CityLight Church

What would it take to make you champion?
Some people have such a low self image of themselves, but it is important to realise that once you decide to make a commitment to Christ, and you choose to surrender your life to Him, then it doesn’t matter any more what you or others think about you.
1 Cor 6:19-20 says, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” - paid in full by the blood of Christ. Many people desire to be free, but the truth is that we will never be “free”. We are either slaves to sin (John 8:34) to slaves to God (1 Cor 7:22), but being a slave to God is better, because 1 Cor 7:22 also says that he who is a slave to God is God’s freedman.
If we have surrendered our lives to God, then it is fair to say that God owns us. If God owns us, then it doesn’t matter what we think about ourselves, or what others think about us, but rather what God thinks about us. This is where it gets exciting because God himself said he sees you as:
... forgiven (1 John 1:9)
... valued (Matt 10:31)
... a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
... one from the household of faith (Ga 6:10)
... the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
... the light of the world (Matt 5:14)
... one who is of the Spirit of God (Luke 9:55)
... prosperous (3 John 2)
... His friend (John 15:14)
... His disciple (John 13:35)
... clothed with power from on High (Luke 24:48)
... one who is of God (John 8:47)
... one of His fellow workers (1 Cor 3:9)
Rom 8:37-39 says that we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
What more can I say, but God sees you as a champion, therefore nothing else matters - it just doesn’t matter.
Have an amazingly victorious week,
Adrian Nyhuis    

We live in a time when Champions are a ‘dime a dozen’. The media portrays many of our sports people in particular as heroes and champions, and even recently advertisements label them as immortal.
So what makes a champion. People recognise the fact that there is the proverbial blood, sweat and tears that go into making someone a champion, but there is actually more than that. The word ‘Champion’ has the root of its meaning in battle, and yes, we could term the sports field as a place of ‘battle’, but realistically, a sports champion is one who competes against others for fun. It doesn’t matter whether they win or lose, they are still referred to as a champion because they are disciplined, and they work hard, because of who they are and what they do.
A battle champion is different. They compete against others as a matter of life and death. They are a champion, not just because they have worked hard, not just because they have trained well, not just because they are disciplined, not because of how others see them, but because of one thing – they are still alive. They continue to fight the battle, knowing three things: 1) The enemy IS the enemy, 2) Whilst fighting the may - die and 3) The enemy needs to be - destroyed.
We need to be aware that as Christians, we are in a battle. The enemy is the enemy and he’s not playing games with you, or your children. The other great thing is that it’s not really much of a battle. Jesus defeated him at Calvary, so he was stripped of all his authority - leaving him with nothing...
In Matt 28:18-20 Jesus says three important things:  1) All authority has been given to Me (Jesus); 2) Go and make disciples; and 3) He will never leave us nor forsake us.
In addition to that, Isaiah says, “The God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Not only are you in permanent contact with the God of the universe, who has all authority and who is your personal bodyguard, you are also fighting a battle that you can’t lose. James says having done all to stand, STAND!  
God invested into you because He sees you His champion. Let’s continue to stand, and resist the devil, because he will not win, and you already have.
Have an fantastic and victorious week,   
Adrian Nyhuis