November 11 2025

Tuesday November 11

Remembering and Honoring our Veterans

Romans 13:1-7

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.

We have been talking about Ephesians 3 where the Apostle Paul is revealing the sacred secret, the mystery of the church. We believe the church was born on the day of Pentecost. It was a secret though that was hidden in the Old Testament. Hidden even from the angels, hidden from Satan himself. God's plan was being fulfilled when the church was born. Now people, Gentiles, Jews, no matter who you are, what your racial background might be, or your religious background might be, when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you become a part of His body. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

This takes place at the moment of your salvation. You become one of Christ’s body, which means you're members one of another. 1 Corinthians 12:12 clearly teaches this great truth: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ”.  Also Romans 12:4-5 speaks to this same reality: “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” The last verse in Romans 12 speaks of dealing with the issue of evil in this world.

Today's Veterans Day and I want to take time to thank our veterans. I hope that you have someone you know that is a veteran and you can give them a personal thank you for their service to our country. I'm convinced that the Bible teaches there are four world empires beginning with the Babylonian Empire, then of course the Medo-Persian Empire, then the Grecian Empire, then the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:36-45). The last kingdom that'll be on planet Earth is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in His millennial reign. That's what I believe prophetic Scripture teaches. Which means the Chinese will never rule the world. The Muslim countries will never rule the world. ISIS will not rule the world. We don't have to worry about that.

But what keeps them from taking over right now? I'm convinced China would invade America in a moment's notice if they thought they could win. But my friend, there is something that stands in their way. That is the United States military. The might of the United States military. I'm convinced God probably raised this country up, even though it's not in prophecy, to be that people that stand against evil of this world in the end times. Romans 13 is addressing this subject of dealing with evil through nations and governments that God has ordained and raised up. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. (Romans 13:3-4).

“He is God’s minister”, that's the people that God appointed to administered that government. This includes the soldiers that work in that government, the police officers. And, “If you do evil, be afraid for He does not bear the sword in vain. For He is God's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil”. I believe God has raised up America to stand against the evil of this world.

Thank you veterans!!!! We would not be free today to worship, to share, to give, to go as we do with the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. We would not enjoy what we enjoy in this great country, America, if it was not for you. Your willingness to sacrifice your life when you signed up, when you were drafted, if you were my age back in the days of the Vietnam War. But you served. You were willing to sacrifice your life for our country. We can't say thank you enough. Just like I'm a minister as a pastor, you are a minister of God to deal with the evil of this world.  Have ministered to God through the word of God, through the local church, you've been a minister of God.

Now, I'm also convinced the church is really special in God's agenda today. Part of God's agenda today is that through the church, we spread the Gospel of peace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the responsibility to be soldiers of the cross. I'm afraid as believers in the church, we have lost the mentality of what it is to be a soldier. That's why Paul, who was a good faithful soldier of the cross, said in second Timothy 2:2, That we, “Therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”. A soldier is committed to hardships, to live the hard tough life and be willing to die for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus never promised us a life of ease as His followers!

We as a church are to be like soldiers. We want to be like Paul, keep the faith, share the good news of Christ and let the world know there's an answer to the brokenness in their lives. That answer is Jesus Christ Himself.

Again, thank you veterans for serving.

God bless you!