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Modern Soldier |
Spiritual Soldier |
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In the army a captain leads a number of soldiers. A physical Army has many different ranks in charge of one another. Where the fighting happens however, it’s a Soldier with his/her Captain leading him/her. The Captain is the example he /she can follow. The Captain is fair and can be depended on for justice, mercy and help. |
In the Church, Jesus Christ is the only Captain and we Christians are each one of us, soldiers. Unlike the army, the church does not have layers and layers of more and more important people in charge of the others. The Holy Spirit is in charge of all. Jesus Christ is our one and only example and he leads us and provides us with Justice, Mercy and Help. |
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The group that the soldier belongs to is called a 'unit'. All soldiers belong to a unit and need to know that they are a part of it and that they belong to the unit. |
We each belong to the Heavenly Kingdom of God. This is the unit we are part of. There are about 2 000 000 000 of us on the planet who are alive at the moment and we all experience similar things but we all belong to God's Kingdom. The unit called the church has billions more who have already died and are in the Kingdom now. |
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Every soldier is chosen for a job he/she is best able to do. They are chosen based on their skills and talents, their strength and intelligence and many other things about them. Each soldier therefore has a special job to do called a 'function'. Functions must be done by someone, E.G. Fighting, Cooking, Nursing, Communication, etc... |
Each of us Christians have a function within the Body of Christ (His Church). Examples could be: Praying; visiting those who are old, sick or in prison; feeding the hungry; housing those with no homes; taking care of widows and orphans; leading praise and worship to God; leading a congregation of God's children; Teaching the Word of God; listening to those having a hard time at school or work; just being kind and gentle. |
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All Soldiers from the same unit have things in common like their clothes, badges, the way they parade or march. The whole unit also has a common enemy |
We have a common Lord, a common enemy and many other things in common too. Unlike the army soldiers though our clothes are not physical but the Holy Spirit provides us with robes of God's Righteousness. We also all have one symbol or badge in common, so simple that anyone could make one - The Cross. |
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All army soldiers need to know that the rest of the members of their unit can be trusted to help them out when they are in trouble. They are never alone if they are together. |
We Christians (if we are true children of God) will obey the command to share one another's troubles - that is to rely on other Christians when we have a problem and really help others out when they have problems. In fact we have to do more than the soldiers - We have to do these things in love. |
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The army and its soldiers have been designed to attack and defend. They have to work as one unit to defeat a common enemy. |
The world has one enemy, and that is Evil - We are God's army and we Christians are here to destroy evil. We do this by coming together as one body under God's forgiveness against all evil. We are sorry for and pray for those tricked into supporting the Evil one as they are unaware that satan will use them and then destroy them. |
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When a war has been won and one country is taking over the other, then the country that won puts their army into the losing army's country. They are not there to win the war - that has already happened they are there to fight against rebels and to do good for the people of the new country. |
Satan and all his evil spirits, demons and evil principalities and powers were defeated 2006 years ago by God’s Messiah - Jesus Christ - at the Cross - where His blood paid for the Sins of those who wanted to be saved. We Christians simply remind these evil forces that they have lost and we do it by the power of the Blood and Name of Jesus Christ. |
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All soldiers have equipment to help them. Some equipment is used to keep them safe. Some they wear and others they carry but all have to be looked after and kept clean. In the battle the soldier will need these. |
We have Salvation, God's Righteousness, Truth, Spreading the Gospel and Faith to defend ourselves - If we ask Jesus to save us we are saved but then we must keep this helmet on to protect our mind from being dirtied by the evil around us. Know that God sees you as perfect. So then: do not Lie; tell everyone about Jesus; always trust in God. |
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There are times when a soldier needs to attack the enemy and to do this he/she needs weapons which can do the job. |
The Word of God (The Bible) is the only weapon God has given us. It cannot be used by the enemy because only The Holy Spirit can explain it and He only explains it to children of God. When we use it the way the Holy Spirit teaches, we are able to attack satan and his evil forces. We always win!! |
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A soldier can be recognised as belonging to a unit by the clothes and badges he wears. |
The Holy Spirit is our "uniform" and He leads us to recognise others whom He has chosen. Our spirits are prompted by the Holy Spirit so that we can sense the Holy Spirit in others and so we can recognise our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. It is the mark that cannot be seen by others. Its not just goodness and kindness. You will know it, because you know Him. |
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A soldier is trained to be able to do all that is needed to be able to fight and defend and so make the unit work. |
We must read and study God's Word to find out what it is we must do and how we must do it to make the body of Christ work properly. |
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A soldier is taught to control him/herself. This is called "self-discipline'. They also have to learn how to do this together as a unit. |
Discipline is often doing what our physical bodies do not want to do. We must control ourselves in the way Jesus says and then we must also be controlled as a church (all 2 billion + of us) which will only happen when we all Listen to The Holy Spirit. |
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Soldiers have to be obedient to the training they have received. The whole unit must be obedient to the laws taught by their Captain. |
We have to be obedient to God's Word - First to God's actual words, then To Jesus actual words, then to the scriptures, then to the letters written by the rest of the New Testament writers and finally to the minister of the congregation you attend. |
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All soldiers have to be told where the battle is and what the Captain needs them to do. |
We are not to ignore God's call to do battle. We are to watch for the times when God makes our hearts hurt for others who are having a problem and then only when God makes your heart hurt for someone must you help them. God has another plan for those you are not hurting for which does not involve you. When your heart hurts it is called “compassion” then God is calling you to act. |
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All soldiers are rewarded for doing the right things well. Sometimes with medals and special honour. |
The reward for us is eternal life in Heaven. Jesus also tells us that we should do good things for others for each time a reward is stored up in Heaven for us. (Only children of God get to Heaven – If you are not one find a church and speak to the person in charge) |
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There are laws that soldiers have to obey and these must be studied and remembered. Soldiers need to live thinking about them all the time and watching out that they do not bend or break them. Obedience must be instant and must become their natural reaction. |
We who are children of God must remember that we are the spirit that lives within our bodies (which is really just an earth machine to us). Because of this we must live as a spirit and not just let our earth machine decide what we will and will not do. We must take and keep control. We are spirits, let’s start living as spirits. |
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Army soldiers are given the authority within the unit but not over fellow soldiers. They have authority over their weapons, defences and when to use what. |
Jesus has been given all Authority and He has instructed us to go and tell all nations about the gospel of Jesus - We then operate with the Authority of the Blood of Jesus Christ |
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An army soldier needs to make sure they get enough sleep and rest to re-energise. But even while doing this they must not forget that they are fighting soldiers. |
Our fleshly body (earth machine) is weak and full of sin You need to give it sufficient rest without losing the focus of the spiritual battle at hand |
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Soldiers always stand together, and never leave their fellow soldier in a battle all by themselves. |
We love our Christian brothers and sisters who are also in the battle against satan and his evil forces. - Therefore we stand as one, pray as one, worship as one and serve each other in submissive humility. |
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Soldiers know that they must call for re-enforcements (extra helpers) when they need more help. They do not relax and stop trying when the re-enforcements do arrive, but fight more fiercely. |
Children of God need to have a prayer group and they need to call on the group to pray for the needs of the affected child of God. Keep praying yourself too for both your situations and theirs. And do not forget to pray for the whole church (all 2000000000 + of us) |
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Soldiers always make sure their weapons can not go off accidentally. They make sure that they are unloaded when they are not attacking the enemy. |
Our mouth is the weapon used to launch the Word of God and the words of our faith... But this is also the weapon that must never speak evil of others and which we should ensure gets "unloaded" when we are with other humans and especially if we are getting angry or over-excited. |
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A soldier knows that he has to have enough ammo to fight with and so he must make sure the enemy cannot attack his/her ammo supply lines. |
The promises in the Bible that God makes are our ammo and we fire these at satan and his evil forces with our mouths. But we have to make sure that we have the promise. To be able to use a promise against satan and his evil a child of God must be doing those things that God says we must do to be allowed to get that promise. |
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A soldier knows that at all times, and especially in-between battles that they need to know where their food is, and protect the way that they keep on getting more food. |
You must be reading Gods Word (your spiritual food) - It must be a habit to eat God's Word. Satan attacks your food supply by making you feel like you are too tired or too busy to read or even to go to church. (satan can change your earth machines feelings from the outside - be careful of your feelings) |
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Soldiers know they must eat often and eat healthy food. They must eat what they need and not just what they like. They must not just swallow their food but chew it properly and digest it thoroughly. |
We must 'eat' God's Word often. We must not just read it but rather read smaller bits and meditate on these (To meditate means to think about it a lot) |
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Soldiers have to check their weapons and defences are working properly often. They must make sure they are safe. The soldiers have to keep doing this because the enemy is watching and when the soldiers do forget to check then the enemy will easily be able to attack them and do damage. And that is often when they do attack. |
We must keep our spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ good. Do not allow your relationship to grow cold through too many outside influences and ungodly things like bad movies, music, magazines, friends who want you to join them in doing things God does not like. |
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A soldier has to be alert at all times - they are taught to "expect the unexpected" |
satan will try to get us to think we are ‘OK’ so that we stop being alert and then he will attack us in a way we never expected. So we must stay alert and expect the unexpected. |
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A soldier learns to rely on the training they have received and on the other soldiers in their unit. They listen to and obey the wisdom of their unit commander. They Never fear the enemy. NEVER GIVE UP HOPE. |
We must rely on our training from God's Word and on the guidance of The Holy Spirit when we face problems and temptations. We never have to be afraid & NEVER GIVE UP HOPE. (God may seem like He is late - but He never ever is - Trust Him) |
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A soldier must remove all potential traps and ambush areas so that they can easily see and defeat the enemy |
There are many objects and places which can be associated with a desire. If the desire is something God does not like, then this is an ambush area or a trap. Get rid of them or find ways to avoid even seeing them. Pray to chase these away and do not put yourself in danger by going to places where you will be tempted. |
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Soldiers have to clear any restrictions which make it hard for them to spot the enemy. |
The best way to clear something is to dig it up and throw it away but we must make sure that what we take out of our life is replaced by something good. We should Spend our time doing and thinking good. We must chase away anything which tries to stop us or divert our attention from doing this. |
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A soldier knows that if the enemy succeeds in taking ground from them - which the enemy will fight very hard to keep it. The soldier also knows that they are weak in that area and that their enemy will most likely start their counter attack by trying what worked last time first. |
You should carefully watch out for how the evil one tempts you into sinning. When you stop sinning, remember the way you got stuck in this sin the first time It is the most likely way he will attack you in the future to get you to start sinning again. Watch out for a pattern of circumstances or events. |
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A soldier represents his/her unit. Everyone is watching them to see if they are obeying their code of honour, which includes: Courtesy, Helpfulness, care and compassion. |
As a child of God we represent our family and we are all being watched and discussed by people and spirits. We must show the world the code of conduct that God requires of his children. Our code is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. By being considerate in all your dealings with others, you will also gain their respect and cooperation. 1 Peter 2: 1, 11 – 15, 20 - 21; |
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A soldier has to give up their own will. In fact in some countries soldiers sign over both their civil and human rights. They become the property of the Government to use as and when and where they choose. Soldiers have to submit both their will and their desires to the leader of their unit. |
When you become a Christian, you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life and you also ask him to take over control of your life. If you are serious about this then this includes your will to do your own thing as well as satisfying your own desires. Only then are you saved. This is what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus. |
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A soldier must know who and what their enemy is so that the soldiers actions are focussed on the real enemy |
Our enemy is spiritual, they are not physical and our actions are not aimed at the physical world such as blowing up things and people we fight in prayer and right living. We pray for those who are caught in the lusts and passions of this world. Any external act of violence helps satan's cause not God's |
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A soldier must be willing to give up his/her life in order to defend or protect others. Their attitude is: "Either I succeed in doing this or I die trying to get it done." |
Jesus promises "he who will lose his life for My sake will find it" (NB See previous point) So our attitude is: "Either I stop sinning and love others or I die loving others and stopping sin in my life." |
You are most welcome to return again.
May God Almighty, Lord of the Armies of Heaven and the Universe, show you how important your task is in His plan.
Feel free to send this page to the Christian brothers and sisters that the Holy Spirit lays on your heart to send to.
Your little brother in [Jesus Christ, He who calmed the storm, walked on water, rose from the dead & watches over you]
Rick Evans (TheArmyofGod@softhome.net)
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