Introduction:      The redeemed are in the Army of the Lord! What does that mean? And how can we be good soldiers? Good Soldiers:

I.          ARE EXPECTED TO FIGHT (1 Tim 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.”

(I Corinthians 9:26) SO FIGHT I (II Timothy 4:7) "I have FOUGHT a good FIGHT..."

Billy Sunday, Sam Jones, and Sam Morris FOUGHT the liquor business; Martin Luther and the reformers FOUGHT the Roman Catholic (whore) Church; Dr. J. Frank Norris FOUGHT denominationalism; and Lester Roloff FOUGHT the state and federal governments over control of his homes. We are commanded to FIGHT against of the enemies of God. (, and).

·         The world - (Rom 12:1-2) "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. {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."

·         The flesh - (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."

·         The devil - (1 Pet 5:8)  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

II.         ARE EXPERTS IN THE USE OF THEIR WEAPONS (II Corinthians 10:4) "For the WEAPONS of our WARFARE are not carnal." (Ephesians 6:17-18) “...and the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God... Praying always...

In order to have skill in the proper use of the SWORD which is the word of God, a soldier must have thorough knowledge of the weapon. He must know how to rightly divide the word of truth" and not "handle the word of God deceitfully" or improperly. He must keep the right doctrines in their proper dispensations. The Doctrinal Foundations for this age are the 12 epistles of PAUL (Romans to Philemon). Improper use of the SWORD can occur in two ways: (1) not having he proper SWORD to begin with which means having nothing but the 1611 KING JAMES AUTHORIZED BIBLE: and (2) having the 'right sword' but misusing it by trying to force DOCTRINES meant for one age (Old Testament, the tribulation, the millennial kingdom) into another age where they do not belong. This is wrong and does as much damage to God's 'army' as using a false Bible version.

III.       ARE EQUIPPED FOR THE BATTLE (Ephesians 6:11 -18) "Put on the WHOLE AMOUR of God...”

Notice the word WHOLE. If a SOLDIER only has on pieces of his amour, he will be vulnerable to being wounded in the battle and become a casualty and unable to engage the enemy in combat. This amour is described in Ephesians 6.

A.                 "...LOINS girt about with TRUTH..."

This includes DOCTRINAL TRUTH (what we believe) and PRACTICAL TRUTH (how we live

B.                 "...having on the BREASTPLATE of righteousness...

The breastplate protects all of the vital internal organs (heart, lungs, etc.). Spiritually this means that we are to (Proverbs 4:23 ). "...keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." This means that the righteousness of Jesus Christ that becomes our STANDING before God at salvation (2 Cor 5:21 ) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.

C.         "...FEET shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace...”

The gospel which brings peace (Romans 5:1). The Gospel IS the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:1-4). We must be 'prepared' to go (FEET) and preach that gospel to every man anywhere,

D.     “…the SHIELD of faith..."

God never does WRONG at any time or for any reason in what He allows to happen in our lives. "We walk by faith..." and God must be FULLY and COMPLETELY TRUSTED 1OO% of the time (Romans 8:28 ).

E.         “…the HELMET of salvation..."

The helmet is to protect the BRAIN, the MIND, and the THOUGHTS of the Christian (1 Pet 1:13 ) “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 10:5) “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.”

F          "...the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God...”

Just like the armies of Israel used a “natural” SWORD to conquer God's Enemies in the Old Testament, we are to use a 'spiritual' SWORD (the word of God) to conquer God's enemies in this age.

G          “…PRAYING always with all PRAYER”

If most of us were honest, this is the weakest spot in our suit of spiritual amour -Did you notice that in this list of amour that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for covering the BACK of the Christian SOLDIER. We are not ever expected to turn and run from the enemy like cowards. The great Gen. George S. Patton said of the armies in WWII, "COWARDICE IS EPIDEMIC!" God forbid that this is said of us.

IV.       ARE TO EXPECT THE ENEMY.

Our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

V.        ARE 'TO ENDURE HARDNESS

The greatest commentary ever written on this is Hebrews 11 and FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS. Churches today are no longer a "boot camp" for training dedicated SOLDIERS but have become "entertainment centers" and "nurseries" for caring for "fleshy, carnal, effeminate, Laodiacean BABIES!" Where are the real SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS like J. Hudson Taylor (China); William Carey (India); Adoniram Judson (Burma); David Livingston (Africa); John Paton (missionary to the cannibals of the south Pacific); and David Brainerd (American Indians); John Wesley; Peter Cartwright; Sam Jones; and literally thousands of preachers and missionaries who took the 1611 AUTHORIZED KING JAMES BIBLE to every nation on this earth from 1611-1911?

Conclusion:       Our commanding officer is the:

·         Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10 )

·         A Man Of War (Exodus 15:3)

·         The leader of His Armies (Revelation 19:11 -15)

·         He is the King Of Kings and Lord Of Lords (Rev. 19:16).

"Son Of God. God Manifest In The Flesh! Our "Duty" is to "fight the good fight of faith" in his name and his power by obeying his orders so that I may please him who hath called me to be a solider of the cross!