Today I'd like to focus on some spiritual warfare advice which Paul gives:
2 Timothy 2:3-4 - "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Yahshua Christ. 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."
The Word of God compares the Christian life to many things.
Christians are to be fishermen of men; witnessing and winning souls in
the waters of the world in which they live. (Matt. 4:19, Acts 1:8)
Christians
are also called to be dutiful and diligent farmers; breaking up the
fallow grounds of the hearts of men, sowing the precious eternal seed of
the Word of God, weeding and cultivating the field of the world and
ultimately reaping and gathering in a golden harvest of souls for His
eternal Kingdom. (John 4:35, Matt. 9:37-38, Psalm 126:5-6)
Christians
are commanded to be builders, even master builders: skillfully laying
the foundation of Christ and then wisely structuring and building their
entire life into an enduring edifice that will glorify their God
eternally. (Matt. 7:24-27, I Cor. 3:9-15) Christians are enjoined
to be spiritual capitalists; as good stewards of the grace of God,
carefully managing and multiplying the talents God has placed into their
care. (Matt. 25:14-30)
Christians are urged to be good athletes;
running the race of the Christian life according to His rule book,
enthusiastically and energetically and finally faithfully finishing the
course He has set before them. (I Cor. 9:27, Heb. 12:1-3, II Cor. 5:10)
But
one of the most challenging metaphors of the Christian life is
presented in this simple passage. Here, as in his letter to the
Ephesians, Paul compares Christian life to a soldier called to wage
spiritual warfare. (Eph. 6:10-18)
Many of the militant calls in the
Bible to spiritual battle are based upon this easily understood analogy.
Grand old hymns of the faith have been penned about the challenges and
responsibilities of Christian soldiers.
Make no mistake about it,
the battle of the ages is joined with Satan and his cohorts of evil. The
war has been raging ever since his initial rebellion in the heavens. As
the centuries pass, it only grows in its scope and intensity. (quoted from Sermon Central)
So don't expect things to be easy, if you've made a stand for Christ. But, when things get hard, soldier on. Endure the hardship. And, as it says in 2 Timothy, do not return to the old worldly things which used to entangle you. Those things weigh down the soul. Be faithful. Fight on - in His Name, Power, and Blood.
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