In The Lord’s Service; Basic Training
Now that you have been born again! Now that the Father has transferred you from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His dear Son, He has now by His grace, qualified and called you to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. But hold up! Before you rise from the altar, run up the aisle and out of the church doors ready to set the world on fire for Jesus. There is something that always follows the first step, and that being the next step. But hold on to that zeal, because you will need it if you are to become a good servant.
After enlisting in the Marine Corps, I could not stay at the house. I would never earn the title of a Marine unless I took the next step. My decision to enter the military set me on a path. Our decision to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and to follow Him as Lord places us on a path as well. In both cases I had to leave the comfortable and familiar, and by faith go to the unknown. Having only been born again a few weeks before I wasn’t able to understand the spiritual implications to what I was doing in the natural. But later the Holy Spirit would use these situations, and the similarities to teach me.
2 Timothy 2:4 NLT
“Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.”
When a young person enters the military they might hear, “Welcome to the United States Army, Navy, or Air Force.” My welcome to the Marine Corps was “Get on your belly maggot!” The Drill Instructors used words that were not nice, nor did they use their indoor voices. But for a new Christian there is joy in heaven. (Luke 15:7,10) Here were the first two similarities that the Holy Spirit used to teach me about becoming a servant. I was becoming a part of something much bigger than myself. (1Cor. 12:27) And I was no longer my own. Many have heard the phrase, “You are property of the United Sates Army.” In the same way, as Christians we were bought with a price, a great price. (1 Cor. 6:20)
Upon entering boot camp, I was introduced to a higher level of discipline and several disciplines. By instruction, repetitive practice, physical hardship in training and correction, the fruit of duty, honor, submission to authority, commitment, teamwork, and perseverance began to be ingrafted into me. For the servant of the Lord, there are spiritual disciplines as well. These would be Worship, Faith, Prayer, Connection, Giving and Serving, and reading your Bible.
Worship
The spiritual discipline of worship is not about church attendance, or the songs we sing on Sunday. It is living in His presence every day. It is revealed in our love and reverence for Him.
Faith
For the servant of the Lord nothing speaks to us louder than Hebrews 11:6. “…It is impossible to please Him…” there ain’t no wiggle room in that.
Prayer
Separate from our relationship to God as His children, the servant of the Lord stays in constant communication with his or her Master. Communication is vitally important to a military unit in battle. Without it how would beans, bullets, and bandages get to the front lines? In the same way prayer is important to serving the Lord Jesus Christ. From it the servant receives guidance, spiritual wisdom, and help.
Connection
Hollywood sometimes gives the false idea of “Lone Rangers” in their military movies. The truth is there are no lone rangers, and those that have a hero mindset are a danger to their unit. The Lord does not call His servants to do it all, just their part. The gifts and talents that are given to His servants are for His purpose. This purpose is fulfilled when we serve together.
Giving and Serving
In a separate article I will write more on this discipline, but for now I will give you this. In the Word we see approximately five hundred verses on prayer, fewer than that on faith, but over two thousand on money. In my life I hold fast to two passages when it comes to this discipline. The sixth chapter of Matthew, and Mark 12:41-44. All these must be added to that zeal I told you to hang on to. These disciplines should never be done as religious rituals, but as life changing truths. They are a means to end which is conforming to the image of Christ. And that is the goal, right? To be like our Master. I am sorry, but I just like writing and speaking about being like Jesus. It ticks the devil off and spins up religious people. Committing oneself to these disciplines brings us to the place where the Holy Spirit produces His fruit in us. (Galatians 5:22,23) All these virtues are important for a servant of the Lord.
2 Timothy 2:5
And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.
As athletes in every sport, follow certain disciplines that help them become better at their sport. Christians need to learn and practice spiritual disciplines to grow into mature, lacking nothing servants for their Lord. In future articles I will give more of similarities between what I experienced, and how the natural revealed the spiritual. But in closing for this article, I want to write about one discipline that I believe is the foundation for all the others.
Bible Study
When I entered boot camp, I was issued a “Guidebook for Marines.” I still have it to this day. It covered everything I would need to begin my service. From the history and customs of the
Corps, the code of conduct, to the proper wearing of the uniform. It covered in detail the weapons and equipment I would use. It gave me a foundation for becoming a good Marine. As Christians God has given us His Word. Everything we need to know about God is in the scriptures and is God revealing Himself to us. By reading His words daily we can grow in faith. Through this we can be instructed, corrected, and equipped to serve Him. (2 Timothy 3:16)
Hebrews 6:1a
“Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…”