How to Fight the Good Fight| Dr. Joe Takon| Bible Study- Insights for Living| City of David Atlanta

[Music] because he is beautiful he is beautiful in all these ways father we just bless you once again we thank you lord jesus christ for it's a privilege to die this evening father we bless you we welcome you we welcome you sweet holy spirit we acknowledge you and i miss this evening we say in everything we do lord take all the glory take all the honor for it in jesus name we pray amen [Music] [Music] two [Music] [Music] who [Music] of your love you are beautiful beyonce [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] always [Music] [Music] [Music] peace [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] he's [Music] forever [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] you you pray [Music] [Music] youtube [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] yes [Music] [Music] i know [Music] he has shown us his mercy he is [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] today [Music] that's who you are [Music] [Music] my destiny my [Music] oh [Music] sing your way away [Music] [Music] jesus his name is yahweh don't stop the music keep playing jesus his name is miraku his name is miracle walking god father we bless you this evening once again we thank you lord we thank you because you have done a miracle in our life and you will always do a miracle in our life father we thank you lord father we give you freeze i'm no longer a slave to fear [Music] no longer [Music] foreign [Music] i am a child of god you were [Music] from [Music] [Music] i am [Music] i am let us appreciate god let us bless him because he has called us his children let's thank god for the opportunity to call him abba father father we are grateful unto you we appreciate you for another time in your presence we want to thank you this day for this opportunity to call you abba father we thank you because you have adopted us into the family of yours we appreciate you lord we are proud that we are children of god we thank you lord we thank you for the salvation of our soul we thank you lord for your kindness we appreciate you lord greatest and faithfulness thank you for your mercy be blessed and be exalted in jesus name we have worshiped god amen i want us to thank god i want us to thank god for the salvation of our soul and that of our family members it has pleased god to adopt us into his family not many people have this opportunity and even many of us too we have wondered in the world before now but god decided to rescue us from the hands of the enemy and he delivered us and he gave us the opportunity to be members of his family let's bless god this is a great opportunity and i don't want us to take it for granted let's appreciate god for adopting us into his family father we thank you lord for we are joint heirs with our lord jesus christ lord we thank you we thank you lord we thank you lord even for giving us equal rights oh lord we thank you for that because we are joint ears with our lord jesus christ we thank you lord for the salvation of our soul we thank you for the salvation of the soul of our family members we thank you father because it has pleased you to rescue us from the ends of death you have rescued us from the end of the enemy you have delivered us you have saved us we appreciate you lord we are not taking your grace for granted because this is an opportunity that some people do not have but we want to take all their heart they did not seize it but we thank you for giving us the grace to seize that opportunity to embrace the truth to embrace the love of god to embrace christ father we want to thank you lord we thank you lord we are grateful unto you in jesus name we have prayed i want us to thank god again for the month of april this is the fourth month in the year 2021 let's thank god for sparing our life to see a day like this let's thank god for this month the fourth month indeed it has been a good month for us even if you feel that this month has not been good i want you to thank god in faith tonight i want you to thank him and bless him and say father i thank you for the month of april because i know the month of april is a good month i want us to open our mouth and bless the lord father we want to thank you lord for this year we want to thank you for january february march april we thank you specially for this month of april father today is april 23rd you have been so good to us you have been so marvelous you have been so faithful we want to thank even for those people that think that they have not received anything in this month further on their behalf we are saying thank you in faith we are saying thank you we are thanking you in advance for what you are going to do for us we are thank you because we know that our story is going to change in this month of april we are thankful unto you because we know that you will meet us at the very point of our needs we are thankful unto you because we know we shall not lack any good thing be exalted and be lifted up in jesus name we have worshiped god we know that the theme for this year is restoration and if you notice many of our prayer points have been revolving around restoration tonight we still going to pray about restoration in the book of psalms 51 verse 12 verse psalms 51 verse 12. bible says restore unto me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your general spirit uphold me by your right hand of savage of by your right hand of righteousness this evening we are going to ask god to restore unto us the joy of salvation we don't know what people are going through and i don't know what you are going to you don't know what i'm going through but to be honest a lot of people have lost joy a lot of people have lost happiness because of the monotonous kind of life that we are living but today we are going to pray for restoration of joy let's pray that god will respond to us the joy of his salvation let's pray because when we have christ we have all things even if things are not doing well for us because he lives we can face tomorrow so in faith i want you to join me tonight and ask for restoration of joy father restore unto me your joy of salvation restore to me the joy of your salvation restore unto your people the joy of your salvation father restore unto us restore unto us the joy of salvation in the name of jesus in the name of jesus father restore unto us the joy of salvation we are trusting you lord we are trusting you today that you respond towards the job salvation father god has many people that have lost that joy as many people that have lost their happiness as many people that have lost their hope in you father you are a god of restoration and your name shall be called the restoration you are the great restoration we are asking you tonight that you respond to us the joy of salvation you will restore unto your people the joy of salvation you will restore unto the church the joy of salvation you will restore unto the old the elders the job of salvation in the name of jesus quickening our mother about the lord quickening our matter by the lord take away sadness from us in the name of jesus respond to us the joy of salvation in jesus name we have prayed amen when david and his men returned onto ziggler they found that all their children and their wives have been taken away they've been taken captive and david was depressed the people wanted to stone him but what did david do he encouraged himself in the lord tonight i want us to encourage ourself in the lord irrespective of what we are going through let's encourage ourself in the lord now i want us to pray again and both stress that prayer point and say father encourage me encourage me in every area that have been discouraged whatever thing that is weighing me down further i present them before you tonight i bring them to the place of altar and i pray that you encourage me in the name of jesus i want you to pray if you cannot pray for yourself if you are encouraged already i want you to pray for someone that is going through depression i want you to pray for someone that is going through discouragement i want you to pray for someone that is going that is experiencing disappointment today and let's pray for encouragement father we are asking that your holy spirit will encourage us father encourage us david encourage himself in the lord and god almighty tonight we encourage ourself in you we encourage ourself in you we encourage ourselves in you in the mighty name of jesus lord we encourage ourself in you lord we encourage ourselves in you lord encourage us holy spirit as many that are depressed oh lord you over you encourage that we take away the depression as many that are discouraged encourage them as many that are experiencing disappointment they over encourage them in the name of jesus in the name of jesus in the name of jesus we pray tonight for restoration for restoration for restoration for restoration for restoration in jesus name we have prayed in jesus name we are prayed at the end of every tunnel there is what light tonight we are going to pray for light we are going to pray for light that whatever thing we are going to right now we are passing through to an air which is very very dark but there is light at the end of it the light will come quickly in the mighty name of jesus the morning shall come quickly the bible says that we be may enjoy for night but joy comment in the morning i want you to pray this evening i say father let my money come quickly in the name of jesus as i'm passing through these dark hours as i'm passing through this tunnel let there be light let the light come quickly in the name of jesus our father god almighty we act of you tonight oh lord as we are passing through this tunnel this doctrine of the lord further at the end of every tunnel we know that is light let us get to the light let this light come quickly in the name of jesus father god the bible says we be may endure for night but joy comment in the morning the over god almighty we pray tonight that our joy will come quickly our money will come quickly in the mighty name of jesus let the brightness of the day come in the mighty name of jesus father god light your light of god in this darkness of our lives in the mighty name of jesus restore unto us all that we have lost restore unto us in multiple folds in the name of jesus father we seek your face tonight we seek your face tonight we seek your face tonight in the mighty name of jesus we pray tonight all lord that the light shall come quickly that the money shall come quickly but that this darkness shall be over very very soon in the name of jesus in the name of jesus father we crown to you we cry to you o lord in the name of jesus thank you lord in jesus name we have prayed i want us to sing one song because there is something that always brings us to the presence of god there is something that brings us to the presence of god some of our colleagues they've run to other places they've gone to meet other people they've gone to meet traditional men they've gone to wisdom to back to the wisdom of the world they've tuning into internet for solution but we run into the lord is a strong tower there is something that brings us to the presence of god choir please help me [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] something that makes me call me to your presence [Music] [Music] it's a mercy that makes me call me to your presence [Music] is your [Music] this time it says i will lift up my eyes onto the hills where we my head comes from my help will come from the lord god almighty the god of heaven and earth father we come to your presence because of your mercy because of your help we have no other help because you are the help of the helpless i want you to lift up your voices lift up your eyes onto the hills and ask for help tonight i don't know if you can do it by your own strength but as for me i cannot do it by my strength open your mouth tonight and cry out to god the help of the airplanes [Music] yeah god of help we cry to you tonight for help help us lord we have no wisdom of our heart we have no strength of our own we have no knowledge of our home we have no help of our home we cry to you tonight for help help once god help us lord your people are in need of one thing or the other and god we have nowhere to run to but you lord only you we can run through there is something that brings out to your presence every day it shall help lord show us mercy show us mercy lord show us mercy your lord send help unto us lord show us mercy lord in the mighty name of jesus thank you lord in jesus name we are prayed in the book of 12-20 5 23-25 the bible says i will respond to you everything that they can cover the power of the caterpillar has eaten up i will respond to you multiple folks tonight brethren i want you to pray for restoration that which you have lost it sometimes you know you cannot even count it it's priceless but god promises us in the book of dwells he said they will restore to us all that the enemy has eaten up in our life open your mouth tonight and ask for that restoration father we pray for restoration all that we have lost to the enemy in the name of jesus we pray for restoration restore unto us all that we have lost restore our health unto us restore marriages oh lord in the mighty name of jesus restore the children that have gone away restore all god people that have lost their job restore their jobs unto them father we pray for restoration we pray for restoration tonight in jesus name we have prayed amen i want us to pray for our land i want us to pray for restoration it's been over a year that this land has been it's been over a year that we have just been stuck that is what i would call it we have been stuck we are neither going forward or going backward we are just stuck i want us to ask for mercy tonight that god will in our land and he will restore to us all that we have lost let's pray that god we bring our life back to normal let's pray that god we bring our land back to normal let us pray father in the name of jesus you are a god of restoration you said if we pray i will repent of our life of our sins that you will hear from heaven and we heal our land jehovah will ask tonight for restoration we ask tonight that you will heal our land we ask tonight that we shall move forward we pray oh god that you will restore us of god back to our normal life we are fed up of this life we are fed up of this situation we are fed up of the way things are going we are fed up of the situation around us we are fed up of the pandemic in the land we are fed up of not being able to move freely nor we are asking tonight or lord for restoration of our land for restoration oh lord restoration of our land in the name of jesus father bring us back to our normal life intervene oh lord in the mighty name of jesus thank you eternal rock of ages we bless your name and we honor you thank you lord in jesus name we are prayed father we thank you tonight thank you because your name is the restorer you are a restorer your name is highly exalted above every other name father restore unto us all that we have lost in jesus name restore unto our land all that we have lost in jesus name give us a new beginning lord give us a new beginning lord give us a new beginning lord in jesus name we have prayed amen [Music] there is something that makes me coming [Music] my [Music] yes it is your mercy that makes me run into your presence [Music] it is your mercy it is your message [Music] there is something there is something that makes me run into your presence my helper yes lord it's your kindness that makes me run into your presence [Music] always your kindness is your kindness stop messing run into your my is something there is something that makes me run into your presence my health this our testimony tonight is something [Music] is [Music] my hair that oh me run into your presence we are gonna sing it is your goodness that makes me roll into your [Music] [Music] oh it is [Music] [Music] your [Music] you are [Music] my the lord hallelujah it's only his mercies his grace that helps us come into his presence please see the lord father we thank you tonight we bless you for another time in your presence here we are oh god you say in your presence there's fullness of joy and at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore lord let that joy wash over us today and grant god that burden should be lifted off our shoulders yokes will be broken by the anointing and by the presence and the spirit of the living god thank you heavenly father for we pray in jesus marchless name amen and let the people of god say amen amen hallelujah this evening what i want to do remember on uh next friday we're having lpj live series with pastor joe very exciting conversation you don't want to miss it we've not had it for a while but we are getting back to it starting your business in these times we quote the scriptures all the time that the prosperity of the of the sinners are saved for the righteous but it's not going to work like that god must empower you god must give you skills and god must give you the anointing to go out and run a business to run a business in this country private businesses are actually more they are more private businesses than government government workers so you can run your private business regardless of where you are whatever you're doing you can sell water you can sell resources you can sell some of your clothes and many women can sell some of the multiple colored shoes that they have in their closets and generate money there are so many things you can do not just selling buying and selling even creating inventing connecting even being just a connector bringing two people together being a middleman and collecting your own benefits so that's what we'll be discussing next friday and by the grace of god god will give us insight amen now this evening what i want to do is i want to build on on the message i started two weeks ago i spoke from second timothy chapter one and i told you that that was actually supposed to be some kind of appetizer um appetizer to wet your appetite and and create some hunger in your heart deposit a hunger in your heart to attend the psspss post-service service that i teach deeper after the service on every sunday it's normally between 20 to 35 minutes just arrange about that range of time between 12 and 12 30 or five minutes plus or minus five minutes so that's what i've been teaching there so this is more of a panoramic presentation more of an overview it doesn't go as deep as i i do go there and last two weeks ago when i started i told you that paul wrote this book of second timothy as the last book it was the last letter that paul wrote he was in prison in jail at that time not just in jail but in prison in in rome just awaiting his death he had been sentenced to death awaiting his execution eventually he was beheaded and killed for his testimony for christ so he wrote this book to timothy his prodigy this young man who had believed in the lord whose mother and grandmother were both believers and they had nurtured him in christian values nurtured him in christian precepts and he had grown to become paul's beloved godly son and he was the pastor of the church of ephesus a church that was pioneered and pastored initially by apostle paul paul put timothy in that church and timothy was pastoring that church so paul writes this letter to timothy as the last letter that he wrote not just to a young man but also to a young pastor and which he also wrote it becomes more like an episode to christian leaders an episode to christian workers an episode to anybody who wants to do the work of the lord and wants to do it with sincerity applying godly principles and godly standard so paul wrote this letter to timothy and he reminds timothy of his heritage that his mother was a christian his grandmother were christians and they deposited in him the the the values of christian of christianity they they taught him the call the core values the the principle the essence of a christian or christian faith so he wrote this to timothy he reminded timothy about his the centrality of his call he told timothy that i want you to remember that even though i was a lawyer he didn't mention that but even though i was one time we know that he was a lawyer who practiced law he said that i now became a messenger for christ in chapter one verse 11. he say i was appointed a preacher an apostle and a teacher i was appointed a preacher an apostle and a teacher to the gentiles that's what that's the centrality of my call that's a central message that i preach i articulate as a preacher i preach i i minister as a preacher i i i bless trail as an apost as an apostle and i ensure that people know the short counsel of god and i remember telling you that it's important for you to know the call of god on your life it's important for you to know what god has mandated you to do per time at every instance in your life you cannot just box the air he told in first corinthians chapter nine he said that i do not fight as one who is boxing the air uncertainly but i'm fighting as a man who is deliberate who is calculated who is strategic because i know what i am doing so you've got to know you've got to know you've got to know you've got to know put your hand on your chest and say i've got to know i've got to know good so i now told you about keeping the faith because that is part of the message in this second timothy he was telling timothy i want you to keep the faith that after i have gone the perilous times will come people will turn away from the gospel people will develop itching ears and first timothy he says all of that he said people would develop itching ears giving it to sadistic uh spirits to doctrines of devils 1st timothy chapter 4 verse 1 he tells him all of that so i want you to fight a good fight i want you to keep the faith and how are you going to keep the faith i like us to look at verse 13 to verse 18 he said hold first the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus he said this good thing which was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us this you know that all those in asia have turned away from me and among them are figallos and homogeneous the lord grant mercy to the house of honesty for us for he often refreshed me i was not ashamed of my chain he said but when he arrived in rome he sought me out very zealously and he found me said the lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the lord in that day and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me in at ephesus it was talking about men who were relevant and some men who were not irrelevant so he was telling timothy say i want you to keep the faith how do you keep the faith you keep the faith because you've got to fight a good fight you are going to fight a good fight to keep the faith in second timothy he actually continues a theme he had introduced in first timothy chapter 6 verse 12. in first timothy 6 verse 12 he told him fight the good fight of faith lay hold on eternal life to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses fight the good fight of faith and lay all on eternal life to which you were called and you have confessed so you've got to fight the good fight you are going to keep the faith by fighting a good fight you've got to fight the good fight some fights are not worth fighting some things that we we fight about we force about we we develop enemies we build our criminy and hatred and malice are not worth fighting for but there are some things that you've got to fight for there are some things that you must be willing to die for there are some things that you must be willing to give everything away for and one of those things is that you fight the good fight look at somebody far away from you in your house and tell them fight the good fight you've got to fight the good fight of faith you've got to fight the good fight of faith now in this chapter in this closing chapter one paul begins to introduce some things that i i will take you through it this this evening but there are a bit deeper than some of us will talk about in public number one he says in verse 15 look at what he says in verse 15. he says i want you to know that everybody turned away from me in asia everybody turned away from me many times when we give testimonies or when christian leaders talk about their work and their efforts and and the things they are doing we don't normally talk about things like this but remember this was a personal letter to his prodigy to a local pastor so it's like me writing a personal letter let's say to one of the head of departments or one of the head of ministry is supposed to be a private letter at that time they did not know that all of these were going to be compiled into a book that would be called the bible so paul begins to tell his story the difficulties that he went through in asia he said listen when i got to asia everybody turned away from me it's just like jesus christ telling his story as he went to the cross remember on that night during that those hours those gruesome hours of his trial and sentence and execution everybody forsook him everybody even peter who has sworn and said i said he said i will die with you peter for soaking peter denied it three times john the beloved who was there at the foot of the cross was the only one that jesus turned to and said son behold your mother speaking about his biological mother and he told her mother behold your son and historians having that john took the mother of jesus christ to stay with him for a while everybody forsook him in his moment of trial and his moment of hardship what kind of friend are you are you a fair weather friend are you a fair weather disciple are you a fair weather believer even the people whom jesus ministered to forsook him you know i heard a story the other day which was you know typical of human behavior and this happened in nigeria about the man who was president before the present president called jonathan good luck jonathan it is reported that on the day when he handed over on the day when he handed over by the time he got to the airport his aides almost all his aides had abandoned him it was such a tragic experience or episode that even when he got to the airport they did not want him to go through the presidential wing of the airport he was denied assets and enters into the airport and good luck jonathan was not such a mean man he was not such a wicked heartless president leader that that was human behavior you know just a handful of people when i i heard this interview i was taught well i was not really not shocked because that's human behavior they all forsook paul where were the people to whom he ministered where the people to for him we prayed they all abandoned him but you see it is more tragic the examples he gives he mentions two names in particular may that not be your story in the name of jesus christ he says figaro's and homogeneous he mentions to me he said these people are abandoned now if these people were not relevant in the life of paul he would not have mentioned them because somebody had said that pain is deep where love is deep it is the people who are close to you who hurt you the most so these fools must have been close to peter to paul i mean much later in chapter four he mentions a couple of other names he mentions a guy like dimas he said demas has forsaken me and you know the the pain is is more excruciating when you are lonely and people abandon you when times are good and they abandon you it doesn't matter because you can easily get other friends but when you are lonely and people abandon you it is really really really hurtful so fabulous and homogeneous they abandon him listen to me betrayal is a common christian experience you have not begin to mature you have not entered maturity a level of maturity if people who are close to you have not hurt you i this is i mean this is leadership teaching if people who are close to you have not hurt you and you carry on as if they did not hurt you you have not started entering maturity jesus was betrayed jesus was abandoned jesus was neglected by his closest associates the bible says in first corinthians chapter 11 it says that in the night in which he was betrayed paul said for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you it says that the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed he took bread he broke it he gave thanks he broke it and he said take it this is my body which is broken for you the people who denied him the people who betrayed him jesus gave them his body i mean you know the story that this judas iscariot who actually went out and betrayed him was sitting by him and both of them were eating from the same bowl you have not entered begin to enter christian maturity if you have not been between loyalty is a lost quality it's a lost core value in this pop age christianity it is fast food christianity this microwave christianity people do not know loyalty they have not learned loyalty people can't stand with you in good times and in bad times they stand with you in good times and in bad times they're gone if sometimes not even in bad times once they find their feet they're gone loyalty is a lost act so paul here mentions their name may your name not be written among people who have shown that kind of trait in jesus name jesus christ was preaching one day and the church started growing smaller and smaller he turned to his disciples john chapter 6 verse 67 to 68 because he was teaching some some very some very troubling facts and truth he asked them he said would you also go away he looked at his apostles he said would you also go away do you also want to go away are you going to abandon me it was not a question that was asked out of joy and excitement it was asked out of great concern would you also leave me and go away and peter gave that timeless answer say to whom shall we go to for you have the words of eternal life i want you to hear me good there are some people who are connected to you by divine destiny they are connected to you by divine destiny and you've got to identify them got to identify them because people who go out and betray you sometimes it is not so much because they want to betray you but they are close to you and they amplify your weaknesses and your failures to outsiders and meanwhile access is a privilege whenever you are close to somebody it's a privilege it is not your place to show loyalty by going out and amplifying their personal and private you know why because everybody has a private matter everybody has a weakness everybody has a if they spoke about you the way you talk about them what will people think of you so that too is betrayal so we learn loyalty we practice loyalty because it is one of the values of christianity what did god say he said i will love you forever my love will never fail no matter what happens i'll be there with you and i will stand with you now when paul talks about figaro's emojinas he gives us an opposite example and who is that example on his referrals let's look at verse 16. but one thing you see here in verse 15 is that paul does not say that may may you know those prayers we pray may my enemies live long and see what i've become paul does not pray those prayers may god chop up their head paul just you know he just mentions that to timothy say i want you to know these two guys so that and you know he was talking to his prodigy essentially he was telling timothy say hey if those guys join your church be careful of them because one day they will drop you to like hot potato the way they dropped me you know be careful of them when you see the lord in verse 16 he now gives an example he says the lord grant mercy to the household of who honestly pharaohs say for he often refreshed me and he was not ashamed of my chain may that be your story in the name of jesus christ honestly pharaohs often refreshed me he looked for me in fact so the story is that when he came to rome he actually went to look for paul in the dungeon you know he looked for paul paul now who had lost the glitter of the the the glitter the glamour of the anointed apostle he was not preaching to the message to the crowd to the large numbers he was now lonely imprisoned abundant condemned prisoner in jail in chains on his pharaohs went to look for him on his referral stood by him and his affairs supported him on his referrals make sure that his life was refreshed is there anybody you can think of as you are listening to this message right now that you have abandoned somewhere simply because their status in life has changed you know we rally around people when we think they are up there and when we think they can they can pull us up or or their light can shine on us and give us prominence but when people lose that glamor and that glitter we abandon them the bible says that on his photos paul talks upon his photos and he said he was there with me he stood by me he supported me let me god grant him mercy may that be your story my dear brother and sister in the name of jesus christ so now he says i want you to keep the faith i want you to be loyal to the faith i was telling timothy i want you to be loyal to the faith and that's what i want to deal with this evening how do you keep the faith how do you keep the faith how number one how you keep the faith he said stir up the gift that is in you say that with me tear up the gift that is in me step up the gift stay up the gift that is in you in verse 6 of ch first timothy chapter 2 he said therefore i remind you to do all to stir up the gift of god that is in you how do you keep the faith you want to stir up the gift of god that is in you proverbs 18 16 it says that the gift of a man will make room for him and he will bring him before great men the gift of a man or make room for him there are two applications there which i want you to remember this morning this evening two applications a gift of a man that which is intrinsic in you that which is inside you deposited in you by the lord your gift some people call it talent some people call it ability some people call it capability whatever it is everything you have is a gift you can play soccer it's a gift you can play basketball it's a gift you can run and jump it's a gift anything you have cleaning their house washing the bathroom driving a cab with skills cooking with dexterity all of those things i gave paul was saying that stir it up in you god is such a rich and merciful god that he did not send you into this world without a gift otherwise people will make full of you they will make rubbish of you he sent you with something that is unique to you that's why your fingerprint is uniquely yours he sent you into the world with the gift so that which is intrinsic in you if you think deep you pray deep you reflect deep you'll find something that is uniquely yours and how do you know you get your passion what is the thing you are passionate about what is that thing that you do not mind doing assuming everything was all right assuming you you had all the money assuming you were most comfortable what is that one thing that you would like to do you'll do it at no cost i remember before before i i i walked away from clinical practice i remember i was i wrote down i was praying and i wrote down and i said god i was in lagos i mean you you guys know how lagos is lagos is a it's a dog-eat-dog community and i said i i had left lagos at one time to go and look for money i i went to my state to look for money to come back and start my own clinical practice to start my own clinic so that when i begin to preach full-time with the church my clinic will be taking care of my my my the process for my clinic would take care of me all the money i made in that trip i lost all that money had a contract supplied something to the local government make collected the money i came back to lagos lost all of that money came to lagos got another contract to supply something to i forgot one of these ministries i got all of that money i wanted to rent a house the real estate agent who i gave the money to disappeared with my money i lost all of that money so i remember one day and i sat down and i said god ah if i have a car and i have a house to live in i'm going to preach the gospel for free that was that was my passion my passion was just to preach if i could have a house and have a car i'll preach that was it one day somebody gave me a car and then i had enough money to rent a house it did not take long if i started preaching for free the thing that's in your heart that passion of yours is your gift whatever it is do it and the money will follow because for many people they think that i must run after money and then my passion no no no when you pursue your passion that god has placed in your life the money will come will somebody say amen so stay up stir it up and there's another aspect of that gift thing that i need to teach you as a church let's say that in genesis chapter 43 verse 11 43 11 the sons of i am jacob had returned from egypt where they went to look for food during the farming and now they wanted to go back now they didn't want to go back or they wanted to go back but their father insisted he would not give benjamin to them so eventually he succumbed and this is what he told them he said okay you go back look at what he said he said i want you if you must go back then do this take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man who is this man they were talking about the prime minister who was jacob joseph he said take some of the best fruits and carry a vessel and carry a present for the man a little bam a little honey spices myrrh pistachio nuts almond nuts and some good cologne say take it to the man what was his goal per adventure this gift will soften the heart of the man now remember the passage we read in proverbs chapter 18 verse 16 he said the gift of a man will do what will make room for him the gift of a man so when you give gifts to people now the goal is not to bribe them but i want you to understand that it's a principle in the world that when you give gifts somehow god uses your gifts to create an atmosphere that is conducive for assets and for elevation let me say that again i think that's a good thing to do it when you give gifts to people god uses the gift to create an atmosphere that is conducive for assets and elevation i have a friend who is a businessman he's a personality strong businessman and i one day we're talking and i asked him i said so how do you do your business when you get contract do you give bribes you say no i don't give bribes he said but i try to be fair he used that word i tried to be fair and i used that word so many times he said when i make my profit from the contracts guess what i do i come back and i show gratitude to the people who helped me i give them a good gift i don't try to hold it all for myself are you listening to me those of you in the marketplace the gift of a man will make room for him i i remember the first time i went to billy gray health center in you know the cove went to billy graham center i just bought a tie that was my first time in the u.s anywhere i just bought a tie when i met i know this thing nowadays everything goes on youtube i met franklin graham i gave him the time i just gave him the time and i invited him i told him i wanted to i wanted to represent to you know the samaritan post i wanted to be able to distribute the the products of samara temples to the uh the people of haiti he approved it immediately and you know announcing later on that we are going to be distributing this in haiti the following day when he showed up for the conference he was putting on my time so there are things you give to people you think that well this one is too big he does not want he will not he will not appreciate it no learn how to give gifts to people not because you are bribing them please understand me not because the intention is to do what to bribe them no but you see when you come before greatness when you come before people who have gotten into positions learn how to appreciate and validate the grace of god on them oh i hope somebody will say man here now you learn how to appreciate it i remember going for one of these trainings i don't want to mention the place you know and somebody had bought me a beautiful tie from england i gave the tie to the man and i said i'm not sure whether you they might say i like i don't want to mention them one of the top guys in government in this country is i love the time the next time i saw him he had to tie on you know you never know glory to god who learned how to give gifts we'll let the gift of so it says tear up the gifts number two he said do not be ashamed of the gospel do not be ashamed of the gospel do not be ashamed of the gospel and even let me talk a little bit about this thing even in in assessing certain levels of anointing if let's spiritualize it now you people are spiritual people even in accessing certain levels of anointing you discover that there is some connection between gifts and this anointing what made mary magdalene one of the most famous woman in the bible tell me jesus cast her 70 months from her isn't it but what else did she do she gave she broke an alabaster all and poured it on jesus when they tried to stop her jesus said leave her alone this thing she's doing will be reported in every generation in through the ages if i tell you the cost of that alabaster or in today's currency was more than 450 thousand dollars the cost of that all in today's currency because there are colons that cause that that are that expensive so well number two do not be ashamed of the gospel say that with me do not be ashamed of the gospel verse 8 therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our lord nor of me his prisoner he said do not be ashamed of the gospel do not be ashamed to not be ashamed to share the gospel he says share it jesus said in mark chapter 8 verse 34 he said anyone who is ashamed of me and my words in this generation i too will be ashamed of him in the last day so don't be ashamed of the testimony don't be ashamed of the gospel share the gospel what's the gospel the good news what has god done in your life what has that got done here share it talk about it unashamed unafraid let people know that you're a believer let people know that you're a christian let people know that christ has transformed your life and has done something good for you what does the bible say it's a taste and see that the lord is good let people know that you have tested you've sinned that is good and that's why you tried to share your faith i remember one of these days i traveled and i yeah when i this sometime early days when i went to new york and i came back a guy the hoover guy who picked me up from the airport you know i was so excited he was talking to me about the movie possibilities in atlanta how a lot of movies and actors and actresses have come to atlanta how atlanta is the next hollywood you know the acting movies in georgia next to california and he went on and on and on and on and on and when i tried to share my friend with him he told me you know i don't discuss those kind of things he tried to shut me down but you know what i told him you know respectfully i said you know what the reason why i shared this is because of what god has done in my life so it's not because i'm trying to bargain you with the message of the gospel but i'm trying to tell you of what god has done in my life so i went on to tell him how god has forgiven my sins how god has given me security how god has given me hope how god has given meaning to my life and when i finish saying that to him i was satisfied even though he wanted me to keep quiet but i knew he has heard my message i was in his car i was paying for it was both him and i were prisoners praising the lord so how do you keep the faith stay up the gift number two do not be ashamed of the gospel number three be willing to suffer for your convictions willing to suffer for your conviction verse 12 verse 12 of chapter one he said for this reason i also do what i suffer i suffer i suffer nevertheless i'm not ashamed for i know whom i believe and i'm persuaded that he's able to keep what i have committed to him until that day i have believed i know what i believe i know whom i believe and i'm persuaded that i is able to keep i suffer be willing to suffer for your convictions some people don't want to suffer for their conviction look at second timothy chapter two verse three this is what he told paul told timothy he said you therefore must endure what hard shape as a good soldier they're willing to suffer christianity is fun is joy but there's an element of suffering in fact in chapter 2 verse 12 he said those who must live for christ chapter 3 verse 3 to 12 he said yes all those who desire to live a godly life will suffer persecution chapter 3 verse 12 they will suffer persecution be willing to suffer for your faith number three number four follow the pattern of sound teaching and sound living sound teaching and sound living look at chapter one verse thirteen second timothy one 13 second timothy 1 13 he said hold first the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus hold first the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me so hold first the pattern of sound teaching and sound living because what is the essence of good teaching if you're not going to leave it out what's the essence of faith he said in faith and love if you're not going to live without because faith without words is what is dead you know sound teaching and sounding look at chapter two titus chapter two verse six to eight titles two sisters likewise exhaust the young men to be world sober-minded titans himself was a young man too and paul was writing to titus exotic young men to be sober minded verse seven he said in all things showing yourself to be a partner of good works in doctrine showing integrity reverence and incorruptability showing yourself a pardon and then number five the deposit and trust it into your hands guard the treasure 114 second timothy 1 14. it's a guard that which has been entrusted into your hands 1 14. let's look at it verse 14. can we read this 14 together one to go that good thing which was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us something was committed into your hands that which was committed into your hands which i want you to keep don't treat it with levity that which was committed into your hands i want you to treasure that which was committed into your hands i want you to protect something has been entrusted in you my friend the things you know the burden you carry the reverence in your heart the passion you bear the desire and aspirations that you exude is a gift from the lord you god wants you to protect him so how do you keep the faith i want us to go through those five elements again number one stay up the gifts number two do not be ashamed number three be willing to suffer for your convictions number four follow the pattern of good sound teaching and sound living and number five god the good deposit the treasure that was the person that was given to you you follow sound teaching by studying the word by exposing yourself to the teachings and the doctrines of others that's how you follow sound teaching you follow sound teaching by comparing scripture with scripture you follow sound teaching by reading reading good christian literature that's how you follow sound teaching and then you leave it out now when paul told timothy all of this there's a reason how do you keep the faith now i want to address the reason why do you keep the faith what is the outcome of doing all this what is why do you do it why do you find the good fight why must i find a good fight why must you keep the faith you stare of the gift in you because it will make you impactful in your generation you stay up the gift of god in you because it will make you world impactful in your generation it is if somebody has said that your gift your life is a gift from god and what you do with your life is your gift back to god you stir up the gift of god in you because it will make you impactful in your generation number two you are not ashamed of the gospel in order to make you communicate your faith you share your faith you communicate your faith number three you are willing to suffer for christ in the face of difficulties what does that do for you resilience makes you strong it makes you endure it makes you last it makes you through go through tough times and difficult times and number four sound teaching and sound living will allow you to model the word of god and the practices of a sound of a good christian sound teaching and sound living will allow you to model the word of god people will look at you and learn from you people will hear you and learn from you people will look at you and learn from you and number five you guard the deposit which has been given to you as you guard it it will give you relevance it will give you longevity it will give you relevance it will give you longevity so that you can be relevant in your generation if you don't guard it you will lose it and you will stop being a relevant person what does the bible say he said that if salt has lost his saltiness it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and thrown on the foot of men you are the salt of the earth if you lose your value as a salt you are useless so you guard your saltiness you guard your deposit you guard that which god has given to you so that you can be relevant and what does all of this do to you it allows you to reflect the character of christ the character of christ can only be seen in you when you are impactful when you show resilience when you are relevant when you communicate the faith and when you show resilience that's when the character of christ can be seen in you you develop spiritual authority as all of these things are exemplified and practicalized in your life you develop spiritual authority you're not just ordinary there is a power in your life there is and there is a recognition in the places of hell you know the demons ask some young men who went out to cross the demon sun subscriber seven of them the bible says that the demons looked at them when they said that in the name of jesus whom paul preaches because you are the demons looked at them i said paul we know and jesus we know but who are you when you develop an impact when you can impact your generation for christ when you can share your faith when you are resilient for god when you when you show relevance for god and when you are modeling the values of our faith demons will recognize you the elements of the earth will succumb to you you can speak to the forces of darkness and they will respond to you why because you have spiritual authority remember the bible says that we do not sell against flesh and blood right he said for even though we walk in the flesh our warfare is not in the flesh but our warfare is in the spirit so the weapons of our warfare are relevant and applicable only in the spirit to show that spiritual relevance so you develop spiritual authority and ultimately is that there will be a crown of righteousness a crown of righteousness i'd like us to read one or two bible present james chapter one let's look at verse two and three james one two and three he said my brethren counted all joy when you fall into various trials various trials various hardships very young difficulties knowing that the testing of your faith what does it do it produces patience verse 12 chapter verse 12 blessed is a man who endures testing when deals are hardship where there's difficulties so for when he has been approved he will receive what crown of life the lord has promised to those who love him the crown of life god will give you something in response because you have endured because you have stood steadfast because you have stood as a warrior because you have battled you've gone through the same battles that the saints of all the elders of all went through and they overcame yours is even in better conditions you're not fasting fighting with lions they are not being thrown into it into an arena where you you are dealing with with wild beasts and wild animals who are coming for your life they are not being slaughtered like it's happening in some places of the earth but you are just dealing with the day-to-day routine issues of overcoming one struggle one stress one trial after another would you stand your ground the last passage i want to read for you second peter chapter three look at it verse 17 and 18. 17 17 he says you therefore beloved since you know this beforehand since you know that you will fight the good fight since you know that you must be impactful you must show resilience you must grow you must communicate your faith you must model christianity and the values of our christian faith he said therefore beware unless you fall from your own steadfastness and you are led away by the error of the wicked verse 18 he said verse 18 please he said grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ to him be glory both now and forever and the people of god say amen help our hearts a prayer just ask the lord tonight help me the notes are on youtube if you want to go and get the notes the notes are all there and see these notes god help me [Music] help me lord help me to be impactful probably to be resilient help me to be relevant happy not to be ashamed help me to stay up the keeps lord help me our father we thank you tonight and we bless you thank you for your life we thank you for your death you modeled example for us that we may walk in your steps and be like you i ask you tonight that lord you help us let's live according to your will that lord will help us to walk in obedience purpose to be relevant and possibly impactful thank you tonight as we partake of the holy communion tonight i pray o god that it will quicken our mortal bodies they will do us good that your work of grace will continue in our lives thank you father for jesus name we pray okay please grab the holy communion at home wherever you are those of you who are here [Music] [Music] [Music] in the night in which he was crucified he took the bread and after he had blessed it he broke it and said take it this is my body broken for you father tonight we thank you for your body broken for us even as you were betrayed yet you broke your body and give it to us tonight i pray for every single one as we partake of your body oh god granted we will not be agents of betrayal and if we have a victims of betrayal lord bring healing to our bodies bring healing so god i ask you father you teach us how to fight the good fight and to ensure that your character is revealed in us we thank you and we bless you for jesus name we pray amen everybody on your feet so after they had soft he took the cup and he said this is the cup of the new testament in my blood as often as you drink it you do so in remembrance of me father tonight we take of your blood and we receive the benefits of your blood of god complete healing complete wholeness complete deliverance forgiveness and cleansing from sins and evil conscience and victory over the enemy thank you heavenly father in jesus name we pray amen [Music] god bless the name of the lord father we thank you bless you i will give you all the praise and the glory tonight blessed be the name of the living god thank you heavenly father thank you king of kings thank you lord of lords thank you sovereign jehovah blessed be your holy name oh god blessed be your holy name blessed be in jesus name we pray amen now if you we're going to take our offense right away please let's take our offerings right away on the various platforms see it on the screen cash up sms giving zell online giving me with a melody [Music] from my enemy to all my fears [Music] oh i am a child of god [Music] hallelujah father we thank you for everyone who has given an offering tonight receive their offerings lord god almighty we commit this weekend into your hands god prepare us minister to us as we come back here on sunday we thank you father for in jesus name we pray and the grace of our lord jesus christ and the love of god and the sweet flesh of the holy spirit rest and abide with us now forevermore amen for surely god's goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the lord forever and ever amen god is faithful you the atl god bless you same time next week this has been a broadcast of cod that same time next week

Channel: City Of David Atlanta

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Id: JFTVfT_k0y8

Length: 91min 58sec (5518 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 23 2021