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A Soldier, an athlete and a farmer (Part 1) February 27, 2007

Posted by Han in : Relationship with God , trackback

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 2 Timothy 2:3-7

Timothy was converted by Paul and he regarded him as his own son. In 2nd Timothy, Paul gave detailed instructions to Timothy concerning how to manage the church. At that point of time, Paul was a prisoner and his life was also in danger. Timothy was young and inexperience. I want to bring your attention in particularly to the above verses; 2 Timothy 2:3-7.

In verse 7, Paul asked Timothy to reflect on what he said and the Lord will give him insight into all these. Let us pray and ask God to give us insight. There are 7 principles that we can learn in order to be SUCCESSFUL or to attain SPIRITUAL GROWTH. We will take a look at 3 different kind of profession to reveal these principles:

A SOLDIER, AN ATHLETE AND A FARMER

From the profession of a solider:

1) Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus

We must learn to endure hardship like a good soldier. A soldier has to go through long hour of vigorous training. They are expected to learn command drills, go through obstacles courses, survive a grueling field camp, undergo fitness test, throw a live grenade, learn how to operate a rifle and master the basics of being a soldier. A soldier is not afraid of hardship. He is shouldering the responsibility of protecting and safeguards the country.

If we want to succeed in life, we must be able endure hardship and persevere. The road that leads to success is not going to be easy; it is going to be tough. Obstacles and problems know where we are staying. We don’t have to invite them to come but they will automatically knock at our doors! Do we have the capacity and quality to succeed? I remembered reading a book that said tough time never last but tough people do!

2) No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs

Every soldier must be focused. He cannot be distracted. He must be cleared of his responsibility to protect and safeguards his country and his people. Nothing! Practically nothing should be distracting him from his duty.

Deuteronomy 20:2-9 wrote about principles governing war:

When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.” Then the officers shall add, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too.” When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it

In the Old Testament, when the armies of God go for war, the officers will move forward and ask them a series of question. Those that we found unprepared shall return home. Only those they were found focused (and without any distraction) qualify for the battle.

How can we succeed if we are not focus? We are often distracted by our surrounding. One of the greatest problem in life is we do not know what we want. We allow our surrounding, people and circumstances to tell us what to do. This is a big mistake. It is our life; we need to know what we want, what to do and where to go. And most important, we need to find our purpose in God. Let us not be distracted, let us be focused in achieving our dream and vision.

3) He wants to please his commanding officer

A soldier wants to please his commanding officer. His duty is to obey instructions and commands. He cannot acts on his own. In fact, there is only one plan and one commanding officer. Every soldier needs to obey and listen to his commanding officer.

In order to be successful, we need to recognize there’s a commanding officer in our life. His name is Jesus Christ. He has this big plan for every one of us. It is a plan to prosper and to give us a good future. We cannot afford to walk on our own. We need to seek this commanding officer.

Click A Soldier, an athlete and a farmer (Part 2) to continue: