Movies, entertainment, celebrity culture, video games, digital media and social networks are often used to escape from reality. The goal of this 4-part series is to consider how to escape to the reality that comes in knowing Jesus.
Part 3 of #EscapeToReality
EVERYONE FIGHTS FOR SOMETHING
Without wanting to unhelpfully stereotype, there are substitute battles that many dudes are commonly fighting; there are substitute battles that many ladies are commonly fighting.
Dudes fight in fantasy world adventures. First-person shooter games like WOW and COD. Guys will devote hours and hours to this fight. Some will become guild masters and clan leaders devoting a lifetime to digital fighting.
Ladies fight to be unique, recognised and accepted. This will often involve a significant focus on external beauty, appearance, self-image and relationships status.
“…everyone fights for something. The desire to fight isn’t masculine or feminine; it is human. Deep down we all want to be noticed, for our lives to count for something. We want to be beautiful or noble. The problem is that we direct our fighting desires toward the wrong things. We work hard at being noticed of entertained. We fall short of beauty and nobility. What would happen if, instead of spending hours in front of the video screen or mirror, we spent hours in front of the gospel? What if we fought for a more noble cause, a more beautiful image?” (JONATHAN DODSON)
WHAT WILL YOU FIGHT FOR?
The “noble cause” and “beautiful image” is the fight of faith. Paul repeatedly urges Timothy to fight this good fight:
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV)
“This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son… you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-19 NASB)
Some have failed to continue fighting the fight of faith. But Paul gets to the end of his life and is able to say,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV)
Rather than saying these words at the end of your life
“I have fought for an accumulative total of 4 years on my gaming console” or
“I have fought to be noticed and look externally beautiful”?
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to say
“I have fought the good fight”
Before we consider how we can fight the good fight, we need to know that we have already been fought for.
DAVID VS. GOLIATH
One of the most popular and well-known stories in all the Bible is David and Goliath.
Picture this scene: Two armies, standing off from one another. The Israelites and the Philistines. Goliath is the Champion of the Philistine people. Day after day he stands out the front of the Israelites challenging them to send their champion.
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels ; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. (1 Samuel 17:4-11)
Goliath is a beast! Even Saul, the King of Israel was too scared to go against Him. All of Israel are terrified!
Who then enters the scene? David. An Israelite shepherd boy who has a bunch of brothers in the army. He comes to bring them some lunch. When he learns that no-one will fight Goliath. He volunteers!
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:32-33)
David says, I’m not as weak as you think. I’ve fought off lions and bears to protect the sheep! And so Saul says,
“Go, and the Lord be with you.” Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:37b-40)
Although he may be a good protector of the sheep. He looks pretty weak compared to Goliath. Have a look at him:
Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” (1 Samuel 17:41-44)
If we didn’t know the ending, we’d obviously be preparing for Goliath to do the absolute smack-down on David. And yet David approaches the battle confidently. Why?
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
It might look unlikely, but God is the living God – He will give David victory. What happens?
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. (1 Samuel 17:48-50)
God gave David the victory!
Good story right? Everyone loves it when the underdog wins!
WHERE ARE YOU IN THIS STORY?
Think for a moment. Which person in this story best represents you? Often it’s suggested we are like David. Though we are weak, we should trust that God will help us to defeat our Goliaths. That might sometimes be true.
But we need to see ourselves somewhere else in this story. We are the people of Israel, the crowds standing on the hill. Terrified to go against our enemy and cheering when our champion – David – goes and claims victory on our behalf. We do nothing, we just watch him fight and win our battle.
If we are Israel, then who is David?
David goes on to be the Greatest King of Israel, yet not without fault. So God makes some massive promises to David in 2 Samuel 7. Promises that God will establish his Kingdom forever through one of David’s descendants.
That is, a greater King is coming. Who is that King?
THE CHAMP IS HERE
Jesus.
Just like David fought on behalf of the Israelites, Jesus fights on our behalf. Jesus is our Champion. Jesus defeats our Goliath.
Who is our enemy? Sin, Satan and Death.
Jesus defeats them
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15)
Just like a sling and 5 stones seems like nothing to defeat the might of Goliath. Jesus does something that seems like nothing that is actually everything. He dies on the cross. He triumphs against our enemy. He rises again and offers life to all who trust in Him.
It might be that you think you can deal with your enemy on your own. You can’t. So trust in Jesus your champion! If you’re not a following of Jesus, join his team. He is the champion, so that if you’re on his team, you are on the winning team – for eternity! Click here to find out how to take the first steps in becoming a Christian.
What has all this got to do with my fight? First and foremost, we need to know that Jesus has already fought for us.
OUR DAILY FIGHT
Jesus fought for our redemption. With his help we are to fight to be holy, to live godly lives as those who belong to Him.
Jonathan Dodson, Pastor of City Life Church Austin, encourages the people in his church to be part of a fight club. These groups of 2 or 3 people meet regularly to encourage one another in the daily fight of faith. There are 3 parts of the fight.
1. KNOW YOUR SIN
The first part of our fight of faith is to be real with our sin, to know it. 1 John 1:8-10 says we are kidding ourselves if we think we are without sin. Therefore be honest with yourself and honest with God about the struggles you are having. Pride, arrogance, idolatry, anger, lust, pornography, selfishness, grew, dishonesty. You know straight away the sins you are personally struggling with.
2. FIGHT YOUR SIN
It’s not enough to just know it, you need to fight it! Colossians 3:5-11 says to “put sin to death”. Kill it! John Owen describes killing sin as our “daily work” and that we need to “be killing sin or it will be killing you”. As those who belong to Jesus, we are to fight each day to put to death our sin and put on our new life in Christ.
3. TRUST YOUR SAVIOUR
This third step is the key part of knowing and fighting our sin. The answer to our sin is what Jesus – our champion – has already accomplished for us. When we are broken by our sin, we are reminded that we are saved not by what we do, but what He has already done at the cross. But we don’t only trust what Jesus has done for us, we also trust what Jesus will do in us by His Spirit. Romans 8:13 says it is by the Spirit that we will put our sin to death.
The more you are reminded of what Jesus has done and is doing, the more you will see the beauty of the cross and the emptiness of what sin offers to us.
Struggling with sin? Trust in the finished work of Jesus and ask him to give you strength to keep putting ongoing sin to death. If you belong to Jesus, remember He is the Champion!
ESCAPE TO REALITY
Maybe you are caught up in all sorts of pointless fights, in front of the computer screen or in front of the mirror.
If so, escape to reality. Know that there is a fight that matters much more. Jesus has already fought on your behalf and you need to keep fighting to trust in Him and live a godly life by His strength.
Are you part of a church? A small group bible study? A fight club? If not – each of them are great ways to be reminded to keep fighting the good fight, the fight of faith in Jesus.
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POSTS IN THIS SERIES: #SELFIES; BREAD & CIRCUSES; THE FIGHT; LEVEL-UP.
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