I Am A Soldier in the Army of the LORD

Allied soldiers storming the beach at Normandy on D-Day, WWII
I am a SOLDIER in the ARMY of the LORD.

Jesus said, "Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves," Luke 10:3. Lambs among wolves? That speaks of the most hostile environment - an environment of blood-thirsty enemies.

"He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me," Luke 10:16. DESPISED. He warned us that we would face those who would despise us, and reminded us that the REASON they will despise US, is that they despise GOD! God's enemies will become our enemies.


Make no mistake about it. This is war. This is Heaven against Hell. This is all that is GOOD against all that is EVIL. This is no game, no party, no recreation room. This is war.

Herod tried to destroy Jesus Christ as soon as He was born (Matthew 2:13). He killed an entire town-full of innocent babies. That is how diabolical and heartless this war is. DON'T THINK that Satan is LESS diabolical or heartless today. He is not.

In the days of His ministry on earth, Jesus repeatedly faced attempts to destroy Him.

"The Pharisees went fort, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might DESTROY him," Mark 3:6.

 "The Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might DESTROY him," Matthew 12:14.

"He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to DESTROY him," Luke 19:47.

"The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and DESTROY Jesus," Matthew 27:20.

Jesus knew what He was up against. He said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to DESTROY: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," John 10:10.

He forewarned us, "Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved," Matthew 10:22.

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake," Matthew 24:9.

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you," John 15:18-19.

John knew why Jesus came to earth in the first place, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL," 1 John 3:8.

Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost, but He also came to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the Destroyer
His Soldiers are SENT to destroy the works of the Destroyer

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you," Luke 10:19

"These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they CAST OUT DEVILS; they shall speak with new tongues," Mark 16:17.

If you are a true Christian, you WILL face adversaries. Hell has a target on you. You will be attacked. When you took God's side, you inherited all His enemies. But that's all right, because it is the nature of the Spirit-led life. This IS spiritual warfare. Don't ever forget it.

Winston Churchill once said, "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

Every saint of God who ever lived has faced great tribulation in his day. Expect it. Deal with it.

Hell sets traps for God's people. If you live long enough, you will be caught in one. But God delivers His people, even from the jaws of death. Remember Calvary.

"If it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God," Acts 5:39.

"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect," Hebrews 11:32-40.

Here is the end of the matter: Jesus is coming. He will both destroy all His adversaries in that day, AND reward all those who have fought in His Army.

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth," Revelation 11:18.

THEREFORE, Saint of God...

"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," 1 Timothy 6:12.

"Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus 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," 2 Timothy 2:3-4.

I'm a soldier in the Army,
And I'm marching, claiming victory.

I will not give up. I will not turn around.

I'm a soldier, marching Heaven bound.

Go. Fight. Win. In Jesus' name.

 

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The Way Church Used To Be

I remember when people came to Church, not expecting a high-powered concert, but a hard-core sermon from the Word of God. The service was dominated by a full hour of strong, fearless Bible preaching. Worldly, carnal people were convicted of their sinful ways and went to an altar to make tearful consecrations to quit their sins and do the will of God.

Christians didn't smoke, drink, dance, cuss, dip, carouse, go to ball games or theaters. They did not wear revealing clothes. They carried Bibles, read them, marked them and made notes in them. They prayed, went to prayer meetings, Bible studies, and Church fellowships. They visited the sick, the shut-ins, the jails, and the nursing homes.

Nowadays, tears and repentance are non-existent in most Churches. In their place is Harlem-dancing and rock-star worship. They scream and chant wildly about their sports teams, they rave about the latest block-buster movies, they know every hit song by every wicked entertainer on the scene. They wear as few clothes as the law will allow, they drink alcoholic beverages, use four-letter profanities with impunity, and commit sexual sins that would have given former generations a heart attack. And they still call themselves Christians.

"Ichabod" - meaning "the glory of the Lord is departed," is written over the door. Sin is welcomed and never condemned. The promises of God are offered recklessly without covenant like free ice cream and candy. The grace of God is trampled under foot. The longsuffering of God has been pushed to the breaking point, and judgment is right around the corner.

Unless Christianity quickly falls on its face in brutal confession of its sins, and in most humble repentance and turning from its wicked ways, the wrath of God will soon be poured out with nothing withheld.

God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," James 4:8-10.


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Sports Versus Christianity

In his book, "Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports," Shirl James Hoffman points to the confusion between the Christian values of "servanthood, generosity, and self-subordination," and the sports culture of "competition, partisanship, and Darwinian struggle."

"Christianity Today" (magazine) admitted that there is a conflict between Church and sports in a recent headline: "Fanatics: How Christians have succumbed to the culture of sports."

Succumbed? The dictionary says that “succumb” means "give way to; yield to; DIE." Are Christians succumbing to sports? I say they are. Is sports KILLING Churches? I say it is.

There is gross contradiction between Christianity and sports. Not just one, but many contradictions.

Can we genuinely worship Jesus Christ AND these modern gladiators at the same time? Is it genuinely possible to idolize sports figures without betraying Jesus Christ?

Is our Sunday worship genuinely authentic when our Saturdays are spent in the company of 100,000 people who paid hundreds of dollars apiece to observe the most intense competition between two-dozen mostly amoral brutes whose objective is to pummel, assault, and injure one another in exchange for screaming idolatry and a chance at fabulous wealth, celebrity status, and the lifestyles of the rich and famous?

In an industry renowned for the moral terpitude (baseness, vileness, depravity) of its players, there is no defense for a Christian’s enthusiasm.

Every game is a sexually-charged, scantily-dressed, booze-promoting, profanity-laced event. Half-time events during the major games have become notorious for R-rated entertainment.

The sports figures themselves are infamous for sexually promiscuous, partying lifestyles, including homosexual and pedophilia scandals. The entire sports industry is equally notorious for corruption, payolla, drug and substance abuse, and other criminal activities.

A typical Super Bowl is one of the most debauched events on earth. During SuperBowl XLV in Dallas (2011), there were 133 arrests for prostitution. Some reports claim that as many as 10,000 prostitutes descended on Miami, Florida for SuperBowl XLIV in 2010. Nightclubs and strip clubs make fortunes during major sporting events. Sports gambling generates multi-billions of dollars underground. Liquor consumption is immeasurable. And only God knows how many illicit drugs are on the premises.

I recently visited the website of one of the fastest-growing "Churches" in America. It included a virtual tour of their campus, which included about a dozen major buildings on several acres. Not one building was even called a Church. Every single building on the campus was built for sports applications, including the main auditorium. They had gymnasiums, stadiums, recreation centers, and even the main event center was designed to be a multi-purpose sports arena.

If Christianity was suddenly STRIPPED of ALL SPORTS ELEMENTS, some Churches would absolutely disappear from off the planet.

And why are Christians so proud to declare their team affiliations, yet so embarrassed to even put the word "Church" on their buildings?

I am absolutely incensed by the arrogant hijacking of Biblical Christianity by the idolatrous, Olympiad, gladiator, and pornea spirits that come from the entire field of sports.

I very seriously doubt that Aaron and the children of Israel were ever a FRACTION as rowdy and rambunctious about the GOLDEN CALF as professing Christians are about their football stars. Yet God slaughtered about three-thousand men for their idolatry that day, and sent plagues to all of Israel.

The screaming, yelling, chanting, and unequivocal worship of sports figures is utterly abominable in the eyes of God. I have no doubt. He has slaughtered multitudes in ancient times over less.

In the days of Eli the High Priest, Philistines stole the holy Ark of the Covenant from Israel. They carried it to Gaza and set it up in the Temple of Dagon. In the morning, the idol of Dagon had toppled to the floor. They set it back in place, but the next morning, the idol of Dagon had fallen again, and this time, it broke into pieces.

WHAT IF they had brought DAGON INTO THE HOLIEST OF HOLIES as we have brought SPORTS into the House of God??

Almighty God will NOT compete with our idols.

He DEMANDS that we worship NO OTHERS but Him. That is the FIRST COMMANDMENT.

You can argue until you are blue in the face, but sports fanaticism is worship. Say it isn’t so, but it is so.

If you can call the pathetic singing of a hymn on Sunday WORSHIP, then sports fanaticism is EXTREME WORSHIP. Sports figures simply do NOT deserve the praise they are given, and God will not forever remain silent on the matter.

You will never convince me that the Apostles could ever have built the Early Church if their minds had been as preoccupied with football, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, racquetball, wrestling, boxing, martial arts, and other "athletic" pursuits as modern Christians and MINISTERS are prepossessed to be.

Neither will modern "Christians" EVER build a Church on the order of the Early Church as long as their minds are as contaminated and distracted with sports.

Religion Reporter David Gibson asked the question in an article in the Huffington Post: Is it "Time For Separation Of Church And Sports?"

I say, "Yes!"

The Church must have a cleansing. Christian thinking, behavior and lifestyles must undergo a radical deprogramming of the sports mindset. If Christians don't get a radical steam-cleaning of their brains, the Church can NEVER become what God called it to be.

Sportsmanship is not one of the Christian virtues. Competition is quite contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us to take the lower seat, turn the other cheek, defer to others, serve, honor and reverence one another. Sports enforce the exact opposite values. One-upmanship is very opposite of submission.

Jesus sternly rebuked His disciples because they were striving among themselves about who would "be accounted the greatest." "THE GREATEST?" That is the entire objective of sports! Who will be the greatest?

Jesus told them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth." Luke 22:24-27.

We fawn and slobber over sports celebrities as if they were gods. We invite their coaches and stars into our Church pulpits, although their very occupations flagrantly contradict scores of Biblical teachings.

So what will it be? Are you going to be a Christian? Or are you going to be a sports fanatic? You really, really cannot be both.

Stop kidding yourself.

Sports really has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. It is an illegal alien in the Church. It should be deported immediately.

How many young people might have heard and obeyed the call of God into the ministry - to the saving of multitudes of souls - but were taken away by SPORTS? Even ONE is TOO MANY!

"Bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation," 1 Timothy 4:8-9.

The eternal benefit of sports is nil.

The benefit of godliness is eternal company with God.

Many years ago, there was a preacher who billed himself as "The Chaplain of Bourbon Street." He preached in the bars and strip clubs of New Orleans. For a while, he was a sensation. But after a while, he committed adultery with one of the bar dancers. He should not have been there in the first place.

There are some places where Christians simply do not belong. A bar is one. A strip club is another. A major sporting event is another.

I was 12 years old when God called me to serve Him. I have preached the Gospel for over 45 years, and have read the Bible literally scores of times. I have never seen ANYTHING in the Bible that gives me ANY REASON, ANY MANDATE or ANY LICENSE to incorporate sports into the ministry of the Church.

On the contrary, I could preach for 1000 hours on the Biblical reasons why a Christian should separate himself from the world, the flesh and the devil.

But I will spare you the 1000 hours. I merely send this article into the universe and hope that someone will finally realize that sports is an enemy invading the Church like the Trojan horse that invaded and destroyed Troy.

ADDENDUM (1/2/15):

I hate organized sports. It is utterly destroying true Christianity. It is a distraction, a diversion and a total enemy of the Holy Ghost. It is impossible to be obsessed with sports and to be truly spiritually minded at the same time. There is no crucified flesh and no Holy Ghost anointing at a major sporting event.

FACEBOOK posts clearly document the sports obsessions of many "typical Christians." That does not make me want to back off my position. I am not attacking anyone personally, but I utterly refuse to back off my position that organized sports - professional and non-professional - are absolute enemies of the Kingdom of God. The position I take is not new and not a departure from the historical position of virtually every fundamental Christian denomination. Only fifty years ago, virtually every fundamental Christian denomination condemned organized sports. Every minister of the Gospel in those days agreed, by virtue of his credentials, that organized sports was harmful - a hindrance to the Christian lifestyle. 

I am totally unsympathetic to anyone's defense of sports. Sports obsessions are the NORM, not the exception nowadays. Even young children can quote hundreds of sports statistics, and do not know who Ananias and Sapphira are. I am not speaking necessarily of purely recreational sports. I do not oppose an occasional game among friends or family. I do not oppose a day at the park for a Church family to enjoy one another's fellowship, but that is NOT even the same animal as professional, college or high school sports. 

What I have said, I have said, and I will not back down. Christians need to DUMP ORGANIZED SPORTS and get serious about living for God. There will NOT be any of those things in Heaven, to be sure.

Not a few Apostolic Pentecostal preachers (and believers) were told when they first converted that they must give up sports. They did. If they had not, they would not be with us today. One of them is one of the best known and most influential preachers in Pentecost. I have personally witnessed far too many drawn away from Pentecost by sports, and have seen NONE brought INTO Pentecost by sports.

Sports consumes their time, their attention and engages them inextricably with non Christians. It is just as dangerous to be sucked into a pseudo-Christian delusion that you are actually playing ball with Christians when they truly are not biblical Christians. There are countless reasons why we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Sports is a lifestyle, and that lifestyle competes with and countermands the GODLY lifestyle.

Sports is an all-consuming "pastime". It is no pastime. It is an occupation for most people. They eat, drink and breathe sports. Their hearts belong to sports. Their minds belong to sports. God occupies a TOKEN part of their lives, so they call themselves Christians, but in fact their religion is SPORTS, and their coaches, players and teams are their many GODS. It is evil and sinister and one of Hell's most potent delusions in the modern world. 

Christianity entertains a delusion that it is spiritualizing the sports culture. The opposite is true. Sports is secularizing Christianity. The Church is not changing the world. The world is changing the church. And that, my friend, is APOSTASY - the abandonment and renunciation of the true faith.

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Beware The Swift River Current

Years ago, I had a very disturbing dream. 
 

In the dream, I was standing along a great river that was at flood stage. It was a perilous river, and I was standing in a small jut in the embankment. The waters where I stood were only a few inches deep and there was only a slight swirl in the waters. But if I had only stepped forward a few steps, I would have quickly been swept away into the fierce, deep, treacherous current and drowned. 

There is no way I could have resisted the destructive force of the swift river current.

More important than the sight of the river was the sense that I was being warned by God against getting caught in the currents of popular religious trends. I had no doubts whatever that the dangerous river represented the popular but unbiblical and undoctrinal practices that were sweeping away Christians by multitudes. I knew that if I got caught in the current of popular religious trends, I would not survive. I would lose my bearings and be lost forever.

I know of only one way to interpret the dream.

STAY OUT OF THE RIVER OF POPULAR RELIGIOUS TRENDS.

They are deadly. They are overcharged with carnality, worldliness and Satan's most sophisticated spiritual deceptions. Once you get caught in the heavy current of popular trends, it will be as if you have no control over yourself. Do not risk your eternal soul by being swept away by unscriptural, unholy teachings of men and women who do not even know the great Truths of the Bible.

The story of my life is one of spiritual warfare - trying to survive and rise above the countless errors of religion. If you are indiscriminate about your religion - if you do not put your religion to the rigorous test of true Bible doctrine - then it is almost 100% certain that you will be lost.

You cannot afford to measure your Church by its popularity, by the popularity of the Preacher, by the size of the crowd, by the amount of money that is coming into it, NOT EVEN by the signs, wonders and miracles that may be performed. (The Bible is exceedingly clear that there will be FALSE workers in the last days who are able to imitate and emulate all the signs, wonders and miracles of true believers).

 
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses [also turning their rods into snakes], so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith,” 2 Timothy 3:8.

So, miracles do not prove that a Church is on the right track. Beware, and be prepared to abandon ship.

ONLY the Bible and true Bible doctrine can legitimize a Church, a Preacher or a Saint.

If your doctrine is wrong, you had better get it right. And fast. Time is running out. We are fast approaching the end of the age.

I am watching entire movements fall into the abyss of false doctrines and heresies. I am watching Pentecostal people turn away from Pentecostalism and embrace non-Pentecostal beliefs. That is the ultimate slam against the Book of the Acts of the Apostles - and a grand slap in God's face.

I see multitudes walking away from holiness and separation from the world in cold-blooded denial of Paul's admonition that without holiness, "NO MAN shall see the Lord," (Hebrews 12:13).

I even see, for the first time in the history of the world, Christians embracing and approving of homosexuality - which for thousands of years has been known as an abomination in the eyes of God.

Too many religious leaders have created a FALSE DEFENSE of doing what they do in the name of evangelism and winning the lost. They have deceived themselves into thinking that God cares more about larger numbers than in obeying His commandments and doing His will. They use a phony, pretentious assault on "legalism" to sear their consciences of any convictions against worldliness and carnality.

There is a ghastly error there.

When the Church ceases to stand firm for TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HOLINESS, it has completely lost its mandate from God.

You cannot save the lost with false doctrine, lies, carnality and worldliness.

You cannot make a Church better by adding football, dramas, concerts, high-tech websites or any such peripherals. For all practical purposes, you make it worse, because you begin to rely on carnal activities and manifestations rather than spiritual.

If we can't produce a revival with the preaching of Truth, then we will just have to forgo the revival, because a LIE cannot and will not ever produce a real revival.

Carnally-minded leaders cannot lead men to a godly spiritual destination.

Disobedient men cannot be trusted to teach obedience.

Men who are in error cannot be trusted to be vendors of Truth.

God sends His ministers to preach TRUTH. But He also sends seducers and deceivers to stumble every man and woman who does not love Truth, but has pleasure in unrighteousness.

"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness," 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12.

Any time you discover that the minister is not adhering to sound Bible doctrines, it is time to abandon that minister and that Church - regardless of how many ties you may have or how long you have been associated with it. (That of course requires that you KNOW what the Bible says. If you do not know what the Bible says, it is nearly impossible that you will not be taken in by every whim of false doctrine and deception.)

Paul taught Timothy that many are caught in "the snare of the devil," and are "taken captive by him AT HIS WILL," 2 Timothy 2:26. If you are not well-versed in the true Word of God, you are Satan's easy prey. Deliver yourself from his snare before you fall into it.

It is better to live for God FRIENDLESS than to maintain a friendship with someone who will certainly lead you to hell. In my sixty years, I have had to walk away from many friends and associates on several occasions because of my concern for my eternal soul. AND... I will do it again and again, if and when it ever becomes necessary.

I owe no allegiance to anybody who will lead me to Hell.

ONLY the Bible is infallible. We read too many non-Biblical books and listen to too many neo-Christian and pseudo-Christian voices. If we spent as much time reading the Bible, praying, and living a holy life as we spend reading other points of view, and listening to non-Biblical voices, we would soon discover just how deceived we have been.

Do NOT take your cues from "contemporary" leaders with fancy methods and messages.

Popular movements are not holy. Holy movements are not popular.

There is no reason for a man of God to take his cues from pseudo-Christian or neo-Christian voices. There is more than enough Gospel to preach – STRAIGHT FROM THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE!

The best place for a man of God to get his message and his ministry is on his knees with his Bible open.

A man of God must know the Word of God, and PREACH the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

Stand on solid ground.

Stay out of the swift river current!



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