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(This sermon is to make for last Sunday's sermon)

Fighting for the Lord.

Father in Heaven, this one is for you. Take all praise, for it belongs to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


Saturday night was filled with fun and conversation! I went to a friend’s 30th birthday party and I just had a great time. I played on the trampoline for most of it, having “bum wars” with my older sister, Kat (when we were kids she was the bum war champion) and my little buddy (who is the 9 year old son of the birthday girl [I’ve known both for years and I care about them very, very much]), Ethan, or E-Boy as we call him. Man, by the end of the night I was so tired and apparently so beat up (E-boy likes wrestling games and he always wins ninja Dang his super human abilities to beat up people who are way bigger than him! He likes to brag about it, and that’s just embarrassing wink ) that I was nearly passing out on the porch steps. By that point, there was no more trampoline jumping. It was back to chatting for me!

I’ve never been the type to openly try and talk to people. I’ve always been really shy and I usually don’t talk to people unless they talk to me first. It’s a horrible personality trait, but I’m working on it. My big sister, Kat, kept insisting that I try to talk to people. I knew that wouldn’t motivate me to do that, so I ah…didn’t…not right away, actually. So, I did what God told me to do. I prayed that He gave me strength in that department. Soon, I straightened out my The Punisher shirt, swallowed a couple glasses of soda like the pop fiend I am, and I went off and talked to people.

It was pretty fun. I talked about Final Fantasy 7 a lot, played games with E-boy while chatting with this very funny dude, and I talked about my friend who just turned 30. Talking about FF 7 was especially fun wink . The party was great, all in all.

Anyway, towards the end of the party, my sister, Kat, and I started a conversation with a Pagan woman (she called her religion Paganism). The woman was very polite and willing to talk to us, even though she openly said she wouldn’t if we were going to discuss hell and such with her. We weren’t going to do that anyway, so of course we agreed. This was a friendly conversation, not a conversion (though, if our intentions were to convert [which they were to a degree, but talking to anybody about Christ is an attempt, though not always with intent] we wouldn’t preach hell). The woman told us about how she was once Christian, about how she once KNEW God/Jesus was there. But something pulled her away to Paganism. We of course respected that and the conversation progressed into the war Israel is going through right now. We discussed how people are dying right now, and how so many cities and such are being destroyed. That part of the conversation wasn’t pleasant to say the least.

Soon after that we had to leave and go home, leaving me to my thoughts while we drove home. I was sad right then. My Lord, people are dying in the Middle East like flies, and lots of them aren’t Christian. Lots of them aren’t saved. Most of them will not meet their maker. That woman my sis and I were talking to had been pulled away from the Lord, and if she were to die today, she wouldn’t be able to see Christ. Little E-boy, the most precious little boy to me (he is like a little brother. I’ve always been the youngest, but not with him!), wouldn’t get the chance to see the Love of the Lord. Ethan reminds me of myself when I was a 9. He’s active, a nerd of things like Star Wars and AVP, he loves his mother with an undying passion, and he’s just plain cute. But he also is a God hater, a Christ curser, and an unsaved person, just like I was once. To think he’d face an eternity without Christ when he died is…unspeakably upsetting. My own mother, the one who God gave the power to bring me into this world, will not see Christ if she died today. It was all coming down on me at once. I couldn’t take it very easily.

So, I prayed once again silently, asking God to please tell me how I can serve him. I asked Him how I could help. I sat there in the car for a few minutes, and He told me something I didn’t want hear at first. He had told me this once before, but I needed a reminder. He told me that I had to fight for Him.

I knew what was the cause was for all this. I knew who was responsible for that Pagan woman being pulled from Christ. I knew what kept people away from God. I knew whom God was referring to when He said, “You must fight for me”. You guessed it. It was the damn sluth foot himself. The Devil.

Quoted text was written by Lala heart


Christ taught us that it’s not people who are our enemies. It’s Satan. Christ taught us that we shouldn’t quarrel amongst ourselves, but instead we should be marching against Satan.

Satan has no power, but his ability to make us fear and to make us fall makes him a threat.

We were nearing our home, and I was thinking of a million things a second. I was frightened. As much as I am ashamed to admit it, I was afraid of the Devil. The past year was HELL thanks to him. I had nearly committed suicide thanks to that smug b*****d. I was spiritually dead for years because I had listened to his lies. To think that I had to face the one who had tormented me and caused me to believe I was turning evil was horrifying! Then came all the, “I can’t” and “But I’m afraid” type answers to God’s command. I was like, “I can’t, Lord. I’m afraid.” But you know what? God is the Ultimate at all things. He’s the Ultimate comforter.

As I was going through my little episode, God understandably yet firmly told me to remember how dead I was before I came to Christ.

I remembered what Satan did to me and how much I wanted to die. I remembered how a year ago August 18th I had my first run in with the Devil. I remembered how The Devil flooded my mind with racist, sexist, hateful, evil, disgusting, lustful (I’ll level with you, it’s not like I’m free of a sex drive, but this was beyond natural attractions), and all around bad thoughts. I remembered how the Devil tried to get me to do bad, unthinkably evil things to woman and Children. I remembered all the nights I spent begging to die. I remembered the times I would beat on my head to try and get the horrible thoughts and false urges out. I remembered beating my mattress with my fists in furious rage, all directed towards myself, then how I’d collapse and start sobbing, screaming out, “I WON’T DO IT!”. I remembered how I was nearly on the brink of insanity. It all came back to me. My sister had told me earlier that day that she had gone through the exact same thing! She told me she had those thoughts as well. That jackass had attacked my sister, Katherine! burning_eyes

That’s when something clicked inside me.

There was no fear after that. Oh no. It was replaced by Devine anger. There was no way I was going to let Satan do that to anyone else, not while I’m with God (which will be forever). There was no way I was going to let him pull another soul from God when Christ can do something about it through me. My mind was set. I’m going to fight for God no matter what it means for me! I told God through prayer, “I will fight! I will fight, and I’ll fight, and I’ll fight till the end of my life!”

God has a way of igniting passion in all of us. As soon as we got home, I was planning out my next sermon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get on the computer, but I was thinking up this sermon while I was getting ready for bed, and all day the next day while I was in the mountains. How happy I was to finally realize that God would fight through me if I let Him.

You are God’s servant. Not only that, you are God’s second in command in His Devine Army of believers. God has blessed all of us with ways of fighting for Him.

When God asks us to fight for him, He doesn’t mean that physically (unless absolutely necessary, as I’ll cover soon). He doesn’t want us to fight each other. He wants us to fight the spirits of Evil. He wants us to fight the Devil, not only for ourselves, but to take people away from the grasp Satan. Of course, fighting for God does sometimes mean you have to fight physically. I don’t know how many of you can read (J/k, don’t hit me) but there’s this book based off a true story of Christian heroism. The novel is called Warriors Don’t Cry, and it’s about the late 50’s integration of Little Rock High School in Arkansas. Nine African American students went through hell at the hands of segregationalists (who I think were all heavily influenced by the Devil) just to go to school. I’m a big history buff, and the Civil Rights Movement is definitely one of my favorites parts in history. Martin Luther King is a hero of mine, that’s for sure. This book is one of my favorites, because it shows the true power Christ has over Satan. The true power of God’s love, even though Satan did all he could to bring hatred. Anyway, the book is based around the experiences of Melba Beals, a 15-year-old girl who was one of the nine students. She is also a big hero of mine. She and her family were Christians, and they put their trust in God completely. They knew that her going to school was God’s will, and that her going to that school to integrate was God’s way of helping his people. Melba was victim to beatings, cruel pranks, nearly getting raped, and many other vicious acts. She always said throughout the book that she wanted to give up, stop going to school and continue to let segregation suppress people. But God told her that she had to do this. I can’t imagine that pain she and the other eight students went through. But God said they had to anyway. Fear not, though, for God’s will is hard, but it’s for the best. Melba had many close encounters with death at that school. It was made obvious to her and her friends that they weren’t welcome by the other students. That means THOUSANDS didn’t want her there. People tried to stab her, light her on fire, lynch mob her and her friends, and she had to do this for God. She was fighting for God everyday in ways I wouldn’t be able to. She definitely deserves high levels of respect and admiration. Needless to say, when push came to shove, and if Melba’s life was threatened, she fought back physically. When she was going to the bathroom, a few students tried to burn her alive. She threw her textbooks at them to get them to back off and run away. When a man had a knife to her throat, she bit his arm and kicked him in the stomach. She had to fight for God in a physical way. But each time it was because necessity, not because that was the only way. For the most part, she fought for God by turning the other cheek, which made her attackers go like, “….What? I don’t want to do this if she doesn’t care!” Satan’s hatred there that had so many people consumed was being crushed by God’s good grace. Man, that book has so many of God’s miracles in it; I hope you guys decide to read it sometime. It also shows how God brings other people to help out. Not everyone wanted Melba out of the school. There was this Caucasian dude, Link, who did whatever he could to help Melba out (they were close friends, even though Link knew he’d be cast aside by the others) There were students who’d look at her and smile, saying, “I want you here,” or “you’re pretty”. Grandma India, Melba’s grandmother (obvious, huh?), would tell her to forgive and never give up for the Lord. It’s beautiful, man, it really is.

Lala once told me when I needed to hear it badly that the Devil can’t have me. She said that and the Devil backed off. You know what will effectively crush Satan’s little rebellion? He can’t have ANY ONE of us. It DOESN’T matter WHAT you did, who you are, what you look like, ANYTHING! You can effectively fight for God by pulling his Children back to Him! You can fight for God by letting Jesus show His love for all people through you. You can let the Lord work through you, and Satan will be on the run.

What does that mean, exactly? That means you don’t go all, “It’s like a bajillion degrees in Hell. Enjoy” or, “YOU SINNER!!!! COME TO GOD OR FACE THE BAJILLION DEGREE TEMPERATURE OF GOD’S JUDGEMENT!” That doesn’t mean you do everything you can to show an unbeliever contempt, hatred, betrayal, or that you outcast them. That doesn’t generate love for God. That doesn’t generate belief and salvation. That generates anger and annoyance. Instead, you show love, understanding, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, or you can give to the poor (something most people forget to do), tell somebody that you love them, etc. That will show people that Christ is there, and that He cares!

I know that we’re not perfect. We get mad and mean towards others sometimes. I do, that’s for sure. When I first made my Christian thread before I met Lala, I got really mad at the people who came in just to flame. Some of them I’d curse out if they cursed me. That was unchristian like, no doubt. There’s no excuse for that. But the point is we’re not going to be like Christ all the time. But just because we’re not like Christ all the time doesn’t mean we can’t be like Christ.

Fighting for God does mean that we devote our lives to His cause. It does mean we take the time to memorize scripture. Though, just because we fight for God and devote our lives to him doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to spend every second of our lives reading our Bible and praying. Of course we can have social lives, go to parties and have lots of fun, go see movies, play video games, etc. However, that does also mean Jesus comes first. Pray every chance you get. Pray in your mind during the boring parts of a movie. Pray a silent prayer for somebody while you’re at a party when you feel you need to (see Asha’s “Prayer” sermon). That will effectively punch Satan in the face.

It’s always good to please God. But, like always, it’s a choice to fight for God. It’s not easy, not at all, but if you make the right choice you will be rewarded.

Fighting for God has been a chore. When Jesus bought me with His blood and enlisted me into His righteous army along side all of you, life has gotten harder. Way harder. I’ve taken on more responsibilities, taken more crap from people because I’m Christian, come face to face with my enemies and make up with them, etc. But has life gotten better? BY FAR. There are no words for that. Zippo. It’s all worth it. Every little bit of it. The feeling you get when God lets you know you did the right thing for somebody else is so grand, so loving, so…grand (I need to learn more adjectives ) I tell you truth, I’ll die laughing joyfully if God makes a difference for somebody else through me. Even if it was only one person (I hope it will be way more than that), I’ll die with a wide grin of glee and praise God every second leading to my death. All my past sins, my past failures, my past wickedness, past losses like my father dying and moving from my homeland, all my past selfishness and contempt will mean nothing. All my social scars and the fact I sometimes feel like I just plain creep people out or that I say stupid stuff will mean nothing to me. Knowing that Satan has less company in Hell because I decided to let God work in me is worth it. It will have all been worth it if God used it to help others through me. All of it.

I hope that God has made everything in your life worth it as well. I hope that you decide (if you haven’t already) to fight for God and for Christ. I hope that you all find the utmost happiness through Christ. I love you all very much.

Now it’s time for me to go do spiritual push-ups and pull up in order to train for the fight. Woah! It’s not easy! But we’ve got the sweetest, more understanding, yet most firm and effective drill sergeant ever. Jesus! He doesn’t go, “You worthless maggot! What did I just say?! I will personally come down there and kick you in the butt! Blahblah blah blah!” whenever you make a mistake. He’s always willing to forgive and let you try again. Always.
heart

P.S I'd be honored if each one of you (if you decide to) said the closing prayers.

EDIT

I went to my church's website (The Church is called Denver Community Church) and I came across the audio sermons of my two favorite pastors. I was in the same room with them when they gave these sermons, and I love them both. If you have the time and want to, I suggest listening to these sermons. I think you can hear me laugh in the background in one of them. I still love you all.

http://www.denverchurch.org/audio/20060723.mp3
http://www.denverchurch.org/audio/20060709.mp3

Poem-chan shared this story from the bible with me yesterday, and I just think it's awesome.

There was an army rising up against King Jehoshaphat. They were quite mighty in size. King Jehoshaphat spoke:

2 Chronicles 20
12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."

13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "

18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his [d] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
"Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever."

22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

How beautiful is that. God delivering his people and keeping His name Holy and full of Righteous Justice. They kept their eyes on God no matter what they were feeling. The fear that they encountered they confessed it to God and He comforted them and made them a promise. Because they were confident in His promise they PRAISED GOD through their hard time. God inhabits our praises. As soon as He saw the people's faith and love (and the rest of the armor of God) God moved on their behalf.

All they had to do was 1. Take their positions and stand firm 2. Trust and Praise God for the outcome!

God is calling us to do the same things. He is calling us to stand firm in Him and His Word, which includes sharing the power of life that was freely given to us, and not relenting to our own agendas or shame. He calls us to take our positions in Christ. We are to plant the seeds of life (not giving into selfish fear) and trust and praise God for the outcome --deliverance!

Father God, I praise you for this most excellent reminder that we are called into battle back to back with you. Thank you for helping us to remain steady and set our faces like a flint to obey you and win the world for you. Thank you for providing us with people around us to help strengthen us and like Moses having Joshua and Aaron to hold up his arms to help the people win the battle, you have provided those who hold our arms up also. You so rock, Lord! Everyone of us loves you and cares deeply for you. Thank you for the growth and the setting free of our brother here lord, he is VERY precious to us even as he is to you. We love you Lord!! And we follow you into battle!!! Amen!

~song~

Are you walkin' into the enemy's camp?
Layin' your weapons down?
Takin' off the armour as you go?
Leavin' it on the ground?

You gotta be strong in the power of His might,
To prove to the enemy .....
That we are the army of the Lord,
And we've won the victory!!

~~~~

Halluiah Lord God that YOU ARE THE GOD THAT CALLS THOSE THINGS THAT BE NOT .... AS THOUGH THEY ALREADY WERE!!!! We have already won!!! By the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony!! Halluliah!!!