The point that stood out to me from the Clarens Camp Meeting was when Pastor John said that we are actually managing everything that we have, and we do not own it. The Word of God shows that if God made everything, then He owns everything. He owns my life and my time, which means it does not belong to me. From this, Pastor John asked the question, why do we claim what is not ours? We often say that we will choose to use our lives in a certain way, but in reality, God has given us the responsibility to manage, not to own. This also means that we cannot afford to look and live like everyone else, because we do not identify with humanity. We cannot say that we want God’s blessing while still wanting ownership, because God is giving us management, not ownership.

In the same way, the Easter Weekend message built on this understanding by shifting the focus from performance to the life of the Spirit. Pastor John said that it is not about accuracy and perfection, but about the life of the Spirit. He spoke about Job and two kingdoms, and how the devil destroys while the Kingdom of God restores. This showed me that if I have the knowledge of faith but do not live by faith, and instead say that I need to do better or be more perfect, then I am saying that I can do it by myself. In doing this, I would be reversing and rejecting God’s grace. My accuracy of living does not unlock my faith, but it is His Word and His life that He has placed inside of me. Because of this, I am to put my trust in His Word, speak it out of my mouth, and speak to my angels, knowing that they work on my words and not my thoughts.

Flowing from both of these messages, Pastor John strongly emphasised that we are not to be hearers of the Word only, but doers. In applying this, I am choosing in every area of my life to ask the Holy Spirit what I should do and what I should say. Whether it is how I manage my time, how I manage my money, or what I should sow, I am learning to stay in tune with Him. Since it is His life and His time that is in me, I choose to ask Him how to manage it. At the same time, I am also choosing not to focus on trying to be accurate or to perform the Word, but rather to speak the answer and not the problem. In this, I put my trust in God’s Word that I speak, and I believe that as I speak, my angels are working on my behalf.

Finally, my highlight of the Clarens trip was when all the cyclists rode down into Clarens and the supporters were cheering us on. After four days of hard cycling, riding into the beautiful city and hearing everyone cheering was such an awesome moment. The love and support that was shown to us all the way to Clarens is something that I will always remember.