– 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV – 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Spiritual warfare can be draining and tiresome. But as I mentioned in my last blog post on spiritual warfare pt. 1 that the battle belongs to God. We do not need to try to fight the battle on our own. But in a battle we do need to be prayed up and remain in faith. God is fighting for us.
The apostle Paul was a fighter, and he trusted God with the battle. Paul did not fight with his hands or with a weapon. Paul fought the good fight through prayer, preaching the gospel, staying true to his convictions, not compromising his beliefs, not forsaking the call of God. No matter what Paul went through serving God, he remained faithful to God. Paul knew he had a faith worth fighting for! Do not give up the fight! Hold on and stand your ground! You got this and God got you! Five years ago, I preached a message called “A Faith Worth Fighting For”. I am posting the video to that sermon at the end of this blog post. In the sermon I go into more detail about what I am writing about in this blog post, so please check it out after reading this post.
How often do we entertain the thought of just giving up when in a battle? We should be counting the victories God has given us, more than our defeats. We sometimes think about how giving up is the easy way out. I have heard people before telling me that they think it is hard to live for God. But for me it was harder trying to live without God before I became a Christian. Jesus never said that serving Him would be easy. Jesus never painted a pretty picture of a prosperity message that life would always be easy for us. Jesus said in Matthew 10:22 NKJV – 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Spiritual warfare is real, but God is far greater than anything the enemy tries to do to us. When the battle feels hard, remain in faith. When the battle gets rough, keep marching on. When the battle is long, do not throw in the towel!
Hebrews 10:32-39 (NIV) 32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
“Remember those earlier days after you received the light”. Do you remember what it was like when you first got saved? You were full of fire and boldness, joyful and happy, strong, and courageous. Ready to take on the world because God has given you victory! Unfortunately, throughout life and our walk with God we go through seasons where we are not as on fire like we use to be. At times when it feels like life has given up on you then remember not to give up on life or on God because God has not given up on you! Stay focused on God, not the battle.
In the world of boxing when a boxer has taken a heavy beating, the boxer might call for their manager to “throw in the towel”. Or if the support staff who are in the boxer’s corner is concerned for the boxer, then they will throw in the towel. “Throwing in the towel” is a sign of defeat. It lets the referee know that you are done, you are finished, you do not want any more pain, no more beating. Maybe you might be at a place in life right now where you are ready to throw in the towel. Tired of fighting, tired of the struggle, tired of feeling defeated. No matter what area of your life you are battling, I want you to know that God says: “do not throw in the towel! Do not give up the fight because I am in your corner! And I am also in the ring with you. You have my support; I am fighting for you!”
Do not throw in the towel, because as the battle rages on, you still need that towel to wipe the sweat from your brow, to wipe away the dirt and mud off your face that the enemy tries to throw at you. Wipe away the blood, sweat and tears and just keep moving forward!
In other sports, waving a towel, also called a “rally towel”is a sign of victory! Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers wave their yellow towels proudly which they call the “Terrible Towel”. Fans of hockey team the Winnipeg Jets do what they call a “white out”, they wave a white rally towel to create an avalanche effect to confuse the opposing team during a game! Jets fans keep that momentum going through every home game whether their team is winning or losing! Do not allow the enemy to confuse you! You need to confuse the enemy by letting him know that you have raised up a banner and you are waving that banner high! The banner of Jesus! Put the enemy on notice that you are not defeated, you have the victory! Did you prank your friends growing up by giving them a “towel snap”? Snap your towel at the enemy, let satan know to back off and that you are not messing around anymore. Do not throw in the towel!
Isaiah 62:10-12 NKJV – 10 Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! 11 Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
1 Timothy 6:11-16 NKJV – The Good Confession – 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
“A Faith Worth Fighting For” by Mike Gates at Transformation Church in Seminole, TX
