I Timothy 6:11-12 “ 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.”
Exodus 15:3 “The Lord is a, a warrior; the Lord is his name.”
Matthew 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Revelation 19:11 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and He makes war. His eyes are like a blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter. And on his robe and on his thigh he has the name written,“King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Write these 2 things down.
1. God has called us to FIGHT the GOOD FIGHT.
Nehemiah 4:14 “Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
2. If men are not fighting FOR SOMETHING we will fight AGAINST EVERYTHING.
Acts 8:3 “But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.”
How do we make sure we are FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT?
Sometimes you THROW A PUNCH
Ecclesiastes 3:8 “There is a time for peace, and there is a time for war.”
Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”
I Timothy 6:11-12 “ 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.
Paul says 3 things…
Flee and Pursue Fight the fight Take hold
I Timothy 6:11 “But you MAN OF GOD Flee from all this and pursue righteousness”
I Timothy 6:3-5 “Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. 4 Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 “Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves and are caught in a trap. They want many foolish and harmful things that ruin and destroy people. 10 The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.”
1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world, or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
3 things that so many men pursue. 1. Lust of Flesh 2. Lust of the Eyes 3. Pride of Life
4 Men in te Bible
1. Adam
2. King David
3. Samson
Judges 14:1 “Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”
Judges 16:1 “One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
Judges 16:4 “Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah"
How can you ever overcome them?
4. Jesus Jesus didn’t live to please his FLESH, he lived to please the FATHER. John 8:29 “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
I John 2:15-16 NLT “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
Galatians 5:16-17 “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
Galatians 5:24 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 “There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business! 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
4 reasons we are better together:
Together we have a greater POTENTIAL than alone.
Check it out verse 9
Ecclesiastes 4:9 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.”
Genesis 1:18 “Then God blessed them and said, “BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY. Fill the earth and govern it.”
2. Together has greater PURPOSE than alone
Ecclesiastes 4:8 “There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless—
Ephesians 2:10 “WE are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works with God prepared in advance for US to do”
Romans 12:5 MSG “Each of us FINDS OUR MEANING and function as a part of Christ’s body. But as a chopped off finger or a cut off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?”
3. Together has a greater PLEASURE than alone.
Ecclesiastes 4:8 “There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother….This too is meaningless— A MISERABLE business!”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and A TIME TO LAUGH…”
Zechariah 8:4-5 MSG “Old men and old women will come back to Jerusalem, sit on benches on the streets and spin tales, move around safely with their canes—a good city to grow old in. And boys and girls will fill the public parks, laughing and playing—a good city to grow up in.”
4. Together has a greater POWER than alone. Ecclesiastes 4:12 “ Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:8 “FOR WHOM AM I TOILING,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
How do we partner with OUR PEOPLE for a GREATER PURPOSE?
1. Fight to PROTECT the UNITY of the CHURCH.
Ephesians 4:2 “MAKE EVERY EFFORT to KEEP THE UNITY of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU, live at peace with everyone.”
2. CONNECT to the PURPOSES of CHRIST.
Ephesians 4:15-16 (NCV) “Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into CHRIST, WHO IS THE HEAD. 16 The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love.”
Genesis 3:1-13 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Conflict occurs when you have…
1. Pride
James 4:1, ESV "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”
Philippians 2:3, ESV "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves"
2. Immaturity 1 Corinthians 14:20b, ESV "Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" 3. Change Proverbs 29:25, ESV "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe" 4. Differing opinions 4 keys for dealing with and responding to conflict…
1. Have patience 1 Corinthians 13:4 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
2. Be at Peace Hebrews 12:14-15 14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Acts 15:36-40 36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”
3. Be Positive Ephesians 4:29 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. James 3:8-10 "8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 4. Forgive Ephesians 4:31-32
“This is the idea of offering forgiveness for past hurts to those you may have conflict with. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
