Fight!

I mean God God’s done that and He’s still doing that. It’s a beautiful thing and it’s worth singing about it’s worth shouting about and telling about And I hope that You’ll get opportunities on a regular basis and take them To say to somebody at work. Yeah, there’s a reason Yeah, there’s a story and share your story you were that person that had no hope without God in the world as the Bible says and then you you met Jesus and He began a new a do-over a

Makeover a changeover of you and and though you’re not you’re not perfect you’re this side of heaven, but Boy, God’s doing some pretty cool things in you and just tell about it and And all that’s a wonderful picture. I need to confess to you that there’s also a reality that We are in a fight and the and the purpose of the fight is nothing less than to mute your voice To make what I just said and what we just said Saying something that you won’t talk

about and much less whisper about I want to start by telling you about a dog that my teenage daughters brought home Some of you were here back then it was a nameless dog because it was not intended to stay very long And then a short time later she got a name her name was Peyton and she turned out to be an extremely cool dog we we loved Peyton we didn’t have her near as long as we had wanted she was a great dog, but They brought

home Peyton and this we knew from the beginning. She was a stray puppy Stray puppy.

They just don’t kind of go together do they you think everybody loves a puppy and that puppy needs a mom and a family and humans and all the cool things of puppy life But she was a stray and she was found running by our daughters in the country with a pack of puppies so She had an unknown pedigree to us we guessed lab and probably golden Retriever and then the long ears didn’t fit either of those two breeds so we guessed hound as well So my

picturing for you a dog I’m sorry. I don’t have a picture because you would fall in love with her, but she’s in dog heaven, so you can’t have her but anyway, so Unknown pedigree unknown past honestly, this is a stray dog near some railroad tracks and so there’s no tags of course no humans and No home no nowhere in sight. This is a dog among several puppies that are just Roman or running or Foraging in the in the country all that we knew about Peyton at

the time was and even the whole time we had her was connecting dots for example, she had fleas lots of fleas when they found her unglass They brought her home Well truth be known. I was not glad they brought her home Okay, because I knew this would change our lives and it did but I’m glad when they did bring her home. They brought her home in their car not my car You get me so she had fleas and they were jumping off her and that told

us something about her maybe This confirms she’s really living on her own because a good owner wouldn’t let that happen right?

So she had fleas and then we looked a little closer We’re trying to figure out exactly how old this puppy is Took her to the vet and the vet looked like that underneath her gums and says well She’s under four months old. She has her puppy teeth still So we’re getting we’re gathering information and it wasn’t long before we could see another feature of this dog She was fanatical about food Peyton would do anything for food. We had another dog at the time Did I tell

you so this is called dog crowding in one home because this other dog was big too and but she was incredibly passive and so she would You have to kind of talk her into eating her food and Peyton was like forget it Jack I’m going and she would eat her food and dive in and eat Skittles food and You know skittles was just like hey knock yourself out. That’s cool with me everything’s good, you know and And so we’re seeing this thing and we’re that’s that’s

confirming for us still connecting these dots Why is she so wild about food? Probably because she had the forage for everything she ate and We’re looking her over in Debbie I think was the one that discovered a cut behind her front leg I guess and And the and the cut told us something too She probably had to fight Even as a three-month-old puppy to survive Got me thinking about fighting Most of us place fighting squarely in the negative column and something to to avoid something not

to do it’s a Negative right no matter what fighting’s not good is How most of us kind of grew up thinking about fighting so You know parents tell siblings stop your fighting, you know if there’s multiple kids There’s probably conflict and I can remember my mother shouting to my sister and brother stop your fighting Black Friday and One of those unfortunate places where a fight breaks out Tis this season right and somebody calls the police and the police roll on to the scene and what is

their purpose in coming?

To find out what’s for sale. No actually no, that’s not it. No to stop the fight To get in the way and say no break it up guys. This doesn’t work And does anybody else join me and Mike? Conclusion for why people have so little interest in anything political today Because of the constant rancor I mean people all you do is fight We hear and it’s an accurate description in most cases So imagine my surprise When I open this book and discover that in the Bible

Given that Christians You guessed it fight Take that in is everything about fighting for most of us in every context is bad Let me have you take a look with me this morning at something that just rocked me again I know this passage I’ve I’ve read it in this present in your presence before 2nd Corinthians 11 Just turn there one of the most intimate personal letters in the New Testament Written by the Apostle Paul and here he’s under attack and he he just kind of He’s

very self-effacing.

He’s he’s very Transparent we would say and says this is this is who I am and it’s a it’s a letter Written you need to know by one of the most battle hardened ready for this fight leaders in all of the Bible the Apostle Paul He wrote 2nd Corinthians 11 now we’re about to read in his description of the fight We’re about to read something of what the fight Involved in his own life. So look with me. Let’s just pick up Chapter 11. Let’s go with verse 23 I should tell you just before I start reading that he he’s under attack and he’s under attack by False teachers people that are going you’re not such a big deal, dude And this is how he responds. Are they speaking of the false teachers servants of Christ?

I’m out of my mind to talk like this. It’s like he anticipates I can’t believe what I’m about to have to say but here goes I am more so I’ve worked much harder as I thought myself. Let me have you imagine the cuts like my puppy that you see in the Apostle I’ve worked Much harder been in prison more frequently been fogged more severely Been exposed to death again and again five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes – 139 lashes Three times I

was beaten with rods once I was pelted with stones Three times I was shipwrecked I spent a night and a day in the open seas I’ve been constantly on the move and then look at the dangers I’ve been in danger from river in rivers danger from bandits danger from my fellow Jews and danger from Gentiles danger in the city danger in the country danger at sea and danger from false brethren I’ve labored and toiled and have often gone sleepless without sleep. I’ve I’ve had those times

where I had I I’ve known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food. I’ve been cold and naked.

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concerns for all the churches. You talk about cut up. You talk about beat up. Confirms what Jesus said to him when he was on the road to Damascus and it’s recorded in Acts chapter nine and he was struck down to the ground and told, “Now get up Saul and I’m going to change your name and everything else about you and I’m going to show you how much you must be cut up, suffer on my behalf.” This series is called Healthy.

We’ve been talking for months now about how God defines healthy for Christians. Things that a healthy Christian is has or does. And this morning, this healthy habit is a surprise one on the list, but it’s in the Bible in a very strong way and you’ll see and we’re going to move quickly this morning in lots of ways. But I want you to see that one of these healthy habits seeming very strange at the start is that a healthy Christian will be involved. Would you write this down?

A healthy Christian, if you’re interested in that, as a description of your life, a healthy Christian will be involved in frequent fights. Intrigued? Well, the Bible agrees with what I just said. The same apostle that wrote these words in 2 Corinthians also wrote about the fight and the good fight at that. That’s an oxymoron for most of us.

Good? Fight? They don’t go together. Well, the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy talking to Timothy about what’s to be expected as a follower of God, as a healthy Christian. And Tim, you’re going to be involved in a fight and it’s a good fight.

Don’t give up on that fight. The very next letter, in fact Paul’s last letter, he comes back to this theme in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 7 and says of himself, I have fought the good fight. There he is again, describing it as good. I have fought the good fight. I finished the course and I have kept the faith.

It’s a good fight. The Greek word for fight is agonizo, which is transliterated agony in English. You ready for this? Because you know, like I know, in English, agony is a hard word. It’s a harsh word.

It’s a strong word, right? And it’s a word that involves things like pain and suffering and anguish and so much more. Fight this agony fight. And it’s a good fight in the sense that a grueling fight is good in the spiritual realm. This isn’t a feeble fight that we’re called to be a part of.

It’s a good fight and it’s the, can I say it with this label? The fiercest of fights. Okay? So since the apostle Paul was a fighter and a successful one at that, I think it’s fair to add, let’s assume that he’s a good coach. He’s a credible coach.

He comes to, how should you and I go about fighting what may be in fact frequent fights as a follower of Jesus? So he’s our coach this morning. We’re gonna wander around. We’ll spend a little time in John’s gospel, but this is about fighting the good fight. What do we know about our foe?

Let’s start there. I want you to turn from second Corinthians to John. The gospel says a lot about the foe that we’re fighting against. So if you’ll go to John chapter 10 for a moment and you’ll find familiar words that Jesus describes of himself that I am the good shepherd, John 10. He says that in this wonderful passage, verse 14, and I know my sheep and they know me.

So I’m the good shepherd Jesus is describing himself to be. And he cares for his sheep. Which involves things like protecting and providing for sheep. And he does things, important things like giving them life. It is in contrast that Jesus identifies a thief who is set against everything that the shepherd provides for the sheep.

And the thief’s interest is clearly malevolent. To steal verse 10 in John 10 says, So this thief is not good in contrast to the good shepherd who is there to provide and protect and give to his sheep all that they need. So who is this thief? He’s likely actually a reference to false teachers. A lot of people have labeled the thief the devil.

And I think it’s, actually I did for a long time. I don’t think it’s an accurate read of this text at all. There is a connection and we’ll get to that in just a minute. But the thief is likely a reference to false teachers. And these teachers, any false teachers, do harm to people by misleading them and potentially robbing them of really important things.

So you think of false teacher and what’s the big deal? A false teacher can lead to some really, really sad outcomes, especially if students or learners embrace what they have to say. I see this at memorial services all the time, all the time. The person that passed new Jesus. It’s a good chance a lot of the people that come to remember their life and mourn the loss of that person are coming from different places in life.

And some of them come to just hear good old fashioned humanistic sermon. You know, like let’s just praise the spirit of this man because he’s just a woman or whatever. And that’s, you know, so weak. But that’s the result of false teaching. False teaching has some really clear and consequential outcomes that are not good.

And they steal as Jesus puts it in verse 10. They kill and they destroy. And it’s in contrast to life. And the things that Jesus gives truth. If you want another, just take a little time in the Bible ’cause it’s not just New Testament, it’s Old Testament.

Read Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34. They’re parallel sort of sister passages. Christa quoted Ezekiel earlier in the service. Hey, those two passages are huge and they make me swallow hard as a pastor because they begin with words like, “Woe to you shepherds of my people.” Oh, and I read on with great interest, I promise you.

And you should too for your own life and say, you know, am I a truth teller? Or do I qualify as one of these thieves, these false teachers that don’t communicate truth? ‘Cause it has consequence. Why else would James say, “Watch out for you who are teachers for you shall incur a much higher level of judgment.” James chapter three.

Now, false teachers and all forms of untruth find a connection to the devil. Their origin is the father of lies, as Jesus would call the devil. Just two chapters back. Would you back up to John chapter eight for a moment? I want you to see something with fresh eyes.

Let me show you a fight that Jesus had with religious rulers of the Bible. Today in John eight. Can I say something as a corrective sort of image of Jesus? To those of you that think of Jesus as a peace at any price, gentlemen, think again. And this will confirm it if you still have doubts.

Look at John eight and let’s just pick up at verse 31. It’s a larger section, but it’s worth reading. Now, this is a conflict that Jesus is having. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. If you were in the audience, you might have said something similar to what we find in verse 33.

They answered him. Wait a second. We’re Abraham’s descendants. We’ve never been slaves to anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, he’s pointing to himself, it’s capital S in verse 36, the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that your Abraham’s descendants, that much is clear. Yet you’re looking for a way to kill me because you have no room for my word.

I’m telling you what I’ve seen in the father’s presence and you are doing what you have heard from your father. Wait a second, came the reaction. Abraham’s our father, they answered. If you were Abraham’s children, Jesus weighed in, then you would do what Abraham did as it is. You’re looking for a way to kill me.

A man who has told you the truth that from God, Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father. Their interest is peaked and their rage is growing as they hear Jesus’ response. We’re not illegitimate children, they protested. How dare you insult us like that?

The only father we have is God himself. Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me.” And it just gets really serious now. If I’ve come here from God, I’ve not come on my own. God sent me.

Why is my language not clear to you? Because you’re not able to hear what I say. You belong to your father and he brings it up again only. He hits home to the core of it now. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father the devil’s desires.

Let me interject something that’s not recorded in the text. I don’t think Jesus winced like I did. I’ve never called anybody. You son of a Satan! I don’t do that.

That’s not me. Can you imagine how many friends I would make with that kind of approach? It just doesn’t work well. They go, “Okay, lock him up. He needs help.”

Jesus is calling them out. You belong to your father, the devil. You want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth. But there is no truth in him.

When he lies, that’s what false teachers do. That’s why this connects to what we were reading. When he lies, he speaks his native language. For he is a liar and he’s the father of lies. Yet because I tell you, you do not believe me.

Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I’m telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God, here’s what God says. And the reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. And this narrative goes back and forth.

I hope you’ll take time to read it. At the end, Jesus says, “Abraham longed for my day.” And they look at him and say, “Hold on a sec. You’re not even 50 years old. How can you say from who lived centuries ago, longed for your day?”

And Jesus says, he saw my day, Abraham did. And Jesus says, “Before Abraham was,” and they’re pinning that to a certain time in history, Jesus says, “I am.” And he quotes, aligns himself with God. Wonderful. And in the days of the Exodus, when Moses was called to go to the Pharaoh and command him to release God’s people, Moses said, “Who shall I say sent me?”

I’m going to stand there in front of Pharaoh, and I’m going to say something. He’s not going to like to hear it. There goes my head. And God says to Moses, “You tell them I am has sent you.” So Jesus ends this passage.

By saying very truly, I tell you Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” At this, they picked up stones to stone him. Because Jesus, who was a man, made himself out to be God, they said. And that’s blasphemy. Of course, it’s not blasphemy.

I’m going to have you go back to John 10, just two chapters we were just there. Look at verse 31. Why did they do that? Because verse 30, he says, “I am the father of one.” He aligns himself with the father.

The result there was to pick up stones and try once again to stone him to death. So this is serious stuff. The foe that we fight is deception. And the father of all deception, John 8, tells us very clearly, is the devil himself. That’s the link I want you to see here, which points to a second fact about the foe.

And that fact is this. The devil is a schemer. His whole approach is to find strategies to carry out stealing, killing, and destroying. One of the strategies that I want you to see now, I told you we’d move around. So go from John to second Corinthians again, but at the very beginning, in Corinthians chapter two.

I want you to see something here. Paul is campaigning here with a church that needed to make a change. There were people that had messed up and an individual with no name. We don’t know his name, but he sinned and he was sorry. He had repented.

He’d blown it, but he’d been humbled by God. We don’t know all the back stuff. Story, but the punishment had resulted in his repentance. And this repentant sinner was sorry for what he did. Yet the church was slow to forgive and even slower to restore him to fellowship.

I need a battery. Sorry. Let me grab another mic till Kevin runs the man right there. Okay, we just have a small problem. He handed me a mic, but didn’t turn it on.

Hey, who do you want in a time of crisis? Huh? Right there. Yeah. Kevin, when we have another son, I’m going to name him Kevin.

That’s you’re the guy. You’re the guy. What did I just say? Okay. You got this?

The guy goes south, messes up, and he straightens up, fests us up, and wants to come back into the fellowship. And the church says, “Yeah, wait, wait, wait. Not so fast, cowboy.” And this comes up in chapter two, verse six. Watch this.

Watch this. The punishment, Paul says, inflicted on him by the majority of sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort this man. So that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you therefore to reaffirm your love for him.

Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also have forgiven. And what I have forgiven, if there’s anything to forgive, I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake. Watch this now. In order that Satan, that’s our foe, might not out with us, what’s it say next?

For we are not unaware of his schemes. Would you write that word down? It’s a very important word. The devil employs a scheme and he does it all the time. He schemes plural here, refers to strategies of the devil.

We could spend the rest of our study here because the schemes of Satan are highly effective. Listen very closely people who are excluded from our company in this example And though they’ve repented their they’re excluded They are a small step Paul is saying from giving up and going fooey on this thing This doesn’t this religion stuff doesn’t work for me In other words, don’t leave them out there too long Don’t let him out with us. He says That’s why Galatians 6 1 so in If any one of you brothers or sisters is caught in the sin you who are spiritual restore that person You should restore that person in a certain spirit. It’s called gently and this is a good gauge Look to yourselves. Watch yourselves or you too will be tempted In other words put yourself in that guy’s shoes.

When’s the last time you screwed up and Then straightened up and wasn’t it nice then that somebody came alongside you and said Okay to heirs to be human no excuse for that, but we want to restore you because you’ve you’ve repented Amen such a good picture. That’s who we are as the church And Ephesians 6 last stop or close to it. Would you turn there now the Ephesians chapter 6? Spend the balance of our time. I want to highlight a couple of words in a really well-known passage here About this fight Familiar passage chapter 6 armor of God verse 10 finally be strong in the Lord And it is mighty power put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s what There it is again twice now.

We’ve had him rat it out. He’s up to stuff For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the powers of this Dark world against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes not if when it comes you will be able to stand your ground and After you’ve done everything to stand stand firm then With the belt of truth buckled around your

waist with the breastplate of righteousness in place with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace in addition to all this take up the shield of faith With which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one Including his schemes Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and pray in the spirit With all kinds of prayers and requests with this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for

all of the Lord’s people So let me draw out quickly a couple of realities here. We must find our strength from the Lord for the fight Okay, that’s why he says at the beginning Be strong in the Lord Paul points out that we have all we need when he says put on Put on The armor the full armor that’s his way of saying you’ve got everything you need for this fight Amen You all need to know this you’re not going out there alone. I don’t mean

well if you’re married lucky you and I don’t mean I don’t mean If you’re you know in a fellowship group every day of the week good for you Those are those are great things great advantages two are better than one. Please.

Yes these four But what we’re talking about here is we have the full armor of God that covers us for the battle the fight wherever we go That’s the deal. That’s what we’re being told here. All right, so the full armor of God to fight Notice that the great emphasis is placed on two words the first Word in this fight is to take your stand four times it occurs verse 11 and verse 13 and verse 14 He’s big on the word take your stand Don’t cut

and run Don’t duck and hide Take your stand You’ve got the full armor of God on your side That’s why he says take your stand Peter echoed the same thing in first Peter be of sober spirit be on the alert for your Adversary the devil prowls about as a roaring lion seeking whom he made devour, right? That’s what he’s trying to do, but notice this resist him Don’t run like crazy from him resist him firm in your faith Knowing that the same experience as a suffering

that you’re going through are being suffered by your other brothers and sisters in other words You’re not alone. You can never say oh man.

This doesn’t happen to anybody. I know Maybe not someone you know but guaranteed Others are going through the same thing same experience of suffering by those who are in the world and after you have suffered for a little while the God of all Grace we sang about that today who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus will himself perfect Confirm strengthen and establish you that means you stood You stood if you’ve been in a fight and I’ve been in a few fights I’ve been

in a few fights recently I’ve been in a fight this past week putting this message together There’s somebody doesn’t want you to hear this He just doesn’t he didn’t want me to say this But we’re gonna say it Say it and I’m not picking a fight here. I’m just telling you straight up truth It’s we’re gonna say it. We’re gonna take our stand No, I’m not gonna get Kicked around. Okay, you don’t like me devil.

You don’t you don’t like my people You don’t like God’s people Well, so what now that we’ve established some facts. We’re gonna take our stand anyway And you know, there’s another word. I want you to see don’t run from the devil resist Remember we caught that think it’s in the previous slide, but resist Satan Yeah, there it is resist him don’t run from him resist him because James would go on to say so Submit there for to God resist the devil and he will what? Hmm keep messing with you maybe for a little bit, but he’s gonna cut and run eventually There’s no there’s no hubris in my words. I’m not walking with the swag when I say this I’m just saying the truth of God is that we’re to submit to him God the father Resist the devil and the devil will leave Draw near to God So draw near to you.

Amen. Oh, I love this So back in Ephesians 6 I want you to see one other word because he wants us to see one other word because it repeats five times Look at verses 11 and 12 You probably caught this as much as I have in the past, but all of a sudden it hit me Put on the full armor of God that you can take your stand. Here’s the word against Against the devil schemes for our struggles not against flesh and blood Notice against the

rulers against the authorities against the powers of this dark world against the spiritual forces of evil and the heavenly realms Against you know, it’s being signaled here That the devil’s determined hostilities are against the Christian at every place they turn In other words, you won’t find a place on this planet that’s safe from all the dangers of the devil you won’t But you can stand the devil’s determined to take you down Which is why you and I must fight The the winds will be strong against

you just as they were I can’t tell you the details you can ask people around me this week, but this was a grueling sermon to put together I think these were good batteries, but Maybe not maybe this is more than that. I don’t know You know what I know this this much I know in 38 years of preaching if I’m about to preach on something I’m gonna be hit by it if I preach on marriage and and having a good close marriage and Work, you know

and working as one I can guarantee that week we’re gonna have conflicts Debbie and I are gonna have something we’re and it’s all about this next if I preach on contentment financially the stock market’s gonna crash on Monday Right, so it’s my fault. Okay.

Tell me don’t preach on stuff like that. You’re doing past I warned you. Okay The fight was and is real and I’m just telling you that Ask anyone who’s been in a mock boxing match Some of you have an actual boxing match or ask anybody that’s been in military battle many of you have Or some other fight and they will they will point to the fatigue of the fight Which is why we’re gonna park on the words that we Called up earlier second Timothy for there’s an added verse this time remember these words at the beginning About the good fight. I fought the good fight. I finished the course.

I’ve kept the faith Now there is in store. These are the new words for say there’s a store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, Paul speaking to Timothy, but to all you all. To us. That’s where in that last sentence.

To all who have longed for his appearing. Raise your hand if you longed for his appearing. Okay. That’s just really cool news and that’s something that we get to look forward to. Here’s the deal.

I fought the good fight. I’ve finished the course. I’ve kept the faith that tells me that the fight it will not go on forever. It won’t. It’ll be over.

I have fought. I finished. I’ve kept the faith. If verse eight is your story, you’re going to need help. So let’s pray and let’s sing about a Lord that we need that just longs to hear us say, God, I need you.

I need you now, Lord. I need you when I leave this place so easy. It’s comfortable here. It’s relatively safe in this setting. When I go to work and it’s hostile, it’s an environment that doesn’t embrace you.

Or more immediately, I need you because I will seek to walk with righteousness in a marriage that doesn’t acknowledge you. At least my spouse doesn’t. We’re in a family where there’s pushback and hostility. There’s all sorts of ways that I need you, Lord. So as we sing now to you, I pray that we wouldn’t just sing words, but we would listen quietly to the words and take them in as their sung for us.

Affirming that we need you, God. Affirming that without you, as Jesus said in John 15, we can do nothing. So thank you. Thank you that the fight has been won. Won.

And the fight goes on. Help us to walk with you and fight with the courage and confidence that you go with us.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,913 words.