ENTERING INTO THE PROMISE LAND(Newsletter 18:6:00)
Newsletter 18:6:00
ENTERING IN TO THE PROMISE LAND.
Just as God had prepared a promised land for the Hebrew children, there is a promise land today that God has prepared for His people. God brought them out of Egypt to take them into a place of blessing, a place of plenty. It wasn't so much a geographical place He had prepared, but a place in Him.
All of the Old Testament points toward Jesus, and no part more so than the
account of the Exodus. The passover lamb, the Ark of the Covenant, the serpent on the pole, the revelation of Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer, and Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our Banner (Victory) - all are types and shadows. Signs that point us toward Jesus. Exodus is about being brought out. The name Moses means 'drawing out' - given to Him by Pharaoh's daughter when she drew him out of the rushes. There is a bible law of double reference, where many prophesies have an immediate practical meaning - applying to the present circumstances. But they also have a deeper spiritual meaning, an insight into that which is to be fulfilled at a later time.. God spoke prophetically through Pharaoh's daughter - Moses became God's vessel in 'drawing out' the Israelites.
The name Jesus is actually the Greek or Aramaic version of the Hebrew name Joshua (Yeshua). And Joshua was the one called to lead them in:
"Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." Joshua 1:6 "Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil (plunder) with the strong." Isaiah 53:12
Joshua's mission was not just to lead the people into the land, but to remove the curse off it - by hanging the kings of the Canaanites. In like manner, Jesus didn't just free us from slavery, He freed us from the curse that was upon all men since the fall.
As they crossed the Jordan river (baptism) Joshua had them bring 12 stones (one for each tribe) from the wilderness and place them on the river bed. He then told them to take twelve large stones from the riverbed which they set up in Gilgal for a memorial to the time they crossed the Jordan without getting their feet wet, even while it was in flood. At the same time, though they could not see them, they knew that those twelve stones from the wilderness were under those waters! Gilgal means: 'rolling or circle' referring to the stone memorial. But God used His law of double reference, because it was there He said: "This day I have rolled the reproach of Egypt from you." (Joshua 5:9)
While leaving Egypt refers to the new birth, and the Jordan to baptism, this is the process of sanctification. (Yes I know it's a big word, but you'll see it around a lot so let's get familiar with it - it's a bible word.) After God gave Joshua instructions for crossing the Jordan - with the Ark of the Covenant borne by the priest and levites leading the way, Joshua told the people: "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:5) Sanctified means: 'set apart.'
|
This is my short definition of ministry: "Setting yourself apart to God so that He may do wonders through you and among you." Garth McFadden had an excellent definition for 'holiness.' It literally means being usable. Fit for service. He wants to get to you, so He can get through you.
I believe every believer has a leadership role in God's plan. Joshua, Caleb, the priests bearing the ark, their role was to lead the way into the promises. We each have the opportunity to be Joshua for our family, our friends, our neighbors, work mates, our fellowship. To take the land, and occupy it so that others may enjoy the blessings. So the process of sanctification involved the revelation (not just the action) of baptism - that the old life has passed away (it's at the bottom of the river!.) That we have entered the land. It involved circumcision - establishing the terms of the covenant. (Which today is a circumcision of the heart.) And it was preparation for war! While the wilderness was a place of deliverance from bondage, the promised land is a place of destiny!
Having established the relationship - their place in God - for the first time God instructs a man (Joshua) to be strong and of good courage - literally 'to be alert, physically or mentally, of good courage, steadfast minded. For the first time, God is requiring a man to step out on the basis of His written word.
In the wilderness they lived by God's provision. It was a sovereign act of God.
Manna is not on the menu in the land. Those who will rise up and enter the promise land eat the bread of destiny.
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)
Not that Joshua was to enter into 'works', but as Hebrew 4 puts it, entering a rest where you cease from your labors.
By speaking the promise, meditating the promise, and walking in the promise he would make his way prosperous - be successful and deal wisely in the affairs of life. But it was going to require strength and courage - steadfast mindedness - especially in the face of some of those giants!
When you see the promise - of salvation, deliverance, healing, protection, provision - and lay claim to it until it manifests, you are walking in the footsteps of Joshua and Caleb.
You may have been delivered from satan's power, but have you taken hold of your inheritance? Are you possessing the land? Or are there large portions of Canaanites still holding on to your blessings? He has promised you everywhere the souls of your feet shall tread. How much land are you treading out? How much do you dare to lay claim to? How much territory are you prepared to take back from the devil, and occupy? Your word level - how much you are meditating, confessing and walking in the word will determine your boundaries.
This is faith territory - the ground that you believed God for. That you occupy through divine partnership - the Grace of God, and our faith in that Grace.
The only way to enlarge your boundaries is by catching the vision, and developing the strength and courage to step out - to rise up by faith and enter in! -Steve & Jen
-Steve & Jenny
|
