The Missional Focus of a Christian Soldier!

 2 Timothy 2:1-4 (NAS95)

Allow me to give you a real-life example of this sermon from my life over the last two weeks. Since Christmas, our congregation has experienced six deaths in either our membership or a very close family member to one of our members. I have prayed for and had direct ministry contact with each of these families and have conducted three of the five services with the sixth not yet scheduled. Our congregation has been amazing, providing meals, expressions of sympathy, words of compassion, emotional support, and practical care. I am proud of you, and I am praying for you as I know how heavy this time is on all of us, including me. All of that while remaining mission-focused on my everyday responsibilities, congregational care of a variety of other needs including surgeries and practical helps, as well as conducting our public services.

In this difficult time, I had to make a decision that would shape the next season of my relationship to our community. I was invited to help New Castle High School with the girls and boys track and field teams as the new throws coach. It seems that after the long-time throws coach retired, someone from our congregation shared my athletic story and an invitation was sent to me. Please understand that I get a variety of invitations, but this one was different. Through my time here, I have had to become very good at saying “no” to anything that distracts me from my top three priorities: 1) spiritual formation as a Jesus follower, 2) the proper care of my family, and 3) pastoral ministry to our church. I have been very selective of what I commit myself to in the name of the “mission of God” because I have learned it is too easy for me to park nearly anything in that category and get overrun by too many commitments. But this one was different because after initially stonewalling the request, as has become my standard response to anything that doesn’t align with those first three priorities, Kimberly and I discussed and prayed, and I experienced the directive of God to say “yes.” In fact, one night, I couldn’t sleep until after I sent the email saying I would do it. As soon as I did, I fell asleep. We discerned that this invitation is on mission to my calling to this community and in alignment with how God has shaped me for ministry. I am excited and I think I can make a difference.

It is my desire that you, too, will learn how to discern God’s will for your life and know to what you are to say “yes” and “no” so that you can maintain the missional focus of a Christian soldier that aligns with God’s priorities for your life and how He has uniquely shaped you for good works, remembering that you were enlisted for this reason (Ephesians 2:10). Do you know God’s priorities for your life? Do you know how God has uniquely shaped you for ministry? I believe that you can know the answers to these questions and train to live on mission today.

The Scripture lesson for today and the theme verses for the 2022 sermon series are found in 2 Timothy 2:1-4:

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Last week, I covered the first verse of this passage in a message called, “Grow Strong in the Grace of God!” That message was the first of four messages that lay a firm foundation for our study of the book of Proverbs. We are going to train ourselves, according to God’s wisdom, how to grow strong in God’s grace so that we can live on mission for God.

Today, we are going to learn the missional focus of a Christian soldier. The purpose of the biblical imagery of being a soldier has less to do with our modern understanding of warfare and violence and everything to do with being under authority. Like a good soldier, you are to submit to authority to accomplish the mission of God, as given to you by the Commander, to further the work of the Kingdom for the glory of God. A great way to help you see how the soldier imagery connects to the ministry of Jesus, and a great biblical example of today’s message is Jesus’ praise of the Roman centurion in Matthew 8:5-13:

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

In praising the centurion, Jesus was not praising Rome nor affirming the military occupation of Israel. Jesus was not rubber-stamping might makes right, political coercion, nor the subjugation of a people. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was praising the centurion, a Roman military officer, for understanding authority and submission to authority, in a way that military people uniquely understand.

Jesus was responding to the centurion’s faith. Let us especially note how this Roman centurion called Jesus, kyrios, the Greek word for “Lord,” which was a term reserved for Caesar in recognition of his ultimate authority as divine, as practiced in the Emperor’s (Imperial) Cult – the religious practice of Rome to see their Caesar as a god within their pantheon of gods. In the same way, Paul is using the soldier imagery for the same reason – to teach us how to be under authority and focused on the mission of God for the glory of Jesus, the King of Kings.

In the same way that we cannot throw out Jesus’ praise of the centurion because we don’t like something about the Roman Empire, we can’t throw out Paul’s soldier imagery because we don’t like something about the military. The Bible uses these metaphors on purpose, and it is our job as Bible students and faithful followers of Jesus to understand them and not reject them because they may make us uncomfortable or are coopted for ungodly purposes. Now, let’s walk through 2 Timothy 2:2 and learn about the missional focus of a Christian soldier. We examined verse 1 last week and in the coming weeks we will examine verses 3-4.

“THE THINGS WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD FROM ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MANY WITNESSES,”

Just as Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” It is from this verse that we will learn the training routine of a Christian soldier so that we can grow strong in God’s grace and live with the missional focus of a Christian soldier. Just as every athlete and soldier has learned, to live like a champion or to live on mission, you must be willing to suffer hardship in your training routine, as well as in accomplishment of the mission. We will discuss this more next week, but it is obvious that a marathon runner must exert herself to run 26.2 miles, just as a shot putter must strain his body to throw far.

There can be no confusion from Paul’s words, Timothy learned directly from Paul on the mission field. He learned not only through words, but through actions. Timothy was more than an eyewitness; he was a participant in the mission. Timothy not only partook of Paul’s words and deeds, but also in Paul’s unwavering missional focus through demanding circumstances, which included suffering and persecution. Here are three passages that demonstrate how Paul and Timothy became yoked together on mission for God:

1) Acts 19:21-22. Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

2) 1 Corinthians 4:15-17. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

3) 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3. Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

The missional focus of a Christian soldier is caught, but it also must be taught! The training regimen requires you to study the Bible, but it also requires you to get yourself involved in hands-on missional work alongside of your fellow soldiers. We are in this together as the one body of Christ – an army of the One – under submission to His headship (Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Colossians 1:18).

“ENTRUST THESE TO FAITHFUL MEN”

First, please know that the Greek word translated “men” is anthropos, which means people, humanity, mankind. It is not a gender-specific term. God is actively enlisting men and women to be “good soldiers of Christ Jesus.” And the goal of all Christian soldiers is to hear the One who enlisted them say, “Well done, good and faithful [soldier]” (Matthew 25:23).

As a cadet at West Point and as an officer in the US Army, I remember how good it made me feel to receive a word of praise, be given a coveted coin, or have an award pinned on my uniform by superior officers. If an award from a person can make me feel that good, I can only imagine what it is going to be like to hear Jesus’ praise one day. That is my greatest ambition!

Furthermore, Jesus taught this in Matthew 6:1-4:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Listen to other places where Paul used this imagery of fighting the good fight:

1) 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

2) 1 Timothy 6:12-16. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

3) 2 Timothy 4:5-8. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

To entrust to others what you were first given and to train them to be faithful as you are being faithful, then you must always Charlie Mike! Charlie Mike is the military’s phonetic alphabet for C and M, and it means, “Continue Mission”! When a soldier says Charlie Mike, she is saying to her fellow soldiers, “Never give in![1] Never quit! Push through the adversity no matter the difficulties until we have completed the mission!” For twelve years, I have said it to you this way, “Don’t bail before the blessing!” and “Never stop starting!”

As Paul exhorts in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:58; Hebrews 12:3; James 5:7-8). Church, my brethren, until Jesus returns, Charlie Mike!

“WHO WILL BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO.”

This final clause is essential and can’t be overlooked. Paul expressed that the mission of God is to be passed on to those who will be able to teach others also. There must be a multiplication of laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38). Does that mean that only classroom teachers, preachers up front, or famous influencers on social media are the ones called to carry on the mission of God? Absolutely not! You are called by God, and it is His grace which qualifies the called. It is the Spirit at work in you. Listen to Paul teach the church this in 2 Corinthians 3:2-6:

You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Jesus Christ calls every believer to live on mission for Him in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission:  

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Once again, the emphasis is on teaching (passing on to) others about what you first received yourself! Just like with Paul and Timothy, this is a call to a discipleship relationship between a teacher and a student, a master and an apprentice, a sergeant and a private. It is about putting your life in submission to the One who enlisted you for the completion of His mission and learning from your fellow soldiers how to live this life while sharing in the mission of God together.

Living on mission involves teaching others – entering relationship with other believers to learn and to teach, to share life while living on mission. To yoke together! We each have our own spiritual “family tree.” As Paul considered Timothy his true son in the faith, we can likely draw a tree with our spiritual ancestors and our spiritual descendants. This is why mentorship relationships are important. It’s necessary to have those who are more mature in the faith leading and teaching those who are younger in the faith, entrusting them with the wisdom gained through experience of life on mission. This is what it looks like to entrust your life of faith into another who will also live his or her life on mission, with you and then beyond you to another. This has been one of the richest parts of my spiritual journey and I’m thankful for each of my Timothies.

That was not Paul’s novel idea, but rather the example of Jesus Christ who invites us to do the same with Him in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

You can listen to Pastor Jerry’s message here:

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