Illustrate here: video opener Black Ops
Please welcome to
our service tonight: United States Army Combat Engineer Specialist, Josh
Wood.
Black
ops-A black operation or black op is a covert operation by a
government, a government agency, military organization, private companies or
groups. A black operation typically involves activities that are highly
secretive and often outside of standard military/intelligence protocol,
sometimes against the law-Secret operation that cannot be traced back to the
parties involved.
1.Soldiers reject the
enemy and his tactics.
a. The
enemy uses sin to lure us uses sin to distract us, and then finally his
ultimate goal uses sin to destroy us.
b.Stay away from the
lure of sin and you'll stay out of the trap.
c. The
enemy desires destruction; Godly soldiers desire freedom, justice, and safety.
i.
Temptation is a tactic of tremendous
turmoil.
ii.
Temptation causes you to question your
God, question your destiny, and question your mission.
iii.
Reject the enemies plan by not
listening to his voice.
1.Don’t listen to his
banter, refuse his thoughts.
2.Social media of the
mind where the devil posts a status and you allow it to affect, infect and
control you.
2.Soldiers accept
training and leadership.
a. As
a soldier you have to allow God to break your spirit.
b.Spirit breaking can
be positive or negative.
i.
Negative spirit breaking is allowing
someone to control you through physical, mental or emotional abuse, therefore
allowing them to control your thoughts, your will and your emotions.
1.Many people think
this is the kind of God we serve when in fact they are so mislead, so deceived,
so elementary in their view.
ii.
Positive
spirit breaking is accomplished through submission.
1.Submitting your self
to the influence of God.
a. God,
when allowed, will inspire your influence, encourage your will, He will never
use circumstances to control you, and will never use His power to exert His
authority in, over, or through you.
2.That’s not who or
what God is.
a. Inspire
your influence; He will literally breathe life into every situation you will
ever face.
b.Encourage your
will. We all live under the mandate and opportunity of free will.
c. God
will never puppet string your life; He will always allow you to choose.
i.
I can choose Him, I can choose to
disregard Him, and His love for me will never change.
1.His goal for me
will never change, I am a soldier.
2.It’s never Yes sir
I’m so scared of you cause you hate me so, It’s always, “God what did you plan
for me today? God what did you have in mind for my future, my relationships, my
attitude?”
3.Soldiers expect
justice as the reward.
Philippians 2:13-17 (NLT)
For God is working in you, giving
you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. [14] Do everything without
complaining and arguing, [15] so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent
lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked
and perverse people. [16] Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of
Christ's return, I will be proud that I
did not run the race in vain and
that my work was not useless. [17] But I will rejoice even if I lose my life,
pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service
is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.”
a. Justice is the quality of being
fair, being reasonable, the right thing.
b.There is a wrong/right way to treat people.
c. There is a wrong/right way to
serve, give, encourage.
d.There is a wrong/right way to live.
e. There is a wrong/right way to
learn.
i.
God
is fair, reasonable, and right.
1.I will choose to be like Him, I am a soldier.
2.As a soldier I will mimic His every move.
4.Soldiers lead
courageously.
a. Be
worthy of following.
i.
Good leaders will never lead you into a
destructive place.
ii.
Good leaders will never lead you into
temptation, compromise, or sin.
iii.
Just because I’m a leader does not mean
fear is never present.
1.Though in the face
of fear I have to function, I have to operate; I have to continue my mission.
b.Be headed
somewhere.
c. Don't
live life haphazardly.
5.Soldiers focus on
the task at hand.
James
5:7-8, NLT “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the
Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the
fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
a. The
farmer must wait patiently for his crops to grow; he cannot hurry the process.
b.But he does not
take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields.
i.
There is much work to do to ensure a
good harvest.
ii.
In the same way, we must wait patiently
for Christ's return.
iii.
We cannot make him come back any
sooner.
c. But
while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance God's kingdom.
d.Both the farmer and
the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their
labors.
i.
I’m not looking to just be blessed by
my work for only tonight.
ii.
I have an eternal hope; I have an
eternal mindset in that I expect God to continually reward my every effort for
Him.
e. God
is taking you through a process, don’t run from it!
f.
God is taking you through a process
because you are a soldier, soldiers don’t run out, soldiers don’t quit,
soldiers can’t dismiss the process and still expect to be soldiers.
i.
Those people are called civilians.
g.Don't live as if
Christ will never come. Work faithfully to build his kingdom--the King will
come when the time is right.
Illustrate
Here: There’s a soldier in every one of us.
h.The devil's surprise-destroy
every human being he can.
i.
God's
surprise-provide a rescue mission for every human through His son Jesus
Christ.
Isaiah
9:6-7 (NLT) “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government
will rest on His shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] His government and its peace will
never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his
ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of
Heaven's Armies will make this happen!”
6.Soldiers are trained to search, rescue and to never leave
another soldier behind.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NLT)
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout,
with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet
call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
[17] Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth
will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be
with the Lord forever. [18] So encourage
each other with these words."
a. Encourage one another with these
words.
b.Live in anticipation!
i.
317
times in the New Testament heaven or the rapture is mentioned. (The word rapere
and its derivations means to be caught up, plucked up, or taken by force. It was the Latin word for the Greek word
harpazo, which means “to seize upon with force” or “to snatch away” in 1
Thessalonians 4:17.)
c. Heaven is real declare it, live it
out, talk about it!
i.
Live
like your going to it!
d.“There’s a soldier in every one of us” means, there lies
in the heart of every one of us the potential for doing unbelievable,
physically in achievable miraculous works for God.
i.
I
love how that video shows everyday average people fighting for their cause and
winning.
ii.
Surprising
the enemy with what they didn’t ever expect, me having the upper hand, because
of Christ.
Next Month our seven core values:
