Fight The Good Fight - Opponent #4

VIDEO: ROPE SKIP DRUM ROLL

Walkout with me jump roping badly, Seth better, Corrie amazing!

MAIN SLIDE: FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

SCRIPTURE SLIDES:

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

A new definition of what it means to win:

NOT A ME WIN, BUT A GOD WIN

2 Thess. 1:12 Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live

Round 1 – People and their Problems

Round 2 - SELF

Round 3 – the devil

Round 4 – the toughest fight of all – when we fight against God

You say, that’s impossible, God would never get in the ring against me. That’s not true.

He doesn’t want to, but we pick fights with him – and he’s not shy about reminding us we are not in his weight class.

Think about all the times God stirred you up to a good deed that you refused to pick up

Think about all the times God convicted you of a sin you refused to put down

Think about all the nudges, tugs and shoves God’s Holy Spirit has laid on you that you ignored.

He convinces us of his presence, his reality and we refuse to believe and commit.

We do these things and we figure we can get away with it...but….

When we do these, we are fighting against God

We are reminded of the Bible verse that says:

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

We want to do the right thing

We want to obey God

We want to walk the walk

But at some time, all of us have fought against God

MAIN SLIDE

Before we go into the scriptures to talk more about FIGHTING AGAINST GOD and what we can do about it.

Let me tell you about 4 more world class boxers who love Jesus.

Andre Ward

Ward is a devout Christian; he regularly shares his faith within the boxing community.

“A lot of people look for you to change. Everything has stayed the same. Financially, this is God’s money, and my wife and I are just stewards of it.” – Andre Ward

Andre Ward beats up people for a living. But just because he’s a born-again Christian doesn’t mean he has to repent for fighting.

As a child of God—who just happens to be the undisputed WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine super middleweight boxing champion of the world—Ward says his motives are pure every time he steps into the ring and that he’s simply doing the job with which the Lord blessed him.

“It’s a heart condition,” says the 28-year-old Ward, who defended his titles against light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., in September to run his professional record to 26-0. “If I truly was honest with myself and I intentionally and permanently wanted to hurt someone, then that would be a problem.

“It may sound like an oxymoron, but I don’t have a heart to hurt anyone in the ring. I always pray for myself, my opponent and for our families’ sakes that neither one of us gets hurt during a fight. That’s only one of the reasons that God has blessed me so much in my life.”

Ward has myriad reasons to feel that way. Not only is he on top of the boxing world in his division with three titles around his waist, he has yet to be defeated as a professional. The former Olympic gold medalist also was named Sports Illustrated and Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year for 2011.

Above all these accolades, however, Ward is grateful for how his status as a successful athlete has allowed him to become an effective witness for Jesus Christ and a role model for youngsters. His mantra, S.O.G. (Son of God), which is prominently displayed on his trunks, is something he borrowed from Galatians 3:26, which states: “For all of you are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Chris Byrd is an American former boxer who competed in 1993 to 2009. He was a two-time heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000. In 2002 he defeated Evander Holyfield to win the IBF heavyweight title for his second time as world champion.

Throughout his boxing career, Byrd professed his love for Christ publically, including wearing T-shirts with the words “Jesus Christ” on it, as well entering into the boxing ring accompanied by gospel music.