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.