Take Possession

Sometimes, you are taught something growing up, that when you are older, you realize was incorrect teaching. I have come across that with several things in my Christian walk. There are things that I have always been taught and taken for truth. Only to find out in time, and upon further investigation into the Word, that those things are not so. This week was one of those times for me.

Let me preface this by saying, something else I was not necessarily taught as a child or youth in church, was the importance of “types and shadows.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 talks about types and shadows. The Greek word “typos” is translated in the KJV as “pattern.” What this does NOT mean, is that the stories in the Old Testament are myths or allegories (parables). It means they are EXAMPLES. And we are to draw parallels and LEARN from these examples. We are told in Hebrews 10:1 that the law is only a shadow of the good things to come – and not the realities themselves. So these shadows are only representations of what God is trying to show us, and not the actual things.

One example of this is John 3:14 where Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” It’s a type. A pattern. An example.

So back to the original thought. I was listening to a sermon and the speaker was talking about Canaan. He posed a thought that was unique, at least in my understanding. Ever since I was a child, I have heard taught, and preached, and declared in song that Canaan Land, the Promised Land, was a representation of heaven. Think of all the songs sung in our churches about “heading to the Promised Land” where they are obviously referencing heaven.

But what if Canaan, the Promised Land, was NOT a type (or pattern) of heaven? When the children of Israel got to the Promised Land after wandering in the desert, there were giants there. There were obstacles that had to be overcome. The land had to be taken. There were battles to be fought, and enemies to be subdued. Praise God, when I get to heaven, my last battle will have ALREADY been fought!  I won’t have any more need to subdue enemies.  There won’t be any reason for me to fight anymore!

So what if, instead, Canaan is a representation of our Christian walk. We come out of Egypt (a depiction of the world, and sin) and the Lord saves and delivers us (like He saved and delivers the Israelites). But then, we need to take the time, as new Believers, to get into the Word. We need to learn WHO we are and WHAT we have been given through Christ. When the Israelites sent the spies into Canaan to scope it out, two kinds of reports came back. The majority reported like this, “It looks great, the fruit is huge, but the difficulties are too great. We couldn’t POSSIBLY overcome the obstacles there.” But the Word says that Caleb had a different spirit (Numbers 14:24) and the report from Joshua and Caleb went like this, “We should go up and take possession of the land, we can certainly do it! Their protection is gone, but God is with US!”

The people started grumbling about how hard it was going to be. They started saying things like, “We would have been better off in Egypt. We are gonna die out here! We should go back!” And all the while, God had already GIVEN them the land, and all they had to do was put in a little effort in order to POSSESS it! (The story is in Numbers 13 and 14 if you want to read it in your Bible.)

What if somebody gave you a house. But you have to possess it, don’t you? What if you never moved in. What if you never went to all the trouble to move in your furniture, stock the pantry, have the water and power turned on…. What if you just sat in the yard and waited for all that to happen without putting any effort in. There you are sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk, all upset because you don’t have a place to live, and no water and no power. And if you wanted to go in and talk about no LIVING WATER (John 4:14, John 7:38, Jeremiah 17:13) and no POWER (1 Timothy 1:7, Acts 1:8, Luke 10:19, Ephesians 3:20) – well, that right there would preach ALL ON ITS OWN. When the truth is the HOUSE is YOURS, you just have to take possession.

I started thinking about MY walk with God. How many times have I sat outside in the wilderness, looking over at what God has promised me, grumbling and complaining? “God it’s too HARD! But what about the GIANTS?! What about the battles? What about the difficult things?” When the reality is that God has ALREADY given it to me. I ALREADY have all the things His Word has promised me. They are MINE. And all I have to do is put in some effort and take possession. Because I have to do my part too, right? He didn’t tell the Israelites to just sit and wait and he would clear it all out for them. He told them to go in and take possession (Deuteronomy 1:8).

And how do we do that? How do we fight those battles? We take the tests that come before us. We STAND in HIS MIGHT. We put on the whole armor of God! We put TRUTH around our waist as a belt to strengthen us! Wear the breastplate of righteousness (because we ARE made righteous through the blood of Christ!) that covers your heart. Stand to your feet, always ready to share the gospel of peace. Wear the helmet of your salvation! God has redeemed you for a purpose! Use your faith as a shield to protect you from the fiery darts of the enemy! And finally, KNOW THE WORD! And USE it. It’s a (the Greek word here is “machaira,” a razor-sharp Roman sword used in close combat) sword that has been given to us to use (dare I say BRANDISH?). And we do that with our MOUTHS! You have to KNOW the Word to QUOTE it. And you wield your sword by QUOTING THE WORD! That’s how we fight! Speak the Word to your enemies. Speak the Word to the darkness. Speak the Word to your circumstances. Speak the Word to disease and illness. Take possession of what the Lord has already given you!

Lord let me be like Caleb and have a different spirit! Let me give the good report and believe what You have promised me! Your Word says in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit will teach me and REMIND me. So Lord, remind me of the things You have taught me so I can wield the sword. And let me take possession of the land that You have given me.

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