 You may be seated our sermon title this morning is fight the good fight of faith Fight the good fight of faith and our text is 1st Timothy chapter 6 And we're gonna be looking at this paragraph that runs from verse 11 through verse 16 fight the good fight of faith in a complicated drama Lasting more than 15 years William Duke of Normandy was now in the precipice of war with England The English throne recently vacated by the death of Edward the Confessor in January of 1066 AD Was now in the hands of a rival William believed that the throne of England was his by right and it became clear that he would have to take it by force The military campaign later named the Norman conquest had as its strategic goal The overthrow of Harold the 2nd the very powerful English Earl of Wessex and the Subjection of the English Isles to Norman control William later to be named William the Conqueror was positioning himself to rule an empire Now having gained support from the papacy and from the Norman aristocracy William assembled the force of troops and ships and made preparations for his invasion while Harold was occupied Defending England against the Viking invasion from the north William crossed the channel making landfall in the south near Pevency on September 28 1066 Upon news of the assault Harold rushed south to face William at Hastings arriving at dawn on October 14th Now William was known for his courage and known for his superior combat strategy With respect to his courage William positioned himself in the battle at the front of the fight in full armor urging on his troops at one point a cry arose in the ranks that William had died in battle and That the army began to lose heart and so William at the front lines removed his helmet Road up and down on the very front of the battle lines yelling I live I live fight on and we shall conquer yet it was William during the battle at Hastings who Utilized the strategy called a tactical retreat Retreating from your enemy Stringing them out and fighting them as you go in order to gain more favorable ground against them It was William on this invasion who instituted castle building as a Strategy for medieval warfare most famous of his Mott and Bailey castles being the Tower of London and Due to the courage of the Norman invader and superior military tactics Harold with nearly half of his force was killed in battle The remaining English troops were scattered by nightfall William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day in 1066 Now it's a parent from history William was also a wicked man and had done many wicked things and just like all men Both small and great he will one day stand before God in judgment at the great white throne to give an account for his life But in an argument here from the lesser to the greater if a conquering king embattled in a sinful campaign would employ great courage and well devised strategy in the agonizing pursuit of a perishable crown and How much more those fighting the good fight of faith and battled in a glorious campaign Armed with weapons mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds should employ Great courage and well devised strategy in the pursuit of an imperishable crown Paul personally charges Timothy now in verses 6 through 11 to fight the good fight of faith Then praise God We are not left without a glorious Reasons for great courage. We're not left without Glorious reasons for great perseverance without glorious reasons for a great striving in a great fight And powerful strategies for claiming a great victory that has already been won on our behalf in Christ Blessed is the man who endures for he will receive the crown of life Which the Lord has promised to those who love him Now in our passage today We're going to examine this good fight of faith good fight of faith from four different aspects of the battle One aspect we'll look at a tactical retreat in verse 11 Fighting the good fight of faith requires the use of a tactical retreat fleeing the enemy while fighting to gain advantage Point two we're going to look at a strategic offensive from verse 11 a strategic offensive This strategic offensive is defined as an aggressive projection of force in order to gain an objective in order to achieve a tactical goal or to shift the balance of power a Strategic offensive then point three we're going to look at the Christian campaign in verse 12 campaign refers to a large scale long duration strategy toward a strategic goal Then lastly in point four we're going to see the Christians Strategic goal. This is the desired end of ongoing combat operations You'll need all for these perspectives in fighting the good fight of faith Let's take one a tactical retreat in verse 11 Paul begins to Timothy But you oh man of God flee these things now the use of a tactical retreat in battle is Ultimately a strategy to defeat your enemy It may appear as though to be a retreat but its whole purpose is to string your enemy out to chop them down to Divide and conquer as you retreat your enemy breaks line and pursues as the enemy pursues He is strung out into smaller and smaller offensive units in which you are more able to fight as you pull back Into a stronger position against them a good military strategy strategists Must know when to pull back. He's got to know when he needs to Retreat and what dangers he must avoid and a tactical retreat is often needed in fighting a good fight of faith Sometimes you need to flee and here in verse 11 you oh man of God flee these things Now Paul begins in verse 11 and each section each section of this small clause is Significant is significant. He begins in verse 11, but you Martin Lloyd-Jones once said he was thankful for the butts in the Bible there are many butts in the Bible And he was thankful for him here this but beginning verse 11 Alerts Timothy and alerts us to a glaring obvious contrast. There's a great contrast here each time Timothy gets a but you it's followed by a Description of the enemy and that kind of ministry that kind of ministerial work that Timothy is to avoid and he's to avoid it like the plague He's showing here a contrast now between true and false showing a contrast to Timothy between Godly ministry that Timothy is to have and the ungodly false teachers and the ungodly effect of their teaching Second Timothy 3 for example Paul says evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse Deceiving and being deceived but you Timothy you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of In second Timothy chapter 4 the time will come when they'll not endure sound doctrine But according to their own desires because they have itching ears They're gonna heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables But you you be watchful in all things Timothy endure afflictions Do the work of an evangelist and fulfill your ministry that but you is for me and you too? poet That but you is for me and you too. We're to look at the scripture and see the but you in our face Compelling us to fight the good fight of faith in the face of opposition in the face of that wicked false teaching In the face of all that error the Lord says but you if you're a claiming the name of Christ You claim today to be a Christian you are on the battlefield You are in the fight and if you're not fighting you're sitting in there in a trench without a weapon in your hand And you're getting run over you've got to get in the fight here fighting the good fight of faith You need to be in the war When others follow the wisdom of this world you pursue the wisdom of God When others depart having loved this present world you pursue righteousness When they follow men you pursue Christ when they ignore his word you cling to his word Obey his word cherish his word love his word depend on his word When their love has grown cold you stir yours up to a holy fire for Christ when others perish Preach their own minds you preach Christ and him crucified when others retreat in cowardice You owe man of God you owe woman of God you take a stand for Christ you take a stand for righteousness This is what Paul is charging Timothy with in the face of great opposition in the face of error in the face of Opposition that may cause a mere mortal man to retreat in retreat in defeat Paul says to Timothy, but you owe man of God and he charges him to tactically fight the good fight What makes Timothy a contrast here with these false teachers is that he is a man of God Timothy is a man of God Paul Calls Timothy a man of God now these are great and emboldening and strengthening and Empowering words to Timothy. Oh Man of God would that not be strengthening and empowering and emboldening to you as well Have Paul the Apostle call you a man of God a woman of God And if Paul walked up to me and addressed me like that, I'd be like, where is my sword? Right now. Let's go out and fight to fight now. You could be 130 pounds soaking wet and You when your trainer comes up to you and says something like that You will feel like a sumo wrestler Like Martin Luther, right Martin Luther though devils all the world should fill all eager to devour us We tremble not we fear no ill. They shall not overpower us This world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will he can harm us none He's judged the deed is done one little word can fell him And that is the mighty fortress of our God and we could crank that up and listen to that Soldiers fighting the good fight of faith all day By referring to Timothy that way. He's throwing him in you understand with all the great heroes of the faith That word man of God used of heroes in the faith in the Old Testament those words man of God used Only here in the New Testament of Timothy He's throwing him in with the great heroes of the faith used of Moses The man of God in Deuteronomy 33 used of Samuel the man of God in first Samuel chapter 9 Used of David the man of God in the Amaya chapter 12 used of Elijah the man of God in first Kings 17 Used of Elisha the man of God in second Kings chapter 4 Though Timothy is in some good company here, isn't he man of God? Don't you want those words to be said of you? man of God woman of God Hebrews 12 says this therefore We also in chapter 11 is a great heroes of the faith chapter in the Bible and all those Heroes of the faith listed out in a great company in a great list in a great hall of heroes in Hebrews chapter 11 And then Hebrews chapter 12 begins therefore we also Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with Endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith Who for the joy that was set before him? Endured the cross Despising the shame and he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God Well, how a testimony like this allow a testimony like this to get you fired up to fight the good fight of faith. Amen. Oh man of God Hebrews chapter 11 men of God through faith subdued Kingdoms men of God through faith worked righteousness men of God through faith Stopped the mouths of lions. They quenched the violence of fire They escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness. They were made strong They became valiant in battle and they turned to flight armies Oh, man of God cry out like Elisha Lord. Give me a double portion, right? Gonna fight this good fight of faith These words. Oh, man of God were to have that same effect here on Timothy That was the effect that these words would have had this is the effect that Paul Intended in calling Timothy. Oh, man of God. They were to give him courage Courage in the face of difficulty strength in the face of great opposition in Ephesus like Moses to Joshua in chapter 1 Moses said be strong Joshua and of good courage Do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go We see that promise fulfilled on the pages of scripture time and time and time again That if you will endure that if you will take a step into that good warfare and Battle yourself in the good fight of faith that the Lord will be with you The Lord will go before you Lord will his presence with you will fight for you will stand with you Will empower you enable you Undergird you as you fight the good fight of faith the Lord promises to put himself there in the fray right there with you He is to fight and Timothy looking through the pages of scripture through the the pages of his own history the history of the Israelites All through the pages of scripture sees that time and time and time again Do you not think that emboldens him for what he's facing in Ephesus? Listen? It will embolden you prepare you for what you face in your own Christian life today And we don't face the same obstacles that they face praise the Lord There may come a day when that is necessary, but you face great obstacles in your own Christian life Don't you that's sin which so easily ensnares us the flesh listen These are this is a spiritual warfare. You're fighting a spiritual fight And if you think of it simply as a physical fight, you're gonna miss out You're gonna not understand here your enemy, and you're going to be beaten. You must understand This is a spiritual fight, and you need spiritual weapons and the Lord here is giving one to Timothy this encouragement This emboldenment make Timothy want to charge hell with a squirt gun just those words in your Christian life You are to fight you are to battle and you're to battle against sin You're to battle against persecution you're to battle against false doctrine you're to battle for the truth of God as a Component of the pillar and truth of God to display the truth of God to display Christ and him crucified You've got to battle the weakness of your own flesh Got to battle the the opposition of this wicked world You have to be in the fight fighting the good fight of faith And he says to this man of God and it seems at the moment when he says it that it's contradictory to what he just said it just seems in Opposition to encouraging Timothy in the fight. He says flee these things flee these things What are the these things in verse 11 that Timmy is Timothy is to flee He's the flee everything described in verses three through ten that the false teachers were doing flee Timothy flee sin flee error Flee this wicked false doctrine. He says flee conceit flee controversy flee quarrels about words flee envy flee dissension flee slander flee evil suspicions flee contention flee strife people who are depraved in mind listen flee People who are depraved in their mind. You know a few of those flee those people Don't put yourself under the influence of people of depraved minds They are deprived of the truth flee them Flee those desiring to get rich by fleecing the flock of God. This is in verse 11 here a Tactical retreat Timothy's to avoid at all cost Doing what they do listen in the battle. You cannot underestimate the power of the enemy You can't underestimate the influence of one false teacher You can't underestimate the influence of one false doctrine You can't subject yourself to that wickedness. You must flee How many thinking themselves to be strong go into the fray in ignorance and in false presumptuous boldness and find themselves shipwreck on the rocks just days later How many how many have we seen fall? You don't stand there and presuppose that you can stand and fight you flee that sin You flee that influence and this is a tactical retreat a tactical retreat We're to be bold, but we're not to be stupid we're to be as bold as lions, but we're not to stand and Fight in the face of great temptation. We're to flee that trend that temptation This fleeing here is a continuous fleeing. It's a present tense word. It's an ongoing fleeing. It's a constant fleeing It's a lifelong way of life fleeing Don't ever put yourself under the influence of false teaching or sin get out of dodge You can fight on your way out the door But be on your way out the door there many times where even the strongest of us must flee now think about this for a moment There are times when even the strongest among us must flee remember David God said of David that he was a godly man innocent all matters except for that incident with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite a Godly man and David fell when he should have fleed Remember David Joseph fled didn't he and in Joseph's fleeing that saved him from Potiphar's wife and Genesis 39 In 2nd Timothy 2 Paul charges Timothy to flee youthful us We're told to flee sexual immorality in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 18 Listen, don't have anything to do with it Every instance every notion every hint of sexual immorality you take off running from that sin There's other battles to fight don't stand and fight that one at that point you just get out of there Flee sexual immorality. We're to flee from idolatry in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 14 There will be other times Other times when you're forced to stand and fight against temptation you find yourself in a circumstance We're all of a sudden without your prior knowledge. It's there in your face It's there the hook this the snare is laid out before you the temptation is set before you And that's when you have to fight You're forced to fight and you need to be prepared with the weapons that you have from the word of God and the spirit of God to fight But every other time you oh man of God a woman of God flee temptation It is the fleeing of temptation that Strengthens you for battle when you need to turn and fight It's the fleeing of temptation that Secures you against that sin that teaches you how to flee the temptation that presents Strengthens you for the battle when you have to fight listen. Don't trivialize or Marginalize the destructive influence of just one temptation just one sin Flee that sin just flee in order to flee you've got to go all the way back upstream Against that sin whatever it is Find out its source know how to possess your own vessel You go back upstream against that sin you find out where that sin first begins and that's when you start fleeing Every instance every hint every beginning you learn to flee at that point know yourself You've got to know yourself and this is a tactical retreat This tactical retreat is to help you as Romans 8 says to put to death By the spirit the deeds of the flesh the deeds of the body and this tactical retreat is in the great wisdom of God a Strategy to help you win in the battle against sin It is a strategy know when you must flee and many Christians Thinking that they're somehow going to Strengthen themselves against the fight against sexual immorality for example Don't do anything about their environment Don't do anything about the influences that are around them Don't do anything about the influences that would seek to devour them in that sin they Stand in the midst of that temptation in the midst of that bait rich Environment thinking they will stand against it or thinking that they will learn how to stand against it And what they'll do is they'll learn how to fail and they'll fail and they'll fail and they'll fail and pretty soon You come to be enslaved by that sin The Bible doesn't tell you to stand in the midst of that temptation in a fight. The Bible tells you to flee flee flee if you're Enslaved by sexual immorality if you are enslaved by anger if you are enslaved by bitterness if you are enslaved by the schemes of the wicked one The way to fight that is at every appearance without Compromise man of God woman of God you flee you've got to fight Here's some of those today. There's some of those you hear today who who can't flee as result of Failing to flee as a result of standing in there when the Bible says flee and you in not Taking seriously the charge to flee you've tried time and time and time again to no avail You need to flee the wrath to come if you are succumbing to that temptation succumbing to that sin time and time and time and time again You must flee the wrath to come sin Has you on a choke chain and the Lord is saying flee You are a lackey to that sin and the Lord says to flee Sin calls you and you jump the Lord says to flee you to cry out to God for mercy cry out to God for strength cry out to God for strategy Cry out to God for weapons that are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds You need to cry out to God to be born again cry out to God for mercy for genuine repentance that produces salvation The turn from your sin despise it Don't you despise it? the Lord says to flee and you don't and you compromise and you compromise and you compromise and you come under the influence of that sin again When if you're a Christian the desire of your heart is righteousness you hunger and thirst for it and time again time and time again you Back under the influence of your warring members in your flesh Don't you despise it? Don't you hate it? And use godly wisdom use godly strategy Know how to possess your own vessel and flee These are not worldly weapons that you just Devise on your own. This is not gritting it out in your own power. This is a spiritual warfare You are to avail yourself of spiritual weapons It is the only way that you'll be victorious The reason that it's the only way you'll be victorious is because God in the fight will have victory It's victorious by his spirit if you put to death the deeds of the body by your effort No, if you put to death the deeds of the body by his spirit you will live Learn to despise it turn to Christ and trust Christ alone look to Christ by faith And he will give you the strength to flee Some of you making provision even now in your minds in your minds now you're making provision today to go back to your sin Just have not separated yourself from it You have not fled from it time and time and time again And now even now you were enslaved to the point that when you leave this place making provision for your sin You will go right back to it And if you are using the weapons of this world the weapons of your own flesh you will But listen listen you don't have to In God there are weapons that are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Do you believe it? There are many today Simply do not believe that those who practice unrighteousness will not inherit the kingdom of God And so they just as a lackey as a lap dog just return to their sin time and time and time again Are you apathetic toward God? That is a wicked sin repent today and flee that sin Are you indifferent toward the things of God? That is a wicked sin repent of that sin and turn to Christ today Stir yourself up to holy warfare using the weapons mighty in God to pull down that stronghold in your life Keep going back to the sin and back to the sin and back to the sin You need to despise it and turn to Christ hate the sin and flee James says flee he says resist the devil and the devil will flee from you praise God You must stand in Christ and resist the devil Why will you not fight? Many cases it's just simply unbelief Somehow you don't believe you don't believe that God's weapons are mighty Maybe you don't believe that you have access to them. Listen. That is a lack of faith Look to Christ look to the cross and claim your weapon Take up the sword and fight like mr. Great Heart you fight with a sword of the spirit until it cleaves to your arm And becomes a part of you you're to fight the good fight of faith When you find yourself tempted take up the sword of the spirit put on the full armor of God and Flee that sin and pursue righteousness fighting all the way as you go You can in Christ It'll be Christ that has the victory So many don't understand the mighty weapons that they have trust the Lord Trust the Lord Don't make provision for your sin flee even today now Right now Repent Resolve in your heart to turn from your sin Repent and put your faith and trust in Christ to help you wage Help you fight the good fight of faith and press on for him Endure to the end and be saved The Lord will give you strength his spirit will give you power When you flee when you flee in this strategic this tactical retreat you're turning from that sin You're fleeing that great temptation and in turning and fleeing that great temptation. You are turning to pursue righteousness You're not turning to pursue other sin. You're turning to pursue fruits of the faith righteousness godliness faith love patience gentleness and In this point two on your notes. There is here a strategic offensive a strategic offensive With putting off that old man Fleeing that old man fleeing that sin You are putting on the new man. You're putting on righteousness Don't allow one sin to take the place of another when you flee one sin and leave a vacuum there behind that room Nicely cleaned out. Don't let another sin come in and take its place put in its place righteousness pursue genuine fruits of faith Fighting the good fight of faith Doesn't only consist in fleeing sin. It involves a strategic offensive to pursue fruits of faith Now strategic offensive is defined as an aggressive projection of force To gain an objective to achieve a tactical goal or to shift the balance of power And here we are shifting the balance of power from sin and temptation Shifting the balance of power to righteousness to Christ to those weapons to our armor You're gonna have to work for it. It is an aggressive projection of force there are many who call themselves Christians that Fight like a figure skater Fight like a ballerina Listen, you've got a wage mighty warfare and fight like a sumo wrestler Fight like a ninja warrior You've got a fight that fighting now is to gain an objective the objective is these fruits of Consistency these fruits of righteousness fruits of holiness of life. That's your tactical goal here You need to shift the balance of power shift the balance of power from wickedness to righteousness Shift the balance of power from being enslaved to your sin to being slaves of Christ You got to shift the balance of power Ephesians chapter 4 in verse 22 says put off Concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt Do you understand your old man grows corrupt you're to put off that old man that old wicked those old wicked principles in your members according to deceitful lusts and You are to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man Paul says to the church at Ephesus which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness Colossians 3 that's the same principle putting off and putting on and this must be an ongoing contrast in your life between fleeing the tactical retreat from sin and Pursuing their strategic offensive for righteousness And both of these are imperative commands Paul here is commanding us to this fight Both of these are present tense, which means this is ongoing. It is consistent continuous It's a way of life for the Christian If you do one without the other think about it now if you do one without the other There's a vacuum that's left in its place and vacuums are quickly filled in other words if you employ tactics to flee from sin without Pursuing aggressively without aggressively pursuing righteousness Then the split the space left where that sin used to be will only be filled by another sin It's like the man who's learned in his own flesh to deny himself alcohol But now he's an angry meant mean-spirited jerk, right? It's the woman who has fled being rebellious with her husband, but now she is bitter and resentful It's that out of the frying pan and into the fire It's like an amusement park ride one gets off and another one just gets on and the thing just keeps going round and round When you flee sin You must replace that sin with the fruits of genuine saving faith You must replace that sin with fruits of genuine saving faith and that begins with righteousness Here in verse 12 it begins with righteousness Now the Christian has already been justified already been declared righteous before God Romans 3 21 says that we've been justified freely by his grace so the Christian Also stands in righteousness as a cry in Christ the righteousness of Christ as a free gift when God looks at us He doesn't see our unrighteousness our filthy rags. He sees the righteousness of his son We are justified we stand in righteousness in the imputed Righteousness of Christ and we are seen as righteous by God So does the Christian then need to pursue righteousness? Why would it say here to pursue righteousness? Yes, the Christian needs to pursue righteousness. This is practical righteousness there is a Positional righteousness. We are made righteous declared righteous Imputed with righteousness at salvation and yet we must pursue practical righteousness conformity to Christ First John chapter 2 verse 29 says that we are to practice righteousness if we are born of God Luke chapter 1 verse 75 says that we are to live in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life Titus chapter 2 verse 12 says that we are to live righteously Romans chapter 6 says that our members are to be instruments of righteousness In 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 explains that scripture is good for instruction in righteousness Galatians chapter 5 Practical righteousness is the fruit of having the Holy Spirit in you if you're a Christian you have the Holy Spirit in dwelling you If you see no fruits of the Spirit if you have not the Spirit Paul says you are none of his As some of you may be deceived You look at your own life, and you think that you're doing good The Bible says that you are not righteous The Bible says that even your good works that you think are good They are as filthy rags to God. You must turn from sin You must turn from self righteousness and obtain the righteousness that is from Christ through faith You must put your faith in Christ Others of you are trusting in your righteous works that you're saying you look at your performance You look at what you're doing you look at how you are living the so-called Christian life and you are trusting in what you're doing as Assurance as grounds of your salvation if you are putting your faith in how you're living your life That is the definition of self-righteousness You pursue righteousness through faith in Christ Christ it is no longer I who live, but you who live in me. I live this life by faith Righteousness and godliness together are evidence of genuine saving faith You're to cry out For righteousness that only comes from God through faith in Christ It is a damning damning damning self-righteousness that will send you to hell Next he then says to pursue pursue meaning to hasten after to run after to press on for godliness Godliness you're not to pursue these things in weakness. You're to pursue these in power You're not to pursue these with a satisfied Mushi Limp-Risted weak manner you're to pursue these in power you're to pursue these Militaristically you're to pursue these in force you're to press on for them You are to as if take them by force take them in violence You're to pursue hasten after press on for godliness Again godliness here is the conduct the outward Evidence that a genuine transformational work has taken place in your heart It is evidence of genuine saving faith. Do you see an evidence of God's work in your heart? Do you see godliness right now with all that you know of scripture with all that we're saying? Do you have a picture in your mind of what genuine godliness looks like you have that image that picture? What is a godly man look like? When Paul says to Timothy, oh man of God, what does Timothy look like? What is that picture of godliness and how do you match up? Put yourself now on the other side compare and contrast We need to pursue That Understanding from God's word of righteousness. We need to pursue that understanding from God's word of godliness That evidence of the transformational work of the spirit in our heart We're to pursue godliness Righteousness and godliness together that pair or a picture of the outward conduct that is Consistently a picture of what it is to be a citizen of the kingdom of God Next you're to pursue faith and love the ultimate book in Christian virtues faith and love This is faithfulness in your Christian life and it's love for your neighbor Faith and love and finally you're to pursue you're to press on for Patience and gentleness and we see the word patience in scripture. This word patience here is a compound word made up of under and Remain here patience remaining under remaining under what? Remaining under Christ by faith Remaining in faith remaining fighting the good fight of faith Persevering being preserved and persevering enduring to the end this points to a resolved determined Endurance in the fight Listen this life in such a short life It is here one day gone the next you don't have the luxury of taking a respite from battle You just don't have it. You cannot check out At the moment that you begin to check out you place yourself on a downgrade You place yourself on a slippery slope and one day you will Seem to wake from your lethargy and you'll look at the the scope of your fall at the distance of your fall And you will be ashamed You'll be hopeless you'll be in despair over how far you have retreated You cannot slip from the fight You cannot indulge yourself with a a relaxed moment and allow yourself to be swept in the current of this world Down the river in your sin. You've got to press on in the battle How many how many times have you I have when you've come across a difficult circumstance? Something that's just hard at the end of that circumstance. It's as if you just you put your shield down And you just for a moment as if taking a deep breath you check out of the fight You don't press on in fervency obeying the Lord. You don't press on in service You don't press on in the great commission fighting the good fight of faith You don't press on in loving the brothers You don't press on in assembling yourselves together under the preaching of God's word And you are swept away by the the current of this world Having loved this present rest Demis has forsaken me and love with this present world that you may forsake Christ Don't presume that you're not one of those three soils in Matthew chapter 13 For the love of this world for the love of money for the love of wealth for the love of riches for the love of leisure for the Love of pleasure reject Christ And it may be after one after two after ten years that you fully and finally reveal yourself as a hardened soil You need to pursue Perseverance need to pursue Endurance hang in there in the fight if you have retreated Ground if you've lost ground to the enemy Scratch and claw your way back in the power of the spirit through faith in Christ and regain that territory Don't allow yourself to be swept back You must fight the good fight of faith This resolved endurance this resolved determination holds out long Under difficulty and listen it is a learned battle skill When you endured you produce endurance When you persevere you produce in you the character of persevering in fight When you've stayed in there when you've hung in there when you've pressed forward when you've been tested by that difficulty And you come out on the other side of that battle having persevered through the battle It teaches you perseverance It teaches you endurance by the power of the spirit you learn to just be consistent How many of you have felt as though I just don't have the the self-control just don't have the discipline Listen you have to wage war Holy warfare to put consistency Self-control Discipline into your daily Christian warfare and trust me Christian from the word of God you do that and you will learn To persevere when that trial comes along that difficulty that battle you won't be found retreating from the Lord You'll be found standing strong in the spirit fighting just like you always have It's amazing to me when we find fight difficulties when something happens when we're in the middle of a battle And you look around you look to the right you look to the left and you see those once Embattled brothers standing right there in the trench with you because they'll not be pushed back They'll stand there with the sword of the spirit and fight we go through difficulty And I see the same faces that have stood there through those difficulties and fought with me and we're in that warfare together There's also those that you look to your right and left in the middle of the battle and they're not there anymore Because they've got themselves out of the back into that trench and they're running They can't be relied upon There must be factions and difficulties in trial in warfare so that those who are tested may be recognized among us You need to stand and fight This Christian life is not a spectator sport You can't just sit back and enjoy your life and watch while everybody else plays Christian You've got to get in the battle Build patience. This is a the endurance that is needed for a long hard military campaign And if the Lord tarries and we go through one battle after another and we're sitting here together 30 years from now 40 years from now. I want to look and see my brothers in the trench right there with me We have to pursue with dogged consistency the endurance that is needed for a long hard military campaign And with that you produce gentleness as carries the sense this word gentleness here carries the sense of being gentle During trial being gentle during suffering during difficulty You just have that gentle spirit that resolved Spirit that listen we trust in the Lord our trust is in the Lord the Lord is sovereign It's both remaining steadfast trusting God's will steadfast while doing God's will with the right heart attitude with the right spirit Listen this pursuit this pursuit is a consecration of your entire life To this battle it's a consecration of all that you are to Christ To the service of God. This is not easy not easy Putting off putting on is not easy If you're fighting the battle as if it is you need to wake up It's not easy fleeing sin and pursuing righteousness is where the battle rages. That is the front line Taking a stand for the faith is where the spiritual warfare is raging That's why we need to understand point three. We need to understand that we are in a Christian campaign a campaign 12 says fight the good fight of faith. We've seen the command for a tactical retreat We've seen the command to go on the offensive and pursue fruits of the spirit here in verse 12 is the command for combat operations This is a description of the Christian campaign a campaign refers to a large scale Long duration strategy toward a strategic goal Sounds like the Christian life, doesn't it? It's a long duration Strategy there should be a strategy in place for accomplishing a strategic goal Paul told Timothy in chapter one wades the good warfare. It's the same concept here The word that best describes the nature of this combat is the word fight. I don't need to From the word we get agonize Agony it's a present tense ongoing imperative. It's a continuous way of life It's contending or struggling with great effort against difficulties or dangers It's striving after something with great zeal with great Fervency it is taking it as if by force the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent take it by force Take it by warfare take it by zeal It carries the sense of an outward engagement or fight as well as the inward Striving the inward turmoil the inward distress the inward agony that goes along with it It's the same word used in chapter 4 verse 10 of this letter for to this end We both labor and suffer reproach labor and strive labor and toil And it is a good fight intrinsically good Here this good fight is the fight of the faith in the original language. There's a direct article there It's not simply faith. It is the faith. This is doctrine This is those doctrines of the faith once for all delivered to the saints. This is orthodox Christianity This is to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints These are from chapter 6 verse 3 the wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ Again the Bible here Joins together in verse 11 the two things in Scripture that can never be torn apart both life and doctrine Press on toward right living pursue righteousness and to pursue the faith Life and doctrine like peas and carrots right like peanut butter and jelly cookies and milk They cannot go apart They're connected doctrine without fervency in living it and in obeying it is dead Orthodoxy, that's true of your Christian life If you're here, and you're learning doctrine, you certainly will in a biblical church that preaches and teaches God's word You're gonna learn doctrine but if you're learning that doctrine it isn't having a persistent consistent Defect on your fervency and zeal and obedience and service to the Lord then to a degree you are dead orthodox already dead orthodoxy together, this is light and heat Life without doctrine is like a wild mysticism a reckless faith with no center We are to battle both with and for the truth now the truth in a sense doesn't need to be Defended Spurgeon said defend the Bible I would have soon defend a lion. How do you defend a lion you unchain it and it will defend itself But we're to be in battle we're to be in battle with the truth and for the truth There are those who assault the truth. There are those who have no understanding of the truth There are those who need the truth. They need the gospel. They need the Savior There are those who assault the truth. They need to be stood against You're to defend the truth in that sense And wherever the battle rages the quote goes There the loyalty of the soldier is proven and to be steady on all the battlefield besides that one point is mere flight and Disgrace if he flinches at that one point The battle rages today at the point of easy believism the battle rages today at the point of legalism The battle rages today at the point of evangelism The battle rages today for right doctrine. There are so many assaults on the faith. Are you waging war? Ask yourself How are you fighting? Fight for yourself as well Calvin said Christ calls all his servants to warfare It calls us to warfare because point for we have a glorious a glorious strategic goal a glorious strategic goal look at verse 12 halfway through lay Hold on eternal life to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses Lay hold. It's a singular point Lay hold this here is not a progression. It is a full and final Grasping a full and final holding lay hold on eternal life This is looking forward to the end of the war the war our great goal our victory in Christ There's one sense in which here is seeing the Christian life In which you have eternal life and in which you must lay hold of eternal life Another Perspective there's a perspective in which you were to fight the good fight of faith in order to lay hold of eternal life Paul said in Philippians chapter 3 verse 12 Not that I have already attained or am already perfected But I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me Well, that's a powerful statement. Isn't it not? Lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me Eternal life is both a present possession and a future hope for the Christian And the word for lay hold here is a word that means again. It means again with a violent force Lay hold to seize upon it. You lay hold of it Listen, how many times we have to hear the Christian life is not a life for a lazy person It's not a life of leisure. You don't float to heaven on flowery beds of ease While your brothers and sisters have sailed through bloody seas You must lay hold on eternal life That victory all Christians are Effectually and particularly called to Called here to which you were also called is a second person second person singular for you grammar guys It means that the gospel here the the the victory in Christ is something to which Timothy particularly Timothy Individually is Effectually called by God. It is not a it's not the general call the gospel that goes out to all This is a very specific a very particular a very individual and Effectual call to Timothy if you are in Christ It is very particular a very individual a very personal call to you That you will lay hold on eternal life This is a particular call. We know there's a general call to the gospel. There is something different here This is the doctrine of effectual calling Hopefully we'll have time next week to get into what that means But he was called he was called and he confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses Most likely at Timothy's baptism. It began the fight he was called by God Effectually called Caused to be born again by God's spirit and the battle began the battle began called by God's spirit Given an inheritance in heaven Empowered by God's spirit to fight the good fight of faith and Timothy will certainly if he perseveres lay whole Upon that for which Christ laid hold of him. This is confession of the good fight of faith Confession of the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. This is the beginning of the battle for Timothy Where did it begin for you? Where did it begin for you? since the onslaught of The battle that is rage since that point how much ground have you given up? How much ground have you gained? Where are you in the fight? Have you retreated to your tent? Or are you still in the trench waging holy warfare? Against the forces of the enemy against your flesh against this world Will you answer God's call to fight the good fight of faith? Will it be said of you? Oh man of God Will it be said of you a woman of God? Will you fight? Will you awaken yourself out of that sinful lethargy and get yourself engaged in warfare? Will you link arms with your brothers in arms and fight? The battle is not for a lazy man not for a lazy woman It's not for an undisciplined Or lacking in self-control It takes strategy It takes great effort It takes wisdom It takes weapons that are not of this world It takes the Lord and his spirit and his strength and his power It takes faith in Christ It takes belief in all that God has promised It takes violence force effort zeal fervency Will you wake up? Will you fight? These are not platitudes this calls you to a decision Calls you to a response You will you fight? If you do not you're already standing on a slippery slope that leads to perdition and destruction The longer that you go will you fight stronger? The longer that you press on will you learn that perseverance? The longer that you go the older that you are the longer that the Lord preserves you in the faith Will you press will you take it by force? This is Timothy and his charge from Paul To pursue with fervency and zeal that for which Christ has laid hold of him We must fight if you have no power to fight Cry out to God for mercy Cry out to God God be merciful to me the sinner I'm not in the fight the good fight of faith because I am an enemy of God by my wicked works God save me and put me in the battle on the right side Cry out to God let's pray Father in heaven Or thank you for the weapons that you've provided for us that are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds God strengthen us for battle may it be said of us God well done good and faithful slave That may it be well described of us that we are men and women of God in the battle Pursuing that for which Christ laid hold of us by faith in him For your glory It's for our eternal good God, but for your worship for your praise Victory is yours May we be trophies of that victory God for your worship forevermore. We love you And it's Christ's name that we pray amen