Declarations at Watch Night Service

4 January 2013 by Natasha Kim – CM

This New Year, it’s all about experiencing God and fulfilling destinies! Fill the daily pages of your 2013 well by writing a good one. It was a night of celebration as City Revival Church celebrated their watch night service at Holiday Villa, Subang Jaya with a great praise and worship session.

This time included a very memorable and touching performance by well known Malaysian Gospel singer, Patrick Leong. To date, he has released four solo albums and has been blessed to sing amongst many other local and international artists such as, Juwita Suwito, Anita Sarawak, Luciano Pavarotti and numerous more. He shared a few inspiring stories along the way and graced everyone with his voice.

 

Isaiah 43: 19 – See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

 

Rev. Suresh Sundram preached on this day, and he emphasized on the declarations that God has made to all of us and shows us the kind of God that He is. We should all keep these declarations close to us.

The first declaration is in Isaiah 43:1 that says, “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

 

“Put that in your hearts this 2013. In this verse, God proclaims that I have created, formed, redeemed, and called you by name. Each one of us is not an accident and we are here by the sovereign will of God.” said Reverend. Irrespective of what has happened in our past or family background, He calls us by name and has redeemed us.

 

The second declaration: Isaiah 43: 2 – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

 

In this verse, God tells us that He clearly sees everything. Wherever you go, He says that He will be with you. It is important that each one of us realizes that God is with us every day. “You may go through the waters or the fires but God promises that He will be there and it is He who will strengthen us.” said Reverend.

 

The third declaration: Isaiah 43: 3 – For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

 

The third declaration shows us that He is the Lord and the Holy one, and it is Him that fights for us. If God is for us who can be against us! When we battle through the crisis and challenges of life, we can look at the storm and smile because we have the peace of God in our hearts that He will take care of us.

 

The fourth declaration: Isaiah 43: 4 – Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

 

Here, He declares that He has loved us and that we are precious to Him. Many feel guilty and think they cannot earn the love of God but irrespective of our performance and who we are, it is safe to say that all of us can come before God because He love us and is gracious. Rev Suresh said, “Right through the year let this words build in our hearts. Everything in our life is about Him loving us and that is why He gave us his only Begotten Son. If we do the right thing God will cause the thing we pray for to sprout and spring forth.”

 

Finally we need to position ourselves for the goodness of God, because Isaiah 43:18 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Do not consider the things of old or remember the past.

 

“I want to challenge you, to not let the old prevent you from receiving the things of new.” said Rev. In other words, let not your past prevent you from experiencing the things of the future. As people go through the journey of life, their whole character or perception is defined by circumstances or weaknesses or even their rejected relationships. Let only God define our moments!

Rev. also added that, “God can turn things around and overrule things because he is God. Don’t let our failure stop us from moving on.” During this new beginning, many things will spring forth if we release our failures to the Lord. This includes our weaknesses, bitterness and unresolved conflicts. These bad things cripple us and these are the things that the enemy uses to threaten or trap us.  

“Bitterness is like yesterdays eve that we have allowed to come into our homes and will ruin tomorrows blessings.” said Rev. This 2013, Let us get so caught up in Jesus and let us all journey together with Him. Do not be afraid, because He is with us.

A few additional Scriptures that we should internalize within our hearts this year is contained in:-

 

Romans 4: 20- 21 : “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

 

Mark 12:30:  ^“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

 

Ephesians 3:20: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” The God that created the world is in our midst.

 

These scriptures also tell us why we need to love God without question. Looking at the goodness and greatness of God, our only response is and should be that we will seek Him and love Him. Rev. said, “This year we will experience Him and everything that happens must be a result of who God is and what He has done for us.” God defines our life and defines our 2013. He is in control and if we are smart enough, we will begin to connect with Him and make Him the priority in our lives.