04 - How Faith Fights By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Faith Series

Part 4

“How Faith Fights”

2 Tim. 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

We are wrapping up our series on faith today...

So far we’ve learned that faith is the guarantee of what is coming to us from God.

It is not moved by sight, circumstances, or setbacks.

It sees and greets what hasn’t appeared yet as it relates to the things God has promised us.

As Christians, we walk by faith and not by sight!

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Now today I want to talk to you about How Faith Fights.

Paul said, “I have fought the good fight.”

Earlier in the letter we see what he meant by ‘the good fight’:

He told Timothy to, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).

So the “good fight” is the fight of faith!

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There are people who spend their entire lives involved in fleshly fights, silly fights, wrong-headed fights, physical fights, useless fights, and un-winnable fights...

But the fight of faith is none of these!

The fight of faith is a GOOD fight—worth your time, effort, and life!

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Now, usually when we hear the word “FAITH” we think of someone who places their belief and trust in the reality of God.

We don’t usually think of faith as something that FIGHTS...

But FAITH is not only the means by which we are saved and go on to obtain God’s promises, it is also a WEAPON by which we fight.

In Eph. 6, Paul calls faith a “shield” as part of the armor of God.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (6:16).

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Archaeologists tell us that in ancient warfare, soldiers made spears tipped with a flammable liquid...

The spears were then set on fire and thrown with the intent of not only wounding but also of burning.

The idea behind Paul calling the devil’s attacks ‘fiery darts’ is that Satan hurls at us, suddenly and unexpectedly, a temptation or attack designed to set our souls on fire.

Your soul can be set on fire with lust, with fear, with unbelief, with hate, with bitterness, and on the list goes.

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Paul says that if we are exercising our faith, the fiery attack will strike the shield of your faith and fall to the ground extinguished.

So how does faith become a shield that protects us in the day of battle?

How do we hold up the shield of faith to deflect the burning temptations,

the fiery fears,

the flaming missiles Satan throws at us?

How does faith fight and win?

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I’m going to use a simple, easy to remember acronym where each letter represents an important truth in spiritual warfare:

The acronym is SPY—S is for Stand, P is for Punch, and Y is for Yield.

So say with me, “SPY”—STAND, PUNCH, YIELD!

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First, faith...

Stands on the Word of God

Paul uses the word “stand” three times when talking about spiritual warfare...

“that you may be able to stand,”

“having done all, to stand,”

“stand therefore.”

In the day of battle, everything hinges on where you take your stand, where you station yourself!

Fighting faith always stations itself on the authority of God’s Word!

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In the OT, we read of David’s mighty men and their exploits.

One of them was named Shammah.

One day, the Philistines attacked God’s people in a field of lentils, and all the Israelites fled—except Shammah.

The Bible says:

“But he stationed himself in the middle of a field of lentils, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory” (2 Sam. 23:12).

Notice that he stood strategically—in the middle of the field.

From the middle of the field he could see the enemy coming from every direction.

It was the perfect position and place to take his stand....

In the same way, when we ‘station’ ourselves in the middle of God’s Word, taking our stand on the authority of Scripture, we are standing in the most strategic place for victory!

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So first, S is for STAND STRATEGICALLY on God’s Word...

The second letter in the word SPY is P...

Winning faith,

II. Punches back...

Eph. 6:13 says, “That you may be able to WITHSTAND in the evil day...”

WITHSTAND is different from STAND...

STAND means you’re in defense mode....

WITHSTAND means “to oppose, to fight back, to resist, to push back against, we could say—to punch back.”

LISTEN: Faith is not just passive belief—it’s active, there is an aggressive edge to it, it fights back, pushes back, throws punches.

It doesn’t just lay down and give up ground to the devil!______________

Back to Shammah for a moment:

The field he defended is much like your life...

The field didn’t belong to Shammah, but to King David.

And we don’t belong to ourselves, but to King Jesus!

And Satan is always looking for a way to gain an advantage over us, to take the ground that Jesus owns...

This is why Paul warns, “Don’t give place (ground) to the devil” (Eph. 4:27).

He told the Corinthians, “We are not ignorant of Satan’s (well thought out) schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11).

The devil can’t keep us from heaven, but he can try to gain a foothold in our finances, our personal purity, our time, our relationships—all of those key areas that Jesus is Lord over...

Shammah’s attitude toward the Philistines was—you’re not getting one square inch of this field, for this field belongs to my king!

So he punched back, he went on the offense, he used his sword, which represents for us the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

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Likewise, in what I like to call “the showdown in the desert,” Jesus didn’t just sit there in the wilderness while Satan pummeled him with temptations...

He punched back with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

When Satan tempted Him to misuse God’s power by turning stones into bread, He punched back: “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone...” (Matt. 4:4)

When tempted to commit presumptuous sin by intentionally placing Himself in the dangerous situation of leaping off of the Temple, Jesus punched back: “It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God” (4:7).

When tempted to fulfill his destiny illegitimately by bowing to evil, Jesus punched back: “It is written, you shall worship only God” (4:10).

After three devastating punches, the devil gave up and left him, badly defeated by our Lord!

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So faith STANDS STRATEGICALLY on the Word, PUNCHES back against the devil,

And finally the last letter in SPY is Y—fighting faith...

III. Yields the battle to God

James 4:7 “So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you” (Amp).

Notice how SUBMITTING precedes RESISTING...

Fighting faith has a battle posture—submission to the Lordship of Christ!

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ILLUS: AWOL soldiers have no power over the enemy!

When a soldier goes AWOL, he forfeits his right to represent his army,

He loses his battle gear,

and relinquishes his authority.

The only way you have the power of the army backing you is if you are submitted to the army that sent you!

As long as I am submitted to the General that drafted me, I have the authority of that general wherever I go!

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Now, here’s the promise:

To the Christian that submits to Jesus’s Lordship, God promises, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chr. 20:15).

“The Lord will fight for you, and you will hold your peace” (Ex 14:14).

Amen!

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So say with me, SPY—Stand, Punch, Yield...

When you’re in a battle, STAND on God’s Word, PUNCH back with God’s word, and YIELD to the God of the Word.