Father in heaven, I come to you in Jesus' name. I thank you for loving me, thank you for accepting me, thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins. Lord, I've struggled so hard to make my life work. I turn away from those struggles. I turn away from sin. I turn away from a life without you. Jesus, I receive you as my saviour today. Please forgive my sin, forgive all my struggles to try and look good. Lord, forgive me. I give you my life today. I receive forgiveness. I receive your spirit into my heart. I belong to you. Before heaven and earth today, I declare Jesus Christ is my saviour and Lord. Amen.
Father, I just thank you for each person that prayed that prayer for the first time. Let the spirit and love of God just flow into their heart. God loves you so much - more than you realise. You have so much to discover about this God, who wants to make Himself known to you.
Perhaps today there's ones who are struggling. You've lived under legalism, under the law and you've wrestled with that. Today would be a great day for that yoke - Paul calls it a yoke - a yoke of duty; a yoke of having to; a yoke of lots of little things you have to do to be good enough, to be acceptable. God wants you free of all of that. I'd love you today, if you've been struggling under that kind of yoke; those that are present - I'd love you just to come forward. We want to lay hands on you, and want you just to let go of the struggling, repent of the trying and the efforts, and open your heart for God to reveal His love to you. As people lay hands on you, I know you're going to experience something of the love of God.
It's a terrible thing trying hard, trying hard to be good enough. I did that for many years growing up, lacking a revelation of love, I struggled feeling I was never good enough, struggled so hard to be good enough; did so many things in order to get acceptance. What I needed was a revelation of God's love. It comes by faith - after you stop and repent of your dead works.
If there's people struggling, and you're caught in the bondage of legalism, of works, heaviness, oppression. People here who are struggling with oppression over your lives, some are struggling with failure and the fear of failure; other ones struggling here with the fear you'll be rejected. Some of you have come - there's about three people come today, and you've had real troubles in your life with God, real troubles in your walk with God, and your biggest fear is whether you'll be accepted, because of the things you've done. God loves you. He wants to help you today.
You know, the problem with the law is you have to keep the whole lot of it. Jesus came to set us free of the law of obligations and duties; have to do this, have to do that. He wanted us to come into a relationship of love and grace; wonderful grace of God, that frees us up to be ourselves. How great to be yourself in Christ.
I came up with a religious background, a Catholic background. It took me quite a bit of time to realise I'd brought with it a lot of the baggage into my Christian life. I just needed to let it all go, needed to let go striving, struggling to be good enough, struggling to meet God's needs, struggling to get my sins forgiven, all of that kind of stuff; and just: God, I thank you I already have it. I am blessed with every blessing in heavenly places in Jesus Christ. I have forgiveness. I have redemption. I have acceptance. I have it now - that's what I have being a child of God, so now I'm going to meditate in it and dwell in it.