For a hippie to show up at boot camp is a rather traumatic experience. I was a peace and love kind of a guy suddenly thrust into a violent and loud place designed to prepare me for a loud and violent war. Had I had any clue what those weeks would have been like and the opportunity for death it offered me, I might have ran off to Canada.
I had been a WWII buff in my pre-teen years and watched every war movie I could. "Combat" and "Twelve O'clock High" were favorite TV shows. My favorite comic books were "Sgt. Rock and Easy Co.", "Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos", and "The Haunted Tank" (haunted by the ghost of J.E.B. Stuart and flying a rebel flag). I still have many of those comic books.
Hollywood and comic books made war more of a fairy tale. The blood and guts didn't really sink in. I could not have imagined real war. My father-in-law and one of my maternal uncles were real war heroes and they spoke little of what they saw. I can still remember my uncle sitting there in a sweat while I watched "Combat" on his TV. I believe both my uncle and father-in-law suffered from shell shock/PTSD. Incredibly, they both worked hard and provided for their families. Maybe we should rethink our current treatments for those conditions, which seem to leave the men and women helpless and dependent on groups and therapists.
I was very fortunate. I did not make it to SEA (Southeast Asia) until six months after the Viet Nam war was declared over albeit they were still shooting at our troops leaving Nam a year after I left SEA.
I spent most of my active duty stateside. My only contact with the carnage was via my Honor Guard duty that allowed me to participate in the funerals of my fallen comrades in arms. After awhile, I could no longer take the grief I saw at the gravesite and asked to me moved from the color guard to the firing party that stood away from the family. Also, Dover was one of the processing points for bodies returning from Nam and I routinely made deliveries to the morgue and occasionally saw the bodies. That was ghastly enough and I cannot imagine the horrors of those on the battlefield watching their friends fall and wondering when it would be their turn.
War is indeed Hell and no one wants to think about it or be involved in it. However, Brothers and Sisters, we are in a war. We are not at peace. Sadly, many have fallen wounded and remain on the sidelines because their fellow soldiers are AWOL or on perpetual R&R and will not or cannot help.
Many will fall and condemn their Commander-In-Chief because they do not believe they are in a war. They think it is over and they should be running through flowered fields dancing with butterflies. They do not understand the cries of the wounded Christians and the dying lost. Yea, often they do not hear them at all. They are like mad men walking in the midst of the battle singing and gathering up shrapnel thinking they are gathering flowers for their dinner table.
Eph 5:14-16
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (KJV)
How appropriate that Paul would write these words before he speaks of
putting on the whole armor of God. Those who are "sleeping the sleep of the dead" will not hear nor understand the need for the armor. They are in the dark and they need the light of Christ to show them the truth and lead them from their fairy tale world into reality. Fools wandering around in a daze will only hurt themselves for they will treat the weapons of war as toys and will fall as though they were unarmed. The time for the partying of victory is after the war is over not while the days are yet evil!
I do not know that it is still there, but at one time the Queen Elizabeth was berthed in a California harbor. The ship not only served as a luxury liner, but as a troop transport in WWII. They had divided the ship in half. One side was decorated as it looked in peace and the other as it looked in war.
The peace side showed extreme luxury. Crystal chandeliers, fine china, gaudy table cloths, thick rugs, etc. The war side was stark and barren. Lights were functional, not pretty, the floors and tables bare and the utensils tin. What contrast! Brethren we are called to war!
2 Tim 2:3-4
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (KJV)
We are expected to kakopatheo (kak-op-ath-eh'-o); 25553 from the same as 2552; to undergo hardship: KJV-- be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble. It is a part of war. We are line soldiers. Our place is on the field not at the Officer's Club or the rear echelon. We are called to do battle. Jesus won the war and He will win our daily battles, but not as we sit on the beach or at ringside. We are to do battle together.
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (KJV)
5293 hupotasso (hoop-ot-as'-so); from 5259 and 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey: KJV-- be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.
I am to submit myself unto the Captain of the Host (Joshua 5:13-15). I am a man under authority (Luke 7:6-10) as a soldier is to his superiors. Which means I have orders to follow and a fight to fight.
436 anthistemi (anth-is'-tay-mee);from 473 and 2476; to stand against, i.e. oppose: KJV-- resist, withstand.
While there have been times that God fought the battles of His people as they stood behind and worshipped (II Chronicles 20) He also tells us to resist. To stand against the Devil you must be in the right army (saved) and in the condition to serve which means no unconfessed sin and having the right weapons.
2 Cor 10:3-6
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
5 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;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (KJV)
In a carnal army carnal weapons are used. In boot camp you learn to make your rifle an extension of your body. You eat and sleep with it. You learn how to break it down, reassemble and load it blindfolded. If your weapon fails because you failed to care for it or you did not use it properly you die. That is the cold, hard and dirty facts.
In a carnal war, your enemies want you dead or at the very least maimed and out of the battle. It has been said that it takes at least four people to carry you from the battlefield wounded and hence it is more beneficial to wound your enemy than to kill him. That may be true, but in the heat of the battle I doubt that any soldier has anything else on his mind than to kill so as not to be killed.
In this spiritual war, you have one advantage. Once you are in Christ, the enemy cannot kill you spiritually for you are already dead and your life is hid in Christ (Col. 3:1-7). He can kill you physically with God's permission (Job 2:6) or if he can get you to participate in some activity that will bring about death (Matt 4:7) or causes you to commit a sin unto death (I John 5:16).
He can make you wounded and out of the battle. He can create doubt so that when you pray you cannot receive from God (James 1:5-8). He can get you working in the flesh so that you receive no rewards in Heaven (I Cor 3:11-15). He can cause you to fall so that you lose your ministry temporarily or for a lifetime (1 Cor 9:27, Heb 12:15-17). He can keep you wounded so that others are wrapped up in caring for you when you should be bearing your own burden and teaching others (Gal 6:1-5, Heb 5:11-14).
How can we resist the devil victoriously and avoid the wounds? We put on the whole armor of God and use it correctly!!!
Eph 6:10-20
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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.
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.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (KJV)
First, we need to know in whose power (dominion) and might (ability) we are working in the first place (vs. 10). It is not ours, but God's!!! Without Him we can do nothing! (John 15:5). Without His Spirit the battle is not won and there is no liberty! (Zech 4:6, 2 Cor 3;17)
Next we need to sure we put on the whole armor (vs. 11). Achilles of mythology fell because of one small part his mother did not dip in the river. How many policemen have died because while they had their pistol and nightstick they did not wear their vest? The devil is lying in wait to see which part we forget to put on and he will attack us there.
In the heat of the spiritual battle we must remember who are our real enemies (vs. 12). Many times we attack people and reject people instead of attacking the spirit behind the actions of that person and rejecting the lies that come from that evil spirit that is deceiving that person. The person is just being used as a carnal weapon to throw us off our objective and divert us from our main target.
Let's keep our sights on the main objective and ignore the diversionary tactics of the devil.
I had been a WWII buff in my pre-teen years and watched every war movie I could. "Combat" and "Twelve O'clock High" were favorite TV shows. My favorite comic books were "Sgt. Rock and Easy Co.", "Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos", and "The Haunted Tank" (haunted by the ghost of J.E.B. Stuart and flying a rebel flag). I still have many of those comic books.
Hollywood and comic books made war more of a fairy tale. The blood and guts didn't really sink in. I could not have imagined real war. My father-in-law and one of my maternal uncles were real war heroes and they spoke little of what they saw. I can still remember my uncle sitting there in a sweat while I watched "Combat" on his TV. I believe both my uncle and father-in-law suffered from shell shock/PTSD. Incredibly, they both worked hard and provided for their families. Maybe we should rethink our current treatments for those conditions, which seem to leave the men and women helpless and dependent on groups and therapists.
I was very fortunate. I did not make it to SEA (Southeast Asia) until six months after the Viet Nam war was declared over albeit they were still shooting at our troops leaving Nam a year after I left SEA.
I spent most of my active duty stateside. My only contact with the carnage was via my Honor Guard duty that allowed me to participate in the funerals of my fallen comrades in arms. After awhile, I could no longer take the grief I saw at the gravesite and asked to me moved from the color guard to the firing party that stood away from the family. Also, Dover was one of the processing points for bodies returning from Nam and I routinely made deliveries to the morgue and occasionally saw the bodies. That was ghastly enough and I cannot imagine the horrors of those on the battlefield watching their friends fall and wondering when it would be their turn.
War is indeed Hell and no one wants to think about it or be involved in it. However, Brothers and Sisters, we are in a war. We are not at peace. Sadly, many have fallen wounded and remain on the sidelines because their fellow soldiers are AWOL or on perpetual R&R and will not or cannot help.
Many will fall and condemn their Commander-In-Chief because they do not believe they are in a war. They think it is over and they should be running through flowered fields dancing with butterflies. They do not understand the cries of the wounded Christians and the dying lost. Yea, often they do not hear them at all. They are like mad men walking in the midst of the battle singing and gathering up shrapnel thinking they are gathering flowers for their dinner table.
Eph 5:14-16
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (KJV)
How appropriate that Paul would write these words before he speaks of
putting on the whole armor of God. Those who are "sleeping the sleep of the dead" will not hear nor understand the need for the armor. They are in the dark and they need the light of Christ to show them the truth and lead them from their fairy tale world into reality. Fools wandering around in a daze will only hurt themselves for they will treat the weapons of war as toys and will fall as though they were unarmed. The time for the partying of victory is after the war is over not while the days are yet evil!
I do not know that it is still there, but at one time the Queen Elizabeth was berthed in a California harbor. The ship not only served as a luxury liner, but as a troop transport in WWII. They had divided the ship in half. One side was decorated as it looked in peace and the other as it looked in war.
The peace side showed extreme luxury. Crystal chandeliers, fine china, gaudy table cloths, thick rugs, etc. The war side was stark and barren. Lights were functional, not pretty, the floors and tables bare and the utensils tin. What contrast! Brethren we are called to war!
2 Tim 2:3-4
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (KJV)
We are expected to kakopatheo (kak-op-ath-eh'-o); 25553 from the same as 2552; to undergo hardship: KJV-- be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble. It is a part of war. We are line soldiers. Our place is on the field not at the Officer's Club or the rear echelon. We are called to do battle. Jesus won the war and He will win our daily battles, but not as we sit on the beach or at ringside. We are to do battle together.
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (KJV)
5293 hupotasso (hoop-ot-as'-so); from 5259 and 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey: KJV-- be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.
I am to submit myself unto the Captain of the Host (Joshua 5:13-15). I am a man under authority (Luke 7:6-10) as a soldier is to his superiors. Which means I have orders to follow and a fight to fight.
436 anthistemi (anth-is'-tay-mee);from 473 and 2476; to stand against, i.e. oppose: KJV-- resist, withstand.
While there have been times that God fought the battles of His people as they stood behind and worshipped (II Chronicles 20) He also tells us to resist. To stand against the Devil you must be in the right army (saved) and in the condition to serve which means no unconfessed sin and having the right weapons.
2 Cor 10:3-6
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
5 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;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (KJV)
In a carnal army carnal weapons are used. In boot camp you learn to make your rifle an extension of your body. You eat and sleep with it. You learn how to break it down, reassemble and load it blindfolded. If your weapon fails because you failed to care for it or you did not use it properly you die. That is the cold, hard and dirty facts.
In a carnal war, your enemies want you dead or at the very least maimed and out of the battle. It has been said that it takes at least four people to carry you from the battlefield wounded and hence it is more beneficial to wound your enemy than to kill him. That may be true, but in the heat of the battle I doubt that any soldier has anything else on his mind than to kill so as not to be killed.
In this spiritual war, you have one advantage. Once you are in Christ, the enemy cannot kill you spiritually for you are already dead and your life is hid in Christ (Col. 3:1-7). He can kill you physically with God's permission (Job 2:6) or if he can get you to participate in some activity that will bring about death (Matt 4:7) or causes you to commit a sin unto death (I John 5:16).
He can make you wounded and out of the battle. He can create doubt so that when you pray you cannot receive from God (James 1:5-8). He can get you working in the flesh so that you receive no rewards in Heaven (I Cor 3:11-15). He can cause you to fall so that you lose your ministry temporarily or for a lifetime (1 Cor 9:27, Heb 12:15-17). He can keep you wounded so that others are wrapped up in caring for you when you should be bearing your own burden and teaching others (Gal 6:1-5, Heb 5:11-14).
How can we resist the devil victoriously and avoid the wounds? We put on the whole armor of God and use it correctly!!!
Eph 6:10-20
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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.
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.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (KJV)
First, we need to know in whose power (dominion) and might (ability) we are working in the first place (vs. 10). It is not ours, but God's!!! Without Him we can do nothing! (John 15:5). Without His Spirit the battle is not won and there is no liberty! (Zech 4:6, 2 Cor 3;17)
Next we need to sure we put on the whole armor (vs. 11). Achilles of mythology fell because of one small part his mother did not dip in the river. How many policemen have died because while they had their pistol and nightstick they did not wear their vest? The devil is lying in wait to see which part we forget to put on and he will attack us there.
In the heat of the spiritual battle we must remember who are our real enemies (vs. 12). Many times we attack people and reject people instead of attacking the spirit behind the actions of that person and rejecting the lies that come from that evil spirit that is deceiving that person. The person is just being used as a carnal weapon to throw us off our objective and divert us from our main target.
Let's keep our sights on the main objective and ignore the diversionary tactics of the devil.
