 Amen. So this morning I just want to take a short short time to be able to share a word with you and as many of you guys all know that anything good comes with a fight. Amen. That anything anything good you have to pay a price for it. You have to fight for it. So many of you guys know that if you go to the gym and you want to have like you want to be fit you want to just like you know very fit you just you just don't chill you know you just don't relax you have to work for it you know when you see those people are like flexing all these guns and all these things you know popping out you know they put in work there's hours and hours and hours being done in the gym eating right sleeping right hanging out with the right friends and exercising so anything good it comes with a price amen that is just that is just life anything good you have to fight for it you have to put work into it and um no one is born being great everybody that has something good in them it came as a as a result of paying a price as a result of a fight no champion or no boxer becomes great but just being born on this earth all in a fight every single person is that sitting in this place that is sitting beside you we are all in the fight you like it or not some of us we're fighting to survive a life some of us were fighting to keep a marriage some of us are fighting to become a man some of us are fighting to to get a doctoral degree some of us are fighting to be healthy some of us are here are fighting to to be a good father some of us are fighting fear some of us are fighting condemnation some of us here are fighting insecurities and doubts and fear but every single person here is fighting a battle in one way or the other nobody in this place escapes a fight every single person that is sitting beside you how good they look maybe they're white maybe they're brown maybe they're old or maybe they're young each one of us we are in a fight and nobody can escape it many as a kid we have this myth this this idea knowing that if I only grow up if I become a little bit older only if I become 21 there's certain problems that will not have to face many of us here we have a myth that only if I get a PhD and if I get a doctoral degree I will not have to fight many of us we have a this myth that only if I have to when I get married I will not have to fight certain things I'm finding as a single many of us here has a myth that only if I can become rich then I will not fight let me just break it down to you the rich people have to fight even the poor the poor people have to fight the people who are driving the nice car that you want they also are fighting the people who are living in the house that you want they are also fighting we are all in the fight in the first Timothy 6 12 the Bible says fight the good fight of faith we as Christians we are told that we made you understand that we are all in the fight the question is which fight are you fighting my Bible made me to understand that life is a warfare where only the serious minded are victorious in life every single person will face a battle it's either you'll fight fear you'll fight how to keep your marriage you'll maybe even fight your friend but the question is which fight are you going to fight and this should lead us to a topic of our message this morning the journey to the throne and I want to read from the scripture which most of you know it's first Samuel 17 verses 36 and 37 and also will go from 45 to 46 and it says your servant has killed both lion and bear and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them seeing he has defied the armies of the living God more over David said the Lord who delivered me from the power of the lion and from the part of the bear he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine and also will go to the verses 45 through 46 and it says then David said to the Philistine you come to me with a sword with a spear and with a javelin but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Host the God of armies of Israel whom you have defiled this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you and this day I will give you give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and to the wild bees of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel we all have to understand that the journey to your throne the path to the dreams that you have in your life the the journey to become who God wants it to be there will be an opposition in your life each one of you will have to fight in order to you to get to the throne every single person in this place they have a dream they have something inside the hearts that God has placed that nobody else might know but there's a dream that God has placed each one of us inside of our hearts that we want to become maybe it's to have a good family maybe it's to have a good marriage maybe it's to be someone who will rewrite the history of your family maybe it's to become the first millionaire that in your generation maybe it is to have a doctoral's degree maybe it's just to be healthy I don't know what the dream is that is in your heart but each one of us we have our journey journeys to the throne but I want to let you know that that journey it does not consist with just a bed of roses where everything it goes fine the journey to the throne is not a bed of roses but of snakes scorpions of thorns and of temptations and when we read this scripture from the Bible we see that God has anointed David he said that you will be the next king you will be the king of Israel but we all see that through his lifestyle through what he has to face that there was an opposition there was he had to go through a battle in order for him to get to the throne there will be challenges in your life if you want to get to the throne there will be obstacles that you will face there will be things that will challenge your faith to believe in God the more to be able to trust in God the more in order for you to get to the throne nobody whoever becomes great in life it comes easy to them every single person that becomes somebody who changed somebody's life somebody who made an influence somebody who made an impact always goes through opposition many of you will have to go through name callings blackmail hurt rejection through through those things through those uncomfortable situation in order for you to teach a lesson that when you get to the throne that you're able to maintain it we have to understand that and the dream that God has for you the the throne that God has prepared for you it's not a just a place where you can relax we like we say that anything good comes with the price every high place is a slippery place that's why before we get to the throne there's many obstacles that we will face because the place of the throne it has limitations it has things that can pull you down so if you're not prepared to receive the throne you can easily lose it that's why many of us will face trials that's why many of you guys are going through certain things and you're asking yourself why am I facing the things that I'm facing it is because you have a throne that is waiting ahead of you and there's a lesson that you need to learn in your trial that you will not be able to learn once you get to your throne in order for you to maintain the crown that God has for you in order for you to maintain the dream that God has placed inside of your hearts there's a lesson that needs to be learned in times of opposition in times of trials in times of tribulation God has a lesson to be so yet that you can learn one thing that as you're going through the journey to your throne trials oppositions rejection of blackmail are signs that you are on the right track we're not saying that sin is the thing that says that you're in the right track we're saying that when you're genuinely falling after God and you receive an opposition in your life you receive an attack you receive hurt there's certain things that as there's a lack of finances there's pain in your body those are the things that show that you are in the right track to your throne we see when David has been promised a kingship David was promised a throne but be on the way to that throne it begins to receive opposition he begins to encounter giants that's much bigger than him that's much more experienced than him they're more prepared for battle than him but in order for you to get to the throne you have to pass through your giant you have to pass through the opposition you have to pass through that rejection you have to pass through that hurt you have to pass through that blackmail and those things that are just uncomfortable situation that are challenging your faith smooth seas have never made a perfect failure we know a good life a perfect life has not made a good Christian a perfect life has never made a good believer we encounter hardships we encounter trials we encounter oppositions in our life so we can become greater in God so we can become stronger in our faith so we can become who God wants us to become by his grace amen ask any hero and ask any champion of faith and I will tell you one thing that trials and tribulations are the soil in which a man of faith flourishes trials and hard times rejections are the soil is the ground where man of faith flourishes so if you are walking on your journey with God and you see that there's certain things that are just challenging your faith certain things that you do not understand maybe your family's beginning is falling apart and you're going after God and you're generally serving God know that that is is your trial and as a man of faith that is the ground in which you will flourish that is the ground in which God will begin to elevate your life from glory to glory in Jesus name amen I've seen we did a lesson on baptism just recently and then some people that have been talking to and many people you know they say that way every time you know I give my life to Jesus Christ and I think certain things should have been better my life should have been coming together more but now I begin to receive opposition people are laughing at me people are criticizing me my friends don't understand me my family's rejecting me and this is your trial this is your position some people say you know I want to start a home group I want to evangelize I want to do these things and but it's like my money is draining out I have no money and I have no car and that is your position that you're facing but you stand in faith knowing that this is your trial and that when you believe in God when you trust God the more you believe in him the more God will elevate you from glory to glory and you'll be able to reach the destiny that God has for you and is that throne amen and some things that we can learn from from even our church when when our church first started some years ago back you know it wasn't easy you know when we first wanted to get this building when we first wanted to say you know we want to bring revival and you know to say you say God you know you're going to use us you know to see thousands of people saved you know at first we did not have a building and you know we had only few families with us would not did not have enough money and things like that and that was our opposition that was facing but we knew that God has a throne for us we knew that God has a destiny for us to be able to reach two thousands of people but it's just at that time we did not understand God how will this happen God we did not understand it our faith was being challenged in a new way but our pastor he trusted God the more he said God I know that you're gonna go they're going to take us through this I know that there's a throne waiting for us I know the one that they'll be a building and thousands of people will come and give their life to Jesus Christ he stood in faith and today you see that you're sitting in the building that's being paid for by Jesus Christ come on put your hands together for Jesus Christ and we see that nothing good comes without a price everything that you believe that is great for your life every crown deserves a price to be paid for every throne you'll have to go through tough to through thick and through tin through thin you'll have to fight in order to be able to maintain what God has for you in your future amen church nothing I want to tell you is that there is no double promotion in the University of God there is no double promotion you have to take every course that means that a certain trial that you're going through the certain opposition that you're facing right now you cannot skip that because there's a lesson to be learned in your trials that cannot be learned when you receive you get your throne in every trial in every situation there is a lesson that God wants you to learn in order for you to maintain the blessing that God has for you in your future we all we seen on the in the life of prophet to be Joshua when he first started off his ministry there was a group of people that set him up and they put drugs in and to I think was in his possession they just put drugs into him and in Nigeria if you're caught with drugs or you caught like drugs are anywhere near you they excommunicate they they death row they're right away go to kill you so this group of people they put drugs into and by him that and the police caught him so they took him to jail and he actually had few days in order for it to be executed but during that time he believed in God the more in the church was praying and one thing he when he was in this when he was in jail he used to he told the church watch I will get out because it is my trial that I have to pass through and there's a lesson to be learned in order for God to use me in the future to minister to thousands and to millions of people and today we might see that prophet to be Joshua is gathering you know thousands and thousands of people and crusades God is using him so mightily but you didn't see the backbone of him passing through these trials you don't see how the same people that he helped out backstabbed him used them they put drugs next to him to say that he's a drug dealer he had to go through jail he had to go through times where he did not have any food or anything like that in order for him to maintain the blessing that he has right now any great man and any champion of faith they know that there's a price to pay in order for you to be on top every crown needs a trial every crown needs an opposition in order for you to appreciate its value in order for gold to be gold it has to pass the furnace of fire for our life to be great for our church to see miracles for our church to see people being saved there is a price to pay and it will not come easy you know that's what we made morning prayers because that is a price that you pay many of us we might think that you know it's something that easy comes it goes we come to to services when see people's not being changed but there is a price to pay in order to see life changed last healed and lives delivered amen David before he became a king before he became a great man of God the famous verse goes that even though I walk through the valley of shadow death I will fear no evil for he is with me David had to pass through the valley of the shadow of death in order for him to understand that they'll come at place and there will come a time where I'll be the greatest king of Israel there'll be a place and there will be time where I'll be a man after God's own heart but there was a verse that came before that that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death that I will fear no evil David had a PhD and walking through the valley of the shadow of death David had a PhD of rejection David had a PhD and blackmail and read and people who are so close him to be trailing him in our lives in order for us to maintain what God has for us we cannot skip the lessons that God has for us and it's in our times of trouble in our times of pain and in times of rejection God wants you to graduate that lesson God wants you to have a PhD and maybe it's in that pain maybe in that opposition maybe it's in blackmail whatever your opposition is and that time God wants you to have a PhD though when you stand before God and when you have that crown though when you reach to your throne they say that there was a price that I want that I paid that there's a value of the shadow of death that I passed through and today I can say that I am a man after God has art amen church and there's another thing that we see from the story of David is that his relationship with the Holy Spirit we see David's life being so deeply engaged with God as when he was tending the sheep when he was when nobody else saw him his relationship with God is that's what God him through I have to let you know in order for you to make it to the throne in order for you to reach the dreams that God has for you you have to have that relationship with God well nothing will keep us on course like a sincere devotion to Christ that love for God nothing will keep you on course we might have good things and the bad times we might have highs and we might have lows but nothing will keep you on course keep walking after God keep going to the throne like a sincere devotion to Christ develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit take time to be able to spend at his feet and learn from him take time to read God's word and to be able to meditate on God's word and apply it over your life because that is your strength that's what you will derive your motivation to go keep going after God and to accomplish to what God has for you amen and another and another thing that we see and in the first time of 1739 just few verses before that's we read that Saul comes to David and he says you know try on my armor you know give it a shot maybe you will defeat the enemy but I like how David said he said I have not tried these in verses first time of 1739 he says I have not tested them so I cannot go with these it's simply to show that David relied on God's presence and his relationship with God to get him through many of us will be tempted to you know to go other ways to go if God wants you to accomplish to become something great we think that you know I'll take my time away from church I don't need church in order for me to to reach my dreams I don't need reading the Bible I don't need praying in order for me to become what God's want me to become there will be a competition for your time for your love and for your money in order free to get to your throne we see it happen with David Saul comes to David say hey you know I know you you have your little swing that you're tossing little rocks on you know this thing doesn't work try my armor you know you're gonna defeat your enemy try this you can get to the throne with these you don't need to go to church why do you need to go to church no you can become great without church you don't need to come to morning press why you know you can become great without these but David knew that the secret in his success lied in his relation with God there will be a competition for your time for your love and for your money people will try to take it and they'll say you know you don't need to give tithing to church why no save money so you can buy a bigger house you know they will say you know you don't need to give so much time to church why do you have to go every day you need to spend time with family Satan will try to steal those things from you to replace it with the president replace it with with something else but David knew and understand he said that I have tried God and I found him to be very reliable very trustworthy unshakable really genuine a worthy uncontestable and he is a source of my energy and he is gonna be the one that will get my victory three I mean Jesus name in my church and the main thing that's what God David threw the through to the throne is that David when he was coming to give food to his brothers he heard that Goliath was insulting his people he was insulting the armies of God and he chose to fight for God's people and not against them and that is one thing that we will that will get you to your throne is choosing to fight for God's people instead of against them make God's make fighting for God's people your lifestyle what happened is is David is hearing these things when he comes to the camp he begins to bring food to his brothers to be able to feed his brother see how his brothers are and he hears this this Goliath this this mighty man who is very experienced in warfare insulting his people he sees his people God's people begin to run around begins to be shaken and they're just in in this fear and this anxiety what's gonna happen with our future and that's when David says look I'm gonna go fight against Goliath because my people are in danger he says that the God of Israel is being insulted the Israelites are being in danger I'm gonna go and protect my people and when David decides to do that his brother hears it and he says who do you think you are and we read in verse 28 and it's funny it says his brother Aliyah his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the man and Elias anger was a rose against David and he said why did you come down here you are prideful you know who do you think you are that you can go and fight against this Goliath every time you're gonna make God's people a priority in your life there will be something that will tell you who do you think you are that you're going to protect God's people anytime you're going to try to invite people to church anytime you're gonna say I want to start my own home group I want to be able to be a part of changing lives I want to be a part of protecting God's people there will be a voice they'll come to you say you are as worse as they are who do you think that you are you are a prideful person you're weak you're struggling with addiction you're struggling with sin you are not worthy enough to be able to go fight this Goliath there will be always an opposition in your life whenever you're going to make a conscious choice to make God's people and protecting them and rescuing God's people a priority in your life and we see that David a genuine desire to go help somebody begins to be opposed by something that his brother died he lived his whole life with and he comes to says you are prideful you can't do this you're not worthy enough to do this who do you think you are you want to invite people to church who do you think you are that you want to pray for people and see them heal who do you think you are you are the same old person the same voice that told David that he is not worthy enough that he's not fit enough to protect God's people was the same voice that spoke through Peter to Jesus and says go derive from the cross don't protect God's people don't die for God's creation the same voice that try to derive David from protecting God's people was the same voice that spoke through Peter to Jesus says you don't need to go to the cross same voice wanted to say you don't need to fight for God's creation you don't need to fight for God's people go do your own thing enjoy life you're not worthy enough to have a GOM group you're not worthy enough to invite your friends your co-workers your family to church you you are prideful who do you think you you are the same person as them who do you think you are and that is the Satan that speaking through those people it is that Satan that's speaking through your mind that says you can never do it but I'm glad that Jesus Christ he said one thing to Peter and he said get behind me Satan because you are not mindful of the things of God but you're mindful the things of man whenever we make God's people a priority in your life we will receive opposition we'll receive certain things that will challenge us that you cannot do it the masses who the masses are for stadium your church will remain small your home group will remain small you will never see healings happen in this and it's the same voice that will try to derive you from accomplishing what God has for you in order for you to reach to your throne in order for you to you reach to your destiny to your dream you have to make protecting people fighting for God's people a priority in your life even if you're going to be a doctor you still have to have priority for rescuing and fighting for God's people a priority in your life if you want to be maybe a soccer player maybe you want to be a basketball maybe you want to just to be a father to your children you still have to make protecting God's people a priority in your life it has to be something that is on your heart because it is close to God's heart and one thing that I like what David does he walks away from his brother he walks away from his brother and he goes and faces the real enemy this morning I want to let you know that your enemy is not who you're sitting next to it's not flesh and blood your enemy is a spirit being it's Satan and his and his principalities and his demons you're not fighting your neighbor many of us the devil tries to shift our focus from fighting from people fighting fighting for people for the people of God devil shifts our focus fighting our neighbors maybe there was a offense that was done somebody did something maybe in the church maybe pastor said something maybe your neighbor said something and would begin to fight our neighbors where our main priority and our main goal is fighting for people but the devil begins to shift our focus that we fight against one another and that is what has been happening in this generation churches rise up against church and the say that church is bad neighbors begin to rise up against neighbors say he is bad he's a hypocrite how is he going to to discharge he's this he's that devil is shifting your focus from fighting the real battle in the real battle is not your neighbor but it is Satan and his demons and his angels we have to understand and we have to take an example from David he walks away from his brother his brothers and sons who do you think you are there he walks away from him and begins to face the real battle that's that is ahead of him there's so many things that we can fight in our lives don't let people be another thing that you fight you know fighting people is is a worthless battle it's like you know you can beat a skunk any day of the week but is the smell worth the fight you can win an argument over your neighbor you can say oh you're wrong just do all this thing but it's just gonna stink that's all it's gonna do your real enemy is not your neighbor we have to love our neighbors because knowing that we are fighting for God's people not against them amen turn to your neighbor and tell him I love you turn to your other neighbor tell I love you turn to your neighbor tell I won't fight you come on and another thing that's that making fighting for God's people is is the best choice that you have a make in your life we have to understand that the best investment that you can make in life is help others the best investment that you can do in life is fighting for God's people you know my my dad our pastor he in Russia they had a ministry and they had a rehab center and I remember that you know countless hours were where a pastor spent fighting for these drug addicts that they get out of you know their their addictions you know prayed for them spending time with them he would take him in our house many times they would steal from us many times they would wake the whole family up and you know they're screaming they have the withdrawals and my pastor would just fight rescuing these people just say you know God will set you free you know you'll get on this road and little did our pastor know that so many years later on his own son is going to struggle with the same problems and God is going to rescue him that was the best investment our pastor could ever made into his life into his own destiny because later on in the future nobody knew nobody could ever even imagine that this same thing would happen in this family and God later on said because what you've done for my people the same thing I'm going to do for you we see we read in the Bible and the story of acts where what's her name is tibitha she spent her life helping the poor you know raising kids and this story comes from acts 9 verse 36 and at one time she was helping so many people and then she died and then Peter was passing by the town and people loved tibitha so much that they're like you know she was such a wonderful person come and pray for her Peter comes praise for her and she raised up from the dead and life is brought back to her just to show you that fighting for God's people bringing people to church starting your own home group is the best investment you can ever do for your life when you do for others what you do for God's people soon soon enough God will make it happen in your life we have to make people rescue people from the kingdom of darkness is our priority our lifestyles something that beats on our heart maybe you don't have enough money maybe you don't have a car maybe you don't have a job but say God I want to make people a priority in my life I want to fight for your people I want to rescue to your people and little David knew that fighting for God's people is what got him to the throne fighting for God's people that what elevated him to be a mighty king of Israel that Israel never had before and that's what made him to be a man after God's own heart this morning I want to encourage you what will get you to your throne to your dreams whatever you want to be in life make fighting for God's people a priority in your life make people matter bring people to church we have a miracle catch coming up in two weeks invite your friends don't be scared of what people say don't be scared of the rejector or laugh at you know that one day what you make happen for others what you make happen for God's people God will make it happen for you help is the best investment that me and you can do for our lives in my church