Michigan Camp Meeting 2019: As a Witness, Matthew 24:14

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Morning Devotional: It's War Time

Jason Sliger

It’s Wartime - Part 1: Life is War

It’s Wartime - Part 2: The Weapon of War

It’s Wartime - Part 3: Wartime Communication

It’s Wartime - Part 4: War in a Garden

It’s Wartime - Part 5: The Weapons of Our Warfare

It’s Wartime - Part 6: The Perfect Battle

It’s Wartime - Part 7: Sheep among Wolves

It’s Wartime - Part 8: Marching Orders

Father in heaven, we come into your presence this morning, this early morning hour, because we want to know you better.

Father, this morning we ask that you would speak to us through your word, that you would draw us nearer to you, raise us up to fight as soldiers in your army.

As you take a survey in Scripture, you will find that the Bible describes the Christian experience in many different ways.

The Bible describes it in using the illustration of farming, athletic pursuits, the building, shepherding, and so on.

There's many different ways that the Bible describes the Christian experience.

And all of these serve to illustrate different aspects of our Christian walk.

However, I want to talk to you this morning about 1 that we find repeated oftentimes throughout Scripture, and that is that the Christian experience is 1 of war.

Our scripture, or our sermon title this morning is, Life is War.

We find this repeatedly described throughout scripture.

Revelation chapter 12 and verse 7 describes the beginning of this war here on this earth, when the Bible says that there was war in heaven.

Revelation chapter 13 and verse 3, the Bible talks about the war that raged during the time of the Dark Ages, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints.

Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17, the Bible tells us that this war will continue to rage.

The Bible tells us that the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

And the Bible tells us that in this war, that we are all fighting, that the outcome for God's people is certain.

And that We will be successful if we stick with our general.

Perhaps my favorite passage in all of the book of Revelation, Revelation 17 and verse 14, the Bible says, these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.

There's 1 thing that is certain, the Christian life is 1 of war.

You know, I find it interesting that as you look at this description throughout the Bible, The Bible does not describe a non-wartime part of life and a wartime part of life in the Bible.

The Bible simply describes that we are in battle.

It doesn't come to an end here on this earth, it will come to an end when we get to the kingdom of heaven.

I know you all are looking forward to being there.

In his book, Prevailing Prayer by Taylor Bunch, the great Adventist preacher, He makes the statement, Christians are not on a playground enjoying a picnic.

We are on a battlefield engaged in a fight to the finish.

We occupy a fortress, not a pleasure house.

I've been convicted recently that the sooner we come to the realization that we are engaged in a full-time, unending war on this earth, the better soldiers we will be.

You see, sometimes we go around in our life as though we are civilians.

And you know what happens when you drop a civilian in the middle of a war?

The outcome is usually not good when you drop a civilian right in the middle of a thick, thick battlefield.

I believe that the reason why it is war is because it's a constant battle to maintain our faith and our surrender of our soul to our heavenly Father.

It is a constant battle to keep your soul surrendered.

From the pen of inspiration it says this, the Christian life is a battle and a march.

Look up that phrase, a battle and a march.

With earnest, determined efforts, we must constantly oppose the forces of the enemy.

Constantly oppose the forces of the enemy.

Sometimes when we come to camp meeting, this is a wonderful place, and the tendency can be to relax ourselves because we are among those who are like believers.

But I want to tell you something this morning, the battle has not stopped just because you're at Michigan Conference Camp Meeting.

Another statement from the pen of inspiration says this, the rest is in heaven for the weary.

Rest for the weary is in heaven, the crown for the brows of the warriors.

We have no time to sit down now, no time to devote to self-pleasing.

There is a crown that is waiting for the weary warrior.

Just press a little longer, brothers and sisters, And that time will come.

You know, we enjoy living in a country, I hear this quite often from Seventh-day Adventists, where they say, I'm thankful to live in a country where we can worship God according to the dictates of our conscience, that we have freedom and not religious persecution.

But what I've come to realize is that I think that this sometimes lulls us into a state of complacency.

It's interesting that when you survey those who live in the parts of the world where persecution is the thickest, that you will find that those people have the thickest relationship with God because the battle is real to them.

We need to pray that God will make that battle real to us each and every day.

It's interesting, as Paul writes to Timothy in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy, he encourages this young minister to view his whole life and ministry from a wartime perspective.

Let me just give you a couple of passages here that illustrate this.

He says in 1 Timothy 1 verse 18, this charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.

2 Timothy 2 and verse 4, he says, no man that worth entangleth himself in the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

And I really like the way the ESV version translates this Bible passage.

The first part, it says, no soldier entangles himself in civilian pursuits.

First Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, it says, fight the good fight of faith.

Lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art also called and has professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Paul is advising Timothy, view your life, view your ministry, view everything through the lens of war.

And then Paul pointing to himself as an example, says in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 7, I have fought a good fight.

What was the result that Paul said as a result of him keeping the faith and fighting this fight?

Henceforth, there is laid up for me a what?

Yes, it's a athletic pursuit to be a soldier.

My Brothers and sisters, as we continue to fight in this battle faithfully holding on to the hand of our general, we will be victorious.

And that crown of righteousness that is laid up for Paul is also laid up for you and me.

But perhaps 1 of the greatest tragedies that I have found in my ministry, and I'm sure that you've been aware of this as well, are those who profess to be Christians, Seventh-day Adventists, sons and daughters of God, and they go from 1 defeat to the next.

The Bible describes quite a different picture when you look at it, that we can have uninterrupted victory, that we can go from 1 battle to the next, victorious, victorious, victorious, in that engaging in that battle with Satan.

However, when we look at our experience, unfortunately, we end up going from defeat to defeat, and I believe it's because of the way we are viewing our lives.

Do we view life as a time of peace, or do we view life as a time of war?

And I believe that switch in that paradigm will change a lot in our lives, whether or not we experience victory or defeat in this spiritual battle that we are engaged in.

Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, this morning, This is not a time of peace.

What if I told you that tomorrow morning, World War III was going to happen right here?

If you knew that the troops were heading this direction, that the enemy was coming, that the Air Force was coming, that the tanks were rolling this direction, if you knew that the enemy was going to be here tomorrow morning.

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Morning Devotional: It's War Time

It’s Wartime - Part 1: Life is War

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