Training
We know a guy who served in the American Navy for quite a few years. He told us of his experience at boot camp, which is where the navy train. He told us of how the training was so tough that they didn’t even let him or any of the other cadets speak at dinner time. They literally stripped them of everything, their old habits, their ways of thinking, the way they acted and spoke, they were literally stripped of their freedom, the Navy broke those cadets down. They did this to begin to rebuild them, in order to make them fit to serve in the Navy, every technique they used was employed to one day save those cadets and to help them to be able to save others. What is even more important to note is that, ultimately, each one of those cadets chose to be in that position.
When you choose to follow Jesus, you are literally saying to God, ‘Here is my life, take me, break me down and rebuild me into what you want me to be’. If you choose this path you are recognising a need for a change in your life, in fact you are starting a new life altogether. You will never be the same again. God enters you into a spiritual boot camp to train you and prepare you for your new life of service to God.
The Bible talks about the word repentance. This simply means turning around, changing direction. We realise that the world we live in is full of evil and wickedness. As long as we live in this world, we are constantly being dragged down by this world’s system, we are daily influenced to think and act a certain way. When we choose to give our lives over to God we turn from the world’s system and choose to follow God’s principles.
Romans 12: The Message
Place Your Life Before God:
1So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
The bible says that if you’re in Christ you are a new creation. ( 2 Corinthians 5:17) You are stripped of your old habits, ways of thinking, the way you act and speak changes; you begin to see things, not from a worldly perspective but from a Godly perspective. You will find that you even respond to situations differently. You are being shaped into the person that God wants you to be. Are you giving up your freedom? Yes you are, but you do this only to find true freedom from the world’s ways and freedom from sin. You will discover things about yourself you never knew, a self-understanding in Christ. Ultimately, you will know the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit helping you in your new life.
Just like our friend in the navy, you are being trained to be able to help rescue others. But unlike the navy your training continues until the day you die because you are being prepared for an eternal life in the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 9 v24-25: (NIV)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Therefore it is important that you remain teachable because God will continue to teach you lessons through various tests and trials, through other people and through His own Word (The Bible). There are times when you’re training feels horrible and you may even feel like you want to give up but always keep in mind what Paul says in the scripture we just read, that your prize awaits you in heaven and it is an eternal prize.
You will also find that in your training God equips you with spiritual weapons. I’m not talking about imaginary swords, guns and cross bows but the Bible says this:
2 Corinthians 10 v 4-6: (NIV)
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
You are being trained for the daily battle, which every Christian experiences and you learn how to use these weapons to strengthen your faith in every experience. We will look at this battle in more detail in Part 4 of the series. But for now, young soldier, know that your training begins the day you submit your life to Christ and it’s not going to be easy but also know that in Christ, the victory is already yours even before you enter the battle.
See Veritas section
Provision written by: Navig8or
