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Strategically Fighting Our Good Fight of Faith
July 1, 2023

David, King of Israel and a man after God’s own heart, thought strategically throughout his life. An example preserved for us in the Old Testament is the lead-up to his encounter with Goliath, where he approached Saul for permission to fight Goliath. Initially, Saul didn’t want to give David that permission because he saw David as young and inexperienced. For Saul, he saw nothing but David’s defeat, but David did not see it that way. He explained why he could be a suitable person to fight Goliath sharing that when he was tending his father’s sheep, a lion and a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock. David went after the wild animals, attacking them to the point where the lamb was let go and all of that wild animal energy was refocused on David. Staring down an angry animal didn’t stop David from doing what needed to be done, and again he grabbed the wild animals and killed them.

Today, we would expect a shotgun or hunting rifle would be used to accomplish the task, but back then, it was just David, and his brute strength, not at a safe distance provided by a hunting rifle or shotgun, but so close, he could grab the animal by its beard, the portion of fur right underneath the mouth and in front of the throat. Imagine grabbing a predatory animal on the throat with snarling teeth inches away. That is exactly what David did, getting so close to the mouth that the teeth became less of a threat. With that advantage, David killed the wild animals, and promised to do the same to Goliath, comparing the big Goliath that every soldier of Israel seemed to fear, to nothing more than a big brutish wild animal.

David added that just as God had delivered him from the wild animals, God would also deliver him from Goliath, convincing Saul to let him fight the giant. To prepare David for battle, Saul wanted to arm David as any soldier of Israel would be armed in close quarters fighting. In Saul’s mind, David would wear a brass helmet, and a coat of mail. David rejected what soldiers typically would have worn, because he had not used these before, and was not sure what to expect. He did know what to expect with a slingshot and a few smooth stones, and decided to use those instead.

1 Samuel 17:31-40
And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

We know the rest of the story. David’s strategy worked. The first smooth stone he shot with his slingshot took down Goliath, and David used Goliath’s own sword to sever his head. After that fateful encounter, the rest of the battle was pretty much a rout, with the soldiers of Israel overpowering the Philistine army. David’s strategy, with the blessing of God, was successful.

Each of us must think strategically as we fight our good fight of faith. Like David rejected traditional military weaponry and used a weapon he was familiar with, we must strategically make decisions regarding how we fight our good fight of faith. During his earthly ministry, Jesus saw greater and greater numbers of people following him, and he told of the need to be able to forsake everything to be His disciple. Each of us may not be required to forsake everything we have as disciples of Jesus, but we must be willing to do so. Jesus taught that we must evaluate first if we are willing to forsake everything to be a disciple of Jesus before making that commitment and gave two examples to make His point. First he used the example of a construction build, where before starting construction, it is necessary to determine if the construction budget can be afforded. In the second example, Jesus used the example of one king declaring war on another king, and how it is essential for the attacking king to know they will be successful.

Luke 14:25-33
And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Both examples are about finishing what is started, and Jesus is telling us that we must be strategically willing to forsake everything to finish our human life faithful as a follower of Jesus. Nothing can stand between us and our hope of salvation. It’s easy to allow the worries and frustrations of life to consume us and keep us from the Kingdom of God.

Jesus taught that instead of having this worry, we need to consider that God knows we have need of physical things to live our physical life. God knows we have need of food, clothes, and shelter, and will provide for our needs. With that understanding, instead of worrying about food, clothes, and shelter, and first seeking those things, we are told instead to first seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

As we strategically fight our good fight of faith, there is a lot we need to do coupled with some things we shouldn’t do. For instance, most who have studied the Bible know that Jesus taught we are not to judge others, and instead focus on what we need to change in ourselves. But, we tend to overlook that coupled with the need to not judge others is also the need to not give what is holy to the dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We have been given an incredible calling that must end with eternal life for us in the Kingdom of God, and we cannot take that incredible calling and treat it as if it is so common that salvation can be given to a dog or pig. The gift we have been given is of incredible value. With it we will not judge others, nor will be judge this gift as being common and mundane.

Matthew 7:1-6
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Strategically fighting our good fight of faith means we value the Kingdom of God and cherish the Kingdom of God as something very special, something that is beyond comparison to anything on earth. If we cherish and value the Kingdom of God, we are going to be focused on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and knowing that God will provide us with the physical things we need to live our physical life on earth.

Matthew 6:19-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Strategically fighting the good fight of faith means we do not focus on what impresses in this world. Money, which buys favors in this world is inconsequential to what is important spiritually. Large sums of donated money might impress in the here and now, but God does not look at the amount of money, but the attitude behind the giving. In the case of a poor widow who donated a very small amount, Jesus showed how her donation better reflected an attitude of giving where the amount of money she donated could have been used to buy things she needed, and compared that attitude to the rich whose donation had no impact on family finances.

Mark 12:41-44
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Strategically fighting the good fight of faith means we will balance the needs of our physical and spiritual life knowing we are working towards that spiritual goal of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. We will take care of our health, but know that far greater than physical health is spiritual health. However we work to take care of our physical health, we will work much harder to take care of our spiritual health.

1 Timothy 4:8-10
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

In our fight, we will trust in God. It is in God we will rely, not ourselves, and we acknowledge him knowing that God will lead us where He needs us to go.

Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Fighting the good fight of faith means we will take the initiative and not be lazy as we seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. There will never be a spiritual down time for us.

Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

In our spiritual quest for the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, we will do more than just talk the talk of faith, we will fight the fight of faith, knowing our calling requires more of us just than words. We must put into action the spiritual concepts we are learning.

Proverbs 14:23
In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

In our spiritual fight, everything we do needs to be done with God and the Kingdom of God in mind. With that focus, what we do in this life will still be focused on our spiritual objective.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

As we fight our good fight of faith while living our physical life today, there is a lot of planning we will do both for this life and the hope we have for eternal life in the Kingdom of God. We will naturally develop ideas of what we want to see happen, and we must yield to the knowledge that God will have the final say in what happens.

Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Strategically fighting the good fight of faith means we will not be lazy. Faith will be an important part of our life and when it comes to God, we won’t walk towards God, we will run. We will not spiritually think we are better than others knowing before God can bring us honor, we must have humility. We also won’t assume we already have the spiritual answers, but will be prudent in developing spiritual understanding and knowledge throughout our life.

Proverbs 18:9-15
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

Seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness does not mean we will never have ideas for what needs to happen, but it does mean that as we have ideas we will yield to God on those ideas.

Proverbs 19:21
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Fighting our good fight of faith means we never lose sight of the hope we have in the Kingdom of God. That vision we have must stay with us until the Kingdom of God is a reality, and through that vision we also seek God’s righteousness through doing what God expects of us.

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

That good fight of faith that we have is not a fight from a perspective of bitterness of what we do not have in this physical world, but is a fight that revolves around rejoicing, with joy the central component of rejoicing. We live in a world of tragedy, doom and gloom. We live in a world where evil seems to triumph over good and as we strategically fight our good fight of faith, we rejoice, we find reasons to be happy and to celebrate, not in what is the world today, but what will come in the Kingdom of God. That hope that we have is a hope that is worth spiritually fighting for because what this world has to offer is no comparison. With that we have no need for anxiety knowing that God knows our needs and will provide, and that will bring us to a place of peace, the kind of peace that can only come through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

As we live in this world with its problems, increasingly we see prophecy coming to life, and we know before the Kingdom of God arrives on earth, the worst is yet to come. Yet, through Jesus Christ we have peace, and we can ask God for wisdom to handle any situation of life, including the situations we are bound to experience as these darker days ahead move from the pages of Biblical prophecy to events we see every day in our life. James tells us to ask God for wisdom in faith with no wavering. Faith has no place for a person who is not fully convinced, and if we have doubts about the promises of God, we should not expect to receive any wisdom, or anything else from God.

James 1:5-8
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, Paul reminded him of his personal knowledge of his mother and grandmother and knew that the same faith would be in Timothy. He reminded him to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit remembering that the spirit we have been given is not a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. Second

2 Timothy 1:2-7
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

As we strategically fight our good fight of faith, we need to stir up the Holy Spirit knowing it is a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Fear is not of the Holy Spirit and resides in the human spirit that is easily influenced by Satan. With the Holy Spirit grounding us in power, love, and a sound mind, we will come to a place of mercy in our life, where mercy is extended to us, and where we extend mercy to others. During his earthly ministry, Jesus was asked by a religious lawyer, one of the religious elites of the time, who asked Jesus what he could do to have eternal life, and Jesus asked him for his thoughts based on what he knew in scripture. This lawyer responded by saying he needed to love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love his neighbor as himself. Essentially, these two great commands summarize the ten commandments. Jesus explained that the man had answered correctly, and then the lawyer threw out a question, whether sincere or hypothetical, we do not know. He asked Jesus who was his neighbor.

Jesus then told a story of man who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho who was robbed by thieves leaving him nearly dead. Several people passed him who could have helped him but didn’t including a priest and a Levite, both closely connected with the temple. It was the Samaritan, a person looked down on during the time of Jesus who came to help this man, tended to his wounds, and even paid for his room at an inn. It was this Samaritan, this person who during the time could have been disregarded, who through an act of mercy, acted as a neighbor.

Luke 10:25-37
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

In our life today, we do not look to others to act with mercy towards us, we must act with mercy towards them. Extending mercy to others as we are able today is one way we strategically fight the good fight of faith. Another way we extend this spiritual battle is to not allow ourselves to become like all the other people in the world around us. We who have the Holy Spirit, must have our mind transformed by the Holy Spirit. Strategically fighting the good fight of faith does not remove us from this world, but it reminds us we will be different than the people of this world, spiritually focused through the Holy Spirit, seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Our spiritual quest for the Kingdom of God brings us great hope in a wonderful future time when Jesus Christ is recognized as King of kings and Lord of lords throughout the earth. But that great hope we have will not lead us to brag about what we will do during our physical life. We know God will provide for our needs. Beyond our physical needs what happens in our life is based on how the will of God intersects with our actions, and we cannot presume something will happen just because we want it to happen.

James 4:13-17
Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Isaiah gives us an image of this future time when a king will reign in righteousness and princes rule in judgment. People’s eyesight will not fade during this time nor will hearing. People who have had difficulty learning will suddenly understand, and those with speech difficulties will speak very easily. Those who are vile will not be praised as being liberal. The King James uses the word liberal, translated from the Hebrew Nadiyb, meaning noble, magnanimous, generous, and should not be confused with modern political usage. Those who are selfish and stingy will not be considered generous. During this future time, people will be seen for who they really are, and it is the person who is magnanimous, generous, and noble, who will stand.

Isaiah 32:1-8
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

Today as we strategically fight the good fight of faith, we cannot do so from a perspective of being selfish and stingy. We fight our good fight of faith by being noble, magnanimous, and generous, as we are able. We also recognize that how people think is not the same as how God thinks. God’s ways are much different than our ways, again reminding us of the need to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

Isaiah 55:8-11
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

While we focus on the glorious future that awaits and do everything with that future in mind, today we do not act through strife or to make ourselves look better, but to esteem others more than the self. Instead of looking to what we are doing, we look to what Jesus Christ has done for all of us, who being in the form of God became a person like you and me and died on the cross. Instead of looking to what we are doing, we recognize through devotion what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Philippians 2:1-11
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Finally, strategically fighting our good fight of faith means we spiritually prepare our minds being sober and never walking away from the hope that we have. It means we walk away from the impulses of humanity that is seen as being very human and focus on what is to come, and having the Holy Spirit, we focus on those things which are holy remembering that we are not redeemed with money or religious traditions, but are redeemed through the blood of Christ. Our faith and hope must be in God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:13-21
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Like David who strategically defeated Goliath through the will of God, we must today strategically fight our good fight of faith never wavering in the hope we have of eternal life, and always focusing first on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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