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Sermon Context
This sermon, delivered at a youth camp and prayer meeting, is a passionate call to spiritual vigilance. Drawing from 1 Timothy 6:12 ("Fight the good fight of faith"), the preacher warns against complacency, using Solomon’s tragic compromise as a sobering example. The message balances urgency with hope—exposing Satan’s schemes but affirming Christ’s victory for those who resist.
Hook: "Why Do Victorious Christians Sometimes Live Like Defeated Foes?"
Imagine an army with invincible weapons, yet its soldiers keep surrendering to a conquered enemy. That’s the paradox of many believers today. This sermon reveals:
- How Solomon wasted his "cream and flower"—the best years of his life—on sin.
- Why Satan, though already defeated, still "tastes victory" when we yield.
- The "good fight" isn’t about strength but surrender—to Christ’s leadership and armor.
You’re called to more than survival. You’re called to stand.
Meditation Question
"Where in my life am I allowing the ‘defeated foe’ (Satan) to claim ground—through distraction, compromise, or half-hearted faith? What step will I take today to ‘fight the good fight’ by relying on Christ’s victory?"
(Read the full sermon to discover how to reclaim your spiritual momentum.)
Why This Works
- Context sets the tone (youth camp + urgency).
- Hook uses a relatable analogy (army/surrender) and teases Solomon’s story.
- Question prompts self-reflection and practical response.
Let me know if you'd like to tweak the tone (e.g., more confrontational/gentle)!
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Gratitude for the opportunity to preach
- Prayer for spiritual nourishment
- Key text: 1 Timothy 6:12 ("Fight the good fight of faith")
- The Christian Life as a Battle
- The necessity of spiritual engagement
- Analogy: Building a life like a diligent carpenter
- Warning from Ecclesiastes 10:18 (decay through idleness)
- The Enemy: Satan’s Tactics
- Ephesians 6:12: The reality of spiritual warfare
- Satan’s goals: To steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)
- Targets: Youth and believers, diverting them from God’s purpose
- Lessons from Solomon’s Failure
- Wisdom vs. worldly compromise
- Wasted years serving sin and idols
- Repentance in old age: "Vanity of vanities"
- Victory in Christ
- 1 John 4:4: "Greater is He that is in you"
- Romans 8:37: "More than conquerors" through Christ
- The devil as a "defeated foe" (Colossians 2:15)
- The Call to Faithfulness
- 1 Peter 5:8: Vigilance against the roaring lion
- Fleeing sin and pursuing God (2 Timothy 2:22)
- Eternal life as the ultimate prize (Philippians 3:13-14)
- Examples of Faithful Warriors
- Job: Steadfast under trial
- Polycarp: Martyred with unwavering faith
- Paul: Pressing toward the mark
- Conclusion & Exhortation
- Charge to "fight the good fight" with eternal perspective
- Personal testimony: God’s providence in trials
- Closing prayer for strength and faithfulness
Sermon Summary: "Fight the Good Fight of Faith" (1 Timothy 6:12)
This passionate sermon delivers a stirring call to spiritual vigilance, challenging believers to actively engage in the Christian life as a battle against Satan, the "defeated foe." Using Solomon's tragic compromise as a sobering example, the preacher warns against wasting the "cream and flower" of one's life on sin, only to repent in old age.
Key Themes:
- The Battle is Real
- Christians cannot live passively; faith requires fighting (1 Timothy 6:12).
- Satan seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), especially targeting youth.
- Lessons from Solomon’s Failure
- Despite his wisdom, Solomon squandered his best years on idols and worldly pleasure.
- His late repentance (Ecclesiastes) shows the cost of compromise.
- Victory is Assured—But Must Be Lived Out
- Christ has already defeated Satan (1 John 4:4; Romans 8:37).
- Yet believers often "surrender" to the enemy through sin, distraction, or laziness.
- How to Fight
- Put on God’s armor (Ephesians 6:10–17)—especially Scripture (the "sword of the Spirit").
- Flee sin and pursue eternal life (Philippians 3:13–14), not temporary pleasures.
- Follow faithful examples like Job, Polycarp, and Paul, who finished well.
Closing Charge:
The sermon ends with a rallying cry: Don’t give the "defeated fool" (Satan) even a moment of victory. Fight—not in your strength, but in Christ’s. The best of your life belongs to Him.
Why This Matters Today
This message is a wake-up call for believers in any spiritual slump. It confronts cultural complacency with a fiery reminder: Christianity is not a spectator sport. The "good fight" demands daily surrender to Christ’s leadership, weaponized by prayer and Scripture.
For reflection: Are you building your life with eternal rewards in view—or letting the enemy claim ground through procrastination or compromise?
(The full sermon is rich with Scripture, personal testimony, and urgent application—worth reading for its convicting depth!)
Adaptable for:
- Preachers (as a model for topical-expository blending).
- Small groups (discussion on spiritual warfare).
- Personal study (self-audit on faithfulness).
Let me know if you'd like a condensed version (e.g., for a bulletin or devotional)!
Sermon Transcript:
Good evening to everyone. I praise the Lord for giving me the grace, the strength and the wisdom to preach His Word during the YPG camp and even for tonight is another opportunity for me to share His Word. May He be with me and enable me to preach His Word that all of us may be fed spiritually and be nourished from His Word that our soul may be lived spiritually.
Deacon James have just read. Our text this evening is 1 Timothy 6:12:
"Fight the good fight of faith."
We cannot just live a Christian life without engaging. And as we engage, we need it involves fighting and at the same time yielding to the Lord. We must be like a faithful and a hardworking carpenter who build the house with great diligence, planning and even great desire to make it strong and beautiful.
Even Solomon in his book of Ecclesiastes said, Ecclesiastes 10:18:
"By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through."
Aiming for quality job in building construction is the aim of every engineer and architect and carpenter. This is the owner what wants it to be. It must be done with a quality job in one's Christian life. The building up of one's Christian faith must be done with a quality and excellent manner according to the Bible and according to His Word.
The neglect of Christian duty by failing to fight the good fight of faith will destroy one's Christian life and will live a defeated life. We need to be very, very faithful in our service that we must engage in a war against our enemy the devil.
It's very clear Jesus Christ promised—as I have said last Sunday—an abundant life to everyone who believe in Him. And that abundant life promised by the Lord cannot be just received so easily. It can be received with labour and travail, with great devotion and even exerting of effort by the grace of God that He may enable us to truly fight the good fight of faith.
As we all know in that verse John 10:10, that "the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy"—that if a Christian is careless and not even exerting great effort to fight against the enemy, he will be defeated and failed to receive that blessed and abundant life promised by the Lord.
Yes, no doubt the Lord made a promise that abundant life is His main offer to every Christian that he may be forgiven, accepted and become child of God that he may inherit eternal life and become part of His eternal kingdom. But it is not just that we need to relax. It is given with a great invitation that we may do our duty to fight the good fight of faith.
For it is very clear Ephesians 6:12:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
The devil who came not but to kill and to destroy is our enemy, and he is the prince of this world and he is very real. He is very, very real and he is very, very active even in this very moment of time in our life.
I praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity to minister to the youth and the message that was given to them. I was tasked to preach to them on the topic "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
Well, everybody—Christian, young and old—they are the one that are so very, very hated by the devil. The devil don’t want them to be active into the church. The devil wanted them to kill and to destroy that they may not have an abundant life. Especially the youth. The youth—the devil wanted that the cream and the flower of their youth, of their life, must be given to the devil and that even only the leftover shall be given to God.
We all know Solomon. We all know how wise he was. God gave him the wisdom, yet we all know how he failed also to fight the good fight of faith. And then we saw him fall into sin and even a number of years of his life were given to the enemy the devil by yielding to sin and by turning away from the Lord, from wilfully rebelling against the will of God.
He married women that are not Israelites, and these women brought his heart to worship idols—not just for one year but for years. And that we all know that Ecclesiastes was written only when he was old. And that old years in his life—that was the very moment that he realised: "Oh, vanity of vanities!"
We cannot deny most of the cream and the flower of his life and the best of his life was not for the glory of God but for the glory of the enemy, the devil. The very moment that he indulged in sin, he failed to glorify God in his life, and he even yielded unto the enemy and jump and give in unto the enemy. And his life supposed to be for the glory of God was used for the shame of the name of the God whom he loved and whom he worshipped.
This is what the devil wants in our life—that the best of us, especially for a youth, the best state of your life, the cream and the flower of your life, is when you are young, when you have all the energy and even when you have all the strength.
So Solomon realised if given the chance to go back to his youthful days, he would have undo all his wrongdoing and serve the Lord God Almighty faithfully and give all his best for the Lord—the flower and the cream of his life for the glory of God.
But we all know the cream and the flower of his life was for the devil. Leftovers was only for the Lord. He only repented when he was old. And when he was old, he already cannot walk properly. The eyes cannot see properly. No matter how he desired to serve God more faithfully—but yes, the heart is there, but the body is already weak.
That strong body of ours—of you and me today—must be for the glory of God. We may learn from the life of Solomon when the best of his life was not for God but for the enemy. The leftover is only for the Lord when he was old.
But the Lord is so gracious. The Lord forgave him though he is repenting only when he is old, when he is dying. And we cannot fathom the beauty of God’s grace. But this is not a licence to sin that we can indulge in all kinds of worldliness—"anyway, Solomon was even forgiven." No, cannot be. It’s not a licence to sin.
Solomon is not our example. Solomon’s life should not be used for our excuse that we may sin against the Lord because Solomon even sinned against God and returned to Him. No, God forbid. Instead, we must consider his life as a great lesson—that if Solomon failed, may the Lord enable me to be victorious. That the best of my life, the cream and the flower of my life, must be for His name alone and for the glory of His name alone.
That the church of God may flourish abundantly. If every one of us would strive hard to serve God and fight the good fight of faith, His grace, His Holy Spirit is powerful enough to deliver us from the pitfall of sin like what Solomon experienced.
So we should always consider that we have an enemy, and this enemy is a wicked one, and we could never allow ourselves to be idle. As Solomon said, an idle and slothful construction workers will never have a good and strong building.
Your life must be built strong. The foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, and we should not take it for granted but always consider that we must try our best by God’s grace and mercy that we may be able to be truly built up in the name of Christ.
Even Peter said, 1 Peter 5:8:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
No wonder Solomon—the wisest man next to the Lord Jesus Christ—fell into sin and live a life of miseries. But it’s very clear: he is a roaring lion. But we need to fight.
The Lord gave us not a spirit of weakness, but the Lord give us the spirit of being victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is why we need to fight. And it is called the good fight of faith.
"Fight the good fight of faith." What a wonderful war we are engaging in. Christians, you and me are invited by the Lord to fight the good fight of faith.
Even Peter in his exhortation to the believers during his time, he said in 1 Peter 1:8:
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
This is something that we need to consider in our Christian life—that though we do not see Him, we believe He is with us. Peter said:
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
Solomon—when he saw the beauty of the world, when the beauty of the world is so visible and the presence of God becomes dim and unseen because of his great disobedience—he embraced immediately to the beauty of the world. And we all know his life was destroyed. He failed to embrace the beauty of the unseen God.
God speaks to us through His creations. As we all know in the Westminster Standards: if there are creations, there must be a Creator. If there are designs in the world, there must be a Designer.
And God Himself in the Bible and through the Lord Jesus Christ speak to us very dearly that He is with us. He is in this world, and He is very present in our life. And to fight a good fight of faith for Him, for the glory of His name, is a privilege.
This is something that we need to consider—that not all will appreciate this fight. The unbelievers will never understand this, and the unbelievers will never see the beauty of this great fight that we are engaging in.
A truly born-again Christian who see the Lord Jesus Christ through faith is the only one interested in this fight. Do you have the interest? Solomon lost the interest. He failed. He lost. He was defeated, and his life was miserable.
For all of us who are here tonight, let us remind ourselves that we can be like Solomon if we will forget our duty to fight the good fight of faith.
It is a good fight because it is under the good leader and the good captain—our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself.
God said—the Word of God says in 1 John 4:4:
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Solomon did not realise this. Maybe he know about this truth, but because of being careless, because of being so idle, and because of his excitement to yield into the world, he failed to realise and to see that though God is invisible, He is very present, and He is greater than the enemy, the devil.
"Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world."
The prince of this world, our enemy, is powerful. But He that is in us—the Lord Jesus Christ and even the Holy Spirit—is far, far greater.
We all know that we are entitled to be victorious. To be victorious is not just a dream, an impossibility, but a reality. The Lord Jesus Christ even gave us that promise through the life of the Apostle Paul.
When the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:37:
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
So many friends of mine in the House of Hope, in the Helping Hand and in the Care Ministry failed to be victorious. And there are so many Christians around the world who failed to be victorious for their lack of interest in fighting this good fight of faith—because they have the lack of interest, because they were not able to see the beauty of this great fight, and they undermine the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John the Apostle, 1 John 4:4, said:
"Greater is he that is in us. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world."
This should be very real to us every morning when we wake up. When we go to our workplace, the enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion trying to deceive us and to control us, to deceive us. And it seems he is so powerful that we are powerless.
Yes, we can only become powerless when we yield to him. But when we yield to the Lord and come to the Spirit, just as the Lord says:
"Draw nigh to God, and God will draw nigh unto you."
Then we will see the beauty of His promise that He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.
There’s no room for being a loser because God is a good captain. He is the leader. He is a good leader. He is the good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, and He is powerful enough to destroy the work of the enemy.
So Christian life is involved in a good fight because we are under the good leader, the good Shepherd, the Saviour of our soul, our Redeemer Himself.
It is a good fight for we have a good weapon. We all know that in Ephesians 6:10-11, how Paul reminded us that we have the whole armour of God.
The Bible that we are holding is the armour of God that is useful for our victory against the enemy, the devil. We have it every day in our life, and we need to utilise and use it daily in our life that we may be victorious.
This is a good fight. We have a good commander, a good leader, a faithful and holy Redeemer who leads us all the way. He gave us the most powerful tool to defeat the enemy—the Word of God.
And the Word of God says in Ephesians 6:17 very clearly:
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
We have the most powerful weapon to defeat the enemy.
It is so funny if America will lose to the Philippines in a war within minutes of war. If just in case America will attack the Philippines or China may attack the Philippines, there’s no way that the Philippines will win. But how funny it would be if China will be defeated by the Philippines, by the army of the Philippines, in just one day. It is utterly impossible.
This is just a simple illustration. We all know China is a great country with great military might, and the Philippines also has only maybe 10 jet fighters and all very old. It is impossible for the Philippines to win against China, for they have all better and good weapon compared to the Filipinos.
The devil is very, very weak compared to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ died at the cross, the Lord gave us the victory, and the enemy, the devil, is a defeated fool.
Our enemy, the devil, is a defeated foe. Yet sometimes it becomes so funny that the defeated fool sometimes win.
When David yielded—when he asked someone to take Bathsheba and impregnate Bathsheba and killed Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba—the enemy, the devil, yes, a defeated fool, seems victorious.
Yes, David was restored through the prophet Nathan. David was forgiven by the Lord. But no doubt, we cannot deny the fact that there was a certain moment in his life that the defeated enemy, the devil, seems appeared to be victorious.
If that happens, we are giving shame to the name of the good Shepherd, the good commander, the great commander in our life who has given us a good weapon.
It is just like as if China lose to the Philippines in just few hours of war. So funny.
When David yielded, when Solomon rebelled against the Lord, they forsaken the good commander. They have forsaken the good leader in their life who promised to give them victory.
Why are they defeated? They surrender themselves to the enemy, the defeated fool.
We all know the Bible is very clear that even in the book of Genesis, right after the fall of Adam, God made a promise of the seed of the woman, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, to defeat the enemy. And truly it was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified at the cross.
Christ lived a sinless life that you and me may have a perfect salvation. Christ obeyed the commandments of the Lord. He wilfully die at the cross. He was buried, and after three days rose again and ascended back to heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father for nothing—that you and me may be victorious over our enemy, the devil, who is a defeated fool.
He is a defeated fool no matter what happened in this world. Yes, the sad reality is David was forgiven. Yes. And because David was forgiven, we can see the beauty of God’s victory.
But again, this is not a licence to sin. Again, this is not a licence to sin that "anyway, God will forgive us. It’s okay to allow ourselves to be defeated and allow the devil to receive short time of victory in a way the Lord may restore us." No.
One of my message to the youth during the YPG camp is to invest eternal reward and heavenly treasures.
No doubt David was forgiven. No doubt Solomon was forgiven. But there was a great period of time in their life that they failed to shine for God. They failed to glorify God. And that specific period of time, they hindered themselves from obtaining rewards and awards.
There were many days that they were not able to invest. There were many days that they were not able to lay hold of heavenly blessings. And that is why it’s so wasted life. It’s a wasted life because that specific time that are wasted was given for the glorification of the enemy, the devil, who is a defeated fool.
In the book of 1 John, the Apostle says, chapter 3:8:
"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
To have the Lord Jesus Christ in our life is to be always reminded that we are victorious. Our enemy, the devil, is a defeated fool. And what sometimes this is our failure.
The moment we yielded to sin and do things that are not pleasing to God and things that are not pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ, the enemy, the devil, a defeated fool, becomes somehow victorious. And that is his main goal.
The devil is not foolish. He is also wise. But his wisdom is darkness. According to the darkness, he is a deceiver. And being a deceiver, he is clever. His wisdom is not the wisdom of light. That is why he can never be called wise, but he is only a clever and even a very, very evil enemy.
He is fully aware that he is defeated. God, in His plan—God knows the devil knows that God is preparing a lake of fire for him, and he know that. And he is fully aware that he is destined to be in the lake of fire right after the millennial reign of Christ. He will be thrown there forever together with the demons who followed him.
And he is fully aware, and he is already aware of his defeat. And you—you Christians—we are aware of our victory.
This is not something that we do not know. Our victory is something that the Lord always specified in the Bible that we may know that we, His people, are victorious.
But sometimes this is the reality, and it this makes so funny in our Christian life that though he is a defeated fool, we offer victory to him. We utter victory to him. We voluntarily give into him that he may win and we may be defeated.
Bring shame to the name of the one living and true God who saved us, who redeemed us and who gave us a spirit of victory. But somehow we surrender and we give in. And the devil was delighted.
We need to fight the good fight of faith. And remember, it is a good fight because we have the good captain, Saviour and leader. He gave us the good weapon—the Word of God. And it is a good fight because the enemy is already defeated.
Be not deceived, but be wise. Use your life for the glory of God. Do not allow, do not give in to the devil, but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
As we all know, how can we resist the devil if we will never fight? Resisting and fighting the devil involves our determination. And that determination is not a self-determination but a determination inspired by the commandments of the Lord.
"Flee youthful lusts." Flee from the world and flee unto the Lord.
When we resist the devil, when we fight the good fight of faith, we flee from the world. We flee from the enemy, the devil. And we do not flee as if we don’t know where we are going, but we flee unto the Lord whom we know as our Saviour, as our deliverer, as our protector, and our Saviour.
David failed to flee unto the Lord, but he never flee. He feel the beauty of the devil’s offer. The devil’s offer should be resisted, and we should flee immediately.
Sometimes when the offer is good, we think to consider it by contemplating it. And as we contemplate about it, it already started in our heart. The deception is already working, and deception will leads to yielding, and yielding is sin, and sin gives us the defeated life.
Even today, even tomorrow, even in the very morning that we wake up, the devil is just around the corner waiting for you and for me to yield unto him that we may forsake the Lord and that we may taste defeat though we are victorious already in the name of Christ.
This is the real thing in the House of Hope, in the Care Ministry, in the church. The victorious Christian sometimes failed because the devil is always there waiting for him to give in that he may be able to taste victory even a short period of time.
He is aware that he is defeated. He is aware that he is bound for eternal lake of fire. But he just want to see you being defeated that even in this short period of time he may taste victory and that he may rejoice and bring shame to the name of the Lord God Almighty, our Saviour.
As Christians, we are not called for nothing that we just relax and sit and be careless. We need to be a good architect. We need to be a good engineer with good construction workers building our Christian life diligently according to the leading of the Holy Spirit from His Word.
So we need to consider that "fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." Eternal life is the crown proposed to us for our encouragement to wage war with the devil and to fight the good fight of faith.
Matthew Henry says in his comment concerning this verse: eternal life is involved. It is not just house and lot in the most expensive place in Melbourne. The Lord is not dealing us about earthly things, but the Lord is dealing us about eternal life, heavenly rewards with eternal values.
The devil is aware of that. The devil is fully aware that heaven, eternal life, is such a beautiful place that a Christian could have in his life. And he is so evil that he doesn’t want to see Christian enjoying that.
You know, an evil person hates to see someone joyful. An evil person hates to see someone rejoicing, full of hope and assurance, full of confidence and rejoicing in his life. An evil man desires to see his enemy suffer, his enemy being defeated and having a miserable life.
That is why he come to kill and to destroy. He is like that. He doesn’t want you to lay hold on eternal life. He wants you to forget about it. He wants you to not consider it. He wants you not to even think of it.
I had a member who left the church for so very long time already and somehow criticised me for somehow always mentioning eternal life. Well, I admit and I have told myself: "Is there something wrong in mentioning always about eternal life?"
We even lack of mentioning it in our life, and we ought to mention it even every moment of our life.
This morning—this afternoon—I was with Pastor Paul. I thank him for his very kindness to really bring my family to many places. He’s a very good friend of mine. He always want me to be happy.
And as we were on the top of the mountain—yeah, you maybe all of you know already—the wheel suddenly become not functioning well. It’s become broken.
But we were in a very even road, flat, but maybe 20 metres ahead is already downhill rain on the right side. I saw it’s a ravine already. What if Pastor Paul is driving and while we are going down, that would be the day and the time that the wheel become like that?
How wonderful is the Lord as I come here. The Lord speak to me: "I care for you."
Pastor Regor is contemplating about eternal life. Yes, Pastor Regor is not a perfect man. He may have so many weaknesses in life like me and like Solomon and like David.
But in this period of time in his life, he told me when he went to the Philippines to preach. I hope that the Lord speak to him so clearly and through this experience that he has that may the Lord draw him near. May the Lord enable him to draw near to the Lord.
But when Pastor was preaching during our anniversary, he always mentioned about life after earth, eternal life. And we are not sure about our tomorrow.
It may be that tomorrow we cannot wake up. It may be that if the Lord allow it to happen that Pastor Paul and myself and my family will go down to the ravine, right? But praise the Lord.
It’s very clear the Lord speak to me: "Not yet. You speak tonight in the prayer meeting. You speak this coming Sunday. You will still go to your place."
Pastor Regor is there having some sickness. If the Lord will take him, if I will take him, Gethsemane will become in need of preacher. And if I also will take your life through this accident, the more Gethsemane will be in need of preachers.
The Lord speak to me: "Not yet time. Not yet the time."
But I said to myself: "But oh Lord, even if it happened, Lord, even if You allow it to happen that my life will be taken while I am here in Melbourne, it is eternal life. It is for eternal life."
I will say it again. Matthew Henry says: "Eternal life is the crown proposed to us for our encouragement to wage war with the devil and to fight the good fight of faith."
Worldly people dare to fight for a cause, and the cause sometimes maybe the world. Many people strive hard to fight for something, to do their best to aim something especially about the things of the world.
But we Christians, we have to lay hold on eternal life. This is the proposed blessing that the Lord uttered to you and to me that you might not allow yourself to stop thinking about it.
God calls you to eternal life, and therefore despising the world, you must do it and strive hard to obtain it. You cannot just think about eternal life and care less. Think about eternal life, but you need to do your part.
Be engaged in a war and fight the good fight—not by your strength, but by the strength of the Lord.
When Paul commands to lay hold on eternal life, he forbid them to pause or slacken in the middle of the course, but to strive and make progress until he receive it.
This is also Matthew Henry’s comment in this verse. We should not even allow ourselves to pause and to slacken. This is what happened to Solomon. This is what happened to David. This is what happened to many Christians who allowed themselves to be distracted and failed to fight the good fight of faith by not able to resist the enemy, the devil, by not trusting the Lord.
We should not pause for a moment but slowly strive hard and make progress as our Christian life need to grow in faith day by day.
Tomorrow, your aim must be to grow in faith and in the knowledge. Tomorrow, the next day, your aim must be to grow in faith and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ—to be aware of the fight that He allow us to engage in that we may become so sensitive about His plan and purpose in our life that we may always think that our enemy is always there trying to make fun of our Lord and Saviour.
The devil attempted to make fun in the life of Job. The devil was so sure in himself that he can create destruction in the life of Job that will bring shame to the name of God.
The devil somehow is convinced that Job will dishonour God and that the name of God will be put into shame and that he—being the defeated enemy—shall taste victory even a short period of time.
Yet the devil was wrong. Praise be unto the Lord. Job never slacken. Job never pause for a moment, but steady—slowly but surely—progressing, striving hard to grow in his faith and his total dependence upon the Lord.
Though he suffered a lot, we all know he was very, very victorious. Though he suffered a lot, he remains to be steadfast and faithful unto the Lord because he lay hold on eternal life.
Judas lay hold on the 30 pieces of silver. But John the Apostle and the rest of the disciples lay hold on to eternal life.
Peter—though he denied the Lord three times—but we can never forget what he said to the Lord: "Lord, to whom shall we go? For thou hast the words of eternal life."
This is something that will make us so encouraged also and that we may consider ourselves to be most prevalent because God already gave us the victory.
He already forgive us and cleanse us, accepted us to become His children that we may fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on to eternal life.
So don’t slacken and pause for a moment, but slowly but surely by God’s grace strive to make progress each day.
Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14:
"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
He is pressing on each day, moment by moment, even in his life day by day, pressing on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This is something that we are to live our Christian life pressing on. Never allow ourselves to be defeated by the enemy, the devil.
For it’s very clear in his instruction, Timothy said:
"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."
Reverend To, my lecturer, is there, and he know that he has a student named Paul Cheng. He has a student named Hayong. He has a student named Rio Galarp. He has a student named Edel Lot.
And he was there, and he went there ahead of us, of course, but he is there fully aware, so excited to meet us.
Reverend Timothy To is a witness of our calling. Reverend Timothy To is aware that we were once former drug addicts saved by God’s grace and has given the chance and the opportunity to study God’s Word, and he knew us very well, and he love to see us serving in the ministry.
This morning, I and Pastor Paul always discuss about Mrs. Reverend To, our life in FEBC. Not just Reverend Timothy To—there were many of us. There are many friends of us who are now there.
We serve with them together. Our dear brother Domingo—when he went there and be with the Lord, his life was filled with joy as he served in this world.
Life is full of miseries, but there in heaven—no more tears, no more sins, no more sickness—life eternal in the Lord.
He cannot wait for me to be there. He cannot wait for Reverend Prauras Kus who is so caring to his servants in the ministry. Domingo is there, and he is always expecting the day that he will meet all of us in heaven.
When John the Apostle died, he left many disciples. Polycarp is the disciple of Apostle John—we all know—and Polycarp was persecuted by the Roman emperor.
And the Roman emperor gave him a chance to recant his faith, but by God’s grace, Polycarp was faithful even unto death, fighting the good fight, resisting the devil with all his strength by the grace of God.
And he said to the Roman emperor, unto the people of Rome:
"For 80 years, the Lord has been so good to me. For 80 long years or more than 80 years, the Lord has been so good to me. How can I blaspheme His name?"
"The fire that you will use to burn my body cannot compare to the fire that the Lord God Almighty reserved for those who do not believe in Him."
And the people of Rome were expecting that Polycarp will die a very painful death that they may see Polycarp screaming and in agony.
But we all know, according to history, Polycarp died a very peaceful death, and he died without screaming, and his eyes looking up to heaven. And I believe the Lord embraced him.
And John the Apostle, his mentor, witness of his faith, is there embracing him. The Lord said to Polycarp: "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Be with your master. Be with your friend John the Apostle."
Many of those who have gone ahead of us are a witness of your faith. They have seen you being converted, being serving the Lord in this church.
Hold on to the eternal life that they have now. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. The devil wanted you to be distracted. But focus.
They who are there now is waiting for you that you may also behold what they beheld now in that blessed place called heaven.
Bethel BP Church, you have been serving the Lord. No doubt this church is used to be the light in this place. Continue to shine for the glory of God.
Remember to fight the good fight of faith and hold on to eternal life. And all the witnesses—the Lord Jesus Christ and those who have gone ahead of us—are waiting for us.
Don’t offend them. Don’t fail them by being defeated by the enemy, the defeated fool. But be victorious in the Lord like Polycarp and like those martyrs and faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
Lord, thank You for enabling me to preach in English throughout—though Lord my English is not as good—but oh Lord, Thy message is very clearly received by Thy people, for it is from the Word of God.
It is not from me, oh Lord, but it is from You. It is from Thy holy Word. And let that Word, oh Lord, speak to all of us tonight very dearly that we may consider and we may carefully apply it in our daily walk with You as a Christian.
Continue to bless the church of Bethel BP Church in this city of Melbourne. Use them, oh Lord, as a light that Thy name may be glorified, that the people may see the good works of the brethren that are gathering here together.
Continue to bless them that they may be able to proclaim the gospel in this city, even to the different places like Myanmar, and God willing, in many different places.
I want to thank You, Lord, for the privilege given to me and my family to come here to minister Thy Word, to bring the Word of God unto them. And I am so happy that Thy Word also ministered to me first.
Continue to bless this church. Bless me also as I serve You in my mission station. This I ask and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.