Make Me A Blessing (3 Of 3)

However, everyone does not share that idea. That is there might be some here today who live their life everyday wanting to known as:

• Great businessman

• Great athlete

• Great entertainer

• Great entrepreneur

But one day as these stands before their Creator they will wish they had lived their life as a GREAT MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD!!!

The reason some will never be known as a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD at this time is because they feel the bar has been set too high for them to bear this honor and they are not willing…

1) Flee from sin

2) Follow after righteousness and Godliness

3) Fight the good fight of faith.

I want to ask you something…

Illus: When you walk down the street, what do people think of you when they see you coming?

1) I can assure you that the moment you come within eye-contact range, they immediately think of something about you.

2) Even if they just hear your name mentioned a certain image of you will pop-up into their minds about what they think about you.

For example, let me give you a test…

What do you think of when I mention the name of:

· Bill Clinton...(I think of Monica Lewinsky)

· Elvis Pressley...(I think of a Singer)

· Michael Jordan...(I think of a Basket Ball Player)

· O. J. Simpson...(A man that some feel got by murdering two people)

The fact is, even when we hear someone’s name mentioned we form a mental picture of them which has been stored away in our memory of whether or not that person is a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD.

We all should strive to live the Christian life in such a way so as soon as a person…

• HEARS OUR NAME,

• SEES US,

He/she will immediately think of us as being a MAN or WOMAN of GOD!

When Paul thought of Timothy, this was exactly what he thought of him.

WHO WAS TIMOTHY?

• He was the recipient of two New Testament letters bearing his name.

• He was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother.

• He was probably no older than late teens or early twenties when he joined Paul but had already distinguished himself as MAN OF GOD.

• Paul says Timothy had a “genuine faith,” the same as that which lived in his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:1–5).

Paul thought a lot of him and refers to him as a MAN OF GOD.

He said, in verse 11, “But thou, O man of God...”

Then he proceeds to show us three things a person must do to become a “Man of God.”

• There are sinful things we must FLEE from.

• There are things we must FOLLOW after.

• There are things we must FIGHT for.

In this last sermon in this series I will be addressing there are things we must FIGHT for.

Fighting is not something we normally associate with Christians, but in order to be a MAN or WOMAN OF GOD there are SOME THINGS WE MUST BE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR

Look at I Timothy 6:11-12 again, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 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.”

The word translated “Fight,” is from the Greek, “agonizou,” which means, “To agonize, struggle, battle, contend, and fight for the prize.”

There are some people who ENJOY FIGHTHING, they seem to go around looking for a fight.

Illus: They make me think of the slogan that Lucky Strike cigarettes had a cigarette commercial on television years ago in the 50”s. In this commercial this man loved to smoke this brand of cigarettes (Lucky Strikes) and he was determined he was not going to switch to any other brand.

This man in this commercial had a black eye and he said in this commercial, "I'd rather fight than switch."

Some people love to fight.

Illus: The former professional wrestler Gorgeous George back in the fifties enjoyed a good fight.

Even after he came to know the Lord he still enjoyed a good fight.

Let me illustrate…

Illus: Dr. Odell Belger and Gorgeous George were driving down the highway together and some rough necks pulled out in front of them and almost caused them to have a wreck laughing and made a nasty gesture with their hands.

Dr. Belger was driving and Gorgeous George tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Speed up…Let’s get them!”

There are people RATHER FIGHT than to Eat.

They do not believe the opportunity for a good fight should go to waste. THEY ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR A FIGHT!