Three Principles for a Fruitful, Victorious and Conquering Life!

Timeless metaphors The Three A’s: Army, Agriculture & Athletics: Soldiers, Farmers and Athletes. Army: How we conquer Satan, the Enemy, the Flesh and Sin. Agriculture. How we are fruitful in life and ministry: We reap what sow, The heart as soil the word as seed. Athletics: How we Walk and Run, and how we compete. How in Christ we Win!

1st Finding a Fruitful Life: 2 Timothy 2:6 – The Hard-Working Farmer, ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

God Expectation: Fruit From His Labor! Isaiah 5:1-4

Text: He Buys a Fertile Field, Removes the Stones, Plants a Choice Vine, Builds a wall around it and a tower in the middle of it, He Hews out a wine vat in it: And expects good Grapes – An abundance of Good grapes. But it produces only bad fruit. What more could He do?

When God created the world, He created It perfect for eternity in every way! Creation was perfect, Man was perfect. 6 24 hour days and God creates it all. And He created the crown of His of His creation Man and Woman to Reflect the Awesome Glory of this Great God and to be fruitful and multiply! But man rebelled, disobeyed and decided to do His thing. And when He did the glory departed and Sin entered the world. Where there was light now there was darkness, where there was purity there was now Rot. Wherer there was worship of God, there was worship of man, where there was life there was now death. Where there was Peace there was now Chaos. Where there was joy, there was now sadness. Where there was no sin, there was sin!

But God had a plan. A plan to restore man back to the Glory days of the garden, with an incredible investment. And that investment was Jesus! God gave Jesus who would live a perfect life to die on a cross in our place for our sins. To do one thing! To restore the glory of God in man! God loved so much that He gave His only begotten son that if you would believe on Him you would have eternal life, the life that was lost in the garden! What more could God do?

He gave us Jesus! (The Seed) Isaiah 9:1-7 and everything that Jesus gives, you get!

No more gloom, anguish, contempt. But Glorious, Not more darkeness but Light! Increase of all that is eternal. Gladness, joy. Freedom! Jesus the Son comes! (6)
He will rule! And He will be called Wonderful counselor, Might God, Eternal Father
Prince of Peace. No end to the increase of His rule or of peace.

Mercy, Grace and Favor! Repentance that Leads to Life! Acts 11:8
His Anointing to teach us about all things! 1 John 2:27 Grace to overcome! Psalm 84:11 Eternal Life! Romans 6:23 His Word! John 17:4
Authority to tread upon all the power of the enemy! Luke 10:19
Good gifts from the Father! Matthew 7:11 Spirit of Power, Love and Discipline! 2 Timothy 1:7 Gifts to Minister the Life of God to One Another! Romans 12:6
A Work to Accomplish for His Glory! John 17:4
Power to be His Witnesses! Acts 1:8 The Body of Christ!
New Beginnings! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Reconciliation, Peace
The Mind of Christ! 1 Corinthians 2:16
Redemption, Forgiveness of our trespasses and the riches of His grace! Ephesians 1:7 An Inheritance in the Kingdom! Ephesians 1:11;
Holy Spirit Fruit of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control! Galatians 5:22-23

There’s Nothing More than He can do! He did it all! And to embrace it is to see an incredible life in Christ! He did it all on the cross and at the grave!

God’s Patience: Luke 13:6-9

James 5:7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precocious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

God’s Way to a Fruitful Life! Galatians 5:16-24

2nd Finding A Victorious Life: The Athlete: 2 Timothy 2:5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

Run in Such a Way that You May Win! 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The Bible Compares the Christian Life to life as an Athlete: And He says to the Chirstians at Corinth Live in Such a Way to Glorify God To Win Your Race!

Corinth: The Greeks: Athletes: The ancient Games.
Why? Because there is no 2nd or 3rd place. There are no silver and bronze medals. Just first place. And these folks trained and disciplined their whole lives to do one thing. Win. I’ve read that Boxing in these days was brutal so much that you won and lived or lost and died. It was A Wreath or Death.

The epitaph of a boxer was found on a memorial monument at
Olympia in Greece It said:
Agathos Daimon, from Alexandria
Here he died boxing in the stadium

Having prayed to Zeus for a wreath
or death.
Age 35. Farewell.

Run so that you may win the imperishable crown. Not the Perishable one. When the winner received the crown it was just Celery leaves.

The Imperishable Crown; The Crown of Rejoicing The Crown of Righteousness The Crown of Glory The Crown of Life!

How to Run the Race to Win! Hebrews 12:1-4

How to Live in such a way to Win Your Race! To Finish Strong!
To Be Like Jesus.

1st People who Win their Race, Win it By Faith in Jesus!

It’s By Faith: In the Word of God and who Jesus is and what Jesus comes to do.
This great God who sent Jesus to be Your Lord and Savior. This God who loves you, who died for you in your place. The God who is with you always. The God who Calls you Sons and Daughters. Comes to carry your burdens, Deliver, The One Who sends His Holy Spirit to you to lead you, to help you, to bless you with a personal growing vibrant relationship with Him. He Forgive You and then Remember Your Sins no more.
Jesus who Loves you calls you, equips you, empowers you. Equip You, Empower You, Welcome and love you. He removes your sin and your guilt, He sets you free gives you victory, Provides for your every need. Remove Your Guilt, Purify You, Raise You Up on the last day.. Give everything you Need to live a godly life. Come into your life to live forever. He’s your father, your brother, your savior and Lord. He’s shepherd, your deliverer, He’s the way truth and life and He died for you! This is who we believe. We
run the race with Faith in the Son of God who loved me and died for us! He will carry your burden.

2nd They Lay Aside Every Sin and Encumbrance that Easily Entangles Them!

The Things that Easily Entangles Us –
It’s Everything Jesus Died in Your place for! Why you believe in Him! He is Your Great God, who loves you, died in your place, the God who cares. That once you are his He never leaves you or forsakes you. He’s the God who leads you directs you Does great things in your life!

Isaiah 53:1-4

Our Griefs and Sorrows: The Things done to us as children, as little ones. The things not done to us. What our Dads and Moms did and didn’t do. Things that happened when we 8, 9 and 10. The betrayal of friends. The Divorce, the death of a dad, mom, friend, son or daughter. The things we’ve done to ourselves for the poor choices of sins we walked in. Whatever grieves you, will entangle you because: and like a runner who is a fool to carry his leg weights, sweat suits, heavy boots that he worked out in on the beach, so are we who hold on to the weights of the world and the weights of the wrongs done to us.

Isaiah 53:5-6

Our Sins: 1 John 2:15-19 Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, the Boastful Pride of Life.

Listen: Greif and sorrow if not dealt with breeds Anger, and Anger breeds Un-forgiveness and Un-forgiveness breeds Bitterness and Bitterness defiles.

Hebrews 12:13 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many be defiled.

Understand the Great Consequences of Un-forlgiveness and Bitterness

The Way of Cain – Genesis 4:1-14

¬ You become offended.
¬ Sin crouches at the door of your life.
¬ Sin’s desire is for you.
¬ You must master sin.
¬ You become hidden from the face of God.
¬ You become a spiritual vagrant and wanderer.

Holding onto the weight of Offense will bring you to places you do not want to go.

And then, not always but lots of time this Bittereness Breeds Depression, Anxiety, Fear, worry, stress, the temptation to fill your life with things that never satisfy, things that never substitute what God can do for you, drugs alcohol abuse, nicotine, vaping, Gluttony.

Lay them aside: Through Faith in Christ and Crucifying the flesh
and it’s passions. Repenting of all the junk we are walking in.

3rd Run the Race that is set before Us, Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus who Authors Your Faith and Finishes Your Faith.

Jesus, who Authors and Finishes Your Faith. Jesus who gives you what you need when you need it to live for Him! Is there anything you want to carry
Fix our eyes on Him! Who started and perfected our faith. Who endured the cross.

I fix my eyes on Him Because He is the Victor! He is the one who conquered death and sin for us! And He did in His perfect love in a very violent way!

This is All About an Invitation: to Fruitful, Meaningful Living, It’s an Invitation to walking in Victory over Sin, So we are no longer Live a meaningless life: Great benefits of Victory!

Rest, Freedom from Fer! Matthew 11:28 Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest!

Fellowship, The Cure for Loneliness Revelation 3:20 Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens the door I will come into Him and fellowship with Him and He with Me!

Salvation and Strength! Isaiah 30:15 For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said, In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength. But You were not willing.

Meaningful, Impactful Life! Matthew 4:19 And He said to the, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.

The Invitation from God always carries with it risk. And we know there’s risk. He may call you to the unfamiliar, that which can be hard and difficult. To places on the outside that could not be very friendly, places that seem to not have the potential for fulfillment! And This Dinner is abundant, wonderful, fulfilling. So when God invites you to something, You can believe It’s an invitation to something great and from something that is often just death!

A Fruitful and Victorious Life: is A Choice, So Choose Life and Not Death!
Deuteronomy 30:15

You Choose Life and Death by What do you love? Where are the affections of your life? What is it that is just so much important than living the life God desires to give You? The scripture is clear on what we are to love and what we are not to love. And the things that we are called not to love I am sure is the propensity for us all to love!
– Money and Stuff = False Security: Don’t love money! Loving money breeds selfishness, inhospitality, envy, jealousy, comparing, ungratefulness, entitlement, division in families, churches, marriages. It will stop you cold in your sin from pursuing the great love for people!

– The World! Do Not Love the world! 1 John 2:15-17

This is the Great Temptation of the enemy, for all of us! To love the world and the things of the world! Our old nature, our flesh, our carton has a yearning for the world! (Lust of Flesh, Eyes, Pride of Life)

– Self! Pride, which all kinds of sin comes from! Anger, Bitterness, Fear, Worry, self preservation, Hedonistic pleasure. We feed with food, with sex, with drugs, with Social Media, With stuff that never satisfies.

What is it that vies for the affections of God? What do you love more than Him?