Fight To Win

Fight to Win!

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:7-14

Paul planned to win. He pressed on, lost all and looked back only to consider everything he had gained was rubbish…literally garbage…compared to knowing his Lord! The humility that resonated through Paul is also an upward call. He knew that righteousness came from God and was by faith- not from himself. Paul knew he would win only as he walked with Jesus and that there was no other way! Is this your heart?

As a child did you spend your time dreaming of how you would grow up and get a “tie” with life, Satan, an opposing team…did you long for loss and failure in life? Of course not! You dreamed of winning in everything you did and literally changing the world! You knew you could or at the very least you thought you could…this is how God made you Psalm 139:13-16. God created us to succeed…to fight to win! Have you traded in your God-given drive to win for a cheap substitute?

The Leaders of the Eastern World Sector of churches!

Personally, I love sports and I love winning. Most definitely, I have to guard my heart so as to not “win at all costs” thus hurting others…but man, I am made and driven to win! One of the most famous football coaches of all time was Vince Lombardi. Here is how he explains winning:

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win. Every time a football player goes to play his trade he’s got to play from the ground up — from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second. It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win. And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.” Vince Lombardi 1913 – 1970

Jesus also came to win! There was never a “tie” with Satan nor with sin that he was seeking. Jesus was and still is seeking total annihilation of darkness and world conquest! Are you? This quote from “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert E. Coleman describing Jesus’ mission mindset caught my attention many, many years ago: “His life was ordered by his objective. Everything he did and said as part of the whole pattern. It had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of his life in redeeming the world for God. This was the motivating vision governing his behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of his goal. That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve his objective. The Master disclosed God’s strategy of world conquest. He had confidence in the future precisely because he lived according to that plan in the present. There was nothing haphazard about his life- no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on business for God (Luke 2:49). He lived, he died, and he rose again according to schedule. Like a general plotting his course of battle, the Son of God calculated to win. He could not afford to take a chance. Weighing every alternative and variable factor in human experience, he conceived a plan that would not fail.”

That is a man I want to follow! Men were his method of world conquest and he discipled them to win! He discipled them to pay the ultimate price, just as he did, in order to win the world to Christ…and they did. Each of his 12, except John, died a martyrs death as they preached to “every creature under heaven” Colossians 1:23. We must answer the call and imitate our first century brothers! This is our call and we will take it to heart and answer with a resounding “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8! Send me to win. Send me to fight. Send me to FIGHT TO WIN! In this way, with this heart- the world will be evangelized in our day!

He stoops down to make us great,

Matt Sullivan