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Adam Dragoon 12/30/24 Adam Dragoon 12/30/24

The Need for Warriors: Training disciples for Kingdom rescue [Genesis 14:14-16]

A message on the story of Abram from Genesis 14, where Abram mobilized 318 trained men to rescue his nephew Lot. This narrative serves as a powerful metaphor for our spiritual journey.

Sermon Summary

In service, I preached on discipleship and the call to be and train warriors for God's kingdom. We are reminded of the importance of discipleship, a process that transforms us into the likeness of Christ. Discipleship is not merely about conversion but about growing in relationships and community, becoming more like Jesus daily.

We jumped into the story of Abram from Genesis 14, where Abram mobilized 318 trained men to rescue his nephew Lot. This narrative serves as a powerful metaphor for our spiritual journey. Just as Abram trained warriors in his household, we are called to be trained in spiritual warfare, equipped to fight the battles of faith. The Christian life is not a passive one; it requires active engagement, training, and readiness to wage the good warfare against spiritual forces. We are reminded that our battles are not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers, and we must be prepared to fight with the weapons of faith, prayer, and the Word of God.

The call to discipleship is a call to action. It is about being trained and training others, creating a culture of discipleship within our church. This involves making intentional decisions to follow Jesus, to learn from Him, and to teach others. As we look forward to the coming year, we are challenged to embrace this theme of "Decisions Make Disciples," committing ourselves to be both learners and teachers in the faith. We are encouraged to cultivate relationships that foster growth and accountability, ensuring that our church is where new believers can thrive and mature in their walk with God.

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Message Study Guide

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[00:00] - Welcome
[45:05] - God's Provision and Partnership
[46:07] - New Building Opportunity
[49:02] - Call to Discipleship
[50:44] - Theme for 2025: Decisions Make Disciples
[52:09] - Spiritual Warfare
[53:32] - Victory in Christ
[54:30] - The Need for Warriors
[57:06] - Holy Ghost Confidence
[58:04] - Embracing the Battle
[59:12] - Lot's Captivity and Our Compassion
[01:01:14] - Abram's Response
[01:06:21] - Training Warriors
[01:13:05] - Training in the Local Church
[01:19:41] - The Power of Relationships
[01:23:30] - Spirit of Discipleship
[01:28:38] - Call to Prayer and Commitment

Key Takeaways

God's Provision and Partnership: The new building opportunity is a divine provision, emphasizing the importance of partnerships in expanding God's kingdom. This partnership is not just about physical space but about fulfilling God's vision for our congregation. [45:05]
The Call to Discipleship: Discipleship is a lifelong journey of becoming more like Jesus. It involves intentional decisions and relationships within the community of faith. We are called to be more than converts; we are called to be disciples who make disciples. [50:44]
Spiritual Warfare: The Christian life is a battle against spiritual forces. We must be trained and ready to fight with the weapons of faith, prayer, and the Word of God. Victory is not automatic; it requires active engagement and readiness. [53:32]
Training in the Local Church: Just as Abram trained warriors in his household, we are called to train and be trained within the local church. This training is essential for spiritual growth and for equipping believers to fulfill their God-given purpose. [01:13:05]
The Power of Relationships: Discipleship and spiritual growth occur within the context of relationships. We need mentors, peers, and those we can mentor. These relationships are vital for accountability, encouragement, and growth in the faith. [01:19:41]

Bible Reading

Gen 14:14-16 NKJV - 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained [servants] who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which [is] north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
1Ti 1:18 NKJV - 18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
Mat 11:12 NKJV - 12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Observation Questions

In Genesis 14:14-16, what actions did Abram take when he learned about Lot's capture, and what was the outcome of his actions?
According to 1 Timothy 1:18, what charge does Paul give to Timothy, and how does it relate to the concept of spiritual warfare?
How does Matthew 11:12 describe the nature of the kingdom of heaven, and what does this imply about the attitude of its followers?

Interpretation Questions

What does Abram's mobilization of 318 trained men suggest about the importance of preparation and readiness in spiritual battles? [01:06:21]
How does the concept of "decisions make disciples" challenge the traditional view of discipleship as merely a passive process? [50:44]
In what ways does the sermon suggest that spiritual warfare is an active and ongoing process for believers? [53:32]

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when you felt unprepared for a spiritual challenge. What steps can you take to be better equipped for future spiritual battles? [01:06:21]
The sermon emphasizes the importance of relationships in discipleship. Identify one person in your life who could benefit from a mentoring relationship. How can you initiate this connection? [01:19:41]
Consider the theme "decisions make disciples." What intentional decisions can you make this week to grow in your faith and help others do the same? [50:44]
How can you incorporate the practice of prayer and the study of God's Word into your daily routine to strengthen your spiritual readiness? [53:32]’
The sermon highlights the need for a warrior mentality in the Christian life. What specific area of your life requires a more proactive and courageous approach? [54:30]
Reflect on the partnerships in your life that help expand God's kingdom. How can you strengthen these partnerships or form new ones? [45:05]
How can you create a culture of discipleship within your local church or community, and what role can you play in this process? [01:13:05]

Amen. This church is a living house of God, living stones. Each one of us is part of the family of God, a member in the body of Christ. And we are grateful for each and every one of you tonight.

There was one more QR code that I wanted to show this evening, and that is to join our new Bible plan. As you know, for the past few years, we've been having a yearly Bible program that we've been going through in the Bible app. And for 2025, we also have a new plan that we're all beginning.

And I want to just give you the link for that if you haven't connected with it already. We have a QR code up there. I think, did you get that, Amanda? Sent it before the service.

Anyways, sometime during the service, a QR code will appear. And if you want to join our Bible plan for the year 2025, we want to encourage you to join us. And another year in the Word of God, we desperately need that. Can you say amen?

Amen. So grateful that we have tools like this available. The Bible app has been a great blessing to me, to keep me on track, reading the Word of God, and staying accountable.

Amen. Let's open up our Bibles. Tonight, we're looking at Genesis chapter 14. I want to look at a story here, a story from the life of Abram.

And there's a little detail in this story that is quite powerful when you begin to consider it. As Saban mentioned, we're starting a new Bible study starting next Sunday, and this is kind of a precursor to that.

It's going to go along with a theme, a theme that I've prayed about, a yearly theme that I would like us as a church to focus on in the next year, 2025, and that is the theme of decisions make disciples. Disciples, and we are a church that believes in winning the lost through evangelism.

A church can win a lot of people, and thank God over the years, God has given us many, many people that have come through our congregation and prayed at the altar. That is a wonderful thing, and that is nothing short of a miracle.

However, God wants us to be more than just new converts. Can you say amen? Amen. The process that begins when we get saved is the process of discipleship, and that is where we are changing from glory to glory into His likeness and image.

Now, you might have been saved for five minutes or for five decades. However long you've been saved, how many know we all are called to become more like Jesus? And that process of becoming more like Jesus is what we call discipleship.

And discipleship is something that is done in the context of relationship, friendships, fellowship, within the context of a community and a church. And I believe that God would put this on our hearts for the next year.

I believe that God has challenged me personally to take a step up in discipleship. And I want to ask you to join me this year to believe God that we make new steps in discipleship as we step forward in God's will.

In the scripture we're about to read, we're going to read about Abram and his servants that are trained in his house. And they are trained to do warfare.

1 Timothy 1:18, Paul charges his son in the faith. He says that you would wage the good warfare. Paul saw Timothy as a warrior in the kingdom of God. He saw him as a fighter. Not fighting against flesh and blood, as it says in Ephesians, but we are fighting against powers and principalities of the air.

There's a spiritual battle, isn't there? Every day you are targeted by hell. We have an enemy, and he wants to kill, steal, and destroy. But we are on the winning side. Can you say amen?

We serve a God who is on His throne. We serve a resurrected Savior. And when we are serving Him, we have access to victory. Victory over the demonic. Victory over the world. Victory over our flesh.

But that does not come without a fight. It does not come automatically. We don't win the victory in this war by default. There have to be some people who are willing to wage the good warfare.

There have to be somebody, men and women alike, old and young, who have the capacity, the ability, and the availability to wage a good warfare. The problem is that many Christians are acting like they are on a spiritual vacation.

There are many who would consider themselves spiritual civilians, not warriors. But the Bible says that when we are saved, we are enlisted into the Lord's army. We should act like it. We should think like warriors. We should think like we are soldiers.

Matthew 11, verse 12, from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. It's a powerful revelation there.

But I want to look at this story from Genesis chapter 14, and I want to stir up some Holy Ghost righteousness in God's people tonight.

Genesis 14, beginning with verse 14, when Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Keterleomar's army and led them to the city of Bethlehem.

And he led his army until he caught up with them at Dan. And there he divided his men and attacked during the night. Keterleomar's army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.

This message tonight, the need for warriors. Let's pray.

Lord, we come by the precious blood of Jesus. Lord, you saved us. You called us. You set us apart for your glory. Lord, we are called to be servants, to be friends. You've called us to be stone, living stones in your house, members of one body.

God, you've also called us to wage a good warfare, to fight a good fight. I'm praying, God, that you would raise up a holy people in this place willing to fight the battles of your kingdom.

I'm praying, God, that you would raise up women and men with courage and strength to fight and win battles for your kingdom. And we give you glory tonight in Jesus' mighty name. God's people said, amen.

Did you feel it tonight? When Brother Andre said, let's pray, you know what I felt in my spirit? I said, come. I felt a spirit of let's go. Let's do something for God.

And I believe that God would give us a Holy Spirit confidence. I'm not talking about ego. I'm not talking about pride. But what God's people need is a Holy Ghost confidence in who God has called us to be and what God has called us to do.

In this life, we will have battles. You will have battles. You will have financial battles. You will have relationship battles. You will have personality struggles. Yes? Not everybody gets along. That's part of life.

You will have family battles for your family, for your career, for many, many things, for your personality, for your mental stability. We will battle many, many things.

I want to say tonight, it is not evil. It is not unusual for us to have a battle. Some people are surprised that a battle comes to their doorstep. Wait a second. I thought I was following Jesus. I thought all the battles have already been won.

And many times, you can get discouraged just because a battle shows up. But be not discouraged tonight. God never told you. God never told you. God never told us that we would not battle.

He did tell us, though, that He would be with us through the battle. In the scripture that we read tonight, Abram is God's man. God has chosen him and called him to be a friend and a promise receiver from the Lord God.

And in this story, this narrative of Abram's life, there is this occasion when his nephew, Lot, was captured. Now, it's a long, complicated story that I don't want to fully explain. But the bottom line is this: a war breaks out.

And this war is between five kings on one side and four kings on the other side. And they're battling it out for land and territory and possessions, the same reasons why wars have been fought for thousands of years of human history.

This is an earthly battle between earthly kings for earthly gains. Lot is not on one side or another. Neither side is fighting for the kingdom of God, only for self and earthly kingdoms.

And yet, it is during this battle that Lot and his family are dragged into the fight. He is captured. He's in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There's a little lesson that we can learn here before we go forward. Where was Lot living? In Sodom. He had seen the green pastures and the beautiful fields and the opportunities to make a lot of money down there in Sodom.

And he chose his path in a land of wickedness. And who knows if the reason why he got captured in this fight is because he made a bad decision to follow his money instead of following his uncle.

And there's a good lesson for us. Sometimes we find ourselves wrapped up in unnecessary battles because we are pursuing the wrong priorities in life. Hello?

When you find anything other than Jesus at number one, you'll get wrapped up and caught up in battles that you should have nothing to do with.

I find that people get caught up in relationships that they have no business being in because they're not seeking first the kingdom. I find that people sometimes end up at jobs that you have no business working at that job. You have no business going to that place.

And yet there you are because we've made decisions that are outside of seeking first the kingdom.

And so, in parentheses, back to the story. It is during this battle between five earthly kings over here and four earthly kings over there, they're battling it out, and Abram's nephew, his name is Lot, is taken as a casualty of war.

And this is where Abram finds himself. He is a family member to Abram. No doubt, Abram cares about him. Lot had lived in Abram's household. He was family.

Abram, at an old age, did not have his own children. Perhaps, to him, Lot was kind of like a son, someone that he trusted, someone that he cared for, him and his family.

And so there he is. In this story, Lot represents to us a full category of people. There are many people like Lot in our world today.

Many people who are caught up in battles that really they have nothing to do with. There are those who have been captured by mentalities, captured by inherited curses, captured by bad decisions, captured in poverty, captured in failing systems, captured in a failed justice system, captured in so many things to no fault of their own.

And I want you to understand that. Wonder, can you see them? Do we still think about them? Today is our World Evangelism Sunday, the last Sunday of the month. And you know, there are some Lot people groups out there in the world, out there in nations that do not know Jesus.

Jesus came for the captured ones. You remember his proclamation on the day when it was his turn to read the Torah, and they opened up the scroll to the book of Isaiah. And on that day, he proclaimed his mission statement for why did I, why did Jesus come?

And one of those things was to set the captives free. Jesus came to earth because there are a bunch of people who are held captive. Ultimately, we are held captive because of sin.

And if we are on the side of Jesus, if we are on the side of God's kingdom, then our heart also needs to be who is still in captivity that needs freedom.

How many of you remember when you were in captivity? You were in bondage to your sins. It's not so long ago that you forgot. I can still remember how bound I was in my sins, feeling like I was in a prison of my own making.

And even though I was not in a prison cell physically, I was in a prison cell of my mind. Spiritually, I was a captive. Like one of those slaves born during that 400 years of captivity where your great-great-great-great-grandpa was a slave. And you see no hope of getting out.

Listen, there's a lot of people in our world that that is what, that is their daily life. Just like Lot, caught up in a battle that he didn't start and he didn't finish. He wasn't involved in. He's just caught up in the middle of it.

Do we have compassion? Do we have compassion? Do we have compassion for the captives? Do we see them? Do we hear them? Do we pray for them?

There's a story in the New Testament when the apostle Peter finds himself in prison. And this is what the Bible says about this. This is Acts chapter 12, verse 3. When Herod Agrippa saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter.

Taking place during the Passover celebration, he imprisoned him and placed him under the guard of four squads, four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial, but watch.

Verse 5, while Peter was in prison, the church prayed earnestly for him, fervently, round-the-clock prayer. Thank God that there was a church who cared about Peter.

Our guy, he's a Christian. He's a Christian. He's a Christian. He's a Christian. He's a Christian. He's in prison. We've got to pray. We've got to believe. And fervently they prayed.

Do you have a family member who's in prison spiritually? Do you have a family member who is captive by their sins, by their unbelief, by their cynicism, atheism, demonic oppression?

We should continue to pray earnestly for those. Can you say amen? But we should do more than pray.

In our scripture, we're reading about Lot. And Abram has a response. Abram's response was not to sit back on his chair and fold his hands and bow his head and say, Lord, I hope you get Lot out of there.

Lord, I just pray that you would just open up a door. Somehow, Lord, that you would set Lot free. No, the Bible says that Abram was prepared to do something.

And we don't often think of Abram in this light. But this scripture reveals that Abram was a warrior. Not only a warrior, but a trainer of warriors.

Let's look at this scripture, verse 14. He mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household. What can we learn from this?

Abram, in addition to being a successful farmer, business person, follower of the voice of God, receiver of the promise, in addition to all those things, Abram also had another notch on his belt, which was he trained men in war.

He had his own personal army, 318 strong. And when the time came... When the time came for them to be deployed, he did not withdraw from the fight. Abram knew when to pull the trigger.

He said, I'm prepared for this. I don't have to just sit and pray. I can do something. He mobilized 318 trained men. What a powerful thing that is.

What a powerful thing the kingdom of God needs is trained warriors. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not talking about taking up M16s this evening. What we need is some men who are trained in John 3:16s. Come on.

We need some people who are trained in the Word of God. Trained in prayer. Trained in discipleship and ministry. Trained in how to lead someone to Jesus and teach them how to live for God.

This is the kind of warriors we are seeking, both men and women. And to do this is not automatic. You know, we have an elite fighting force in the U.S. Navy called the SEALs. Most of you know exactly what that is.

It is a rigorous training. Just to be considered to go to the BUDS program, you have to pass a screening test. Just to be considered. You know what the screening is? I looked it up.

In order to be considered to become a SEAL and go to the BUDS training, you have to perform the following. Are you ready for this? 500-yard swim in 12 minutes, 30 seconds. 50 push-ups in 2 minutes. 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes. 10 consecutive pull-ups in 2 minutes. And a 1.5-mile run in 10 minutes, 30 seconds.

There's probably only a few people in this room who would even come close. That's only the first step, the first test to be a candidate for the BUDS program.

If you are selected and receive a passing score, the attrition rate fluctuates, but at average, only 20% graduate from BUDS. That means 80% fail. 80%. That's hard.

The average candidate spends over a year in formal training courses before being awarded the special training. That's a special warfare operator naval rating.

And if they are selected to be a Navy SEAL, the next thing that happens is, guess what? Even more hard stuff. Eight weeks of naval recruit training. Eight weeks of naval special warfare prep school. 24 weeks of basic underwater demolition. Five weeks of parachute jump school. 26 weeks of SEAL qualification.

Then, if they make it through all of that, only then will they receive the Navy SEAL trident. And after that, is 18 months of pre-deployment before you ever face any action. That's hard.

Why would anyone do this? Because some people are programmed to be warriors. And thank God that there are. Thank God that there are some men who are willing to sacrifice their bodies, their families, their time, their lives, and they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Navy SEALs.

And they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Navy SEALs. And they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Navy SEALs. And they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Navy SEALs.

And they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Navy SEALs. That's what I'm talking about when I'm talking about training.

When the Bible says that Abram had 318 trained men, I want to tell you that training is not automatic, and it is not easy. The word in Hebrew is the word chanik.

And if we translate that word, we get trained, instructed, trained servant, experienced. The root word of that comes from the same word where we get javelin or spear. The idea is an initiation, a dedication.

It's the same word, the root word of Hanukkah, which is the festival of dedication. You know the story there. And so these trained men, they had been initiated, dedicated. They had surrendered their hearts and their lives into the hands of Abram to train as a person of war.

And I want to tell you, this says a lot about Abram. It says that he's a leader, someone who knows how to prepare his house for battle. What does it say?

One more time as we read that scripture. Verse 14, when Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized 318 trained men who had been born where? In his household.

So where had they been trained? Under his hands. In other words, Abram did not send these men off to BUDS training. He didn't send them off to another king to learn how to fight somewhere else.

Abram is the one who trained them in his household. This is a powerful principle. He didn't send them to some outside warrior school. He trained them in his own house.

This was a powerful discovery of Pastor Mitchell. And when he began to plant churches, the Prescott Church back in the 1970s, something happened at the time. And still to this day, the expectation is that if you're going to pioneer a church or become a pastor, that we have to send these people off to cemetery. I mean seminary.

And we have to train them how to be pastors. And that has always been the way that things are done in the church world here in America. So Pastor Mitchell has these men that are saved. They're radical for God. They're disciples.

And now they want to respond to the call and become pastors. So he does what everybody does. Send them off to cemetery. I mean seminary.

And when they go to seminary, they come back and they've lost the fire. They've lost the passion. They've lost something. And so Pastor Mitchell determined in his heart, he says, you know, when I read the Bible, I don't see Jesus sending his disciples off to another school.

I don't see Jesus. I don't see the early church sending them off to some Bible training program. I don't see him sending them off to another school. I don't see Jesus sending them to the temple to train under the Pharisees or the Sadducees.

You know what we see in the New Testament? We see Jesus training his men. And we see those men training other men. And that training is occurring in the context of the local church.

And what this did for Pastor Mitchell and what it has done for our fellowship over the last 50 years is it has accelerated the work of God. We are approaching now 4,000 churches around the world. 4,000 churches.

I was just thinking about this the other day. When I came into the church in the year of our Lord, previous century, 1998 is when I got saved. And when I got saved, there was only about 1,400 churches in the fellowship at that time.

So I'm not that old. But in that amount of time, our fellowship has more than doubled. How does that happen? It happens when men of God, women of God will put themselves in a position of being trained in the house of the local church.

That was the secret for Abram. 318 trained in his own household. That is powerful. It's a miracle. And it gives great dignity to the local church.

You know what it means? It means we have enough to train workers and warriors right here. This church has what we need to train men of God and women of God to do the work of God, to be the rescuers and the warriors.

I want to tell you, I'd rather have 300 trained men from our own house than an army of thousands that I don't know. We find this pattern in the Word of God.

We find that the principle of training that in 2 Timothy, where Paul says, Timothy, I want you to take the things that I've shown to you, and I want you to teach those to others who will be able to teach others also.

And right there in that one scripture, we have the four generations of discipleship. So Paul has taught Timothy. Timothy is charged to train other people who are going to then train other people.

And unfortunately, I think that there's a breakdown in the church, and even in our church, when it comes to discipleship. We're not just called to get saved and to heap up on ourselves all kind of intelligence and blessing and revelation, and thank God that God helps us.

But the reason we get saved is not just for us. It's to be trainers. Who are we training to fight for the kingdom of God? Abram trained these men in his own house.

We need trained warriors. We need men who will submit themselves. We need women who will surrender their hearts to the work of training to be warriors.

But I want to tell you something. Those of us who have some experience in the Word of God and in the will of God, you know what else we need? We need warrior trainers. We need trained warriors, and we need warrior trainers.

We need the servants, and we need the leaders. And if we will, if we will submit to this need, I want to tell you, the rescue will be successful.

Verse 16, Abram, listen carefully, Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken. He brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions, all the women, and all the other captives.

This is powerful. There are two times in the Word of God where it identifies Lot not only as nephew, but if you look at that Hebrew word in the original text, the word is not just nephew, it's brother.

He brought back his brother Lot, his close family member. And thank God for that, because you know what? There had been a rift between these two.

They're in this scripture through the ritual rescuing of Lot out of his captivity, there is also the idea that there is a relationship that is restored. That because, thank God, Abram had these trained men in his house, he was able to rescue Lot.

And he not only rescued him from his captivity, but he rescued a relationship. Through this rescue, the relationship of Abram and Lot found healing. Proverbs 17:17, a brother is born for adversity.

Can I tell you, in my life, I have had some brothers that have saved my life spiritually. When I have been going through things, I thank God that I have a network of people that I can call on.

People that I trust. I have a pastor that I trust. Thank God, I've had the same pastor from the first day I got saved. There is power in that.

I can call him. Sometimes if my mind is circling and swerving and in all kinds of chaos and insanity, and I make one phone call, and Pastor Campbell's prayers, our relationship over the years, he is able to bring me back to sanity in about 30 seconds.

Thank God that I have that. Not only that, I have brothers in my life. I have brothers in my life. I have brothers in my life. I have brothers in my life.

In the faith, I have fellow pastors and evangelists and people that I have trust in, and they are able to speak into my life, and I am able to ask them questions.

By the way, that's a mark. That's a mark that you're still learning something. Are you asking questions? People that you trust.

I'm amazed at some people that never have a question. Got it all figured out. I already learned it, Pastor. You know, when I'm around my pastor, you know what I'm constantly trying to do?

I'm constantly trying to think of a question I can ask him, because my pastor has so much wisdom, and I have so much respect for him. His battles over the years, his experiences, that's worth something to me.

Whatever ministry that I have is a direct outflow of my relationship with Pastor Campbell and with other trusted people that are in my life.

We want to see the captives rescued. We want to see an army raised up, but I want to tell you, armies don't happen on their own. They don't happen in isolation.

The army of God relies on relationships. It relies on rank and submission and obedience to commands. All of you who have been in the military, and even if you haven't, you understand the concept that an army cannot function without rank, cannot function without submission and surrender.

Not everybody gets to make the calls, right? Somebody's got to follow the calls. And so it is in the kingdom. God calls some to leadership and some to being followers.

It's okay to be a follower. In fact, the reason that we can become good leaders is when we become good followers. If we will do this, I want to tell you, the same kind of victory that Abram found, rescuing Lot and all of those who were captive, I want to tell you, we want to see spiritual victory, right?

We want to see spiritual captives being rescued and redeemed from the hands of the enemy. But God is not going to rescue lost souls and bring them into a chaotic church.

He's not going to bring new converts into a place that is not conducive for converts to grow. This is why we have to be a family.

I'm so grateful that Brother Philip that I went to lunch with today, he made that statement to me and he said, when I came to your church, I felt like I was home. That was beautiful to me.

It spoke to me that there is a spirit in our congregation, a spirit of family. It's more than just a family. It's more than just church on Sunday, hello?

It's not just religion. It's not just a facade. It's not just putting up a front and putting on a performance. If we're going to have that, it means we're going to have to be willing both to train and to be trained.

Have you already figured it all out? Or is there still room for discipleship in your life? I know there's still room for discipleship in my life. I haven't got it. I haven't figured it out yet. I'm still learning.

Please. Our theme for the next year, decisions make disciples. And I want to encourage you over these next few months as we kind of hone in on what that means, would you join me to begin examining what kind of decisions can you make to be a disciple?

Not just of local authority and leadership within the church, that's important, but ultimately disciples of Jesus. Followers, learners, imitators.

We need warriors. It's not easy, but it's not meant to be. Let's bow our heads. We're going to close our eyes tonight.

I thank you for the opportunity to examine the word of God with you tonight. A powerful story from the life of Abram, 318 trained in his own house. Trained for warfare. Trained for rescue.

I have good news for you. We are on the winning side. We have a commander-in-chief who knows what he's doing. We have a mighty savior, Jehovah Nisi, the Lord who fights for us. The Lord, our banner, who goes before us.

And tonight, before we open this altar for prayer, I'm challenging you to a spirit of discipleship in this coming year. But we cannot embrace discipleship unless first, we find ourselves in a right relationship with God.

And before we contemplate what kind of decisions will lead to discipleship in our lives, I want, I wonder, are you right with God? Are you living for him? Are your sins forgiven?

And before we do other things, tonight I want to give an opportunity for someone who's not saved, not living for God, not sure about the relationship you have with him.

Jesus died so that we can have a relationship with God. And tonight, before we open up this altar for prayer, if you're not right with God, I want to pray with you.

If you're not serving him, you're not living for him, but your sins are before you. You're feeling a weight and a burden on your shoulders of sin and condemnation. Jesus is here to set us free tonight.

He wants to set the captive free. And your captivity to sin can be broken in a moment. He can open prison doors.

If you need that tonight, before we pray, I want to ask you to respond with an uplifted hand. Say, Pastor, I'm not right with the Lord, but I want to be. Is that you? Quickly, you'd slip up your hand.

Unsaved, you're not right with God. Would you respond with an uplifted hand tonight? God's dealing with you. Is there anyone at all?

Say, Pastor, pray for me. I need Jesus. I need his love. I need his mercy. I need his grace. I'm lost. I'm broken. Would you respond in faith right now? Lift up your hand so I can see it.

Amen. Then tonight, as we open up this altar for prayer, a simple message, the need for warriors.

See, most of the church has a civilian mentality. I just want to survive. I just want to be happy. I just want to take my ease and eat, drink, and be merry and be blessed and be filled.

I want to tell you, the kingdom of God is not for the faint of heart. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.

There is a battle. There's a battle for spiritual dominance. There's a battle for souls. There's a battle for righteousness. There's a battle for discipline in your life, a battle for prayer, a battle for righteousness.

And tonight, we've got to have a warrior mentality. We've got to be willing to train and to be trained.

And if God has spoken to you tonight, I want to open up this altar for prayer. You want to make 2025 a year of discipleship for your life, to be trained and to train others, to seek God's will for your life, to seek out the rescue of those who are captive.

This is how it happens through discipleship. And tonight, as we put our focus in the next year, if you want to join me in that, I want to ask you to come and pray.

God, we desperately need a spirit of discipleship. Would you stand up to your feet with me? We're going to open up this altar for prayer.

God, I want to be a disciple. I want to give myself to discipleship. I want to be trained and to be a trainer.

Lord, I'm asking you, God, fill us, trained warriors, skilled in the art of rescuing the captives. Would you come? Parents, you can train your children, family members, church leaders.

We need people tonight to respond to the call. Let's cry out to the Lord. Let's pray to the Lord for a few moments here. Come on, church, let's lift up our voices.

The spirit of discipleship at work in our lives and in our congregation. Let's believe God tonight. Father, we thank you.

Oh, we're crying out to you, Father. Oh, your spirit and your grace. Raise us up, oh God. Raise us up in your will. Raise us up in your every heart tonight, washing and cleansing, purifying, I pray.

Oh, come on, let's worship the Lord tonight. Lift up your hands.

Oh, when you said, it is finished. It is finished. Death has lost. Death has lost. Now forever I will stand and I will stand and sing hallelujah.

It is finished. Come on, let's give him praise tonight. God, we thank you.

Let me remind you tonight, Jesus said, I will build my church. That's his job. Building of the church is his job. That's what he does.

But Jesus said in the Great Commission, you go and make disciples. He builds his church; we make disciples. And every one of us is called to this.

When you are training your children, that is a form of discipleship in the church. When you are showing someone how to do the work of the kingdom, that is discipleship.

When you are showing someone, helping them to get free from their sin, which so easily besets, to live righteous and holy, that is discipleship. Nobody here is perfect. Nobody here has it all figured out.

But here's what we have to focus in on. I believe what we can make a priority for the coming year is discipleship. You know, Jesus only spent three years with his disciples.

Can you imagine? Three years, and then I'm out of here. I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit, and that's all you need prepared for ministry.

God help us if you only had three years of salvation under your belt. Could you be fruitful in what God has called you to do? That's what we're looking for, church.

And if you say, Pastor, how do you know? How do you know that it works? How do you know that this vision is successful? Because I saw it. I was a part of it.

In my mother church in Chandler, Arizona, it is a discipleship machine. People get saved. Lots of people get saved. But there is an expectation. There is an atmosphere. There's a culture of discipleship.

And I want to see that replicated here in our congregation. And it's going to take all of us. But I believe that God has good things for us.

God has rescue of captives in our future if we will give ourselves to this work. Let's lift up our hands tonight. I want to pray with you.

I want to believe God for a spirit of discipleship. Let's pray together. Say, God in heaven, oh, thank you, Lord, for saving me and setting me free from the captivities of my sins.

I thank you, Lord, for saving me from the captivities of my sins. I thank you that you've set me free to serve you.

And with this salvation, Lord, I want to serve you. I want to do your will. The will of God is righteousness, seeking obedience to please my Father in heaven.

And I thank you for the church, the training ground, that you've given to me with a resource of other people that I can learn from, that I can seek.

Lord, help me to be humble, to be a learner. Lord, that I can continue to learn how to live for you. And God, give me a position to train others in this kingdom.

I give you glory tonight in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Let's give him praise once again.

Wage the good warfare. That's, I believe, what God is calling us to tonight. Amen.

And I'm so grateful for this congregation. I'm so grateful over the years for the opportunity to minister.

And, you know, I feel like, just like a successful parent, if a parent is successful, they are working themselves out of a job, right?

We are training our children to go away from us. And also, a successful parent, ministry is also training itself out of the job.

You know, I've been leading the worship services here for too long. Can I be honest with you? This is not me whining and complaining.

This is me admitting that I have failed in training up new people to do what I have held on to for too long. And I believe that there's many examples of that, that we can train others to take our place, and the kingdom of God will be blessed, benefited because of that.

Amen. So tonight I want to ask you to pray. Pray for this coming New Year as we put our focus once again on the topic and the priority of discipleship.

And we're going to close in prayer tonight. Thank you for being here. We're going to believe God as we go from this place.

We're going to have a wonderful time Tuesday night for our New Year celebration. Please come back and join us for that.

Again, there is a sign-up sheet. We do need some people to sign up. I know that most everybody's going to be here, but we don't have everybody signed up for a dish that you're going to be bringing for the potluck dinner.

So please take a look at that list. Even if you're not going to perform in the talent show, you can put your name and what you're planning to bring. That would be helpful so we can make a plan.

And then also remember your wrapped gifts that you can bring with you. The celebration is going to be from 7 to 10 p.m. We're going to have a wonderful time.

Lots of good things in store. And we're excited for another coming year that we can serve Jesus. Can you say amen?

Glory to God. We're going to close in prayer tonight. Brother Mason, would you close us off this evening? Amen.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for Daily Devotionals based on this message over the next five days.

Written with Love by Pastor Adam Dragoon

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Adam Dragoon 12/23/24 Adam Dragoon 12/23/24

No Time to Delay: Immediate Obedience Needed [Matthew 1:18-21]

Just as Mary and Joseph had to act promptly and without delay, we are called to respond to God's call in our lives with faith and trust. The will of God is not automatic; it requires our active participation and willingness to step out in faith, even when the path is unclear.

Sermon Summary

In this service, we explored the story of Mary and Joseph, focusing on their obedience to God's will despite their challenges and uncertainties. Their story is a powerful reminder that God's will requires our response and trust. Just as Mary and Joseph had to act promptly and without delay, we are called to respond to God's call in our lives with faith and trust. The will of God is not automatic; it requires our active participation and willingness to step out in faith, even when the path is unclear.

We also discussed the importance of trusting God with our lives, futures, and decisions. Trusting God means acknowledging that His ways are higher than ours and that He can direct our paths when we lean not on our own understanding but on His wisdom. This trust is crucial, especially when God calls us to make life-altering decisions or step into new territories of faith and obedience.

As we approach the new year, we are reminded of the importance of discipleship and the call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This involves making conscious decisions to leave behind anything that hinders our walk with Him and to embrace the new life He offers. Our spiritual success is measured not by our achievements but by our obedience to God's call.

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