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39. Declarations: The Key to Changing Your Identity Beliefs · Believe & Become | Ministry, Biblical Encouragement, God's Will, How to Change, Holy Spirit

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Have you ever wanted to change but felt completely powerless to do so? We have. We've been there. But today we're going to teach you about declarations, one of the keys that we found to changing our identity beliefs. We're going to teach you what are declarations, why they're effective, and how they can change your identity beliefs and lead to that transformation you've always wanted. Stick around. It's going to be a good one. If you're tired of leading others while secretly battling doubt, discouragement and mental warfare
• 0:32
  Speaker B: and you want practical tools to renew your mind and walk boldly in your
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  Speaker A: calling as a leader, you're in the right place. Welcome to believe and become.
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  Speaker B: We're Josh and Karina, your spirit filled coaches here to help you overcome those limiting beliefs and lead others confidently.
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  Speaker A: If you're ready to hear God's voice more clearly, to step into your purpose and find joy and strength in the
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  Speaker B: everyday silence, those Bible app reminders judging you from your lock screen and let's jump in.
• 1:04
  Speaker A: Are you feeling stuck, unsure of where God is leading? You're worried that there's something wrong with you because you just can't seem to hear him clearly?
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  Speaker B: We spent years stuck in patterns of frustration and disappointment because we just didn't have the clarity or the courage we needed to step forward. We felt like we needed God to part the skies and tell us what to do. We knew God had more for our lives, but we didn't really know who we were in Christ or believe it enough to step into it.
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  Speaker A: Friend, you don't have to stay stuck. You were made to hear God's voice. We invite you to come and learn the simple process we use to overcome the limiting beliefs holding you back and hear God clearly for your next steps.
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  Speaker B: When we were able to see ourselves as God does and break free from the enemy's lies, our lives changed completely. Where we once walked in fear and discouragement, now we walk in victory. Instead of waking up depleted before the day even starts, we wake up ready to to walk in the fulfillment of our calling.
• 2:03
  Speaker A: So head right now to joshandkarina.com coaching and get started on your path to freedom. Today we're talking about declarations, the key to changing your identity beliefs. This has been so huge in our lives. I used to think declarations were super weird. I mean, let's just get real honest here. I mean, I kind of heard about the name it and claim it. Yeah, maybe that's something that you've heard. You just say something and you get it. I thought that was weird, and I didn't understand it. I learned that declarations are actually far more than that. Just because you say something doesn't mean you get it. But you do need to start changing your words in order to change your beliefs, to change your actions, to change your life. It's this whole process that God has led us through. For many years, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I was an engineer. It was a great job. I enjoyed it. But I knew that God was calling me into something more. And he led me to learn about declarations, to learn about the power of life and death that I have in my words. And we're going to teach you about that. And once I started to harness that, I started to realize what my calling was for my life. God gave me a declaration to say, I'm an author, a speaker, and a business owner brings the kingdom of heaven to Earth through radical generosity. And that's one of the declarations I say almost every day about myself. And that has helped me to write a book, to start a couple different businesses, to have this podcast, things that I thought I never would have been able to do unless I changed the words that I was saying, because I had been telling myself I could never do those things. But once I started saying, okay, this is who I am. This is who God has created me to be. This is who he's told me I am, then that stuff started to happen. All of a sudden, I could step into that. Things that seemed impossible. All of a sudden, I had God's grace, his supernatural power to do those things. And that is the power of declarations. That's why we're so excited to share these with you today.
• 4:08
  Speaker B: Yeah. And for me, one of the things that was difficult for me at first was this idea of, like, I'm just saying things, right? It felt like kind of like positive affirmations where you're just like, this is what I want to see. So then I'm going to say that it's true. And that felt really hard for me. But declarations aren't just positive affirmations, but what they are is truth combined with Scripture. And so when I could take the truth of what God was teaching me and what he was trying to do inside of me and combine that with the power of Scripture and hear that scripture in the declaration, then I was able to go, oh. It was like a light bulb went on in my mind. Because it wasn't just about saying this thing that I was hoping to have, but it was Actually partnering with heaven. I'm partnering with the truth of God's word and the truth that he's speaking over me with my words. And so I'm taking my words and I'm declaring what God has said. And so as I declare his words over my situation, as I declare scriptural truth over my life, then my beliefs are lining up with that. And so I'm beginning to walk in that authority and in the reality of what God has already spoken about me. And in our last episode, we talked about identity, what the Bible says about your identity in Christ. And so when you can take this idea that God is trying to get deep into your heart, this. This belief system that he's trying to change, that you're no longer a sinner, but now you're a new creation and you can partner with that truth. I am a new creation. I have been made new in Christ. The old is dead and gone. I am new. I am brand new. Then you begin to see yourself differently. And so for me, that was really huge. Recognizing that it is the truth, it is Scripture, and I am partnering with what God is saying over my life and over the situations around me.
• 6:08
  Speaker A: One of our favorite verses is Proverbs 18:21. And this is really the biblical basis for declarations. It says, the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. So God is trying to tell us, your words have power and you can create life or death with them. And so we have to start paying attention to what we're saying, pay attention to your words. What are you saying about yourself, about other people, about God? Once you start doing that, then you can be conscious about what you say and you can start to speak truth, you can start to speak Scripture, and that will speak life over your life. It creates life. Just like God created everything, the heavens and the earth, with a word, with a spoken word. He has put that power of creation in our mouths, and we get to partner with him to bring those things about. So when we make a conscious decision, I am speaking life today. I am only going to speak the things that God is saying, just like Jesus only said what he heard the Father saying. It's the same thing. I'm just going to speak God's truth of His Word today. And if I have negative thoughts, I'm not saying those. I am partnering with truth. You get to create life. You get to see that change start to happen. That's the crazy thing about declarations. It takes a little bit of time, but eventually those truths Just start to come out of you automatically. They become part of your DNA. They become part of who you already are deep down inside, and it becomes the way that you think. That's why declarations are so amazing.
• 7:51
  Speaker B: Yeah. And that's one of the reasons they're so effective.
• 7:53
  Speaker A: Yeah.
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  Speaker B: Is because they begin to rewire our brains through the repetition of truth. And so we are tearing down strongholds that have been built on lies, and we are building new strongholds of thought that are built on truth. And so as you speak the truth, as you hear the truth that you're speaking with your mouth, then you're creating new strongholds of thought. You are rewiring your brain to begin to see things through the lens of scripture and through the lens of the truth of God's word and the truth that he's spoken over you. And so declarations are truth combined with scripture partnering with heaven, choosing to harness the power of life that is in your tongue. But they're effective because they rewire our brains, because we are the biggest hearers of our own words. Right. I hear myself speak the most. Whether I'm talking to Josh or talking to my kids or talking to myself, I'm the one that's hearing it the most. And so I want to choose that those words that I am hearing are going to be words that bring life.
• 8:55
  Speaker A: Ephesians 4:29 is one of our favorite verses. It says, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. But what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And that last part is the important part, grace to the hearers. So what that means is if you say an encouraging word to somebody, you're actually giving. You're imparting life to them. Grace is God's supernatural power to change. You say something to somebody, it actually contains God's supernatural power for them to change.
• 9:27
  Speaker B: That's amazing.
• 9:28
  Speaker A: That is crazy. Once I got ahold of that, that changed the way that I view my words, the things that I say to other people. But then, just like Karina was saying, you are the greatest hearer of your own words. We talk to ourselves more than anybody else. At least I do. Maybe you don't talk to yourself, but I do all the time. I get caught doing it. But if we're speaking life to ourselves, we get to actually impart God's grace to ourselves. How crazy is that? Just by speaking truth, speaking life to yourself, you can help harness God's grace, his supernatural power to change your life. Wow. God is good. I Mean, he gave us that power to create because we're created in his image. He didn't have to make it that way, but he did because he loves us. When he created us, he said, you know what? I'm going to make them look like me. You look like your father, and you have the ability to create with your tongue. You get to create life. And actually, brain science has caught up with this. Our thoughts create physical structures in our mind. So as we change our words, it changes our thoughts, and then that creates physical, actual structures in our brains. So our words literally can create structures in our minds. Isn't that wild? Once I read that, I was like, God, you are so good. And there's just layers. Science continues to catch up to God's word, and I love it when that happens.
• 11:07
  Speaker B: And one way that we can actually make declarations even more effective is by engaging our emotions and our imagination. And so often this comes through. What did it feel like when God said that to me? Imagining yourself in that place where you're sitting in his presence and he's speaking over you. Or maybe he gave you a vision of who you are. Closing your eyes and visualizing the. The truth, the reality of that declaration, it's going to cause that truth to go deeper. And so the transformation will come about more quickly, because as we engage our emotions, as we engage our imagination, then we're actually telling our brain. Our brain doesn't know if it is happening physically or if it's happening in your mind. And so when you go back to that place with the Lord, your brain thinks, okay, this is happening. And so as you rehearse that truth over and over, as you feel those emotions again and again, it is more, more effective because your brain goes, oh, this is real. This is. This is the reality, not that other thing that I thought was reality. And so it works harder to create those structures more quickly. And so if you can engage your emotions, if you can engage your imagination, if you can visualize the truth that you're speaking over yourself, it's going to be even more effective. And you're going to begin to see the changes in your life more quickly than if you were just walking around saying them out loud, you know, a hundred times a day or whatever. This way, you are making it go deeper.
• 12:36
  Speaker A: So how can declarations change your identity, beliefs? Well, we said it many times, we'll say it again. You can't consistently do what you don't believe you are. I'll say it again, you can't consistently do what you don't believe you are because you're fighting against yourself. You can't fight against beliefs and be successful. Your beliefs will sabotage you every time. Our beliefs are what we actually think is true. And one of the ways we know is through our emotions. If you have an emotional reaction to something, your emotions are telling you what you believe is true. It's not telling you what the truth really is. The truth comes from God's word. And so if you want a new emotion, you want a new action, you have to attack those beliefs, to go after those and get those right. Line them up with what God's word says about you. That's why identity beliefs are so important. We gotta believe right about God. We have to believe right about ourselves. Those are probably the two biggest, and those are the ones that we love to work with our coaching clients with so much, because once we get those right, a lot of other things in our lives start to fall into place. So if you need help with your identity beliefs or your beliefs about God, check out our website, joshandkarina.com coaching. We'll put the link in the description, the show notes. You can check that out. We would love to come beside you, help you identify any lies that are holding you back, and release the truth of what God is saying over you and about you in your life and see you radically change. We love, love, love to see what God does in each one of our sessions with our clients.
• 14:14
  Speaker B: The reality is you have to know who God created you to be and who you are in Christ in order to live the life that he has for you. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God created us in Christ Jesus to do good works which he prepared in advance. God already has something designed for you. He has a life prepared for you, but you can't step into it if you don' you don't believe you are who he says you are. And so it's vital that we know our identity, that we know what God has called us to and who he made us to be so that we can really step into it. And if you don't know your identity, you will fight and sabotage yourself. You will, just like Josh said. And we've all experienced this. How many times have you gone on a diet or you have decided, oh, I'm going to be a runner, or, you know, I'm, I'm going to stop watching TV or whatever it is, but you don't really see yourself as that person. And I have tried time and again to, you know, like, I've done the couch to 5K and like, the. These, like, running things or exercise programs, they never last because I don't see myself that way. I will tell you, I hate exercise, and I don't want to do it because that's.
• 15:21
  Speaker A: I guess you need better beliefs.
• 15:22
  Speaker B: I do need better beliefs. I do. I. I am working on those beliefs. I do have declarations that I say about what I think about myself and my body, that I want to take care of it. And that's true. So, yeah, I do. I go for walks and I feed my body as best as I can. But I don't ever see, like, I'm not trying to become something totally different. I'm not trying to become an Olympic athlete. I'm not trying to become a fitness instructor. Right? I'm trying. I want my body to be healthy, and I want it to be. I want to honor God with my body. That's as far as I'm going. I'm not trying to be something else. And so recognizing. What do you believe about yourself? What do you really believe? If God has called you to something but you don't believe you are. That you won't be able to step into it. No matter how hard you try, you will do it. And you will continue to hit a wall. You will continue to get to that place where you stop. You can't do it anymore. And not only that, you'll get imposter syndrome, like you will always feel. I should not be here. I should not be leading worship. I should not be a pastor. I should not be a parent. I should not have gotten married. Whatever it is, you will always have that sense of, this was not meant for me because you don't believe in your. That that is what God has made you to do. And so I think it's important that. That we recognize that's exactly what Josh means when he says we cannot consistently do what we don't believe we are. We've all been there. We all know what that's like. And nobody likes that. You don't like to be like, I'm gonna conquer this mountain. And then, you know, halfway up, you're like, why am I doing this again? Who. Who made this? You know? Or you get to the top, and then you never. You. You just roll back on down because it's not. You don't know how to sustain being in that place. So those beliefs are. They're vital who you are in Christ, that is vital to your ability to fulfill the call of God on your life and to become who he made you. To be.
• 17:17
  Speaker A: So we talked about what declarations are, why they're effective, and how they can change your identity, beliefs, why that's so important, really. So let's give you a few action steps that you can do to harness the power of life and death that God has given you in your tongue.
• 17:32
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 17:33
  Speaker A: So how to create declarations. What we're going to do is actually take. You can take God's word, anything that he said about you. Go back and listen to our last episode where we talked about so many different verses about who God created you to be. Grab one of those, and we're going to write a declaration about that and what we're going to do. You're going to make it first person, present tense. So I am the righteousness of God,
• 18:00
  Speaker B: Not I will be. Not I will be, or I'm becoming. I am.
• 18:03
  Speaker A: I am because God already said it. It happened. It's true about you. Whether or not you're living in that right now. It's true about you. That is so important. So you're going to say, I am seated with Christ in heavenly places. I'm a new creation. My old sin nature is dead and gone. I live a new life in Christ. Those are all examples of declarations. So you can base them directly on Scripture. Those are super powerful. We love to do that. The other thing you can do is just ask God and listen to what he's speaking to you and make those into declarations, because he will speak truth directly into whatever you're experiencing right now. And so remember, whenever God speaks to us, it will line up with His Word. And so that's why you hear something. Go find some scriptures that support it. Blend those all together into a beautiful present tense I statement. And that is how you start to have those powerful declarations. And then we want to do those multiple times per day. We love morning, noon, and night. That's great if you can do it twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, that is fantastic. Repeat those to yourself. Say them out loud. Be present while you're saying them. Don't just read them off the page, but think about that. Go back to the place where God revealed that to you when that scripture came along. The more that we can use our imaginations and get active as we say them, the more powerful they are. And then that will start to change your beliefs about yourself, which will change your actions. It will change your life completely. What it actually does is it tears down old strongholds, the bad ways of thinking, patterns that we've had for forever. It creates new strongholds, new patterns of thinking in our minds, new physical structures in our brains that you can actually see on a microscope. Crazy pants. I love that. And that that God has just made you so powerful that you can change your life just by changing your words.
• 20:04
  Speaker B: So we just bless you this week to go out, create declarations and begin to change your identity, beliefs into the truth of what God has spoken. Over you. Over you. You are forgiven. You are a new creation. You are the righteousness of Christ. You are seated in heavenly places with him and he is so thrilled that you are beginning to line up your belief. What he says about you. Just wait. It's going to be amazing. Hey, friend. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds to share this podcast with someone who may need encouragement or practical tools for fighting their battle?
• 20:48
  Speaker A: Then rate and review this podcast. Help us spread the message of transformation far and wide.
• 20:53
  Speaker B: All right, time to walk back into the noise with peace, purpose and maybe a tiny bit of guffing.
• 20:59
  Speaker A: We'll meet you back next Thursday for another episode. Bye.