Admonition Podcast

Good morning.

It's good to see all of you here.

It's good to see many visitors in our presence and we appreciate your presence with us.

We encourage you, if you will, to stick around for a few minutes afterwards so we can get
a chance to greet you and get to know you better.

For those who are returning visitors, we're always grateful to see your faces and of
course our members as well.

As was already mentioned, tomorrow is Memorial Day here in this country where we remember
those who have fallen in battles going back through the years.

The first Memorial Day was as a remembrance to those who fell in the Civil War.

Some of you may not know it goes back that far, but it does.

But this morning, what I wanted to do is consider some lessons

from some fallen soldiers, not from the U.S.

military, but rather from God's army, and consider a few lessons we learn from their fall.

We're going to begin with John the Baptist.

In Matthew chapter 14, we read of the events of Herod beheading John the Baptist.

Now, you need to combine a little bit of the text in Matthew 14 with Mark chapter 6
because...

Mark will tell us some of the backstory behind John being beheaded.

Because Mark is going to tell us that John had come to Herod and had told Herod that it
was not lawful for Herod to have Herodias, his brother, Philip's wife.

And as a result of the fact that Herodias and Philip had divorced and then Herodias had
married Herod,

Herod was committing adultery and that it was not lawful for Herod to remain married to
Herodias.

He needed to return his brother's wife to his brother.

Well, this caused a great deal of consternation in Herod's household and Herodias hated
John.

But Mark will tell us that Herod would imprison John, but he would continue to bring John
before him.

to hear what John had to say.

Herod was interested in the message of John.

He considered John to be a righteous man, a just man, and so while he had imprisoned him
because of his wife, he knew that he was imprisoned unjustly.

So John will come before Herod on a regular basis, it seems.

Would teach him, would preach to him, would proclaim to him concerning matters of justice
and judgment.

And then one day arrives where Herod is throwing uh a big to-do before all of his
counselors and others.

And in chapter 14 of the book of Matthew, we find at that time Herod the Tetrarch heard
the report about Jesus.

and said to his servants, This is John the Baptist.

He is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.

For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because John had said to him, It is not lawful for

you to have her.

And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude because they counted
him as a prophet.

But when Herod's birthday was celebrated,

The daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.

Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, Give me John the Baptist's head here on
a platter.

And the king was sorry.

Nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it
to be given to her.

So he sent and had John beheaded in prison and his head was brought on a platter.

and given to the girl, she brought it to her mother.

Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it and went and told Jesus."

As we consider John and the end of his life, certainly many of the things that John taught
we could look at and examine, but won't for the sake of time.

We consider that John lost his life because moral doctrine matters.

We live in a society that would be more than happy in general to take the moral doctrine
of Christ and ignore it.

They would be happy to take the moral teachings of God and consider them nothing but the
whims of the past.

And yet we learn from this fallen soldier of our king that moral doctrines matter enough
to give one's life for them.

what God teaches about how we live.

What God teaches about what is moral, what is upright, what is righteous, what is just,
and what is not.

Is truly that which we will be judged by.

Jesus would say in John chapter 12 and verse 48, by my words, you will be judged.

We learn from this fallen soldier that moral doctrine matters.

But then, could turn over to Acts chapter 6.

In Acts chapter 6 and also in Acts chapter 7,

We find Stephen.

Stephen is one of the men who was assigned earlier on in chapter 6 to help feed the
Grecian widows.

Because there were those who were widows among the church, among the Christians, who were
being neglected in the daily administration, and they were the Grecian or the Hellenistic

widows that were of Jewish descent, but Grecian location.

And so Stephen, among six others, are full of the Holy Spirit and they're faithful in
their service and they're chosen from among the congregation and among the Christians to

help provide for these widows and they do so.

Coming out of that work, it seems, Stephen was one who had gained boldness to teach and to
preach.

And so he begins to teach and to preach and to debate.

uh

concerning the matters of the Messiah.

We find in chapter 6 verse 8, Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and
signs among the people.

Then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of freedmen, Cyrenians,
Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.

And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.

Then they secretly induced men to say, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against
Moses and God.

And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized
him and brought him to the council.

They also set up false witnesses who said, This man does not cease to speak blasphemous
words against this holy place and the law.

For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place.

and changed the customs which Moses delivered to us.

And all who sat in the council looked steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an
angel.

And Stephen will begin to preach.

But you'll notice the witness that these Grecian descended Jews would bring forth and the
false witness that they would bear against Stephen was that he had said blasphemous words

against God.

He had spoken that God would change the things which Moses had handed down to them.

That he would speak that they would destroy the temple.

and among the council, the temple, its worship, and its traditions were the center of
their power, their authority, and their position.

So as Stephen begins to preach in chapter 7, we go down to verse 51 and Stephen will
conclude,

by saying, You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.

You always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so do you.

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become
the betrayers and murderers.

who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.

Stephen accuses them of seeking to put him on trial because of the false witnesses that
were saying he was striving to tear down the law, and he says, you're the ones who won't

keep

You're the ones who have refused the law and those who bear witness of the Messiah.

When they heard these things, verse 54, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him
with their teeth.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into heaven and saw the glory of God and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, Look, I see the heavens open and the Son

of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord.

And they cast him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their
clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.

Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this
sin.

And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

from the death of Stephen.

We learn that men's power is based on existing beliefs.

and that when they are confronted with the gospel, when they are confronted with the
truth, and when it demands that their beliefs be changed.

There is likely to be someone whose power is reliant upon those beliefs remaining the
same.

and for Stephen that resulted in his death.

We should be careful to examine our beliefs.

We should be careful to examine our preconceived ideas.

We should be careful to examine the things that we've always been taught to see whether or
not they are in accordance with the Word of God.

And if they are not, we ought to submit to God instead of holding on to our false beliefs.

But then consider another fallen soldier.

In Acts chapter 12...

James, one of the apostles, one of the inner circle of Jesus, the three that are often
pulled aside by Jesus to special occasions, Peter, James, and John.

The brother of John the apostle, the one who by all indications of history and tradition
would outlive all the other apostles.

James' brother will be the first of the apostles to die.

James is going to be killed by Herod in Acts chapter 12.

We read, Now at the time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the
church.

Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter.

Now it was during the days of unleavened bread.

So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of
soldiers to keep him intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

James is going to be killed by Herod.

And we learn from this deliverance of James over to be slain with the sword that evil men
will do evil things for they have nothing better to do than evil.

Herod didn't care about James.

Herod cared about Herod.

And when Herod realized that killing a Christian made the people happy, he was ready to do
it again.

We were to use our common terminology, his numbers in the polls went up.

And based upon that, you know what?

There's some more Christians we could get rid of.

Sometimes as we serve on behalf of our Lord, as we fight the spiritual battles against
principalities and powers and mights in heavenly places, we will be faced by men who don't

care anything for heaven or for spiritual powers.

They simply love the evil they do.

They love the power they wield, and they will take a life, and it will mean absolutely
nothing to them.

except one more opportunity to gain prominence and power.

Doctrine Matter.

The truth matters.

Our beliefs should accord with the Word of God.

And we should not fear evil men.

But then if we jump over the book of Revelation, we learn about another of God's people
who is going to be put to death.

In Revelation chapter two, we don't know much about this man, but we read as John writes
to the church at Pergamos, to the angel of the church in Pergamos, right?

These things says he who has a sharp two-edged sword.

I know your works.

where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.

As Jesus and John write to this congregation, as they write to this group of Christians,
they say, we know what you're dealing with.

We know the persecution that is enthroned in your midst.

And we even know about Antipas.

He says, I know your works where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast to
my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days when Antipas was my faithful martyr,

who was killed among you where Satan dwells.

There was a place among the church in Pergamos.

There was a people in the presence of the city of Pergamos that were so evil.

that Jesus described them as the throne of Satan.

They were so bent on doing that, which is in opposition to God, that they were described
as those who had the dwelling place of Satan.

one of the Christians named Antipas.

We don't know much about him.

What we know about him, we read right here.

when they threatened the Christians, when they tried to force the Christians to give up on
the testimony of Jesus Christ, Antipas would not

and they killed him for

and the church didn't turn back.

The Christians who were there did not deny their faith.

They did not turn back.

They did not denounce Christ, even at threat of their own lives.

We are reminded and we should learn and understand from this lesson that Satan is the real
enemy.

There are those in this world who will do His bidding, who will welcome Him to sit as the
ruler and reign over their lives and their decisions and their attitudes and their

actions, and they will oppose everything that God does.

But Satan is the real enemy.

over in Revelation chapter 13.

as John sees in the vision.

the persecution that would be coming against the church.

John writes, then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name,
verse 6, His temple, and those who dwell in heaven.

And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and overcome them.

And authority was given him over every tribe and tongue and nation.

All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book
of life of the Lamb.

as John looks in this vision and he sees the power of Rome coming for the church, seeking
to persecute and destroy the people of God.

He looks amongst the vision, He looks amongst the people, He looks at what is going on,
and He says, they're going to succeed in many scenarios.

They're going to overcome the Christians, they're going to kill them.

but they're not going to have power over

For He describes those whose names are written in the Lamb's book.

But if you notice the remainder of verse 8, which we didn't read, He says, All who dwell
on the earth will worship Him whose names have not been written in the book of the life of

the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

Here's something we need to know as we consider lessons from the fallen soldiers of our
King.

Is that our King is a fallen soldier.

Just as Ben described before the Lord's Supper, He was one who came and was given that we
might have life, that we might be saved.

And it was in the plan and the decision-making of God before the world was founded.

That a sacrifice would be needed, that redemption would be necessary.

And that salvation could come to mankind through it.

over in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

Paul will write to the church.

a church that had so many struggles, so much difficulty in the city of Corinth, and He
will write to them as those who were enduring great difficulty.

Paul writes beginning in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7, he says, but we have this
treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not us.

He's speaking about the revelation of God, the message of the cross, the message of Jesus
Christ.

He says we have this and we deal with it in our earthly life.

We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not in despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

Always caring about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be
manifested in our body.

For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake.

that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So then death is working in us, but life in you.

And since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written, I believed and
therefore I spoke.

We also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will
also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you for all things are for your sakes

that grace

Having spread through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Therefore, we do not lose heart.

Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Therefore,

while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.

For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are
eternal.

Paul will write to the church at Corinth and he will describe the death that they're
dying.

He will describe the persecution they're suffering, the threat that they're enduring on a
continual basis just for speaking the gospel.

and he will freely admit some of us are going to die.

But in our death, the life of Christ is made clear.

And in our death we are reminded Jesus Christ is not in the grave.

That tomb had a stone that was rolled away.

That tomb is empty.

in our time.

making trips to Washington, D.C.

One of the places that Eddie and I have had the pleasure of getting a chance to go to on
one occasion was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

For those who have been there, the ceremony is something to observe, something to see.

The honor that is shown, those who are unidentifiable when they come back for more.

and those who are missing, who've never come back from it.

But Jesus' tomb isn't a tomb that we honor each week because we can't identify who's in
it.

Jesus' sacrifice is something we honor each week because He didn't stay in it.

because He was resurrected from the grave on the third day and is alive forevermore.

And from that we are admonished and reminded that when we serve Christ, when we go to war
against the powers of Satan, when we do battle against principalities and powers in this

world and in the world to come,

when we are faithful to the testimony and the gospel of Jesus Christ and if we lose our
lives as a result.

That is not the end.

That is merely one moment on a journey to be reunited with our Lord and Savior in
eternity.

Paul would further write to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you
received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word

which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the

third day according to the Scriptures.

and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part
remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

After that he was uh seen by James, then by all the apostles, then last of all he was seen
by me also, as one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I
labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believe."

There's coming a day.

when your tombstone will have your name on

There's coming a day when if you are a soldier of the king, there will be another fallen
soldier.

Paul says don't worry.

Don't be concerned.

Don't grieve as those who have no hope.

because this world has never been our home.

we're just passing through.

Our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

If you're here this morning and you've not been commissioned as a soldier of the king,
you've not entered into his army, you think it's sufficient to just sit on the sidelines

as the battle goes on.

not because there's only two armies and you're on one side or the other.

When Joshua...

was on a hillside overlooking Jericho.

and looking at the first battle of the promised land.

someone approached him.

And as Joshua looked at the one who was approaching, he asked him, are you for us or for
them?

And that one who appeared before Joshua, who was the angel of the Lord, said,

but as the commander of the Lord's host.

I am...

We do not serve ourselves.

like Joshua in days before we serve the Lord.

And we follow at His command.

And we do it His way.

Joshua had been planning to defeat Jericho.

I don't think that walking around the city seven times, once per each time, seven days in
a row, and then seven times on the seventh day and blowing trumpets would have been his

plan.

And I know for sure that if we had asked people how they thought their sins ought to be
forgiven and what they ought to do in order to have their sins forgiven, baptism wouldn't

have been their suggestion.

But we didn't get asked and it wasn't our decision.

Just like it wasn't Joshua's.

So Jesus said, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

He that believeth not shall be damned.

When the Jews who put Jesus to death asked Peter, men and brethren, what shall we do?

Peter answered, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.

You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If you're here this morning and you're outside the body of Christ, you're outside the army
of God.

You're outside of the place of being a soldier of the king.

May I encourage you from the lives of these fallen soldiers to know that when these
individuals left this life, they were not concerned.

They were not worried that this life was all there is.

They were anxiously looking forward to going home.

Are you ready to go home?

If you have need of the invitation, why not come now as we stand.