“Do Righteousness and Justice!”

Proverbs 21:3 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Do Righteousness and Justice!” This is an essential battle drill because, just as we learned the importance of preventing friendly fire incidents, which demoralize an army and reduce its effectiveness, so, today, we learn that we must avoid war crimes, which tarnish the reputation of the Commander and the nation he represents, as well as jeopardizes the moral high ground and legality of the mission. War crimes happen in every war, and when war criminals are brought to justice, they are tried by military tribunals and civilian courts, alike, to measure their actions according to the laws of land warfare, such as the Geneva Convention, and the specific rules of engagement as established by their Commander.

In the same way, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, when we do things outside the authority God has given us as His agents, actions which are not representative of our Commander nor the kingdom He represents, and are outside of His purposes for His army and His will for His people, we tarnish the reputation of Jesus and His kingdom, as well as jeopardize the moral high ground and legality of God’s rescue mission, as Jesus’ commissioned us in Matthew 28:18-20:

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.”

War crimes must be avoided if we are to fulfill our mission! Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Do Righteousness and Justice,” by seeing what the Field Manual has to say about it.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

The word selection of “justice and righteousness,” used by Solomon in Proverbs 21:3 is found throughout the Old Testament and it “represents the ideal standards for legal and ethical behavior and an ideal for kingship modeled on the righteousness of Yahweh.”^[1] These words are yoked together as a word pair to signify a larger concept of God’s kingdom and, as such, they cannot be separated in the eyes of God, nor should be in our own. We cannot shirk justice under the guise of “being righteous” and we cannot place justice on a pedestal above righteousness. The two are integral concepts to being loyal citizens of God’s kingdom.

We find this word combination in 1 Chronicles 18:14, to describe David’s kingdom, “So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people.” Very interestingly, this idealistic description of David’s kingdom as one of “justice and righteousness” is used in Jeremiah 22:1-5 to establish a standard by which Israel would be judged:

Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ”

The word pair of “justice and righteousness” is God’s standard of conduct for His chosen people. When we carry this into the New Covenant, we realize that Jesus not only exemplified “justice and righteousness” in his own life and ministry, but He also fulfilled it on the Cross of Calvary so that we, through faith in Him, may live according to His example as citizens of His kingdom. Jesus commanded His early listeners to the equivalent of the Old Testament’s “justice and righteousness,” by teaching us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The kingdom of God that Jesus calls us to prioritize is His fulfillment of what Israel got only a glimpse of with David’s kingdom. As we just saw, David’s kingdom, though not perfectly, was modeled on the righteousness of Yahweh, and, in fulfillment of God’s promises, unified the twelve tribes of Israel and gave them rest from their enemies within the secure boundaries of the Promised Land – a partial and temporary fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Whereas David’s kingdom saw its fulfillment in Solomon’s Temple and his golden era of prosperity and influence, Jesus’ kingdom will not fall into decay and division, and will have its ultimate fulfillment in the eternal Kingdom of God, called the New Heaven and New Earth, with a New Jerusalem, as described in Revelation 21-22. Until that time, Jesus’ kingdom, in which we, His Church, the living temples of the Holy Spirit, are called to administrate His kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven as kings and priests, with justice and righteousness, in order to unify all nations under His banner of love, with the promise that one day Jesus will return to rule from His throne with a “rod of iron,” a symbol of God’s unerring government of justice and righteousness where there is no corruption, perversion, or favoritism (Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Until the completion of the promise to see all nations blessed, we are to continue the work of blessing all the families of the Earth through the blessings we have received in Jesus Christ as rightful heirs to the promise of Abram, as I read from Genesis 12:1-3 earlier, and for which Jesus succinctly stated in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

We are to train ourselves to take the blessing we have been given and bless others with it – we are to bring Christ’s rule of justice and righteousness to all people. This is our mission! Now we must deal with what causes us to become distracted from the mission. This brings us to the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Today’s battle drill exposes our heart issues of worry and anxiety – the worry that causes us to lose focus on the mission of God and the anxiety that entangles us in the affairs of everyday life. As one pastor explained, “Our actions flow from what we actually BELIEVE to be true – not from what we SAY we believe. We worry because we really don’t believe that God owns everything, that he provides our resources and protection. Worry is a statement of belief that God will not fulfill his promises, and is not a good father.”[2]

This is a common example from our daily human experience – many of us struggle with financial security, finding ourselves worried about whether we or our loved ones will have our daily bread, enough money for retirement, or enough (and the right kind of) insurance to pay for our increasing medical care, or whatever it is we are fretting about at that moment. In that place of worry, we have a decision to make in our daily walk with Jesus Christ – to trust God and walk faithfully in His ways, or to trust in ourselves and do it our way or the world’s way.

To do justice and righteousness as a battle drill, we must trust the Commander and seek His will, His way, even in the places and times of our insecurity and fears, which cause us anxiety and worry. Simply trusting in Him is a huge step toward quelling the fears that try to overtake us. Faith moves mountain of unbelief within our own mind and hearts. Faith calms the storms that are raging inside of us. Paul promised God would do this for us in Philippians 4:6-9:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Right actions flow from right emotions which flow from right thinking. Right thinking comes from meditating on God’s Word, which is the spiritual principle behind the promise of prosperity found in Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

We must actively separate our thinking from the thinking of the world. It is the thinking of the world that often feeds into our anxieties and fears. But God’s way is different, and better, from the world’s way.[3] We are admonished to do just that in the promise of transformation found in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you want do righteousness and justice, then you must submit to God’s ways.

Let’s take this into our everyday lives. Jesus explained how we are to have victory over our worry and anxiety so that we can prioritize justice and righteousness in Matthew 6:25-34:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus diagnosed us accurately and told us the truth of why we struggle to do justice and righteousness – we allow our worry and anxiety to control our lives, instead of living by God’s grace and walking in the Spirit. We are reacting to people and situations from fear and not faith, worry and not grace. We are not trusting God to calm the storms. Jesus is inviting you to a great faith. This leads us to the final action step of training as a good soldier to live on mission today.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

The conclusion of this passage, verse 25, has military image in the original language. The picture given by Paul is that when we live by the Spirit then we are walking in rank and file as His good soldiers, submitted to His commands.[4] The Commander is calling you to train yourself to live by faith and walk in the Spirit, and in doing so, you will not commit war crimes – you will do justice and righteousness – you will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

You can listen to the message here:

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Je 22:3.

[2] Shared with me in an email from Curt Ferrell on September 22, 2022.

[3] Comments to me in an email from Emily Hurst on September 23, 2022.

[4] Emily Hurst commented on this passage in an email to me on September 23, 2022, “The original Greek shows us something interesting about verse 25. The word live here comes from the Greek verb ‘zaó,’ which means both the physical vitality of being alive as well as the process of living life. The phrase ‘let us walk by’ comes from the Greek “stoicheó” WHICH IS THE MILITARY WORD FOR WALKING IN RANK, AS SOLDIERS!!! So, a paraphrase of this verse, based on the Greek roots, might be: ‘Since the Spirit gives you life, stay in rank for the Spirit.’ Which is literally the whole point of the battle drills we are learning.”

[5] Curt Ferrell commented in this statement in an email to me on September 22, 2022, “Reminds me of John 1:12-13 – ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ This translation seems to imply that while we have the ‘right’ to become children of God, we might not claim that ‘right’ – and lose out on being called Children of God. But I recently saw a different perspective/translation – ‘he gave the AUTHORITY to become Children of God.’ If we are truly children of God, we must act within the authority that he has given us. We could simply ‘claim’ to be children of God, or be ‘identified’ as children of God – but we can only ACT as children of God if we have his authority and act according to the power inherent in that authority.”

Battle Drill #29:

Prioritize Peace!

Proverbs 20:3 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Prioritize Peace!”

Nothing will lose a battle quicker than friendly fire! It’s demoralizing to the army when soldiers are taken away from accomplishing the mission by either intentional or unintentional friendly fire. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of our mission success, the Church of Jesus Christ has had to learn this lesson repeatedly, throughout our two-millennia history, but we must continue to learn it afresh in every generation, and on a more frequent basis within our local assemblies. The strife and division caused by infighting, and the quarrelling that comes with it must be dealt with directly by their fellow members of the body, and when people won’t listen to their brothers and sisters, then by church leaders. Just like when the blood cells in a person’s body turn against other blood cells, a congregation that turns against itself will become unhealthy, and, if not treated, will die.

It is one thing to discuss, and even debate, ideas on what the Bible teaches about different topics, but to assassinate people’s character and attack them because they don’t agree with your perspective is completely another. You see, it is ok to disagree (at least it should be!) and it’s even okay to debate the weightier issues of life and godliness, but to quarrel is never acceptable for the children of God. We, as the people of God, just like we, as Americans, have lost the civility (and humility) to prioritize peace over our own opinions and perspectives.

There is hope – the hope that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who gives us peace with God, offers us His Holy Spirit who guards our minds and hearts with God’s peace, and invites us to live on mission as His peacemakers to all people. These are the precious and magnificent promises, and we covered all these promises of peace, in detail last year – vertical peace, internal peace, and horizontal/external peace – and this is the purpose for Christ coming and it is our mission! [To learn more about this, you can find them in my study on the Promises of God, Live Like a Champion Today: The 40 Promises in 40 Days Challenge!] Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Prioritize Peace,” by seeing what the Field Manual has to say about it.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We will yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” when we submit ourselves to the discipline of our Heavenly Father, and that includes whenever we find ourselves quarreling with  our brothers and sisters, in thought, word, or deed (Hebrews 12:11). No good parent finds joy in watching his kids fight, but, rather, good parents desire to see their children cultivating a lifelong friendship. Let’s be honest, children of God, we reap what we sow! If you want to be a peacemaker during your week, in the hard places of work and life, then you must prioritize peace in here, with your church family. We are off mission whenever we quarrel.

Paul gave the following instructions about prioritizing peace in their ministries to the church to both of his famous protégés:

Paul requires us to train ourselves according to the will of God, and the will of God is for us to become like His Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. This requires discipline. I have repeatedly told the elders of our church that they are not allowed to be quarrelsome, but to be listeners and to be people of prayer. That if they are to speak, they do not speak from political ideology or personal perspectives, but from the Word of God. This is a hard discipline to be under, and all church leaders fail at it because we are all human, but we must prioritize peace, especially the Gospel of Peace. That means we must deal with our own heart and mind issues that war against the Prince of Peace and His Cross. We can’t give the world what we first don’t carry ourselves. That takes us into the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”

Abraham avoided a quarrel by giving up the chance to seize the best portion for himself. After all, he is the one called by God, and Lot was a just a tag along. Why should he allow, nevertheless offer Lot the first choice of the land? And that question is the crux of the matter; there is our heart issue – it’s why Jesus Christ came as a servant (Philippians 2:3-11)! We are always looking out for #1 and trying to make our lives work out for us according to our own desires. Humanity, from the beginning, has proven to be a bunch of schemers, who are willing to rebel against God, and one another, to get ahead. We orchestrate events in our best interest, so that we can be the masters of our own destinies! Oh, don’t get me wrong, we give lip service to worshipping God and living for Him and His will (“take the wheel God”), but ultimately, every single person in this room has already proven that they would sell their birthright as a child of God to gain worldly happiness or comfort – it’s called sin, and according to Romans 3:23, every single one of us is guilty, deserving of judgment.

This is why Jesus Christ came – to rescue us from the grip of our selfish ambition and vain conceit, the sin that seeks our own desires (Philippians 2:3-4). Apart from Jesus Christ, we are not at peace with God; therefore, we cannot be at peace with ourselves, or with others. While we can orchestrate a cease fire, which only works as long as it benefits everyone according to their own desires (well, at least until someone feels like they get a better deal by breaking the cease fire). That’s the peace the world has to offer; it is a counterfeit of what God offers us through Jesus Christ. Jesus promised in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

As you already know, every promise of God comes with a praxis, and the praxis of peace comes with a hard discipline – the discipline of crucifixion, to carry one’s cross. In the same way Jesus had to be crucified to bring us peace with God, you must crucify your own rights to be a peacemaker. The gospel invites you to carry your cross; listen to how Jesus invited His followers to follow Him in Matthew 16:24-26:

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

So go ahead and justify your quarreling with your pompous self-righteousness and arrogant pride, but don’t be deceived, God will not be mocked even if you are swimming in da-Nile (denial), the Bible exposes the real issues that your quarreling exposes; it cuts to the heart, as diagnosed by Jesus’ half-brother, in James 4:1-4:

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [Open your Bible and read the rest of the chapter; it’s relevant!]

With the heart condition of today’s battle drill diagnosed, and your training regimen established through Paul’s exhortations to Timothy and Titus, let’s conclude by looking at the final action step.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

In my opinion, there is only one thing that I should ever do that is offensive to you and that is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to you without compromise, declaring that the wages of your personal sin is your death, the second death of eternal torment in Hell. There is a coming judgment, and the only solution is to humbly yourself, confess your sin, repent of it, and cry out to God for His peace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only way to receive God’s peace, because it was Jesus Christ who came to take away God’s quarrel with you and, in His place, gives you His righteousness. The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, saved you to be peacemaker who proclaims the Gospel of God’s love with grace. Therefore, there is no place or time for you to wage a war that has already been won on the Cross of Jesus Christ. You are to declare it in word and deed; therefore, you are to prioritize peace as your way of life – vertically with God, internally within your own mind and heart, and in your relationships as you extend the gospel peace of Jesus Christ to all people, regardless of their ideologies and perspectives (Philippians 2:14-15).

I dream of peace within the people of God. While it feels like a pipe dream in today’s world, nonetheless, I pray for it, and I prioritize working together with God’s people, His Church, to fulfill the angelic proclamation that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Peace is the good fruit of the Christmas miracle!

We are the branches upon which we are to bear that fruit! It is the Holy Spirit who brings peace to the nations through the coming of the Messiah. That is the promise of Isaiah 9:6-7:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

The Holy Spirit works through the people of God to accomplish this purpose for the coming of Jesus Christ. God is bringing the world under His peace, through the Church’s faithful proclamation of the Gospel of Peace, in preparation for the Messianic Kingdom. This is what He has saved you for, He bestowed love and grace upon you, to give you peace and reconciliation, to enlist you for His peace-making mission. As Paul stated in Romans 5:8-11:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Prioritize peace today. I pray Paul’s words from Colossians 3:15 over you, “[may] the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.

You can listen to this message here:

You can watch this message by clicking HERE.

Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline!

Proverbs 19:20-21 & 27 (NAS95) 

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline!” 

The military is an uncompromising environment for obedience; that is for one primary reason: the mission is dependent on every single soldier doing his or her job, regardless of the circumstances. Soldiers are expected to follow orders, to listen to the counsel of those who have been put in places of responsibility over them, and to accept discipline when they have not done the first two. The Church of Jesus Christ is set up the same way because, like the military, we are a missional people – the mission is dependent on us understanding clear lines of authority. In other words, just like the military exists by decree of national authority to execute the will of its Commander, so the Church exists by the grace of God to fulfill the will of God. The clearest illustration of this is Jesus’ praise of the centurion’s faith in Matthew 8:9-10: 

“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.”

Let me be clear, 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 – good soldiers reflexively, instinctively, and habitually follow orders! Paul understood this and called the church to have the great faith of the centurion – to teach us how to live under authority and focused on the mission of God for the glory of the King of Kings, Jesus, our Commander. Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline,” by seeing what the Field Manual has to say about it.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

From the beginning of the book of God’s Wisdom, as we previously discussed in this sermon series with the battle drill, “Heed God’s Wisdom,” Proverbs 1:33 states, “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

Just as today’s Scripture, Proverbs 19:20 reminds us, “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” Stated in the negative, Proverbs 19:27 illustrates the same point, “Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” The connections between these verses are obvious. If you want to live the victorious life of Jesus Christ, then, like a good soldier, you must submit to God, by listening to and obeying your Commander! I’m not trying to be overly simplistic, but, truly, just like I would counsel a recruit in the Army, it is that simple. [So why do we make it so hard? I’ll explain that in action step #3, but let’s keep learning how we are to train this before we focus on why we don’t do it.]

There is a very important theme here, and for those of you who were with us last week, it will sound very familiar: Listen! There is an important Hebrew word behind this big concept, and it is found in all three of the above verses: Shema, translated “listen” or “hear” is a famous Hebrew concept because Jesus Christ declared the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37) to be what the Jewish people traditionally call, “the Shema,” from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Every good soldier of Jesus Christ must learn that if you want to train to live on mission, then you must listen to and obey God’s wisdom. We must heed God’s reproof when He warns us or disciplines us. This is the way of wisdom! The book of Proverbs gives us the primary way to discern whether you are a wise person; it is by how you respond to the wisdom of God – to His counsel and His discipline. Accordingly, King Solomon teaches us that there are only three categories of people: 1) the wise, 2) fools, and 3) mockers (“scoffers”). Fools and mockers hate God’s wisdom, do not listen to counsel, nor accept discipline; rather, they turn away from it and hate God’s messengers who bring it. This is made clear in Proverbs 1:20-33:

Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

This passage captures one of the major themes of the book of Proverbs – be wise by listening to and obeying God’s counsel; don’t be like the fools and mockers. Wisdom must be trained into our lives and that requires the discipline of listening to God’s counsel through His Word and its messengers, and accepting God’s discipline through providence, the direct work of the Spirit through the Church, which is Paul charged his protégé in 1 Timothy 4:6-11:

In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Last week’s battle drill was dependent on you cultivating the character quality of humility, and we learned that humility is forged in the crucible of your prayer life. It is in your quiet times with God that you become like Jesus.

Today’s battle drill is dependent on cultivating the relational quality of trust! Trust and humility go hand in hand. They have a reciprocal relationship – you will never learn to trust God until you humble yourself and submit to His authority! We learn to trust our Commander by putting Him to the test every time He tells us to do something. What do I mean by that? I mean you listen and obey! You listen to His counsel as if your life depended on it, and you accept His discipline as from the hand of a good and loving father who only has good plans for you. Until you trust God, you will not listen to counsel, from God or His people, nor will you accept discipline from God or those He has placed in authority over you. 

In fact, until you learn to trust God you will be a stubborn, stiff-necked person who will not listen to anyone else’s counsel, but only that which agrees with you and presumptions about how your life should work out, and you won’t even accept the premise of your need for discipline, because all that you do is right in your own eyes. That’s not being a good soldier of Jesus Christ, that’s being a self-righteous person who does what is right in your own eyes! I have countless stories from the 929 chapters of the Old Testament to pull from for where such thinking will take you, but allow me to read what the prophet Samuel said to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:13-23:

Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!” Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

The word “obey” in verse 22 is shema – listen and obey! You think you are worshipping God with the things you choose to do for Him, by doing what seems right to you, but the fact is, according to God’s counsel and the example of His discipline, you are only truly worshipping God when you are doing what He commands you to do. So, listen to my counsel today and hear God’s word of counsel to His people from Jeremiah 7:22-28:

For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers. You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them, “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.”

This is a prophetic word to our nation today. I beseech you, God’s people, train this battle drill until its reflexive, instinctive, and habitual – listen to God’s counsel and accept His discipline. Trust that your God is a good and loving God who only speaks truth and only disciplines His true children for their good, and for His glory, as Hebrews 12:7-11 explains:

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

In John 15:8-11, Jesus calls us to this very purpose:

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just like soldiers who are serving in the military, the church has a mission that depends on every member of the body of Christ to do his or her job, regardless of the circumstances. Paul teaches this in Ephesians 4:11-16, where we hear the reason why the centurion’s faith is so critical for us today because God has placed each of us under authority so that His church will be faithful to fulfill His purpose for enlisting us as members of His body:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

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Battle Drill #27:

Listen Before You Answer!

Proverbs 18:12-13 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Listen Before You Answer!”

Effective communication skills are essential to the success of any military operation. In radio communications, there is a very important word that you must learn if you are going to be successful as a soldier. That word is “over.” When the speaker says, “over,” it means he is finished speaking. It implies that you, the receiver of the message, are now allowed to answer. If the speaker doesn’t need or expect an answer, and has nothing else to say, he doesn’t use the word, “over;” rather, he uses the word, “out.” Now, you as the receiver must give the appropriate response, such as “roger,” which means, “received,” and implies you understand what was communicated. That is different than “wilco,” which means “will comply” and indicates that you understand and will complete the task that has been given to you. Here’s the point of this lesson, both military protocol and basic communication etiquette dictate that you would never answer “roger” or “wilco” until the other person says, “over” because you can’t answer wisely without first listening to the entire message being communicated. You always listen before you answer, and that skill must be learned if we are going to CM as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let’s learn how to train this skill, by listening to what the Field Manual has to say about it.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Good communication requires two things: 1) assertiveness, which is the ability to put into words what you are trying to communicate; and 2) active listening, which is the ability to listen and hear what the person is saying to you. It takes both people to achieve effective communication, but it is active listening skills that allow you to verify you have heard the message before you answer the message; it is the skill of mirroring and validating the person for sharing their heart and mind with you. Which is why active listening requires your full person, your full attention. You can’t multitask when communicating with a person and expect to do it well. You need to stop what you are doing and give your full attention to the other person.

I encourage you to pray in the Spirit for God to give you wisdom and discernment so that you can have ears to hear what the person is trying to communicate to you. Often, we all need help to do this because what we hear is not always what the person is trying to say because we have filters from our own life experiences, our hurts, habits, and hang-ups, which can distort an accurate interpretation of the intended message. There are not only filters, but assumptions, particularly in situations where we already perceive we have been wronged. Therefore, active listening requires God’s assistance, as well as full body listening, to include your eyes to watch for non-verbal cues, and your ears to listen to words and tone because we all know that the same words can have different meanings based on how they are said. It requires patience to seek validation that you heard properly and to seek clarification when confused by what the person is saying, or why they are saying it to you.

If you care more about your response than you do the other person’s message, then you will never be good at communication. You may be able to lead meetings, give presentations, or speak from the front, but you will not achieve effective interpersonal communication skills. Listening before you give an answer requires you to have humility, one of the greatest attributes people can achieve through their relationship with God, and one that defined Jesus. A powerful illustration of this, from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, is found in Mark 10:46-52:

Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Until you realize your own need, as a fellow blind beggar, to cry out for mercy and ask Jesus to open the eyes of your heart, you live in the reality of Proverbs 18:12a, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.” A prideful person never listens before they answer because they presume to know what the other person is thinking and is going to say. A prideful person interrupts instead of listening, rushes to make judgments about the other person, and imputes motives on the other person based on those judgments. No wonder such pride leads to destruction, of our relationships, and of our own lives. There is a better way! Let us now take the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

If you haven’t learned the humility to sit in prayer and listen for God, then how do you expect to sit with a person and listen to them? Do you have a regular rhythm of practicing silence as a part of your prayer life? Silence with God is where humility is forged into our character! It is my firm conviction that there is a direct correlation between our prayer life – our consistency to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen – and our ability to listen before we answer. Why? Because a good listener is someone who has learned the value of humility, and a humble heart is forged in the crucible of your prayer life, not the productivity or efficiency of your work life. A famous example of this is found in Luke 10:38-42:

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Mary was humble to listen, as Proverbs 18:12b states, “humility goes before honor.” Jesus honored her and forever established the precedent that sitting at His feet and listening is the one thing necessary in the Christian life. Are you daily doing the one thing necessary? Why is it that we so often give ourselves to answering before we listen, to working before we pray, to going into our day without first reading the Field Manual? I’ll tell you why, because of pride! And we demonstrate our pride through our inability to be good listeners. Our relationships are filled with presumption and pride and that is why we are experiencing destruction in so many aspects of our culture and communities. Presumption and pride are the enemies of communication! That brings us to the final action step of our training regimen.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…

Jesus taught us in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is our Commander’s intent – for the world to know that we belong to Jesus and that they, too, can come into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ, in His life, death, and resurrection. This is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ – Christ crucified, resurrected, and glorified is coming back to rescue His bride.

Are you listening? Or, in military language, “Do you copy? Over.”  

We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. How are we to know how to serve others, in the name of Jesus and with the love of God, if we don’t listen well enough to know the needs of our neighbors, which includes those in this room, those at home, and those with whom we work and play? Let’s take our cue from Jesus who went up to the blind beggar and listened to Him. We must learn to ask that same question, “What do you want God to do for you?” Instead of being presumptuous and prideful, assuming we know their answers or imputing motives on their lifestyle or circumstances, what if we actually listened? If we want people to understand Jesus is the answer, then we must be different when we approach them – humble, active listeners who care about them as real people and not just targets of evangelism.

Do you copy? Over.

According to military radio etiquette, you can respond to today’s message in one of two ways: 1) “Roger,” which means, “I have received and understand;” or 2) “Wilco,” which means, “I understand and will comply.” Maybe “Roger” is the best you can manage today. That’s ok; it is my prayer that as you walk with Jesus, it becomes easier and quicker for you to respond not just “Roger” but “Wilco.” May we work hard to discipline ourselves to listen before answering. Maybe “Roger-Wilco” is the right answer, even if it is redundant, “I receive, understand, and commit myself to training myself to comply.”  We will all fall short, but don’t quit just because you fail. Just like in anything, get back up and do it better the next time.

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Battle Drill #26:

“Apply First Aid – The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!”

Proverbs 17:22 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Apply First Aid – The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!”

When I was a soldier, we were required to learn first aid and CPR. Why? Because the potential is high that a soldier, whether in training or on a battlefield, will need to apply first aid. In the same way, and for the same reasons, the good soldiers of Jesus Christ must train themselves to be able to apply first aid in all circumstances. God has provided a great medicine for our soul – the sweet balm of joy! There is much suffering and many tribulations in this life; therefore, we must build our lives upon the sure foundation of what Christ has given to us – His joy!

There is great joy found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is not only the joy of our eternal salvation, secured through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but this is the work of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of God’s presence in and though our lives that gives us a joy that will empower us through the mountaintops and valleys of our emotions and life experiences. Nehemiah 8:10 commands and promises, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Let me be clear from the beginning that the joy of the Lord is not a response to your circumstances, it is the posture of your heart in your circumstances, it is the firm foundation upon which you can biblically respond to your circumstances as a good soldier of Jesus! The strength of your joy is found in none other than the Rock of your Salvation – Jesus Christ! Let’s take the first action step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ “Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

An exceedingly great army came to life because God breathed His Holy Spirit upon a bunch of dry, lifeless bones. Ezekiel described the bones as “very dry,” as if to say, “there’s absolutely no life left in these bones, and there hasn’t been for a long time.” And how similar is the experience of a broken spirit? A broken spirit dries up the bones! The decay is not instant, but the longer the spirit remains broken, the more apparent it becomes that there has been no joy in that person’s spirit for a long time.

Have you lost your smile? Do you feel dried up by the circumstances of your life – weary from this life and heavy-burdened by sin? The answer to your dry-bones condition is the balm of joy through a relationship with Jesus Christ because a joyful heart causes good healing!

As I shared with you at our worship in the park service in Memorial Park a few weeks ago, my favorite song to start off the day is from Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This verse both reminds me and exhorts me to live according to what is true. One of the greatest ways to train this battle drill is through singing, so let us sing together this wonderfully simple, yet powerful hymn from Psalm 118:

This is the day (this is the day).

That the Lord has made (that the Lord has made).

We will rejoice (we will rejoice),

And be glad in it (and be glad in it).

This is the day that the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day (this is the day)

That the Lord has made.

The reason this verse, and its corresponding song, are so powerful to me is the context of the passage, found in Psalm 118:20-23:

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

We rejoice and are glad because Jesus Christ has come and brought life to our dry bones! Jesus told us in John 10:7-11 that He is the gate of the Lord:

So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Additionally, after Pentecost, in Acts 4:8-12, Peter preached that Jesus is the chief corner stone which the builders rejected:

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

The Holy Spirit brought life to the Church on Pentecost, raising up a new exceedingly great army for God. In the same way that the dry bones of Israel needed the Spirit of God to bring life and raise them up for a purpose as God’s army, so do you and I, today, as His Church, need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our dry bones. Like the first Pentecost nearly two thousand years ago, God calls forth life to our dry-bones condition on purpose! He’s doing the same today, in and through us! Let us now take the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Paul invites us to join him in Philippians 2:18, “You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.” Later, Paul commands in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” You can declare this in song, just like we did with Psalm 118:24, but you are to apply this to every circumstances. This decision, whether you rejoice, or not, has significant implications on your emotional stability, mental health, and spiritual vitality.

We see this truth laid out for us in Proverbs 15:13-16:

Joy is not about our ever-changing circumstances, but our unwavering trust in God and His promises – our rejoicing in Him and His power to perform every promise, on time, every time, in us and through us! How many of would “rejoice always” if we walked under own strength. It’s impossible! Our joy comes from knowing that the resources at our disposal are not limited to the inadequacy of our humanity, but rather the resources we have access to flow from the fountain of grace that brings us salvation and the power to walk confidently and securely in all our circumstances – the Holy Spirit! In His power, we live on mission for God. This brings us to the final action step of our training regimen.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

We live on mission by reflecting the heart of Jesus Christ in how we live our lives and in how we conduct our business. This is our calling as image bearers of God – to reflect Jesus by living our lives as He did His. Jesus was motivated by the joy of the Lord, and went to the Cross for His joy to be made full in us, as promised in John 17:13, and as described in Hebrews 12:2-3:

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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Battle Drill #25:

Commit Your Work to the Lord!

Proverbs 16:1-9 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Commit Your Work to the Lord!”

For 25 years, I have learned how to start my day by committing myself and my day to the Lord. I have not done this perfectly each day, and there have been some seasons of drought in those years, but as a general practice, this battle drill has defined my Christian life. This is a very important daily discipline for me that became anchored in my soul during the late summer/early fall of 1997, during my second time in the two-month US Army Ranger School. The first time I went through the training, the winter of 1997, I only made it two-thirds of the way through it before I was medically dropped, but my deeper story was how my perceived failure broke me. I was sent to my unit at the 82^nd Airborne Division without the coveted Ranger Tab that every Infantry Officer is expected to have earned.

Looking back, I realize that this was one of the most important moments of my life because how I handled my deep level of disappointment was a critical decision point on the person I was to become. By God’s grace, I chose wisely and started back to church. I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ and started my Christian discipleship with a renewed vigor. Six months later, I was graduating from Ranger School, and I testify to you that it was night and day. Not the school, but me! There was a dramatic difference in my experience because I had changed – Christ was now the center of my life! I went from being a basket case the first time to missing honor graduate by one spot the next time. Every single morning of Ranger School, that second time, I did two things: 1) I dedicated myself and my day to the Lord; and 2) I promised myself I wouldn’t quit. To the glory of God, I continue to make those two decisions as your pastor.

Being faithful is a trained behavior! It doesn’t happen by accident, and you must learn to train it daily. So, let’s take the first action step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 16:1-9:

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished. By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil. When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice. The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Let’s talk about how to do this. According to the Bible’s creation account your day begins with how you go to bed the night before. Listen to the refrain of creation in Genesis 1, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). We often miss this or hear it as a poetic device to separate the creative work of God in the creation account, but I believe that there is a profound truth here that will change your life, as it has mine. It’s simple, but not simplistic: How you go to bed determines your day!

Grace always comes first – sleep comes before work, just like grace comes before works. You don’t earn a good night’s rest because it’s all grace. You do nothing during your sleep, God’s got you and you are completely dependent on His grace to sustain your life until morning, which is why people still pray this very old Puritan bedtime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” Newer versions make it even more clear, “His love to guard me through the night and wake me in the morning’s light” and “Please angels watch me through the night, and keep me safe till morning light.”

Allow me to describe how I do this: I get up at 6 each morning so that I have an hour with the Lord before others in my family wake up. That is the most important hour of my day, and it often goes longer. It is when I pray, when I read Scripture, when I meditate upon what I’m reading and seek to apply it to my life. This is the time of the day when I commit my work to the Lord and when I resolve that today I will get in the easy yoke of Jesus, abide in the Vine, carry my cross, and remain faithful to my family and church. It’s a time that I decide that I will not quit – a time of covenant renewal as the sun rises.

But my key to success is not an alarm, though that is helpful on some mornings, but a good night’s sleep. I seek to be relaxed and ready for a good night’s sleep by 10 PM each night. That means well before that time the dishes are done, doors are locked, messes are cleaned up, the kids have been read to and prayed with, the work of the day is over so my computer and devices are off, all of that before 10 so that I can be in a place of relaxation to rest well, to get good REM and deep sleep, and not just shallow restless sleep. The quality of my morning devotion time is determined by how I get to bed the night before. Except for my personal Sabbath day, which is Friday night until Saturday night, if I want to get extra sleep, then I must go to bed earlier, not sleep later. My whole day is messed up if I don’t have this time to commit my work to the Lord. This time of devotion is hindered if I don’t take intentional daily steps to sleep well. Sleep is a gift from the Lord and a product of God’s grace, as Proverbs 3:13, 21-24 explains:

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. … My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

For me to commit myself and my work to the Lord, then I must daily get back in the easy yoke of Jesus to work from a place of rest because everything I have is by God’s grace and not the work of my own hands nor earned by the sweat of my own brow. It’s for the glory of God alone. That takes us to the third action step.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

We commit our work to the Lord because work was God’s idea first! Work is not what you do to earn your daily bread or find your identity. Both of those come from the Lord. When we commit our work to the Lord, then we put our work in a right perspective, which is under the Lordship of Christ. The Apostle Paul made this very clear in Colossians 3:23-25:

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

There is a divine purpose for work, it is a part of God’s plan that we work hard. When we commit our work to the Lord, then our work becomes a part of God’s mission to demonstrate the rule of God to the world. No matter what it is you do, when your work is committed to the Lord it can be used by God to bring glory to His name and advance the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. That brings us to the final action step.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Your work is intended to have eternal fruit – results that last! Jesus taught us this in John 15:12-17:

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.

Faith, hope, and love are the currencies of Heaven, and they are our greatest commodities here on Earth. Faith, hope, and love are what we use to build the Kingdom of God. Paul soberly admonishes us in 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 to be wise with which we build the Kingdom:

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Your legacy is determined by your work so be very wise in where you are investing your most precious commodities – your time, your love, your energy. When I do graveside services, after I have done the committal prayer, I read Revelation 14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” After I read this, I look out at the people who have gathered, make eyes contact with them, open my arms, and say, “You are the good works who follow this person’s life.”

You can listen to Pastor Jerry’s message here:

You can watch his message by clicking HERE.

Battle Drill #24:

Serve Properly

Proverbs 15:13-18

If you have been listening to the daily phone calls this week, you have received the hints on what this week message is about…our ‘serve’. 

S was for ‘surrender’ (1 Corinthians 13:3);

E for ‘effort’ (2 Peter 3:14);

R for ‘respect’ (1 Peter 2:17);

V for ‘vow’ (Matthew 5:37); and

E for ‘encourage’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

We need to examine our lives to make sure that we are serving properly and not sitting back waiting to be served!

In the game of tennis, the score is Love/Love at the beginning, and the score doesn’t change until someone serves. The same can be said in the Christian walk in that our ministry filled with love cannot begin until we truly serve. And we are called to be servants of the Lord. When Jesus was speaking to the disciples in John 12:26:     

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

He also told them in Mark 10:45:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Here He is, the Son of God, but He was taking the lowest position in mankind’s standards, even to the point of giving His life for them.  We are called to follow the example He set and serve properly.

Proverbs 15:13-18

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken. The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly. All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

I. Know the field manual: In your heart and in your mind

1. Know it in your heart

(Proverbs 15:13).   TURN TO AND READ

~What’s in your heart shows on your face

ILLUS: Been on an emotional rollercoaster the last few weeks

-all the ‘firsts’

-retreat time

-kids moving to Florida 

-Comment made to Tina…”that explains…”

~Had to practice what I have been preaching and take it to Jesus!

2. Take action to make sure heart is in the right place

(1 Peter 5:6-8).    TURN TO AND READ

3. You must read the manual to know the manual!

(2 Timothy 2:15) TURN TO AND READ

~Last time I challenged the parents to train up your children

~We are never too old to keep learning….stay in THE WORD!

4. Your head will affect your heart and your heart will affect your head!

II. Importance of Training Together.

1. Every servant needs some encouragement.

(1 Thessalonians 5:8-11)

“But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

2. Don’t have a wrong attitude

(Proverbs 15:17)    

“Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.”

ILLUS: Every have a waiter(ess) with a bad attitude?

3. Know that we are not alone

(Roman 5:5).  

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

III. Seek the Commander’s Approval!

1. Easiest way to get approval is by doing what you are supposed to by listening to the right voice.

(Galatians 5:25).

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

~Why?

(Romans 8:5-6)  

2. How will this be best accomplished?

(1 Peter 4:10)

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

~Are you using your gifts here at FBC? In the community?

IV. How do we Live on Mission?

~Surrender daily to the leading of the Holy Spirit

~Make every Effort to follow His leading

~Respect those in authority over you AND those you work with.

~Keep your Vow, your promise, to love and serve the Lord and others with joy, and not with a wrong attitude.

You can listen to the message here:

You can watch Pastor Ken’s message by clicking HERE.

Rejoice and Be Glad!

Proverbs 15:13-16 (NAS95)

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Listen to the message here:

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Battle Drill #22:

Keep Control of the Rudder of Your Life!

Proverbs 15:1-7 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Keep Control of the Rudder of Your Life!”

I was a soldier, once upon a time, but I have never served as a sailor. I do know that the rudder is one of the most important components of any boat. The rudder allows the pilot to steer, control, and direct the vessel when out on the water. In a small sailboat, the rudder is controlled by a tiller, a long rod that allows the pilot to turn the rudder directly. It’s simple, reliable, and effective, all you must do is keep control of the rudder. If you want to get from point A to point B, then you must keep control of the rudder of your ship. That may not be hard when there are calm waters, but it can be incredibly difficult during storms.

The same is true in life! As a Christian, you are not who you once were (Point A) and you are not yet who God desires you to be (Point B), you are sailing to the destination, on the journey of life. Along the way there are calm waters and there are stormy seas, and in every circumstance, we must train ourselves to keep control of the rudder of our lives. We will now look at the first action step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 15:1-7:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit. A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but he who regards reproof is sensible. Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so.

This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

The long slow obedience of daily decision making to become like Christ, through both the calm waters and stormy seas of life, requires you to have control of the rudder of your life, which is your tongue! We must keep control of our tongue if we are to fulfill God’s good pleasure for our lives. We learn that from Proverbs 15:1-7, which states three times in quick succession:

“Tongue” and “lips” in these passages, as well as in other passages, is referring to our spoken words, what we say. In today’s world, that will also include the words we text, post on social media, etc. Proverbs 18:21 teaches us the power of our words, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” It is not the actual fleshly tongue that is the rudder, but the spoken word that flows from our hearts. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:33-37:

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word[1] that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Your spoken words reveal your heart! It is an everyday reality that we talk and write about what is important to us. It is also true that our idle and thoughtless words reflect what is hidden in our hearts, sometimes even from ourselves. Do your words reveal that your heart belongs to Jesus Christ? Who or what rules your heart? Your tongue has the power of life or death, so train yourself to submit your tongue to the lordship of Christ and be vigilant in what you say – “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19). Let’s take the third action step.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

When you yoke together Jesus’ teaching about our words proceeding from our hearts and James’ teaching about our tongues and hear them through the lens of the ancient wisdom of Proverbs, then you know that it is all about whether you are a wise person or a fool. Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 7:24, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Your tongue, your spoken and written words, reveal the truth about whether you are wise or foolish, and whether or not Christ rules in your heart.

If you want to do a heart check, then check your tongue! Paul taught us this, as the fourth example of the new life we have in Christ, found in Ephesians 4:29-32:

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Again, Paul said in Ephesians 5:1:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

In one last example, Paul exhorted in Colossians 3:8-11:

But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him – a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

There is no contradiction between the teaching of Paul and James. Paul’s exhortations of how we are and are not to use our tongue agree with James’ teaching that no one can tame the tongue and that it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives when Christ takes His rightful place on the throne of our hearts. Our words are transformed for the work of the gospel – to build up others and praise God.

When we live on mission for God, then our tongues come under His dominion, and are no longer our own. This is not automatic, it requires training! We must train ourselves to use words surgically, effectively, and productively with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A well-timed word can transform a person’s attitude, actions, or even the course of the person’s life. Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” A temple is place of making right sacrifices unto God. This is a daily choice; a daily sacrifice so that you can know what God expects of you as you live your life on mission. God calls us to do the work, and sacrifice our own emotions and agendas to give Him dominion over what we say. This is the action item of Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Your life, including your tongue, coming under the Lordship of Christ to be a spiritual house of worship through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit brings us to the final action step.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Each of us is being challenged to set sail on the next leg of the course, which is your life mission while you are here on Earth. Paul testified near the end of his journey in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “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.” The only way to get to Point B is to undock yourself from whatever is paralyzing you, let the sail out, and allow the Holy Spirit to propel you forward. You must be vigilant with the rudder when your sails are full and you are on mission on the way to the destination of God’s good pleasure for your life, which is your Christlikeness!

Have you gotten comfortable sitting at the dock? You’ve got one hand on the tiller with a drink in the other hand telling tales of your days out at open sea. Maybe you’ve had too many storms and you just don’t think your boat can handle another one. Until you arrive at the destination of your life’s end, you are called to CM until the race is finished. Just as Paul testified of his own life as he was having to sail directly into a storm in Acts 20:24, “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” Never forget that while it may feel safe to sit on the dock, in a safe harbor, but that is not the life God created and saved you for – you have enlisted to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, to live on mission for His glory and your good (2 Timothy 2:3-4)!

You can listen to the message here:

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FOOTNOTES:

Battle Drill #21:

Slow to Anger!

Proverbs 14:26-30 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Slow to Anger!”

Soldiers must be emotionally healthy. Emotional health doesn’t mean you will experience your emotions less, it is the ability to be aware of your emotions so that they don’t hijack your thoughts, words, or actions. The military trains soldiers in a difficult school so that they can learn to make good and right decisions, regardless of their circumstances or emotions. Soldiers are pushed emotionally, mentally, and physically to be able to do the harder right instead of the easier wrong. As soldiers for Jesus Christ, we must train ourselves in the same way.

Today we are learning the battle drill, “Slow to Anger” because anger is a real emotion that every single person must learn to bring into submission, otherwise, it has the potential of causing a wildfire. For example, the thought of a trained soldier with a gun on mission doesn’t bother most people, because that is a soldier’s life. But what does bother us, is when a trained soldier with a gun has lost control because of their anger. In the same way that this is a scary reality, so are Christians who use the Word of God in anger.

It is my calling to equip you to use the Word of God effectively, so that you may bear the good fruit of a disciple of Jesus, but it’s not enough for me to teach you the Word of God, I must disciple you to use it with emotional health, under submission to the Holy Spirit, not in your flesh. We will now look at the first action step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 14:26-30:

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. In a multitude of people is a king’s glory, but in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin. He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion [jealousy, envy, rivalry, zeal] is rottenness to the bones.

To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 14. (Read from the Bible). This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal [same Hebrew word “passion” in Proverbs 14:30] of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Who will accomplish bringing righteousness and justice to the nations? God will through His Messiah! God has a plan; trust Him. He reminds us of this in Psalm 46:10, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Is it your zeal or striving that exalts God? No! It is “the zeal of the LORD of hosts [who] will accomplish this.” Don’t take on the offenses of God; He is fully capable of exalting Himself! God accomplished this through the coming of Jesus Christ and we are His body, the Church. We must remember that God will establish the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and uphold it with justice and righteousness. As Psalm 100:3 proclaims, “Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Paul reminded the Church in Galatia with his rhetorical questions in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” In other words, if the zeal of the Lord is to establish the Kingdom, will your flesh now uphold it with your anger at people’s mockery of God, fueled by your self-righteousness religious zeal?

No, absolutely not! That is an arrogant, prideful, and blasphemous thought! One, which has fueled churches for way too long! We must keep reminding ourselves of this if we are going to train ourselves to be slow to anger. Anger is often fueled by discouragement and disappointment, in ourselves and others; when expectations are not met and ideals are not realized. We hate it when our plans, or, even worse, God’s plans seem to be thwarted every which way we turn by evil and sin. And when I’m angry about something, I feel powerful and when I act upon it, I can do mighty things. In the past, as a teenager and young military man, I fueled my anger, thinking that I could harness it for greater accomplishment, only to learn the hard way that anger was a wildfire that while powerful, yes, it was destructive as it spread into areas of my life that I did not want fueled by it, such as my relationships. I made hurtful and bad decisions because I was trying to harness the power of a wildfire. A popular culture illustration of this is the transformation process of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader in the Star Wars universe.

Anger is very real, but it must not be allowed to be in control of your faculties. God does not desire for your life to be fueled by wildfires, such as anger. Rather, God desires your life to be fueled by His holy fire, the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus desires that our lives be fully submitted to His yoke – His ruling authority of peace! Paul taught in Ephesians 4:17-27:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.

What are the first two examples Paul used in applying this teaching to our everyday Christian walks? First, you are to give an honest report (see my sermon from July 3, 2022) – “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (25). Second, you are to not sin in your anger (26-27), which means, when you are experiencing the very real emotion of anger, you are not to give it lordship of your life. Nor are you to use anger as a motivation or fuel source in your life. Your Lord is Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. Your fuel source is the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you to give you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Your motivation is the glory of God alone! That takes us to the third action step to training yourself to being slow to anger.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

How? By becoming like Him! God is “Slow to Anger.” That is one of Yahweh’s first descriptions of Himself, as God revealed His character to us in Exodus 34:6, “Then the Lord passed by in front of [Moses] and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” This is one of the most repeated verses in the Bible because God wants you to know who He is. He has revealed this truth to us on purpose.[1] The following passages repeat that God is “slow to anger”:

This message can be listened to here:

This message can be viewed HERE.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For an easily accessible study on “slow to anger,” watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQ1nq_YJD0.

[2] “Was Jesus ever angry?” https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-angry.html. Accessed July 14, 2022.