Rico Sharp Live Stream

I can do, I can have, and I can be all that it says in Jesus' name. While you're standing, turn your Bible to the first Timothy chapter. Still on the subject of faith. If you came in today thinking I was on a different subject, then— and hoping I was on a different subject, you need to hope for next Sunday because I'm still on faith. Amen. Please remember that we are recording our services both through our cameras and through our audible sounds, so through the video and the auto audio sound. So please make sure your cell phones are off and that you don't do any unnecessary moving around. Don't talk when the word is being preached. Don't be talking to people about irrelevant things when the word is being preached. Amen. That goes for the kids, the teenagers, adults, and everyone else. Amen. And trying to learn something today. First Timothy six and twelve. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life. Whereunto thou art also called, and has professed a good profession before many witnesses. Bow your heads, Father. Speak to us today. Help us to grow in your word. Grow in wisdom. Grow in knowledge. Grow in grace. Let your word as a seed sown in the ground, that it would bring forth fruit that would bless you, bless your people, bless your kingdom, bless our lives. We ask you to help us to understand your word today, and let your word, O God, be protected, guarded, and shielded from the enemy, the thief, whose sole mission is to steal away the word. After it is sown, we not only want to receive, but we want to retain your word. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Take your seat. I want to talk to you today on the subject of fighting the good fight of faith. Fighting the good fight of faith. The Bible talks about faith, and it talks about it from the perspective in this particular passage that faith is something that you must defend. Faith is something that you have to protect. The Bible says here through the Apostle Paul to fight the good fight of faith, which means that faith involves a fight. Having faith, building faith, growing faith, living by faith, walking by faith, using your faith is a battle. It's a fight. There's a struggle involved. There's a conflict involved. There's some hostility involved. There's a war involved. Faith is not something that you're going to have and just put on the shelf and think that the enemy is not trying to break into your spiritual house to steal. He's a thief. He's a burglar. He wants to steal anything that is valuable to your life. Some things that are valuable to you, or some things that are valuable for you, may not be valuable to you. But the enemy knows that faith is one of those things that is valuable for you, even if it's not valuable to you. It should be valuable to you because of the fact that it's valuable for you. The Bible says that you have to fight the good fight of faith. This is not a physical fight. This is a spiritual fight. This is a spiritual war. There's an enemy out there which is known as the enemy of your faith, which is Satan, and he wants to deprive you of your faith. Now, the Bible calls this fight a good fight. Which means that this is a fight that is permissible by God. God permits you to fight in this particular category. This is not a physical fight. This is not getting in someone's face. This is not putting your hands on someone in a physical or aggressive way. This is fighting against the enemy of your faith. Now there's a couple of scriptures that I want to give you that points out very clearly That there is a war going on, and the war is over your faith. Look at your neighbor and tell your neighbor: "There's a war going on, and the war is over your faith." So I want to draw you to the book of Proverbs before we go to Ephesians six, which is about the war of your faith. So look at Proverbs chapter eighteen, verse twenty. And twenty-one. Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called. That's what first Timothy six and twelve says. The latter part of the verse says, "And has professed a good profession before many witnesses." Now there's something. Just go to Proverbs eighteen and wait for me. There's something about your faith that the Bible says. has to be professed, which means that in order for your faith to work, it has to flow from your heart, which is your spirit, through your mouth. That's when it gains its initial release or initial activation. It flows from your heart, which is your belief, and then it must come through your mouth. Which means if you believe God's word, you must confess what you believe in order for your faith to go into action. If you have faith in God for something, you must believe in your heart what his word says about what you believe. Then you must confess it with your mouth. When you confess it, because power is released The Bible calls it a profession, which the difference between a confession and a profession is a confession means to just tell the truth about something you know, or make a confession or reveal something. And the word profession means to make a declaration. A declaration or a profession means to speak from your heart. About what you believe. So when the Bible says that you're making a profession before many witnesses, what the Bible is really declaring is that you're releasing your faith through your mouth. Say this with me: When I make a declaration, which is a profession, I'm releasing my faith. From my heart through my mouth into the atmosphere. Do you understand that? So profession means to release your faith through your mouth. Why is that important? Well, Proverbs 18:20.