7 challenges to winning your fight of faith as a Christian

In 1st Timothy 6:12 Paul writing to Timothy said “fight the good fight of faith lay hold on Eternal Life” there is a fight of faith.
In 2nd Timothy 4:7 Paul said I fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith.

There are 7 challenges to winning your fight of faith. A challenge is a call to confrontation. Theres something to confront.

1.The challenge of freedom:

When you say I want to be free, freedom from the base life, freedom from defeat, freedom from sin. The ability to decide the kind of life you want to live and live it.

freedom to be you, free to serve God. There are people who are not free to serve God. If you’re sick you’re not free to serve God, something is holding you bondage, you can’t do the things you want to do.

That’s the first challenge, the challenge of freedom, the desire to be free, the opportunity of freedom.
When freedom comes what do you do with it? like in many countries today mostly African countries that fought for their independence, independence from their colonial Masters and after fighting for independence they got freedom and now they don’t know what to do with their freedom, they’ve been there for 3 years and more and don’t know what to do with freedom, because freedom is actually more difficult to deal with than bondage.

when you are in bondage to others you do what they tell you to do so you can blame them for whatever the results you get but when you’re free you become responsible.

freedom is responsibility and responsibility is accountability. if you’re not accountable you’re not responsible. freedom is important it brings responsibility. responsibility is accountability, responsibility without accountability is failure.

so there’s that yearning for that good life of Liberty that he has brought to us. he said you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free and when you know the word of God you become free in the area of the truth that you know.

Always its the area of the truth that you know that you experience freedom. Where you experience Liberty that’s where you win in the area you don’t know you will be defeated. For example when the world did not know about tuberculosis, men Were dying anyhow from the tuberculosis till they found a cure for tuberculosis and was no longer afraid of dying.

It’s the same thing with HIV Aids, because they have not found a cure for HIV when you are diagnosed with HIV they thing that is the end. So in the area of ignorance man lives in bondage. Any area where you are ignorant you will be a slave.

if you heard on the news today that they have found a cure for cancer so many people are going to be happy. if they announced today that they have now gotten the vaccine for HIV there will be celebration in many countries.

so we seem to be waiting for somebody somewhere. we are saying can they get the cure. who are these they? we have put our lives in jeopardy because we put our lives at the mercy of somebody somewhere who we don’t know.

Ask yourself, Why cant that somebody me me. That’s the challenge, paul said I have fought a good fight. The first thing is to know that freedom is possible, freedom from this disease, freedom from this sin freedom from this sickness freedom from this situation it’s possible.

Jesus said if the Son of man shall make you free you shall be free indeed. he means you will be free all round.
Has he made you free? Emphatically Yes.

You are free to fly. Think about your life you are free to fly, you are free to be what you want to be, that’s the gospel of Jesus Christ, now you can be. But first challenge yourself with the possibility.

It’s no use to steal, it’s no use to kill, don’t become violent, don’t change your world and turn it into a place of disaster, of terror. Don’t make your world a dangerous place to live. Have new ideas, thinkfresh, there are new Solutions, think how to solve problems.

There are things you just shouldn’t do, a champion is not someone who wants to fight, a champion is someone who wants to fight for his people, for others, he doesn’t fight for himself. When you fight and win for yourself you are not a champion.

David was a champion because he fought for Isreal against goliath

Moses refused to become the son of pharaohs daughter in other to fight for the people of Israel.

The challenge of freedom,When you want a change, the first thing is to remember its possible.

2. The challenge of excellence

When you want to add more value to your life you must become better than you used to be. Because when you’re free its not enough, its more difficult to handle freedom than bondage. But having become free you must add something to your life, become excellent.

Most people when they retire they spend their time reading newspapers and watching TV, whiling away time, watching others make their money on them.

Put some value to your life. You can become better than what you are now, learn something new. There are people who are out of jobs because what they used to do is not needed anymore.

Some people only know the scriptures they learnt when they were little children, add more value to your life. Train yourself with something.

Are you a cook? Do you have a restaurant, can you add something new, new recipes, get better plates, paint the place, make it brighter, think what more can I do.

Why do you want freedom so that you can set others free. You are not free until others are free. Think what more can I do for others to add value to their lives. Become a helper

3. The challenge of opportunity

The needs of others are your opportunity. When someone needs help that’s your opportunity, dont complain reach out to help. Theres a need that has to be met and you are the one to meet that need. The suffering of people around you is your opportunity. The state of the nation is your opportunity. The problems at work is your opportunity.

Confront the status quo, bring in new ideas. Dont talk just do. Dont say I have a new idea, just do it. Dont write proposals, do something, the world is looking for doers dont propose.

Don’t be a complainer, some people don’t know why they’re beautiful ideas are not being used,its because you talk too much.
When an opportunity calls that means there is a need, present yourself and do something. Don’t make your society a terrible place to live. the needs around us are our opportunity to express the goodness in our hearts, don’t ignore the needy, don’t ignore that opportunity, get the world better than how you met it.

You don’t have to go around the whole world you have the world of your own, your sphere of influence, the people you relate with, you have to make it better.

It’s your responsibility you have to know it convince yourself with that thought you can believe begin with your estate have an Association in that estate there’s something you can do think about how to make that place better see if you can’t make that place better you can’t make your city better and you can’t make your country better don’t ignore such opportunities listen God needs you.

4. The challenge of leadership

Leadership is an extra-ordinary opportunity to do something leadership means helping others achieve their dreams leadership means helping others experience freedom excellent and helping them see opportunity that’s leadership become a leader a leader helps others see he hears what others can hear he sees what they can see he goes ahead of them to clear the path to pave the way so they can come and have a better life that’s what leadership is all about leadership is inspiring leadership is responsibility get involved in something leadership is not a title leadership is action and it is challenging it’s wonderful because it helps it presents you with the opportunity of helping someone Elsa become something helping someone else have a better life that’s what leadership is the challenge to become a leader

5. The challenge of distinction

When you become a leader the next thing is distinction, because you become separate from others you are setting the pace. If you’re the leader of a group you read ahead, you study ahead, you see ahead, you hear ahead.

That distinguishes you, separating from others and then all those who are listening to you also becomes like you because you can only make others to be like you.
so pull them to your Arena of distinction it’s important, become a leader, champion the right cause. how are you going to lead? think fresh, start thinking.

we need libraries the children can go to read, we don’t have to cry to the government, can we build libraries? can we get the books? can we ask for more books? can we reach out and ask for these things and begin to build a library that children can go to and study?

Do something for the Next Generation become a leader. Maybe in your estate think about having a library for the young people. Then they will come across something in the book that will change their lives. As they study they see all the Heroes, Heroes of chemistry and physics and metallurgy, heroes of History, they see all these things and they become inspired and instead of thinking of one gangster over there getting them inlisted in the wrong club, they find something more inspiring and they want to be like that.

Start thinking now, you can make a difference, you sure can make a difference. maybe you are a student if the school will not do it you can. many of those books are already in the internet, setup a place where students can go, a resource centre and make sure you show them how to get these materials on the internet and then they can read.

if you start that there are people who will be willing to help you get more materials in such a Centre there are many people that want to help people do the right thing all over the country but are waiting for the voices who can step aside and say I want to do it not just because of money but because you were challenged.

change the world you live in. money is not everything, take a step ahead make a decision and go for it maybe God has been telling you about starting a school. have you asked him what kind of school it is? maybe it’s a different kind of school ask him for the idea, you’ll be amazed at what he will show you it might be something totally unique, it’s a new day.

6. Challenge of the future

What does the future hold what kind of life is it going to be in 5 years in 10 years and how are you positioning yourself for that future and how are you helping to position the Next Generation so that they can become leaders of the next century or you don’t think you were involved in it?

success without a successor is failure and that doesn’t just mean somebody you hand over to it means we deliver something to the oncoming generation and they can take it to a higher level and so our responsibility is to see them.

Live beyond your generation, live beyond your environment. Jesus said I’ve chosen you out of the world you are in the world but not of the world you don’t belong here you have to influence the world with what you have.

Don’t feel locked in, don’t feel like you can’t do anything, because you can. that’s why it’s called in a challenge. Paul said I fought a good fight, it’s a fight of faith. you make up your mind, you see the Vision and you say I’m going to do it I’m going to change it and then do it. When you do it others will say they can do it too, then it will multiply.