Fighting with Purpose: I’M in It to Win It

By Carvel Collins

I therefore so run, not as uncertainly: so fight I, not as one that beateth the air (1 Corinthians 9:26).

Every believer is faced with some type of trial to test their faith. My prayer is that after reading this book, you will be empowered with the power of God to combat all your enemies. This book was written for anyone facing trying times, who feels like they are not making progress and wants to throw in the towel. You may even feel like any hope of recovery is impossible. I want to encourage you today to get a second wind and get back in the fight. This book will teach you how to stand firm on the Word of God when the enemy is throwing his punches. You may be down today, but your victory is on the way. If God be for you, who can be against you? David faced a giant, Daniel slept with lions, the three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fire, and Jesus hung on the cross, but they all had something in common: they didnt give up; they fought with purpose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449797171

Carvel Collins

Carvel Collins is the Bishop of Word of Light Christian Fellowship Church. Married to the love of his life, Theresa Collins, for thirty-three years, he is the father of four wonderful children and a precious granddaughter named Kamyra. He loves God and His people. He teaches weekly Bible study in the prison system in Philadelphia.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 Carvel Collins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

In this book, all Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-[phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9718-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9719-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9717-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013909912

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/14/2013

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Round 1 Profiles of Great Fighters

Round 2 Your Trainer (The Holy Spirit)

Round 3 The Opponent (The Devil)

Round 4 Preparing for the Fight

Round 5 Dress Light for the Fight

Round 6 Set the Pace

Round 7 Your Adversary Wants to Take You Out

Round 8 Knocked Down but Not Out

Round 9 Go Back to Your Corner

Round 10 This Is Your Round

Round 11 Guard Your Heart and Mind

Round 12 This One Is Personal

Round 13 And the Winner Is…

Round 14 Obtaining the Prize

DEDICATION

I  dedicate this book to my loving wife, Theresa, for all of her support and encouragement while I was writing it and to honor the many battles she has endured and won in Jesus’ name.

I also dedicate it to everyone who had to fight, whether it was with a sickness, the loss of a loved one, some type of addiction, or whatever other hardship encountered in life. Keep on fighting with purpose.

And, of course, I dedicate this book to the greatest fighter of all time, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave up His life that we might have a right to eternal life.

In loving Memory of my mother Mrs. Anna R. Collins… This one is for You!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I  would like to first acknowledge God for blessing me to see a dream come true and giving me the ability to write this book.

To my wife, Theresa, and my children, Katresa, Sabrina, Joshua, and Angel, thanks for the support and for your patience during the many nights I burned the candle at both ends. You all are wonderful!

To my sister Dawn: you are a great inspiration and you stayed on me until the end. Wow, one down and more to go.

To my sister Lynn and my brother Pastor Jerome Green for fighting with purpose and your awesome testimonies of Victory!

To my precious granddaughter, Kamyra: you are an angel sent from heaven, and you have given me so much joy. Keep God first, and He will always fight your battles.

To my Temple Hospital prayer team and the EFPG prayer family, thank you for your prayers.

To Bishop Sean Outen and the Morning Star Church Family, and Bishop Sandra Coston and the Deliverance Evangelistic Temple Church Family, I thank you for your prayers, love and support.

To Pastor Betty Johnson and Evangelist Sandy Johnson thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

And to all my friends and family members too numerous to mention who were praying for me, thank you all so much. I sincerely pray that this book will encourage you not to throw in the towel. Remember that whatever problems you may be facing, God is always in your corner.

I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air.

—1 Corinthians 9:26

It is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle.

—Richard M. DeVos

The will to conquer is the first condition of victory.

—Ferdinand Foch

INTRODUCTION

I n my earlier years, I watched many professional fighters battle it out for the world heavyweight title. Some of those matches kept me sitting on the edge of my seat. What really impressed me was the way in which each fighter displayed his different style.

Mohamed Ali was an entertainer who captivated people with the way in which he taunted his opponents. He’d dance around the ring proclaiming that he was the greatest of all time. Evander Holyfield had the heart of a lion. He could take whatever was thrown at him and keep coming back for more. I admired the way he would step into the ring and acknowledge God for all his victories. After learning that he was suffering from a heart condition, Evander stated that he had prayed to God about it. He later attended a Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade, received his healing, and subsequently returned to the ring to reclaim his title.

Then there was Mike Tyson, known to many as Iron Mike. Mike was the youngest heavyweight champion of his time. You didn’t dare leave your seat for a snack, because the fight just might be over before you returned. Mike was such a formidable challenger that he intimidated many of his opponents just by stepping into the ring.

And who can forget Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Lennox Lewis, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and so many other great fighters? All of these champions had something in common: they lost their title to someone better than they. But that did not stop them from going back into the ring.

Upon doing extensive research on the origin of professional boxing, I learned that a fight was not declared over until there was just one man left standing. Sometimes a fight could last for three or four hours before someone was knocked out. There were no rules or guidelines; it was literally an anything-goes, knockdown-dragout fight. There was plenty of bloodshed and sometimes even death. There could only be one winner.

As I pondered these things, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me concerning God’s chosen people. There are countless numbers of Christians fighting with all their might. They desperately cling to the ropes, struggling to raise themselves up from the canvas. Life’s powerful blows have knocked them to their knees. With their last bit of strength, they give in to prayer. Many feel as though they have failed to the point where they simply can’t get back up. But the Word of God declares, For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again (Proverbs 24:16).

No matter what you have done or how low down you feel, it’s not over until the referee (God) calls the fight. So, square your shoulders, pull yourself up off the canvas, get your second wind, and fight with purpose.

ROUND 1

Profiles of Great Fighters

A llow me to share with you just a small sampling of distinguished warriors who have greatly impacted my life. Perhaps surprising, some of these noteworthy contenders arise from the pages of the Bible, and some have inspired me to hold on when I felt like throwing in the towel.

I would like to introduce you to someone from the book of Genesis: the Dreamer, who is Joseph. Joseph is one of the twelve sons of Jacob. God highly favors him, and his father greatly loves him.

So many young men today are missing that combination—the favor of God and the love of their fathers. As a teenager, Joseph witnesses firsthand that not everyone is happy for him when God moves in his life. You, too, may often discover that those who are the closest to you can cause you more pain and sorrow than people who claim to be your enemies.

We can envision Joseph stepping into the ring, wearing his coat of many colors, which was lovingly handcrafted by his very own father. The tension is at an all-time high as his opponents—his brothers—team up to stop the Dreamer from obtaining the prize. They are determined and relentless.

It would appear as though the odds are greatly against the Dreamer and that he should just give up any hope of ever being the great champion he is destined to become.

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and an expected end.

(Jeremiah 29:11)

It really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about you as long as you know what God thinks about you—and He thinks the world of you. He regards you as highly favored. It also matters what you think about yourself. For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7a).

You can choose to believe all the lies the Devil has told you about yourself, and you can put stock in all the negative things your family, teachers, preachers, and so-called friends, and even some false prophets, have said about your life.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you. They make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:16)

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from their evil doings. (Jeremiah 23:21-22)

Or you can choose to believe the report of the Lord.

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)

God says you are healed.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our [my] iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

I don’t care what addiction has you bound, God says that He has set you free.

If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Glory to God! Just think about that for a moment; you are free from sickness and disease, poverty and lack, and, most important, you are free from sin.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. (Psalm 103:2-3)

I don’t care what kind of temptations you may face, since God’s Word declares,

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

You might even think that you are going to lose your mind, but God assures us that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Judging from the first few rounds, it appears that the Dreamer is losing the fight. Let’s step into the ring with him and see how the fight is coming along.

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into a pit, and say some evil beast has devoured him; and we will see what happens to his dreams. (Genesis 37:18-20)

The Dreamer has taken quite a blow. It has really staggered him. He seems to be down for the count, but he somehow manages to get back on his feet. His opponent is determined to finish him off in the next few rounds, but the Dreamer’s trainer is assuring him that he can win if he will endure until the end. Holding onto his dreams, the Dreamer draws on his inner strength and comes out fighting once again. Let’s take