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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
There are those memorable moments we have in our
Christian walk, such as when we received salvation or had significant
breakthrough.
For me one of those events was one session at a youth
camp when the speaker was talking about who we were in Christ.
He had us declare the truth of who we are over
ourselves. It went something like this:
“I am a new creation, the old has gone the new
has come. I am born again by the spirit of Christ. There is an anointing on my
life that is mine and no one else’s. There is an appointing on my life that is
mine and no one else’s. By God’s grace, and for His glory, I will see it come
to pass”
Facing the insecurities of my teenage years, this
became the tool I used to silence the voices of accusation and self-hatred that
were in my head.
I would look in the mirror and declare these truths
over my life.
As I have continued in my walk with God, there are
other truths that have been added to my arsenal to defend myself against
accusation.
When I started to come to the revelation of God’s
great love for me, I would declare “I am loved by God” even in
my weakest moments.
When I struggle with condemnation I would sing “You
say spotless, you say clean, you say blameless and God I agree.”
There is something powerful that happens when we
declare scripture over our lives.
It helps us remember the truth about who God
is. There are many
accusations about God on the earth.
When we declare the truth of what God has done for us
this extinguishes any lie that God is not good.
Declaring His love over us dispels the lie that God
doesn’t care or isn’t interested in us.
It delivers us from letting other’s opinions
define us. When we rest in the
truth of what God says it helps us to not be concerned with other’s perception
of us.
It helps us to love others. When we live knowing who we are in God we
can “love our neighbor as ourselves.”
As we see ourselves as God sees us we also start to
see others as God sees them.
It stops us from letting outward circumstance
dictate who we are or who God is. When we feel like we have failed in an area we know that we
are not a failure but that we are people who love God who have failings.
We define ourselves not by success or failure but by
God’s word.
How we feel about ourselves impacts how we live
so when we feel like we are clean, righteous and loved we will act clean,
righteous and loved. One of the best ways
to walk in holiness is to declare the truth of the power of the blood of Jesus
to make us holy.
I pray that you take hold of this powerful truth of
the transforming nature of scripture, and grow up into your identity in Christ,
knowing with confidence that you are loved by Him.
William Williams arrived in Tauranga in
1840, and his first open air service was attended by over 1000 people. He
records at the time that there were 20 Maori missionaries in the region, and
over 8000 attending Sunday service regularly. Alfred Nesbit Brown records in
his mission journal that during 1840-1842, he baptised 680 adults and 504
children. In proportion to the population at the time, this was significant.
Over subsequent decades, other historical
revivals have taken place in this city and region, and many have been impacted
through the power of the gospel and the presence of God. Some of these moves
have been marked by large numbers of salvations, signs and wonders, healing and
deliverance, charismatic renewal, and by the churches multiplying across the
region.
Tauranga means ‘a place of refuge’ or ‘a
safe anchorage’. For many, this name is a powerful declaration over this
region. There are many prophetic promises that have been declared for decades
over this place which speak of great abundance, a place of birthing new things,
a light to the nations, and a place that is marked by reconciliation and
uncommon unity.
Many have come here, feeling led to move to
the city, and are expectant for a move of God that will awaken this city to its
redemptive purpose.
Although
the early Christian mission in this region has been complex and not without
human error, in recent years the desire has arisen from many to seek
forgiveness and reconciliation from the past, and thus move forward in unity of
the Spirit to see a city revived, and transformed by the power of the gospel.
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