“Fighting the Good Fight”
1 Timothy 1:12-19
Veterans Sunday
Pastor John Bright
1 Timothy 1 “12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”
1. Zhang Weili 1. Ilia Topuria
2. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Islam Makhachev
3. Kayla Harrison 3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Cris Cyborg T-4. Tom Aspinall
5. Manon Fiorot T-4. Alex Pereira
Look at the list of names on your teaching sheet. Who are those folks? These are the top 5 women and the top 5 men in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). This is cage fighting. It’s a very rough sport. Lots of broken bones and torn ligaments. As they punch and kick and use their knees to inflict pain, some earn millions, many earn thousands, but most are amateurs who earn nothing.
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Back in the Apostle Paul’s day, they had boxing. The fighters would wrap their hands in leather straps. Between the straps, they inserted a sharp metal blade. Most often, Roman boxing matches were fought to the death, with one fighter dying. I mention this because it is a boxing term that Paul uses in verse 18: “you may fight the battle well.”
He uses the same term in Chapter 6:11-12: “11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Why use this language of a bloody, deadly sport? To remind Timothy that Christianity is about life and death. Lives hang in the balance! Our veterans know this all too well. Has the church of today forgotten?
Forgotten what? We have forgotten that we are in a battle. We have forgotten that we are engaged in hand-to-hand combat for the eternal spirits of men and women. Here are some things we need to remember:
We need to remember
WE have an enemy
“19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”
Paul gave this advice to Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:3 “you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer.” You see, in that church, the enemy was attacking from within. Teaching lies is from our enemy, Satan. It can be as subtle as teaching that there is more than one truth. In a time of war, the enemy always tries to work from within to undermine unity in the ranks.
That enemy is Satan. Remember, his ultimate goal is to keep names out of the Lamb’s Book of Life that will be opened in Revelation 20 at the Great White Throne Judgement. The easiest way for Satan to do this is by keeping the church weak and ineffective. If he can destroy unity in our ranks, he wins the battle. So, what keeps us unified?
We need to remember
WE are all saved by grace
“15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
It’s this belief that keeps us from becoming judgmental and self-righteous. We know that everybody has the same need – we all need a savior because we can’t save ourselves. You see, God made a way – one way – the blood of Jesus. God did that for you and me.
Listen to what Oswald Chambers wrote about this: “The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.”
In the military, do you know what they do to instill unity in every unit? They each have an assurance that “You’ve got my 6!” Translation: “You’ve got my back!” And this is repeated – “I’ve got your 6!” If you can’t trust that the guy or gal next to you will not protect you, it leads to serious problems.
1 Timothy 1:19-20 “which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
Here we see that Paul practiced church discipline. In our way of doing church, we can’t make someone leave, but we can suggest it is time to look for a new church. We can remove folks from leadership positions. The most important thing for us is to confront the person in love and protect our unity. Not all threats come from within.
We need to remember
WE have been set as “watchman on the wall”
Ezekiel 33:1-6 “The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’”
We live in a culture that is openly hostile to the church. Satan is alive and well out there. In the military, the soldier given watch on the perimeter has great responsibility. What should he/she do if the attack is coming?
SOUND THE ALARM!
Today, I have to sound the alarm: WE ARE AT WAR! Can we all agree on that?
Now, I have three things for us to agree upon if we are at war:
1 – There is only one enemy!
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Our enemy is the evil in this world. If we make it about each other in here – even if you get your feelings hurt – then satan has already won. That applies to folks in different tribes or political parties. We need to pray for folks and stop allowing the evil of hate to have any place in our hearts.
2 – We are one!
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Everything here affects the whole Body of Christ. Now this is deep, but I want you to hear it. My sin and your sin affect the entire body – no matter how secret/private the sin. That’s why they were so quick to deal with sin in the Bible. Try to think in terms of the spiritual effects rather than the physical effects of sin within the Body of Christ.
3 – I am my brother’s keeper!
Genesis 4:8-9 “8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
In the Body of Christ, while we are at war, the answer is always YES!!!! I have to have your 6, and you have to have the back of everyone. Let’s take a few minutes and practice this. I want you to go to four or five different folks and say, “I’ve got your back.” Listen to me – if someone has hurt you, or you feel divided from someone for any reason, make that person one of your four or five. Today, with that one simple action, bury the hatchet and end it forever. Not for the other person, this if for you! Start moving and telling folks “I’ve got your back.”
Now, let’s say those three things to remember because we are at war:
1 – There is one enemy!
2 – We are one!
3 – I am my brother’s keeper!
Amen.
Homework:
• Satan is the only enemy – in church, in the community, and even in our families. Has the evil one deceived you into making the struggle about people? If so, repent and start fighting the real enemy!
• What if it’s true that everyone’s sin affects the whole body? Please read Acts 5:1-10. Why did God deal severely with Ananias & Sapphira? You can read more about this:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Ananias-and-Sapphira.html
• Next week: Hymn Sing with Testimonies
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TEACHING SHEET
Veteran’s Sunday
1 Timothy 1:12-19
Fighting the Good Fight
1. Zhang Weili 1. Ilia Topuria
2. Valentina Shevchenko 2. Islam Makhachev
3. Kayla Harrison 3. Merab Dvalishvili
4. Cris Cyborg T-4. Tom Aspinall
5. Manon Fiorot T-4. Alex Pereira
Back in the Apostle Paul’s day, they had boxing. The fighters would wrap their hands in leather straps. Between the straps, they inserted a sharp metal blade. Most often, Roman boxing matches were fought to the death, with one fighter dying. I mention this because it is a boxing term that Paul uses in verse 18: “you may fight the battle well.”
1 Timothy 6:11-12: We have forgotten that we are in a battle. We have forgotten that we are engaged in hand-to-hand combat for the eternal spirits of men and women. Here are some things we need to remember:
We need to remember
WE have an enemy, v. 19
Paul gave this advice to Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:3 “you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer.” You see, in that church, the enemy was attacking from within. Teaching lies is from our enemy, Satan.
In a time of war, the enemy always tries to work from within to undermine unity in the ranks. That enemy is Satan.
We need to remember
WE are all saved by grace, v. 15
Listen to what Oswald Chambers wrote about this: “The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.”
In the military, do you know what they do to instill unity in every unit? They each have an assurance that “You’ve got my 6!” Translation: “You’ve got my back!”
1 Timothy 1:19-20 Here we see that Paul practiced church discipline. In our way of doing church, we can’t make someone leave, but we can suggest it is time to look for a new church. We can remove folks from leadership positions. The most important thing for us is to confront the person in love and protect our unity. Not all threats come from within.
We need to remember
WE have been set as “watchman on the wall”
Ezekiel 33:1-6 What should he/she do if the attack is coming?
SOUND THE ALARM!
Today, I have to sound the alarm: WE ARE AT WAR! Can we all agree on that?
Now, I have three things for us to agree upon if we are at war:
1 – There is only one enemy! Ephesians 6:12
2 – We are one! 1 Corinthians 12:27
3 – I am my brother’s keeper! Genesis 4:8-9
Homework:
• Satan is the only enemy – in church, in the community, and even in our families. Has the evil one deceived you into making the struggle about people? If so, re-pent and start fighting the real enemy!
• What if it’s true that everyone’s sin affects the whole body? Please read Acts 5:1-10. Why did God deal severely with Ananias & Sapphira? You can read more about this:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Ananias-and-Sapphira.html
• Next week: Hymn Sing with Testimonies
