!
GUARD!
Apart from actively doing battle as directed by God's Holy Ghost or by our Field Commander (Pastor) we are also advised and admonished to GUARD ourselves against attacks that are sure to come from our foes!
Matt.10:17 Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. Jesus is not saying they might, He says they will! He tells us to be on our guard!
Mark13:23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. Also vs.33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. He's talking about end times and His return, in both instances He reminds us to be alert, to be on guard! We cannot be complacent or apathetic here, Jesus is telling us we need to be on guard! DANGER, DANGER, DANGER! BE ON GUARD!
In Matthew 16:6, 11, 16 , Mark 13:9, and Luke 12:1 He clearly warns us to be on guard against the yeast of the world (of our enemies) that will try to infiltrate us and spoil us from within! He says to be alert! To be on guard! This yeast could easily today be renamed procrastination, apathy, complacency! BE ON GUARD!
1Cor.16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. This is our job description! Paul doesn't leave anything to our imagination! This verse will be repeated later!
2Tim.1:14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. And 1Tim.6:20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, Here Paul repeats himself to Timothy and such being the case we can surely agree that it must be important for him to do it! You know, in other countries, Nigeria for example, if a soldier is disarmed by the enemy he is charged with treason and summarily executed as such! Police are also taught that under no circumstances are they to give up their gun to the enemy! Both soldiers and police are trained to never, under any circumstances, to give up their weapon! They are to guard it with their life! We are soldiers, and being soldiers we must always be on guard and never give up our weapons! On GUARD, in possession of our weapon, and using it! (Not losing it!)
2Pet.3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. Our secure position is the one Jesus has given us! The enemy is ever trying to knock us off, knock us out of our position in Jesus' army, as such we cannot sit back with our feet up, we need to ACTIVELY GUARD what's been done for us through the cross of Jesus Christ! This isn't necessarily speaking about our eternal position but more likely the position we hold in the household of faith, the rank we have in Jesus' army, which as a whole would suffer if we are taken out by the enemy. Such a position should be adequately protected, well guarded against the attacks that are sure to come! When the prophet Nehemiah led Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the 4th chapter of the Book by his name, the builders had one hand on their tools and the other on their swords!
That is the wisdom of God then, that is the wisdom of God now!
Nehemiah 4:16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. These are words of wisdom to the Christian soldier today! Do you stay on such a high state of readiness? Are you on guard as Jesus and the Apostles in the verses above admonish you to be?
STAND FIRM!
The final words of encouragement
and admonition encompass the orders from our Commander in Chief
to STAND FIRM and to not give up ground to the enemy! We continue
to see the truth of our position in the Royal Army of God, the
need to actively pursue His purposes, fulfill
His orders while walking on this foreign planet called earth!
While we are prone to overlook this whole concept, it must be
something of grand importance if we're given so many instructions
to follow in God's instruction manual, the Holy Bible!
1Cor.15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.
Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work
of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord
is not in vain. This scripture encompasses many of the ideas
I've outlined in the above text! Paul calls his brothers (us)
to STAND FIRM, to LET NOTHING MOVE US, and to always
give ourselves FULLY to the work of the Lord!
This work he speaks of is what I've been saying, it's being
a dependable soldier in the army of God! Wow!
1 Cor.16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith;
be men of courage; be strong. Paul admonishes us to STAND
FIRM again, to be of courage, to be strong! To be on GUARD!
These are not orders to spiritual couch potatoes, these
orders are for the soldiers of the Most High God!
You might say that you don't feel courageous, you are weak,
you don't have what it takes but read on!
2Cor.1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand
firm in Christ. He anointed us, and vs. 24 Not
that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your
joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
While at first we see we must do it we now see how it can be accomplished
by anyone who's been adopted into God's family and as such into
His army! God makes us to stand firm! He anoints us to stand
firm! It is by His power that we are able to STAND FIRM
and it is by FAITH that we appropriate this power! I
SAID IT IS BY FAITH THAT WE OBTAIN THE POWER TO ACCOMPLISH ALL
THE ABOVE! One can see why James penned the words of James
2:22, "Do you see that faith was working together with
his works, (referring to Abraham's offer of Isaac on the altar)
and by works faith was made perfect?" Faith obtains the
promise but we must determine in our minds and wills to take
action to receive it!
This should help you to see that our faith in God's promises
will cause us to reach out and receive them, it will cause us
to use them after we've received them! What good are the promises
if we don't put them to use? Our eternal salvation has been received,
why else would God leave us here? To help Him bring in the
harvest, to help Him walk out the victory on this earth that He's
already won in the heavenlies! (Col. 2:15!)
Gal.5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by
a yoke of slavery. Here we see that we must determine
to STAND FIRM against the powers and forces in this world
(God's enemies) that are trying to destroy our souls and recruit
more souls for hell! It states clearly that we've been set free,
as such shouldn't we be trying to set more captives free???
Eph.6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
This commands us again to STAND FIRM, if we
back up a bit to the 10th verse we'll find out many truths about
our battle and how God instructs us to fight it!
Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. 11 Put on the full armor of
God so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes. 12 For
our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put
on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand.
Please tell me something, could the above verses make the treatise
that I've been expelling any more apparent? It shows from whence
our power comes, (GOD!) that we need to put on armor, (as in battle
gear that soldiers need to use) that we are in a struggle against
evil forces, (actively in a WAR!) and that we are never to give
ground but to STAND FIRM! WOW! Are you getting it? Ask
God for discernment if not!
Can you see that even the most involved minister of God can
and should do more? Maybe not physically but certainly you'd have
to agree that when we drop our defenses for a moment, when we
slack back just a notion, when we for any reason stop gaining
ground for God we immediately begin loosing ground to Satan!
We're in a war, nothing less can describe it!
I'll throw these in for good measure
Phil.1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner
worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see
you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you
stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man
for the faith of the gospel...
There's that word CONTEND again! Wrestling, to battle
vigorously! Do you see it? Are you getting it?
Phil.4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the
Lord, dear friends! Again, not by our power
but by His! STAND FIRM says Paul again!
Col.4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ
Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for
you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God,
mature and fully assured.
There is an example of a mature and fully assured soldier!
Wrestling, standing firm! God's talking to us!
2Thes.2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and
hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether
by word of mouth or by letter. Stand firm over and over!
Stand firm! We're in a war, gain ground or lose it!
James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm,
because the Lord's coming is near.
He's admonishing us to like the Chess Master or Military Strategist
be patient, make calculated moves, ever on guard, ever standing
firm and not giving up ground! He promises us that it'll all be worth it! Our reward is coming! Our Lord is coming back, soon, and we'll meet Him in the sky! (1 Thess. 4:16, 17!)
Epilogue.
After having digested
all of the above, it is my hopes that you agree that we are in
fact engaged in a spiritual and physical battle of gargantuan
proportions with the forces of evil who are using this battlefield
to populate their final destination, Hell! There can be no
other conclusion gained or no other explanation given apart from
the fact that we as children of God also serve in His Royal Army
as Soldiers of Jesus' Cross! We would have to unreservedly
agree that we are at war, that a battle is in fact taking place,
a fight is physically being fought and that we are soldiers enlisted
in same!
Having so agreed we should also understand that whether we have
been actively engaged in the battle or not, it cannot change the
fact that the battle was and is still being fought.
In this case much like in Federal Cases, ignorance is not innocence!
Whether we have ever donned our armor, ever taken up arms, whether
we've actively engaged in guarding and standing firm or even understood
that a battle was in fact taking place did not, could not change
the truth that the battle was raging! Keep in mind that this
battle has been in fact raging for 1000's of years!
Like I mentioned above, the enemy rarely takes prisoners,
excuses are not very helpful in war, (isn't it often said that
all's fair in love and WAR!) if you are not shooting back it's
likely that you will become a casualty! You may have only been
wounded by attacks of the devil as by wounding you he can easily
distract and remove from the battle at least one other soldier
who must render you assistance!
Are you getting the revelation yet?
He wounds some of us enough to cause us to distract field commanders
(Pastors) and regiments of troops
(prayer warriors) and in effect weakens our entire ground forces!
Are you beginning to get this yet?
The truth is that the war is not dependant on whether we are ready
to fight or not, it is raging and as the days are getting closer
to Jesus' return, Satan is getting more and more desperate!
What about the next election? What are you doing about that?
How about issues like pornography in our cities?
Things like evolution being taught in our schools?
Drugs rampant on our street corners?
The list is almost endless, what are you doing about it?
What part are you actively taking?
The time of making excuses is over, we know the truth, what will
we now do with it?
When the final bell rings, when the trumpet sounds, will you
like Paul be able to say,
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."?
Brethren, take heed and take action! Now!
A Call to Arms to the Soldiers of God!
I pray that somehow this has inspired you, helped you, or even made you mad! Why would I add make you mad? Because this study is designed to stimulate your own thoughts and to get your mind "tuned" to a subject we often overlook or neglect!
God doesn't need people who've already arrived, He needs common sinners, saved by His grace, like you and I!
Be blessed!
In His service,
Richard P. Duffield
(Please feel free to send comments, suggestions, criticisms, whatever if you read this study!)