Fight The Good Fight

Old Testament Scripture Reading Judges 6:1 - 17 (NASB)
Judg 6:7 Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD on account of Midian,
Judg 6:8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt, and brought you out from the house of slavery.
Judg 6:9 'And I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land,
Judg 6:10 and I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me."'"
Judg 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.
Judg 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior."
Judg 6:13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian."
Judg 6:14 And the LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?"
Judg 6:15 And he said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."
Judg 6:16 But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man."
Judg 6:17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Thy sight, then show me a sign that it is Thou who speakest with me.

New Testament Scripture Reading 2 Timothy 4:1 - 8 (NASB)
2 Tim 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Tim 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
2 Tim 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
2 Tim 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Tim 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
2 Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2 Tim 4:8 in the future there is laid up 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 loved His appearing.

Study Notes
Transforming Power Statements:

#1) To fear the LORD is to obey the LORD.

#2) The memories of what the LORD has done in the past & the fact that we are still here and have not been ultimately judged, insures us that the LORD is still with us and is allowing greater mercy for a continuing progress toward the contents of “His Plan”.

#3) In spite of how trivial, or how wrong, frustrating, difficult, disappointing, even ridiculous are certain events in this life as we go through them, we must learn to see them as the LORD does and fight the good fight of faith armed with the power of the promises of God to finish the good work that He started in us.
Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,
Rom 16:26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;
Rom 16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

The King of kings


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Old Testament Scripture Reading Jeremiah 27:1 – 11 (NASB)
Jer 27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying–
Jer 27:2 thus says the LORD to me– “Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck,
Jer 27:3 and send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
Jer 27:4 “And command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters,
Jer 27:5 “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.
Jer 27:6 “And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him.
Jer 27:7 “And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.
Jer 27:8 “And it will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,” declares the LORD, “until I have destroyed it by his hand.
Jer 27:9 “But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jer 27:10 “For they prophesy a lie to you, in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish.
Jer 27:11 “But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land,” declares the LORD, “and they will till it and dwell in it.”‘”

New Testament Scripture Reading 1 Timothy 6:1 – 16 (NASB)
1 Tim 6:1 Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine may not be spoken against.
1 Tim 6:2 And let those who have believers as their masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but let them serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.
1 Tim 6:3 If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,
1 Tim 6:4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,
1 Tim 6:5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.
1 Tim 6:6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.
1 Tim 6:7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
1 Tim 6:8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
1 Tim 6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
1 Tim 6:11 But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1 Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Tim 6:13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
1 Tim 6:14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Tim 6:15 which He will bring about at the proper time– He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords;
1 Tim 6:16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Study Notes
Transforming Power Statements:

#1) The view of life and the focus of the true disciple of Jesus Christ must be derived from the Word of God {the holy bible} and no where else, in order for the teaching to produce the desired effects that are promised and modeled in it by those who are the foundation of the church; namely the Law, the Prophets, and the Apostles.

(Psalms 119:11; John 8:32; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – 16; Philippians 4:11 – 13)
#2) The political views of the true disciple of Jesus Christ, should proceed from His teachings and therefore, those who are His, are learning to see their lives based on the fact that God has enthroned Jesus Christ His Son, as Prophet, Priest, King & LORD, and by virtue of this, their allegiance to Him should be ever increasing and producing stability in a constantly shifting world which operates purely on fleshly and demonic impulses unrestrained by the truth. (Romans 1:18 –19)

#3) Every earthly king varies in terms of being better or worse but none are perfect who have proceeded from the loins of Adam. But Jesus Christ being God, is the perfect king, priest, prophet, and judge of all men. Aren’t you glad that the atonement offered on Calvary was His solution and His idea?