Amen. So in I Timothy 6 you'll notice there it says in verse 11,
But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Verse 12, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on
eternal life. And you know that phrase there, fight the
good fight of faith is just one of several other phrases
that remind us that the Christian life is a life of
fighting. It's a life of battling. This is something you
see often in Scripture. Go to II Timothy 2. Go to II Timothy
2. We can think of Ephesians 6 where we're told to be strong
in the Lord and the power is might. To put on the whole armor
of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. Why? Because we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all to stand. So again, throughout the
Scripture we see that we are told to fight, that we are
told to war, that we have an enemy. In fact, the Bible even
describes God as a man of war. It says in Exodus chapter 15,
the Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name. It says in
Isaiah 11, or excuse me, 42, the Lord shall go forth as a
mighty man. He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war. He
shall cry. And he's not saying like crying like weeping.
He shall cry out like lifting up his voice. Yea, roar. He
shall prevail against his enemies. So not only is the
Lord a man of war, but we are also told to be people that
fight. People that put on the armor of God, to be people
that fight the good fight of faith. You notice there in
2 Timothy chapter 2, look at verse 3, it said, Thou therefore
endure hardness as what? As a good soldier. What's a
soldier there to do? A soldier is there to fight a
war. He's there to fight a battle. We're told to endure
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, no man that entangles
himself with the affairs of this light, excuse me, no man
that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
So there it is again, we're told to be a soldier. We're
told to be people who are ready to fight, to battle, to
put on this armor because we have a spiritual battle against
spiritual wickedness. And we need to fight this fight
that we may do what, as it says there, fight that we
may please him. We want to do it, fight so that we
please God. Because here's the thing, you know, we as
people, especially men, you know, we like to fight. We
like challenges. We like difficulty. We like to go up
against something. We like competition. You know, we
want to prove ourselves. And a lot of times people get
caught up, you know, fighting, but they're not
fighting to please him. You know, they're fighting the
wrong types of battles. You know, we want to fight
the battles that are worth fighting. Fight the battles
that are worth fighting. That's the title of the
sermon, Battles Worth Fighting. And if you would,
keep something in 2 Timothy 2, but go back to 1
Chronicles 11, 1 Chronicles 11. You know, if we fight
the battles that are worth fighting, you know, God's
going to notice that. You know, when we get to
heaven, we're going to be rewarded for those
battles that we fought. We're going to be told,
well done, thou good, you know, and faithful
servant. We're not going to be, you know, we're
not, we're going to, it's going to be kind of
like, would a soldier, you know, does something of
significance in an army on the battlefield?
Oftentimes, they'll come home, you know, and
they'll get some kind of a medal. You know,
they'll get the, you know, the star, what is
the, the bronze star, the medal of honor, right,
that's another one. There's the purple heart.
There's all these different medals that they
can earn to show the achievements that they've
done for fighting. But is it because they just
fought any fight? No, it's because they fought
the fights that they were supposed to fight.
They fought the battles that were worth fighting.
You know, and that's, of course, we're talking
about a physical warfare. The fight that we're
called to is a spiritual warfare. You know, and
Congress is never going to sit us down and say,
hey, we're going to give you a medal for, you
know, your stand on the King James Version.
Oh, you've gotten so many souls saved. Here's
a medal of honor for all your hard fighting
and battling. Oh, you took a stand on the
word of God and was still the opposition.
You know, we're never going to receive that
here on earth. And quite frankly, I don't care.
I'm not interested in any of that. I don't need
the praise and accommodation of men when we
have the praise of God to look forward to.
But we only have that praise to look forward
to if we fight the battles that are worth
fighting. If you look there in First Chronicles
chapter 11, beginning of verse 1, the Bible
says, Then all Israel gathered themselves
to David unto Hebron. So this is right
after he becomes king over all
of Israel. And they're saying, Behold,
we are thy bone and thy flesh,
and moreover in time past, even when Saul
was king, thou was he that led us
out and brought us into Israel.
And the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou
shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be
ruler over my people Israel. Therefore,
call all the elders of Israel to Hebron.
And David made a covenant with them in Hebron
before the Lord. And they anointed David
king over Israel, according to the word of the
Lord by Samuel. And David and all Israel
went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus,
where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants
of the land, and the inhabitants of Jebus
said to David, Thou shalt not come hither.
So they're coming to take Jerusalem. That was
one of the most well-fortified areas
in that time, and no one was able to take
it up to this point. We're several
hundred years into them coming into the
promised land, and they still haven't taken
Jerusalem, which is at this time known as
Jebus, and they're saying, hey, you
can't make it up here. You're not going
to come up here. You might as well just
go home. Nevertheless, David took the
castle of Zion, which is the city of
David. He went and fought that for the
castle of Zion. Zion, that's something that
we think about, we associate with heaven.
Mount Zion, the fact that the new
Jerusalem's going to come down, and
we look forward to coming into the
spiritual Zion, right? But that's
something that we have to fight for.
Now, we understand that we don't
fight to earn our way to heaven, but
look, we need to fight for the kingdom
of God. That's what I'm getting at. If
there's a battle worth fighting, it's
fighting for the kingdom of God. David
wanted Jerusalem. He wanted that castle
of Zion. He wanted that to be where
God's name would be. He wanted to
fight for the kingdom, so that he
would be worthy to get into it, because
it's worth fighting for. It's worth
having something that we should fight
for. We don't fight for a physical
geography today. We're not interested
in that. What we're fighting for,
when I say we need to fight for
the kingdom, what I'm talking about
specifically is delivering the
unsaved, going out and delivering
people that are on their way to hell
and delivering them, taking them back
from the captivity of the devil and
setting them free, setting their souls
at liberty, liberating them into the
kingdom of God. That's something that
we have to fight for. That's not
something that's just going to automatically
happen just because we're here. We
can't just have this building and expect
the unsaved to start flowing in here
and we'll get them saved when they get
here. No, we've got to go out there and
find them and fight for them, take the
sword of the Spirit and shield the faith
and fight the enemy and deliver their
souls. Go back to 2 Timothy 2. Keep
something in 1 Chronicles 11. The Bible
says in Hebrews 12, For as much then
as the children of our takers of the
flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, talking
about Jesus, that through death he
might destroy him that had power of
death, that is the devil, and deliver
them who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage.
So before we were delivered
by Christ through his blood, we
were subject to the fear of death.
That's something that a lot of unsaved
people struggle with. They fear
death. That's why a lot of them
don't want to talk about it. That's why
they don't want to think about death.
You know, people sometimes struggle to
understand how is it that people can
go through life not knowing what's
going to happen to their souls when
they die. It's because most people
just choose not to think about that,
you know, and they distract themselves.
And there's so many things in this
world today that people can just keep
themselves distracted their whole life and
not have to think about death till the
very end. And then that doesn't stop
it from being a terrifying experience, I'm
out there and to deliver these people,
recover them out of the snare of the
devil. You know, he did that for us,
he made the way, he did all the hard
work, but he's imparted that work
unto us. When we got saved, he
enlisted us into that army for that
reason to go out and fight that battle.
Not just fight any battle. And look,
like I said in the beginning, there's
a lot of things people get caught up
fighting in this world. There's a lot
of causes that aren't even necessarily
bad, but they're not the battles that
fight. We need to go out there and
fight for the kingdom. We need to go
out and deliver the unsaved. It says
there in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 24,
the servant of the Lord must not
strive but be gentle unto all men,
apt to teach, patient and meekness,
instructing those that oppose
themselves. Look, the unsaved, it's,
you know, it's bad enough the
devil's got them, that they're
ensnared by him, but they'll often,
they're their own worst enemy, aren't
they? They're opposing themselves. We
knock on their door, hey, can I show
you how to go to heaven? No, I'm too
busy right now. You're opposing
yourself. They think they're opposing
us, and so you're actually fighting
yourself. Sir, ma'am, when you
don't want to hear the word of God,
when you have some excuse to not be
confronted with the gospel. He said,
in meekness, instructing those that
oppose themselves of God per adventure
will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth, that they
oppose themselves out of the snare
of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will. So
what's one of the first things we
need to fight for? It's for the
unsaved. That's a battle that's
worth fighting. You know, this isn't
just a hobby here, you know, and
I know we preach a lot, we talk
about soul winning a lot, because
that's something, and the reason why
that is, is because that's what we're
called to do. We're called to fight.
You know, he has committed unto us
who else is going to fight that
battle here in Tucson? I'm sure there
might be some other churches that do
some soul winning. I pray God that
there is, and if there are, God bless
them. But I don't know of any. I'm
not saying they're not there, I
personally don't know. But I know
there's one here, there's a church
here at 1955 West Grant Road, where
we have taken these marching orders
to heart, and said we're going to
go out and fight a battle that's
worth fighting and delivering the
And it says that those people, you
know, are taken captive by him at
his will. You know, that's why
when we're out soul winning, we
should always try to be meek and
gentle with people that we're
there to instruct them, because you
have to understand, you know, when
they reject us, or they're rude or
whatever, whether they know it or
not, all they are is taken captive
by the devil. You know, that should
make us pity these people and
have mercy upon them, and want to
Christ, he said in Luke 4, when he
was quoting Isaiah 61, the spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor. I mean,
that's one of the first things
he says, right? That's one of the
first things in that litany of
things he was told to do, right?
He's been anointed to preach the
gospel to the poor. If that was
Christ's mission, if that's why
the spirit of the Lord was upon
the Lord Jesus Christ, to go out
and preach the gospel to the
poor, that's something worth
taking up. That's a mantle that
we need to pick up. He has sent
me to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the
captives, recovering of the sight
of the blind, to set them at a
liberty that are bruised. Those
are the same things that we do
in a spiritual sense. You know,
when we go out there, we heal
the brokenhearted. People who
are broken by sin, people who
are beat down by life and the
devil, we preach the gospel to
them, we bring the hope of the
gospel to them, and we're
preaching and seeing them, you
know, and people can be healed,
lives can change, healing the
brokenhearted, preaching
deliverance to the captives.
Again, that's what the gospel
is. Preaching the gospel,
you're preaching to somebody
who's a captive, who's being
taken captive by the devil at
his will. They're literally in
a spiritual bondage. I mean,
that's how we should see
people when we're out there
preaching the gospel, as if
they had just chains around
their hands and their neck, so
they're just bound by sin and
the devil. That's how we
should see these people, because
that's what they are. That's why
he said, look, you have to
preach deliverance to the
captives. Deliver and, what
does he say, set sight and
recovering of sight to them,
to the blind. You know, we go
out there and show them the
gospel to people that are
blind, people who don't, who
can't see things for what
they really are. Can't we
explain to them, look, there
really is a heaven, there
really is a hell, there really
is a God that loves you,
there really is, you know,
Jesus Christ really was God
and he really did die for
you. These are the things
that we preach. This is the
battle that we fight, and this
is the battle that's worth
fighting. And it's a battle
that has, you know, that we
can win. And it's a battle
that has eternal consequences.
You know, a lot of the
battles that people get
fought, that fight in this
life, whether it's in
politics or some agenda or
whatever, the things that they
fight, they don't have any
eternal consequences. I'm not
saying there aren't
consequences and that there
aren't people that need to
fight those battles. I'm glad
that they're there. Well,
look, the most important
battle is the battle for the
souls of the unsaved. And
that's, you know, there is no
more important battle. There
is no more significant
battle. Of all the battles
that are worth fighting, it
is the most important to go
out and to preach the gospel
to them that are taken
captive by the devil at his
will. You say, well, you
know, it just seems like
that's a losing battle. I
mean, there's only us. You
know, we're talking about the
whole city of Tucson. And
look, I know we're not
going to get every single
person saved. In fact, most
people are going to reject
the gospel. But I mean, it's
worth it to go out and
deliver one, two, three,
four a week, however many
we can get. And in a lot
of times, basically all
we're doing, it's like
it's just this tidal wave
of souls that are just
rushing towards hell and
we're just trying to put
our hands up and grab a
couple on their way out.
You know, but that's the
battle that we're called
to fight. And, you know,
despite what it might look
like, the odds really, I
mean, they are in our
favor. It's a battle that
we can win. We can't get
everybody saved, but we can
win some, okay? If you're
still there in 1
Chronicles, excuse me,
chapter 11, look at verse
10. We're going to look at
some of these battles that
the mighty men of God or
many might have David
fought. It said, verse 10
of 1 Chronicles 11, these
also are the chief of the
mighty men, excuse me,
whom David had, excuse me,
men whom David had who
strengthened themselves with
him in his kingdom and
with all Israel to make
him king according to the
word of the Lord
concerning Israel. And
this is the number of the
mighty men whom David had,
Jashabim and Hekmonite,
the chief of the captains.
He lifted up his spear
against 300 slain by him
at one time. I mean,
we're impressed if we get
three corn holes in a row,
right? Just three. You
know, if we got three in
a whole game, we're
like, yeah, we feel like
we really count some.
And this guy at one time,
you know, this Jashabim,
he picked up his spear and
he killed 300 men at one
time with a spear. I mean,
that's pretty amazing,
isn't it? Now, this guy
went out there and saw
300 men and just his
spear, you know, he might
have said, well, the odds
are against me. I'm just
going to turn tail. I'm
going to run. You know?
And we might get the same
attitude sometimes. Say, I
don't know if I can live
this Christian life. I
don't know if I can
stand for the word of
God. I don't know if I can,
you know, fight for the
kingdom. I don't know if I
can fight the way I'm
supposed to because it
just seems like the
whole world's against us.
And look, we do have an
enemy. And a lot of times
the world is against us.
But you know what? Don't
let that deceive you.
The odds are in our
favor. We can do great
things through God. We can
accomplish something. You
know, we can go out.
We're not going to kill
people literally, but you
know, we can slay
spiritually. You know,
maybe that 300 is a number
you can achieve in your
lifetime. You know, I
delivered 300 souls from
hell. Look, that's quite the
accomplishment. You know,
I saved 100, I saved 300, I
saved 600, whatever. You
know, you can go out there
and rather than just
focusing on how many
people aren't going to
hear the gospel, how many
people are going to reject
it, you know, why don't
you just find the people
that will hear, those
numbers will add up. I
mean, I don't know that
we're going to do it all
in one time. Although at
some of these missions
trips, you know, they
just went over to Sierra
Leone and preached to
800 students or plus at,
you know, at once. I
mean, you could slay 300
at one time, you know,
at some of these mission
trips. That's probably
not going to happen
here, right? But the
point is this, this
thing, you know, this
guy here, this
Jeshabim, you know, he
saw those 300 men and
said, let's do it.
Bring it on. And he
fought a fight that's
worth fighting, right? And
he goes down in the
Word of God as a mighty
man. And we'll see
later also that he
inspired other people. You
know, don't think that
the odds, you know, the
odds might look like
they're against us, but
look, we have, you know,
we have the assurance that
if we're fighting the
right fight, we're fighting
the battles that are
worth fighting, we will
see great victories in
Christ. I believe that.
That's why, I mean, if
Jesus said in Matthew 28,
he said, he said, all
power is given unto me in
heaven and earth. Go ye
therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing the
name of the Father and
of the Son and the Holy
Ghost, teaching them to
observe all things
whatsoever I have
commanded you and lo,
you're on your own. And
lo, good luck with that,
by the way. You know,
all power is with me. I
don't know what you got
going for you. All power is
given unto me in heaven and
earth, but, you know,
you're going to have a
tough time out there. Is
that what he said? He
said, no, all power is
given unto me in heaven and
earth, and lo, I am with
you always, even unto the
end of the world. Amen.
So we have the assurance
that Christ is with us.
You know, we're filled
with the Holy Spirit and
we have the word of God
in our hand. There's no
reason we can't go out
there and deliver souls and
see people get saved. And
we should never get this
defeated, downtrodden,
you know, downtrodden
attitude and think, well,
this doesn't work, you
know, what's the point? I'm
going to go fight some
other battle or I'm just
going to give up. Don't
think like that. Look, we
have the Spirit of God and
Christ is with us. If you
would, look at 1 Corinthians
11, verse 12. Verse 12,
and after him was Eliezer,
the son of Dodo, the
Ahohite, who was one of
the three minies. He was
with David at pastamim and
the Philistines were
gathered together to
battle. There was a parcel
of ground full of barley,
and the people fled from
before the Philistines.
And they set themselves in
the midst of that parcel
and delivered it and slew
the Philistines, and the
Lord saved them by a great
deliverance. You know, a
lot of other people have
said, it's just some
barley, you know. What
are you guys doing? You
know, why are you hanging
out there and trying to
just, you know, get some
barley? You can grow some
somewhere else. You know,
but Eliezer, the son of
Dodo, he said, you
know what? No, this
barley is ours, and I'm
not just going to let
these Philistines come in
and take it. You know, this
is, you know, I don't know
if it was necessarily his
field or whatever, but he
said, look, this is, you
know, Israel's land. This
is something that was
given to our fathers by the
Lord, and we're not just
going to let these
heathens come in and take
it. It was something that
was worth fighting. Other
people might have said,
hey, you know what? Just
let the barley go. It's
not that important. We can
go, they can have that.
We'll just go plant some
somewhere else. You know,
what we need to understand
is that, look, if we
give them that ground,
they'll just come and take
more. You know, and people
are starting to find that
out, you know, with these
homos, is that they think,
you know, the Bible says
that they're implacable.
You know, oh, they just
want to get married. Now
they just want to adopt.
Now they just want to
change genders. Now they
just want to come into
church and sit in the front
row and drag. You know,
now they just want to,
you know, be able to get
up in the pulpit and
preach. They're implacable.
Like you give them that
little plot of barley,
they're just going to
take the next. That's
how the world works.
That's why you have to
fight that. You have to
resist that. You know,
that's why we need to
fight and stand for the
word of God and not give
an inch to these people.
And again, we're not
standing alone. It might
feel like that. You might
look around and say,
well, there's nobody else
with us. But notice that
Eleazar, the son of
Dodo, it says there at
the end of verse 12,
he was with David. And
who's David? He's the
king. Look, when you
stand and fight the
battles that are worth
fighting, you stand with
the king. You have God
on your side. Even if
everybody else forsakes you,
you still have the Lord.
And look, if we stand
with the king, we will
win. We will deliver. I
mean, that's what he did.
He delivered that from
the Philistines. But
again, you have to be
standing with the Lord.
You have to have God in
your life to fight these
battles. Isn't that what
Jesus said? Without me,
you can do nothing. Now,
if you look there in
1 Chronicles chapter 11,
look at verse 15. It
says, Now the three of
these 30 captains went
down to the rock to
David into the cave of
Adullam. And the host
of the Philistines
encamped in the valley of
Rephaim. And David was
then in the hold, and the
Philistines garrison was
then at Bethlehem. Now,
you have to remember,
when this host of the
Philistines encamped in
the valley of Rephaim,
you know, there's
parallel passages tell us
that they were spread in
the valley. I mean, this
was an innumerable host.
It was a huge army of
the Philistines. And
this happens twice. But
you know, he's just
kind of telling us this
one instance here in
1 Chronicles. So he's
there. The Philistines
are there. There's a
great army in their
garrison at Bethlehem.
And David's down in the
hold, right? He's setting
up a defensive position
against the enemy. And
it says there in verse
17, and David longed and
said, oh, that one would
give me the drink of the
water of the well of
Bethlehem, which is where
the Philistines garrison
was when we just read,
that is at the gate,
exclamation point. I
mean, he's just crying
out. You know, he
wants the waters of
Bethlehem, right? And
he's not saying this
like, hey, somebody go get
me a glass of water.
You know, someone go to
Bethlehem. He's just
longing for this. This
is something that he
remembers having. He's
upset by the fact that
the Philistines are there,
that he can't go over
and just get this water
from Bethlehem. You
know, there's just
something about it that
would have just
refreshed him. And it
says there in verse 18,
and the three break
through the host of the
Philistines and drew out
the water of the well
of Bethlehem that was by
the gate, and took it
and brought it to
David. And I love this
attitude that these three
had. They heard David
saying, oh, I'm going
to Bethlehem. I'm going
to Bethlehem. And they
heard David say that and
said, yeah, that sounds
nice. They said, you
know what? That's what
the king wants. He wants
that. That would be
refreshing to him. You
know, I'm going to go
fight that battle for
him. And he wasn't
saying that to try and
get them to do that.
They just took that upon
themselves. Said, hey,
let's, you know, he's
our king. You know,
he's our leader. Let's
do something for him.
Let's go ahead and
fight a battle for him.
And, again, they went
out there and break
through the host of
the Philistines. Three
guys. Three guys go and
break through the host
of the Philistines,
break through the
garrison that's in
Bethlehem, get the water,
and, by the way, then
they had to come back.
I mean, this is quite
the feat that these
guys did. You know, we
go to a door to knock
on it and there's, like,
if we just see, you know,
the leavings of a large
dog, you know, we'll
be like, I'm not going
in there. I'm not
breaking through that
gate. We didn't even
see the dog. We just,
you know, we saw what
he left behind if you
catch my drift. We just
know he's in there
somewhere. We see that
sign. You know, which
is probably the smart
thing to do, by the
way, folks. You know,
I'm not saying you need
to be like the three
mighties and break
through the yard and
bust in the house and
get a drink out of the
water, you know, out of
the sink or something
and bring it to me.
But, you know, I'm
just saying, you know,
we get intimidated by a
lot of things, don't we?
I mean, doesn't that
sound intimidating to you?
Just a band of these
Philistines that are
just, there are nothing
more than just kill these
Israelis, these Jews.
And he says, you know
what, we're not going
to let these people
stop us. We're going to
break through, we're
going to bring water and
we're going to bring it
back to the king. You
know, that's, we can't
have this defeated
attitude as Christians.
Just think, oh, what's
the point? You know, the
world's so wicked. People
don't care anymore. You
know, we're living in the
loudest sea and age.
You know, these people
that believe in
dispensationalism, it's
just things I've heard
in churches. Oh, you
know, we try harder to
reach people, but it's
this loudest sea and
age that we live in,
this church age where
everyone's lukewarm, you
know, and people just
don't care about the
things of God anymore.
Look, is that a reason to
quit fighting? Is that
what these guys did? Oh,
David, I know that water
would be really refreshing
to you, but I mean,
look, it's behind an army.
There's a garrison in
Bethlehem where that
water is that you want.
They didn't let that
stop them. They didn't
have this defeated
attitude. They went out
by faith and fought
three men that took on
a whole army and got
back. They break through
the host of the
Philistines. It didn't
say they snuck around,
right? They broke
through. It's like, you
know, the running back,
whoever, just like jumps
over the pile of
linemen, right, to make
the touchdown, right? I
know we got a lot of
football fans in here.
I'm bringing you back.
I'm bringing you back,
right? That, you know,
they're breaking through.
They're cutting through
the lines. That's what
these guys did. You can't
have this defeated
attitude, and you know
what? You need to be
willing to take a risk
if you're going to do
something for God. You
have to be willing to,
you know what, say,
I know it makes me
nervous. I'm not a very
good speaker. I'm not
eloquent. I'm not a
people person. I don't
know a lot of Scripture,
but you know what? I have
the Bible. I'm going to
go out, and I'm going to
take a chance and
actually try to preach
the gospel to somebody.
You know, you have to
take that risk
eventually. You have to
go out there and
actually give it a try.
You know, and people
get caught up sometimes
thinking, well, I'll
preach the gospel when
I know the Bible well
enough, when I know to
answer every possible
rebuttal that I might
hear. That's not what
you want to do.
Because most people,
look, most people, you
know, if they start to
argue, I just say,
have a good day, and I
leave.
Because I'm not there
to argue. I'm not there
to argue Mormon doctrine
or Jehovah Witness
doctrine. I mean, if
they have a genuine
question where they're
just kind of wondering
and they're open to
being taught and they
bring something up, yeah,
we'll talk about it.
But if they just want
to argue, you know,
well, how do you know
anyone goes to heaven,
hmm, only 144,000 ago.
You know, these Jehovah
Witnesses always bring
out these cute things
that they've learned.
It's always the
same talking points.
Look, but you don't
have to know everything.
All you have to know
is how to get saved.
And by the way, if
you're saved, you know
how to do that.
That you're a sinner,
that Jesus is God,
he died for your sins,
just show him some
scriptures, people will
believe it.
You know, and it might
not be everybody, but
it'll be some.
It might be 300.
You know, you give it
time, you'll get 300.
And you know what
you're going to do?
You're going to refresh
the king when he sees
that.
When he sees us willing
to go out, not be
defeated, go out and
break through the enemy,
go out and try to,
you know, just get
that little bit of
water and bring it back.
It's going to be
refreshing to him to
have that defeated
attitude when it comes
to the Christian life,
the people that are
willing to actually
take a risk and put
themselves out there
for the Lord.
You know, the king,
he's going to recognize
the sacrifice.
It's not like you're
going to say, well,
you know, I want to live,
I'd live for the Lord,
I'd do these things,
but is God even
going to notice?
Of course he is.
I mean, look there
at verse 18 again
at the end.
It says that they took
it and brought it
to David, and it says,
but David would not
pour it out to the Lord
and said, my God forbid
it me that I should
do this thing.
Shall I drink the blood
of these men that have
put their lives in jeopardy?
For with jeopardy of
their lives they brought
it, therefore he would
not drink of it.
These things did these
three mighties,
these three mightiest.
I mean, David, he gets
that cup and he's just
blown away by what
these guys did.
He says, you guys
risked your necks.
You went out there and
broke through the
Philistines, you went
through the garrison
at Bethlehem and
brought me back the
throne.
He's like, I can't, I
couldn't even drink this.
He said, let me pour it
out unto the Lord as a
sacrifice to him.
You know, the king
acknowledged what these
three people did.
They took note of it.
He was impressed by it,
right?
He was taken aback by it.
You know, God will notice
us when we go out and
fight the battles that
are worth fighting.
The world might never
notice us.
People, other people in
our lives might not ever
notice us.
You know, we're never
going to get called in
the office at work and
be getting a raise for
the things we do for
God.
You know, but here's the
thing, if we go out and
fight these battles for
the Lord and fight these
battles that are worth
fighting, God will
notice.
And God will bless your
life.
God will pour out a
blessing upon you.
I believe that.
And here's the thing,
when a person, you know,
has, doesn't have a
defeated attitude and is
willing to take a risk,
is willing to fight the
battles that are worth
fighting, it inspires
other people.
You know, that kind of
zeal inspires people.
If you remember back
there in verse 10, we
were talking about the
Jezebim, the Hachmanite,
he lifted up his spear
against 300, right?
Well, look there at
verse 20.
And Abishai, the brother
of Joab, he was the
chief of the three,
lifting up his spear
against 300.
And he slew them and
had a name among the
three.
Now, I don't know if he
saw what the other guy
did and said, hey, I'm
going to do the same
thing, but isn't it
interesting you have two
different guys who defeat
the same number of
people in the exact same
manner.
I mean, it very well may
be that Abishai, you know,
saw Josh B. on the
Hachmanite and said, hey,
that guy took out 300
spear, I'm going to go
do the same thing.
You know, that's why you
need to fight the battles
that are worth fighting.
You don't know who you're
going to inspire next.
You don't know who else
is watching and says, you
know what, if that guy
can do it, so can I.
And go out there and do
the same thing that
you've done.
We should fight these
battles that are worth
fighting because you know
what, you'll inspire
other people to do the
same.
And bring more people on
board for the cause that
matters.
And this is something that
we see throughout Scripture.
You know, I'll just read
to you from 2 Corinthians 9,
where Paul was writing them
saying, as touching the
ministering of the
saints, it is superfluous
for me to write to you,
for I know the forwardness
of your mind, for which I
boast of you to them at
Macedonia, that Achai was
right a year ago, and
your zeal hath provoked
many, very many.
You know, one of the
great things about zeal is
that it's contagious.
That's why we should be
zealous people.
That's why we should fight
the battles that are worth
fighting because it'll get
other people fired up.
I mean, I know that's the
case with me.
Man, I see some guy getting
up and ripping face and
preaching them out.
I say, man, I want to be
able to preach like that.
What do I got to do?
You know, I want to get
full of the Holy Ghost.
I want to know the Bible.
I'm inspired to do that.
I see somebody else go
out and get souls saved
and go on some missions
trip or go out and
knock doors, wherever, and
come back and say, we
got three or four people
saved or whatever.
I say, praise God.
I want a piece of that.
I want to get in on that.
You know, that's why we
should fight the battles
that are worth fighting
and never have a defeated
attitude is because if
you're zealous, it will
inspire other people.
That's a big reason why
I'm even standing here
today, why I'm even
living in this town.
You know, I was living in
Michigan up in, you know,
and really not doing
anything for God, to be
honest.
It caught wind of a
preacher out in Phoenix,
Arizona, who was actually
preaching the whole council
of the word of God,
standing on the word of God,
not caring what anybody
thought about it and
going out and winning
souls.
I said, man, that's great.
I love that zeal.
I want to be a part of that.
You know, but you have
to have that zeal to
inspire other people.
And if you are defeated
and just kind of down in
the mouth Christian,
you're not going to
inspire anybody to do
anything for God.
They're going to look at
your life and say, well,
what's the point of
living for God?
I mean, it doesn't get
that guy excited.
They don't get fired up
about it.
That's not what we want to
do.
We want to inspire other
people.
We want to provoke very
many.
We want to be like Jehu
to Jehonadab, right,
in 2 Kings, where he said,
you know, is your heart
right?
Is my heart is right?
And he says it is.
And he looked at his hand
and said, come with me
and see my zeal for the
Lord.
And he lifted up and
brought him into his
chariot, right?
And he ran over Jezebel
and did all these things.
It's one of my favorite
– I'll just say it.
That is probably my
favorite story in the
scripture, where Jehu just
goes out and just wreaks
the plague on Ahab and
his descendants.
Just slaughters everyone
and just goes – you
know the story.
We're going to tell it
anyway.
When he rolls up on
Jezebel, right?
And it says she tied her
head and painted her face
and she stuck it out the
window and said,
Had Simray peace who
slew his master?
Hee-hee!
Right?
She's like trying to get
all smart with Jehu.
And he doesn't even
respond to her.
And then he sees the
eunuchs that are up there
and says, who's on the
Lord's side?
And they look at him,
and they throw her down,
right?
And they throw – and the
Bible is just – you've
got to read it.
The Bible is an awesome
book.
They throw Jezebel down
just splat right on the
ground.
The Bible says that he
rode over her with the
chariot, with all the
horses.
They throw her down and
he just rides right over
her, right?
And then he goes in and
eats a meal.
Then he goes in and
sits down and he goes
in and eats.
And after he's finished
eating, he says, Well,
I guess we should bury
her.
She was the king's
daughter.
And then what did they
find?
They found the head,
the feet, and the skull,
and that's it.
And the dogs ate the
rest of her, right?
Because that was the
curse that God placed
upon her, that she would
have no bear, that she
would be spread as dung
upon the face of the
earth, right?
Because she was so
wicked.
And they didn't eat her
hands because the
wickedness that she wrought,
they didn't – her feet
were swift to shed
innocent blood.
They didn't eat that.
She had a filthy mind.
That's the application
there.
I'm preaching a whole
other sermon now, right?
But it's just every time
I read it, I love that
story.
Every time I read it,
I'm like, man, I can't
wait to get to preach
that again.
So I just got to.
Anyway.
But what am I saying
here?
It's like, you know,
Jehu inspired that guy.
Jehonadab's like,
this is a cool ride,
right?
He got up in that
chariot and he sees
Jehu just, you know,
putting the smack down
on people and just
slaying them for the
Lord, killing all the
prophets of Baal.
Remember that, where he
gets them all into the
house, the house of
Baal?
And he says, make sure
there's no worshippers
that move.
And then as soon as he
got all the worshippers
of Baal, he just kills
them all.
It's an awesome story.
You know, this guy got
to see that.
You know, why did he
get to see that?
Because Jehu was
somebody who had some
zeal.
They saw him coming.
They said, he's driving
furiously.
And it's the driving
of Jehu.
I mean, he was known
as a guy who just
drew, you know, drove
his chariot hard.
He got after things
because he was
zealous.
And he was able to
tell Jehonadab, hey,
come see my zeal.
You hang around me
long enough, you're going
to see some zeal.
That's what he's
telling him.
I'm up to something.
I'm doing something
for God.
And if you stick around,
you'll see it.
That's the kind of people
we need to be, people
who inspire zeal
and other people.
And you're never
going to be that way
if you're just have
this defeated attitude,
if you're never willing
to take a risk.
You're not going to
be somebody who
inspires zeal.
You've got to be
people that are willing
to fight the battle
that's worth fighting.
And look, there is
a battle that's
worth fighting.
You know, we have an
enemy that we must resist.
We must fight.
If you would, well,
look there in 1 Chronicles
chapter 11, verse 22.
Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada,
the son of a valiant man
of Kabziel, who had done
many acts, he slew two
lion-like men of Moab.
Also, he went down and
slew a lion in a pit
on a snowy day.
So I don't know what
this guy's got against
lions or people that
even look like lions, right?
He's like, you remind
me of a lion, I'm going
to kill you, right?
So he kills two
lion-like men of Moab,
and then he also
killed a lion.
Look, I'd be impressed
with just slaying, you
know, killing the lion.
And it was in a pit
on a snowy day.
So what's the point?
Why the details?
Well, one is the pit
is probably, there was
no running away.
Maybe he like jumped down
into the pit with
the lion, that kind
of thing.
Like the guy saw it,
like the lion's caught
in the pit.
It's a snowy day,
he can't get footing.
Because this stuff snow,
I know none of you
know, it's wet,
and it's slippery, you
know, and as you step
on it, it gets packed
down, it turns into like
ice, it's really hard
to get a footing.
So that's kind of how
the story plays out in
my mind when I read that,
is that he just comes
upon this pit and there's
this lion that's like
kind of has gotten
itself stuck down there.
Now, if you came across
that, would it go
through your mind,
I'm going to jump down
in that pit and
kill that lion.
You know, I see like
a scorpion, and I'm
like, honey?
No, I'm just kidding.
I'm kidding.
I'll kill the scorpions,
right?
But I'm just saying,
I wouldn't just jump
into a pit to kill a lion
if it's stuck down there.
I mean, how do you
end up in a pit with
a lion to begin with?
You know, that's how
the story's got to go.
It's just got to be that
way.
I mean, we'll get to
heaven and find out for
sure, but I believe that
he stumbles upon this
lion in a pit that's
just stuck there.
So the lion's probably
hungry and mad, it's
stuck in the snowy pit.
He's like, you know
what, I'm going to just
jump in that pit right
now and kill that lion.
Why would he do that?
Because this guy's
got some zeal.
He wants to do
something hard.
You know, he slew these
two lion-like men.
Maybe he just, you know,
I don't know what
it means by that.
Maybe they just had
long hair, you know,
they sharpened their
teeth or something.
It was yellow hair.
I'm not sure what
made them so lion-like,
but that's what the
Bible says.
Maybe it just means that
they were very, you
know, fearsome, you know,
very, very strong people,
right?
And he slings these guys
and he fights this,
kills this lion.
And look, we don't have
any literal lion-like
men, okay?
Don't go find a lion
like looking man and
try to kill him.
And don't go to the
Phoenix Zoo and jump in
with the lions either,
all right?
But we do have, you know,
an adversary to fight,
don't we?
And what does the
Bible call our adversary?
Well, go to 1 Peter
chapter 5, 1 Peter
chapter 5, you probably
know it.
And, you know, I'm kind
of closing on this
thought, look, there are
battles that are worth
fighting in life.
And there's a battle
that must be fought.
And, you know, our
enemy, we only have one
true enemy in life.
In the Christian life.
There's only one true
enemy for the devil.
You know, and let me
just break it to you.
It's not Bill Gates.
It's not Bill Gates,
all right?
It's not, you know,
it's not Dr. Fauci.
Now, look, it's not,
you know, the Democratic
Party.
It's not the Republican
Party.
You know, it's not all
these things that people
want to fight these days.
You know, it's not the
Masons.
You know, it's not the
Masonic Lodge.
It's not the Illuminati.
You know, it's not whatever
secret, you know, occult
group out there that we
think we have to just,
you know, blow the lid
off on.
That's not the battle we're
called to fight, folks.
Because at the, you know,
at the head of all that
is Satan.
That's the true enemy we
have, we're called to
fight.
You know, it was explained
to me a long time ago
when I started fighting
about all these conspiracy
things, you know, about
all the conspiracy stuff.
Look, I believe in a lot
of conspiracies.
Not all of them.
Don't come to me about
Bigfoot or Loch Ness.
All right?
Or the flat earth.
Definitely don't come to me
about that.
Keep that to yourself, all
right?
Although most flat earthers
can't.
You know, big, some of you
squatchers, keep it on the
down low, right?
Well, look, there's a lot
of different conspiracies
that are, I believe,
very viable, right?
I mean, we do wrestle
against principalities in
high places, right?
There are the rulers of the
darkness of this world.
I get that.
There are, I'm sure,
secret, satanic, you know,
occultic groups out there
that are pulling the strings
behind the scenes that are
trying to influence things.
I believe that.
But who's behind all of that?
It's Satan.
That is our enemy.
You know, Satan's like
this big octopus, right?
And he's got all these
different tentacles.
You know, he's got the
Illuminati over here.
He's got Masons over here.
He's got Bill Gates and
Dr. Fauci over here.
He's got this conspiracy
over here.
He's got all these
different groups everywhere,
right?
But they all lead to
the same head.
They all lead to the same
jaws that are just gonna
munch you up.
It's just that some people
get, what, the octopus,
those tentacles have
little suction cups, right?
Some people just get
stuck on one.
They're like, oh, I figured
it out.
I found out the truth.
It's the Illuminati.
No, it's actually Satan.
No, it's the Masons.
You know, it's this group.
It's that group.
It's this individual.
It's this agenda.
It all leads to the same
guy who just happened to
get stuck on one tentacle,
okay?
Because we only have one
enemy that's worth fighting.
And it's not any of these
other guys.
It's Satan.
This guy, you know, he
fought the lion.
He'd fight the lion like
men.
You know, we have a lion
to fight too.
In 1 Peter 5, verse 8,
be sober, be vigilant
because your adversary,
the devil, as a roaring
lion walketh about seeking
whom he may devour.
You know, we have that
enemy.
That is our enemy.
He's described as a roaring
lion walking about seeking
whom he may devour,
meaning that there are
people out there that he
can devour.
You know, saved and unsaved.
And look, he's telling us
to be sober and be vigilant
so that what?
That we're not devoured
by this enemy.
I'm not saying that, you
know, when we're going to
fight Satan, that we're
going to take it to him,
you know, and we are
going to defeat Satan.
We're not.
All we're doing are
delivering people from his
clutches.
You know, we're just going
up to that giant octopus
and just, you know,
pulling one off and saying
it's actually the Lord
explaining to them,
look, it's not your
harebrained conspiracy
it's actually what the
Bible says.
You know, once people
find out what the Bible
says, a lot of those
conspiracies and things
like that, they make a lot
more sense to them.
They go, oh, it's the
devil that's behind it all,
right?
We pull back the curtain
and say, you know, it's
this guy.
It's this lion, you know,
this roaring adversary that
we have to fight, okay?
That's it.
But we're not going to
go and, you know,
defeat Satan.
We're not going to shut
down his plan.
You're not going to.
You're not going to
stop the one world order.
You're not going to.
It's going to happen.
I mean, why does the Bible
say it's going to happen?
If we could, then why
didn't God tell us to do
that?
He said, look, it's going
to get so bad that, you
know, when the Antichrist
comes, if it were
possible, he would deceive
even the very elect.
And except those days
should be shortened, there
shall no flesh be saved.
Except that the Lord should
shorten those days, right?
It's God that ultimately
delivers us.
We don't do that.
We can't defeat Satan.
All we can do is deliver
people from his clutches.
That's why he says there
in verse 9 of 1 Peter 5,
whom resist steadfast in
the faith.
You know, our job is just
to resist him in our own
personal lives, not letting
him get us into bondage,
not letting him make a
ruin, you know, messing up
our life, ruining our life,
putting you to where we
can't be used of God.
You know, he wants to get
us out of the fight, out
of the battle.
He doesn't want us fighting
battles that are worth
fighting.
He wants us off fighting
some other battle.
You know, he wants us off
fighting, you know, and
again, these aren't all bad
battles.
You know, I get it.
There's some merit to them,
but we're not here to
stand up for the Second
Amendment.
Sorry.
That's not the fight we're
called to fight.
Do I like the Second
Amendment?
Yes, I do.
You know, but there's plenty
other people that are
fighting that fight.
We're not here to fight,
you know, the mask mandates.
Look, the world's fighting
that fight.
We're not here to fight
COVID and everything else.
There's plenty of other
people out there to take
up that banner that are
fighting it.
I know they are.
But how many people are
taking up this banner right
here?
How many people are standing
up for this right now?
How many people are out
there fighting the battle
for lost souls?
You know, in Tucson, I know
about this many right here.
And I'm sure there's others
out there.
Praise God for that.
But this is the many as I
know of.
And you know what?
I'm sure there's, you know,
millions of other people
out there that are fighting
the battles against the
vaccines, fighting the
battles for, you know,
gun rights, fighting all
these different political
battles.
And you know what?
God bless them.
Go fight that battle.
That's not the one that I'm
called to fight.
It's not the battle that's
worth fighting because those
battles ultimately are losing
battles.
You might win a few
victories here and there,
but in the long run, it's
a losing battle.
But this battle that we fight
for, you know, against the
principalities and powers in
high places, the darkness and
the rulers of this world,
delivering souls, that has
eternal value in this life, in
the world to come.
I'll close on this thought.
If you're still there in
1 Chronicles chapter 11, how
do you fight this battle?
Well, look at verse 23.
It says, and he fought.
This is talking about the same
guy, Benaiah, who killed the
two lion-like men and the
lion.
And he slew an Egyptian, a man
of great stature, five cubits
high.
And in the Egyptian's hand was
a spear like a weaver's
beam.
That's the same thing it says
about Goliath's spear, right?
His spear was like a weaver's
beam, and he went down to him
with a staff.
So this guy's got this huge
just spear, right?
And he goes down with a staff.
Now, a staff doesn't have, it's
not a spear.
It's a stick.
It's what you use to walk,
right?
I mean, you can use it as a
weapon to hit people, but
you're not going to, you know,
you have to club them to
death with that, right?
You're not going to really,
you know, run them through.
But notice what he does.
And pluck out the spear out of
the Egyptian's hand and slew
him with his own spear.
And he goes out there and takes
his own little spear, his own
little staff, and just boom.
And that's how I imagine that
one.
You know, he's doing all the
kung fu stuff with his staff,
and he's trying to get him
with the spear.
He slaps his hand, knocks it
up out of the air, whatever.
You know, and he catches that
spear and runs him through
with the Egyptian, his own
spear.
You know, and this is how
we're going to fight this
battle in part, okay, is
that we turn, we use the
devil's own weapon against
him, right?
Because how does the devil
fight?
Does he go out to everybody
and say, hello, I'm the
devil, here's my card,
1-666-666-6666, right?
Is that what he does?
You know, call me, I'll set
up an appointment.
You know, I'm the devil,
hi, my name's Satan, used
to go by Lucifer, right?
No, what does he do?
He spreads his message very
subtly, right?
Right, he goes out and he
spreads his message through the
media, he spreads his message
through education, right?
He, what, he publishes his
message.
Look, we need to do the same
thing.
We need to use his own weapon
against him.
And what am I talking about?
By preaching the gospel.
By spreading our message.
You know, a good example of
this, I think, is the
internet.
Does the devil use the
internet?
Of course he does.
I mean, there's, I mean,
let's, if you were to take
all the godly content on,
like, say, YouTube or
something like that, and put
it on this side of the scale,
all the Bible preaching, all
the, you know, biblical
documentaries, all the
wholesome, godly, just
Christian material and YouTube
on this scale, and then just
took all the world's filth and
junk and stupidity on the
other side of the scale.
Which side do you think's
heavier, folks?
I mean, just go to the
trending page.
You know, if they're not
eating Tide Pods, they're,
you know, they're running
through traffic or, you know,
chasing people around with
a chainsaw, right?
Is that what we heard about?
Hey, it's Halloween.
Let's take the, you know,
let's fire up a chainsaw and
chase unsuspecting people
around.
Yeah, hopefully you don't
get shot.
You know, well, it's
Halloween.
It's okay, right?
You know, all the stupid
things that people do, right?
That would be like, that
scale would just be like,
boom, right?
They're just, it would just
throw all the other stuff up
in the air.
Just gone, right?
But look, we need to use
that, we can use that same
tool, like YouTube, internet,
social media, against the
devil.
We can pluck that spear out of
his hand, so to speak, with
our little staff and run him
through, you know?
And again, we're not going to
take over the internet, you
know?
Good luck with that.
That's why, you know, people
say, oh, man, I can't wait
for YouTube to be like it was.
It will never be what it was,
folks.
You know, once Google bought it
and it just turned into a
money-making machine, it's
gone.
That's why there's no free
speech on there.
Those days are way behind,
right?
They're just long gone.
Anyway, you know, that's not
really the point of sermon.
What I'm saying is this, is
that, you know, we can use
that to reach people.
We can make the content, we
can put the sermons out
there.
I mean, I don't know how many
people I've met that got saved
because they saw a sermon
called Once Saved, Always
Saved by Pastor Stephen
Anderson, or they saw a film
that was produced by, you
know, Paul Wittenberger and
Faithful Word Baptist Church
called After the Tribulation.
I know how many people I know
I've talked to, I mean, just
dozens upon dozens, you know,
if it's not into the hundreds
of people that I have met
either in person, through
email, seen on social media
that got saved through that
type of media.
You know, that's what's
unfortunate about the old IFB.
They're so far behind on this
curve.
You know, they just said,
oh, the internet, that's, you
know, that's just, you know,
I don't even know how to turn
on a computer, brother.
Well, that's probably, oh,
great, so nobody's hearing
your message.
Like, that's something to be
proud of.
Oh, I don't even know where
the on button is.
Like, figure it out.
We could use you in the
fight.
Put some content out there.
Get some people saved.
Get some people edified in the
Lord.
Take the devil's weapon and use
it against him.
Pluck that spear out of his
hand and, you know, get on
the internet.
Reach people.
I mean, it's the greatest
change in communication in the
last 500 years.
Why wouldn't you want to be a
part of that?
Well, I'm just old-fashioned.
Well, you need to get over
that and start reaching
people with the gospel.
It's a great tool that we
should use.
You know, we'll use the same
methods that Satan uses to
spread our message.
We'll take that spear right
out of his hand.
But when will we do that?
When we fight the battles that
are worth fighting.
Only if we're willing to get
involved in the fight and
actually fight something that's
worth fighting for.
You know, we have, you know,
the king is with us, right?
He's there with us.
There's things that are worth
fighting for.
God will pour out a blessing on
us.
He'll be with us.
He'll empower us.
But we have to be the ones that
decide, you know what?
I'm gonna go fight that
fight.
I'm gonna break through that
garrison.
I'm gonna go down to that pit
and slay that lion.
You know, I'm gonna take that
spear out of that Egyptian's
hand and run him through with
it and give him a taste of
his own medicine.
You know, we have to be
willing to do that, you know,
and not get caught up fighting
battles that don't really
matter.
I'm not saying that there's no
value in them, okay?
I get that a lot of those
things there are.
But what I'm saying is that
those aren't the battles that
we're called to fight.
There's some battles that only
we as God's people can fight.
Those are the battles that we
need to fight.
The battles that are worth
fighting.
Let's go ahead and close the
word of prayer.