Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: Obedience ultimately is the acid test of our relationship with Jesus Christ. There are many people who can say a whole lot of stuff, but it's when we obey that we demonstrate the true conviction of our faith.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University.

Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled HD, Higher Definitions. Let's listen in as JP gives us part two of "Be A Man".

JP Jones: Here in 1 Timothy 6, Paul's charge to Timothy, God's charge to men to be men of God, he says flee from some things and pursue after other things. Here's the third command that he gives. It's to fight. Verse 12 says, "Fight the good fight of faith."

You see, it's a good fight. It's a good fight we're called to. It's not a dirty fight. It's not a fight over something stupid. It's not a fight that's based on ego and pride. It is a good fight. It is the fight of faith. And every man here every day has to fight the fight of faith.

We are called to be warriors in God's spiritual battle. In fact, in Ephesians chapter 6, it says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you might stand firm against the schemes of the devil." For our battle is not against flesh and blood. It's against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.

Therefore, take your stand and stand firm. Having done everything to put on the full armor of God, that you can stand firm in the evil day. There is a spiritual war that we're engaged in, and we are to fight it, and it is a good fight.

I mean, think about some of the movie scenes of the good fights. Think about that closing scene in Gladiator where Maximus finally gets to fight Claudius. I mean, the guy is wicked. The guy is evil. But finally, Gladiator gets his chance. Or think in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace challenges the Scottish and gets them fired up to go fight against the English, and he leads the charge in that fight.

See, those are good fights, and we have been called to a good fight of faith. In fact, the word here is really more than the word fight. It's the Greek word agonizomai. We get our word agony. And in fact, the noun form, the agon, is what it says is agonizomai, the agon. The agon was the competition, the race, or the gymnastic meet, or the Olympic meet.

In fact, it's really more of a sports metaphor than a military metaphor. In the Roman world, there were two huge athletic contests: the Olympic Games and the Isthmus Games. The Isthmus Games are described in the book of 1 Corinthians, and in the other contests that are described in Timothy and in Hebrews, there is the background of the Olympic Games.

It was the competition, the agon. And this challenge here to fight the good fight is really to compete in the competition, and it is a competition of faith. We're not competing against one another, but we are competing against our enemy who wants to defeat us and destroy us.

And Jesus said in John chapter 10 that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly. We're to compete in the good competition of faith, and we're to do it so that we can, as the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 4, he says these words, 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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."

Can you imagine that kind of confidence, men, where you're at the end of your life? You know that your days are numbered. You know you're about to meet Jesus, and you have the spiritual confidence to say—not bragging, not ego, but true confidence—I've fought the good fight. I've kept the faith. I've finished the race, and there is before me a crown of righteousness that the Lord is going to give.

That should be the aspiration of every man here. Every man here should aspire to receive before the Lord: "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Paul says to Timothy, a young man in the faith, fight the good fight of faith. God's telling us here His higher definition of being a man, and He says we're to flee from some things, we're to pursue after other things, we're to fight the good fight of faith.

And then He says in verse 12, "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." The fourth exhortation that He gives to us is that we are to take hold. We're to take hold of the eternal life. You know, the word "take hold" here is a wrestling term.

It describes in the wrestling match grabbing onto your opponent. Last night in our association where we live, there's a pool and kind of a jacuzzi. I was sitting in the jacuzzi and this kid, this high school kid, came in and sat down and we start talking. Turns out he goes to the same high school as my son. I was just asking him if he was involved in any sports. He says, "Yeah, I wrestle."

And I said, "Oh, my son's on the wrestling team." And he said, "Really, what's your son's name?" And I said, "Well, my son's Taylor Jones." He kind of went, "Oh, man, he is strong." I said, "Yeah, he's a pretty big kid." In fact, this past year he did really well in wrestling, and at the end of the year, they had the banquet, and they highlighted all the varsity wrestlers, and they did like a compilation of films on all of their wrestling matches.

And one of the matches that—or really one of the moves that my son used was shown up in all these different matches—is called a head tap. It's a nice polite way of slapping a guy as hard as you can right in the head. The move is they're kind of, in a wrestling match, the guys kind of line up against each other like this, and the head tap is basically you take your palm and you just hit the guy on the top of the head.

This is my son's move. This is his favorite move. Hits the guy, boom, on top of the head. Because you know what the guy does instinctively when he gets hit on top of the head? He kind of lifts up like this so he won't get hit on top of the head.

And then when he lifts up like that, then my son goes in for what's known as a double-leg takedown. Double-leg takedown's kind of like a football tackle. The move then turns him down, and then he has a whole combination. And they showed over and over again in all these matches. There's my son, my nice, well-mannered Christian son, boom, just hitting this guy on top of the head. And when the guy would kind of stand up, he'd take him down.

In wrestling, you kind of hit and you grab onto your opponent. This word here, to take hold of the eternal life, is the word taken straight from a wrestling move of grabbing on. And the implication is that we are, as men, to grab onto the eternal life to which we've been called. Guys, we're to grab onto eternal life because every day we are bombarded with what 1 John says is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

1 John 2 says that: "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. For all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, it's from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God abides forever." Every day, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, boastful pride of life. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, boastful pride of life. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, boastful pride of life.

So what does God say to us? What is Paul's admonition to Timothy to be a man of God? To take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Grab onto it and don't let go of it. Grab onto it and don't let go of it. God has called us to a new life that's hid in Jesus Christ. It says in Colossians chapter 3, "Since then you've been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on the things above and not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will be revealed with Him in glory." We have new life in Jesus Christ, and as men, we are commanded to take hold of it, to grab onto it and not to let go.

Paul's telling Timothy here to be a man of God by fleeing from some things, by pursuing other things, by fighting the good fight, by taking hold of the eternal life to which he's been called. And here's the last command that he gives from verse 14: "Keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The last charge that he gives about being a man is to keep or to obey the commandment. The word here is the Greek word tēreō. It means to keep in obedience. We are to keep in obedience the whole commandment. Not just a couple. We're not to pick and choose. We're to keep the whole commandment, the whole charge, the whole rule of faith that is set before us as followers of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said this in John chapter 14: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will disclose myself to him." See, obedience ultimately is the acid test of our relationship with Jesus Christ. There are many people who can say a whole lot of stuff, but it's when we obey that we demonstrate the true conviction of our faith.

It's in obeying, it's in keeping. And so Paul says to Timothy, keep this commandment that's been entrusted to you, and keep it without spot or without blame. Obedience is easier said than done, isn't it? 1 Samuel chapter 15 is an example of this, because in 1 Samuel chapter 15, Saul had been commissioned and called by God to engage in a battle and to completely annihilate the enemy, to completely annihilate the enemy.

When Samuel the prophet comes on to offer sacrifices with God's people, as he's walking up, he's hearing the sound of the sheep. He's hearing laughter and merriment in the tent, and he goes in and he finds out that Saul had spared the king, Agag, and Saul had spared the animals when God had given this very stern, severe command to annihilate everything.

And at that moment in time, Samuel looked at Saul and said the kingdom has been taken from you, because God delights more in obedience than He does in sacrifice. In the book of Joshua, Joshua is about to take the people into the Promised Land. They're going to cross over the Jordan River, and God appears to him and says: "Here's the game plan. I'm going to do a miracle. I'm going to part the Jordan for you so all of the people of Israel, as they go into the Promised Land, they will know that I am God and I do miracles because they will see a miracle before their very eyes.

So I want you to dress everybody up in their battle array. I want you to take the priests and have them carry the Ark. I want them to go out before me, and when they come up to the Jordan River, the Jordan is going to part, they'll go across on dry land, and you can hold a big celebration to remember that I am a God who does miracles for you."

So Joshua pulls everybody together. He gives them this big challenge. They're all excited. They go, "Yeah, yeah, we'll do it!" They get their best dress on. They line up in parade fashion. The priests get the Ark. They start marching, and they march all the way coming up to the Jordan River to see God do this miracle of parting the river and they can go in across the other side.

Now, picture if you're one of the priests carrying the Ark. Now, the Ark of God was special. In fact, God gave a lot of instructions on how they should carry the Ark through these poles on the side of it, and they shouldn't touch the Ark. And if they were to let go of the Ark, they would be zapped by the holiness of God, just obliterated.

So this is like a holy privilege to carry the Ark. And you're leading the parade, so you're going to be the first to actually see the miracle of the parting of the Jordan River. I can imagine being one of those priests, kind of thinking about how awesome this was and being very mindful of doing my part exactly as God had called me to do.

But I could also imagine as I'm getting close to the Jordan River and I hear the sounds of the floodwaters and I see the depth of the water, that expecting the promise of God would start to be a whole lot more real to me because I'd realize if I step into the water and it doesn't part, the weight of this Ark will take me under and I'll drown.

On the other hand, if I panic and I let go of the Ark, God will zap me and I'll be fried. About that time, I'm sure the priests became really strong intercessory prayers. "Lord, come on. Do that miracle. Part that Jordan. Come on. Part that Jordan." As they're getting closer, "Come on, part the Jordan."

You know what the scripture says? The Jordan River continued to flow at full force until the very moment the priest stepped off the bank and the sole of his sandals touched the water. Think about that. It didn't part before. It didn't part when they came up to it. It only parted at the very moment of their obedience.

There is something about obeying that opens the door for God's power and grace and truth to be released in our lives. And it only happens when we obey. Men, God says to us to keep the commandment, to keep the commandment, to keep the commandment.

In this passage, God is defining for us what it means to be a man. And He says: "Men, flee from some things. They pursue righteousness and godliness and faith and love and endurance and gentleness. They fight the good fight. They take hold of the eternal life, and they keep the commandment." As a kid on the playground linking arms with other boys, I used to say, "We want boys. We want boys. We want boys." Jesus is saying, "I want men. I want men. I want men."

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653.

Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath. Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653.

Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. You know, the Bible says that real men are men of obedience, men who put God's word into action. That's what it says in 1 Timothy chapter 6. In fact, in a rare passage where the apostle Paul addresses men of God, it says this: "But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And in the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, while testifying before Pontius Pilate, He made the good confession, I charge you, keep the commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

You see, in this passage, the apostle Paul addresses Timothy, his protégé, and addresses him as a man of God. Timothy represents any man who would want to follow hard after Jesus Christ. If you want to be a man of God, you need to be a man of obedience, a man of action.

In fact, the apostle Paul outlines in this passage several action steps that men are to take to be men of God. They're to flee, they're to pursue, they're to take hold, they're to fight, they're to keep. Those are all strong words. They're manly words. They're words that appeal to us with our God-designed courage and energy to be the men that God created us to be. Men of God are men of action, men of obedience, men who obey God and put His word into practice.

That's why I love these great stories in the Old Testament, because they inspire me to be the man that God created me to be. You know, one of my favorite stories is the story of David and Goliath. It's a simple Sunday school story, but it still speaks powerfully about what it really means to be a man, a man of action, a man of obedience.

You remember the setting: David is a shepherd, he's watching the sheep. His brothers are off to war. They are with Saul, the leader of Israel, fighting the Philistines. And David's father calls David and says, "Go check on your brothers and take these supplies." So David packs up his cart and he goes to the battle line. It's at the Elah Valley.

And when he gets there, all the soldiers of Israel are lined up and they're looking down into the valley. David steps up into the line and he sees the biggest man he's ever seen in his life, Goliath. He's the largest man who ever lived, probably the scariest guy any one of us would ever meet. He would make Shaq look like a pygmy.

And Goliath gives a challenge. He challenges the armies of Israel and he says if there's a man who would come out and fight him, then rather than all the armies of Philistia fight all the armies of Israel, one man would fight another. Goliath would fight the representative of Israel. If Goliath won, then all of Israel would follow the Philistines.

If the Israelite soldier won, then all the Philistines would follow Israel. And so Goliath gives his challenge day after day after day. But because of his size and because of his vicious character and representation, all of the Israelite army was terrified. And so when David walked up and he saw this giant challenging the armies of Israel and really challenging God, he couldn't believe it because he thought surely Saul would go out and fight Goliath, or surely one of his brothers would go out and fight Goliath.

Surely there'd be somebody from Israel who'd go out and fight Goliath. But the challenge was repeated day after day after day. And so David said: "You know what? God has come through for me in the past. God delivered me from the lion, God delivered me from the bear, and God will deliver this Philistine into my hand."

And as the story unfolds in 1 Samuel, David walks down into the Elah Valley, he picks up five smooth stones, and the giant Goliath sees David, and he's angered that a young man would come out to fight him. And he taunts David, and he walks towards the battle line. And this is my favorite line in the whole story. It said David ran toward him.

And as he ran, he said, "The battle belongs to the Lord." And with the swing of the slingshot and the flying of the stone, the battle was won. The stone hit Goliath, he fell over dead, David was victorious, and all the Philistines ran in fear. And on that day, God's victory was announced not only for David but for all the armies of Israel.

You see, here's the point of this story: there's a Goliath in every man's life. There's a Goliath who taunts us. There's a Goliath who causes us to be terrified. And if we look at Goliath, God seems small. But that was the difference between David and all the soldiers of Israel. David looked at Goliath through the lens of God. David looked at Goliath through his view of God.

And because he saw God as so big, Goliath looked small. You see, I've discovered this about myself and every other man. We either look at God or we look at Goliath. Godly men, men of God, look at God. They see how big God is. They see how awesome God is.

And they take God at His word, and they put His word into practice, and because of that, they take on any Goliath that they face. Well, let me ask you, what kind of man are you? Do you look at God or do you look at Goliath?

You see, if you're looking at Goliath, then God probably looks small and the word of God looks intimidating to you and the challenges seem so big. In fact, probably you're paralyzed by fear. God wants to infuse you with faith. God wants to encourage you with the power of His Spirit. God wants to set you free with the truth of His word.

God wants to make you into a real man. And a real man is a man of action, a man of obedience, a man who puts God's word into practice in his life. But you know what? We can't do that by ourselves. None of us can. We need the encouragement of other men in our lives.

It says this in Hebrews chapter 3: "Encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Every man can be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. I can and so can you. So what is God's response to that? Encourage one another.

Proverbs 27 says this: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." We need one another in our lives. We need other men in our lives to encourage us, to support us, and to motivate us to keep on walking with God, obeying God, and putting His word into practice. You know, let's ask God to do in our lives what only He can do.

Let's pray and ask Him to make us the men He wants us to be. If that's your desire, I invite you to pray with me right now. Lord God, I open up my heart to You. I want to be a man. I want to be a man of action, I want to be a man of obedience. I want to be a godly man. Help me. Strengthen me with Your Holy Spirit. Use Your word to set me free. Bring men into my life that will encourage me and use me to encourage others. Help me be the godly man You're calling me to be. Amen.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250.

On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.