FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT: PUNCHING ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT

There are so many battles in life that we have to confront. At times, they are spiritual, emotional, and ideological, but at other times, they are far simpler!  It can be the simple grind of life: paying bills, making choices, raising children, house maintenance…the list is exhausting!  These things cannot be ignored; they are part of the fight!  This is why we are doing the series Fight the Good Fight.  This week, the title comes from the boxing arena, Punching Above Your Weight.  If a lighter, smaller opponent takes on a larger, stronger one and wins,  they were able to punch above their weight.  Life at times is difficult and exhausting, but God helps us to punch far above our ability!  The first believers did not have wealth or power or status, but God empowered them to fight the good fight of faith to win the hearts and souls of the Roman world.  This week, we turn to 1 John 3:14-24.  These words echo the persuasion we have engaged in the last two sermons of this series, yet it focuses on the personal persuasion we find in God’s presence.  John is empowering these people through the Holy Spirit to punch far above their ability in every part of life because they are propelled by a greater strength than they could imagine!  More than that, these words help every believer to pack a far greater punch of joy and hope!  We pray that the Spirit will strengthen, fill, and empower your spirit as you read 1 John 3:14-24.   

1 John 3:14-24: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. ¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.