“GOD’S RAG-TAG ARMY!”
(MARK 6:30-34)
Good Morning!! What a beautiful day this is! We are in the House of God and we should be over-joyed to be able to be here! We should also be over-joyed at the prospect of getting out in the world and sharing the love and mercy of God with all we come into contact with! What a blessing to be able to share God!! In a world that seems, at times, to be going askew, aren’t we blessed.
God is good, all the time!! AMEN!!? We had a wonderful, most of the time, vacation! And, while I was sitting in church on the 23rd, this message came to mind! Partly thanks to the Pastor and a lot of thanks to God. We attended the Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church. This church has been an active church since 1748. So, you know it’s seen it’s share of history!! It’s a beautiful, little church, nestled in a grove of trees, just off a main highway. It was used as a Field Hospital during the Civil War. We saw the outside and I just had to see what the inside looked like. It was a good service and I was blessed.
Oh, I could regal you with stories of all kinds!! I won’t! I told you last week, they didn’t move the “Turn-Pike” this year but, I wish they had! I got so lost in Charlottesville, Virginia, I didn’t think we’d ever find any place to stop!! Me, on a trip, can be a hoot!!
As I sat in church that Sunday, I got to thinking about just how big an oxy-moron “Civil War” is! How can a war be “Civil”!? “Excuse me! Yes, I am about to shoot in your direction! If you don’t want to be hit, you might want to move!” It didn’t happen that way! Some of the bloodiest, most brutal fighting of the war happened in Gettysburg! If they couldn’t shoot, they would stab with bayonets!! If they couldn’t do that they would club each other with their rifles! If that failed, there was always hand-to-hand combat! There was nothing “civil” about the war!
One place we had to see this trip was “Big Round Top”. The sight of one of the bloodiest battles of the campaign. We didn’t make it there the last time we went, so this year it a “must see” activity!! We walked, on foot, straight up the side of a mountain! Must have been twenty miles!! Straight up!! No!! It really wasn’t a big mountain but, it was a mountain!
We were about half way up the mountain and I said, “If I had been fighting here, on either side, I would have been tempted to yell, ‘You can have it!!’” I was in a short sleeved shirt, those soldiers were in woolen clothes, carried haversacks, guns and everything, I don’t know how they did it!! It was a tough climb, but it was worth the effort and I know it was for them, too.
51,000 men were wounded or killed on the fields of Gettysburg in a three day period! Who says man doesn’t know how to be inhumane to our fellow man. Any building that could be was taken over and used as a “Field Hospital”. Lives were drastically changed in a few short hours! Think about what that meant! As I sat there and reflected on what the Pastor was saying and how that tied in to my life as a Christian a lot of similarities came to mind! I’ve told you before, Pastor’s do not always make good congregants. Something is said and off our minds go, planning and plotting out a message that we can use.
Those soldiers were often a “Rag-Tag” band of men. They went from battle to battle, from miles away to uphold their beliefs and fight for what they believed in. There were regiments at Gettysburg from as far away as Texas! Many times their clothes were in taters because they had to cover so much ground, had to fight in so many skirmishes!! Many times they had no shoes on their feet.
They were tired, hungry, sick but they marched on! Church, we need the same determination when it comes to serving the Lord!! We, are “God’s Rag-Tag” army!! But, far too often, we won’t even suffer the hardship of getting out and going to church! Many times we refuse the “hardship” of telling someone else about God and His salvation! About Jesus and His love! About the Holy Spirit and His guiding influence!! What example are we setting!!? Can God really count on us!?
Church, today we are at war! The world is spinning out of control! From all indications, Satan is winning!! We have to get up and get out there and start living up to our responsiblity to God! Satan only wins, when we let him! It’s not God’s plan that the world be lost!!
You know if a soldier is not determined to get his job done, many may suffer! If we fail to get God’s job done, how many may suffer!? We have a responsibility, are we living up to it? It’s time to know for sure!
We need to realize that, as Christians, we are at war!! Folks, Satan is here and he wants to win! When we fail to serve God, when we don’t do what we know we should, Satan wins the battle! I’m here to tell you this morning, he won’t win the war, but, now listen, we have to limit the battles he wins, too!!
I.) TAKE A LOOK AT US!! “Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war! Rouse the Champions! All you troops, advance, march!”–Joel 3:9 (NJB)
As we look at our lives, are we ready to be in God’s army!? If God called out to you today and asked you to serve Him, would you do it!? He has called out to you! You’re here!! God has a plan and you need to be living up to it! We all have a job to do for God! Are we going to do it or just hope that someone else will decide they want to live for God!!
Church, we need to realize that, as Christians, God is counting on us! There is a war going on. And, I don’t mean in Iraq or the Middle East!! They are war zones, but so are our bodies! So are our towns and communities! Lives are being lost every day! And if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem! If you’re not serving God, the way you know you should be, you are, by default, serving the devil! At least know which side you’re on!!
As brutal and bloody the Civil War was, at least each person knew who they were fighting for! Sometimes I’m not so sure we do!! We may think we’re fighting for God but, when we refuse to serve Him as we should, just who are we serving!?
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot love God and money!”--- Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
It applies to serving God and Satan, too!! If you’re going to serve God, do it with all your heart, soul and mind! If you’re not going to at least know that part of you is serving Satan! A heart that does not completely belong to God is of no good to Him! People, examine your life! It’s time to stop riding the fence!! It’s time to know whose side you’re on!! For sure!!
II.) CHURCH, WE ARE AT WAR!! “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of Kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.”— Revelation 17:14 (NRSV)
I’m afraid, far too often we like to think that as long as we live, somewhat according to God’s plan, we’ll be okay! Come to church on Sunday morning, go home and get through the week. As long as we’re good, we’ll be okay! Church, it takes more than being “good”!! It takes commitment to God to get His Word out and share it with others! We are at War and we need to know it. Little by little it seems that Satan is winning!! I want you to know this morning, he may win a few battles but, he won’t win the war! Unless we let him! And, I’m afraid sometimes we’re letting him!!
The time to sit back on our laurels and wait for someone else to do the job is over! If you can sit comfortably on Sunday morning and do nothing else for God, something is not right! We are at war! And we need to know that God is counting on us to be His army!! Are we doing it?
The world is in turmoil right now! Israel is at war, the Middle East is on fire! Iraq seems to get worse by the hour! Lives are being lost! But, there is a war closer to home and it’s being waged in your life! Who’s winning!? Are you serving Satan or are you serving God!? Lives are being lost right here at home! God needs His army ready to fight! Not ready to sit back and wait for someone else to do the job!!
When those soldiers marched off to fight in the “Civil War”, they were committed!! They had a job to do! Maybe they didn’t like what they were doing but, they did it!! Soldiers today do the same thing! They fight for what they believe in! How can we call ourselves Christians and not be willing to do the same thing!!? You see what it all comes down to is:
III.) WE ARE GOD’S RAG-TAG ARMY!! “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”—I Samuel 17:45 (ESV)
This morning we sang , “Onward Christian Soldiers”!! What a beautiful, wonderful song! God gave me this next part, sitting in church, in Gettysburg, two Sunday’s ago! As I was sitting in the Lower Marsh Creek Church, these words came to me, I know they’re from Him!! You see, the words to the song are not, “Sit back Christian soldiers, stay right where you are, God will use somebody don’t you go that far!!” They are “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.”!! Because Church we are at war, and we are God’s army!! How are we fighting!?
It’s not hard for me to envision God standing in Heaven as an “Old General” handing out His assignments to His soldiers. “I need you to do this!” “I need you to go there!” And far too often, we say, “God, I’m too busy!! I don’t have time! I want others to hear about You but, I can’t take You to them!!”
Church, God is counting on us! We/You have a responsibility to Him! Has God ever done anything for you!? Helped when you were sick!? Aided when you were hurting!? Listened when you were crying!? Saved your soul from Hell!? You have a responsibility to use your life for Him! Are you doing it? It’s time to know!! Time is running out!! There are lives that need to be won for the Lord! Are you living up to your responsibility for God!?
You see, we are “God’s Rag-Tag Army”. We all have our stories to tell! Our lives have not always been picture perfect! There have been problems and strife! But, we have survived!! You see, when we have no one else, we have God!! And, church, He’s someone you can always count on!! We need to realize that He will never call us to do something He knows we can’t do! So if you feel God calling out to you, there is no excuse that will work to not answer Him!!
Church, He’s not sending us out to war unarmed!! We have the blood of Jesus! We have the leading of the Holly Spirit! We are not alone!! We/You can do it!! Now listen, we have to be about the work of the Lord while there is still time, because, Church time is running out!! We can march bravely out to war because we go armed with God and you can’t get any better weapons than the power of God!! Satan can’t win when God is in control!!
I ask you this morning, are you serving God to the fullest of your ability!? Are you using your life for Him! Can others see Jesus in you? If not there is no better time to start than right now. Lives can be changed!! Hearts can be won! And it all starts with you!!
Let’s pray: Father God, Arm us for battle! Help us be prepared to serve You with every moment of our lives! We need you Father. Someone here today has a need, Father don’t let them leave here without first coming to You. In Jesus name we pray. AMEN
