And before, on this matter of fighting the good fight: as I said, we would spend a lot of energy fighting a lot of things that are really unstoppable. It is not good fighting; it is hard fighting. It is negative fighting.
But the Lord really, in the end, says, “Look, Christian, that’s a good fight. Expend your energy fighting the fights that make a difference.”
In one sense, the whole Christian life is a fight. When you testify to the world, to somebody who is lost, and you share Jesus with them, you have got a fight on your hands. When you try to live a righteous life, you have a fight on your hands.
The world approaches Christians with hostility. Jesus said that in the Bible. I am not saying that the world hates your life personally; the kids in your school may not have anything deliberately against you. They do not even know the spirit that controls them much of the time. But they are led by a spirit of disobedience, as Scripture says.
For some strange reason, people find themselves in conflict with Christians in a way that they are not in conflict with people of other religions. Somebody could come into your school wearing a white toga and bare feet, claiming to be from some place in the mountains of Tibet, and everybody would put up with them. But, for some reason, a Christian comes under conflict because of the reality of who God is through Christ.
So you have a fight to fight. I am not talking about fighting against your friends or people at school. I am talking about fighting the good fight to be who you are meant to be.
If you recall, Paul says on three different occasions in Timothy to fight the good fight. In 1 Timothy 1:18-19, he says:
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,
keeping faith and a good conscience,
which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.
Paul mentions two who were shipwrecked: Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom he delivered over to Satan so that they might be taught not to blaspheme. Somehow, these men were Christians, but they got shipwrecked. Their consciences were seared. They could no longer distinguish right from wrong, and their consciences did not bother them when they did bad things.
Paul says you can be a Christian and still get shipwrecked. You can have to go through tremendous discipline in order to be helped by God.
Brothers and sisters, if you fight the good fight, the Lord will not have to put you under tremendous discipline. There is a right way to love the Father and obey Him, and there is a wrong way. If you are stubborn and rebellious in your heart, and God has to hit you over the head with a two-by-four every time He wants you to do something, you are going to be in for it.
Just obey Him. Even in McDonald’s, obey God. What I am saying is: fight the good fight. Do not quit.
Paul also says in 1 Timothy 6:12:
Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.
There is a fight of faith. There is a fight to believe in an unbelieving world. There is a fight to believe at school and at home. Especially, the greatest fight—which I see some of you wonderfully overcoming—is the fight to believe that God cares for you.
In these times of prayer over the last few days, people have sensed in a new way that God really loves them. He cares for them. Someone asked prayer for his shoulder because he figured, “God cares for me enough that He cares how my shoulder is, and my shoulder is hurt.”
That is a big side of faith, because the enemy works night and day. The enemy tries to convince you, “God does not love you. You are not even really one of God’s kids. You just went along with the crowd. You did not really get saved.”
The devil tells you that night and day because he has a stake in it. If he can get you to believe God does not care for you, then you will not ask God to help you in your life. You have got to fight that fight of faith.
The third part I want to share this morning is in 1 Timothy 4. I am going to call it the good fight of godliness. Godliness means to be like God—to live His life.
A good fight for conscience, a good fight of faith, and a good fight for godliness.
Look at 1 Timothy 4:7-8:
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women.
On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
for bodily discipline is only of little profit,
but godliness is profitable for all things,
since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Some preachers—usually the ones over three hundred pounds—preach against physical exercise. They use this verse and say, “Bodily exercise profiteth little. My friends, you should only pray and eat.”
But Scripture is not saying that bodily discipline is no good. Paul is using bodily discipline as an analogy. He is saying, “Timothy, you know how you go down and work out on that Universal Gym all the time? You should be working out a lot more in the spiritual universe.”
This Scripture is not saying you should not be involved in sports and activities. It is saying that, just as you discipline yourself and work out in order to be good in a sport and stay in shape, you need spiritual exercise.
At the end of 1 Timothy 4:7, it says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The King James Version says, “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Another translation says, “Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit.”
That is a good fight.
It is easier to get up at 6:30 in the morning to go skiing than it is to get up at 8:30 on Saturday morning to read the Bible. Have you ever noticed that? You say, “No, I just cannot get out of bed.”
But if you are going to the mountains for a ski trip at four o’clock in the morning, suddenly everybody is ready to go. It is amazing the sacrifices we can make for the things we like to do. But spiritual discipline—that is another matter.
Most of you here have been touched by the Lord this week, and I thank the Lord for that. Tonight, we are going to have a wonderful time. We are going to ask you to share a testimony, a Scripture, a song—whatever is on your heart. It is going to be your meeting, and we want you to feel free to share as you have been doing these last few days.
But I have to tell you a secret. If you do not know this secret, you will come back next year and say, “I do not understand. We had such a wonderful time at the conference. We made commitments and said we were going to live for God. Then we all went home and fell into the pit again.”
The secret is this: discipline yourself unto godliness.
It is good being here because people are helping you, teaching you, and surrounding you with Christian friends. It is wonderful to have a campus full of Christians. But you cannot live for God only because the atmosphere is good for one week.
If we all lived together for six months, reality would begin to show. None of us is going to make it without understanding self-discipline and coming to God.
In 2 Timothy 2:5, Paul makes an athletic reference:
Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.
A soldier is drafted. He is under orders. They say, “Get up at four o’clock. Shine your shoes. Stand in line.” The soldier has no will of his own; the sergeant is king.
But an athlete has to be self-disciplined. That is a further step in the spiritual life. It is one thing to have Mom and Dad say, “Read your Bible. Did you spend time with the Lord?” But if you are going to make it in the long run, you have to discipline yourself.
When I was in junior high, I had a sergeant for a football coach. He would push me around and yell, “Come on, you heavy hitter, push in there!”
That might work in eighth grade, ninth grade, or tenth grade. But if you really want to play college football, you have to work out when nobody else is there. You have to do wind sprints in the summertime, in the off-season. You have to discipline yourself.
I saw those football players practicing here on campus in one hundred and five degree heat, fully dressed in pads and jerseys. That equipment makes you sweat in November. Yet they were out there practicing because they were preparing for a game.
If people will exercise that kind of discipline for a perishable prize, how much more should we discipline ourselves for an eternal prize?
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul says:
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way that you may win.
And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim;
I box in such a way, as not beating the air;
but I buffet my body and make it my slave,
lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
Paul is saying that we have to learn self-discipline for godliness. He mentions the body specifically: eating, sexual temptation, bodily appetites, pride, anger, and the things we do with our bodies. There is a necessity for discipline.
But the larger point is that we need to exercise ourselves unto God.
I want to make an important point here, because this causes many people to stumble. I say, “Discipline yourself,” but it is important that we understand which self can be disciplined.
I received a note from one of the young people here saying, “I always say I am going to serve the Lord, and then I have such a hard time doing it. I do not understand why I keep failing after I have made so many commitments to God.”
Everybody in this room has a new self and an old self. The new self can be disciplined unto godliness. The old self can be dressed up, but at the first opportunity it turns flabby again.
A lot of us try to discipline the old self. But the old self cannot be made godly.
Ephesians 4:22-24 says:
That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self,
which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new self,
which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
The old self is always lustful and filled with deceit. It will never get better. The old self is a liar, proud, angry, and self-centered. But the new self has been created in the likeness of God.
When you come to Christ, the object of the Christian life is to let the new self live more and more and to let the old self be crucified with Christ.
I have been a Christian more than sixteen years, but my old self is still lustful, deceitful, proud, and capable of anger. It has not vanished. When I get angry, my old self can rise up like the old football player I used to be.
Then I say, “How can I lose my temper after sixteen years as a Christian?” And God says, “Because your old self will always have those thoughts. But it has been crucified with Christ. It has lost its power. You do not have to listen to it. Let your new self have control.”
You have an option. You have to make a decision in your will. That is where self-discipline comes in. You have to say, “I am letting my new self come out.”
Romans 8:12-13 says:
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die;
but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
A Christian must put to death the deeds of the body: passions, lusts, deceitfulness, lying, pride, and anger. You do that by the Spirit.
When the old self begins to hum its tune—when temptation rises, when your eyes begin to wander, when you feel like lying or giving in to anger—you come to a crossroads. You can say, “Old man, go to it,” or you can say, “Holy Spirit, I need help. Let the new man have control.”
The Holy Spirit will come in and put down that old man.
The old man is not stronger than the new man. We are just used to the old man and not used to the new man. We are used to lying, cheating, stealing, swearing, lusting, and all that kind of thing. It feels natural because it has become a habit.
When I became a Christian, I smoked two packs of Marlboros a day. I smoked pipes, cigars—everything. I finally said, “Oh God, I have got to quit.” It took a battle, but God helped me overcome.
For about six months after I quit, I would sit with a cup of coffee and suddenly reach into my pocket for cigarettes that were not there. It was such a habit. My old self had learned that pattern.
That is how it is when you become a Christian. You have a new self, and the new self needs to get stronger and stronger. When the opportunity comes to lie, the old way is easy. But then there is the new-self way: be honest.
The old man has been learning how to lust, deceive, and sin all his life. Some of you have twelve or fourteen years of old patterns on one side and a new man who is just beginning to grow.
Disciplining yourself unto godliness means letting the new man come out.
This week, many of you have let the new man come out a little bit. The old man builds stone walls. He says, “I am not going to get into this. I am not going to make a jerk out of myself. Look at those people singing and clapping their hands. I am cool. I will just sit here and watch everybody.”
That is an old habit. It is like people in the army who learn to blend in so they will not be volunteered for anything. They learn how not to make waves.
It is the same way in church. Teenagers can be talking and joking one minute, but when worship begins they suddenly disappear. They become part of the woodwork.
Why? Because the old self says, “This is my basic stance.”
But this week, on several occasions, you have said, “I am going to let my new self open up a little bit.”
Your new self—the beautiful you, the new creation God is trying to set free—stood up and said, “I need help.” The new self said, “I would like to tell you that I love you, even though we have had some fights.” The new self said, “I thank God for my Christian friends.”
The new self spoke up. The new self sang songs. The new self had devotions. You need to let that new self have more and more place in your life.
If you become passive and say, “The week is over; I am going back to my old ways,” then the old self takes over again. You go right back down into the pit because, for a few days, you exercised yourself unto godliness, but then you stopped moving forward.
The old self cannot be disciplined. Forget it. He is a loser. He has been crucified with Christ. Now the new self has to come out.
The new self grows through your will, not through your emotions. Emotions are good, and there have been emotions in these meetings as people have cared for one another. But you do not grow by emotions.
You grow when your will decides, “I will follow God today.”
You may have had a beautiful meeting on Thursday night, sharing and caring for one another. Then afterward, you had to exercise your will to continue praying for one another and loving one another. That is good exercise unto godliness.
The first thing we have to do is remain broken and humble. The problem with the old self is that he is a proud dude. He does not like to make himself vulnerable. He hides behind pride.
But the new self is broken, humble, vulnerable, and teachable. The new self says, “Hey, I need help.” The old self says, “I can make it on my own.”
The Bible says that God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. What does that mean practically? It does not mean that you are always crying. It does not mean that every time you pray, you must break down.
It means that you always sense that you need help from other people. You sense that there is much more to learn. When you have a need in your life, you share it with the saints. You stay open.
That is your new self. Your new self is humble—not fake humility, but real humility.
I am impressed with brothers who have known the Lord for a long time and are still humble. Their new self knows that they need help from God every day. They have learned through trials that they must call upon God for strength.
We need to learn that we are nothing in the right way—not that we have no value, but that we do not have to maintain a false image. We can simply be who we truly are in Christ.
Scripture tells us to consider our brothers and sisters as more important than ourselves. Have you ever seen the old self do that? The old self is always a little Hitler in disguise. But the new self says, “Maybe their opinion is better than mine. Maybe Mom and Dad are right. Maybe I need to listen.”
The Bible says to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. How can you continue to be filled with the Spirit and let the new man live? By speaking good things to one another and warning one another.
Hebrews 3 tells us to encourage one another day by day so that none of us is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Encouragement is not merely saying, “Hey, Patty, you are great.” Sometimes you say, “Hey, Tammy, you are getting all jammed up with anger. Remember what you said last month? You said you were going to give it to God.”
Continually doing that with one another keeps the old man from coming out in front again.
If you have had a conflict with somebody, say, “I know we had a little tangle, but I still love you.” Speak to one another with openness. God does not expect you to be perfect, but you have to be open with one another.
The old man wants to shut down and protect himself. The new man fights the good fight of faith and says, “I am not going to shut down. I am not going to become an island. I am going to share my needs with other people, and I am going to help people when I see that they need help.”
Another way to discipline yourself unto godliness is found in 2 Timothy 2:14-15:
Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
That is one of the exercises: study of the Word push-ups. “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
We need to be students of Scripture. It keeps our new man out there in front. It reminds us of the things we forget so quickly.
You can have a great day in the Lord, then suddenly your mind is filled with foolishness. But when you open the Bible and begin to read, God reminds you again. You read about conscience, hypocrisy, and the danger of a seared conscience, and you say, “Oh yes, God, You have got to help me.”
The Word keeps the new man in front. If we want to discipline ourselves unto godliness, this is one exercise we need to do.
Another discipline is found in 1 Timothy 4:12-16:
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all.
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.
What discipline is that? It is the discipline of ministering the ministry you have been given.
Do you think ministry comes automatically? No, it does not. You have got to discipline your life in order to minister.
Some of you have written songs. That is a gift. Now exercise that gift. If you have written one song, by the grace of God you can write another. If you play guitar, keep exercising and you will play better. If you play piano, keep exercising and you will play better.
Part of exercising unto godliness is ministering. Timothy was young, and he may have been intimidated by older people who knew more Scripture than he did. He may have felt like backing away.
But Paul said, “Timothy, do not neglect the gift that was given to you. Do not let people look down on you because you are young. Be an example.”
That is true for you. Do not let people put you down because you are young. Be an example. That is a ministry in the body of Christ.
I speak on behalf of the adults at this conference: when you go back to your fellowship and your home, contribute. Share in the body of Christ. Do not neglect the gift you have been given.
It is hard to stand up in an adult meeting and contribute something. But if God wants you to, discipline yourself in that way and fight the good fight.
Everybody in this room has a ministry. Exercise it—not only here at camp, but when you go home.
One more thing concerning the discipline of godliness is found in 1 Timothy 6:20:
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge.
And 2 Timothy 1:14 says:
Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
You have been given a treasure. You need to guard that treasure. If somebody gives you something valuable, you do not toss it around and let it hit the floor. You protect it.
God has given you a valuable treasure, and you need to discipline yourself in order to guard it. You can lose the treasure.
What is the treasure? It is not merely salvation, although salvation is precious. The treasure is that Christ is inside of you. That is the most precious possession you will ever have: Christ lives inside.
But you can lose the preciousness of that treasure. You can lose the beauty of a godly life, the treasure of a good conscience, the treasure of living faith, and the treasure of godliness.
If you do not guard it, there is one who comes to steal, rob, and destroy. Jesus said that. He came to give abundant life, but the enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy.
The enemy will try to steal every treasure of value in your life. Christ is the greatest treasure.
I am not talking about losing salvation. I am saying that if you turn away from God, you can lose the treasure of a godly life, a good conscience, living faith, and godliness.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. It is wonderful to be like Christ. There is no freer person and no happier person than a godly person.
But this treasure must be guarded. The devil is sniffing around, seeking someone to devour. He is looking for exposed treasure. He is looking for people who will give away what God has given them.
Brothers and sisters, I have a prayer in my heart that you will become aggressive and fight the good fight. Take hold and say, “God, I want a good conscience whatever the cost. God, I want to walk by faith, however hard it is. God, I want to be godly, and I am going to learn to exercise.”
When your body is lazy, say, “Body, I am sorry, but you are not in control. My spirit says it is time to read the Bible, and I am going to do it.”
Your old man may have gotten you into all kinds of habits, but the new man is going to win. Fight the fight. Do not give up because you have a momentary setback. Do not give up when something goes wrong. Fight this thing through.
One of the most important things you will ever have is your attitude.
Ephesians 4 says to lay aside the old self and put on the new self. But between putting off the old self and putting on the new self is this phrase:
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
We need a different mindset. We have an old attitude that says the Christian life is negative and hard, that we have to give up everything, that following God is miserable.
But if the spirit of our minds is renewed, we will see that we want to serve God. We want to be godly. We want a good conscience.
Renew your attitude. When you come into a meeting, you may feel tired and say, “I am not going to contribute.” But then you change the attitude of your mind. You put off the old self and put on the new.
Tonight, your greatest problem may be your attitude. But if your attitude is toward the Lord, the new self will come forth. You will share, sing, and minister, and we will have a wonderful time.
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put off the old self. Put on the new self. Fight the fight.
I would love to see Christian 2, Christian 3, Christian 4—people who come back year after year and are still fighting. If you are in the good fight, praise God. I love to see you fighting your way through with discipline and fighting your way through in family life.
We are all fighting together. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, with a clear conscience, exercising yourself unto godliness.
Lord, that is my prayer for all of Your children—for the adults as well as these young people. I thank You, Lord, that their hearts are toward You.
Lord, prepare for the meeting tonight. Let it be a time where they can share with openness, where they can be aggressive and step into what You call them to do. Help them to minister to one another.
We thank You for the precious treasure of Christ. What a blessing we have. How He has helped us and been our friend.
Oh Lord, help us guard the precious treasure we have. We thank You for the way You have encouraged us in these days. Lord, we want to be those who learn the lessons of self-discipline like athletes, so that we can live this spiritual race faithfully.