ARE YOU A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD?!!

EPHESIANS 6:10-20

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole Armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole Armor of GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints; 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

Ephesians tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…against powers…against the rulers of this dark world…and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms…

To cope with this spiritual warfare…we must put on the WHOLE ARMOR OF YAHWEH…So my question today is…ARE YOU A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD?

Are you on active duty serving the Lord faithfully…daily and on duty 24/7 or are you on reserve status serving only when called upon one hour a week on Sunday mornings…one weekend a year…or three times a year…CHRISTMAS…MOTHER’S DAY AND/EASTER? Or are you on Guard status…standing by…ready…just in case…backing up the ones who are on active duty…Or are you just AWOL…ABSENT WITHOUT THE LORD…

A few weeks ago…I preached about counting up the cost…and if you have counted up the cost and have made a firm decision to follow Yeshua…I must tell you that the decision to follow Christ will without a doubt lead to spiritual warfare…because that YES to YAHWEH will be met with oppositions…Sometimes passive…Sometimes subtle…Sometimes active and Sometimes massive…but when this happens…you know for sure then you are not in agreement with Satan…

You know…so many things are happening in our world today…and for those of you who remember what happened in the Persian Gulf…in Iran…911…and of course what’s been happening in Syria & Ukraine…but in these last and evil days more than ever before we need to recognize that living for YAHWEH…by having faith in Yeshua Hamshiah (Messiah/Christ)…there is going to be Spiritual Warfare…and your every intention to do good…to do the will of the FATHER who sent you…will be opposed by Satan and his army…that’s why we need YAHWEH’s equipping Grace to face life…and what I like about Yeshua is not the fact that He’s alright…or He’s right on time…but He love me before time began and said His Grace was sufficient…and His Grace will keep us and equip us to recognize the spiritual dimensions that we struggle with…

When we are going thru…and our feelings seem to be at wits end…the devil will seize every opportunity to use them against us to make us feel useless…and he uses our trials…tribulations…situations…and circumstances to fight us…to leave us weak and cripple us…unless we refuse to play his game…so my question to you today is…ARE YOU A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD?

In this text of Ephesians…it is much more than a quaint description of ancient armor…Paul is speaking about life as we live it right here …right now in 2023 and all of the pressures that come along with it…and believe me when I tell you…the whole world is feeling the strain…and this isn’t something that I just made up or just a lot of biblical rhetoric…because as Believers we need to be equipped…we need the WHOLE ARMOR OF YAHWEH…and these extra texts speak of very real human struggles…When I was in the military…they would always tell us that there would always be casualties of war…so we too…who are fighting the good fight of faith in this spiritual war…know that we will suffer casualties…but not of lives…but of souls…

And just like in the natural Army…we see folks in YAHWEH’s Army all gun ho to enlist…going all out for the LORD…then reality sets in…and the flames begin to go out a little at a time…perhaps they get disillusioned with the older Christians who don’t want to change…or perhaps no matter what they do…their situation remains the same…you know…some folks are just too smart for their own good…because discipline says…the letter of the law…or instead of the intent of the law…instead of the spirit of the law…or instead of what is good for the church and the Body of Christ…but the Body of Christ need to realize the eternal consequences of winning or losing this fight for souls…WHETHER YOU BELIEVE ME OR NOT…WE ARE AT WAR!!!

But one thing that I do know…I AM A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD…and don’t get it twisted…real danger does exist…the devil will come with shots to the stomach…to the heart…and shots to the feet…that’s why each piece of armor is connected with some aspect of integrity…of obedience…so put on your battle gear…put on the whole armor…but don’t think that you can just put on one piece and be protected…you must put it all on …THE BELT OF TRUTH…THE BREAST PLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS…WITH OUR FEET FITTED WITH READINESS THAT COMES FROM THE GOSPEL OF PEACE…THE SHIELD OF FAITH…THE HELMET OF SALVATION…AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT…You know…some folks never get tired of playing “the role”…but Yeshua spoke about children playing getting married…playing dress up…and dancing…and singing on “cue”…but you can’t play soldier in this army…either you’re in or you’re not…

I was watching one of those preachers on TV last week…I won’t call any names…but he called himself “Bishop”…I mean…he had the purple Bishop’s shirt on…the Bishop collar…the “Big” Bishop’s collar…some people would say that just from the clothes that he’s wearing…that’s who he is…if that isn’t crazy…it sounds crazy because they’re just clothes…a wise man once told me just because you’re in a chicken coup…doesn’t make you a chicken…so attending church doesn’t make you a Believer…and just because you wear clergy attire does not make you a man or woman of YAHWEH…just like singing in the choir doesn’t make you a saint…

Some folks just can’t face the truth…and some folks just won’t give up playing dress up…but the real truth of the matter is that we need the whole armor…we need the breastplate of righteousness to break all the excuses we use trying to rationalize our every in action…because none of us are perfect…and we all have our little kinks in our armor…we all have our little dings and dents…but we need to learn how to step out in faith…that’s why we need our feet fitted in readiness with the shod of peace so that step by step…and day by day they will take us to newer heights in our walk with the Lord…but some folks never learn to take care of their feet…they are always traveling on other folks spiritual insights…but every now and then they do have to do some digging in the Scriptures for themselves…but once we have our fitted…we need the shield of faith…because faith is the act of believing…

According to Webster…the word ACT means to take action…to do something…to proceed…to be active…and to perform…but believing the things that YAHWEH revealed about Himself…and acting on those beliefs…because without faith it is impossible to please GOD…Did you hear what I just said???

We need to step out in faith regardless of what it looks like in the natural…When Thomas doubted Yeshua…He let him touch His pierced side…He let him feel the nail imprints in His hand…folks are going to doubt that you are in YAHWEH’s Army…but make no mistake…today I stand up and say…I AM A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD!!! and if you’re a child of the Living GOD…you should know what you’re up against…spiritual forces…but it can never be business as usual while there’s a war going on…this battle centers around the struggle for the personality of men and women in this period of earthly life…that’s why when we look out into the world we see men who want to be women...women who want to be men…and the crazy thing is that they are not afraid to be all out in the open…all kinds of sexual perversions and predators…we see children killing their parents and killing one another at a rapid rate…that’s why we need to be equipped…and once we’re equipped…the LORD will do the rest…

I remember while training in the military…we had to go to the range several times a week to qualify with our M16’s…and we had to eat…sleep…clean…walk…run…and shower with our weapon…we had to learn how to break them down…and then learn how to put them back together again…in a matter of minutes…and I was good enough that I received a metal for marksmanship…We had to be prepared for any and all things…foreign and domestic…because the enemy is a very wise opponent…but the GOD I serve…is even wiser!!!

He has never been defeated…He has never backed down or back out...and He is equipping us with each step we take…with each test we can still take our place in this spiritual war…because the idea is and always will be to fight the good fight of faith…Paul says in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 7…I have finished my course…I have kept the faith…I implore you brethren…take up the sword of the Spirit…and let the devil know…that you are not some fly night Believer…I don’t know about you…but I’m connected to the Living Word…because Yeshua Hamshiach (Messiah/Christ) is living in me…and I have a connection to Him because I had an encounter with the HOLY SPIRIT…

I am a soldier in the Army of the LORD…

Yeshua is my Commanding Officer…

The Bible is my code of Conduct…

Faith…Prayer…And the Word of GOD are my Weapons of Warfare…they are my front line of defense…I have been taught by the HOLY SPIRIT…trained by experience…tried by adversity…and tested by fire…

I am a volunteer…I am an enlisted personnel for eternity…I will either retire in this army…or die in this army…I will not get out…sell out…be talked out…or pushed out…

I am a soldier…I am faithful…reliable…capable…and dependable…If YAHWEH needs me…If He calls me…I’ll be there…because I’m a soldier…I’m not a baby…I don’t need to be pampered…petted…primped up…pumped up…burped…patted on the back…picked up or pepped up…because I’m a Soldier of the Cross…

Nobody has to call me…remind me…write me…visit me…entice me…or lure me…because I’m not a wimp…I'm not a punk...I’m a soldier…and I’m in my place standing at attention…saluting my KING…awaiting my orders…praising HIS NAME…defending HIS KINGDOM…

I am a soldier…and no one has to send me flowers…gifts…food…cards…candy…or milk and cookies…nobody has to give me any handouts…I don’t need to be cuddled…cradled…cared for…or catered to…I am a soldier…and I am committed to the word of the Kingdom of YAHWEH…I may even have to lay down my life…I may have to leave family and friends…but I’m a soldier…My feelings can’t be hurt enough to make me turn around…I can’t be discouraged enough to turn aside…I can’t lose enough to cause me to quit…because when Yeshua called me into His Army…when He called me by name…I had nothing…and if I end up with nothing…I will break even…and I shall win…because for YAHWEH I live and for YAHWEH I die…and YAHWEH will supply each and every one of my needs…according to His Riches…I’m more than a conqueror…and I will always triumph because I can do all things through Yeshua Hamshiach (Messiah/Christ)…

The devil and his slugs can’t defeat me…

Folks can’t dishearten me…

Weather can’t tire me out…

Battles can’t beat me…

Money can’t buy me…

Death can’t destroy me…

And hell can’t handle me…

Because I’m a soldier…I’m a soldier in the Army of the LORD…and I’m marching on come hell or high water…because I want to see Yeshua for myself one day…

I’m a soldier…and I’m marching thru the valley of the shadow of death…but YAHWEH told me in His Word that He was always with me…

I’m a soldier…no sickness or pain is strong enough for me to forsake Him…there’s no test or trial big enough to stop me…my vision is clear…and my focus is on Yeshua…because I know that when my Commander In Chief calls me home…I will be promoted to Captain to rule this world with Him…and I will go to a place not made by human hands…

I’m a soldier in the Army of the LORD…I will not give up…give in…or turn around…because I’m a soldier in YAHWEH’s Army…and I take my orders from no one other than my Commander In Chief…Yeshua Hamshiach (Messiah/Christ)…who is the Creator of the Universe…the One who separated day from night…the One who took nothing and formed the whole world…the One who made me in His image…

I’m a soldier in the Army of the LORD…ARE YOU???!!

REMEMBER: "THE KINGDOM OF YAHWEH SUFFERS VIOLENCE & THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE!!"

"IF YOU'RE NOT WINNING SOULS FOR YESHUA...YOU DON'T WORK FOR YAHWEH...YOU'RE SELF-EMPLOYED!!"