The Lusting Soldier

Good morning! Today we continue our series entitled Facing Your Enemy. This series has explored the Biblical view of Christians as soldiers, and I think there are two main ways this view of ourselves is helpful. First, it reminds us that we are not just here on Earth to enjoy its pleasures; we are here for a purpose, to be Christ’s hands and feet and mouth as we expand the Kingdom through telling people the good news of the Gospel. As soldiers, we are taking back ground for God; as each additional person comes to their own personal saving faith in Christ, Satan’s world gets a little smaller. We are involved in a rescue operation, freeing the captives, replacing darkness with light, despair with security and hope. We are on a glorious mission as we reveal to the world the true glory of Christ.

Second, although we are on the winning side, we are under attack, by multiple enemies. From I Peter 5:8, Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And from I John 2:16, For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. Satan and the world and even our own flesh seek to conspire against us, to make us abandon the field of battle, to make us useless and completely ineffective as soldiers. This week, our focus is on this second aspect of being a soldier, especially as it pertains to the area of lust. This is a difficult topic to teach on, and it is a difficult topic to hear, because it is so personal, so private. But it is a terribly important topic to discuss because it is a stumbling block for so many believers.

The Coveting Soldier

Welcome! Today we continue our series entitled Facing Your Enemy. As I mentioned at the beginning of the series, there is a very real sense in which, as Christians, we are “soldiers” for Christ. The Bible repeatedly uses military analogies to describe our role and purpose in this world. God desires that, by His help, dependent on His power and His direction, we advance His kingdom, taking back ground for Him that has been taken by the enemy, the one called the Great Deceiver, Satan.

Our title today is The Coveting Soldier. I love Isaac’s picture of coveting; our hapless Christian soldier is coveting the other soldier’s gun. In what this symbolizes there is a great irony here. As Christians we know we are not supposed to covet, but how frequently do we not only covet but even covet other people’s faith, their spiritual gifts, in short, their Christianity? How wrong is that?

The Anxious Soldier

This morning I want to talk with you about anxiety.  I told Miriam that if she went into labor, I would lead her into the hospital, open the door and cry out for a doctor, exclaiming, “My wife is in labor.  We need pain medicine, nausea medicine and something for anxiety.  And my wife will need all those as well.”  

 

No matter what stage of life you’re in there’s always something to be anxious about.  When you’re in school you’re anxious about getting out.  Once you get out you become anxious about finding a job.  Once you find a job you get anxious about being single.  Once you get married you get anxious about kids.  And once you have kids...you give them to their grandparents.  

In Max Lucado’s book, Traveling Light, he shares an insightful story about living life with many burdens: