38. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
--page 307--
Fight the good fight of faith (1Tim.6:12).
1. I love to fight, because I know I'm fighting for the One that's worth fighting for & the souls that are worth winning & the goals that are worth attaining!
2. Keep on believing, don't ever give up! Keep on believing, don't be discouraged! Keep on believing, don't quit!
3. Whatever you do, don't quit!
4. You gotta keep going, you gotta keep sacrificing, you gotta keep forsaking, you gotta keep fighting every day!
5. Whoever has resigned himself to fate, will find that fate accepts his resignation.
6. Winners never quit, but quitters never win.
7. We may lose some battles but we're winning the war!--And the World will soon be ours for God & His Kingdom!
8. Many people's tombstones should read: "Died at 30. Buried at 60."
9. We have not yet begun to fight!
10. Where there's a will there's a way.
11. He that shoots oft, at last shall hit the mark.
12. Victory belongs to the most persevering.
13. My right has been rolled up. My left has been driven back. My center has been smashed. I have ordered an advance from all directions.--Attributed to General Foch, WW1.
14. If you fall, don't just lie there! Get up & try again!--Pro.24:16.
15. Better to fight & lose than not to fight at all! Better to have loved & lost than never to have loved at all!
16. Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst
That you must not quit.
17. Whatever you do, just keep on going for God!--You're bound to make it sometimes if you try often enough!
18. The only way we can ever be conquered is if we stop attacking & give up & stop having the faith to take the initiative.
19. Keep on holding to His Promises!--Don't let go! Keep on standing on the Word!--Don't get off! Keep on going for Jesus!--Don't stop! Keep on keeping on!
20. The people that complain about the battle & then quit just before the victory's won, never get to enjoy it!
21. Keep fighting & you won't lose! Keep wielding the weapon of the Word & you'll win!
22. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves & sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
23. You have to be a fighter for the Truth of God, even if they kill you!
24. Every day is a battle!
25. We all have besetting sins; we just have to learn to resist them!
26. It's a battle, it's a war, but we're bound to win!
27. If you're a fighter like I am, you enjoy the battle!
28. A victorious knight returned from the battle has more of a shine than one who hasn't been in the battle.
29. Some people are looking for an excuse to do what they really want to do--quit!
30. Surprise is one of the prime elements of successful military strategy.
31. The Devil can't lick you as long as you keep trying. The only way he can possibly lick you is if you surrender!
32. We may not win all the battles, but we're going to win the war!
33. You only win a war in which you lead the attack!
34. You don't have time to sharpen your sword in the middle of a battle, but if your sword is so dull it turns out to be nothing but a club, it's better than nothing!
35. If you run off & hide before the battle's won, God'll hold you to blame for the defeat!
36. You have to fight the Devil & your old self every day!
37. You can never stop battling, you can never stop winning victories, you can never stop progressing, or you'll backslide!
38. Each battle God gives you in which you win a victory is followed with a bigger battle, because He knows He can now trust you with more.
39. Keep a soft heart but a tough spirit!
40. The greater the battle, the greater the victory. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward!
41. To get greater victories you have to keep fighting greater battles, & for greater rewards you have to keep making greater sacrifices, & for greater joys you have to keep suffering greater pains.
42. In school I was a fighter for my faith! I knew I was superior in the Lord & my faith & outlook!
43. Don't rescue me prematurely!
44. If you win this battle, He'll give you a bigger battle tomorrow!
45. Make an advantage out of your handicap! Build a bridge out of your broken dreams & set those ships asail again!
46. Don't let the Devil frighten you out with his first "boo" & his lies. "Respect not their proud & haughty looks."
47. You've either got to surrender & make peace with your enemy, or you've got to fight.
48. Just like in any war: Where the battle's hot, you've got to put in the most troops to give it all you've got, & where you've pretty well got the situation in hand, you can kind of let up a little.
49. Try a little "umph" if you want to triumph.
50. If you didn't have the fight, you wouldn't appreciate the victory!
51. If you think the time's coming in this life when you'll no longer have to fight self & sin & the old man, you're mistaken.
52. If you can't take it, you're not going to make it!
53. Some things do get easier! You don't usually have to fight the same battles over again if you get the victory!
54. I like a battle! I love it!--Because I know I'm on the right side, the winning side, & I've got the right Commander & I'm proud & happy to live or die for Him.
55. Anything wonderful can happen in that little margin of time when you do not give up, but keep on believing & keep on praying!
56. It's a struggle to live!--It takes faith & courage & fight & a lot of real hard work to live the faith life!
57. People who faint, faint first in their minds; they sort of give up mentally or spiritually first.
58. Give me some men who are stout-hearted men,
Who will fight for the right they adore!
Start me with ten who are stout-hearted men,
And I'll soon give you ten thousand more!
59. Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long.
This day the noise of battle,
The next, the victor's song.
60. The men of faith will challenge,
Both men & Satan's wrath.
But the beaten men will compromise,
And walk the beaten path.
61. Let your drooping hearts be glad;
March in Heavenly armour clad;
Fight, nor think the battle long,
For soon shall come the victory song.
62. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
63. That's what you joined the army for, to fight!
64. A good soldier knows how to fight--how to wield the weapon of the Word!
65. Hope never quits, faith never stops trusting, & love never fails!--If you keep fighting!
66. God didn't call you to a playground but a battleground.
67. The best way to stop an attack is to counter-attack! The best defense is an offense!
68. We are in a fight to the finish, & the victory is ours, praise be to God!
69. Don't depend on yesterday! Get inspired today!
70. An attacking initiative is what wins a war.
71. When things get tough, you've got to fight all the harder! When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
72. If it's worthwhile, it's worth fighting for.
73. We need to get more militant, more aggressive, more specific & go on the attack, take the offensive & hit the thing head on immediately!
74. How do you get the victory? You just keep fighting!
75. It's impossible to win a defensive warfare! To win a war you have to launch an attack!
76. Never let yourself get put on the defensive!
77. The size of a dog in a fight doesn't count as much as the size of the fight in the dog.
78. The trouble with some of us is that we stop trying in trying times.
79. Victory loses its value unless we use it as a means to even greater ends.
80. The Devil's kingdom's in distress,
When we wage our war & win success!
But the Devil's kingdom able to rest
When we don't fight & give our best!
81. Don't give in until you win!
82. The more difficult the obstacle, the stronger one becomes after hurdling it.
83. A good set of Triers beats a wagonload of Sighers!
84. With battles to fight & a war to win,
You need to be a soldier that never gives in!
85. "The voice of their father will encourage them to fight the battle!"
86. Victory isn't just walking across the goal line...it's struggling through opposition to the goal.
87. Fight discouragement!--Pray & read the Word!
88. May God give us fighters who like to fight for the Lord with the weapon of His Word & who enjoy defeating the Devil & who know they can't lose & who like to win victories!--Conquering heroes that like to live & fight & die for Jesus & their brethren & the truth!
89. Let's be fighters that know how to attack!--Who are always ready to give an answer to every man that asketh of us, who have the guts & the conviction to answer!
90. Fire back, fight back!: "Of course this is what we believe!--Of course this is what we teach!--It's Scriptural, it's God-given! We believe it, we practice it. So what the hell do you care?"--And the honest open-minded World will admire your guts for sticking up for your convictions & sticking to your guns instead of backwatering & backing down before the sickening self-righteous hypocrites!
91. I am not amazed or at all dismayed at the challenge of the Enemy. I like a fight! I like to prove that God's right!
92. My God, give us people with guts & gumption & the courage to fight back & trap the Enemy in their own words & challenge them & attack them & prove them wrong!
93. God help us & deliver us from cowards! Give us brave soldiers that know how to fight & throw it back in their teeth & kick'm in the teeth with the Truth! There's nothing you can quote out of my Letters that I'm ashamed of. There's nothing they can fire at us in public from those "secret" Letters that I'm ashamed of. Stand up & sock'm in the teeth with it!
94. If you don't know how to be bold, if you're not fighters, you don't belong to this outfit. Namby-pamby, milk & water, string-for-a-backbone cowards who have no guts or conviction & are ashamed & don't know what to say don't belong in this outfit!
95. You must be willing to fight for your convictions! This Revolution was not built by cowards--it was fought by brave strong warriors who challenged the Enemy!
96. When the Enemy comes up & challenges you, you don't go on the defensive, you don't start backwatering or sidestepping & coughing & wheezing & spitting & stammering & stuttering & getting rattled & scared & backing off. You attack him, you go on the attack, you take the initiative & sock it to'm!
97. Take the initiative! Get on the offensive! Attack! Be the aggressor, quit trying to defend your position. You don't have to defend it. Challenge them with it: When they say, "You do encourage sex, don't you, you do promote sex!", my God, yell in their face, "What the hell's wrong with sex!--Of course, we encourage it & promote it! God likes sex, God made it! Don't you have sex?--Don't you like it?"
98. God's Own children & His Own characters, His great men of the Bible, used some very clever tricks & political ploys & whatnot to get their rights, from Paul's demand that he be treated as a Roman citizen all the way back to Abraham & Sara, so there's nothing unscriptural or illegal about standing up for your rights & getting what's coming to you.
99. If you're a fighter like I am, you enjoy the battle. When you know you're fighting for the right you don't mind the battle. You enjoy a challenge & test to show your strength!
100. I don't do business with the Devil! I don't care to have him around, & I'll scrap it out with him any day before I'll reach any compromise & live with him!
101. We are at war with the Devil & the lies of the Devil! We are an army who is fighting spiritually, not with violence, not with arms, but with the Word of God. We are fighting for the Truth, & you have to be a fighter for the Truth of God even if they kill you!
102. Jesus was a revolutionary, He was not a reformist. He attacked the system of His day. He didn't attack the government because the government was of God, even the Roman government. But He attacked tooth & tong in no uncertain terms the false religious system of His day & the advocates of it & the participants of it & the leaders of it.
103. We're not reformists, we're revolutionaries. We're not trying to change the old system, we want to get rid of the system that is not of God & go back to what Jesus taught & the Apostles lived. We want to sweep clean, not patch up!
104. We're a bunch of rebels, rebels for the Lord, rebels against the System, rebels against convention, rebels against conformity & traditionalism & ceremonialism, but rebels like Jesus, Who was a Rebel for the Truth & a Rebel for the true naked Word of God!
105. A great deal of God's Work has to be to tear down the old in order to build the new, to tear down false conceptions, untrue ideas, shaky foundations, traditions of men, by which Jesus said, "Ye make the law of God of none effect."
106. We are waging a worldwide war!--Not on the side of the political left, not on the side of the political right, but on the side of the only One Who is really right, & that's God! It's a much bigger battle & we have much greater enemies!
107. The Lord & His angels & you are far more powerful than the Devil & his demons! Even Satan has to obey your commands in the Name of Jesus! He might fight against you for a while, like he is, but sooner or later he's going to have to knuckle under.
108. We who have Jesus have more power than Satan! We have more power than the demons, because we have the power of God & the powerful of His Spirit of Love! "At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow!" (Phil.2:10).
109. You have to baptise yourself constantly in prayer, soak yourself in the Word, memorise & quote constantly to the Devil & to yourself. You have to wage a militant warfare against the Enemy!
110. We rebuke you, Satan, in Jesus' name & all your powers & angels & evil spirits. Thank You for Thy great mighty army, Lord, that surrounds us, that resists all the powers of Hell though they be let loose against us. Even one angel is enough to deal with them all! The angel of the Lord encampeth around them that fear Him & delivereth them! Thank You Lord for all Thy goodness & mercy. Help us to stay close to Thee in the charmed circle of Thy protection, in Jesus' name!
111. When you rebuke the Devil, you don't do it calmly. You get angry & practically yell & shout & curse & scream at him. You get so angry in the spirit (Eph.4:26,27.)
112. They'd have to kill me first before I'd let anybody take you or the children away from me. It would have to be over my dead body!
113. Just like two generals at war: God is the One who usually takes the initiative & the Devil can't act until after God's already acted because he doesn't know what God's going to do. Once in a while he tries to pull a fast one & act first, but usually whenever he does he makes the wrong step, he does the wrong thing, which literally hangs him, trips him & exposes him.
114. I'm not always all sweetness & love!--God is not only love, but the Word says He is also a consuming fire for the wicked! Jesus does not always bring peace. When people reject Him, He often brings a sword.
115. I believe in fighting back. I believe in fighting back with the Word & publicity & any kind of legal challenge which will give our reply publicity. But don't ever let it actually get to court. The System's got everything rigged to their advantage!
116. I believe in a propaganda reply. I believe in a reply to the lies of the Devil with the Word & the Truth. I believe in a final parting blast at the enemies to show them up for the liars they are or who they are.
117. "What fight your Father has & what marvellous love your Father David has for his children. Your Father loves a fight for the Truth!"
118. I've tried to avoid fights when I could possibly avoid them, but when it was impossible to avoid a fight, I've never backed down from fighting.
119. This is a war! If you are not willing to risk your life, you might as well quit! When the Enemy attacks, instead of crawling into your holes you ought to come out in full force & sock it to him, even if you have to die in the process. I just can't stand cowards! But I also don't believe in hanging around too long & trying to fight it out to the bitter end. You can't lick City Hall, especially the System with its own weapons designed for its own protection.
120. Every attack of the Enemy only results in greater publicity for the Truth & adds greater numbers to those who will follow the Truth.
121. There are times when the Enemy is firing that we'd better pretty much stick to our trenches & our shellholes a little while & not unnecessarily expose ourselves to the fire. It's when the heat is on that you have to be particularly careful & prayerful & wise.
122. The best defence is an offence & a counter-attack, even though it is dangerous. Any kind of an attack is dangerous in any man's army. When you go on the aggressive, on the attack, on the offensive, you're bound to have a few casualties, but that's the only way you win wars. You don't win them by fighting a defensive warfare.
123. Lord, give us the courage to stand up for our convictions & stick to our guns, Lord, of Your Word & the Truth. Help us not to pull any punches because of the little lies of the Devil. Help us all to continue to be faithful, diligent & wary of the evil devices of the Evil One. Help us not to allow ourselves to be ever caught in any of his traps, to watch our step & be wary & beware of the Enemy & his devices. Help us not to be afraid of the Truth, Lord, not to be afraid to tell Thy children the Truth or even the World the Truth.
124. You don't win by retreat, you win by attacking.
125. When the Enemy attacks, it really gets us on the stick & on the ball & back close to the Lord & praying & working & fighting back & revives us spiritually & kills that old lazy lethargy that sets in when everything is going to smoothly & so easy that we don't have to stir up ourselves or fight or work very hard.
126. The best thing to do is stay out of the Enemy's way when he starts screaming too loud. The screaming doesn't hurt you much, but when they start putting on the screws & the pressure, then that's time to get out of the way.
127. When you're being persecuted, the best thing to do is stop, & let them know you've stopped & you've left & you've gone & you're out of their hair, then they'll quit bothering you. That's what the Devil is after, he wants to get rid of you.
128. When the heat's on, you lie low undercover, & when the heat's off & people have forgotten about it & are interested in other things, you can sometimes sneak back in quietly undercover & do a little bit again, if you can get away with it.
129. In school I was a fighter for my faith! I frequently stood up for my faith & spoke out against what was being taught, & spoke out against the teachers & spoke out against the text books & against whatever was contrary to God's Word.
130. When you attack the Enemy, he tries to hit back. Nevertheless, God's Word says if you attack him with great faith, if you resist him, "he shall flee from thee". That doesn't mean you're not going to have a little fight before he runs. He may fight a little bit, but if you keep on fighting he can't take it, he will turn & run. When the Enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise up a standard against him.
131. He who fights & runs away lives to fight another day.
132. Discretion is sometimes the better part of valour.
133. Don't give up the ship too soon. Don't be rescued prematurely, & don't let them just scare you out without actually being driven out. The Devil tries to scare you out & just says "Boo!" & some people run.
134. We are not wicked & we have not done anything wrong but sometimes it's better to run away so we can live to fight another day.
135. There were times when Jesus & His disciples did hide out to avoid unnecessary trouble, but there were also times when they had to stand up & protect the sheep, especially from the verbal attacks of the enemies of the Truth. They usually tried to avoid contact with the religious Pharisees, but when the vipers kept picking on them to the point that it was confusing the sheep, Jesus would sock it to them so hard, refuting their lies, that He made them so mad that they wanted to kill Him. On these occasions He didn't try to hide, He was contending earnestly for the faith & the sheep.
136. Don't take the Devil's no for an answer, push ahead until you totally defeat him!
137. The Enemy always start shooting when you're going over the top & attacking him. It's proof that you're hitting him where it hurts & accomplishing something. It doesn't mean that you should turn around & run, it means you should keep fighting all the harder until the fighting is impossible.
138. All anger is not sin. The Apostle Paul tells his readers to "be angry, & sin not." To be altogether incapable of anger would be to offer no antagonism to the wrongs & oppressions of the World.
139. Never despair, but if you do, fight on in spite of despair.
140. Don't you understand the power of your father in the Spirit? I have power over all the demons of Hell & Satan & all the machinations of the Evil One! They're celebrating the victory of David your Father over Evil! Oh, there's no power that is greater than me & Jesus!
141. Once you're in the battle, it's too late to sit down & count the cost. You've either got to win or lose, & I hate to lose just by retreating, unless I'm really beaten. Once you're in the battle & engaged in these ministries, you almost have to keep fighting until they drive you off & think that they've gotten rid of you & to their way of thinking won the battle.
142. It's our general policy not to just get scared out by a few rumours & reports when the Devil says "Boo!" & our enemies start exposing us & we start getting bad publicity, but to keep right on going, sometimes taking advantage of the bad publicity to even give a harder final last ditch push.
143. You can hardly back out before you're even beaten without admitting defeat. Why give in & give up & retreat just because the Devil says "Boo!"? You almost have to continue until you're actually stopped.
144. "You must go & must march & you must conquer hearts at His command. You must obey, for this is the Will of God that ye enter in & possess the Kingdom, for this is your day, for the World is given unto you."
145. You've got to be militant, you've got to be positive, you've got to rise up & fight the Devil, not just be passive!
146. If you're a fighter, you've got to lose your temper sometimes & get angry at the Devil & sock it to him.
(See also No. K, 33, 99, 168, 171, 303, 551, 585R, 586, 597, 678, 727, 857, 980, 1375, 1376, 1401, 1420, 1425, 1432, 1454.)
147. 2SA.22:35,36 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arm. Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy Salvation: and Thy gentleness hath made me great.
148. PSA.144:1 Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.
149. MAT.16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.
150. JOH.18:36 Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this World: if My Kingdom were of this World, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My Kingdom not from hence.
151. 2CO.2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.
152. 2CO.10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
153. EPH.6:10,11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.
154. 1TH.5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of Salvation.
155. 1TI.1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.
156. 1TI.6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
157. 2TI.2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
158. JUD.3 Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
159. REV.12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family