“LET’S NOT SHOOT OUR WOUNDED” or “KILLED BY ‘FRIENDLY FIRE’!” Pastor Paul Fedena
TEXT: 1 John 3:11-16
THESIS: To show the believer’s responsibility to a ‘wounded’ brother or sister and to the lost.
INTRO: A. During “Operation Desert Storm” we heard a lot about our own troops being killed by “friendly fire,” i.e., they were accidentally killed by an attack intended for the enemy. It is bad enough for a parent or a wife getting a letter saying “We regret to inform you that your son (or husband) was killed by the enemy….” But when the letter reads that he was killed by his own troops, it is doubly devastating.
B. this is too often true. It ought not to be and our text is painfully clear about God’s attitude on this subject. (Read text)
I. DON’T SHOOT THE WOUNDED LEADER: v.11-12
A. Turn Your Gun On The Enemy:
1. When the leader is wounded the troops are in greater jeopardy.
ILLUS: The Pastor is like the officer leading the battle; if he gets “wounded” by sin or the devil, his followers are more exposed to danger. Remember when Israel went against Amalek (picture of the flesh)? They were victorious as long as they could see Moses standing upon the top of the hill with his hands being held up by Aaron and Hur? God’s people need to “hold up the hands of their leader, not take pot shots at him!
Exodus 17:8-13 8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
2. In the heat of the battle, the leader may be wounded and needs to be supported by his followers, not shot at! 3. Both the leader and the followers have a common enemy, let’s train our guns on him!
B. Save Your Bullets For The Enemy:
1. If we use up our ammunition on our leader, we may have none left for the enemy, we become vulnerable to attack! 2. Perhaps the reason we have so many “friendly fire” casualties is because the troops are infiltrators, not real soldiers. V.15
ILLUS: During WWII English speaking German soldiers would put on allied uniforms and pretend to be friendly and sneak into the ranks of our troops and murder them. Cf. Judges 12:50-6 If I should become “wounded” don’t do the devil’s work for him; don’t shoot me - help me up! The devil loves to see the leader wounded; others want to see him fall too for selfish reasons: maybe they want his position, maybe his former strength convicted them…
II. DON’T SHOOT THE WOUNDED SOLDIER: v.12-13
A. Remember You Are On The Same Side:
ILLUS: When bluefish are in a feeding frenzy, they will attack their own brothers and sisters. If a bluefish is caught and released while bleeding, the others will go after him. Hyenas do the same thing; they wait till their prey is wounded or sick and then they go for all the blood they can!
1. There needs to be a recognition that believers are all in the same family. 2. We may not be able to agree on every point, nor to fellowship because of our differences, but we shouldn’t attack them if they are “in the family”!
B. Remember You Too Can Be Wounded:
Mt. 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
1. If the devil beats someone up with sin, we need to treat them as we would like to be treated if our positions were reversed; they soon could be!
Eph. 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
2. If it’s not you who is wounded it could be someone close to you - be careful how you respond, you may be the one who gets hurt.
ILLUS: A young man went to Vietnam, his parents were proud, scared and worried. The letters stopped and they fretted. On day they got a phone call. It was their son! They both got on the phone. The son sounded very serious and asked them to listen carefully. He told of a friend who had both legs blown off and wanted to bring him home and asked if they would love and care for him. After some excuses they said, “We don’t think we can cope with that, please don’t put us in this position, son.” He said: “All right, Mom and Dad, I understand” and hung up. The next day the phone rang again. It was their son’s commanding officer. He said: “I’m sorry to inform you, but about this time yesterday, your son took his own life.” They were heartbroken and couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing. When his body arrived back in the states prepared for burial, they went to view the remains and gasped when they saw that their son had no legs! Their boy was the one they didn’t want to be burdened with. They didn’t mean to, but that mom and dad had killed their own son. Their lack of compassion had killed him and scarred them for life!
III. DON’T SHOOT THE WOUNDED RECRUIT: v.14-16
A. He Hasn’t Been Trained Yet:
1. He or she is brand new and they may not dress right, talk right, smell right or lived right, but they need help not bullets! 2. Maybe they don’t know how a Christian is supposed to dress (you do, and you still have a problem with it!), or what kind of music to listen to (you do, and you still haven’t gotten rid of your old tapes or CD’s) or that movies are bad (you do, and you still go to rent videos or go to the movies) - help them up - don’t put them down!
ILLUS: Leave dealing with issues (Bible versions, standards, etc.) to the pulpit, don’t usurp the Holy Spirit’s position to try to convict new converts of their lack of spiritual maturity.
B. He Hasn’t Been Tested Yet:
1. As a seasoned veteran the older believer is to have maturity the young convert or “recruit” cannot be expected to have. 2. If the recruit is still on milk, don’t try to shove meat down his or her throat. 3. If the recruit has been wounded “you who are spiritual” are to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness…” NOT shoot them!
IV. DON’T SHOOT THE WOUNDED CIVILIAN: (unsaved)
A. Use The Gospel Gun Not The Standards Gun:
1. The unsaved are not our enemy, they are our target. 2. The unsaved are in need of the Gospel, not theological issues, controversial problems, your convictions, your standards, etc. 3. The unsaved are already “wounded, beaten, naked and half dead” they don’t need you to shoot them!
ILLUS: You say, what if they are a J/W? Start at Rom.3:23. A Mormon? Rom.3:23. What if they have long hair? Rom.3:23 (Not I Cor.11;23). Into Rock and Rap Music? Rom.3:23. Smoking? Drugs? Rom.3:23
CONCL: There are some folks who got wounded here and they won’t come back. Why? They can die at home! Christians shouldn’t have to fear other Christians!
Jesus was wounded. I wonder if you would have jumped on Him to finish Him off? (Like the Roman soldier who thrust the spear in His side!?) The devil won’t destroy our church from the outside, he’ll do it from the inside…unless we show some compassion, demonstrate forgiveness and stop SHOOTING OUR WOUNDED!