Journey 2016 - Conquest (1/30/16)

Text:  I Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

This is the 5th Sunday in the sermon series "Journey 2016".  Thus far we have talked Courage, Caution, Commitment, and Conflict.  We will be faced with conflict continuously in our Christian walk, so having Conquests are very essential.  Conquest is a state of conquering or being conquered.  We must have victories or we will go around as defeated Christians.  That is not what God has planned for us.  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  (Romans 8:37)

1.  You have to fight in order to win. Our text tells us we must "fight the good fight".  It is a commandment, not an option, to fight the enemy.  That is how we will be victorious in Journey 2016.  We must keep eternal life in our sight...keep our eyes on Jesus.

2.  Preparation is essential for the fight.  We must be prepared to win.  We take an offensive stance, aggressively facing the enemy.  There are things we will have to get rid of so they do not hinder us from winning.  

• For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (I Timothy 6:10)
• Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  (Hebrews 12:1)

3.  You may lose a battle, but you need to get up and win the war.  satan wants to distract us from winning the goal.  Winning means keep getting up, keep fighting..for we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus!

4.  Christ is our example of victory.  God is not our enemy, He is our strength.  God knows where we are at, and He is for us, not against us.  Christ showed us how to face adversity when He was facing the cross.  We must stand up against the wiles of the devil, for we are in a battle to win the war.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (Ephesians 6:11)

We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)