Fight the good fight
We Must Stay Tuned Up
Warning against things to come.
We must not rust
We must not be fooled
We keep our eyes and ears focused
We must fight the good fight
We must keep our faith
We must resist and rebuke the enemy
We must grow in sanctification and righteousness
We must love all others with humility
and blamelessness
We must serve Jesus and others
We must keep the commandments without stain.
Our Father cuts off any branch that doesn’t bear fruit and throws it into the fire.
We cannot suffer a shipwreck.
We must keep the faith and good conscience.
We must not accumulate teachers according to our own desires.
We must not have our ears tickled.
We must be ready in season and out of season.
We must finish the course and kept the faith.
We must turn away our ears from the truth.
We must remember we are in s spiritual warfare at times.
We must rebuke the enemy.
We must have patience.
We must be sober in all things and in all weather and hardships.
We must always endure sound doctrine.
We must have a shield of armor of protection to extinguish all
flaming arrows from the evil one. We must wear a bulletproof vest of
Jesus armor.
God gives life to all things
1 Timothy 1;18-19
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.
19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.
1 Timothy 6;12-14
Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the
eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession
in the presence of many witnesses.
13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to
all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession
before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Refutes “once saved always saved “ by some churches).
2 Timothy 4;1-8
“Preach the Word”
1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in
the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not
only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Matthew 13;18-23
The Sower Explained
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And
the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who
hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of
wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And
the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who
hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings
forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
The great warnings
John 15;1-17
The Vine and the Branches
1 “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener". 2 He
takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every
branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 3 You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Remain
in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit
by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you
remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches". The one who remains
in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can
accomplish nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he
is thrown out like a branch, and drys up; and such branches are
gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. 7 If
you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and
it will be done for you. 8 My Father is honored by this, that you bear
much fruit and show that you are my disciples.
9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also
loved you; remain in my love". 10 If you obey my commandments, you will
remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and
remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy may
be in you, and your joy may be complete. 12 My
commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No
one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his
friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I no
longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his
master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed
to you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I
chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 17 This
I command you—to love one another.
Isaiah 45;9-14
The Lord Gives a Warning
9
One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger,
one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter,
“What in the world are you doing?"
"Your work lacks skill!”
10
Danger awaits one who says to his father,
“What in the world are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?”
11
This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him,
concerning things to come:
“How dare you question me about my children!"
How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands!
12
I made the earth,
I created the people who live on it.
It was me—my hands stretched out the sky,
I give orders to all the heavenly lights.
13
It is me—I stir him up and commission him;
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,
says the Lord who commands armies.
Foolishness
Romans 1;18-32
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For
even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give
thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and
exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form
of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For
they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions;
for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is
unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the
natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one
another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their
own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any
longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which
are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such
things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give
hearty approval to those who practice them. with all unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such
things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give
hearty approval to those who practice them.
Colossians 2;2-20
You Are Built Up in Christ
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say
this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For
even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit,
rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in
Christ.
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and
empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in
Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and
authority.
Warning against false idols
Deuteronomy 4;15-24
The Nature of Israel’s God
15 Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire. 16 I
say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the
form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male
or female, 17 any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, 18 anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. 19 When
you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—the whole
heavenly creation—you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for
the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. 20 You,
however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that
iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today. 21 But
the Lord became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would
never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that he is about to give
you. 22 So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess that good land. 23 Be
on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God
that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any
kind, just as he has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God.
The Abomination of Desolation
Mark 13;14-23
14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one on the roof must not come down or go inside to take anything out of his house. 16 The one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! 18 Pray that it may not be in winter. 19 For
in those days there will be suffering unlike anything that has happened
from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, or ever
will happen. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no
one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut
them short. 21 Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "Look, there he is!" do not believe him. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the elect. 23 Be careful! I have told you everything ahead of time.
timothy skön, Chaplain
serving others, guided by Jesus
2/14/18