Onward Christian Soldier: God’s Strategy for Lasting Victory*

Onward Christian Soldier. Pastor Chris Teien reminds us what it means to be a good Christian soldier. Drawing from 2 Timothy 2:1–4, he shares how we are called to serve Christ faithfully, not entangling ourselves in worldly distractions but focusing on pleasing our ultimate Commander. Through personal stories, practical insights, and Biblical truths, Pastor Chris challenges us to live with courage, dedication, and a deep sense of mission.

Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/16335520

Key Points:

• Be Strong in Grace – 2 Timothy 2:1: Strength for the Christian life comes from God's grace, not our own abilities.
• Teach and Entrust Others – 2 Timothy 2:2: Pass on the faith to reliable people who can teach others.
• Endure Hardship Like a Good Soldier – 2 Timothy 2:3: Expect sacrifices and persevere in trials, knowing Christ is worth it.
• Please Your Commanding Officer – 2 Timothy 2:4: Live to honor and serve Jesus above worldly pursuits.

Personal Stories from Pastor Chris:
 Pastor Chris shares about praying for God's direction after high school, his call to full-time ministry, and volunteering for the Lord’s army. He also recounts experiences with military recruiters and how his heart stayed focused on serving Christ.

Notable Quotes:

• "Good soldiers make a difference when it comes to peace, prosperity, and freedom."
• "There are no conscripts in the army of the Lord. We volunteer willingly out of love for Christ."
• "Living sold-out for Christ may cost us, but it leads to eternal reward."

Actionable Takeaways:

1. Heart-level reflection: Reflect on whether you are fully surrendered to Christ's leadership.
2. Daily-life application: Prioritize your spiritual training by studying God’s Word and praying daily.
3. Spiritual step or challenge: Invest in others by passing on your faith and encouraging them to grow.
4. Practical next step: Find one tangible way this week to serve others sacrificially in Jesus' name.

Scripture References:

• 2 Timothy 2:1–4 – Strength, mission, and focus as a Christian soldier
• Romans 10:9–10 – Confessing Jesus as Lord
• Luke 9:23–24 – Denying oneself and following Jesus
• Philippians 4:7 – Experiencing God's peace
• Joshua 1:7–9 – Courage through God's presence
• Ephesians 6:13–18 – The armor of God
• 2 Corinthians 10:4 – Weapons with divine power
• 2 Timothy 4:7–8 – Finishing strong for eternal reward

Keywords:
 Christian soldier, Memorial Day, 2 Timothy 2, spiritual battle, living for Jesus, Christian mission, grace and strength, discipleship, spiritual growth, faithfulness

Closing Statement:
 We are not conscripted into Christ's army; we are invited to willingly give our lives to Him. May we fight the good fight, remain strong in grace, and live each day to please our Commander, Jesus Christ.

21m0530de Onward Christian Soldier

The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

Today I want to talk to you about being a good Christian soldier. Perfect time for it because it's Memorial Day weekend, and everybody is thinking about honoring those who died for our freedom, those who served in the U.S. military and died remembering them. Memorial Day, Memorial Day, was originally a day to remember those who died in the Civil War. And it has become a time when we remember all of those who died serving in the US military. So a country that enjoys peace has always been protected by soldiers who serve their commander. Here in the United States, the ultimate commander in chief of the president of the United States who oversees the military. Congress is supposed to prove what he does, but a good soldier makes a difference in the world. A good soldier makes a difference when it comes to peace and prosperity and safety and freedom and progress. Good soldiers. No, there's bad soldiers, but good soldiers are a value to a nation, a value to a people, and we should value good soldiers and honor those who have sacrificed their lives for us. It has been written that it is the soldier, not the preacher, who gives us freedom of religion. It is the soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who gives us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the protester, who gives us freedom to assemble. It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the soldier, not the politician who gives us the right to vote. It is the soldier who not only salutes the flag, but serves under the flag, fighting for the country that flag represents. On Memorial Day, we remember those who died serving under the flag of the United States of America. I wish we were a United States of America. I wish we could all get along. I know that some people say that Christians shouldn't be patriotic, but I think we should love God and serve God and participate in our country. I think that we should do all we can to have a country we can be content to live in. And Canadians can be patriotic to Canada. And people in Mexico can be patriotic to Mexico and the United States. It's the team that you get to serve on. And hopefully we could all get together and be peaceful towards each other, be allies, get together, get along, and that would be good. But throughout world history, there have been good and evil soldiers who have given their lives for their cause. Some have put the good of others over their own wants, needs, and relationships. Pastor T. Michael Cruz shared that being a good soldier involves being focused, and he shared this story. During the Civil War, Major Sullivan Baou, I don't know how to say his last name, Balu, wrote a letter to his wife, whom he had been married only six years to. He's famous for writing this letter. I was looking on the history uh channel, and they were saying that this Civil War was well educated, that he was a lawyer, that he gave up a lot to lead the military. To go and read the story. He writes, My very dear Sarah, the indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days, perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more. I know how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the revolution, and I am willing, perfectly willing, to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this government and to pay that debt. Sarah, my love for you is deathless, yet my love for country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on. With all these chains to the battlefield, if I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you, how thoughtless, how foolish I have ofttimes been. Sarah, do not mourn me dead. Think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again. Major Sullivan was killed one week later in the first battle of Bull Run. For a good soldier to say yes to his duty, he must often say no to many other things. And so he had many things that he gave up to fight for his country in the Civil War with the Union soldiers. Let's look in our Bibles at 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 through 4. I'll put it on the screen for you. You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, and trust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. I had a friend that was in the military down south, and he was up visiting, thought while he was here that he would re-sign up and went down to the recruiter's office, and I went with him. And my friend wanted to be a recruiter, and so the recruiter was swearing, and he's like, son, my job, my purpose, my calling is to get warm bodies and boots. So basically, I need to do whatever I can to uh convince these young men, these young people uh to serve with us and to get those warm bodies and boots. And if I don't, I get in trouble. I could get uh pushed all the way back to the bottom of the personnel pool. It I need to get warm bodies and boots. That's what it's all about. Do you think you are able to do that? Is that something that you really want to do? And their conversation continued. Guy always swearing, but then he turned to me. This is quite a few years ago. He looked at me and he's like, What about you, son? I said, Well, I said, thanks for the opportunity, but I'm signing up for the Lord's army. The Lord's army, he says. Well, praise God. I go to such and such church, and we would love to have you. We would love to get you in. You could be we could train you up to become a military chaplain, brother. And he's going on and on. And I'm like, whoa, you just flipped from swearing to not swearing, from uh acting like you didn't know God to all of a sudden now you're you're tight with God, and I think that you want to get my warm body in boots. So, anyway, we have opportunities to volunteer for the Lord's army. I have received Jesus Christ as my savior, and I knew he was Lord. Romans 10, 9 through 10 says, if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. For it's with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it's with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Hey, have you ever done that before? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you realized that you're a sinner in need of a savior? Have you realized that without Jesus, that you really have no hope of eternal life, that you're destined for hell and will be separated from God for all eternity? Maybe you would like to take care of that right now by praying, uh acknowledging to Jesus your need and asking Him to come into your life and save you. Uh something like this Lord Jesus, thank you so much for allowing me to hear this message and have this opportunity because I am a sinner and I need to be forgiven of my sin. Please cleanse me of my sin. Help me to change my ways. I want to turn from those sinful things that I do and run to you. Teach me to live for you. Please forgive me of my sin. Come into my life and save me, make me the person you created me to be. I want to follow you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let us know if you did that so we can get you some resources to help you to grow in the Christian life. So I had done that and I knew I was saved for sure. But one day I knew I wanted Jesus to fully control my life. I wanted him to uh guide and direct my life. And so I prayed uh that Jesus would be the ruler and director of my life, and I prayed that he would tell me what he wanted me to do with my life. So I was in high school and people were asking me what I was gonna do when I graduated from high school. I graduated when I graduated when I was 16, so I didn't really know. I was praying about it, and I'm like, okay, Lord, what do you want to want me to do with my life? Do you want me to get into auto body because I like cars? Or how about forestry? How about computers? So nonetheless, I was praying about it. I had dedicated my life fully to the Lord. I wanted to follow him and serve him wherever he wanted me to go, and I still do, but I prayed that Jesus, I'm gonna want you to guide and direct and rule and show me what you want me to do. And to my surprise, to my shock, never expected this at all. I felt he called me to full-time ministry, and it was a process getting there. It's not like he called me that day and the next day I was serving him, but through volunteering in the church, through going to different trainings, and then I was able to go to Bible college and get trained up, he was able to use me. So July 1st, I think it will be, it will mark 25 years of me being in full-time ministry. But nonetheless, that was the day I think that I signed up for the Lord's Army. I volunteered for the Lord's army. So maybe helping out with a kids' vacation Bible school and Sunday school, I had that I'm in the Lord's Army song stuck in my head, you know. I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery, I may never shoot for the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army. Or we had, or I may never zoom over the enemy, but nonetheless, I wasn't drafted, I wasn't conscripted, I wasn't Shanghai to serve on a Chinese ship. So I wasn't tricked into it. I wanted to serve Jesus with my life all my days, and I still do, and now I want to do it more, and I want to do it more effectively. Maybe that's how you feel too. So that great man of God that we quote all the time, our friend that was a pastor in the Christian and missionary alliance, A.W. Tozer, said, When in danger, the state can conscript men to fight for her freedom. But there are no conscripts in the army of the Lord. To bear a cross, the Christian must take it up of his own free will. No authority can compel us to feed the hungry or evangelize the lost or to pray for revival or sacrifice ourselves for Christ's sake and the sake of suffering humanity. So, volunteer soldiers, they sign up because they know there's a problem, they know there's a battle to fight, they know there's an enemy, and we have an enemy, and that enemy is sin and Satan. And volunteer soldiers expect sacrifices and hardships. And Paul and Jesus' disciples, even Jesus, were all people who suffered, were persecuted, who went through trouble. The Bible says if we want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, we can expect persecution and trouble. Volunteer soldiers believe in their mission, and our mission is to help lost people be found, to cancel their trip to hell and confirm their ticket to heaven, to make disciples and to teach people to obey everything Jesus taught and to glorify God with our lives. And we are serious about training for battle. 2 Timothy 2.15 says, Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval, be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed, and who correctly explains the word of truth. So we train up, we constantly seek to grow and to learn more about God's word with his living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. The word of God can transform our lives and help us to be effective in serving and accomplishing Jesus' mission to make disciples. And then volunteer soldiers rely on each other. They rely on each other. When you are part of a group, you are much more likely to accomplish things than you are on your own. You can go farther, you can do more, you can be more organized. Many times the team really does. Teamwork makes the dream work is true, much more so than when you're just out there all alone. On the other hand, sometimes there can be controversies and difficulties, and sometimes you can get stuff done better on your own. But nonetheless, when you think of soldiers, they're usually serving together as a group. So Philippians 2, 25. Paul writes, I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. So Paul is able to delegate stuff to Epaphroditus. Paul was able to see Ephroditus is his fellow soldier and the Lord, who is your fellow soldier and the Lord, who is serving with you, who is come, who has come alongside you, who helps to strengthen you, who helps to take care of your needs. 2 Timothy 2.1, let's go back to that again. We started with that, but first it said, You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And soldiers for Christ need to be strong in grace. When we are able to comprehend the love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ, it transforms our minds, our hearts, and our abilities. Grace can be sometimes defined as God's riches at Christ's expense. We're saved by faith through grace. It's the grace of Jesus that makes it possible for us to be saved, not because we're perfect, not because we did all the right things, but because of the grace of Jesus. And we share that grace with others. We see others with love, with compassion, with the grace of the Lord Jesus. And we need to be strong in our faith. We need to be strong enough to persevere and not run away in fear. When you're a soldier, it's not a good idea to just turn your back and run. One, if you get caught by your commanding officer, you're gonna get in a lot of trouble. Two, it's pretty dishonorable. And three, think about your other soldiers on the field that are relying on you to be brave. And that's what we remember on Memorial Day. That's why the government's giving you Monday off. Is not just so you can put more brats on the grill or get the lawn mowed or have a great family time up at the lake or spend another day out on your boat. Take some time to really contemplate and remember that people died for your freedom. They died fighting for you. Sometimes, sometimes the wars were confusing. Sometimes we wonder if their deaths were necessary or not. But they were in a situation and they were told by their commanding officers to do something, and they followed through. They obeyed orders, they did what they thought was right at the time. Sometimes they got caught in the crossfire, sometimes they're accidentally shot by their own allies. Or anyway, life is difficult and sad. And it's sad when people die and people have died for us and fighting for our country and our freedom. And when we have these riots and the National Guard shows up and all they're doing is trying to fulfill their uh duty, uh, obeying the orders to protect people, to protect buildings or whatever. And uh, people talk bad about the National Guard soldiers. They kick them out of buildings and treat them. I think that's wrong. I think that we should honor those people that are trying to serve us. I mean, really it's a mess. All this political stuff, racism is a mess. We need to fight all of these battles too. But nonetheless, courage. We need to have courage. I believe the Holy Spirit can give us courage. Joshua 1, 8, and 9. God's telling Joshua, who's just taken over for Moses. So he was Moses' assistant. Now Moses is out of the picture, and Joshua is the new commander. Joshua is the guy that uh God has put in charge. And God says to Joshua, study this book of instruction continually, meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command: be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Jesus told us uh in the Great Commission that He would always be with us too. So he says, Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and I will be with you. I will be with Jesus is with us. We need to realize that. We need to realize that when we are serving Jesus, that the Holy Spirit's with us, that Jesus is with us. All right, verse two. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, and trust to reliable people who will be qualified to teach others. Uh, soldiers need to teach other people, teach others around them how to do things, how to do things in case something happens. So you want to teach somebody how to do all the things you're doing in case something happens to you, or in case you get in case you die, or in case you get promoted, in case you get injured. You want that person that's fighting alongside of you to have all the skills you do. So one of the best things you can do in the downtime, one of the best things you can do while you're waiting for something to happen is train up the people around you or learn the skills that they have. And Paul's telling Timothy that you need to teach these things that you've learned to others. You need to pass these things on that you have, these skills that you've acquired to others. You need to entrust what I've been saying. Paul says, what I've been teaching you to reliable people who will be qualified to teach others. So we need to teach others, we need to pass on a legacy, we need to invest in other people's. We need to share our knowledge and skills. We need to equip people around us for the future. If you are an employee or if you're an employer, if you're a manager, or whatever, invest in the people that you have and make them the best workers, the best team that you can get, and there will be many rewards for that. 2 Timothy 2.3. Join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. So I already talked a bit about suffering. Jesus said in John 15, 33 that greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life for one's friends. To lay down one's life. And that's what these soldiers did that we remember on Memorial Day is they laid down their lives.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Our Father who art in heaven. Today we remember those men and women who have died in service to our country. We pause to reflect on the lives sacrificed while protecting our freedoms. Amen.

Chris T 20:59

You know, living the sold-out Christian life, living the life that Jesus calls us to. Jesus says in Luke 9 23, Jesus says to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. When we invest our life in Jesus, whatever happens on this earth is rewarded. The good things, the sacrifices, the things that happen here can be rewarded for all eternity when Jesus says, Well done, good faith, good and faithful service when he gives servant, when he gives us rewards, when we look back on our life on earth and remember how we lived it. So we need to put Jesus' priorities first, which means that we might need to give up some things. We might need to think about the things that really matter. We might need to rearrange our priorities, we might need to make some sacrifices to follow Jesus. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will save it. So there isn't anything that you can do to uh make yourself right with Jesus. All you can do is place your faith and trust in Jesus. Uh when it comes to this life, it's so uncertain. We can't provide all of our needs. We have to pray and ask the Lord to provide the things that we need that we can't on our own. A totally self-sufficient life that says, I don't need God, is a life that could be lacking in joy, a life that might miss out on God experiences, a life that might not be as adventurous as a life that puts Jesus first and confidently expects Jesus to come through, because if he doesn't, things aren't going to go very well. So whoever loses their life for me will save it. So ponder those words. I'm going to move on to verse four. Paul tells Timothy, no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. So when we think about that, when we think about entangled in civilian affairs, I don't think that means that we check out from everything. I think that we should still vote. I think if we have opportunity, we should get involved in politics. But on the other hand, this world, another song, this world is not our home. We're just a passing through. Our citizenship is in heaven. Yet we should do all we can to make the world that we live in more Christ-like, more godly. If we can stand up for justice and help people to be treated fairly, we should do that. But we shouldn't get sucked in to organizations that deny the family or don't honor Christ or biblical morality or sexual biblical sexuality. Really, when we're not entangled in civilian affairs, we're free to serve Christ. We should put Christ first. So there's a balance in that. And you can ponder that one too. But the biggest thing is rather tries to please his commanding officer. We try to please Christ in all that we do. And that should be our motivation. Romans 12:1, which I know you're familiar with, it says, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. And this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Which means that we want to do God's will first. Our world that we live in has a different set of priorities, has a different set of goals, has a different idea of what security is as opposed to the way that Jesus wants us to live. Jesus taught us how to live as a sacrificial servant. Jesus put others before Himself, and we need to do that too. So again, if I'm doing everything I can to hold on to my own life, to hold on to my own security, to hold on to my own self-preservation, to hold on to every day that I can get because I don't trust God with it, every thing that I can save, every dime that I can make because I don't trust God with my future, we might totally miss out on the great things that He could do through us? What if as we were faithful to give and to bless others with the resources that the Lord gives us, that then as we gave, that He would continue to give us more? What if we found that as we were generous and humble and self-sacrificing, that Jesus rewarded us for that? What if we found that by being willing to give our lives, uh, to give our careers, to give our time, to give our priorities, to serve Jesus first, that there would be many rewards there? And we found that Matthew 6.33 is true to seek him first, his kingdom and his righteousness. And then Jesus provides everything that we need. Wouldn't it be terrible if we just worked away every moment of every day for our own self-security, for our own provision, and just totally missed out on the things that God wanted us to do, the things that He, sure, we need to go to work, and sure, we can spend those hours at work, but work is a mission field and we have opportunities to develop relationships, we have opportunities to lead people to Christ, we have opportunities to be an example of what it is to be a Christ follower, and we should live in that way. And sometimes we're gonna suffer persecution, sometimes people aren't gonna like it. Uh, we might lose our job. For some people, they might even lose their lives, but we trust that our lives are Christ's and we follow after him. And I love how Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 12 out of the New Living Translation, it says, fight the good fight for the true faith, hold tightly to eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared as well before many witnesses, and we fight against temptation, sin, and Satan. And Christian soldiers have weapons with divine power. 2 Corinthians 10 4. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Then the Christian soldiers' battle armor, the battle gear that we're supposed to put on, Ephesians 6.13, New Living Translation. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you'll be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you'll still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news, so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil, put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And then the best communication system. Christian soldiers are given the best communication system, Ephesians 6, 18, out of the NIV, and pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. And then we'll be able to avoid the mental confusion. A lot of times the enemy wants to try to confuse you. Many years ago, like around World War II, they used to drop like letter bombs. They would just drop pamphlets to try to terrify the people and try to terrify the military. And Christian soldiers will be able to avoid mental confusion. Philippians 4 7, New Living Translation. Then you'll experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. We have a great opportunity to serve the Lord. We have a great opportunity to fight in a spiritual battle. It is scary, but the Holy Spirit can give us power and strength. God's word can give us the authority and the information that we need. And Christian soldiers will be able to look back on their victory and look forward to their reward. 2 Timothy 4, 7 and 8. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. So we faithfully served the Lord. We trust in the Lord. We are Christian soldiers that we need to keep marching onward. I'm not going to sing the song onward, Christian soldiers. I'm sure that you're familiar with it. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that we have this opportunity to focus on you. Jesus, I thank you that you have taught us how to live, that you, uh through your grace, made it possible for us to be saved and make it possible for us to serve you successfully. I thank you, you give us the Holy Spirit to empower us and to help us and to guide us. And Jesus, I thank you that you provide for us as we seek to do your will, as we accomplish your purposes. Lord, I pray for all those who are remembering their loved ones who died in a battle somewhere in the United States or in a different country representing the United States of America. Lord, I pray you'd bring peace to our country and there wouldn't be so much bloodshed and death. Lord, I pray that uh people would continue to sign up to serve and protect uh the people of our country and even people in other countries. Lord, I pray that you would help us in every way. I pray you'd continue to teach us. I pray that the people listening would fully dedicate their lives to you, that they would watch last week's video about being filled with the Spirit. Lord, I pray that you would use us to be your ministers of reconciliation, the ambassadors for Christ, that you would help us to fight the good fight, and that you would help us to train up others. Jesus, I thank you for today, and I pray that you would help us to uh encourage people uh to find you and to grow in you this Memorial Day weekend. We ask us all in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, well, church is provided for by people who give either by mail or in person at church or give online, and that is a blessing in many ways that keeps us going. If our church was a military tank, then your offerings and gifts are the gas that goes into that tank to help us to keep moving forward. I was reading a story that said that General Patton was a great general and had a great military strategy and he had great military equipment. But the one thing that he didn't have, the one thing that he really needed, the thing that caused him all sorts of trouble.