Spiritual Marines
Dr. James Merritt
Luke 9:23-2
INTRODUCTION
1. One of the most eye-catching commercials on television, is the one that is sponsored by the United States Marine Corps. They have one that shows a young man fighting, and then slaying a fire-breathing dragon with an Excalibur-like sword.
2. At the end of that commercial, with that sword gleaming in the light, decked out in that resplendent dress blue uniform, the commercial ends with these words: ''The Few- the Proud-the Marines.''
3. Do you know what the Mission Statement of the Marine Corps is? On their Website that I pulled on my computer, I discovered this was their Mission Statement: ''We make Marines. We win battles.'' That is not only the mission of the Marine Corps, that was the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was on earth, and that is still His mission through the church today.
4. From the time Jesus began his ministry, to this very moment, Jesus has been looking for ''spiritual Marines.'' May I be very honest with all of us, including myself? If our Commander in Chief, General Jesus, were to return today, I believe that He would find many, if not most, of his soldiers a disgrace to the uniform.
5. In a word, let me tell you why. Jesus is looking for disciples and not decisions. The church today has too many people who have made decisions, and too few people who have become disciples.
6. George Gallup, in one of his polls, made a disheartening discovery. He determined that while almost half the country attends church services, only six to ten percent of all Americans are what he terms ''highly spiritually committed.''1
7. He went on to compare the behavior of the church and the unchurched in a variety of categories-people who call in sick when they are not, people who lie on their resumes, people who cheat on their tax deductions-and found ''little difference in the ethical views and behavior of the churched and the unchurched.''2
8. No one has s ...
Dr. James Merritt
Luke 9:23-2
INTRODUCTION
1. One of the most eye-catching commercials on television, is the one that is sponsored by the United States Marine Corps. They have one that shows a young man fighting, and then slaying a fire-breathing dragon with an Excalibur-like sword.
2. At the end of that commercial, with that sword gleaming in the light, decked out in that resplendent dress blue uniform, the commercial ends with these words: ''The Few- the Proud-the Marines.''
3. Do you know what the Mission Statement of the Marine Corps is? On their Website that I pulled on my computer, I discovered this was their Mission Statement: ''We make Marines. We win battles.'' That is not only the mission of the Marine Corps, that was the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was on earth, and that is still His mission through the church today.
4. From the time Jesus began his ministry, to this very moment, Jesus has been looking for ''spiritual Marines.'' May I be very honest with all of us, including myself? If our Commander in Chief, General Jesus, were to return today, I believe that He would find many, if not most, of his soldiers a disgrace to the uniform.
5. In a word, let me tell you why. Jesus is looking for disciples and not decisions. The church today has too many people who have made decisions, and too few people who have become disciples.
6. George Gallup, in one of his polls, made a disheartening discovery. He determined that while almost half the country attends church services, only six to ten percent of all Americans are what he terms ''highly spiritually committed.''1
7. He went on to compare the behavior of the church and the unchurched in a variety of categories-people who call in sick when they are not, people who lie on their resumes, people who cheat on their tax deductions-and found ''little difference in the ethical views and behavior of the churched and the unchurched.''2
8. No one has s ...
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