Jerwin Gamboa

BATTLE AND VICTORY JERWIN RODRIGO GAMBOA 2 Chronicles 20:17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.‟” There are three principles I want to share gleaned from the verse above where you can fight from to overcome whatever battle you may be facing right now. First, we must realize that… THE BATTLE BELONGS TO GOD. “You will not have to fight this battle.” Just two verses back you will read, He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: „Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God‟s. Sometimes to win the battle we have to surrender. We need to surrender and leave everything to God. It doesn’t mean you will have to quit or give up. It only means you’ve got to admit that there’s nothing you can do on your own to win the battle. All you’ve got to do is surrender the battle to Him. Things get difficult for us sometimes because we try to win them in our own strength. God is saying, “Give me your battle! I know better. I have overcome the world!” God will not let us face trials bigger than what we can handle. In reality, as long as we give the battle to Him, there is absolutely nothing we cannot overcome. Zechariah 6:4 “It‟s not by might, not by power but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. Victory is found in surrender before our God who is able to take the battle from our hands. Whatever His child places in His hands He will certainly use for their advantage to accomplish His purpose. Second, we must realize that… YOUR POSITION WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THINGS. Knowing your position will change the way you see things. It’s important to understand the position you have in Christ. Understanding is the key. We see differently because we are looking at things from a poor angle. If we can only look at things through the eyes of God, we’ll see things the way He sees them. Many believers today do not know their identity in Christ because they do not see Christ in them. All they can see is themselves being unworthy. They live their lives in constant condemnation and in a feeling of unworthiness. Christ died for us because He could see our worth. We are created in the image of God. Otherwise He would have not died on the cross. The devil could also see our worth. Otherwise, he would not be wasting his time destroying us. They think it’s humility to always think we are unworthy. It is humility in comparison with what our actions have done to earn us salvation but it is no longer humility but an insult to God to always be in that state of mind after receiving justification by Christ. It’s as if we are making what Christ did on the cross null and void. They know they will inherit eternal life but they do not know how much authority God has given them through Christ. We must realize that we are seated with Christ on the right hand of the Father. That makes us above all spiritual powers and entities on earth, in hell or even in heaven. The position where Christ is seated is actually the highest place. And we are seated with Him because we are co-heirs with Him (see Ephesians 2:6 and Romans 8:17). As co-heirs, we also hold the keys of heaven. Therefore the heavenly force is at our disposal. Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever we release on earth will be released in heaven (see Matthew 16:19). Third, we must realize that… WE CAN STAND ON HIS PROMISES. His promises are unchangeable. To make an oath, we need someone of greater authority than us to attest to what we are saying. Because of the authority the person of greater authority has, people can honor our word. In the case of God, there is not a person of greater authority other than Himself so when God makes an oath He is automatically bound to it that when the oath gets broken His very own name will be dishonored. And that what makes it impossible for God to lie (see Hebrews 6:16-18). God is faithful. When the word faithful is used to describe God, it carries a different meaning in the original language, very far from what we know today. The word literally means stable. It literally means that there is absolutely nothing in this world God cannot carry. Even if you gather the weight of the entire universe, He will not cringe in difficulty. And that’s the kind of stability His promises carry. So when you give your life to Jesus, you become a son or daughter of God (see John 1:12). Rest assured that you’ve been given access to those promises and inheritance Christ has purchased on the cross. Mark 13:31 (NIV) “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” All His promises are Yes and Amen. These three principles are very powerful. We can use whichever we see fit to our situation and God will definitely back His word up because as our Father it always delights Him to fight for His children.