What A Soldier, or Christian, Battles

What A Soldier Battles             Major Kelly Durant 1-10-16 Re 5-4-25

 

2 Tim 2:3-4 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier

 

2. In the trench warfare of WWI each side would make long trenches and no one could pass from one side to the other. The reason? Every time someone put their head up to try and run to attack, they would get shot at! The land between ally and enemy trenches was coined, “no man’s land” as no one could be there without getting shot! That is the way our enemy, Satan operates. As long as you stay comfortable in your trench he doesn’t bother you, but when you come out and proclaim some victories for Jesus, or when you expose his sin spreading in the world, he attacks you. The attacks come in many different ways.

 

We are God’s soldiers and the only way to fight this war is to be disciplined! Discipline implies not being so busy with distractions that you are not battling what you enlisted for! What is our discipline? Prayer, the studying of the Word of God, and standing up for Biblical causes, obeying and proclaiming Jesus as the Savior and commander over all commanders is what wins the victories! 

 

3. Soldiers, when you have a hard time standing for your Commanding Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, remember, when you are weak and can’t seem to get up, then that is the time you should kneel! Kneel and get strength from outside yourself! Prayer works! 

 

Remember also you are not in this war alone and there are more than 1 million Salvation Army Soldiers in the world! Statistics claim there are more than two billion Christians too! In this Corps everyone does pray and care for those who are weak and in need.

 

I sincerely hope all of you are praying for each other. If you are a friend and a help to someone, they, or someone else God will send, will be a friend with you! We must be communicating during the week, supporting and loving each other helping with each other’s needs in the same way the disciples watched out for each other! Post and speak up when you need it.

 

4.  The Salvation Army uniform can be taken as symbolic as being dressed in service to Jesus similar to what Paul talks about in. Eph 6:12-18

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 

The uniform in most countries is very well recognized and just think… people are being reminded of our Lord Jesus when they see the uniform. It will often open doors and bring you respect.

 

5. Those are the classic verses in Ephesians on being prepared for battle and it was the uniform of the Soldier in Jesus’ and Paul’s time. We must pay attention to these verses and do what it says, or we might get a hit in a weak spot, and it will take months to heal if it doesn’t kill us! Eternal security requires eternal vigilance!

 

The uniform helps you in battle, but do you know how? It identifies you as representing a Kingdom and it is not a killing army, we are a saving army. We are at war with evil! Just as a firefighter in his uniform is prepared to fight fires, just as a policeman identifies himself as the keeper of the law, we as Christian Soldiers represent the fight for righteousness, purity, love serving the suffering ones who do not know Jesus! 

 

Most of all we represent our Commander and Chief Jesus Christ! Every day we fight for what is right! Even in heaven we will have a pure white uniform to wear reflecting the light and purity of God! So, a uniform on earth is actually a good practice for wearing one in heaven!

 

6. As you know we do not train to fight with a rifle or a gun, we train to fight the enemy with the sword of the Word of God, quoting scripture to the enemy, and after him being resisted, he will flee from us!James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you

 

In the verses in Timothy we see that we are to endure hardships, as the soldiers of the world do, for our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you think about when Paul was writing, the Romans had a very strict code of conduct, and they would march on foot for months carrying heavy metal armor and they suffered many hardships! Much worse than what anyone of us experience!

 

Today we will cover three basic battles or hardships a Soldier faces; The one with Satan in your head in yourself; the one with those close to you, your family & friends, and the one with the evil people of the world.

 

7. One of the first attacks, how our accuser and adversary confronts us, is with discouragement in our minds! You and I may be doing good for a while happy with Jesus, just like many that come awhile but then leave, because Satan, the tempter, will get into the head and feed any weak one with pride for your successes, or attack you over the opposite for your failures with discouragement.  He tells you… look at you, you are a failure, or he will say you are powerful like a God, and either extreme of exaltedness or debasement is not of God. 

 

Often you and I are either tempted to think we do not need God since we are so smart or tempted to think that there is no God. It is human to get out of control and prideful or to sometimes feel abandonment, depression, or rejection! You know you are a sinner and hating on yourself, or anyone else for sin makes you destructive to yourself and to others! Satan always schemes to destroy and tries to make you confused in your mind, which will make you sick in your spirit, which will make you sick in your body as well! 

 

So how will you get the will to fight from God then? You must yell in your mind and with words when needed, “Get behind me Satan! I claim the blood of Jesus!” Pray, Lord, take away my pride, take away my thoughts and give me your thoughts only renewing my mind! (Romans 12:1,2)

 

 

8. 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Thank Jesus for giving His blood as a redeeming atonement!

 

You will tell Satan, I am God’s child, I am invaluable since Jesus died for me to have eternal life, and any sin that I may have, Jesus has cleaned me from it! Pray, Jesus, heal my body, mind, and broken heart!

 

So, the first battles with most Christians begins with your own evil self and discouragement; but remember Jesus will get the victory if you get encouragement from the Word, pray and get others to pray too, and you let God work doing your part! 

 

9. Battle two: With others, you will have to be tough with those closest to you, with those people in your life, those in the church and those in your family.

Matt 10:34-36

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

 

When you live as a true Soldier for Jesus Christ, doing what is correct, pure, and Godly, you will get enemies without even trying! In both Regina and my families there are some people that have no desire whatsoever to see us because they know that we love God and usually talk about the Bible, and since they love the things of the world more than the spiritual things, they do not want us around them making them feel uncomfortable. In this battle you will lose some friends and family, but you will gain others that are more helpful and loving than the ones you had before!

 

This church Corps, and all true churches, are like family! But sometimes there are brothers and sisters who say and do things in their carnal nature, not praying over their words, and they can confuse you if you do not have your eyes on Jesus! Never focus on the complainy neighbor or the critic of your decisions, focus on the ultimate commander, Jesus!

 

Remember, people will always fail you and even some Soldiers even go AWOL, but Jesus, He is a friend forever! Be prepared to have some bad experiences sometimes, it is a part of the battle. But God answers prayers, and blesses those who remain dedicated, pure, loving, and patient!  Those who get off the trail, like the stray sheep, usually get hurt falling in some ditch before Jesus the shepherd brings them back. Turn these types of people over to God’s hands, and let Him deal with them. You will not be able to fix some people, only God’s Holy Spirit can do that!

 

10. And finally battle number 3, you will have war with the evil people of the world!

When the people who practice sin and do evil see peace and love in your face and eyes, and they see your deeds done from a servant’s heart full of compassion serving the needy, it makes them angry and they will often attack you. Remember how the hypocrites wanted to kill Jesus! Some demonic type people want to see everybody sour and bitter, and angry at the world like they are! Never go to their level! Live in peace, turn the other cheek, but don’t let them destroy you! When necessary, say, “I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!” I have had to do this 1,000s of times in my lifetime.

 

As Soldiers and Christians, we have contrasting mindsets with those in the world and when we expose them then we are engaging in a spiritual war.

2 Timothy 3:13   But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

 

The evil ones in the world love death, and war, and abortion but…

  We love life, and peace, and children!

The evil ones in the world love exploitation, material wealth and pride but…

We love righteousness and justice for the poor, and we seek spiritual wealth, desiring to be humble!

The evil ones in the world love to accuse, condemn, hate and create scandal but…

   We love forgiveness, we do not condemn, and like the prostitute forgiven by Jesus, we just let God deal with it! We are peacemakers!

 

11.The values of the world, under its evil empires, carrying out anti-Christian attacks, reveal who is our enemy. Governments, colleges, news outlets, movies and songs, all promote anti-Biblical values 24/7! Bottom line, Satan hates Christians with a passion, and he is at war with every one of us! There is a very active war of propaganda to destroy all values of purity and love by all means possible. It is done by the promotion of the acceptance of perverse sexual behavior, the stripping away of human rights under totalitarian politics, and the demonization of the people of faith. There are continuous lying attacks done on good people and it all comes from the evil powers that control behind the scenes. 

 

Satan exalts everything that is totally diametrically opposed to God’s values insulting and challenging Jesus and all Christians. (But he is always the loser!) And notice, one does not win a defensive war. We all must speak out for God and His love, defending His basic principles that produce respect and dignity through the high standards of values as we fight for the right!

 

The Lord wants exaltation of absolute love, dedication, and loyalty and His Kingdom! And He is the only One who is worthy of fighting for! The very first commandment is to… Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind! But if you give your loyalty to men on this earth, they will always let you down and there are no rewards! 

 

12. We are all blessed to be representing as soldiers Jesus the King of Kings! You have a Commander that is all loving, all forgiving, all-powerful, and He knows where you will best serve Him, and you must serve Him with honor.  You and I must battle the enemy and obey His call! If we do not choose to be governed by God, then we will end up being governed by some evil oppressor, even some cruel tyrant! 

 

Just think how many people are stuck on this earth all of their lives as slaves to evil men and not to God! Satan wants to enslave every person with vices, crimes, temptations and sins, creating a sick body, mind, and spirit! Today we all are given an opportunity to serve our true God like never before! 

 

We must fight with the truth to free the souls of men and or they will have hell to pay! You have to fight to keep your own soul and body strong in the Lord!   Philippians 2:12

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

You are the chosen ones to represent your Lord in battle, so march forward to the prize of the high calling of God! Prayer…

The Damocles Sword: What Dangers Do You Live Under?

The Damocles Sword: What Dangers Do You Live Under?  By Kelly Durant   

6-9-13 Re 3-2-25  2 Corinthians 11:24-26),   2 Corinthians 1:3-11

2.The Sword of Damocles is an anecdote (but probably a real story) of Dionysius II of Syracuse,  a 4th century BC tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily. Damocles exclaimed to his king, Dionysius, that, as a great man of power and authority surrounded by magnificence, how blessed and fortunate he truly was. Dionysius offered to switch places with Damocles, so that Damocles could taste that position with privilege firsthand. Damocles quickly and eagerly accepted the king's proposal. Damocles sat down in the king's throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius arranged that a huge sword should hang above the throne, held at the handle only by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles finally begged the tyrant Dionysius to let him get up from the throne, because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate!

Dionysius had successfully illustrated the sense of the constant fear in which the great ruler lived, as he was always in danger of death by treason. Dionysius made it clear that there can be nothing pleasant for the person over whom some fear always looms! Over each one of us is a danger that could harm or kill at any moment!

3. In life, most every one of us while on the earth is threatened by a continuous danger. These dangers could be present as a medical problem, risks involved in work, even in the traffic! Some of these dangers could be from violent family members or by thugs in the neighborhood. Some dangers come from geographical phenomena like tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes, and yet other dangers are from spiritual attacks playing on our fears; voices from our spiritual warfare of good vs. evil, of the devil and his demons attacking you & I who have a Christ-like mind. 

I was there for hurricane Andrew in 1992! That upset our lives for almost a year! Some people, as seen in the Bible, believe destructions are permitted by God to purge people from their sins, so in their weakness they repent and look to God. God may reveal to you or may not reveal to you His purpose in these trials. But, either way, our mission is to serve suffering humanity!

 I was thinking about my past, places where I have lived and the different dangers that I faced and the ones each of us face from day to day. I grew up in Oklahoma with tornadoes and the danger of losing everything, even my life; it was a real danger during certain times of the year. 

Some people crack easily under pressure (usually the faithless) while others just keep on going. How strong are you? Want to be stronger in the face of danger? Just be right with God, you could be called at any time! I thought I was going home when a second tornado hit near our hotel in OKC when I was on disaster service back in 2013! Several times I have been near death!

4. People respond to life threatening dangers in different ways:  One by irrational actions due to their fear, or by living in denial that the threats are real. Another way is by becoming obsessed by their fears and to their own harm inappropriately get sick and worried. But then there is God’s way of conquering danger and fear: by having faith and trust in Him!

We all have seen some people have a faith crisis over intimidating outside forces not in their control. Some people not knowledgeable of God’s Word might conclude that God must be cruel to allow suffering. They get angry. (This is Satan’s means of getting people to misjudge and blame God, (so they do not worship and honor Him), But if any one of us does not honor God as the Creator, we are by default honoring ourselves as God and we are not gods, and the obvious is we control almost nothing! Our adversary Satan, steals worship by this influence. 

Others might deduct that God must not be there to stop nature’s fury, or man’s wars, or resolve their personal problems, since He must have made the universe like a wind-up toy and abandoned it (The Deist view). And there are others that conclude God is not in total control and therefore He is imperfect. He is a lesser God from a higher God. (The Gnostic views) 

5. It is true, God does allow suffering and death at times but there is a greater purpose for it beyond our understanding!  One day in heaven God will reveal to us all things and we will know and understand why, but for the moment, too many factors are present that we are unaware of to understand His final purpose. It is like trying to solve a complicated math problem when you only know values for X,Y, & Z, but no values are known for A,B, & C.

I’ve met many people after having lost all still had their faith. Would you keep it if you lost all? Let’s look at a man that went through a lot and did not let his faith be shaken, the apostle Paul.

2 Corinthians 11:24-26  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

 

Paul had experienced it all and he lived through all the pain caused by evil men and by nature. 

I can’t even imagine the horrendous pain of a lashing! Or of floating in cold dark waters shipwrecked! Possibly many of you have lived through dangers. You might even still live in fear of the next danger that might assault you. In Miami people have the Damocles sword over their heads from the threat of massive hurricanes. Each place proposes a distinct threat, each life of ours involves us facing different dangers.

 

6. The question today is: What fears do you have? What threats do you have over your head? 

I contemplated sharing some of the dangers I have been in and how I have had to grow my faith in God consoling myself even speaking out-loud to myself the comforting Scriptures of the Bible while walking down the street! Most of you like myself have lived with the dangers I will discuss here, and again I ask you, how are you dealing with your fears and trials right now?

In Brazil I was always worried about getting attacked by thieves in the street and 3 times I was chased and forced to be running away fast and hard from thugs escaping by catching a moving bus. I was also fearful of being deported, and when our resident visas were denied, we had 8 days to leave.  It is hard but we must accept God’s will over our will for our desires. He controls all. Sometimes the thing we do not want the most is what He allows for a good we do not see.

In Bolivia I arrived in 1977 right after a Military Coups and some snipers had shot about 200 people from the tops of the downtown buildings. During my time there I often lived under Marshall Law and saw democracies and dictatorships come and go by the half dozen. I often breathed tear gas as protesters were dispersed. The threat of imprisonment was always present. What I loved though was I could preach the gospel with freedom almost anywhere!

In Chile, in 1981, jail time and disappearances were common under Pinochet’s dictatorship. I made the mistake of having home Bible studies, which was a gathering of people in your home prohibited by law, and some of the youth from the universities I had over I later discovered were Communist sympathizers. At 5:00 am one morning 6 police with machine guns raided our home only to discover that we only had Bibles as our propaganda! Our phone from then on was tapped and we were watched, so feeling too uncomfortable with that we decided to return to Bolivia.  The fact that I had nightmares of being hung by barbed wire by the police did not help either!

In Colombia the Guerrillas were not too far away from where we lived just outside of Bogota in Subachoque. The people in the local markets would tell us all about it. As you know the FARC or others would always kill a few innocent farmers in order to scare people to be able to take over an area. Kidnapping was common as well and I heard a few dozen stories of this happening amongst my friends and students. A gringo was always a target and several times for no reason Soldiers showed up to our doors just to see what we had in our house. I always was friendly and open. I was informed later they were not soldiers, but guerrillas disguised as soldiers.  Thank God we were just poor missionaries with kids and we were not worth kidnapping for a ransom! One neighbor beside us did get robbed though of $10,000 dollars! I did not ask that couple how they acquired that much money because too many questions can get you killed.

In Venezuela I had friends that told me stories of their experiences of gangs of thieves showing up at their homes to rob and rape their wives! God stopped us from getting residence there as well as the visas were approved and sent to Bogota, but the Consulate wanted money under the table we did not have, so we ended up getting resident visas in Colombia instead!

7. When you think about it…dangers are always present, and we could become a victim of anything at any time! But God’s protection is ever present as well, so we have peace in the midst of the storm! 

Here in the U.S. many dangers prevail but the risk depends on the area you live in. In the Metro cities, theft and crime is a way of life:  in Chicago dozens get shot weekly. Forest fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods are just a few of the threats we all live with in this nation, not to mention extortionists, mafia, the sex trade, drugs, and even the abusers in our families cause great harm. It is a miracle that day to day we are so well protected!

So what can stop our worries and calm our fears? Only the Word of God! I use to repeat several verses to myself to overcome these fears and take note of them so you too can to gain strength when you need it!

Philippians 4:6, 7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

Isaiah 26:3 Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.

Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. (made me alive)

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

8. And when we see others suffering as you and I have seen in our past, here is a verse that come to mind of what our mission is:

2 Corinthians 1:4 Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Our task as a true Holy Ghost filled Christians is to console our own spirits from the worries, threats, and fears we face daily! And after that, you are to console others who are going through trials that have left them disoriented and weak.

I don’t think God is unfair to allow us to live in a fallen, imperfect world where nature or people can ruin us in an instant. We are in a school to prepare us for eternity where everything will be perfect. Maybe one lesson is you need to be ready to trust God and also be ready to leave it all behind (even your life) at any time! 

I think God knows that without dangers all of humanity would forget Him and go the way of the Satanic self-centered, prideful, perverted, and narcissistic wealthy people who think they are gods. The reminder of dangers remains for us all: you and I have a sword over our head! 

What is the sword over your head? What do you most fear? Bad health? A tornado?  A violent relative? An armed thief? Poison in our food, air & medicines? An economic implosion, depression, and collapse of the system? Have you learned to live with it by placing it in God’s hands? Let’s pray for peace of mind! Let’s pray that we learn to trust God no matter what happens!

The Storms in Life: What Action To Take

The Storms in Life: What Action To Take         Major Kelly Durant  7-21-24 Psalms 61:8, Jeremiah 4:1, Matthew 7: 24-27

2. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, are all termed in the legal books as ‘Acts of God’. Why? Because these are powerful forces that no human being can produce, manipulate, or control! 

As humans, we are, in the end, weak tiny creatures and often all of us get reminded by massive catastrophic events how defenseless we really are! Also, we get reminded that we should build on the right foundation, that we need God!

3. Catastrophic events humble each of us. As Jesus reminded us that we are not like God, we cannot even make one of our hairs black or white. No one is a match to stop the pain of the massive catastrophes or ground shaking events that happen in our lives! 

Nature destroys at times, but how sad it is when evil human nature destroys! These are not acts of God but acts of men! These events are out of our control!

4. I was in New Orleans on 2 different reliefs. Most everyone knows that it is famous for its mix of French and African cultures with the Catholic one. These combinations are similar to Central and South America. New Orleans is known for its wild partying in the streets, creative jazz music, and distinctive Cajun culture. I experienced a variety of different accents, and spicy sea food.  It is a place where the football team has the name “Saints” and the restaurants have the name “Voodoo”!? 

It is very coincidentally disturbing that the storm, Isaac, hit New Orleans exactly 7 years to the day as Katrina. If you are superstitious or not, no matter how you look at it, God is in control, and He allows everything for a purpose. No one died this time though; thank God he protected life! This is God’s love and mercy to all! But when life fails, consider this:   Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

5. No one should be surprised by these events since we who live on this earth know that man, and all creation, fell from perfection several millennia ago and came under a curse. Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 

Physical storms and floods invade the lives of millions every year. This is a product of creation’s fallen nature. Devastation, even without nature’s forces, comes into our personal lives as well. Destructive events provoke great losses, and we wonder, what is God’s purpose in this? God tests our compassion, for one.

6. I, with The Salvation Army teams, fed the victims from the canteen trucks serving the suffering. The people often expressed appreciation for the food that we were providing since they had no electricity for many days. We also gave out cleaning kits and Wal-Mart gift cards.  It was amazing to find most everyone expressed gratitude, even after having lost all furniture and everything, people were still thanking God that they were going to get through it all that and they were glad just to be alive! 

7. Pain, apart from making us seek God, should bring us closer together to each other! In my experience in the past, I discovered, by hundreds of conversations that many of the people who lived in the suburbs, that were flooded were quite neighborly, looking out for each other, and the elderly. The lesson of the pain of Katrina taught the people of New Orleans to be more united.

Before, in the days of Katrina the situation was much more hostile, but the conclusion that can be deducted is that many people have learned better ways of dealing with crises; by looking out for each other, and applying prayer, positive-ness, patience, and persistence! As Christians these are the qualities we promote!

8. Now, let’s compare the hit of one of the massive storms to our personal lives. There are times that, due to the sins of others in the world, or due to our un-submitted to God nature, we suffer from bad choices. Adversity, loss, and the stripping away of all that we thought we had, may overwhelm many of us at some time or another in our life.    

The experience of people who lose everything by a disaster is not unique in many ways as it is a majority of the people who pass through some life-changing crisis sometime or another.

The storms of life are inevitable. Everyone goes through a storm of some kind. Some people lose everything by bad relationships or break-ups, or the death of a family member or a serious health problem. Other ones, like Job in the Bible, experience devastation due to invading events from the outside. Job kept his faith. Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.  Sadly, however, some people get bitter and blame everyone and God for their bad times. Recovery will not come with this attitude.

9. The frightening reality is that any one of us could lose our property, family, friends, and/or our health, overnight! It is in these painful times that we must exercise even more our faith to get us through. And, if we pray, and allow friends to be there for us, we will come out like pure gold refined in the fire as Job.

Some storms, or turmoil, come from the consequences of us having made bad choices. Why would anyone choose to build in flood area is always a question that reoccurs. Some people are just unwilling to give up their way of doing things to move to safety. But most of all, why would anyone choose to live without being close to Jesus, without establishing their life on the rock foundation, is the question that should disturb us.

10. Jesus points out that some are wise, and some are foolish. Matt 7:24-27   24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The sand is the world and Jesus is the rock. Without faith and God’s strength, all we have collected over time, our efforts, our productions and goods, all will be washed away without supporting our lives on God’s salvation. People that lose all but have God, remain strong; those who don’t have Him usually go crazy.

11. And consider what Paul writes…

I Cor. 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

God is the fire. Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. In the final presentation of our souls returning to our Creator, it will be like a person running out of house on fire. He or she will escape alive, but everything that is not of God in their life, or in your life, will vanish into smoke! But what you did for God; that you will get to keep forever!

12. Many people in life have had to start over. What you as a good Christian will not lose, if you are firm on the foundation of God, is your faith, and your place in heaven with your rewards for the works you have done on earth. 

In this country, and all around the world, most people are not right now rebuilding their houses due to a physical storm that has devastated their property but rather they are recovering from a personal loss, a heavy spiritual battle that has hit them hard. Many people do want to rebuild on Jesus, but they need help. 

We are living in hard times and those not experiencing pain must help those who are in pain. After experiencing a loss, after a deep injury, the biggest question by them is, where do I start to rebuild? We must help and guide one another. 

13. Sin, like a storm, destroys not just the one who practices it, but all the ones close by as well. Never is just one house flooded, it is entire neighborhoods! 

In society today, when you consider bankruptcy, divorce, addictions, and selfishness, it is more than one in every two homes that has suffered destruction of some kind. Devastation may have come by an act of God, or by an attack of the enemy, or it may also have been brought on by someone’s sin, even your own sin. 

It is sad reality that many of our Corps members, amongst everyone we know, we conclude that the storms in life have caused many to end up with broken dreams, broken relationships, and broken hearts, and also end up with no money as well!

The effects of sin we can compare to the destructiveness of a storm. At first it seems far away, and few believe it may cause any danger. The reality is very few people ever prepare for a storm with survival goods.  God’s Word, our faith, and His strength in us made perfect in our weakness… is our survival equipment! 

So how do we escape the pain of losing it all? Why not just give it all up all to Jesus today? The disciples gave up everything. Do a preemptive offensive.

14. Matthew 4:19-21  19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 

When Peter, James & John abandoned their fishing business to follow Jesus they appeared to have lost everything. It was the same as if a storm had blown their ships away. But they gave it all up for Jesus, the One who would reward them forever in heaven for following Him! And they gained the status of being one of the first of the faithful. Multi-millions of Christians have admired, studied, and respected the disciples ever since, and in heaven they have honored seats. Ask yourself, am I willing to give up my ship, my life, everything for Jesus?

15. To gain something better than what you will lose there must be a step of prevention. How do you prevent a fire from burning down a forest? You do a controlled burn, so that no dry leaves on the ground could burn hot enough or high enough to catch the limbs of the trees on fire. This is done in most national parks in the U.S. This is the lesson from the verses in I Cor.3:13.  Are you ready to do a controlled burning up of the things not of God in your life? Purge out the sin!

How do you escape a loss from a flood?  You build in an area where there is no flooding, on a higher ground with a solid rock foundation. 

16. Many people in the world, not just in New Orleans,  are in the phase of rebuilding what they have lost. In many places you see torn out carpet, cabinets, and drywall making huge piles of rubbish near the street. 

Don’t worry if people see your trash. You cannot stay alive in a house and not get sick if you do not remove the rotting wood, the slime mold, and the mud filled mattress! A pile of your trash out front is a healthy indicator that you have decided to no longer live with filth! 

Burn away the trash! Move away from the flood area! Rebuild your life on Jesus today and nothing in the future will affect you!

Let the old be burned or buried and replace it with the new. The physical things can be compared to the spiritual things in each of our own lives. Start building as of right now a strong foundation of faith in The Lord. Connect more with others of the faith, read & study the Bible more so you will know better how to save and help your own self! Soon afterwards, you will be able to help save others as well!

Christians are survivors! They have endured 2,000 years of losing it all due to persecution and torture and this continues today! If you have gone through a storm or you are going through one now, remember, where there is life there is hope.

Don’t just not do anything and lose it all when you die either! That would be a total loss! Starting today, get rid of the things and people in your life that are worthless, selfish, and self-destructive, in other words don’t tolerate “sin”. 

Do what you have to so you will never have to worry about future storms. Storms will come and go but you will be just fine, strong and prepared, because your treasure consists not in the things of earth, but in the heavenly ones. 

 

Impediments Do Not Stop the People of God: A look at Moses, Paul, & Each of Us

Impediments Do Not Stop the People of God: A look at Moses, Paul, & Each of Us.                                                              By Kelly Durant

Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

2. Some people think they are perfect, they are not! Our tendency as fallen creatures is to want to trick ourselves into thinking we can make our world appear perfect and then with pride, be better than others. In one of the books of C.S. Lewis (I recommend you read his books) who was a converted atheist, he mentions a lady which brings out a good point about so called perfect people.

This woman was wealthy, and her clothes were always perfect, her hair as fancy, and she even had a poodle that was groomed to appear as perfect as she was. She was known in the high circles, and she would always take her poodle with her. She always thought she was better than everyone because she had accomplished so much more than others. She was high society; you know them!

But there was a defect! Not noticed by her was the fact that few people wanted to be near her because her poodle would fart often. So, the people, not knowing it was the poodle would have an unpleasant experience while in her company. This proves the point that nothing is ever as we think it is and something unpleasant exists with everyone! What do others see as unpleasant about you?

3. Why do I bring this up? Because all of us, being creatures with pride, want to believe we are better than others. We want to think God favors us more, that we are more blessed, and we tend to want to show it off. We being God’s children must be better than those other sinners on the other side of town, right?   

When it comes to pride, God has his ways of bringing people down to size. For example, Paul, who was a man who in the two most important circles in his day, was the cream of the crop. He was a Roman, and this gave him power as the police have today, and he was a Jew, which gave him spiritual authority over those in the land of Israel in his day.

Not only did he have power, but he also prided in the fact that he was perfect in all regards concerning the law. He spoke Greek, apart from Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic, and he probably was well built and strong, and for sure he had more money and privilege…so much more than the commoners. He was so perfect he decided that he needed to rid the empire of imperfection, so he targeted the Christians, who neither worshipped as a Roman or a Jew, but rather they worshipped a simple crucified carpenter that they claimed was the Son of God because He had resurrected unto glory. He reasoned that these stupid ones needed to die being disloyal and blasphemous (in his prideful thoughts)!

4. How did his plans go? Always remember, there are your plans, and then there is God’s plans! He was blinded on his way to persecute the Christians and later we discover that ever since then he had a defect in his body that he asked God to heal three times and God did not heal it, so he just had to live with it. Most people suspect it was poor eyesight, as after all scales fell off his eyes after seeing the brightness of Jesus.

So, after Paul saw Jesus, after he had his Road-to-Damascus experience and took a radical change of heart towards God and his people, notice how he got healed after being blind from that light. Acts 9:18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 

2 Cor. 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

5. Here is the problem, Christians often think that the people of the world are more prosperous, more happy, and have to live with fewer defects than what one does, so why be a Christian? In the hoods of big cities, the perception is everyone around me are poor even when going to church, but the bad guy who sells drugs, or pimps his girls always has big money and lives the life, so why should I be good if I’ll never get rich and have the good life? Here is a Psalm to answer that.

Psalm 37 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land,  and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

We must recall that prosperity for those who practice evil is short lived and soon they end up shamed, in jail, diseased, or dead! And then they pay in hell! It is better to be humble(ed) like Paul. Be thankful for your weaknesses! 

6. One more thing about the rich and famous, and perfect (never is really) in our era of information we are aware of all of what evil goes on inside of these families. When I was young the Kennedys were idolized, everyone wanted to be perfect and rich like them, but look at their fruits, many of them died young, on drugs consumed by their lavish extravagant lifestyle.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

So, you and I may conclude, I get it now, certain evils and punishments befall certain families due to their own sins. They reap what they have sewn. And consider, as in the case of Paul, God intervened and slowed him down for His purposes because he was on the road to do evil. God allows accidents, falls, and humiliations. But what about people who are born with problems? 

What about people that have defects that God seemed to have allowed even though they are chosen by Him for a mission? Does this seem unfair? Our verse of today, Ex 4:10, exposes that Moses was slow of speech, and some interpretations imply he stuttered, and could not speak well. There are several lessons here.

7. For one, God allows many things in our lives because it causes us to depend on Him. In the case of Moses, he had been a spoiled prince, and he had anger issues, so if he was perfect, he probably would not have sought for God’s guidance near as much. He argued with God about it and let’s read on for the answer.   

Exo 4:11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

So despite his impediment, God made a way for him to continue his mission! I have known many people who when they have a problem they just give up. But with God that is not an option! I have known people in wheelchairs that have passed out gospel tracts, and even my own son that is deaf communicates the gospel of Jesus to others through messages on media outlets. 

8. So when you are God’s child, you will have problems of some kind, and problems in the family (Have you studied about Joseph and what his brothers did to him one day?), and you may even have a physical impediment, or something that seems quite unfair that you have since you are doing God’s good work. But in the end God knows what He is doing in your life! 

Here is the challenge, you and I must spend time on our knees to get over it! Sometimes we can obsess about our own selves, over our own comfort, and we forget the bigger picture of God’s work and what He is doing. We need to remember that apart from the challenges God allows in our lives, Satan as well will always be behind us, harassing us, trying to get us to fall and curse God. 

Again, for example Paul, who after 3 prayers did not get healing, experienced these traumatizing experiences three times but he did not quit nor even think of giving up in His service for God! 2 Cor. 11: 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

9. So how is it going to be with you? Forget having the idea of trying to live in a perfect world, that will only happen in heaven! God’s word makes it clear there are no excuses for not remaining faithful to Him and serving him, no excuses because you are poor, no excuses because you are high class, (as Paul and Moses were), and no excuses even if you have a physical impendent.

I know some people have even questioned our lives. How is it you were serving God and God allowed you to have a deaf son? God showed me in prayer that I had the capacity to learn his language so I could teach Him and he could lead other deaf people to Jesus, and Paul has done that many times over! And I lost count how many times people shared this verse with me, John 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I got chosen by God maybe because God knew my wife and I were strong enough to manage it. Most families with kids with some problem divorce and then the child suffers greatly! That kind of suffering provoked on an innocent one is a heavy sin, and it is man provoked, not God allowed, and I always am upset at irresponsible, unloving, and worthless parents.

10. In conclusion, the people of God have always had to endure big challenges! But notice that the people of the world suffer worse without any consolation from God or Christian friends as they take drugs and live lavishly in order to cope with their fear over a loss of fortune or fame. I would rather suffer having God close, than to keep God at a distance as they do thinking that if they do He will leave them in peace! It does not work like that! There is no peace for the wicked! But Jesus said that He leaves us peace! I have tried it and it is real!

Our calling is to endure trials and come out glorious even within the broken circumstances that God allows in our lives! And when it comes to problems regarding Satan’s persecutions, you and I just put on the armor of God and fight back, knowing that he is a loser and destroyer! We may get shaken, but we come out victorious against him! John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

You and I do not choose our problems, nor do we choose our parents, our race, or our body which usually has some defective problem (most everyone’s!), but you and I can choose whether we will allow God to help us to overcome our weaknesses or not. Jesus lives in heaven where there is perfection, holiness, and pure love, and He has promised us a home there too for our faithfulness, but in the meantime keep on enduring in the fight against all of these physical and spiritual battles. Earth is a school and is not our home, the Kingdom of God will be our eternal home, thank God and Jesus for that! There we will be perfect, with God’s redemption! Amen!

Jesus Will Return: How ready Are You to Battle Until the End?

Jesus Will Return: How ready Are You to Battle Until the End?    By Kelly Durant

Matthew 24:41-43 New King James Version (NKJV)

 

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

 

2. What if someone told you, “Hey, you need to train your body to be strong for a serious event that will happen to you!” Would you prepare? Let’s assume you keep have a recurring dream that you feel is from the Lord that you crash with a group of cars on the highway and then suddenly you need to be the hero lifting a 220 pound body out of a car turned upside down. 

 

What should you do about it? If you were smart and you believe in communications from God, from the spirit, you would start lifting weights to get strong because there exists a real probability it will happen and only if you are strong enough would you be ready! There is no doubt, an evil storm is coming to attack all Christians, the demons are getting empowered, and are you prepared to battle them?

 

Every Christian, no matter the time period, has had to go through horrible persecutions, and it really does appear like we are in the end times as Christians are being disenfranchised, mocked, silenced, and killed so how can you get ready spiritually? You can be ready only by preparing yourself to be spiritually strong! 

 

3. When things get tough, the tough get going! Never forget, all Christians are to be Soldiers fighting a war, defending yourself from evil. 2 Timothy 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

 

The rules are to obey Jesus commands! On a scale of one to 10, where are you with Jesus? Are you weak and a 1 or 2? You only tolerate the church, the Corps, and the Majors, so you can enjoy the fellowship or some benefit? Are you a 5? Half the time you complain about how things are not like you like them and half the time you are content? Or are you a 8 or a 10? You really look forward to learning about the Bible and finding a way to serve others and you know having faith is the most important thig in your life? 

 

I always pray for each of you, that your spiritual eyes will be open. Life is so much more than pleasing your own spoiled self like many lukewarm Christians do and as people of the world do today.  1 John 2: 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

 

4. I think all of us want to be more prepared for Jesus to come, to be more spiritual, but spirituality it itself is not the end goal of a Christian. The ultimate goal of a Christian must be to have a relationship with Jesus to the point you live a holy life! The goal is to be connected with Jesus so deep that He makes your mind spark with joy when you hear His Word. His Word and Holy Spirit will awaken indescribable emotions which will spark a passion that makes you just want to go out and love and do good to everyone! And also warn them of the coming judgement! And do something for those who are suffering! 

 

Remember you and I have suffered ourselves in times past and it was to prepare us making us ‘better’ not ‘bitter’! How many of you have ever had a supernatural experience from a dream, a flash of a vision, or some strange circumstance in which you could perceive you were being guided by a supernatural force to get out of danger? Most everyone has! Through the good and bad Jesus prepares us!

 

You like me have probably had a near death experience in traffic and afterwards you felt like God somehow made the car brake faster than normal, or in a milli-second you turned away and only God could have saved the moment! God does have a purpose in your life, and in mine, but we must be tuned into Him to not be a deserter, or a Christian that is AWOL (Away without official leave).

 

5. If we were to travel around the world and look at every culture throughout time you and I could discover that people have always been seeking a unique spiritual experience; as humans we often want affirmation that God really is there, and He really is! The protection, the unexpected, good things, all point to a God who loves us, and He wants us to love Him back!

It is a part of our spiritual nature to want to experience the unexplainable. We are emotional beings and we want to feel something to affirm that we are taken into account by God Himself. You have to be careful today as imitations, and the new age false religions or the false Christian churches, are selling fake hopes and promises filling the ears of the weak Christians with lies so they can possess them. 

 

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 

 

6. Satan will deceive your soul if you are not preparing to battle all the lies he will put in your head. He will tempt you to go to a different wealthy church where the people ‘have more fun’ without asking you to volunteer and help the poor. 

 

I have seen it over and over, the ones that leave our compassionate active churches are not humble loving souls but usually ones that are inflated with pride. These are ones who want to be recognized as extra special and get extra special privileges and be the pastor’s pet, but that is a pride evil that deceives souls so you and I must pray for each other and for our own selves! A person can get lost and compromised not preparing by obeying for the return of Jesus. 

 

If a person is not here, or in any church, for Jesus then they are going to get lost over time, and sadly they will move into a fellowship where the people will praise them according to their own ideas of selfish egotistical ‘I’m more spiritual than you’ standards. We need to warn the weak Christians here and everywhere that if they get deceived by the devil and lose their way, it will not end well for them. Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

 

7. If you are a blood and fire Christian, then you are saved and also baptized with the Holy Spirit fire that Jesus left for His followers, and this fills your hunger for the spiritual like nothing else can! I have met hundreds of people who have gotten ‘God bumps” (like goose bumps) just from hearing the Word, or hearing a testimony of a miracle, and being more than a feeling, the Holy Spirit literally changes (our) people’s lives! Has your life been transformed like this so that you are focused solely on Jesus and not yourself?

 

When I was a teenager, I made huge mistakes in my life getting into the sins of the world. If you love music and Hollywood, Satan will tempt you to imitate those lost souls! I have seen myself and other weak Christians consume drugs and join in with people that inflate your pride. Some get back to Jesus, but others don’t! 

 

A principal danger for Christians today is the new fake Christianity, which promises to fill your inordinate egotistical dreams. It is a temptation to be pridefully recognized for being more spiritual, or more inclusive of the unrepentant sinful folks who are there to cause dissentions. But it is all Satan’s illusion to inflate one’s pride! Satan is getting vast numbers to compromise, to leave church or to submit to some hypocritical church leader instead of the gospel Jesus taught. A little leaven of the prideful self-righteous Pharisees inflates the whole bread! Beware of political leaders! Beware of Global Ideologies!

 

8. You are going to have to prepare your spirit to have enough spiritual strength for that future moment when trials come. This comes from daily prayer, the study of God’s Word, by having a rewired brain controlled by the Holy Spirit, and with a Soldier’s mindset that you resist temptation and evil in your life. 

 

If Satan tempted Jesus, how much more is he going to tempt you to move on and fail God?! You must get ready as evil will attack you personally! You might even get tempted this month to leave the faith, but those who sincerely love Jesus will remain faithful this month, and day by day, for the rest of their lives until Jesus returns.

 

Will you confess today that you have been weak and that you desperately need more of Jesus to help you to endure until the end? Not everyone will make it, only the faithful ones who hear Jesus words and obeys them. James 1:12 

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Revelation 2:10 (b) Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

 

Get ready! God could take you home when you least expect it as stated in Matthew 24! Never be as the foolish person going through the chores of life who was not vigilant and ready! Prepare now for tomorrow, He’s coming soon!