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A WARRIOR’S HEART

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    There have been wars fought since the dawn of time.

 

B.      For wars to be won, there must be warriors to fight.

 

C.     Not just any warrior will do.  The one who triumphs over the enemy is the warrior with a warrior’s heart.

 

D.    Why is this important to Christians?

1.      We are involved in the greatest war ever known.  It is the fight for the souls of men and women.

2.      As Christians we are warriors in the Lord’s army (II Tim. 2:3).

 

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

 

3.      Our desire should be to triumph over our adversary the devil.

4.      However, to do this each of us much possess “A Warrior’s Heart.”

 

I.                   CAUSE

 

A.    A warrior understands that there is a cause for which he is fighting.

 

B.      A cause is a grounds or justification to engage in conflict and fighting.

 

C.     It was this knowledge that caused David to rise up and do battle with the giant Goliath (I Sam. 17:29).

 

And David said, What have I now done?  Is there not a cause?

 

D.    We have a cause.  The enemy is seeking to destroy our relationship with our heavenly Father and is trying to keep us from living eternally with Him in the hereafter.

1.      Are we going to passively sit by and allow this to happen?

2.      Or, is the cause important enough to us to cause us to rise to the battle?

 

II.                COMMITMENT

 

A.    The warrior’s heart is filled with commitment.

 

B.      Commitment involves a person’s willingness to bind and pledge himself to fight to the end for the cause.

 

C.     Joshua, the captain of the armies of Israel, asked for commitment from the nation of Israel (Josh. 24:14).

 

Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth:  and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

 

D.    As soldiers in the Lord’s army, we were supposed to have made a commitment when we became Christians.

1.      We committed to the cause of Christ (Luke 9:23).

 

And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

 

2.      This commitment does many things for us.

a.      It keeps us in the battle when the going gets tough.

b.      It keeps us from sitting on the sidelines watching others fight our battles.

c.       It causes us to encourage our fellow soldiers when they grow weary and discouraged.

 

III.             COMMANDER

 

A.    A warrior’s heart is a heart that is fully dedicated and loyal to his commander.

 

B.      When a soldier enters the armed forces of the United States, he takes an oath.  That oath pledges his loyalty to the Commander-in-Chief of the United States.

 

 

“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

 

C.     The Lord is the commander of the Christian army.

1.      In Hebrews 2:10, Jesus is called “the captain of our salvation.”  The word “captain” means “chief ruler.”

2.      Our loyalty is to Him.  We must be like Peter and John in our loyalty to God (Acts 4:18-20).

 

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

 

IV.             COURAGE

 

A.    To be loyal and to engage in the fight against the enemy, there is one quality that towers over all others.  It is the quality of courage.

 

B.      Courage is simply defined as “having heart.”

 

C.     A warrior with courage found in the Bible was Jonathan.  He was not afraid to go against the enemy (See I Sam. 14;6).

 

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised:  it may be that the Lord will work for us:  for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.

 

D.    To take the gospel to the world, to fight against Satan, to confront the false religions of this world will take boldness on the part of the Christian (II Tim. 1:7).

 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

 

V.                CODE

 

A.    When a soldier enters the armed forces, he is taught to live by the “Code of Conduct for Members of the United States Armed Forces.”

 

B.      The Christian also has a code by which he is to live.  That code is the gospel of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:27).

 

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ…

 

C.     NOTE:  The code is not always easy to live by.  It makes some demands of the highest order.  Even when put under the severest of tests, the soldier remains true to the code.

1.      Daniel was tested by the lion’s den, but stayed true.

2.      The three Hebrews youths were tested by the furnace of fire, but stayed true to the code.

3.      The apostles were tested by threats of death, but they stayed true to the code (II Tim. 4:6-7).

 

For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course I have kept the faith.

 

VI.             CHARACTER

 

A.    One of the things that is very important to most military men is their character.

 

B.      Character:  positive, wholesome traits that make up who a person is.

 

C.     I Corinthians 16:13

 

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men, be strong.

 

D.    Lists of character traits are found throughout Scripture.

1.      The 8 beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12)

2.      The 9 fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)

3.      8 traits of the new man (Col. 3:12-14)

4.      The 8 Christian graces (II Pet. 1:5-8)

 

VII.          COMRADES

 

A.    A very important part of a warrior’s heart involves his love, his loyalty, and his care for his comrades. 

1.      They are his eyes and ears.

2.      They are his reinforcements.

3.      They are his protectors.

 

B.      In the Lord’s army, there should be this same type of love, loyalty, and care within the troops (I Cor. 12:25-26).

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

 

VIII.       CONSEQUENCES

 

A.    The heart of a soldier understands consequences.

1.      He understands the consequences of losing a battle.

2.      He understands the consequences of winning a battle.

3.      He understands the consequences of failing to fulfill his duty.

4.      He understands the consequences of failing to support his “brothers.”

 

B.      Let’s go back to David.  Here was a soldier who understood the consequences of failing to fight Goliath.  He also knew the consequences of obtaining victory over the giant (I Sam. 17:46-47).

 

This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear:  for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

 

C.     The heart of a warrior in the Lord’s army understands consequences.

1.      They are not as immediate.

2.      They are not easily seen by our physical eyes.

3.      They do not appear to be that detrimental.

4.      This is because the consequences involve the soul, things spiritual, and things that are eternal in nature.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Having the heart of a warrior should be important to every Christian.

 

B.      Sometimes, we do not give it much thought.

1.      I have to have the heart of a child.

2.      I have to have the heart of Christ.

3.      I have to have the heart of a brother.

4.      I have to have the heart of a disciple.

5.      But, do we really contemplate having the heart of a warrior.

 

C.     Having a warrior’s heart,

1.      Enables us to war a good warfare now (I Tim. 1:18).

2.      And, enables us to come to the end of life knowing that we have fought a good fight (II Tim. 4:7).

 

D.    Are you a warrior in the Lord’s army?

 

E.      If you are, are you missing any of the key elements of the warrior’s heart?