CASUALTIES OF WAR
II Timothy 2:3-4
Fair Avenue Baptist Church
November 14, 1999
Sunday Morning Sermon
Veterans Day Services
(1999 Sermons III / Casual)
Welcome to our Veterans Sunday. Thursday, November 11, is the actual day we celebrate Veterans Day. I missed the local ceremonies Thursday afternoon but I did hear the fireworks.
Today we have tried to honor our veterans. Thank you for coming and spending some time with us. Mark your calendars for November 12, 2000, and we will try to do a better job and reach more veterans.
I want to read several verses of Scripture and close with a few minutes of observations.
We read in I Samuel 17 about a war and we are somewhat familiar with it. It is in I Samuel 17 that David sees the armies of Israel as they are afraid of Goliath.
V. 24 – “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.”
Sounds like some men today – always running from the battles of life – deserting their families.
Psalm 78:9, “The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.”
Sometimes men quit in battle.
I’ve seen it and so have you.
They can’t take it.
We need to stand strong in battle because we are soldiers.
Job 23:11, “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.”
Job 40:7, “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.”
Isaiah 46:8, “Remember this, and shew yourselves men…”
I Kings 2:2, “…be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man.”
God is looking for men of God,
Soldiers in His army,
Soldiers in the battle.
Ezekiel 22:30, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
God wants men,
God needs men,
God is looking for men,
God is looking for men of courage,
Men of strength.
“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” Psalm 118:6
Okay,
God is looking for men.
Men who will hold to God’s steps.
Men who will show themselves men.
Men who will stand in the gap.
How about it, men, will you be that man?
Scripture also talks about soldiers, warfare and weapons.
I Tim. 1:18, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.”
A good warfare…
II Tim. 2:3-4, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that the may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
A good soldier of Jesus Christ…
II Cor. 10:4, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.”
Weapons of our warfare…
Soldiers,
Warfare,
Weapons.
“By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.” (II Cor. 6:7)
“…let us put on the armour of light.” (Rom. 13:12)
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
(Eph. 6:11)
Soldiers,
Warfare,
Weapons,
Armour,
Be a man,
Show thyself a man.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Teenagers,
Every child of God is in the battle.
We have been chosen for the battle.
But are we prepared?
The men we have honored today,
These soldiers,
They were prepared for battle.
They went to boot camp,
To learn how to fight in battle,
Long days of hard work,
Hard, grueling work.
WHY?
To prepare them NOT to be casualties,
To prepare them for war.
Some of these men here this morning actually saw combat.
Some saw the enemy.
Some killed the enemy.
Bazel Bond was in the Philippines.
He saw men die.
He felt the intensity of battle.
These soldiers here this morning,
These men who prepared for battle,
These men who prepared for war,
They were taught to rules and regulations.
They were taught the proper chain of command.
They were taught the things necessary for success.
They endure PT – physical training.
Men who were in the Army Rangers, Green Berets, Special Forces, and Navy Seals are taught “…to endure hardness as a good soldier.”
The training exercises,
The strategy sessions,
The drills and more drills,
More training exercises.
WHY?
The number one reason is to prevent casualties,
To be able to win the battles,
To be able to win the war,
With fewer casualties,
And more victories.
Now watch this … this is the introduction for the message:
One of the definitions for “casual” is “accidental.”
One of the definitions for “casually” is “accidentally.”
One of the definitions for “casualness” is “accidentalness.”
One of the definitions for “casualty” is “accident, and sometimes death.”
Soldiers who get too casual often become casualties,
They get too casual in training,
They get too casual in preparation,
They get too casual in battle,
And sometimes they suffer injury,
Sometimes they suffer permanent injury,
Sometimes they die.
And Christians can get too casual.
Lackidasical,
Nonchalant,
Comfortable,
And become casualties,
Injured,
Permanently injured,
Or dead.
If you get too casual about raising your children,
You’re going to see a casualty.
Pregnancy,
Shacking up,
Divorce,
Alcohol,
Drugs.
Casualties – statistic.
Please, please listen to me.
If you get too casual about Bible standards,
You’re going to see casualties.
YOU’RE GOING TO BE A CASUALTY.
If you get too casual with the wrong crowd,
Or with your Bible reading,
Or with your tithes and offerings,
Or with your service to the Lord,
Or with your religion in general,
YOU ARE GOING TO BE A CASUALTY!
Your Christian life will be injured,
It might be seriously injured,
It might be permanently injured,
It might even result in death,
Spiritual and physical.
Our churches today are suffering profusely with casualties – serious casualties.
And because of the casualties we are losing too many battles – we’re running out of soldiers.
Too many Christians are A.W.O.L.
Too many Christians are quitters.
Now, the challenge is before us – and I’m through.
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” (I Cor. 16:13)
I studied that word “quit” and it is very interesting.
Listen to what it means.
· carry through,
· perform to the end so that nothing remains to be done,
· perform completely,
· clear one’s duties by full performance.
“Watch ye,
Stand fast in the faith,
Carry through like a man,
Perform to the end so that nothing remains to be done like a man,
Perform completely like a man,
Clear your duties by full performance like a man,
Be strong.”
I close with a simple observation that many of you can relate to directly.
Check out the churches on the go and grow:
Windsor Hills Baptist Church and Dr. Vineyard,
Longview Baptist Temple and Dr. Gray,
First Baptist of Hammond and Dr. Hyles,
Northwest Bible Baptist Church and Dr. Gomez,
Faith Baptist Church and Dr. Terry Angela,
Clays Mills Road Baptist Church and Jeff Fugate,
And the list goes on and on.
Each of these churches is like a solid army,
Full of soldiers,
Good soldiers,
Fighting the good fight of faith,
Enduring hardness as a good soldier,
WHY?
“…that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
Are you in the battle,
Or a casualty of war.
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