LIVE AS A WARRIOR
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.
2 TIMOTHY 2:4-5
Did you declare war on pornography and sexual impurity? Then you should know how to win this war. Paul gives us some clear instructions in these verses about what we need in order to overcome the enemy.
...don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life...
Those who go to war cannot afford to stay with one leg in their homeland. He must concentrate fully on what lies before him and what he wants to conquer. Have you ever thought about what your goals are in this fight? Take a piece of paper and write down your goals. Every general needs a map of the area he wants to occupy. Make such a map for yourself and don't be satisfied until you have conquered this land. But what does it mean not to get involved in the "affairs of civilian life"? I think Paul wants to tell us that we need to enter into this struggle with everything all that we are and all that we have.
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proudor in those who worship idols.
PSALM 40,5
When you go into battle, you need to distance yourself from those who want to urge you not to fight this battle. Maybe you have old thought patterns that want to persuade you that it is not so bad to live sexually impure. I want to encourage you to take a clear step in the direction of the country you want to conquer. Maybe it's time to take some relationships back. You may have to avoid some places or certain media until you have completed your campaign. Don't stay home with one foot and endanger your victory. Get fully involved in the campaign in order to please your commander.
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
2 CORINTHIANS 6:14
Shake off your old yoke and slip under the yoke of your commander full of joy! For he has promised you:
"For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
MATTHEW 11:30
When you have made the decision, say these sentences out loud: "I will follow my commander Jesus into the battle of sexual purity! The land I have described above I will conquer together with my God and not rest until I own it completely. I reclaim the following things from the enemy: __________________________ (Read your list aloud!) "Does this feel good? Maybe you've been struggling for your sexual purity for quite some time. If that's the case, don't get discouraged. You will own the land God has promised you:
"Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed."
PSALM 37:34
Hallelujah! It will happen! Hold on to your goals and remind yourself of them again and again. It may take you months to completely conquer the land, but God also said:
"I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you."
EXODUS 23:29
God will make you fruitful in this time of the campaign and drive out all enemies before you, so that you can take possession of the land (your list).
"Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession."
PSALM 2:8
Do you want to add some things to your list? Then do it now. It is crucial that we formulate clear and unambiguous prayers for ourselves. Of course, God knows what is in our hearts and what we want. But he is a God of relationship and he says very clearly:
"You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it."
JAMES 4:2
If we do not make clear requests to God that agree with His Word, then we will fight in vain and will not be able to own the land. But if we stand on His Word and His promises, then we will emerge victorious from the battle, no matter how long it may last. Maybe you have already won some victories, are already free from your addiction, watch a porn now and then or fight only with your impure thoughts. But let me tell you: Don't be satisfied with only half of the promised land. Do not stand in front of the Jordan river, like half the tribe of Manasseh, but conquer the rest. Paul writes in his 2nd letter to Timothy:
"And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules."
2 TIMOTHY 2:5
We will only win if we fight by God's rules. This is a simple but inevitable truth. If we continue to try to win with our own methods and rules, then we have no chance. What we need are clear rules of engagement. We already got to know parts of these rules.
Some of these fighting rules are:
- Put your confidence in God and not in your own strength.
- Be patient and thereby win our souls (Luke 21:19)
- Don't lose faith but rather strengthen it
VERSES TO FIGHT:
"But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses."
1 TIMOTHY 6:11-12
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful."
2 TIMOTHY 4:7
As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
ROMANS 8:36-37
A final word: "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."
EPHESIANS 6:10-12