In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the urgent and desperate nature of the world situation, comparing it to a crisis and a war. He refers to verses in the Bible that support this view. The speaker then turns to Hebrews 11 and highlights the lives of men like Moses who lived as soldiers, enduring suffering and hardship. He also addresses the need for believers to experience the reality of their faith, emphasizing that it cannot be found solely in reading textbooks or even the Bible, but through personal engagement and involvement in the spiritual battle.

Young men, college graduates, doctors, strong young men whose parents had spent thousands of dollars to give them a well-balanced education and they moved it and they threw it away for a little island and there were 20,000 casualties on Iwo Jima. 20,000 casualties and 5,000 men never returned to tell the story. And the story might not be very real to some of you who are listening to my voice. War isn't real to most of us of this younger generation. But our mental hospitals and our veterans hospitals are filled with young men who will testify to the reality of that war. You see, that's one of the things about war that we must understand. It's only real to those who get in it. Some of you who are listening to my voice are yearning for greater reality in the Christian faith. You have doubts even about the Bible. You have doubts about basic truths of the Christian faith and at times you're wondering what it's all about. I want to tell you this with all sincerity and I'm the authority of the word of God. You'll never find reality in a textbook. You'll never find reality sitting in a chair somewhere reading, even if you're reading the Bible. You'll find reality only when you, by faith, enter into this gigantic battle, this gigantic struggle for truth and righteousness and love and godliness. Reality is found on the front line with the weapons of warfare in our hands and the Bible says the weapons of warfare that we have are not carnal. They're not missiles. They're not intercontinental ballistic missiles or any other kind of weapon that human beings can ever discover. The weapons we have are more powerful. They're greater. They've got more potential than anything men ever dreamed of. Our weapons are spiritual weapons, as it says in and they can tear down strongholds and they can cast down imaginations and they can bring, think of this young person, every thought into captivity. Every evil thing you think about, every wrong thought, every lust, it can be brought into captivity by the power of God, by the weapons of the warfare that God has given to us and I tell you that's greater than a cobalt bomb or anything any human being has ever discovered. Yes, it took 5,000 men and 20,000 casualties to take a little island in the Pacific. Do you really think it's going to take any less to take spiritual islands in Mexico, in England, in America, in Canada, in Italy, in France, in Turkey, in Iran, in Iraq, in Moscow, in China? Do you think it's going to take any less? Who would be so foolish? For God says you wrestle not against flesh and blood, you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but you wrestle against the very powers of hell and the devil is a roaring lion. Seeketh whom he may devour. Young person, it's war and until you and I come to grips with this fact, until we realize it's a warfare and we've got to enlist as soldiers. 2 Timothy chapter 2, endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, for no man that warrants entangles himself with the affairs of this life. These are verses from the word of God. This isn't my idea. I didn't say fight the good fight. I didn't say endure hardship. I didn't say that we wrestled against the powers of darkness. I didn't say any of these things, but these are verses from the new testament and when we look into the lives, when we look into the lives of the men of the new testament and of the old, what can we say? This is the final confirmation. We look out at the world situation, we realize it's desperate, we realize it's a crisis, we realize it's war. We look into the word of God and we see the verses that clearly tell us that our situation is war, that our situation is desperate, that our situation is an emergency situation, worse than anything that happened in Sophia or Iran or during any earthquake, tidal wave or hurricane. And then when we look into the lives of the saints, when we look into the lives of men in the old testament, let's stop. Let's stop and turn in our bibles to Hebrews the 11th chapter. Let's look at some of these men. Hebrews chapter 11. Let's see how these men lived. Let's see the kind of life they led. Let's see if they were militant or not. If they really lived like soldiers. They really lived as if it were a crisis situation. Let's read about a few of these men. Look at Moses in Hebrews 11 verse 23. By faith Moses when he was born was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the commandments of the king. By faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect under the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Oh my when we look at men like this. Moses with all the pleasures of Egypt with the best possible education with all the women of Pharaoh's court with all the riches with everything else he forsook it and he entered into that warfare of suffering and of reproach and of enduring hardship as they went across the wilderness and were beaten were and went through every possible trial. Moses was a soldier. And we read on we read about Joshua and then we come to verse 32 like a great crescendo we read these words and what shall I more say for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Japheth and of David also and Samuel of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection and others had trial of cruel markings and scourgings yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawed asunder they were tempted were slain with a sword they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted and tormented alone the world was not worthy they wandered about in deserts in mountains in dens and caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect do you see the power of that passage they didn't have what we have they were didn't have the promises that we have they didn't have all the blessings that we have and yet this is the kind of life they lived and as we look into the new testament and into the lives of men who lived in the new testament we see the same thing we see the description of the apostle paul in corinthians 11 and it's shocking what this man went through because he lived the life of a soldier beatings mocking scourging wandering suffering the care of the churches and all the rest read the passage and then we read in second corinthians six when paul is speaking to all of us who desire to be faithful unto jesus christ who desire to be faithful ministers unto christ and he says in second corinthians six these revolutionary words why if we dare to even obey this one chapter the world would be turned upside down and god doesn't need a great number we're not looking for great numbers in this crusade we're looking for a faithful few who dare to begin to live the life of faith we're not looking for perfect people either we we've given up on that we're looking for people who are willing to say lord teach me people who are willing to break before calvary as isaiah broke and say lord here am i send me take me mold me make me a new like the potter's vessel to be broken so that we can be made anew with the hands of the lord the chastening hands the loving hands the kind hands the meek hands it'll take us through trials and suffering it'll take us through difficulties it'll bring us into life into life live with people who are of different personality it'll take us into various circumstances it reminds me of a story of a young boy who wanted to learn patience and he went to the pastor and he said passion pastor i want you to pray for me that i might learn patience and the pastor said okay let's pray and he got down on the on the floor and he began to pray and he said oh god the pastor prayed oh god send this young man tribulation send them tribulation lord and he went on to pray and the little boy began to shake and after the prayer he got up and he said but pastor he said i asked you to pray that the lord would give me patience the wise pastor took the word of god and he opened it he pointed to a verse and the verse said but tribulation work is patience and if you want to live the life of christ if you want to be conformed to the image of christ if you want to become a true disciple and a true soldier of jesus christ get ready for the problems get ready for the storms get ready for the battles get ready for the difficulties get ready for the unloving people get ready for the criticisms and the lies and the backbiting for all of this will be used to conform you to the image of jesus christ now this isn't my idea look at the passage second corinthians chapter six starting at the third verse giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed but in all things are proving ourselves as the ministers of god here it is approving ourselves as ministers of god going through the test what happens to us in much patience in affliction in necessities in distresses in strikes in imprisonment in tombs and labors in watchings and fastings by pureness by knowledge by long suffering by kindness by holy ghost by love unseen by the word of truth by the power of god by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left by honor and dishonor by evil reporting good report as deceivers and yet true as unknown and yet well known as dying and behold we live as chastened and not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things there it is clear specific this is the life of a soldier it's not easy it's not a game it's real it's a bottle and this and this is our situation today as we face england as we face mexico as we face europe as we face the regions beyond our situation is a warfare it's an emergency it's crisis it's desperate the only way to meet it the only way to enter into it is the same way that jesus christ said in luke the 14th chapter he said except you forsake all that you have you cannot follow me the command was specific the terms were definite there were no if and but so maybe he said unless you forsake all that you have you cannot be my disciple it seems as we look at the context of the passage that he was mainly referring to material things you see jesus knew how close we were we were knit to the material world in our day we tried to separate the material from the spiritual but only a fool really does that our stomachs are close to our heart our eyes are close to our minds and so it is we're materialistic we want things because we know things bring status we want our way and jesus said we had to forsake it but also jesus both in this passage and in his other teachings clearly teaches that we're to forsake all other things and i find that our day there's things harder to forsake and material things pride self-love status seeking the desire to be recognized irritability impatience these are the things this passage talks about these are the real the real knots in our life that have to be broken by the power of god before we're ever going to be used in a mighty way these are the things that must be taken out of us as we train to be soldiers for jesus christ yes god has called us to be disciples and as you read the book through discipleship you're going to find some principles that are so revolutionary that it's going to be hard for you to fall into accord with them but god will grant you the grace for he has said my strength is made perfect and weakness oh might we remember that my grace is sufficient he said my strength is made perfect and weakness and so it's god in you who will live this life it's god who will enable you to be a true disciple and remember above everything else a disciple is a learner he's out to learn he doesn't know it all he can't say i'm a true disciple but he can say i'm learning from jesus the life of true discipleship and so if you want to come on one of these crusades if god is speaking to you about mexico or about follow-up in a village in england or about a crusade in the muslim world or in europe remember we're not looking for people who are perfect we're not looking for the strong and the mighty in the intelligence we're looking for those that'll say yes to jesus we'll say yes lord i'll follow thee through the problems through the difficulties through the trials through the mistakes i'll follow thee i'll be thy disciple i'll learn a thing i'll sit at thy feet in the school of prayer in the school of patience in the school of love in the school of meekness in the school of gentleness in the school of kindness i'll follow thee for my desire is that the life of jesus christ lives through me jesus was a soldier but the attributes of this kind of soldier were quite different from the attributes of a physical soldier fighting a physical warfish his attributes his weapons were love calvary love love that sent him from all of the glories of heaven to come to this earth to be born in a stable to be reared in a carpenter shop to take on the form of the servant the form of a man and then to go through all the brutality of gethsemane of the court of pilot of calvary's road and to go all the way to the cross thank god jesus christ didn't forsake half he didn't forsake ninety percent he forsook all he didn't stop in gethsemane he didn't stop in the courts of pilots he didn't stop on calvary's hill he didn't even stop at the foot of the cross and say oh what a wonderful thing this is i dedicate my life to this but he went all the way to the cross it was 100 dedication and jesus christ today demands of those that will be his disciples of those that will be his soldiers that they forsake all and that they go all the way to the cross he said except you forsake all you can't be my disciples he said except you take up your cross and follow me you cannot be my disciple he said whosoever finds his life will lose it whosoever loses his life for my sake he shall find this this is the tremendous thing about the christian faith this is the thing that should thrill our hearts it's so completely different from any other religion it's so completely different from any philosophy of men he that loses his life shall find it many of us want life even in christian work we want to be somebody we want to go somewhere we want a reputation it's amazing isn't it philippians 2 says jesus for us became of no reputation but so many of us reputation jesus was so revolutionary his ways were so revolutionary that if we just begin to obey them if we begin to submit ourselves to these teachings if we just begin to enter into this warfare we'll find ourselves being turned upside down we'll find that our thinking our thinking will change our walking will change our talking will change our attitudes toward others will change our attitudes toward our teachers will change the questions we ask change the statements we make will change our handshake will change our facial expressions will change we'll become a new person completely as the word of christ dwells in us richly and as we worship him in spiritual songs and melody in our hearts unto him as we daily worship him as we daily praise him as we don't seek experiences from time to time but as we seek a daily experience with god in worship and in praise yes our situation is a warfare our situation is critical our situation is an emergency the sirens are roaring and the only way to meet him is in the divine power of jesus christ in the divine life of jesus christ and in the power of the holy spirit which has been given unto each one of us through jesus christ the comforter the power of god dwelling in each one of us that will enable us day by day to learn of jesus christ oh it's not going to all come at once there'll be experiences in which great mountains are taken there'll be experiences in which there's leaps of faith and great great strides and great advances are taken on enemy territory but it's going to come day after day as we submit to the lord jesus christ and allow the root of god to dwell in us richly as we memorize the root as we meditate upon it as we dwell in it and as we submit to it are you ready this is the end of orientation session number one where do you stand are you ready to be a soldier are you ready to enlist and be unentangled from all the affairs of this life that you may please him who has chosen you to be a soldier that's right he's chosen you you don't have to wait for a call for this he's chosen you already he's chosen you to be conformed to his image and all you need do turn from your sin and from yourself turn from your egocentric living from your striving your vain glory and all of the little irritabilities turn from it and go to calvary and break and say as i say oh lord i'm a man of unclean anything lord anytime lord anywhere lord for jesus christ because he loved me and gave himself for me it's a warfare that's right but the victory is already won for we are more than conquerors through jesus christ who loved us and gave himself for him do you believe it do you really believe if you do nothing will stop you not even the very doctor let us pray heavenly father we realize that our situation is a warfare we realize god that we're up against forces that are more desperate than what was ever fought against in any world war or near regime or in any other place we realize that the weapons of a warfare are not colonel we realize god that it isn't a one-shot experience but it's becoming a disciple it's becoming a learner it's submitting daily to jesus christ and father we tonight want to enlist we want to enlist in a training school for this tremendous conflict in the school of prayer in the school of patience in the school of love in the school of meekness in the school of kindness in the school of the life of jesus that our life might fade away that we might reckon our life as being nailed to the cross with jesus christ that we might be identified with him that it might no longer be us but he who lives within us and then we shall be more than conquerors through him who loves us we ask you in jesus name amen