Malacaan Christian Fellowship

2015

September 17,

WINNING BATTLES!
(Victory thru Christ)

I.

Why live a victorious life?

Because a life under the power of sin brings1. It dishonours the name of the Lord Jesus. If you are a Christian, you represent

the Lord Jesus. When you yield to sin, you bring dishonour to His name.
2. It robs you of your joy and power. As long as you are yielding to sin, God will not

use you.
3. It destroys your Christian testimony.Other people judge your Christian witness,

not so much by what you say, but by the way you live day by day.
Right now, by your life, you are saying one of two things to other people.
You are saying, "The Christian life works!" or you are saying, "The Christian life doesn't work."

Magandang Balita ng Kaligtasan

Isaias 61
1Ang

Espiritu ng Panginoong Yahweh ay sumasaakin sapagkat ako'y kanyang hinirang;

sinugo niya ako upang dalhin ang Magandang Balita sa mga inaapi,
upang pagalingin ang mga sugatang-puso,
upang ipahayag sa mga bihag at sa mga bilanggo na sila'y lalaya.
2Sinugo

niya ako upang ipahayag

na darating na ang panahon ng pagliligtas ni Yahweh;

at ang paghihiganti ng Diyos laban sa kanyang mga kaaway;
sinugo niya ako upang aliwin ang mga nagluluksa;
3upang

pasayahin ang mga tumatangis sa Zion,

kaligayahan sa halip na bigyan ng kapighatian,

awit ng kagalakan sa halip na kalungkutan;
matutulad sila sa mga punong itinanim ni Yahweh,
na ginagawa kung ano ang makatuwiran,
at maluluwalhati ang Diyos dahil sa kanilang ginawa.
4Muli

nilang itatayo ang mga sirang lunsod, na napakatagal nang wasak at tupok.

2 Mga Taga-Corinto 5:17-21

17Kaya't

kung nakipag-isa na kay Cristo ang isang tao, isa na siyang bagong nilalang. Wala

na ang dati niyang pagkatao, sa halip, ito'y napalitan na ng bago. 18Ang Diyos ang gumawa
ng lahat ng ito. Sa pamamagitan ni Cristo, ibinilang niya tayong mga kaibigan at hindi na
kaaway, at pinili niya kami upang ang iba pang mga tao ay maging kaibigan rin niya. 19Ang
ibig sabihin, sa pamamagitan ni Cristo, ang mga tao'y ibinilang ng Diyos na kaibigan, at
nilimot na niya ang kanilang mga kasalanan. At kami naman ay inatasan niyang ipamalita ito.
20Kaya

nga, kami'y mga sugo ni Cristo; ang Diyos mismo ang nakikiusap sa inyo sa

pamamagitan namin. Kami'y nakikiusap sa inyo alang-alang kay Cristo; hayaan ninyong
maging kaibigan kayo ng Diyos. 21Hindi nagkasala si Cristo, ngunit dahil sa atin, siya'y
itinuring na makasalanan upang sa pamamagitan niya ay maging matuwid tayo sa harap ng
Diyos.

As children, many of us learn about the wondrous process by which a caterpillar morphs
into a butterfly. The story usually begins with a very hungry caterpillar hatching from an
egg. The caterpillar, or what is more scientifically termed a larva, stuffs itself with leaves,
growing plumper and longer through a series of molts in which it sheds its skin. One day,
the caterpillar stops eating, hangs upside down from a twig or leaf and spins itself a silky
cocoon or molts into a shiny chrysalis. Within its protective casing, the caterpillar radically
transforms its body, eventually emerging as a butterfly or moth.
But what does that radical transformation entail? How does a caterpillar rearrange itself
into a butterfly? What happens inside a chrysalis or cocoon?
First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you
were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze
out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess. Certain highly
organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before
hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for
each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly or mothdiscs for its eyes,
for its wings, its legs and so on. In some species, these imaginal discs remain dormant
throughout the caterpillar's life; in other species, the discs begin to take the shape of adult
body parts even before the caterpillar forms a chrysalis or cocoon. Some caterpillars walk
around with tiny rudimentary wings tucked inside their bodies, though you would never

know it by looking at them.

Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those
discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to
form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult
butterfly or moth. The imaginal disc for a fruit fly's wing, for example, might begin
with only 50 cells and increase to more than 50,000 cells by the end of metamorphosis.
Depending on the species, certain caterpillar muscles and sections of the nervous system
are largely preserved in the adult butterfly. One study even suggests that moths remember
what they learned in later stages of their lives as caterpillars.
Getting a look at this metamorphosis as it happens is difficult; disturbing a caterpillar
inside its cocoon or chrysalis risks botching the transformation. But Michael Cook, who
maintains a fantastic website about silkworms, has some incredible photos of a Tussah
silkmoth (Antheraea penyi) that failed to spin a cocoon. You can see the delicate,
translucent jade wings, antennae and legs of a pupa that has not yet matured into an adult
motha glimpse of what usually remains concealed.

Winning the Battle

by Joyce Meyer
One thing Ive learned over the years is that the more intimate we are with Him, the more powerful our lives will be. Thats because we
begin to resemble and act like those we spend time with. So, if we hang out with Christ, we will eventually become more like Christ.
The trouble is many of us dont spend a whole lot of time with Him.

Intimacy Takes Timeand Truth

Its seems like so many people are afraid to make time to get to know Him, to study His character. Or were scared to seek wisdom and
guidance from Him because of what we think He might tell us. It looks as if were terrified of simply being with Him. And so that kind of
powerthe kind that makes the devil nervous when we wake up in the morningoften doesnt develop very much in our lives.
Gods Word tells us that the truth will make us free. And in the book of Psalms, it says thatDavid sought one thing of the Lord and
basically, that was time with Him.
So, to develop intimacy that cultivates power with God, we have to face the truth that God reveals to us about ourselves. We must get a
hold on our thoughtsthoughts about ourselves, our past or future, even thoughts about God. God loves us very much, but He is not
willing to leave us in our mess. He is always ready and waiting to change us from the inside out.

He is always ready and waiting to change us from the inside out.

It takes time for that to happen because we first need to be able to see the truth about ourselves, and many times, that is the hardest
part of growing because we dont like what we see. We may pray for God to change our circumstances, but we need to be able to face
the fact that He wants to change usregardless of the circumstances. So many times the Holy Spirit will reveal things that we just dont
want to see about ourselves. But remember, the truth will set us free! So dont be afraid to change; be more afraid of staying the same!

How God Really Sees You

But God is not mad at us. If youre a parent just think of this: Can you love any of your children more than you do right now? Do you still
want to see changes in their behavior? Well, its the same way with our heavenly Father. He loves usperiod. He loves us now as
much as He ever will. That will not change. But He still wants to see us grow and mature and experience the best He has planned for
us.
God really does love us, and He always has our best interest in mind. The more we trust Him, the more well want to spend time with
Him. The more time we spend with Him, the more we change and the more His power develops in our lives. And the more powerful our
lives are, the more nervous the devil will be when we open our eyes and get out of bed in the morning!
So, schedule a few private meetings with God. Talk to Him about your problems. Face the truth He reveals to you about yourself. Trust
that He is always working for you to live an abundant, fruitful, powerful life!
I believe one of the most important things I can teach you is that your thoughts are powerful and they will actually determine your future.
Have you heard the saying, "It's all in your mind"? Well, that's exactly where our successes and victories begin. You can think yourself
into a mess or you can think yourself into a place of victory.

Win the Battle with Power Thoughts

I believe one of the most important things I can teach you is that your thoughts are powerful and they will actually determine your future.
Have you heard the saying, "It's all in your mind"? Well, that's exactly where our successes and victories begin. You can think yourself
into a mess or you can think yourself into a place of victory.

The Mind Is the Battlefield

The mind is one of the hardest areas to get under control and keep under control. Part of why it's hard is because Satan will attack you
with lies and deceptions. You need to guard yourself against that. If you don't, your life could be one miserable day after the next.
Positive thinking doesn't just happen. It's something you have to do on purpose. You have to believe God's Word is for you. Then you
need to hear yourself say what you believe.

Talk to Yourself
You're not crazy if you talk to yourself. In fact, your thoughts are "talking" to you all the time. And the way you talk to yourself is one of
the most important things in your life. You can never get beyond what you thinkespecially what you think of yourself.

Think on Purpose
I believe many people think they don't have a choice about their thoughts. But you can think on purposepositive thoughts or negative
thoughts. If a negative thought comes into your head, you can cast it down and begin to renew your mind with the Word of God. (See 2
Corinthians 10:5)
There are days when I feel it's an all-day battle to stay positive, and I need to have "think sessions" based on God's Word. This means
you set your mind on purpose and keep it set, even ahead of time. (See Colossians 3:2)
Having your mind set in advance is important so that when something doesn't go your way, you've already decided to not let it bother
you.

Take Action
To help you declare war on your thoughts, I want to give you some battle strategiesPower Thoughtsfor setting your mind in the right
direction. Meditate on each Power Thought for a week, over and over again until it literally becomes a part of you.

Power Thought: I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ.

Whatever the day brings, you can handle it through Christ. And because you're in Christ, you've also been made not just a conqueror,
but you're more than a conqueror!
What does it mean to be more than a conqueror?
I believe it means that before you ever get a problem you already know that you're coming out of it with a victory because you know you
can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (See Philippians 4:13)
Don't look at what you can handle. You can't handle anything without God. You couldn't make it through one day. But with Him, you'll
make it every day!

Power Thought: God loves me unconditionally!

When you really know that God loves you, you can conquer anything. You feel valuable, you become bold, and you realize you don't
have to be afraid of making mistakes or failing. You know you have a purpose in life!
Knowing that God loves you unconditionally will also remove the fear from your life, and it will make it difficult for Satan to load you up
with guilt and condemnation every day.
Even when the world tries to make you feel like there's something wrong with you, remember that the first thing God gives you when
you receive Christ is righteousness. You're right with Him, and it doesn't matter whom else you might be wrong with.
Believe that you're righteous in Christ by saying, "God, I know that you love me. I trust You. I know You're going to take care of this. It's
going to work out good."

Power Thought: I am difficult to offend.

I've never seen a time when there have been so many bitter, touchy and angry people in the world. I personally spent too many years of
my life angry, but now I have opted to act like a little child and trust God to be God in my life. And that's really all God wants us to do, is
to trust Him, even if we never understand everything.
Forgiving those who've hurt you is a big part of trusting God. The Bible says to forgive others otherwise the Lord cannot forgive your
sins. Ultimately, it's for your own benefit!
Set your mind that you won't be bitter, angry or resentful. You may not be able to help what you feel but if you change what you think,
your feelings will catch up with your thoughts.

Receive His Reward

Don't you want to have God's promises? I do. I want to see them working in my life and my children's lives. We can't get that by being
passive. We must renew our minds with the Word daily so that it becomes part of who we are.
In time, our thoughts and our words will be full of God's truths, and we will experience the blessings He has for us.

1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV / 285 helpful votes

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:37 ESV / 185 helpful votes
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV / 145 helpful votes
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us
spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Philippians 4:13 ESV / 110 helpful votes

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Romans 6:14 ESV / 109 helpful votes
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 8:31 ESV / 91 helpful votes
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:1-39 ESV / 89 helpful votes
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the
Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what
the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For
those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ...
Deuteronomy 20:4 ESV / 87 helpful votes
For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you
the victory.
Romans 8:39 ESV / 61 helpful votes
Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love
of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take
up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done
all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, ...
Isaiah 55:11 ESV / 53 helpful votes
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Hebrews 7:25-27 ESV / 39 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since
he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such
a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for
those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.