John 15:8, This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (NIV)

 

There is a universal desire for productivity. Most people really want their lives to count, we want our lives to matter. We want to feel useful, we want to make a difference. We don't want to waste our lives, instead, we want our lives to be productive. The people who are productive are the happiest when they're actually being productive. A truly productive life is one where the fruit lasts. There are four conditions for fruitfulness that are essential to our lives, our family, our ministry. Four secrets to a productive life: 1) I Must Cultivate Deep Roots, 2) I Must Eliminate The Weeds In My Life, 3) I Must Cooperate With God’s Pruning In My Life, 4) I Must Patiently Wait For And Expect A Harvest.

John 12:24-26, 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. (NKJV)

 

Surrender. Submission, Yielding, Sacrifice, Holiness. Today, these concepts are unpopular and many who do understand these ideas are afraid of them because they involve the denial of self. The greatest struggle people have with God is accepting and obeying His command to die to "self" and to surrender to Him wholeheartedly. In this sermon, we see the benefits of surrendering our hearts wholly to God; 1. The Heart Increasingly Becomes a Holy Dwelling Place for God's Presence, 2. We Are Able to Know the Lord Better and to Manifest His Nature, 3. We Receive a Greater Measure of God’s Power.

Matthew 11:28-30, If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your soul. For the yoke I share with you is easy to wear and the load is light. (CEV)

 

We can run out of fuel emotionally, relationally, physically and spiritually. In this sermon we see 6 ways we can keep our tanks full: 1) Get fed up with how we have been living, 2) Come to Jesus, 3) Give up control, 4) Learn to trust, 5) Start every day by filling my tank, 6) Stay connected to my church family! The Greek word for rest means, "You'll find rest, relief, renewal, ease, refreshment, recreation, and blessed quiet for your souls.”

Genesis 2:18, 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (NIV)

 

The word suitable in the above portion of scripture means; made out of suit, agreeable, able to suit somebody, young, old, older and in between, its something that is right, or appropriate for a particular person, purpose or situation, befitting, desirable, preferable. In this message, we see that we are either in the flesh or in Christ. If we know no man according to the flesh, all of the tongues, actions, we can either take it according to our flesh or spirit. God made us suitable for the purpose for which he made us. We need to anchor our tongue, our speech in the love of God!

2 Corinthians 6:4, In everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties. (TEV)

 

In this series, we have looked at the power that comes through faith, the power that comes through forgiveness and the power that comes through focusing your life. But today we’re going to look at the power that comes through endurance, or fortitude. Paul says that one of the ways you show that you’re a true servant of God is that you endure patiently troubles, hardships and difficulties. One of the characteristics of people who God uses is that they never give up. So what do we do when we feel like giving up? The Bible tells us very clearly that there are six things that God wants us to do; Embrace God’s Purpose In The Problem, Nurture My Spiritual Roots, Direct My Attention To Jesus Christ, Use My Experience To Help Others, Rely On God’s Power, Expect God To Bless My Endurance!

1 Samuel 22:1-4 1 David fled from the city of Gath and went to a cave near the town of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of the family heard that he was there, they joined him. 2People who were oppressed or in debt or dissatisfied went to him, about 400 men in all, and he became their leader. 3 David went on from there to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I find out what God is going to do for me. ” 4 So David left his parents with the king of Moab, and they stayed there as long as David was hiding in the cave. (GNT)

 

David is in one of the cave experiences of life. What David did not know at the time was that God was going to use his time in the cave to help him grow stronger in the Lord. The day would soon come when David would emerge from that cave far stronger in the Lord than he was when he entered that time in his life. He experienced the realities of sorrow, suffering, and separation, but also received a revelation of his call, his character, and his commitment. It was in the cave that David was refreshed by his family and his followers.

2 Thessalonians 1:11, We always pray for you, asking our God to help you live the kind of life he called you to live. We pray that with his power God will help you do the good things you want and perform the works that come from your faith. (NCV)

 

God uses all kinds of people backgrounds, ages, economic status, language, ethnic – everything. But there is one common denominator that you can find in every single person that God uses in an unusual way. They always have this quality in their life. They are not afraid to trust God completely. When we do that it produces enormous power in our lives. The Bible tells us there’s a direct connection between faith and power. In this sermon we look at four ways that we grow in faith; 1) Faith is choosing and believing God’s dream for my life, 2) Faith is being willing to risk failure, 3) Faith is expecting God to bless and to use me, 4) Faith is never giving up!

Deuteronomy 21:15-17, 15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his. (ESV)

From the above scripture we see the inheritance rights of the firstborn. In Hebrews 12:21 we see that we are the firstborns in Christ, and when we come with Jesus, we are full of faith, something is happening, miracles signs and wonders, and we get used to God’s movement. In Christ, we have got to share all these benefits, we are partakers of the divine nature. When we come together, we are all firstborns. When you are facing a difficult situation, you have the solution!

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (NASB95)

 

We are all called to fight the good fight of faith. It is one that we win! Here the good fight is “the fight”—it extends the Kingdom of God and brings His glory. It is the fight that God initiates. It is the fight ordained for us. But how do we win? First, we must believe that God is. Before moving into the Bible’s definition of faith, I want to lay some foundation on what this phrase means. God is not a “was,” a “now,” or an “is-going-to-be” God. He just is. Second, we have to believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. We cannot seek God and waste our time. Never! We cannot seek God and suffer loss. There is nothing more rewarding, rich, and beneficial in every way than seeking God. What we get out of it is immeasurable in its value. Not only does it bless us, but we then become a river of blessing to other people!

Judges 7:3-4 & 7, 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” …7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. (NKJV)

In this sermon we see that God never needs a crowd. He just needs a few good men. God delights to work with the week the underdog and the outnumbered. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Why? So that no one may boast before him. In other words, He gets all the credit. In Judges 7 we see that Gideon’s army was tested in 2 ways; the test of fear and the test of discipline. Those 300 that passed both tests became champions and conquered the Midianites!