Joshua 24:13(NKJV) 13I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
(In honor of Mother’s Day, my wife, Pastor Elaine Kiefer, preached a great message on Sunday Morning. I should be available soon at WWW.Livingwordgreene.com/media.)
We have been studying this year concerning something that I believe is a mandate for our church. I also think it is a word to the church as a whole. When Israel came to the Promised Land after their deliverance from Egypt, God gave them a directive. That directive was that they possess the whole land of Canaan. This land was theirs hundreds of years before when God cut covenant with Abraham. He told Abraham that there would be a generation who would grow up in captivity. The nation who held them captive would come under extreme judgment and God would deliver them with great miraculous power. The generation alive in Moses’ day witnessed the fulfillment of this promise.
After much time in the wilderness and the loss of an unfaithful generation, Israel finally stands on the edge of their inheritance. Canaan is theirs by divine promise, but now they must go in and take possession from the sinful nations that held it captive. To possess the land they must drive out the enemies that keep them from it and once they take possession they must occupy it until the coming of the Messiah. He is the whole point of Israel’s deliverance. He is the one promised to Abraham by whom all nations of the world shall be blessed.
Today we find a different kind of land that must be possessed. This is not a physical promised land, but a spiritual “land of promises.” They were purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and given to us by the Father, God. They belong to us right now but it is our responsibility to posses them. We must drive out the enemies keeping us from our possession. These enemies include the world, the flesh and the devil. We must then occupy our land of promises until Jesus comes. We do not do this for ourselves alone. We do it in order to cause the church to rise up as the dominant spiritual influence in the world so that God can do what he needs to do in our day.
In today’s scripture, we find an interesting fact concerning the Promised Land Israel was called to possess. This scripture takes place after they have already taken a great deal of the Land. Joshua is about to depart from the scene and he is giving the leaders of Israel some final instructions before he goes. He reminds them that they are enjoying benefits they did nothing to create. This is certainly true for our “land of promises.” We did not do anything to create or even earn our salvation. It is the gift of God.
I am thankful I did not have to pay the price for my sin. I did not have to die the death of the cross. I did not have to endure the stripes that bought my healing. I do not have to endure the “chastisement of my peace” because Jesus bore it for me. Salvation is a free gift. Righteousness before God is a free gift. The Greek word translated salvation literally means, “all the blessings of God bestowed on man in Christ Jesus.” All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:20) We can neither pay for them nor earn them and we did nothing to provide them.
I have heard it explained this way. Suppose you went into an expensive car dealership. Someone has decided to provide you with a new car. The dealer hands you the keys and the registration. However, you decide you want to pay for it. You do not want to receive the gift you want to earn it. You give the dealer all you have, but it does not begin to cover the cost of the car. You find you cannot borrow for the car because the price is far beyond your reach. The dealer assures you that this is a gift and you do not have to pay for it. You have no means to pay for it. The only way you can have this car is to accept the gift of your benefactor. You simply do not have the price. We cannot earn the blessing of salvation because we do not have any way to obtain what it would take to pay for it.
That is what Israel faced in Canaan. They had taken possession of a land full of houses, vineyards and crops. None of these things was provided by their labor. They were a gift from God. We have been given what Ephesians 1:3 calls “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” You did not do anything to produce these blessings. They are yours through the free gift of God’s grace. However, just as Israel had to fight to possess their promised land, we have to fight to possess our “land of promises.”
Israel had enemies that stood between them and the promise. We also have enemies. In the case of Israel, there were nations occupying the land. According to the Word of God, the Lord did not drive them out before this time because their sin had not yet come to full fruition. I do not know what would have happened had the Canaanites repented, but God knew they would not. Still he waited until there was no chance that they would turn from their wicked ways and then gave the land to Israel. It was their responsibility with God’s help to drive out these enemies.
In our case, the enemies are those three things I mentioned earlier, the world, the flesh and the devil. I have discussed them in this space before, but let me remind you that the world is the outward influence that tries to keep us from possessing the promises Jesus provided for us. The world involves culture, media, education and all other external influences that try to keep us from the promises of God. In themselves, they may not be evil, but when they push us away from God and his ways, they are our mortal enemy.
The flesh consists of all the inward things that keep us bound. Bad habits and wrong thinking are part of the way this enemy works. The flesh wants whatever pleases it. When those pleasures become so strong that they keep us from walking with the Lord, they are our enemy. Things like laziness, lust and anger are part of this deadly enemy. You can read a list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5.
Finally, an active being is committed to keeping you from the blessings of God for your life. Even more than keeping you from personal blessing, he is committed to making sure you do not reach your full potential in the Lord. He does not want you to fulfill your God given destiny because he knows you will contribute to the final downfall of his kingdom. He goes by many names, but in our list, he is called the devil.
Thank God for the gift of salvation. Thank God for grace, God’s undeserved favor, which provides all we need in Christ. Thank God that we live in spiritual houses filled with good things we did not fill in our own strength. Thank God for the vineyards of blessings in Christ that we did not plant. Thank God, for the fruit of the Spirit we can enjoy but we did not grow. Thank God as well for the faith that enables us to take possession of these wonderful gifts.
Do not let the Devil rob you of what God has provided. It is yours. However, there is a key to victory in this area. We must learn to occupy every day.
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