We are in the Lord's army for a reason

Today's special from the choir was: "Written in Red," by Gordon Jensen.

Our Sunday morning message was brought by our associate pastor, Brother Ryan Crawford: "A Soldier in God's Army."

We stood for opening prayer and the reading of God's word. The scripture reading was taken from Ephesians 6, with special emphasis on:

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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 armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14a Stand therefore,

"Church; We are all soldiers in God's army, if we are Christians. No one is ranked higher or lower than anyone else. We are all "grunts" under God. But never forget, we are in a battle, we are in a war for men's hearts, and minds, and souls. But we actually can't be a part of that battle unless we prepare for it. No, we do not fight, it is God who does the actual battling. But we must prepare for what we are to do, our part. We don't fight against each other, human to human; but against the principalities of the air, the Devil and his demonic army."

"PASSAGE into God's army: So how does one get into this particular army? Only through the Salvation provided by God. Not your way, His Way. Not a way, but The One Way."

Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"The PREPARATION of God's Soldier is next: Be strong in the Lord. Put on ALL the Armor of God."

Ephesians 6:13-18

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour 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;

"Then, PUT AWAY carnal things."

II Timothy 2:1-4

1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

"The PERFORMANCE of God's Soldier: Stand. There are three ways you can stand for Jesus. First; Stand up. Stand strong in God's strength."

Exodus 14:13-15

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

"Second; Stand out. We are a peculiar people. We should look, act, speak differently from the world."

1 Peter 2:9. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

"Third; Stand still."

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

And lastly; God's soldiers should SHOUT about the Good News.

Eph. 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. We are in the Lord's army for a reason, so there are soon more of us! I want somebody else in the army with me. I want you with me. I want my kids with me. I want my family with me. I want this church with me. I want every single teen in my teen group with me. I want to go to Heaven with somebody else. I like serving God, but I like serving God with others too. I like having somebody else to pray with. I like having somebody else to sing praises with. I like having somebody to serve with. But it ain't going to happen if I just sit down. I have to stand up, and so do you."

Brother Crawford then read to us: "Soul Winning Soldier," by J. Michael Walls. (Copies of it are available, with a simple on-line search.)

All verses quoted above are from the KJV, the King James Bible.

We now have two morning worship services, to better accommodate you and your family during the summer months. Our first service, the Early Morning Service, is at 8:30 a.m., with Sunday School immediately afterwards. After Sunday School, the second morning worship service, the Mid-morning Service, will start at 11 a.m. Please be in prayer, as we are stepping out in faith, to grow God's church.

Monday nights altar call prayer meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday evenings: 7 p.m. KFC (Kids For Christ), for children (meal provided), and Bible Study for adults.

Friday night Bible Study cancelled for the next three Fridays. Starting up again Friday, July 10.

Every Saturday afternoon, 3:30 p.m., Nursing Home Ministry at Golden Living Center in Anderson.

Friday, June 19: Relay for Life: 6 p.m. MCHS, outdoor track.

Saturday, June 20 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m: Come and go Luncheon for our missionaries, The Justin Rogers Family.

Saturday, June 27: Annual Churchwide Picnic. All invited. Bring yourselves, lawn chairs, and drinks.

Please remember you can hear a rebroadcast of one of our pastors' services on KURM radio, 100.3 on the FM dial, at 8:30 Sunday mornings. Or listen to our pastors' services on our website at: www.firstbaptistchurchpineville.com/Sermons.html

If you have no church home of your own, we would love for you to join us (off the northeast corner of Pineville square, just behind U.S. Bank) in ours. No friendlier, down home church, can be found anywhere in the four-state area.