- God has a personal “Promised Land” for each of us
- If you want to receive God's blessing, you have to align with His plan and will
- Tough times are used by God to test us to teach us to trust Him; to persevere and grow in Him
- The foundation for faith is to know God’s will and God’s word
- A big part of possessing is overcoming your fear of conflict
- Do the ONE THING that God asks you to do - His strategy always work
- Keep pressing in to the promise, don't give up
- Always remember God's faithfulness in the past and be strengthened for the future
Notes from Ps Robert Heidler teaching on April 16, 2023 (Glory of Zion International)
After leaving Egypt, Israel found themselves in the wilderness - it certainly didn’t look like a land flowing with milk and honey that the Lord promised them.
~ The wilderness was a place of testing. The point of the testing was to teach them to trust God. It was essential that they learned to walk by faith." ~
God’s goal for His people is always to bring them into His blessing - “to serve Him with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things” (Deut 28:47)
God has a personal “Promised Land” for each of us. God has a goal, a call and a destiny for each of our lives that includes the fulfillment of every promise He has made.
But it is sometimes hard to enter God’s blessing.
How do we conquer the spiritual forces set against us, and enter into the blessings God has promised?
Israel’s experience at Gilgal gives the answer.
To enter the land, Israel had to cross the Jordan River. But the river was at flood stage, a seemingly impassable barrier. But Joshua directed the priests carrying the ark to move forward. As soon as the priests put their feet in the river, the water stopped flowing. While the priests stood in the middle of the riverbed, Israel passed through on dry ground - an incredible miracle.
While the priests were standing in the middle of the river, God told Israel to take 12 rocks from the river bed. They were to carry the rocks to a place called Gilgal and build a memorial there. (Joshua 3-4)
The first thing they did at Gilgal was CIRCUMCISION. (Joshua 5)
Circumcision was the sign of their covenant with God. It meant they belonged to God.
Circumcision was not pleasant. It was not just physically painful, it left them weak and vulnerable (while they were in the land of the giants).
Circumcision meant dying to their own strength. They became vulnerable and totally dependent on God.
To enter the promise, you need to cut off all confidence in your own ability, and put ALL your hope in HIM.
The result of the circumcision - “Egypt” was finally broken off. Egypt had been about pride and self-sufficiency.
God doesn’t want you to take Egypt with you into your promised land. He wants to cut off your pride and self-sufficiency, and learn to trust in Him. He wants you to see that even when you are weak, He can be your strength.
Passover not only got Israel out of Egypt. It brought them into the promised land.
~ Passover brings you into a transition. It takes you a step close to blessing. ~
God’s promises always come by the blood of our Passover Lamb.
The good news is, they had Passover in the land, but the bad news is, they had to get circumcised.
One result of Passover is Israel moving into a new level of provision.
Israel could finally enjoy the fruit of the promised land but it was also an uncomfortable situation.
When the promised provision came, the manna stopped. Suddenly after 40 years, the manna stopped coming.
Joshua learnt entering the promise meant:
- The strength of past season was ending
- The supply of the past season was ending
- Need to trust God to show them how to walk in the new supply
- The self-reliance of the past season was ending. Need to learn to follow the King
Then they had a visitation from the Lord. It was a good experience but also a frightening one. (Joshua 5:13-14: And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”)
God is NOT on your side. God is not here to help you accomplish “your” agenda.
God says: I’m not here to align with you. But if you want to receive My blessing, you can align with Me.
Always know: He’s the One in charge.
Entering the promise requires unquestioning obedience.
Joshua 1:7-8:
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8This 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 according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
KEYS TO POSSESSING THE PROMISE
#Key 1: Know the promise
Joshua knew God had given the land of Canaan to Israel (Numbers 33:53).
You need to know what God has promised you. God says He had granted you everything pertaining to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). You can’t claim a blessing you don’t know God has offered.
So you need to know what God has said. (Eg if you need healing Exodus 23:25-26, Psalm 107:19-21, Psalm 103:2-5, James 5:14-16 are promises for you to claim)
The foundation for faith is to know God’s will and God’s word.
#Key 2: Be ready for conflict.
When you are trusting God to fulfil a promise, you need to recognise that there are forces at work to oppose God’s will. To possess what God wants to give you, you will have to engage in warfare (that’s what Joshua discovered).
God has given us many promises. He wants us to experience them all. But we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy.
Before we can experience the blessing, we must learn to resist the enemy.
When you try to possess the promises, you often find yourself confronting a spiritual enemy.
There are demon spirits assigned to carry out Satan’s plan to steal, kill and destroy what God loves. For instance, there are spirits of poverty, spirits of infirmity, spirits of unbelief, spirits of oppression.
If an enemy spirit is camped out on your promised inheritance, you can’t possess the promise without confronting that spirit.
You drive out the enemy with the weapon of God’s word. That’s how Jesus drove back the devil (Mat 4:1-11).
Many people never receive what God promised because they’re fearful of confronting the devil.
A big part of possessing is overcoming your fear of conflict.
God promised Israel the land, but they MUST be strong and courageous to take it. Likewise, you must be strong and courageous enough to deal with every enemy you encounter and press through into victory. If you turn back when you encounter opposition, you will never receive the promise.
#Key 3: Ask for God’s strategy, and obey Him.
It looked like there was no way that Israel could conquer Jericho, a fortress city. But God had a strategy. As Israel confronted what seemed like an impossible situation, God gave Joshua an assignment: God told him to have Israel go out and march around the city for 7 days, and on the 7th day to shout and blow the shofars.
It didn’t make any sense, but Israel obeyed.
It was a major test of faith. But when they blew the shofars, the walls of Jericho crumbled and Israel rushed in and conquered Jericho.
God gave Israel an assignment that seemed very strange. But obedience brought breakthrough.
Do the ONE THING that God asks you to do. It may seem silly, and totally irrelevant. But if you do it, you will see amazing breakthroughs.
#Key 4: Be willing to persevere until you win.
In Joshua 10, during a prolonged battle, Joshua asked God to make the sun stand still in the sky as he needed more time to defeat the enemy. And God answered his prayer and gave Joshua 12 more hours of daylight to finally defeat the enemy.
That was not an easy battle - it tested Israel’s endurance. It meant pressing in with every ounce of strength but they persevered and won.
Many times, a faith-battle is not easy. When you are “pressing in” to a promise, there are many times you grow weary of the battle and want to stop.
God’s word to you is DON’T STOP. If you keep going, you will WIN.
#Key 5: Don’t stop short.
God gave Joshua an interesting promise - every place Israel planted their feet on would be theirs. They got to choose how much of the land they received. If they chose to lay claim to a little of the land, that’s all they would get. But if they were willing to step out in faith to claim it call, they could have it.
Israel had to engage in long hard battles, their faith was tested, they went to the limits of their strength and kept going. But when they were done, the land was theirs. They possessed what God had promised.
What kept them going? The answer is Gilgal.
They kept going back to Gilgal:
- After the battles of Jericho and Ai (Joshua 10:6-7)
- After the all night and all day battle to defeat the Amorites (Joshua 10:15)
- After defeating the kings of south (Joshua 10:43)
- After defeating the alliance of northern kings (Joshua 14:6)
Summary
So, when you have been through a battle, when you feel weak… go back to “Gilgal”.
Remember what God has done for you in the past and be strengthened to fight again.
Remember what God has done and gain faith for the future.
You only get what you plant your feet on, and that means confronting every enemy that has camped out on your land.
So, determine to possess the promise. Don’t stop walking until you have it all.
ADDITIONAL WORD
*Chuck Pierce: It’s one thing to go and press into the promise God has given you, it’s another to conquest in that promise. So, once you get in, you cannot let the “invisible thing” that appears to be obstructing you, stop you.
(In the book of Joshua) Jericho was the invisible thing that appears impenetrable. When the Israelites sought the Lord on what to do, the Lord gave them the instruction to march around the walls, and on the 7th day, blow the shofar and shout. What appeared invisible fell.
So, God always has a strategy for you for what you’re up against.
VIDEO LINK: Gilgal: Key to Conquering your Land! | Glory of Zion International - YouTube
SOURCE: Available Replays - GZI TV (gloryofzion.org)
ALSO READ:
- How to pursue, overtake, recover all? Your 'Ziglag' can either make or break you
- Taking position: why we should 'come up higher'
- How to have more faith in God and obey Him?
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