victory fort – PAOLOPUNZALAN.COM

RANDOM THOUGHTS: ONE NAME. FIVE WORDS. TWENTY ONE DAYS.

ONE NAME.

Jesus. That’s the only name we desire to exalt.
It is in His name that we can find all we would ever need and desire – Savior, Provider, Lord, Master, Forgiver… our All in All.

FIVE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.

1. CONTEND AGAINST.

The greater the breakthrough, the greater the warfare.
We are to contend in the Spirit without ceasing.

2. CONTEND WITH.

When we don’t fight as a family, we can’t win. We need to learn to fight as a family, fight not as a wrestler but as a centurion, arm in arm with fellow warriors. If we fight alone, we’re dead. If we fight together, we win.

3. CLEANSING.

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

We want to be fit for the Master’s use. Repentance, turning and humility are keys to seeing this come to pass.

4. DELIVERANCE.

God will release people for His greater glory.
We’ve been seeing people set free from past hurts, sinful patterns, and emotional trauma.
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

John 8:35 says that a servant doesn’t remain in the house forever, but a son does. A servant does the will of the Master because it is his duty but a son does the will of his Father because it is his delight.

5. SPIRITUAL POWER.

A greater move of the Spirit means greater opposition.

To see all that God is wanting to accomplish, it has to be birthed not in the physical but spiritual.

Jim Laffoon: “As this new building finishes, know that you are not just building a building but birthing a new era.”

We see the spirit of evangelism rise, prophetic prayer get activated and intercession/praying in the Spirit operate in a greater measure.

We are in an exciting season of our church.

Watch and see what God is going to do to a people surrendered to His love, will and leading.

“Nearness is a gift. Closeness is a daily choice.” (Jim Laffoon)
21 DAYS.

We sense that God is calling the leadership to a season of prayer and fasting. Starting July 10 – 31, pastors and leaders will be on a Daniel fast.

If you feel God is calling you to join us, go jump in with us whether for a week or 2 or whole 3 weeks.

The greatest breakthrough in fasting is not an answer to our prayer but the presence of God Himself.

Exciting times are up ahead.

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INFORMATION ON DANIEL FAST BELOW:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Daniel-fast.html

http://daniel-fast.com/draw-closer-god/

http://daniel-fast.com/aboutthefast-2/

http://www.ultimatedanielfast.com/ultimate-daniel-fast-about-the-daniel-fast/

WHEN GOD FINDS YOU YOUR LIFE PARTNER

Love doesn’t have to be complicated.

However, it’s not the love that’s complicated. It’s just that we are the ones who complicate the love.

When we do relationships God’s way, in God’s will, following God’s Word, it really shouldn’t be that complicated.

Isaac found Rebekah because God put them together. It was a match made in heaven.

Here’s a message to explain further.

WHEN WE BATTLE WITH THE WRONG SET OF WEAPONS

If we have the victory through Christ, why does it seem like we still lose some battles?

Is it possible that we are fighting with the wrong set of weapons?

The Bible tells us that the battle we fight is not against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against spiritual powers. What this means is that we do not fight physically, emotionally, or even verbally, but we fight in the spiritual realm.

Here is a message on how to fight the battle using the spiritual weapons God has given us in Ephesians chapter 6.

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Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christyphoto/3189719874/

MIND YOUR MIND

I remember a time when I played Little League Baseball. We were all pumped up and ready to play against our opponent. We got to the field in Seafront (right on Roxas Boulevard). Right after we got off the bus, we all rushed to the baseball field to warm up.

Ten minutes passed by, our opponents hadn’t arrived.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes.
One hour.

In our minds, our opponents forfeited the game.
Now, these were the days before mobile phones. Not even pagers existed.

But because we normally played in 2 venues alternating, what we thought was a won ballgame due to forfeiture was a default on our part.

The game for that Saturday was supposed to be at the Manila Polo Club.

When we don’t know where the game is, we cannot actually play.

In the same breath, when we don’t know where the battle is, there’s no way we can fight.

The battle ground is first and foremost in the mind.

Watch the message below to learn more about where the battle field is.

THE PROMISE IS AT HAND, BUT THERE ARE GIANTS.

As we begin this year, we all have promises we are holding on to from God.

Just like the Israelites, God had a promised land for them. That being said, it is a known fact that while there’s a promised land waiting for them, there are still giants in the land that they had to defeat. It was still a fight.

The Bible says that we have an enemy. His name is Satan. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers.

The following is the message I shared from Genesis 3 exposing the origin, character and work of the enemy. While he exists, the truth still stands: HE IS A DEFEATED FOE.

Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER #YolandaRelief

The synergy that goes into coming together for a united purpose is invaluable.

In the recent days, we’ve seen many come from all walks of life contribute to the relief efforts ongoing to alleviate the pain and suffering of our countrymen in Leyte, Samar, Tacloban, Iloilo, Cebu and other parts of the Visayan region.

While at Victory we try our best to contribute our small part, we realize that what we do won’t even make a dent in the overall picture.

But when we all pitch in, like every brick that is placed during construction, at the end of it all, we see a cathedral or an amazing edifice not because one brick was more important than the other but because each brick was vital to seeing the whole come together.

Just wanted to say thanks to all who have pitched in and continues to do so.

The international relief efforts, big and small organizations, that help mitigate the misery.
The private businesses that have donated, shared, and contributed their resources.
The schools that allowed their students to participate in the repacking, loading and hauling.
The armed forces of the Philippines who did everything possible to help the victims.
The churches that prayed and prayed and prayed for more goods to come.
The bloggers and social networkers who have helped communicate the needs and praise reports.

(Please feel free to add to the list.)

ONE BIG THANKS!

The work is far from over but just wanted to drop a note of appreciation.

Pastor (Col.) Dennis Isleta with Lt. Col. Nelson Morales on our first delivery (10 tons of goods) to Tacloban via C130.

My batchmates from high school who pitched in and gathered all they could.

5300 bags repacked the first 7 hours of relief operations

Partnering with Operation Blessing. These goods (6 tons) went to Coron, Palawan and Tacloban.

Youth and children even pitched in repacking.

COUPLES GETAWAY 2013

WHEN YOU GO THROUGH A SPIRITUAL DRY SEASON…

What do you do when you go through spiritual dryness? These days do come.

Read about the experience of a second year college student and how the Lord took her through this experience with lessons learned along the way.

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When the first event of IGNITE happened, the fire of the Holy Spirit burnt within me which urged me to attend the Friday Youth Service at Victory Fort. Realizations hit me then and made me think of how amazing life would be like with Him. I sought advice from the leaders and eventually helped me know Him even more which led me to the road less traveled—sharing the Word and leading a small group.

About a month ago, something happened that even the second event of IGNITE couldn’t solve—I lost the fire in me. On the third night of Ignite, I cried out of frustration because I couldn’t feel Him nor did I want to pursue Him. It was a feeling that brought shivers to my body and pain to my heart. I never thought that I would let myself slip away from His fingers because of the dry season. I totally forgot about reading the bible and praying became quite foreign to me. Temptations surrounded me when I would hang out with my friends and almost didn’t care that I was around all those things. I knew then that my filter was running low and the temptations were getting close to me.

But one night, a friend told me that he wanted to talk about something important—a friend that used to persecute me whenever I’d share the Word with him back in first year college.

Just a bit of background: This friend of mine hated God because he thought that He let his dad get cancer just because. This friend rebelled against Him and cursed Him, which was really odd because his dad is a cancer survivor. What he would do were only drink, smoke and party—even stopped attending mass for almost 10 years already.

With all that said, this was what he told me, “For the past two months, I’ve been thinking about what you told me and decided to change the lifestyle I had for myself. You were right, my parents ought to have a better son and a treatment that they really deserve. So I’d like you to know that I’ve been sober for two months, I’ve been exclusively dating—and take note, I haven’t kissed her yet. Guess what? She’s a Christian too! Just like you! To top it all I have been attending mass for the past two months. I have been praying.”

This revelation squeezed my heart, and probably shook off the callousness the dry season left me with. After talking to him, I pondered about everything he had said—then it hit me. GOD WAS TALKING TO ME THROUGH HIM. Through the guy I thought was truly impossible to save. God used him to tell me, “Trish, don’t give up on us. I know you don’t feel me right now, but please know that I am never an inch away from you. What you have been doing is planting seeds in the hearts of the people around you, wait for me to water them so that they may grow.”

When this thought hit me, I found myself standing in front of the door of “LIVE”, the event of the church group we had in Taft along with Malate. I saw Michelle Abello and cried buckets of tears in her arms. I cried out of pain, frustration and condemnation. I even talked to Pastor Joseph about all of it and he prayed for me. I also shared that I was going to sing in the Friday Youth Service the next day, and felt that I didn’t deserve it. Why? Because I felt like as if I was going to be such a hypocrite telling His people to praise and worship Him when I wasn’t. I even saw Pauline Dedel the night when I was about to sing and again, cried buckets of tears.

What struck me though with what they shared was IT IS NEVER ABOUT WHAT I DO FOR HIM, BUT ALWAYS ABOUT WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR ME. I don’t ever have to feel condemned because God loves me the way I am. All I can do is love Him back and pursue Him. I don’t have to do things to get even with Him because it will never happen. What He did for me was priceless and beyond my reach. I know that He will never give up on me nor will He ever run out on me. He will forever stay by my side and keep in His arms safe and sound.

By the time I finished singing, I fell in love with Him again. I started doing my devotions again after

Trisha Terrado is a second year student from De la Salle University taking up AB-Organizational Communcations.

that night and really helped me face the stressful week that was waiting for me with a big smile and a happy heart. One night after doing my devotions, the org that I really wanted to get into texted me to congratulate me for being accepted to the hosting poll that I really prayed hard for. WHAT AN AMAZING GOD WE HAVE. Nothing really is impossible with Him.

I think I can say that being in the dry season is normal, but what you do about it is what matters. It’s either you stay and urge yourself to keep pursuing Him despite not feeling anything or let yourself slip away from His fingers and lose yourself altogether. You got to keep in mind that there is a big Man up there who has been pursuing you all your life and who will love you no matter what, no buts, no ifs.

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Here’s the “LIVE” event Trisha was talking about. Same day edit by Mike Manansala.

WHEN LIFE LEAVES YOU PARALYZED

What do you do when you are on your way towards a successful career, living out your childhood dream when suddenly life throws you a curve ball?

You no longer have what you used to have.

You seemingly have lost the dream you’ve pursued ever since.

You are left with a dilibitating situation with everything now out of your hands.

Listen to what Eugene Tejada went through and how God, coupled with spiritual family, helped him cope with his situation.

To listen to the whole message, click this link.
Then click on the video tab and watch the message entitled “Encourage One Another.”

LOSING HIS LEG, BUT NOT HIS FAITH

Mike Romero is an amazing story.

He is one of our new volunteers in the Kids Ministry of Victory Fort.

He lost his leg after being run over by a bus and yet now is back serving in Kids Ministry.

Read his story below. It will amaze you.

God has blessed me with a very supportive family – my Victory Kids Church family. I got into an accident last April 5 when I was going home; I fell from the bus I was on while trying to run after the person/s who snatched my wallet. Sadly, I lost my right leg in the process and was in a critical condition in the ICU for a week.

My Kids Church family was there the whole time. Pastor Mark Tusoy and most of my team took time from the start to visit me in the ICU and prayed for me. I didn’t expect that a lot of people from KC would be there because I was a new volunteer. As it was unexpected, I was really happy that they visited (much to the dismay of the ICU staff as they had to monitor if more people snuck in :p). Looking back at it now, it was probably a nudge from God to push myself to recover faster.

Even in Facebook, which I just found out when I got discharged from the hospital, they offered their prayers of healing and provision. They even went to my house (after probably what was a week’s worth of discussions on our team’s FB wall :p)to ensure that I was well and bouncing back properly. I remember they brought a ton of food and even planned games.

Although those were very trying times for me, the love and support of my Kids Church family has shown God’s love for me. Being new to walking the path to God, their support has strengthened my faith in Him and to trust in what He has planned for me.