00:00
00:00
00:01
Transcript
1/0
Amen. Our text of Scripture that
we'd like you to look with us at tonight is the opening phrase
of verse number 12, 1 Timothy chapter 6, where it says, Fight
the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life. Now, tonight we remember the
sacrifice of those who have given their life for our freedom in
two world wars, In all their international conflicts, enduring
the troubles here in Ulster, courageous men and women in our
armed forces have stood against the enemy. Indeed, we thank God
for the gallantry of such. We do indeed pray for their sorrowing
loved ones, that they may know much of God's comfort and God's
grace. We pray for those that have been
injured physically, and no doubt also many who bear scars mentally
and emotionally in their hearts and minds, that each one will
know God's help, that they will know God's healing. and that
they will know God's strength in their time of need. The bravery
of our armed forces reminds us also that living the Christian
life also requires bravery. It also requires courage. Yes, it is a courageous thing
for a man or a woman or a young person to become a Christian
and to stand on the side of the Lord. In fact, the Word of God
reminds every Christian that he or she is to be a soldier
for Christ. The Word of God says to the believer,
thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. It is this description here of
the Christian being a soldier for Christ that Paul has in mind
in the words of our text tonight when he says, fight the good
fight of faith. they hold on eternal life. As Paul writes here in this chapter
to young Timothy, to Timothy who was a young Christian, my,
he tells him to flee foolish and hurtful lusts. He tells him
to follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience
and meekness. And then he tells him here in
our text to fight the good fight of faith. Men and women, tonight
Justice Timothy was called to fight the good fight of faith.
So through the gospel message, God himself called you and I
also to fight this same good fight of faith. Why, when our
soldiers enlisted in 1914 and in 1939, they were called to
fight the enemy of Germany. When men and women joined the
UDR and the RUC in the 1970s and the 1980s, they were called
to fight against the enemy of Republican terrorism. Well, through
the gospel, God called you and I also to fight the fight of
faith, to take up the cause of Christ and stand for God and
His Word and His truth and for the glorious gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Hamrider says, fight
the good fight of faith with all thy might. And tonight, friends,
for a little while, it is this fight of faith that I want us
to think about in our Gospel meeting. There are three things
here I want you to note. First of all, I want you to see
our enlistment for the fight of faith. My, to enlist in this
fight of faith, there must be within our hearts repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul,
he speaks of these two requirements whenever he ministers God's Word
to the elders in the city of Ephesus. Speaking to them there
about his own ministry, he said this, testifying both to the
Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this repentance, my friend,
means you acknowledging before God your condition as a lost
sinner before a Christ holy God. Yes, it means you turning from
your sin unto the Lord. That is how it was with the publican
that you read of in the Gospel of Luke chapter 18. Before God,
he cried out, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. There was an
acknowledgement of a sin before the Lord. There was a turning
away from a sin unto God. Again, that is how it was with
the hemrider. He could say, I wandered far
away from God. Now I am coming home. The path
of sin too long I've trod, Lord. I am coming home." There was
a turning from sin. There was an acknowledgment of
sin in his life. And friend, the Bible says this,
God now commanded all men everywhere to repent. If you are to enlist
in this fight of faith, there must be this repentance toward
God in your heart and life and soul before God Almighty. Then this faith is faith toward
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it means you trusting alone
in the sacrifice of Christ, in the blood of Christ, in the righteousness
of Christ, for the forgiveness of all of your sins and for acceptance
before Almighty God. The two go hand in hand. Where there is true repentance,
there is always true faith in Christ. For the forgiveness of
sins and for acceptance with God through the righteousness
of Christ. That is how it was with Paul, the chief of sinners.
He could speak of Christ's pardon in his life. Writing to the church
at Ephesus, he said this of Christ, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He knew his sins were forgiven
through the precious blood of Christ. I could also say to the
people of God in Philippi about Christ, and be found in Him not
having mine own righteousness which is of the Lord. but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith. His whole trust for the forgiveness
of his sins and for his acceptance with God was in the blood of
Christ. It was in the righteousness of
Christ. Now, speaking of this fact in
his own life, Horatius Bonner, that great preacher and hymn
writer of a bygone day, said this. He said, Upon a life I
did not live, Upon a death I did not die, another's life, another
death. I stake my whole eternity." He
was leaning upon Christ and Christ's sacrifice for the forgiveness
of his sins, for the perfect righteousness of Christ in his
life, for acceptance with God. Friend, no matter who you are
in this meeting tonight, this Remembrance Night service, if
you are to enter into this fight of faith, If you are to enlist
in the Lord's army, then you must trust in Christ alone for
the forgiveness of all of your sins and for your acceptance
with God. Yes, we see our enlistment to
this fight of faith. But secondly tonight, I want
you to see the blessings of the fight of faith. You know, whenever
a man enlists in the army, he receives certain resources to
enable him to be a good soldier and for his country and for his
army. Well, whenever a person is saved,
whenever they become a soldier for Christ, they also receive
particular blessings from God. Blessings are given to them in
grace. What are those blessings? Well, every Christian receives
God's peace. The Bible says, therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. That is what you receive when
you trust Christ. God's peace. You receive peace
with God. This peace means reconciliation
with God. Paul could say to the church
at Corinth, we pray you in Christ's name, be ye reconciled to God. This peace means the pardon of
all of your sins, of all of your iniquities. The Lord says to
those who trust Him, He says, I, even I, am He that got about
thy transgressions. for mine own name's sake, and
will not remember thy sins." And this peace means you being
saved from hell. Saved from eternal punishment
and judgment for your sins. The Bible says, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Old Charles
Wesley, the great hymn writer, could say of Christ, and because
of him, no condemnation. Now I dread. He knew he was saved. Saved from the wrath to come.
What a peace this is. Friend, the moment you repent
of your sin and trust Christ as Saviour, yes, you too shall
receive this peace. You too will know reconciliation
with God. You will know the forgiveness
of all of your sins. You will know what it is to be
saved from a lost eternity. To be saved from the pit of hell.
To be saved from the wrath to come. What a salvation! There once was a regiment, and
the Russian army in that regiment, they mutinied against the emperor
at that particular time. Well, the emperor, he made an
offering to them. He offered them pardon. He offered
them deliverance of death. If they would surrender up to
him, if they would offer up their arms to him, he would give them
life if they would surrender and acknowledge to him. And friend,
the moment you surrender to Christ, the moment you trust Christ as
your own and personal Savior, then you too, no matter who you
are, no matter what your sins are or have been, will receive
a full and a free pardon from God. Yes, there is peace for
you tonight in Christ. The Bible says we have peace
with God. Have you that peace in your heart tonight? Can you
say, yes, I could peace with God through Christ in my soul? We can also say tonight that
every Christian also receives God's presence. Do you remember
the final words of Christ to His people before He ascended
up into heaven? He said this, And though I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world. What a promise!
The presence of Christ with you day by day in your life. The
Lord says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. After
the D-Day landings in Normandy, oftentimes Field Marshal Montgomery
would be found with his troops in the front line. He was there
to encourage them in the battle by his presence. Well, praise
God, when you are saved, the Lord will be with you. His Spirit
will dwell in your heart to be your comforter, to be your guide,
your strength in your stay in your Christian life. Speaking
of the Lord's presence in his own life, the Hemrider says,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. My, there is no
friend like the Friend of Christ, the Friend of sinners, the Friend
that sticketh closer than any brother. Tell me, do you have
His friendship tonight? Can you say, Yes, the Lord is
my Shepherd. I shall not want. Do you know
Mithim as that Friend that sticketh closer than any brother? That
One that loveth at all times. That One who said, I will not
fail thee nor forsake thee. I will not cast thee off. What
a priceless treasure. The presence of the Lord with
you, even when you go down into the valley of the shadow of death.
David could say, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. But then we can also say tonight
that every Christian also receives God's power in their life. Mine was Charles Spurgeon who
said, The Lord may not give gold, but He will give you grace. He
may not give you gain, but again, He will give you grace. And what
a priceless treasure the grace of God is to His own people.
Paul could say in his time of trial, Notwithstanding, the Lord
stood with me and strengthened me. Again, he could say to the
church at Corinth, by the grace of God, I am what I am. He knew the Lord's grace day
by day with him. Tell me, do you know that grace
in your life? The Lord says, My grace is sufficient
for thee. What a priceless treasure the
grace of God is. That grace that saves. That grace
that keeps. Maybe you are in the meeting
tonight and you are not saved. You're not a Christian. Maybe
the reason why you've never yet come to Christ, despite having
often heard the Gospel, you say, I'm afraid that I may not be
able to keep my salvation. Well, friend, I want to say to
you tonight, if you receive Christ by faith, you trust Him as your
Savior, the Lord will save you. The Lord will hear your call.
But not only will He save you, He will keep you unto life eternal. Apostle Peter could say as a
Christian, he could say this, we are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation. My, to be in the hand of Christ
is the most secure place that you ever could be. The Lord will
save you. The Lord will keep you if you
will but trust Him, if you will but call upon Him. My, there
is a great verse in Hebrews 7 verse 25 that says this, He is able
to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. That's a promise that will not
fail. No matter what comes your way in life as a Christian, the
Lord will save you and the Lord will keep you. Friend on saved,
will you not venture upon that promise tonight? Don't let fears
and doubts keep you back from Christ. Keep you back from being
saved. And keep you back from enlisting
in this great fight of faith. My, this good fight of faith.
But I want you to notice one final thing tonight. I want you
to see the goal of the fight of faith. What is the goal of
the fight of faith? Look at the latter part of our
text. Notice what Paul says there to Timothy. He says, "...and
lay hold on eternal life." Friend, the moment you become a Christian,
by faith in Christ, you receive God's wonderful gift of eternal
life. The Bible says the wages of sin
is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord, speaking to Nicodemus
about this very fact, said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. What an end to the fight of faith. Life eternal. Now, this eternal
life means the life of God in your soul. Jesus says to those
who trust Him, I am come. that you might have life and
that you might have it more abundantly. My, this means your soul going
upwards to heaven, to glory when you come to die in this scene
of time. As the Bible says, absent from
the body, present with the Lord. And my, it means your body being
resurrected when the Lord comes back again onto eternal life
in heaven itself. The Bible says, for this corruptible
must put on in corruption And this mortal must put on immortality. What a goal! What a prize! The
prize of heaven, the goal of glory. And my, the Bible tells
us that in heaven there will be no more sin. There will be
no more sickness. There will be no more tears.
There will be no more sorrow. There will be no more death.
There will be no more night. The Bible tells us there will
be no more wars in heaven. It will be a place of eternal
rest, of eternal peace. Turn your Bible just over to
Revelation chapter 21, and there John tells us something about
heaven. Look at verse 4 of Revelation
chapter 21, and verse number 23, and verse number 27. There
you get a glimpse of heaven. It says in verse 4 of Revelation
21, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall
there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Look at verse 23 of the chapter.
It says, And the city, that is heaven, had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon to shine in it. For the glory of God did
lighten it. And the Lamb is the light thereof.
It is a place of eternal light. A place where there is no sin.
Luke verse 27, And there shall in no wise enter into it anything
that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh an abomination or make
of a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life. What a place heaven will be! Everlasting glory. Everlasting
bliss. The Bible says, I have not seen
nor ear of heard, neither have it entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. The Bible tells us it will be
a place of eternal worship. Speaking of those in heaven,
the Word of God says they worship Him that liveth forever and ever. The Hebride speaks of heaven
and says there is a land that is fairer than day. And by faith
we can see it afar for the Father which over the way to prepare
us a dwelling place there. How beautiful, how blessed heaven
must be. What must it be to be there?
What a contrast between heaven and hell for those that die unsaved. Look at verse 8 there of Revelation
chapter 21. It says, But the fearful, and
the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death. You turn back to Revelation chapter
20. In verse 10 you will see there is a place of everlasting
torment. Caesar and the devil that deceived
them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the
beast and the false prophet are, and the Satan shall be tormented
day and night forever and ever." What a contrast! Tell me tonight,
where are you headed to in this meeting? Are you headed tonight
to heaven? Or are you headed tonight to
a lost eternity in hell? If you go out of this meeting
tonight, you're going to one of those two places. You're either
going to heaven or you're going to a lost sinner's hell. I trust
tonight that you're going to heaven, the place which the Bible
calls the perfection of beauty. And by this wonderful place of
heaven, that all the other blessings of God's salvation have been
purchased for us in full by the sacrifice of Christ, by the offering
up of Christ upon the cross. Think of those tremendous words
of Christ in the Gospel of John. He says, I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. The Bible
tells us, by His own blood He obtained eternal redemption for
us. These prizes, these blessings
of salvation, the goal of heaven has all been purchased and paid
for in full by the finished work, by the offering of Christ upon
the cross. What a sacrifice, the sacrifice
of Christ. Yes, by the sacrifice of others,
you and I have freedom tonight. We have liberty tonight. Well,
by the wonderful sacrifice of Christ, my, there is heaven.
There is salvation for all who will trust Him personally as
their Savior. Now, the Bible says in the book
of Romans, it says, For when we were yet without strength,
In due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die. Yea, pray adventure for a good
man. Some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Why did Christ die? Why? Because
of His love and His mercy and His grace. toward sinners like
you and I in this meeting, that we might enter into God's so
great salvation. We might be sure one day of going
to heaven, being saved from the wrath to come, and being with
the Lord forevermore. Man, woman, young person tonight,
if you are to be saved from your sin in hell, if you are to receive
God's great gift of eternal life, Then now in time you must come
as a sinner to Christ. You must confess your sins to
the Lord. And by faith alone you must trust
in Christ alone to be your own and personal Saviour. The Bible
says, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, thee
only through God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. My, to know
life eternal, you must know Christ. You must trust Him. with your
soul and trust Him to save you. The Word of God says that if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. To be saved, you must confess
your sins to Christ, your need of Christ. You must call upon
Him thy faith. Our text tonight says, fight
the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal, my friend,
instead of fighting for Satan. Instead of fighting for sin and
for self. Instead of fighting against God. By this night, will you not start
fighting for God? Start fighting for Christ and
for His truth and for His gospel? By coming to Him and accepting
Him. And trusting Him as your own
and personal Savior. It says there that it is a good
fight. There is no better fight to fight than the good fight
of faith, than for you to be on the side of Christ, to know
the wonderful joy of your sins forgiven, to know what it is
to be saved, to be sure of heaven, and to have Christ as your Redeemer.
Tell me tonight, whose side are you on? Are you fighting the
good fight of faith? Or are you kicking against God?
Kicking against the pricks? Fighting against God? Going on
in sin and rebellion contrary to God and to His Word? Oh, that
tonight you would yield to Christ. The Bible says, Fight the good
fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life. This night may you lay hold by
faith upon the great prize of eternal life by coming to Christ
by faith. trusting Him as your own and
personal Savior.
Fight the Good Fight
| Sermon ID | 1113111552536 |
| Duration | 25:52 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Timothy 6:12 |
| Language | English |
© Copyright
2026 SermonAudio.