Fight the good Fight of Faith) (10) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 01-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

1st December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (Fight the good Fight of Faith) (10)

Text: 2 Timothy 4:7-8 → "I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. The victor’s crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing."

* Faith is the only means, method or strategy by which we become victorious in life

★ Why must I fight this good fight of faith?

1. It is a fight appointed, commissioned and commanded by God

☆ Job 23:12 → "I haven’t wandered away from the commands that he has spoken; I’ve treasured what he has said more than my own meals.”

* You have no authority to deviate from the command of God

2. It is one fight

→ There are two classes of fight: the good and the bad fight

→ Now is the only chance we have to fight the good fight; You have only one life to live

→ After this life, you have no other opportunity

☆ John 9:4 →" I must do the work of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is approaching, when no one can work."

3. It is One faith

☆ Ephesians 4:4-6 →"There is one body and one Spirit. Likewise, you were called to the one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all."

* John 8:56 →"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

* We have been entrusted with the Same faith that the Patriarchs upheld and were commended for

☆ Genesis 14:18-20 (Abraham saw a preview of the glory of Jesus)

→ NOTE: The "King of Salem" was actually Jesus!

☆ Hebrews 11:7 →"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith."

4. That is the only way we Can take hold of the eternal life

☆ 2 Timothy 4:7-8

→ Many people, without fighting the good fight of faith entertain the hopes of securing eternal life. This is not possible! 

→ Notice the certainty by which the Apostle spoke

→ We all do not start the race at the same time. But how you start, how you run it, and how you complete it matters

* Satan has no right to deprive any man of eternal life. 

→ This is entirely your choice

God with us (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 27-01-2015

NDlC/DMO Chapel

Central Business District,

Garki, Abuja - Nigeria

 

* Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu  

* Topic: God with us

* 27th January, 2015

★ WHY JESUS CAME

* John 10:10 →"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

* Jesus came to give us life

- What is life?

- What kind of life?

1. Life is the force, energy & power of being

- Anyone that lacks that Cannot be said to be alive

2. life Is the opposite of death/perishing

- It is the Cessation of destruction & death

* John 5:24 →"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

* NOTE: The cessation of death and decay can only be through Jesus

3. The life that Jesus gives is eternal

* Genesis 3:22 →" And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever."

* Eternal life Was deprived Adam & Eve because of their sins

* John 17:3 → "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

* Many people today are holding on to Something that is false and will not give them eternal life - they will be disappointed in the end

* Every soul will live eternally (both Saints & Sinners)

* The Kind of eternal life Jesus is speaking about & offering is not one of duration, but one of quality and bliss

4. This eternal life is found only in Christ. No one else.

*1st John 1:2 →" (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)"

* John 1:4-5 →"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

* There is no two-way about It: outside Christ, there is no life

★ PRAYER:

"I want this eternal life;

Give me your eternal life;

let nothing deprive me of it"

Redemption as one of the Blessings of Doing the will of God (Pastor Victor Amos) 21-12-2014

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki-Abuja

21st December, 2014

* Speaker: Pastor Victor Amos

* Topic: Redemption as one of the Blessings of Doing the will of God

* Theme for 2014: Knowing the will of God (Colossians 1:9)

* Text: Ephesians 1:3-7

* Redemption is the basis of our lives as Christians

* We are Christians today because we have been redeemed by Christ

* Redemption cannot be separated from the Cross of Christ; without to Cross of Christ, there will be no Gospel; without the Gospel, there is no Christianity

* No man can say "I am free from sin" - we were all born into the sinful nature; the sin of Adam has contaminated all of us from birth

★Romans 3:23 → "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"

* Sin separated man from God.

* God does not take sin lightly. Whenever God looks at man (pre-redemption), he sees a sinful entity

* Christ was offered up as an atonement for our sins in order to redeem us

* Redemption is salvation from sin

* "Redemption" may be defined as: "rescue (something or someone) upon the payment of a ransom".

* Redemption entails "buying back" what originally belonged to you; or what you are entitled to, subject to payment of a ransom

* The Biblical concept of Redemption: The firstborn child or an animal belongs to the Lord: To retain it, you must "buy it back" through an act of redemption.

★ Exodus 13:2 → " Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine."

★ Exodus 34:19-20 → “Everything firstborn belongs to me: all the males of your herds, the firstborn of both cattle and sheep. You are to redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, and if you don’t redeem it, you are to break its neck. You are to redeem every firstborn of your sons, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed."

* The stories of our lives changed when Christ went to the cross and paid the ransom for us with His blood in order to translate us from darkness into light.

8 Benefits of Redemption

1. We were translated from darkness into light

★ Colossians 1:13 → "God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves"

★ See also: Ephesians 5:8 and 1 Peter 2:9

2. You have eternal life in Christ.

3. You have forgiveness of Sins

4. Righteousness

- You have the Spirit of God to help you live right.

5. Adoption into God's family

- Redemption makes it possible for you to be adopted into God's family

- If you have not been redeemed, you cannot claim to a part of God's family

6. Deliverance from Sin

★ Titus 2:14 → "He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds."

- Sin places you under the bondage of Satan. The atonement of Christ on the Cross of Calvary makes it possible to be delivered/liberated from the power of sin

7. Peace with God:

- When you were in sin, you were an enemy of God

- If you have no relationship with Christ, you have no peace

8. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

★1 Cor 6:19-20 → " You know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God, don’t you? You do not belong to yourselves, because you were bought for a price. Therefore, glorify God with your bodies."

- The Holy Spirit helps you to live a life that is pleasing to God

* NOTE: Those who have been redeemed must live differently from those who are still living in darkness

* At this Christmas Season, the redeemed in Christ will not do anything in the course of the celebrations that will grieve the Holy Spirit

* The freedom of the redeemed is not for his/her own benefit, but it is to be utilized to serve and glorify the Redeemer!