MARCH FOR JESUS!

2 Timothy 2:3-4 AMPC

Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. [4] No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.

 

Every Christian has a marching order from the supreme general, the captain of the Lord of Hosts. We all received our marching orders from the ultimate Authority in Matthew 28:19-20, to make disciples. “Soldiers of Christ, arise” was written by Charles Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church. Those who announced themselves as followers of John and Charles Wesley took their lives in their hands. One writer declared, “They were outrageously treated—stoned, mauled, ducked, hounded with bulldogs, threatened, homes looted, businesses ruined.

Anyone who walked through a town could pick out by their ruinous condition the houses where Methodists lived.” In 1749, Charles wrote this hymn under the title “The Whole Armour of God,” and it was used to confirm new converts. While most believers today do not face the kinds of physical danger the Wesley’s encountered, we still need to put on God’s armour.

Spiritual warfare is no less a threat today than it was in the Wesley’s’ day. We are soldiers of Christ, and we must rise and march for God’s kingdom. Are you willing and ready to march for Christ? Have you got your armour on, the full armour of God?

How about “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” written by Sabine Baring-Gould? When Sabine Baring-Gould, a thirty-one-year-old preacher and schoolteacher, wrote this, he simply wanted to write a marching song for his schoolchildren. Later, he apologized for the hymn: “It was written in great haste, and I am afraid that some of the rhymes are faulty.” “I wanted the children to sing when marching from one village to the other, but couldn’t think of anything quite suitable,” Baring-Gould commented, “so I sat up at night and resolved to write something myself.”

Throughout history, many have been willing to do more for the Kingdom, some even lost their lives. Soldiers don’t worry about their safety but their calling and loyalty to march for their cause. For Christians, the gospel is a legacy worth fighting and dying for. As servants of the gospel, we press on through our present groaning in this world with our eyes fixed on home—and on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ. We forge ahead, knowing that we don’t fight against the visible, the flesh-and-blood world, but against rulers and authorities of the unseen world according to Ephesians 6:12.

Soldiers don’t serve to protect themselves but to guard the interests of their homeland. There is simply no room for pride, ego and grandstanding among soldiers during the heat of battle. What matters is obeying the leader’s commands.

Think of Paul’s words to his young protégé, Timothy: “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” That’s our duty, responsibility, and honour: to serve and march for God’s kingdom. The Lord will even march alongside and ahead of us according to Isaiah 42:13: “The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.”

2 Samuel 5:24 says, “As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” So, you see, we have no choice as believers but to keep marching for the General of our faith who has given the order. Don’t forget your marching orders, the Great Commission. And let this chorus be your anthem: “When the saints go marching in, Oh when the saints go marching in, Lord, I want to be in that number, When the saints go marching in.” In this of March, march for Jesus!

REFLECTION QUESTION

·       What marching orders has God highlighted to you personally, and are you actively obeying them, or have you become entangled in the affairs of everyday life?

·       In what ways do you need to strengthen your spiritual armour so you can stand firm and march forward as a soldier of Christ?

·       How can your daily life—your words, actions, and choices—publicly demonstrate that you are marching for Jesus and advancing His Kingdom?

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for the opportunity to publicly declare my faith and to share Your love with the world. Let my march be a powerful testimony of Your grace and truth, in Jesus’ name, amen.

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