First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I’m Henry Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and Spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast and remember, there’s power at the Park.

Ephesians 3:10 and following, hear the words of the Lord. God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

So please don't lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored. These are the words of God. You may go to your seats around the building. I want to lift up the first part of verse 13. Ephesians 3:13, New Living Translation: "So please don't lose heart because of my trials here." Don't lose heart.

I want you to turn to your neighbor and say, "Neighbor, face it like a champion." Face it like a champion. Turn to the other neighbor and say, "Neighbor, did you hear that? You need to face it like a champion." You have been given the victory, and since you are given the victory, you can face any challenge with a victorious spirit.

Diagnosis, government, job, health, finances, family drama, breakups—face it like a champion. Even with the diagnosis, even with the therapy, face it like a champion. Academically, socially, face it like a champion. For some, aging. Bishop Frank Madison Reid said aging is not for wimps. So if you're going to live longer, you're going to have to deal with the challenges that are associated with it.

But you can face it like a champion. We're not defeated, we're not to be denied. We can go down, but we can get back up again. And when we get back up again, we get back up again with renewed strength. Face it like a champion. In the earlier service, I talked about how we're on full display and people are looking at us now because of challenges and even an election that did not go the way that many of you in this room voted.

But we can still face it like champions. I said to the earlier service that we have a person who is connected to wrestling who's now over education. And we get all kind of appointments. I try not to follow them too closely; I don't need to follow them that close. But whatever it is, face it like a champion.

The three areas we're going to look at in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus: Paul is writing this letter as he is in jail. He's in prison. These are what is called one of the prison epistles. And we look at this letter, then it breaks down in this service this way: One, God is always assuring his children that he has our back.

He’s got our back, and that ought to give you confidence to face it like a champion. I was in a fight one time and I went home, told my father I was in a fight. My father asked me did I win. I said, "I don't know." He said, "Let's go." He said, "Where is he?" I said, "He's across the street." My dad walked over there with me and he said, "Now take care of him." He was not in ministry at that time.

And he was bigger than I was, but I wore him out because I had somebody who had my back. He thought I was crazy, the boy, and he really thought my dad was crazy because my dad was there just standing there with his hands in his pockets and just issued, "Face it like a champion."

Second thing we're going to look at in this service: Church is the refilling station for the believer, and it should never be minimized. It's something about coming into God's house. Just look to my right, look to my left, seeing folk who are demonstrating great faith. It's a refilling station. That's why, Sister Curry, when we prayed together before I came into this room about your six-year-old grandchild who transitioned, and yet you're in church.

Friday it happened. It's Sunday, 48 hours, but I'm in worship. It's something about coming to worship. I don't know what your week has looked like. Perhaps everyone in this room has had a great week, everything worked well, everything was just flowing. But that's not the story for everybody. Some of you had some challenges this week.

Some of you had some difficult moments this week. Some of you had to deal with disappointment and dejection. But I'm going to face it like a champion. And the reason why I'm going to face it like a champion is because I have the champion's manual. The Word of God is the champion's manual.

I told our men on Monday night, I said to turn to the book of Proverbs, and we were looking at snippets of the Proverbs as to how God can help us to face our challenges. And I can leave refilled, lift it up. I got what I needed. A sister used to come to our church when we were in Harlem, and she would leave and after benediction, she would run out. She would run out.

She didn't stand around, no handshaking, none of that. She lived a couple of blocks from the church, she would run out. Because she said, "I don't want anything to clutter what I just got. I don't need to hear any gossip." Because you know some people, they come more for gossip than Gospel. But she said, "I heard the Gospel and I don't want to get messed up with gossip."

And so she would run on. I'd see her later in the week and I'd say, "Why did you run out?" She said, "Because when I got, I got what I needed. And once I got it, I didn't want it clouded by anything else." Third thing we're going to talk about: God has plans for his children which are beyond our view.

You do know that one of the biblical examples is the fact of Jesus and God as shepherd and we as sheep. But if you look at sheep, sheep have limited vision. The shepherd can see further. And the shepherd can see you in your future. The shepherd can see you in your victory. You can get wrapped up in your right now, but the shepherd would say all this right now is doing is shaping you for what lies ahead.

And the scripture says that the strong have to bear the infirmities of the weak. Somebody's got to be strong. We don't need everybody to be weak and wimpy. I know they told the book series "The Wimpy Kid"—we don't need to be wimpy kids. We're winners, and that winning took place on a Friday when the devil thought he had him, hung him high before full view of everybody.

Put him in a tomb and put a rock there, a stone, and said, "We're going to guard it." But with all of that, he gets up with all power in his hand. Face it like a champion. It's one thing when you become a champion, you are treated as a champion until you lose. A boxer can be in the ring and he can be on the short end of the fight, but when they talk to him in the corner, they say, "Come on, Champ."

And when they call him "Champ," they are hoping that something rises up in his spirit because you've got to understand God is going to speak truth to your power. No, we don't have any strength, but with God all things are possible. I might fall down, but all I've got to do is lean and depend on his holy name.

You might be going through, but you can face it like a champion. God has already told you it's going to be alright. It's going to be alright. I'm going to give God the praise right now. It's going to be alright. Face it. You can't run and hide; no, you've got to face it. Some things you can't run from them, you've got to face them.

You've got to face your fears. You've got to face your giants. You've got to face your mountains. And you face it not because you are all that, but you can face it because God is all that and more. So Paul is writing from jail. And so, number one, God is always assuring his children that he has our back.

Paul said, "I'm here, and what I've gone through, I've gone through it for you. I've suffered for you." I've suffered for you in order that you might be elevated. Jesus is described as the suffering servant. He came to serve, not to sit. God is more concerned about your testimony than your title. I wish I had a witness here.

He is more concerned about serving than you finding your special seat. "I sit here every week." You better make sure there's a seat reserved for you on the other side. And many times we can get so concerned about things that really don't matter. No matter. What really matters is soul winning. Soul winning, folk coming into the body of Christ.

A lady got mad with me a few years ago, a young woman, and was on the program and the Spirit moved in a different direction and we didn't do her part on the program. And she said, "Pastor, I told my family to come today and you skipped my part." That day, 13 people gave their lives to Jesus. And here I am talking to you because you didn't have your part.

Do I have a witness here? I said, "From now on, you can tell them to come, but you have to say our church is Spirit-led because we don't know how the Spirit's going to move." It is said that I am going to do something on the program, but I don't know which direction the Holy Spirit's going to go. But the priority is that when the doors swing open, somebody comes down and says, "Hey Lord, here I am. I'm an empty pitcher coming before a full and a flowing fountain. I've had a hard week and I need a word. I need a word."

Once I get the word, I can leave out with some bounce in my step. I can leave out with some Gospel swag. I can leave out understanding I might go through a challenge, but you don't know who's got my back. You don't know I'm a champion. You don't know that God has already given me the victory. He's already whispered in my ear. It's already in my spirit.

Paul said, "I'm suffering for you." Jesus said, and again we take Jesus, Jesus said, "No man takes my life from me. I've got to lay it down and I'm laying it down for you. I'm going down so you can come up." Somebody's on the come up in here right now. Somebody getting ready to get your blessing.

God's getting ready to break some things in your life. God is getting ready to pour some things into your life. And you might as well get ready and start praising him right now. I'm praising him for what's on the way. Come on, somebody. I'm starting my end zone dance early. I'm giving God the praise while I have a chance.

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. I don't need a rock crying out for me; I can cry out for myself like a champion. Like a champion. You've got to have a champion's walk. You ever see one of those boxers come in the ring? There's a whole lot of hoopla getting them ready to get in the ring. Coming in with a champion's mentality.

Paul said, "I'm here, I'm here suffering for you. And I don't want you to lose heart. And I don't want you to be feeling sorry for me. I'm alright." Matter of fact, I've gone to pray for some people and I've gone in and I remember late Anne Middleton Smith said, "Reverend, you don't need to spend no time in here. You can go on down the hall because I'm alright. I'm confident that God has already taken care of me. I'm already seeing my victory."

I remember a deacon in my dad's church and he was in ICU and his family was crying and carrying on. And then he was in ICU and he rose up in the bed, "Get on out of here with all that. If y'all are going to be in here talking about how bad it is, get on out. You can go on out in the hallway with that. I want to be surrounded by some folk who are some champions.

I want to be surrounded by some people who know the power of prayer. I want to be surrounded not by small-minded people. I want to look at some giants in the room. Face it like a champion." Second thing you've got to understand: The church is the refilling station for the believer. My God, some of us had to struggle to get here this morning.

It wasn't easy, but thanks be to God. When my feet struck the ground outside, thank God when I came into the sanctuary and the dancers were waving flags and folk were giving God praise. But even if I didn't see any of that, I was already praising God because he woke me up this morning. He started me on my way.

You don't know what my week has looked like, but I'm giving God the glory. I'm coming in here matter-of-fact like a champion because we serve a champion. Thank you, God. Thank you for serving God. Thank you for leaning and depending on a God who can not only hear, but he can answer my prayer.

He helped the shepherd boy named David. He was not even drafted. Matter of fact, they asked Jesse, "Do you have any more boys?" "I got one more. I'm sure you're not interested in him. He don't look like very much. He's back there watching over the sheep." But you can't judge a book by its cover. There was something inside.

And matter of fact, even when David showed up, they said, "We're going to give you some new gear." David said, "I don't need your gear. All I need is a slingshot and five smooth stones and get on out of my way. And if you get on out of my way, I'm going to swing it once." Oh my God. And I'm thanking God you can face it like champions.

Champions, champions, champions can know that Pharaoh's army is after me, but Moses can say, "I'm still going to face it like a champion. I'm still going to get to my Red Sea and I'm going to stretch out and use what's in my hand. And I'm going to see the sea open up because I can do it because God had a word with me."

And the conversation started saying, "You're standing on holy ground." And I'm thanking God. If God be for you, he's more than the world against you. You are a champion. So Paul said the church can be our filling station. He said in verse 10, God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety.

I said earlier that there's so many different kinds of personalities in this room. And we like different stuff. Like in this crowd, you know that Kendrick Lamar just dropped a new song. Some of y'all don't know Kendrick? He's going to be in the halftime show.