Fight For Your Life

We’re in a battle for our lives.  The apostle Peter tells us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8).  Likewise Paul says, “put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires … be made new in the attitude of your minds; and … put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness…. do not give the devil a foothold.  We must recognize the evil and sin in and around us and declare war on.  We must fight the good fight.

Paul teaches us, in Philippians 3:4-14, that this fight involves confronting pride – pride in one’s past, one’s pedigree and one’s performance. 

      First of all, one’s past.  Paul looked back on everything he formerly took pride in and considered it rubbish.  He says in v. 4, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.”  ‘Flesh’ can refer not only to immorality but also to self-righteousness.  And though many saw Paul (in his Pharisee days) as a monument of moral and spiritual development, he considered what he was to be worthless.  And this is not self-deprecation or Paul struggling with poor self-esteem.  It’s just honesty before the living God.  God’s holiness makes our attempts at righteousness look pathetic, and God’s grace makes our efforts to appease Him superfluous.  Everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.

      Secondly, Paul confronted pride in his pedigree.  v.5: “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee.”  Paul was kind of a spiritual ‘blue blood’.  He was born into the right family, a Hebrew of Hebrews.  He was from Tarsus, a metropolitan city and one of the academic centers of the Roman empire.  He was also trained by Gamaliel, one of the leading rabbis of the day.  Paul was well bred and educated, but all that had only led him to persecute the very God he was trying to serve.  When he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, God wiped out all his pedigree points and saved him by grace.

      And so Paul had to confront the pride of performance.  He says in v. 6, “as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless”.  Paul was zealous for his cause only to find that he was mistaken.  He was faultless, in terms of legalistic observance only to find that his legalism could not save him – he could never be good enough.  Only the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith in Christ can save.  And so, in Paul’s life, legalism was replaced by grace. 

Fighting for the Gospel to win in our lives also requires a radical reassessment of what really matters.  Paul states, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”  Jesus eclipses everything else.  I think Paul’s experience is echoed by Augustine who, though well educated like Paul, was not the poster child for righteousness.  But God got a hold of them both (the self-righteous and the immoral) and transformed them.  And I think Augustine’s feelings must have been similar to Paul’s.  Augustine writes about the Lord reaching down to him in the depths of his sin and delivering him and says:

Your yoke and burden, dear Christ, felt wonderfully sweet, so much sweeter than those vain delights which I had forsaken. Indeed it was a joy to me to be deprived of those joys which earlier I had feared to lose. For you, O Lord, cast them away from me, and in their place you yourself entered me, bringing joy which is sweeter than any earthly pleasure. 

Jesus is joy sweeter than any earthly pleasure.  When Jesus gets a hold of us, we experience a radical reassessment of what really matters.  As The Message puts it:

all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master … everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.

And so this fight involves treasuring Christ above all else.  Look at vv. 10-11, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  Paul’s desire, above all else, was to know Christ.  Not simply to know things about Christ, but to know Him experientially, relationally, personally, really.  He wanted to gain Christ and be found in Him.  He wanted to know, for himself, the power of the resurrection (of being brought back to life, made new and set free).  And he was willing to face suffering and to die to himself to do so – to share in Christ’s sufferings and become like him in his death so that, whatever it took, he would be raised to life in Christ.  Paul treasured Christ above all else.  He wanted life in Christ. 

Paul was willing to live all-out to get that.  And so he reveals that this fight involves effort.  He says in v. 12, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  And then in v.13, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  There is energy and emotion in Paul’s language.  He speaks of pressing on, pursuing, straining toward.  Paul was going after what God had for him.  The picture is of running a race - of a runner exerting him or herself; leaning toward the goal – lunging toward the tape at the finish line.  Paul’s language shows an undying commitment to reaching the goal; to achieving his end.

But notice also that he knows he can’t do it by his own strength.  Paul reveals that this fight involves allowing God to fight for us.  He admits in v. 12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect;” and again in v. 13, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”  Paul knows he is not there yet and he knows he can’t get there on his own (he’s already tried that). But he is committed to the race; to the pursuit: “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  It is God’s calling in Paul’s life that gives him the motivation, strength and endurance to run and to fight.  It is because Jesus has taken hold of him that he can strive to take hold of the life that God gives and cling to it tenaciously.

We are in a battle for our lives.  Are you fighting or do you find it easier to give up and give in?  Are you fighting or resting on your good intentions.  Do you want to fight, but it seems impossible?  Or you don’t know how?  Our fight is the same fight Paul was called to.  And so the way he fought is an example for us. 

Fight against pride – in your past; in your pedigree and in your performance.  We’re saved by grace alone.

Fight against a worldly assessment of what matters in life.  Power, money, sex and success may satisfy for a time, but they cannot ultimately satisfy.  Comfort and security are wonderful blessings, but they are not ultimate ends.  When Jesus gets hold of you, He brings about a radical reassessment of what really matters.  He really matters. 

Fight to treasure Jesus above everything else.  More than new phones and giant TVs; more than cars and homes and vacations; more than your job and your retirement fund; more than your appearance or popularity; more than  [you fill in the blank] – more than it all.  Everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus.

Fight to allow God to fight for you.  Sometimes the biggest battle is getting out of the way in order that God can do the real fighting for us.  If fighting these battles in your life intimidates you, take heart!  You do not fight alone.  The Lord is a Warrior and He fights for us.

The living God has called you; He has taken hold of you.  So press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you!  Forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead!  Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus!  Do whatever it takes to grab hold of the life God offers.  Let go of everything else and cling to Christ.  Fight for the Gospel to win in your life.  Because only then will you see it win in your family, in your church and in your world.

Our Struggle

[Ephesians 6:10-13]
The Christian life is a battle and we are called to fight.  But what do we fight for?  We fight for the Gospel to win in our lives; in our families; in our church and in our world.

We need to be reminded to fight because we are constantly tempted to quit.  People quit a lot - on marriages; on their family; on their job; on relationships; on dreams and ideas; they quit on the church.  We need to once again hear Nehemiah’s command to the people of Jerusalem and appropriate it for ourselves.  He told them:  “Do not be afraid ...Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (Neh 4:14).

We are not to be quitters.  We are called to fight.  But what does it mean for us to fight?  (First of all, we need to understand what is doesn’t mean)

Our battle is not a physical battle.  The apostle Paul reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood.  We are not crusaders battling the infidel.  We don’t have physical targets. The church could launch a military offensive against Las Vegas, but that would not defeat the enemy of sin.  For the problem of sin is found in each of us.  And this is a corrective to anyone who would see the Christian’s battle as something akin to the terrorism that plagues our world or anything that would give approval to Christian militias.  It is also a corrective to those who would allow their moral and spiritual convictions to cause them to hate other people.  Jesus tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. As Paul says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.”

Our battle is not a political battle.  Some interpret Paul’s statement, “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,” to refer simply to political, economic, religious and social structures.  It’s true that these structures can be used for evil, but limiting the Christian’s battle to the realm of politics or economics or social policy is a mistake.  It’s a spiritual battle we’re engaged in.  The battleground involves hearts and minds and lives.  It’s not a battle we can fight with legislation or by electing a particular person to office.  Now, I’m all for political involvement.  I believe that Christians have a responsibility to affect the political, economic and social landscape. But if that is the extent of our efforts, we will accomplish nothing.  For our battle takes place on the cosmic scale – in the heavenly realms and in the minds and hearts of men and women.

Our battle is not an imaginary battle. Because it is a spiritual battle we are to fight, we are tempted to treat it as if it were imaginary.  We are tempted to talk about fighting evil without ever actually doing it; to bemoan the moral state of our society, but do nothing to change it.   The battle we face may be spiritual and not have a physical target, but it is nonetheless real and must be fought. 

And so, if that is what we don’t mean by fighting, what do we mean?

Ours is a spiritual battle.  We fight against, “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  We fight against the powers of darkness in the unseen realm of spiritual reality.  And so spiritual battle involves prayer (praying against evil and demonic attack).  It also involves speaking truth to others, rebuking and correcting when needed.  It involves personal discipline in ourselves and actively resisting the temptations of the fallen world.

Ours is a pervasive battle. It takes place in the hearts and minds of people.  Every single one of us is affected by and infected with sin.  Therefore, it’s not “us vs. them,” it’s us vs. sin, wherever we find it.  You can outlaw a particular behavior, but that doesn’t change a person’s heart or mind.  The Gospel can transform the world, but it does so by transforming lives.  People must change before societies, cultures and nations can change.

And ours is a personal battle.  The main battleground is in our own lives.  Jesus told us not to try to remove the speck from someone else’s eye while we have an 10ft 4x4 in our own.  Instead we are taught that since, “the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. [and] They are in conflict with each other…(Gal 5.17)” we are to, “Put to death…whatever belongs to our earthly nature (Col 3.5)”.  Paul himself wrote, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor 9:26-27 ESV).  We are to discipline our bodies and take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.  We fight a personal battle – a battle against temptation – a battle for holiness.  The apostle John speaks of “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does” – these things (selfishness, coveting and pride) must be fought against - in us.

But how do we fight these battles?  We will be exploring this in the coming weeks, but today’s passage states two ways.

First, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”  We are called to be strong, but this doesn’t mean being ‘macho in the Lord’, it means being dependent upon the Lord.  The phrase, “be strong” is actually passive, meaning that we are to be given strength; we are to find our strength in the Lord.  I read a quote somewhere by someone that said, “Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield but to my own strength.”  That’s ridiculous.  It sounds all brave and assertive, but it’s utterly naïve.  If you look to your own strength, you won’t find much and eventually it will fail you.  That is why God invites us to be strong in Him and in His mighty power – the very power that raised Christ from the dead.  The power of evil is intimidating and strong, but God’s strength is stronger; Jesus’ power is greater.  He has overcome.  The victory belongs to Jesus and to us in Him.  Charles Spurgeon, once pointed out how some people say, “I will do as much as I can.”  He then responds, “Any fool can do that.  He that believes in Christ does what he cannot do, attempts the impossible and performs it.”  So, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Secondly, we are told to put on the full armor of God – the armor of truth, righteousness, the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Sword of the Spirit/the Word of God and prayer.  We are told to put that on so we can stand our ground against the devil’s schemes and in the day of evil.  We must be covered in the powerful protection of God so that we can hold our position, stand with each other and hold fast.

Evil is too strong; the temptations of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life is too overwhelming for us to face on our own and in our own strength.  The only way we can be strong and stand our ground against the devil is by the power and protection of the Lord.  We must find our strength in Him.  But once you have been strengthened by Him; once you have put on the full armor, then fight!

Fight for your life!  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Put to death the sinful nature.  Don’t give in any longer to temptations that always seem to win; addictions that have bound you; to lies of the devil that tear you down.  Fight against your fear and your insecurity!  Fight against your attitudes of resentment and anger!  Fight against lust!  Fight against your pride and selfishness!  Fight against your desire not to fight!

Fight for your family!  Fight for your marriage!  Don’t wait for your spouse to do it – you do it!  Let go of resentment.  Seek help if you need it.  Fight for reconciliation!  And fight for your children!  Don’t give up, even though it is hard to raise children in this day-in-age.  Keep fighting for them!

Fight for your church!  Some look at our lower attendance; our financial struggles; our missions giving going down and we’re tempted to give up.  It’s hard to get a church to grow; it’s hard to make an impact in our community.  So should we just give up?  No!  The prophet Isaiah says, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”  If we operate out of fear and not out of faith we will not stand.  We will fall.  I don’t want to fall do you?  So fight for your church!  Fight with faith – believing that God CAN and WILL do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!  And give of yourself – your time, your energy, your money, your prayers, your volunteering.  Fight for your church!

Fight for your world!  The world is going to hell in a handbasket.  What are we going to do about it?  Cry?  Whine?  Lament it?  Or will you fight to be a blessing to others?  Will you fight to be salt and light?  Will you fight (as Tullian Tchividjian puts it) against the world for the world?

Friends, let’s fight.  Let’s not be “of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved,” for “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” Anyone can ‘do what they can’, but the one that believes in Christ does what he cannot do, attempts the impossible and performs it.”  So, my beloved brothers and sisters, stand your ground and fight.  Fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes!  Fight for the Gospel to win in your life, in your family, in your church, in your world!

Scattered Seed

Philip was one of the seven chosen to serve the Church with the daily distribution of food to the widows in Jerusalem so that the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.  He is among the great cloud of witnesses who walked the Way before us and so his example is one we need to consider as we run the race set before us.  Philip was among the scattered seed through which the Gospel took root and began to grow.  So, what can we learn from Philip?

First of all, Philip was eager to serve.  Though Philip himself would prove to be an able preacher and through him God would do signs and wonders, he was willing to serve the Church in the food distribution to widows.  His desire was for the Gospel to be spread and so he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.  He was eager to serve so as to free up the apostles to pray and minister the Word.  And because of that, we read, “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

But the advancement of the Church drew an immediate, satanic counterattack. Stephen, one of the seven, was arrested, brought before the Sanhedrin and then executed and his death sparked a persecution under Saul.  Philip faced that persecution with courage.  Saul tried to terrorize the Church so they would renounce their faith, but Saul only spread the church for Philip didn’t respond with fear, but with faith and boldness.  We read in 8:4-5, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.”  Philip did not give in to intimidation.  He didn’t shrink back from opposition.  He trusted the Lord and kept right on doing he was called to do – to share the Good News of Jesus. 

And going into Samaria, Philip showed, not only courage, but a willingness to go outside of his comfort zone.  It is well known that there was hostility between Jews and Samaritans.  However, Philip went directly into Samaria “and proclaimed the Messiah there”.  I’m sure there were other places Philip would have felt more comfortable, but he chose to follow the leading of the Spirit, even outside of his comfort zone.  He chose to be light where it was dark. 

And Philip could go confidently because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit.  And so, at the prompting and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Philip “preached the Good News of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” and did many miraculous signs.  Jesus had told His disciples to wait until they were clothed with power from on high because the only way for them to accomplish what He was calling them to do was by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It was because Philip was empowered that he was able to share.

And because Philip was attuned to the leading of the Spirit, he was ready for divine appointments.  That is what Philip’s interaction with the Ethiopian official was – a divine appointment.  An angel told Philip to go down to the southern road to Gaza.  Philip went there and met an Ethiopian official on his way back to the royal court.  And this man, who had been in Jerusalem to worship (probably for one of the feasts), just happened to be reading Isaiah and it just happened to be a Messianic prophecy and at that moment Philip just happened to be there to ask him what he was reading.  All that didn’t ‘just happen’.  It was a divine appointment.  God had opened the official’s heart; had led him to read Isaiah; and had brought Philip to explain it to him.  And Philip was ready He began with the very passage the man was reading and explained to him the Good News about Jesus.  Then they ‘just happened’ to pass by some water and Philip baptized him.  Immediately the Spirit led Philip away and the Ethiopian returned home rejoicing.  God orchestrated the lives of those two men to bring them together so that the Kingdom would advance as far as Ethiopia.  Philip was ready for divine appointments.

And finally, we see that Philip was committed to the Gospel.  He practiced Gospel living in serving the widows in Jerusalem and He preached the Gospel in Samaria, to the Ethiopian official and then, as we find in Acts 8:40, in all the towns until he reached Ceasarea.  And not only did he minister the Gospel to others, but he also taught his children.  For we discover later in Acts that Philip had four daughters who prophesied.  And so Philip’s commitment to the Gospel was not only passed on to Samaria and Ethiopia and the Judean coastline, but also to his children.  They walked in the footsteps of their father as he walked the Way.  They saw and emulated his commitment to the Gospel.

As we walk the Way, Philip is an example for us.

Are we eager to serve the Lord and His Church or only ourselves?  Do you make excuses for why you can’t serve?  Do you hold on to that “imagined Godly future” when things slow down; when work isn’t so hectic; when finances are better; when your list of things to do and to fix and to fix up gets done; when you’re in a better place emotionally and spiritually – you know – that future that will never happen?  Or are you eager to serve – now – not because your life is finally in order, but because Jesus is worth it?  Because His Kingdom is worth it?  Because His calling in our lives is worth it?  Because pleasing Him is worth it?  Because teaching kids about Jesus is worth it? Because leading a Bible Study for adults to learn and grow through is worth it?  Because helping those in need in Jesus’ name is worth it?  Are you eager to serve or eager to make excuses for why you can’t or don’t?

Do you face persecution with courage?  Do you face persecution at all?  In know in my life there have been far too many times when I have not faced persecution because I lacked the courage to really live all-out for Jesus.  I held back because I was afraid.  I’m sad to say that I still do.  May God give me – may God give us – courage to live all-out for Him and to face whatever may come our way as a result with faith and boldness!

Are you willing to go outside of your comfort zone?  Are you willing to be light where it is actually dark?  Not hanging around with other lights but being light where it is dark?  Are you willing to volunteer at local ministries?  Are you willing to enter that terrifying world of youth ministry?  Are you willing to speak to your colleagues and co-workers?  Are you willing to strive to love those who are really difficult to love – those who look different, speak differently, believe different things?  Are you willing to go beyond the bounds of where you feel comfortable?

Are you empowered by the Holy Spirit?  I read a great quote the other day which said, “Burnout takes place when the wick and not the oil is burning” (S. Pearlman in Fernando’s Jesus Driven Ministry).  We know that on our own, we can do nothing, but that doesn’t stop us from trying!  It’s no wonder we burn out.  For it is only when the oil of the Holy Spirit is burning through us that we can be effective for the Kingdom.  Are you relying on yourself or the Holy Spirit?

Are we ready for divine appointments?  How many of us go to work or school or the grocery store ready (perhaps praying for) divine appointments with other people - for God to bring is into contact with someone in need?  Someone who is lost?  For God to use us to tell another person of the hope we have in Christ?  Are you attuned to God?  Are you listening?  Are you prepared to give an answer for the hope you have?

And are you committed to the Gospel?  Do you look for opportunities to share it?  Is your life shaped by it – the way we think and live and work and talk and make decisions and spend our money and spend our time – are we shaped by the Gospel or by the stock market or by the rat race or by the talk shows or by the magazines in the checkout line or by the mall or my the news?  When people look at you, do they see a Gospel-shaped, Gospel-driven life?  When your children and grandchildren look at you do they see that?  Is the Good News of Jesus Christ the legacy you are leaving to your children?  Are you teaching them and setting an example for them to follow (or do you leave that up to the schools and the Disney channel?)  Are you fully committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ or just kinda?

Are we, like Philip, scattered seed through which the Gospel takes root and grows and bears fruit in this world for the glory of the Lord?  If not, we’re missing out; we’re settling for less; we’re underemployed.  May God give each of us the grace to walk the Way, to run the race with eyes fixed on Jesus following the example of His servant, our brother, Philip.