Victory is Ours

Philippians 3:10-14

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203%3A10-14&version=NIV;NLT

 

Tom Brady is the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. Last Sunday, the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars making them eligible to play in the Super Bowl. It’s not so amazing that the Patriots won, but how they won.

 

At the ripe old football age of 40, and with an injured right hand (his throwing hand), Brady lead his team to victory by overcoming a double digit deficit with less than three minutes left in the game. No matter what adversity he faced, he kept his focus, and his team’s focus, on attaining their goal.

 

Paul had the same mindset for himself and for the Philippians.

 

¹⁰ I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead… ¹³ I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.      NLT

 

In football, the temptation is to lose sight of the goal; to think about the injured hand, the penalty, the fumble, the double digit deficit or the teammate out with a concussion. The reverse is also true. When you get a lead, there’s a temptation to ease up on the gas pedal; to think you’ve got the game in the bag; to coast.

 

Life is the same way. There is a temptation to either obsess on the problem to the point of being overwhelmed. Or to focus on how good things are and coast. Either way, you lose sight of the goal.

 

Paul was a fighter. Here’s what he wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith.

 

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.    2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

 

How do you respond to problems and blessings? Are you a fighter? Do you keep your eyes on the goal? Victory is ours, if we only take hold of it.

 

 

Defining Moment

2 Timothy 4:1-8

 

 

Frank Gifford died this past week. He was 84 years old. He played in the NFL for 12 years and later was one of the original announcers on ABC when Monday Night Football debuted. One of the current ABC news announcers said that “he was a good man and a good person”. That was his eulogy; his defining moment.

 

According to my NIV Study Bible, Paul wrote 2 Timothy after his fourth missionary trip. At the time he was in prison. This was nothing like the rented house he lived in the first time he was a prisoner. This was a cold hard dungeon where Paul was chained like a common criminal.

 

He seemed to believe that he was near the end of his life, and with that in mind gave his own eulogy when he wrote, “⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

 

You get the sense that Paul is looking back on his life and remembering his friends at all the churches where he ministered: Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, Philippi, and others. He is remembering how God has used him in the lives of so many people for his Lord and Savior.

 

With that in mind, he gave Timothy some final instructions. “I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

 

Previous to this in chapter 3 he also wrote, ^“16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

 

Paul seems to be preparing Timothy so that when he reaches the end of his life, he too can say like Paul, “I have fought the good fight”. Indirectly, Paul is preparing you and me for the same defining moment.

 

If we follow Paul’s instructions, then we too can say with him, “⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

 

In the meantime, let us live life, one day at a time, with faith in Christ so when we arrive at that defining moment, we too can stand and say like Paul, “I fought the good fight”.

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

1 Timothy 6

 

In February of 1990, Buster Douglas shocked the sports world by defeating the undisputed heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. It was like the movie Rocky come to life. Buster Douglas came out of nowhere to beat the most feared boxer of his day.

 

Paul knew what it meant to be in a fight, and wrote to Timothy about it. “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 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.”

 

Obviously, following Christ is not for the weak of heart. Like a boxer, there is work, sacrifice and discipline. Like a boxer, there are some things that you need to flee. And like a boxer, there are other things that you need to take hold of.

 

However, unlike a boxer, you aren’t alone in the fight. When you “made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses”, you gained the love, support and accountability of your brothers and sisters in Christ. But there is even more involved in the fight than this.

 

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

 

As followers of Christ, our fight is everywhere. At work, at home, at church, in our mind – it follows us wherever we go. A battle can happen literally at any time. We must be ready. We must prepare through reading the Word, meditating, accountability with fellow believers and prayer.

 

Buster Douglas had one good fight. After that, he never fought the same again. We don’t have that option. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  That someone is you and me.

 

Take to heart what Peter wrote to the scattered believers in Asia: “Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.” 

 

We must be ready to “fight the good fight of the faith”.