"WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A VETERAN!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

 

2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8

If you want to be a good student, it takes determination, discipline, hard work and paying attention. If you want to ber a good employee it takes doing a full day's work for a day's pay, going the extra mile, making the interests of the employer a high priority. If you want to be a good spouse, it takes sacrifice, unselfishness, commitment, communication, genuine love and faithfulness. If you want to be a good parent it takes patience, understanding, courage, consistency, kindness and involvement. Today is when we celebrate our veterans. And there is a challenge for us all to be veterans for Jesus Christ.

  1. IT TAKES SACRIFICE:
    1. Paul said, "As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near." He saw his life and his death as a fitting offering or sacrifice to God.
    2. And who can fathom the untold sacrifice of our national veterans? To sacrifice is
      1. To endure loss for the sake of someone else or for some purpose we consider worthy.
      2. To willingly give up for someone what we could use for ourselves.
      3. To die for a cause.
      4. A fireman going into a burning building to rescue a child.
      5. A policeman facing a drug maddened gunman.
      6. A soldier leaving home and family for the danger of war.
    3. How can we do this for Jesus? Not many of us will actually forfeit our lives, but we can still sacrifice
      1. By investing our time, our money, and our energies in serving the Lord whether it is convenient or not.
      2. By going the second mile to do something for the church that needs doing even if it alters our previous plans.
      3. By providing transportation or assistance to those who don't have it for themselves even if it takes us out of our way and changes our schedule.
      4. Giving up our right to, and pursuit of, ease and comfort in order to further the Gospel.
      5. By sharing our faith with unbelievers even if they reject and riducule or even if they harm us.
      6. By focusing on God and eternity rather than on self and this temporal world.
    4. Johnny, a 12 year old boy, was told that his sister was very ill and needed some of his blood if she had any chance to survive. The boy was willing and as they began drawing the blood, the nurse noted the boy growing pale and breathing heavily. She said, "Are you all right, Johnny?" He said, "Yes, I'm okay, but I was just wondering ..." "Wondering what, Johnny?" "I was wondering how long it will take for me to die." "Die?" the nurse exclaimed. "Did you think you were going to die because you are giving blood for your sister?" The boy answered, "Yes, ma'am." Of course he didn't die - but he was willing to, and that is the spirit of sacrifice.

What does it take to be a veteran? It takes sacrifice and:

  1. IT TAKES STEADFASTNESS:
    1. Paul said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." In other words, "I have endured. I have hung in there. I have been steadfast."
    2. How grateful we are that our forefathers and even now our friends, siblings, children, grandchildren, husbands, wives are standing firm against a determined enemy.
    3. Steadfastness means
      1. Standing firm and unwavering for what you believe to be true.
      2. To be dependable when the chips are down.
      3. Not running away from difficulty when running is the most desirable thing to do.
      4. Loyalty in the face of trouble, danger and difficulty.
      5. Standing up for Jesus even if we stand alone.
    4. "Gentleman Jim"Corbett, who held the heavyweight boxing title for five years at the end of the nineteenth century teaches us a lesson in steadfastness: He saidm, "Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to guard yourself, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round - remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped." Fight one more round. After that round, we fight another. We must keep on fighting to the end if we expect to experience victory and be a veteran for Jesus.

What does it take to be a veteran? It takes sacrifice and it takes steadfastness and:

  1. IT TAKES SUFFERING:
    1. Paul was about to die a martyr's death. Tradition has it he was beheaded for Jesus.
      1. Prior to that, and during his entire ministry, he fulfilled Jesus' words, "I will show him how much he must suffer for Me." Acts 9:16 (NLT).
      2. And by his own account, by comparison to his detractors, he said, "I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along." 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 (NLT).
    2. Who can measure the degree of suffering our soldiers endure? Loneliness, privation, terrible living conditions, constant danger, misunderstaning by those who they are trying to help, disdain from other fellow Americans here at home and often, death.
    3. None of us wants to, or needs to, volunteer for needless suffering. But are we willing to suffer if that should be the demand?
      1. Paul wrote, "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him." Philippians 1:29 (NLT).
      2. And "And since we are His children, we will share His treasures - for everything God gives to His Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering." Romans 8:17 (NLT).
      3. Peter wrote, "Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing right and are patient beneath the blows, God is pleased with you." 1 Peter 2:20 (NLT).
      4. No wonder it is written of the early Christians, that they were "rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus." Acts 5:42 (NLT).
      5. Jesus will provide recompense, "In His kindness God called you to His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation." 1 Peter 5:10 (NLT).
    4. Let me illustrate the three things it takes to be a veteran. On January 23rd of 1999, Graham and his two sons, Phillip (11 yrs.) and Timothy (6 yrs.) were murdered by a large mob of militant Hindus. They had gone to a Christian camp in the jungle, where Graham was ministering. At midnight the mob attacked, setting fire to the jeep in which Graham and his sons were sleeping. They were burned alive. When the fire finally cooled, they found the charred body of Graham Staines with his arms around the bodies of his sons. Graham served the Lord in the jungles of Orissa for over 34 years. He was described as "a wonderful, gracious, self-effacing man of God, full of faith, confidence and humility; warm-hearted, and a wonderful father." He could also be described as "a veteran!" He had what it took and gave what it demanded.

What does it take to be a veteran? It takes sacrifice and it takes steadfastness and it takes suffering. It is not necessarily easy to follow or serve Jesus, but it is the only way to heaven. It is the way that leads to life. If, in this world, we serve Him faithfully and willingly, then in the world to come He will exalt us and reward us. If, in this life we are faithful soldiers for Jesus, we will receive a veteran's welcome into the next. Paul wrote, "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (NASB). If you do that, He will make it worth you while. He will repay every loss. He will dry every tear. He will recompense every pain. "Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ." Colossians 3:24 (NLT). Will you serve Him? Jesus calls you to. He waits to hear your answer.

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