Reflecting on the concluding part of our last admonition, you should have come to the conclusion that on it is a fight to not be disqualified!

They add misery to many lives by corrupting their minds and cheating them of the truth. They equate the worship of God with making great sums of money. We have a “profit” that is greater than theirs—our holy awe of God! To have merely our necessities is to have enough. Isn’t it true that our hands were empty when we came into the world, and when we leave this world our hands will be empty again? Because of this, food and clothing is enough to make us content. But those who crave the wealth of this world slip into spiritual snares. They become trapped by the troubles that come through their foolish and harmful desires, driven by greed and drowning in their own sinful pleasures. And they take others down with them into their corruption and eventual destruction. Loving money  is a root of all evils. Some people run after it so much that they have given up their faith. Craving more money pushes them away from the faith into error, compounding misery in their lives! Timothy, you are God’s man, so run from all these errors. Instead, chase after true holiness, justice, faithfulness, love, hope,  and tender humility. So fight with faith for the winner’s prize! Lay your hands upon eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made the good confession before the multitude of witnesses! 1 Timothy 6:5-12 (TPT)

Focusing particularly on verses 11 and 12, separating yourself to:

1. Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness is a fight, not a leisurely walk, it is a fight! A fight, so that the immortality, eternal life to which you were called does not elude you! The opponent you are fighting uses principally the pursuit of gain, the desire to be reckoned as something in this world! The desire to be rich, the love of money, money—the evidence the world uses to show your importance! So you must think aggressively, planning, calculating like a general in battle studying how to engage and defeat the enemy, Satan, the god of worldly goods.
2. Pray aggressively, boldly coming before God to be fully equipped with what we need (Hebrew 4:16)
3. Speak commandingly, fearlessly with all authority against the forces of darkness arrayed against us (Ephesians 6:10)
4. Give generously (Proverbs 11:24-25)
5. Work intently, for it is the work of your hands that God will bless (Ecclesiastes 9:10; Deuteronomy 28:8,12; Deuteronomy 30:9) stirring up yourself to get the job done. *Adapted from Bob Gass, Word for Today

Love unconditionally and sacrificially (John 10:10-16) and may you receive sufficient grace to win this supreme combat. Shalom.


Pastor Afolabi Oladele