Ta l k 5 :

T H E H E A RT O F A S O L D I E R

INTRODUCTION
A. We have been enlisted in an ambitious mission to win the world for Christ.
We are now carrying this mission to hostile territories. The mission will take all
that we have. This is our call. Our personal fulfillment and happiness are tied
up in our responding to the call of the Lord. We will never be contented living
a mediocre life. We are in a life and death struggle to save the world and the
future of our children. We need to go for total victory. As long as there is war,
poverty, families breaking up and a world of grave injustices, we will not stop
the battle.
B. We never loose sight of the fact that we have a victorious God. He promised
that He would win the battle. He is our captain. He enlists us for life. We are
soldiers for the Lord and our children and their children will fight the same
battle with us.
C. Note the title of the talk, The Heart of a Soldier. Heart is a key word. We
are an army at war. An army in good shape and we want our heart to be in
good shape. The attitudes of the heart of a true soldier can be seen in some
key warriors of the bible.
THREE GREAT SOLDIERS
2.

a. JOSHUA Three lessons from this soldier

Trust (Numbers 14:1-10) Joshua was sent as one of the twelve scouts
to spy out the Promised Land. They all agreed that the land was
everything God promised, a land flowing with milk and honey. They all
didnt agree that they could take the promise for themselves. Most of
them saw the giants in the land and wanted to shrink from the promise of
God. Only Joshua with Caleb focused on the promise of God not on the
fears of the giants in the land. He chose to trust God and push on with the
mission.
What are some of our fears that blind our vision of the promise of God to
be Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth, and get us
focusing on the giants that obscure our way:
- Materialism, complacency, apathy
- Current government structures and policies
- Media opposed to God
- Overwhelming economic injustices that seem insurmountable
The call is for us to be like Joshua and keep focused on the promise of
God, not the fear of giants in the land.

3.

Obedience (Joshua 6:1-27) What seemingly ridiculous strategy to win

a city. He obeyed none-the-less and the victory was won.
a. What new strategies is the Lord giving to us? Are we ready to listen
and obey?

4.

Endurance Forty years in the desert with Moses, dealing with a weak
hearted group of comrades in arms, the forming of an alliance of all the
nations against Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 9:1-2), he endured the

complaining of the tribes of Israel (Joshua 17:14-18), and the list of trials
he faced can go on.
We will face trials just as Joshua did. Is our heart strengthened to endure
the hardships?
a. David Three lessons from this soldier
5. Youth David was the last recommended from his family to serve the
Lord. (1Samuel 16:1-13) He had no military training, he was unlikely
candidate to lead the armies of God (1Samuel 17:38-39).
a. 80% of YFC members are people who were lapsed
Catholics and now find themselves in the thick of this
Spiritual battle we find ourselves in. Most of us are not
prepared for the Spiritual battle. Just as God chose
David, and brought him the victory of Goliaths head and
thousands of battles won, so shall the Lord bring us His
victory
6. Loyalty (1Samuel 24:1-6) David was loyal to his leaders, to the cause
and to the Lord. He trusted more in the anointing of God rather than
his own ability. David could have removed King Saul from his throne,
but waited for God to do His will.
7. Imperfect leader but a Repentant leader (2Samuel 11, 12:1-25) In the
battle we will get side tracked and sometimes fall into sin. David is our
model of repentance and getting back into battle.
a. Gideon A lesson of Wisdom and Discernment
8. Wisdom and Discernment Gideon was faced with the task of trimming
down his army. It was God who supplied him with wisdom and the
discernment as to who would be the chosen soldiers (Judges 7:1-8)
9. We are faced with the challenge of choosing men and women to serve
as soldiers in Gods army. As God guided Gideon, He will guide us as
well.
10. Clever - (Judges 7:16-22) When Gideon needed to conquer a huge
army
With only 300 men he got clever and divided his men up and used
noise making devices and scare tactics to outwit the enemy. We need
to apply creativity to our work to win the battle for the Lord.
CONCLUSION
A. When the Lord allows us to conquer an area, we are there to stay. In many of
our areas we need to further saturate and deepen our hold by persevering in
our evangelism. Every YFC member is a soldier and we are inviting other
young men/women to be part of this army.
B. There is no retreating. The battle must go on. The victory is sure in our Lord.
(The example of Hernando Cortez can inspire us. As Hernando Cortez was on
mission to conquer Mexico for Spain, His men landed on the shores of Mexico

to find they were up against a far greater enemy than they had expected.
They were tempted to return to their boats and abandon the conquest.
Hernando Cortez called out to his men, Burn your boats. With no retreat, his
men fought with all valor and courage, knowing there was no move full speed
ahead to win the world for Christ.)
C. Lead the participants to a recommitment to Christ and the mission. Follow
this
with a prayer for empowerment.