Y4L : FIGHTING A GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

Good evening Y4Lifers, it's Friday again! I am Ate Hannah and I am so grateful that I have given an
opportunity to speak to you again. Maybe not physically tayong magkakasama but I believe that we are
here together with one mind, with one heart and one spirit. So before we start let us pray first.

(Prayer)

Tonight, we will be talking about "fighting a good fight of faith." I believe na yung topic na ito ay
very timely most especially we are now in the season of life wherein napakalimitado na ng ating mga
ginagawa even our church gathering are also limited. Yun tipong lalabas ka ng bahay mong
nakafaceshield at nakafacemask kasi you are not allowed to go out na wala kang suot na ganun or else
you cannot enter a certain establishment without wearing those. Ito yung season na tinatawag nating
new normal. Kung saan dito natin maipapakita bilang isang anak ng Diyos how do to fight a good fight of
faith.

Now let us define first the word FAITH. FAITH in the dictionary means a complete trust or
confidence in someone or something. In the Bible, it says in Hebrews 11:1 (TPT) says " Now faith brings
our hopes into reality and become a foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the
evidence require to prove what is still unseen." And as a child of God we can say that faith means believing
God's promises, trusting His faithfulness and relying on His character in our lives. And right now as we
are experiencing this season of pandemic, knowing how to fight a good fight of faith is so important.
There are people who doesn't know about this truth that is why most of them suffered from anxiety, fear,
they are losing their hope, they feel discouraged and tend to worry about everything. It is important to
know the truth that we have this living hope, that our hope is alive and His name is Jesus. #HopeAlive

Let me read to you an excerpt from the book that I have read, "The spirit of faith involves
believing, receiving and confessing the promises of God. That is one side of the faith coin. The other side
is that there must be corresponding actions to what you believe; which involves obedience to what God
has told you to do."

And I believe that one of the things God want us to do is to fight a good fight of faith. And regarding
to this, tonight I will give you some encouragement as we do this. Let this be a reminder to each of us as
we go through our battles.

1. Put God first in everything you do. Never resist His Spirit. Always seek for His guidance. Always
let Him lead you and guide you in every battle you are facing.

Isaiah 58:11 NKJV “The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen
your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

2. Do not be afraid if you encounter fiery trials, be like a gold that is purified in the fire. The fire
will not consume you, nor water overwhelms you.

1 Peter 1:5-7 TPT"Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is
ready to be revealed in the last time. May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately
you’ve had to put up with the grief of many trials. But these only reveal the sterling core of your faith, which
is far more valuable than gold that perishes, for even gold is refined by fire. Your authentic faith will result in
even more praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One is revealed.”
 If life gets extremely difficult with many test/trials, do not be wildered, do not be afraid. Instead
take heart and trust God.

3. Walk straight ahead on the way of God. Do not look back, do not look on right or left. Only focus
in the way where God is. Forget what lies behind, forget all your past mistakes and earnestly pursue what
lies ahead of you. Some people kasi tend to worry because they are not focus sa anong importante dapat.
Na instead of focusing kay God they focus on the problem.

Proverbs 4:25, 27 TPT “Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead,
ignore life’s distractions.

Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked for even a moment or take the detour that leads to darkness.”

Don't focus on the things of this world, focus only in the right path. Let us set an example, if you are
driving you focus sa daanan, dapat you are not distracted with the things around you, because once you
are distracted you might get into an accident, so in fighting a good fight of faith we must only focus on
God alone.

4. Open your ears wide to the voice of God, so you can easily distinguish the Shepherd's voice from
the voice of the hireling.

Mark 4:25 TPT “For those who listen with open hearts will receive more revelation. But those who
don’t listen with open hearts will lose what little they think they have!”

We need to open wide our ears to hear what God want us to know. Sometimes kasi we are hearing
too many voices around us so it is important na we know how to carefully listen to the voice of our God
snd not to the lies of the enemy. We should silence to around us and only listen to God.

5. Ask God for wisdom, He gives it willingly and without reproach. If you want to know more of
Him, spend time with Him. Remember that you become like the one you spend time with. James 1:5 tells
us if you ask for wisdom, God will give it generously without finding any fault.

James 1:5 AMP“If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to
ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be
given to him.”

6. Be strong, be courageous, always know that God is with you wherever you go, whatever you do,
whatever fight or battle you are in, whatever circumstances you are going through.

Ephesians 6:10 AMP “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be
empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might.”

Ephesians 6:11 AMP “Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a
heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the
strategies and the deceits of the devil.”

So always remember to be strong and courageous, always wear the full armor of God. He promised
us that He will be there for us and that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Remember this: we are not a coward or weakling but we are a courageous soldiers taking all
challenges. We are fighters and mighty warriors of righteousness.

Remember that fighting a good fight of faith means we stand firmly anchored in the Word and in
the power of the Holy Spirit. We remain true to God and His Word in facing any adversity. It is our
unswerving allegiance to God. Ibig sabihin we maintain our godly character in all circumstances .

And before I end this, I just want to share this to you... I heard this from one of the preaching.
Fear sees how big the problem is but but FAITH sees how big God is. So may your battle be a fight of faith
and not of fear. And I just wanna encourage you right now, keep on fighting a good fight of faith. No
matter what you are going through. Keep holding on His promises. He is aware, available and able ... You
are more than a conqueror... You are triumphant ... You are victorious for the Victor lives in you. That's all
thank you for listening and let me pray for you.

(Prayer)