Fight the Good Fight

I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for Zach and Carie Ritz.

This man has been a brother in arms for over 10 years

We have been in the trenches together,

We have experienced both valleys and mountain tops of ministry

He is a faithful husband, father, pastor and friend. For whom I am eternally thankful.

One thing I love about this man and about his church?

They are not afraid to fight.

I’m not talking about going to blows with someone

I’m not talking about fighting each other

I’m talking about fighting the good fight of faith… and this is rare.

Because, the reality of our day is this…

The American Church has failed to fight.

Perhaps it has been persuaded not to fight

Perhaps it has become afraid, and cowers back out fear of what might happen… or what people may think if they stand firm on the truth of the word of God.

perhaps it has not been trained how to fight.

in fact, many churches are trained not to fight.

Rather than fighting she has become bedmates with the enemy, and would never dream of fighting.

But one thing is certain in the evangelical church today, She has failed to fight the good fight of faith.

Rather than seeing a church ready to take a stand and fight like, Abraham and Moses, David and Elijah, Peter and Paul, and of course Jesus himself.

what we see, by in large, is an impotent American church, who have assumed the milquetoast posture of Adam.

You see, Adam was the first one who failed to fight

Adam who was created in the image of God, was created to be a fighter.

Genesis 1:27–28 ESV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Here we see the first thing God does is give Adam and Eve a mission:

be fruitful and multiply

to fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion.

This word for subdue is not neat cuddling word, its a word of struggle, of ferocity, of forcing your will upon something…

This was Adam and Eve’s mission, to fight the world in order to bring it into proper submission to God’s will.

Adam was called to guard and keep the garden,

he was supposed to fight off anything and everything that did not belong in the garden, in his home.

So when the Serpent came into his home, into his dominion, into his garden, in order to lure his bride away... What was Adam to do?

Adam’s odious timidity was put on full display when he sat ideally by and passively watched as the serpent deceived his wife, and lead her to rebel against God.

Adam failed to fight.

Perhaps the the serpents sorcery put spell on Adam as those words, “did God really say?” echoed in his mind.

Perhaps this question captivated all of Adam’s senses as he watered the seed of doubt planted by the evil one.

Regardless, what happened, happened.

Adam failed to fight for his bride as her heart, soul and mind, was apprehended by the the most sadistic, perverted, abusive tyrannical monster the world has ever known.

his children, and his children’s children allllll the way down the line suffer under the weight and chains of the curse of sin.

because Adam failed to fight

Sin his wrapped itself around God’s good creation, it has infected the hearts and minds of men women and children, sin has disordered the loves, passions, and perverted has the thoughts of all… why?

Because Adam failed to fight.

The world is enslaved to sin because a man failed to fight for his wife.

All the evil that has come into our world…

From the sexual chaos of our day,

to the seeds of bitterness we continued to cultivate

From the horrors of abortion to the weaponization of victimhood that has possessed our culture.

From injustice to feminism, from effeminacy to cowardice,

from pornography addictions to disrespectful children…

The evil we see in our world is the result of Adam failing to fight.

What should have Adam done?

what should he have done when he saw that dragon creeping into his home, into his dominion, seeking to take hold of his bride?

he should have rushed to stand between the serpent and his bride, taken that deceiver and lier by the neck cast down to the ground and crush his head to the glory of God.

We know this because this is what the second Adam, Jesus the King did. He threw satan down and crushed his head to the glory of God.

And even after the serpent deceived Eve into eating the fruit of the tree…what should Adam have done?

He should have taken her by the hand and rushed her to the presence of the Lord and begged God to take his life instead of hers.

He should have laid down his life for his bride.

We know this because this too is what Jesus, the second Adam, did. He not only fought and defeated the serpent, but he also took the curse of our rebellion upon himself, he suffered the penalty of our sin so that we might have life in his name.

Adam failed to fight, yet the second Adam came as the divine warrior, the conquering King, the one who fought the glorious battle against Satan, sin, and death and emerged victorious.

When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was raised as the triumphant King, he was raised as the victor, he was raised as our champion.

As Jesus says, he was given all authority in heaven and on earth -

As Daniel and Revelation says, he was given all the kingdoms of this world,

he was given dominion over all as the rightful King who did not shrink away from the fight, but boldly went toe to toe with the enemy and won.

Adam failed to Fight - and ruined everything

Jesus fought, and won the victory and was given eternal dominion.

And this King, the one who is King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Sovereign, the one who alone has immortality, honor, and eternal dominion of every square inch of space and time, this King, has called you, he has called us, to follow him.

This king has called you, men, and women, boys and girls, to follow him.

And to follow the king, is to pick up your swords and shields and fight the good fight of faith.

My friends, this is what the Christian life is, it is a fight, and as a church, we must not follow the craven path of the first Adam, who failed to fight, but we must follow the path of the second Adam, the King, and to do so, we must be fighters.

For this is what it is to be faithful, not just in our day, but especially in our day, the church, the pastor, the elders, the men, the women, the children we must be fighters.

The vision and mission of Exodus church, the vision and mission we have held to for the last six years and will continue to hold to for the next six… and by God’s grace the next six generations is this,

The Mission of Exodus Church is to See the Redeeming, Renewing, and Restoring of all Things to Christ.

Out in the Hall you will see on the wall, a quote from Abraham Kuyper that says,

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” - Abraham Kuyper

Culture, mine

Art, mine

Entertainment, mine

Politics, mine

Education, mine

Your Marriages, mine

Your Children, mine

Your finances, mine

Your calendars, mine!

Your Hearts and minds, the Lord cries, mine.

Christ is fulfilling the mission of Adam… he is subduing the earth and taking dominion over everything.

And he is doing this through his church. He is doing this through Exodus Church.

This is the Mission and Vision of Exodus Church...

The Mission of Exodus Church is to see the Redeeming, Renewing, and Restoring of all things to Christ.

We want to see every square inch of this city, redeemed renewed and restored to Christ.

we want to see every system and every structure,

every family, every person, every culture, every business, every school... redeemed, renewed, and restored by the strong and mighty arm of Christ.

And this is the work, this is the mission the King has called us to join him in.

The nations will not be reached,

the city will not be transformed,

marriages will not be saved,

children will not be discipled,

true justice will not be established,

goodness will not felt,

beauty will not be realized,

and truth will not be known... apart from the hands and feet of the body of Christ, the church.

My friends, Christ the sovereign King has called us to join him in his mission.

And this mission, this vision of seeing all things redeemed, renewed, and restored to christ does not happen without blood, sweat and tears of the church.

It does not happen without getting dirt under our finger nails and calluses on our hands

the mission of God does not advance without conflict.

This mission does not move forward with a fight.

The gates of hell stand before us, and all the dark powers of the world the flesh and the devil have us in their sights.

Conflict is unavoidable.

Yet we know the gates of hell will not stand as the saints march forward armed with the Spirit of God and the sword of the Spirit

The Kingdom of God, the Christian life, the mission we have been given is warfare.

Friends, we are to fight our flesh, those deviant desires that pull us away from our allegiance to our King.

As Paul says, “by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the flesh.”

Husbands, you are to fight for your wives

Wives, you fight for your husbands

Parents, you need to fight for you children

understanding that the world hates your children.

They are scared to death what will happen to them if you actually raise them as sharp littler arrows so that when they are grown you might light them on fire and shoot them toward the dark powers of this world.

We are to show no mercy toward our sinful desires

Every Christian is to live with a dangerous, violent mean-streak toward the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

My friends, we must be fighters.

Now, some say...

I’m not about fighting, i’m not about warfare, i’m a get along with everyone sort of guy.

I’m more about acceptance, tolerance, not wanting to ruffle any feathers…

I don’t want to offend anyone…

All this war and fighting talk doesn’t seem very Christlike…

And it is this demonic way of thinking that has caused the church to refuse to fight.

My friends, How you feel about war and fighting does not determine the reality around you.

You are in a war, you are in a fight, whether you want to to be or not.

To many churches have closed their eyes and plugged their ears so they don’t have to see or hear the war that is raging all around them.

Rather than fighting, to many churches seek to pamper.

Churches have become cruise ships rather than battle ships.

And my friends, this church will not close its eyes or plug its ears.

we will not shrink back from the good fight God has called us to fight.

We have and will continue to devote ourselves to be truth tellers and grace proclaimers.

We will fight with Joy,

We will fight the good fight as we gather around fire and food,

we will fight as we lift our voices in song,

we will fight we disciples our children around dinner tables and carpools

We will fight as brothers and sisters unified in the gospel of christ. We will strive toward the goal of the upward call.

This is the life, the call and the mission, that Paul wanted to remind timothy of in the book of 1 Timothy.

Timothy a young paster in Ephesus is dealing with all sorts of struggles in the church.

So Paul writes him a letter to encourage him and give in instruction on how to lead the church.

And after Paul himself fights against the false teachers of Ephesus for their corrupt doctrine and lifestyles that leading people toward destruction…

Paul calls Timothy to join him in this fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We read this verse...

And we read the stories of Jesus fighting the Pharisees

Of David fighting the Philistines

Of Samson fighting against whole armies

We read about how the Spirit is constantly empowering his people to fight.

The Spirit of God loves to pick fights against the evil forces of this world.

We read about God himself fighting against the gods of Egypt in the Exodus Story.

We read in Exodus 15 1-3

Exodus 15:1–3 ESV

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.

We know these stories.

Yet So many churches still refuse to fight.

Perhaps this aggressive warfare language seems a bit much to the fragile sensibilities of our currant culture…

and kind of get that attitude that “when I need to fight, i will fight.”

This is why we take self defense classes, maybe train in jiujitsu, or cary a gun.

We don’t do these things so we can go around fighting everyone all the time… we prepare so that if a fight arises, we will be ready.

We take this posture to into our Christian lives and think, if a fight comes arises, i’ll be ready.

However, this is the problem.

The enemy we are fighting is not like a mugger, or a home invader that you may or may not run into…

The enemy we are fighting is far more savage.

We are not at war with men, we are at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil.

And my friends, there are no days off from this fight.

There are no time outs

there are not truces

And there is no mercy

We must be militant… eyes open, watchful, and armed for this fight because the enemy does not rest.

My friends listen to what Peter says,

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The devil is active, he is hunting, he looking, he has already thrown the punch, the fight is happening.

The serpent has already come into your garden, he is already trying to win the affections of your wife and your children

He is already trying to distract and discourage your husband.

he is already whispering the lies of the woke agenda into the ears of your children.

The preemptive strike has already happened..

Yes my friends, the question is not whether or not we are in fight, the question is have you forgotten to fight? are you refusing to fight? Do you not think the fight is all that serious?

Author Welz-ly, the Duke of Wellington once said,

“In time of war it is the worst mistake to underrate your enemy, and to try to make a little war”

My friends, only the fool or the coward will underestimate the enemy that is the world, the flesh, and the devil.

And if we do, we will find ourselves, be devoured by the hungry lion.

If we shrink back, if we refuse or forget how to fight, we will become like Adam, who sat back and watched as sin ruined everything.

Paul told Timothy,

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

He says we are to take hold of eternal life...

How does one take hold of eternal life?

This is the beautiful reality of the gospel. This is the good news. That eternal life has been brought into the present in Christ.

The second Adam, the one who did fight for his bride, the one who did not shrink back, his victory is one that brings the eternal realities of the kingdom into the present.

And these are the things we are to take hold of, these are the things we are to fight for.

To take hold of the eternal peace we have in Christ, we must fight against the chaos, the confusion and the mayhem of sin.

To take hold of unity and friendship, we must fight against pride and disunity.

To experience the joy of our salvation, we must fight against bitterness and envy

Paul wants us to take hold of these things,

peace in our homes

Joy in our relationships

truth in our hearts and minds.

In order to take hold of peace, of love, of truth, of justice and joy… we must get violent toward that serpent that wants nothing but dissonance and chaos for you.

My friends, when the church fails to fight, the world suffers under the tryanny of the evil one.

The world needs the church to fight the good fight of faith.

For we are fighting not just of our own lives, but we fight for the life of the world.

We must fight to be uncompromising on the truth.

We must fight against the besetting sins that lead us and our loved ones toward destruction

We must fight to be truth tellers and gospel proclaimers.

We fight for the life of the world by sharing the gospel with each other and the lost.

We have the good news and we are to lift our voices and call those who are enslaved to the enemy to step into the light of Christ and receive freedom.

We must fight for the redemption of those who bear the chains of guilt and shame.

And we do so by embodying and proclaiming the gospel, the grace and mercy of Christ the King who has atoned for our sin and extends his grace to those in need.

We fight against injustice to see biblical justice established

We fight against sexual perversions, so that individuals might be redeemed from the chains that enslave them.

We must fight against abortion, so that the lives of the innocent might be saved.

We fight for the lives of the lost by calling them to repent and believe in the gospel.

Church, this is our Calling, this is our mission.

We must stand firm on the truth of the gospel, empowered by the Spirit of God, and wage war on the world, the flesh, and the devil, and fight the good fight of the faith.

May Exodus Church be marked as a faithful church who fights the good fight,

And may we all say with Paul

2 Timothy 4:7 ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Lets pray.