In this sermon, the speaker encourages young people to adopt the mindset of a soldier in their Christian journey. He emphasizes that having a clear goal and purpose in life, given by God, can transform a mundane and unfulfilling existence into one of excitement and accomplishment. The speaker compares the training and focus of soldiers in the army to the training and focus required in the Christian life. He urges young people to flee from youthful lusts and instead pursue righteousness, faith, charity, and peace, alongside fellow believers who have pure hearts. The sermon concludes with the reminder that taking the first step towards adopting the mindset of a soldier can lead to a life of purpose and becoming effective soul winners for Christ.

This afternoon, you may turn your Bibles with me to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. 2 Timothy, chapter 2. The aim of this message, of this teaching session, is to do one thing. My goal is to change your mind about how you view the Christian life. That's my goal. Now, some of you may already agree with me, but I think for many of you, I'm going to be changing your mind. But I want to do more than that. I want God to change your heart on the way you view the Christian life. And this may stretch you. It probably will a lot of you. But I tell you young people, if you do this message, it will change your life forever. You combine this message with all the other things you've been hearing, it will change your life forever. It will give you a brand new outlook on the Christian life. Let me ask you something. How many of you young people think the Christian life is hard? Be honest. How many of you think it's hard? Probably most of you do. How many of you think it's easy? Well, there's some hands here for that too. Okay. I would like to show you and give you a balance, a balanced view by God's grace of the Christian life. The Christian life is not a life of ease, as we would say, easy, sitting down on your rocking chair, you know, just taking it easy, sleeping in as long as you want to in the morning, doing whatever feels good. I mean that kind of taking it easy. It's not that, you know that by now, you've heard many sermons this week and has given you a picture of what it is. It is a life of hardness. It is. And the sooner you come to grips with that, the better off you'll be. The Christian life is a life of hardness. It is. Read with me. Second Timothy chapter two, verse one, thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses. The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. And verse three is our key verse. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. You young people, God is speaking this verse to you. You endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man, no man that woreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life. And he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. That word masteries means victories. And if a man also strive to be victorious, yet he's not crowned unless he plays according to the rules. That's what that verse is saying, unless he does it according to the rules. And so this afternoon, I want us to take a good look at the Christian life and change our mind about it. Did you know many Christians, not just young people, but many Christians view the Christian life as something they must do, as something that is hard to do and they must do it. And so they do it and they do it. And so they struggle and struggle and struggle. I want you to start looking at the Christian life as an opportunity, as an opportunity to be a good soldier that endures hardness. I wonder how many of you look at the Christian life as an opportunity. It is an opportunity, a glorious opportunity. If you look at it that way, it will change the way you live it. It will change the way you live it. Yes, the Christian life is a life of hardness, but hidden inside the outward picture of hardness, it's a life where the yoke is easy and the burden is light. It's a life of pleasantness. That word easy where Jesus said in Matthew 11, come unto me, take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls for my yoke is easy. That word easy means this. It doesn't mean the easiness I described. It means this good, pleasant, virtuous, a yoke of kindness. My yoke is virtuous. It's good. It's pleasant to your soul. And my burden is light. Hidden inside the outward appearance of the hardness of the Christian life is a life where the yoke is easy and the burden is light. But you will never experience the lightness of that yoke and the burden that is easy unless you view the Christian life with the mind of a soldier. And that's the title of my message, the mind of a soldier. I want you to think of yourself if you proclaim to be a Christian, then you are a soldier. You are a soldier. Now, let me ask you, stop and think a little bit about a soldier. Is their life easy or is it hard? What would you say? Anyone? It's hard. Is it rewarding? It's rewarding. But it's a life of hardness. Have any of you ever been a soldier? How do you know it's hard then? By outward appearance, it looks hard, doesn't it? They talk tough. You hear all these stories of boot camp and what they put you through. You may have read men's testimonies of boot camp and their life as a soldier. And so you look at that and you say, hard. But if none of you have ever been a soldier, you don't know the real life of a soldier, do you? You don't. All you have is an outward view of it. And that's exactly the problem with a lot of young people. They never have become soldiers. They may have become Christians and their sins have been washed away. But they've never become a soldier who does warfare in the spiritual world. Have you? Are you a soldier who does warfare? What is a soldier? What is the purpose for a soldier? What do they train them for? To do war, right? They train them for war. That's the goal of a soldier. Otherwise, they're just a spectacle. You know, a little like the guard down there in Washington, D.C., at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, all dressed up in shiny black boots and, you know, his neat military uniform, holding a rifle over his shoulder. Have you seen him? You know, they march back and forth. After his duty is done, he exchanges the gun to the other one and the other one. Back and forth. All day long, every day, they guard that tomb. That soldier worth anything? He's a spectacle, isn't he? He's a spectacle. Is he doing warfare? He's not doing any warfare. It's just a show. It's just a show. The real soldier has real equipment. He's loaded. He is fully equipped so that he can kill. He's fully equipped so that he can sustain himself on the battlefield, where it's hot and dry and dusty and rainy and muddy and swampy, where life is hard and blood is flowing, and it's dangerous, and bullets are flying by him all the time. He's dodging them and running and running, falling down on his face and getting up and running again. He's pursuing and fighting an enemy. Quite a different picture, isn't it? That soldier that's out there on the battlefield is muddy and dirty and fully equipped. He's fighting an enemy. And he's enduring hardness. He's enduring hardness. He has the mind of a soldier. Listen, the way you live your Christian life is directly connected to the way you view the Christian life. How you view the Christian life is how you live it. You'll never separate the two. Now you can dream of something, but really the way you look at it, that's how you're living it. And I would like to take your minds in case you have not known that you're a soldier. I'm speaking to those of you who are born again by the Spirit of God. God has saved you and called you with a holy calling, for a purpose, not just to be a spectacle. He has a mission for every one of you. And that mission is only one thing. It's only one thing. Do you know what that mission is? How many of you know what your mission is? Do you know what your mission is? What is it? I'm laying a trap for you, ain't I? Battle? For what? What are you fighting for? Against the enemy? Yeah, but what's... For souls. God saves you and He calls you and has a mission for you. One mission. To save another soul. To save another soul. To fill you with the Holy Ghost so that He can use you for His mouthpiece. So that He can use you, your hands and your feet and your eyes, for the cause of His Kingdom. You see, young people, this whole idea of the Christian life is not about you. It is something far greater than about you. Much greater. It's for the cause of the Kingdom of God and for the advancement of that Kingdom. That's what it's all about. It's not about you. Yes, you get to reap the benefits that a soldier reaps. There are rewards there. There's benefits there. But let me ask you, when one country goes to war with another, is the battle about that one soldier in the midst of all the thousands of soldiers that's there? No. The kings of those two countries or the presidents or the governments, they're not focusing on this one soldier. Yes, every one counts, but it's for a greater cause. It's for the cause of the country. It's for the cause of the country. And I would like to instill that in your hearts, young people. You have been called to fight a battle for the cause of a country. A country that is not of this world, but a country that we seek, God's heavenly country. You have been saved and called to that calling for the advancement of that country. You've been called to be a soldier. When you begin to adapt the mind of a soldier, it will change your mental outlook of the Christian life 100%. It will change it. And I would like to show that to you in this chapter. What will begin to happen is you will subject yourself to a higher authority than yourself. Let me ask you, again, I'm going to use the illustration of a man who volunteers for the army. He goes to the army. He signs his name and he volunteers. And immediately he is ushered into a system of government that he must subject himself to. Right? All of a sudden, all of his rights are taken away. Now, he has willingly went there. Remember that. But all of a sudden, he doesn't get to choose where he sleeps at night. He doesn't get to choose how long he sleeps. He doesn't get to choose what kind of food he eats. And he doesn't get to choose even what kind of toothbrush he uses to brush his teeth. He doesn't get to choose much of anything. He surrenders his whole life to his authorities, to his country, the government. And he says, Here I am. I'm a soldier. I'm willing to be a soldier. Make me a soldier. Is he a soldier the day he signs on the line? What do you think? Some of you are shaking your heads. No, some yes. I would say he's a soldier. Wouldn't you? He signed his life away. I'd say he's a soldier. Now, he still may be an untrained soldier. Nevertheless, he wears the uniform. He lives in the campus, in boot camp. He has given his life away. He no more is running his own life. He's a soldier. By right. But he's an untrained soldier. Young people, that's exactly what happens when you surrender your life to the Lordship of your Lord, Jesus Christ. All I would to God, young people, that this would grip your hearts, this truth, and you would in reality go there, surrender your life to Him, and remember what you're doing. Think about what you're doing. The Christian life is not just about being saved from hell. It's you're being called to be a soldier where you're surrendering everything to the authority over your life. That is, if you want to be a soldier. Now, if you just want to be saved from hell, well then, your life is going to be a different story. It's going to be a different story. Your life is going to be... I think many of you know what it is, don't you? Well... Do I have to do this, Lord? Oh Lord, you mean I got to give this up? I don't know if I want to. And so sometimes you have a high, and then you go on and... And then you go back up, and then... But if you're willing to adapt the mind of a soldier, young people, it will change your life. All of a sudden, you'll begin to get a goal in life. You'll have a goal. Not your goal, His goal for you. And He'll tell you what that goal is. The army, when they enlist that man into the army, they immediately debrief them about what they're all about. Immediately, they tell them, this is what we're all about. We're here to train you to kill. We're here to train you to fight. We're here to train you and send you off to war. There's no beating around the bush. There's no apologies made for it. It's clear. This is what we're all about. And I believe if every one of you will take a good look at the Christian life, and you will ask the Lord Jesus to show you what it's all about, He'll show you real clearly why He saved you. He'll show you what it's all about. G.K. Chesterton once said this, good words, Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting as it has been found difficult and left untried. Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting as it has been found difficult and so left untried. And I believe that's why so few Christians are living for the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. They don't have a grasp of what it's all about. Maybe they've never been told. Maybe a lot of you have never been given these kind of messages like you've been hearing all week. And it's rocking your boat. It's shaking you up. I know there's some of you and you're wondering, am I even a Christian? Because maybe you said the sinner's prayer and you were under a message of heaven or hell or whatever and you got convicted and so you came forward to the altar and in your mind what you were doing is just coming to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness of sins. And you experienced that. The Bible says, confess your sins and He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You will experience that if you come forward and confess your sins. You'll be forgiven. But that's not what the Christian life is all about, young people. There's a much greater vision than that. That's a very low, low view. Very narrow view of the Christian life. You know what? That's a very selfish view of the Christian life. I'd like to ask you, are you a Christian for yourself or are you a Christian for God? Why did you become a Christian? Are you in this thing for yourself? Are you in this thing for what you can be for God? Big difference. Big difference. John F. Kennedy in his inaugural speech in 1960 said these words to the American public. Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country. Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country. Young people, ask not what God can do for you but ask what you can do for God. Big difference. And if you indeed, up to this point, have been approaching the Christian life that way, where you've been looking at it and saying, Oh God, what can you do for me? This will be a revolution for you when you begin to adapt the mind of a soldier and ask, Lord, what can I do for you? What can I do for you? Yes, the vast, grim cost of discipleship is something you've heard much about this week. But it must not be left to stand as the whole truth. We must also remind you, young people, of the cost of not being a disciple. Side two. This way, it costs a man just as much, or even more, to go to hell than it does to go to heaven. Proverbs tells us, a way of the transgressor is hard. It's hard. I'm going back now, I'm taking you back to where your view of the Christian life is being hard. A way of the transgressor is hard. Can you find anywhere in the Bible except the connotation in this verse of enduring hardness? Can you find anywhere where it says the way of a righteous man is hard? But it says the way of the transgressor is hard. To live our lives outside of Christ is to live a life of crushing burdens, failures, and disappointments. A life that gives pleasure for a few moments, then leaves you empty, hopeless, demoralized, and feeling totally rotten. You ever felt that way? That's the kind of life, isn't it? It carries you up into a cloud of happiness, then drops you back to earth, leaving your emotions shattered, your mind depressed, and your heart broken. A lot of Christians live there. They're carried up into a cloud of happiness, and then they're dropped. You know, happiness comes from things that happen, and it makes you happy. And so things happen and make you happy, and it carries you up into a cloud of happiness. Maybe a young man begins to give you some attention. What does it do to your heart? Up into a cloud of happiness, and then he looks away and gives another girl attention. Reality? Reality check? What about you, young man? You get the job of your dreams. Up into a cloud of happiness, lifts you up into a cloud of happiness, and then it's not what you expected, leaving your emotions shattered, your mind depressed, and your heart broken. You ever been there, young man? You had your heart set on a girl. You prayed about it. You prayed about it for months. You fasted, maybe for months. You were sure God is leading you to her. Convinced! Absolutely! And so you took that courageous, that bold step, going to her father, talking to her father about it. Her father says, No. Depressed. Emotions shattered. Heart broken. You see where I'm going with this? You may think, man, he's sort of traveling around here. I'm making a point. If you don't have the mind of a soldier, young people, your mind will be on these earthly things. Relationships. Jobs. Money. Careers. All of these earthly things. Your mind will be on them. And you'll float up and down with them. That's where your life will be. If we put your life on a chart, on a scale, you know, like they do the Dow Industrial Average? They put it on a scale and it goes like this. I wonder how your life would look if we put your life, put it up on the wall, on a scale. From the day you were born till now. I wonder what it would look like. Would it? If you take on the mind of a soldier. Your life may still do a little bit of this, but there'll be a constant up. Stop and think with me. A soldier's life. He goes into boot camp. And he begins training. Doesn't he? Now when he begins, would you call him a soldier fit for battle? No, we wouldn't. No, we wouldn't. Would you want to fight alongside him? If you're already a trained soldier? I doubt you would. You don't know if he would shoot your enemy when your life is on the line. You don't know if he'd have the courage to do that. You're not sure if he would give his life for you or pull you away from harm's danger. You're not sure he would do that. He's not been trained. You don't even know if he can shoot his gun. You don't know. And so a soldier enters boot camp for one reason. Training. Training. And young people, I want to encourage you with this. You are in boot camp this week. But not only this week. You're still in boot camp next week, and the next week, and the next week. You're in training. And you may look at a man like Keith Daniel, or you may look, hear these messages that are being preached, and you may say, Oh! I don't know. It seems so overwhelming. Yes, it is overwhelming. But don't forget, you're in training. You're not, God is not expecting for you to take everything you heard and immediately be a Keith Daniel. He's not. Keith Daniel has walked with God for 30 some years. He's been in training that long. But one thing, God is expecting from you. And that is, the mind of a soldier. The mind of a soldier. So that when God brings all of this truth your way, you just say, Yes, Lord. And you go do it. Yes, Lord. And you go do it. Isn't that what soldiers do? When their general comes around, he says, Hey, Mr. Private. Go get that truck. Yes, sir. He marches off to get it. I mean, he doesn't stop. He doesn't argue. Yes, sir. Salute. Go do it. That's what God desires from you, young soldiers. If the Lord Jesus Christ is your captain, He has one desire towards you. Only one. That you obey Him. That you obey Him. And I'm concerned, young people. I'm concerned about the fact that you're getting all of this information, and it may be crushing you. Some of you. It seems so overwhelming. Listen. The Christian life is very simple. All you need to do is listen to Him and obey. It's that simple. It's that simple. Just listen and obey. You know what I mean by listening? The Spirit of God comes into your life, and He says, Give me this. Give me this, young person. Give me this. I want it. That affection that you have towards that girl, young man, give me that affection. Give me that affection. Young lady, that goal that you have to be married someday, how many of you want to be spinsters old days? You don't want to be. Young lady, that goal that you have to be married someday, to be a mama, to have children, the Lord Jesus may touch your life and say, Give me that goal. Give me that goal. What will you do if He comes knocking on your door and says, Give me that goal. Find your satisfaction in me. You see, when we speak about giving it all up, we're not talking about you locking yourself into a monastery somewhere and becoming a monk or a nun. It's not what we're talking about. We're not talking about you just throwing everything out of your life just because you think you got to give it all up. But what we mean is this. You must be willing. You must come to the place of absolute surrender to His Lordship. That when He tells you, Go do this. Give me this. Yes, Lord. And you go do it. Yes, Lord. And you go do it. That's the mind of a soldier. The mind of a soldier is not looking for the easy way out. He's not looking for the easy way out. I wonder how many of you view the Christian life in this way. Lord, what can I keep and still be a Christian? What can I get away with and still be a Christian? What kind of music can I get away with and still be a Christian? Well, I want to follow You, Lord, but... just take all those butts out of your life and come to the Lord saying, Lord, You saved me. You have called me. And because of that, I love You. Here. Here's my life. Take it. Make me a good soldier. Make me a good soldier that You can use to do warfare. That's the goal, young people. That's the goal. Don't ever forget it. The goal for Him saving you is to produce a good soldier out of you so that He can send you into battle. Not so that you can sit at home, so that He can send you into battle. Men, God's goal for you is to raise you up to be men of God. Men who win other souls to Jesus Christ. Men who can rise up and stand in the pulpit and preach the truth of the Word of God in a balanced, in a right way. Men who can marry a godly woman and raise a godly seed, raise up children as warriors for God's kingdom. Men who can be spiritual leaders in their home and know the Word well enough so they can take their wife and wash them with the water of the Word. Because, do you know, young men, when you marry a woman, you are held responsible for her soul, for her spiritual condition. Now that responsibility is lying on you. God gives it to you. You become the head of the home. And the condition, the spiritual welfare of your wife and your children will lie on your shoulders. And someday you'll stand before God and give an account for the spiritual condition of your wife and your children. That's what God is raising you up to be. That's His desire for you. To train you so that you can be a spiritual man. Young women, God's desire towards you is that you marry. Well, forget that thing about giving a marriage, huh? God's desire is that you marry. That's what His Word says. I would that the young women be married to raise up children, lawyers of the next generation, who can do destruction to the enemy and advance God's Kingdom. Will you be a mother like that? Who will pray for her husband. Who will pray for her children. Who will pray for them. Who will sing songs to them. Who will raise them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. Who will provide God the atmosphere for her children. Who will be the queen of her household. Proverbs 31. Look at the qualifications, the expectation that God puts upon you, young ladies. Think about that for a while. That's your calling. Or God may call you to go to a mission field somewhere and give your life away. That might be God's calling for you. But probably the majority of you will get married. And will bear children. And will have a household. Right now, you're in training. Right now, you're in training. What kind of mom will you be? Oh my, the responsibility, responsibility that lies on a woman's shoulders. Many, many a mother has raised up a powerful preacher that has won millions to Christ. Many. There's the saying behind every great man is a great woman. And it's true. It's true. You're a soldier. A cost of discipleship. Though it may cost you everything, young people, the rewards are much more than what you even can see right now. The rewards are much more than you expected. To experience the freedom from the spirit of fear. The power of God's grace in your life to be that spiritual man and that spiritual mother. And to experience the security of God's love in your life. And the fulfillment of all that that brings. It produces a sound mind. Thus, clear mind. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A healthy mind. A balanced Christian life. But you must have the mind of a soldier. A soldier. What is a soldier? A soldier is someone who does his duty, right? Does his duty. If he doesn't do his duty, he's either reprimanded very strongly, and if he still doesn't do his duty, he finally loses the title of being a soldier, doesn't he? Will you do your duty? Will you do your duty? Or will you go on living your careless Christian life? Not really sure what you're all about. Oh Lord, this doesn't hurt. What's the matter with this? Let's have fun. Come on. I'm only young once. I don't know what my life is all about. I don't have any goals really in life. You don't have the mind of a soldier if that's how you're living. If you're all wrapped up with your girlfriends, writing your diaries, dreaming your dreams, young women, you don't have the mind of a soldier. Young men, if you're all wrapped up in fulfilling your dreams of becoming a successful businessman, you don't have the mind of a soldier. You have the mind of a businessman. No man that woreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Are you pleasing him who hath chosen you to be a soldier? Are you? Well, in verse 20 of this chapter, If a man therefore purge himself, verse 21, If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and useful for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work. How is he going to do that? This is how. Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of their pure hearts. O young people, I tell you, if you will adapt the mind of a soldier, your life will turn from a life of boredom into a life of excitement, into a life of fulfillment, into a life of accomplishment. It will. And that changes the whole aspect of the Christian life. It changes your Christian experience, which changes your view of the Christian life. Let me encourage you with these words. Words of the old Chinese proverb. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I think that's where many of you are. Aren't you? You're looking at this journey of a thousand miles. You're hearing this, all of this rich teaching on who you are to be. And it's a little overwhelming. Don't forget, young people, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Do the first step. Take that first step of taking on the mind of a soldier. It will change your life forever. And young men, you'll become soul winners. Just like that. In no time at all, you'll become soul winners. I know you will, because you have the mind of a soldier. And a soldier has a mind to do warfare. He knows what he's all about. And God's school of training may continue for the rest of your life. But it's amazing how fast He initiates you into warfare. You'll be amazed at how quickly God will bring the opportunity to you to shoot that gun. You'll be amazed. And you'll do it with intent. You'll do it trembling. You'll do it knowing it's your first experience. But you'll do it because you have a mind of a soldier. And when you see the opportunity, you'll take that soul and you'll preach to Him the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll minister to Him. You'll pour out your life for Him. And you'll wave to Christ. And you know what? The rewards, the joy, the thrill of that, you'll never get over it. It'll change your life forever. You'll be addicted to being a soldier. You'll learn what it's all about to be a soldier. You'll learn real fast. And young women, same way with you, same way with you, you'll become soul winners. That's what you'll become, a soul winner. You'll become a soul winner who reaches out to a mother who has a lot of children, who can hardly meet all of their needs. You'll love to just go in there and say, can I help? Can I serve? What does a soldier do? He serves, doesn't he? He serves his army. He serves his country. And he does it with pride. He does it with pride. He does it on purpose. He does it for a purpose. You're in training to be a mother, aren't you? Huh? Yes. So why wouldn't you intentionally look for the opportunity to go into that training and experience some firsthand in your own home or in another home? No. It'll change your life. This life of ministry will change your life. It'll change your outlook. It'll change your vision. You know why? All of a sudden, you won't be in this war anymore for what you can get out of it. You'll get the taste of pouring out your life to others. You'll get that taste. You'll experience that joy. And you'll be looking out instead of looking in. You'll be looking out. You'll lose yourself in the kingdom of God. You'll lose yourself in the army of God. And after all is said and done, you'll just be a soldier. You'll just be another soldier who has done his duty. But, oh, Jesus will say to you, Welcome home, my child. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You want to hear those words? You must take on the mind of a soldier, or you'll never hear those words. Well done, thou good and faithful soldier. Let's pray. Oh, my Father, I pray you would raise up this mighty army of 170 young people to be as soldiers, to take on the mind of a soldier. Oh, my God, I pray that you would indeed let this truth grip their hearts, that it would never leave them, let it revolutionize their lives and cause them, Lord, to take a whole new outlook at the Christian life. Oh, Father, I pray let them experience it. And I know they will experience it, Lord, once they take on the mind of a soldier. They'll begin to experience a soldier's life. Oh, I pray, Lord, raise up this group of young people, this generation. Dear God, raise up this generation to do warfare in the spiritual war. Don't let, don't let this generation rise up to be a careless generation. But cause these young men to be sober-minded, to realize who they're all about and who they're serving, to be absolutely surrendered to their Lord. And cause these young women, Lord, to realize You're calling upon them, to realize what they're all about and the awesome responsibility that You will lay on their hands to raise up a godly seed to be a praying mother. Father, I pray, give these young people the courage to take the first step of this thousand mile journey. In Jesus' name, amen.