Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Battle of the Mind

(Prepared by Kuya Ken based on Pastor Richard Lee's Sunday sermon)

Read

  • 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

  • Romans 12:1-2



2 Corinthians 10:3-6
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

The Message says …(2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way – never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.

The Message says …(Romans 12:1-2)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit in without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well formed maturity in you.

(i) The BATTLE for YOUR Mind

  • What is on your mind?

  • How is your thought life?

  • Is your mind constantly preoccupied?

  • Do you experience disturbing thoughts? Condemning thoughts? Over active mind?

  • As a result of this, what difficulties do you face as a Christian, a child of God, at home? At college? At church?



Words of wisdom …(Ps Richard)
‘Watch your thoughts, they become words,
Watch your words, they become actions,
Watch your actions, they become your character,
Watch your character, they become your destiny!’



REMEMBER …

The Battle BEGINS in YOUR mind!


(ii) The Law of Exposure

‘Exposure shapes things; Exposure shapes our minds’

  • What are you/college students exposed to?

  • What are you most exposed to?

  • Who/what is your ‘idol’?

  • What is the result of this exposure? Share an experience …


But wait ...
What about those who totally avoid all forms of negative exposure? Legalism? Over protected?

We need to pray for wisdom/discernment!

Hold on …

  • Exposure to the RIGHT things?

  • What are some of those things?

  • Are YOU exposing YOURSELF to these things???



REMEMBER …

  • The battle is won/lost in your minds!

  • The devil’s footholds can become STRONGHOLDS!


(iii) Divine weapons
What does the Bible tell us?

We are equipped with weapons that can DESTROY STRONGHOLDS! Were you aware of that?

God’s/the believer’s arsenal …

  • God the Holy Spirit

  • Praying/declaring/believing in Jesus’ Name

  • God’s Word (It is written …)

  • Prayer

  • Healing

  • Deliverance


But …

  • How do we ‘take captive’ our thoughts?

  • … make them obedient to Christ?

  • How do we ‘renew’ our minds?


REMEMBER …

  • Do NOT conform to the patterns of this world

  • Renew your mind …


Small group discussion

  • Which of your own thoughts need to be ‘taken captive’ (v 5) to obedience to Christ?

  • How to do so practically?



Pray and minister to one another …

Friday, July 6, 2007

Spiritual Warfare

Praise the Lord that our sister Yoke Kheng is settling down well in her new apartment. We will warm up her place with our energy soon.

Tomorrow, Saturday, 07/07/07, we will be having a combined worship with Youth Voltage, at Antioch Centre. Our worship leader is the energised Jia Hua.

After worship, the Campus Voltage! will discuss and share on Brother Richard Lee's Sunday sermon on Spiritual Warfare. The bible reference is 2 Corinthians 10.

Let's energise one another.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Prayer & Blessing of YK's Apartment

This Saturday, 30 June 2007, the Campus Voltage! will gather at Yoke Kheng's new apartment for “Prayer & Blessing”.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Electrifying Celebration of Praise

The Campus Voltage! and Youth Voltage had the first Celebration of Praise at Antioch Centre on Saturday, 23 June 2007.

What a way to kick off the Campus Voltage! Our beloved deaconess Yoke Kheng led the worship with powerful and awesome songs:


  • One way

  • Mighty to Save

  • Hosanna

  • You alone are God

  • How Great is our God

  • Here I am to Worship



Scriptures read included:
Isaiah 60:1-3
1“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the LORD is shining upon you. 2 Darkness as black as night will cover all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD will shine over you. 3 All nations will come to your light. Mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation -
So why should I be afraid?
The LORD protects me from danger –
So why should I tremble?

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 8:12
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

--------------------------------------------------

Who was the speaker? This is even more electrifying - Pastor Phil Dooley, Youth Pastor Hillsong Youth Ministries. Unbelievable, right? Eh...he was not here physically but we watched a DVD of his message entitled - "Generation of Light". Cool! We heard some encouraging responses from the Campus Voltage! and Youth Voltage after the message. The message has indeed started a spark in their heart, and God will create a flame, and they will be a Generation of Light - Carriers of God's Glory!

Let your Light shine forth!


Pastor Phil Dooley


Tuesday, June 26, 2007

A rising generation


I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith ...

(from Hosanna by Hillsong Utd)


Welcome to the Campus Voltage! blogpage.

Campus Voltage! is the continuance of Youth Voltage, where previously school-going students have passed another milestone and stepped into college/university life. As we all know (for those of us who can say 'been there, done that'), it comes complete with a set of fresh challenges, obstacles, joys and experiences.

So where do college students fit in? Our Lord Jesus says it best in Matthew 5.13-16 (taken from 'The Message'):

Salt and Light

13"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Thus as a generation of young eagles, sharp arrows and bearers of light, let's be all we can be for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Campus Voltage! seeks to meet the needs (spiritual and otherwise) of college students with the love and fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ. We meet on Saturday from 4pm - 5.30pm @ Antioch Centre.

Before I end, on behalf of the core team, welcome once again and may you continue to grow in Christ as you grow up.