A TRIBUTE TO VETERANS

1. God Has A Military.

2 Kings 6:17, “Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Psalm 68:17, “The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.”

Daniel 10:12-13, “Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”

Isaiah 37:36, “Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.”

2. God Approved of Israel’s Military.

2 Samuel 24:2, “So the king said to Joab & the army commanders with him, ‘Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.’” 24:9, “Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were 800,000 able-bodied men who could handle a sword, & in Judah 500,000.”

Judges 3:2, “He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience.”

2 Samuel 5:22-25, “Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, and He answered, ‘Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the top of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.’ So David did as the Lord commanded him.”

1 Chronicles 5:18-12, “The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service - able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped in fighting them and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to Him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted Him.”

3. God Approves Of Our Military.

Romans 13:1-2, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted.”

Acts 10:1-2, “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and his family were devout and God-fearing.”

4. God Approves Of Our Military Action in Iraq.

“JUST WAR THEORY”

(Show Iraq slides while I read the letter.)

5. What Would God Have Us Learn From Our Military?

2 Tm 2:2-3, “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.”

He deserves our absolute highest level of devotion, sacrifice and service.

He deserves it for the rest of our lives.

John 15:13, “Greater love has no man that this, that he give up his life for his friends.”