Every place you put your feet....
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
(Deu 11:22-25 NKJV) "For if you carefully keep all these commandments
which I command you to do; to love the LORD your God, to walk in all
His ways, and to hold fast to Him; {23} "then the LORD will drive out
all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and
mightier nations than yourselves. {24} "Every place on which the sole
of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon,
from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea, shall be
your territory. {25} "No man shall be able to stand against you; the
LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all
the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
(Josh 1:2-8 NKJV) "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise,
go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am
giving to them; the children of Israel. {3} "Every place that the
sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to
Moses. {4} ....{5} "No man shall be able to stand before you all the
days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will
not leave you nor forsake you. .... {7} "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. {8} "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 according to all that
is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have good success.
Victory and obedience go together. Consecration, love of God's word,
meditating on it and living in daily obedience to it are essential if
victory is to be yours. Lets look at the recurring thought ""Every
place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, "
and "that you may prosper wherever you go". To state the perfectly
obvious these blessings can only apply of we are going somewhere! Its
as our feet move that we are blessed! We get no less and no more than
the ground we walk on! Victory is literally "step by step". I have
recently seen this principle in operation in a very consecrated
friend of mine who has extraordinary boldness for God. Literally
every venture she touches is an amazing God ordained victory. Things
"just happen" and despite her chronic disorganisation she sees
extraordinary results. She thinks big and believes big and steps out
with "big steps" into Caanan - and lo and behold the territory is
hers!
Is there a biblical basis for Christians "taking the territory" and
expecting victory everywhere they "set the soles of their feet"?
This victory depends on the constant presence of God. (Joshua 1:5)
This is of course promised to the Christian. God has promised that
He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and that He loves
us with an inseparable love for nothing can separate us from the
love of Christ that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39).
Victory is the New Testament is redefined of course so that the
"territory" is not so much physical as souls won for God and the
growth of the Kingdom. This is a primary objective of God that He
equips us and empowers us to achieve. The book of Acts is a testimony
to the fact that a church was planted in every city where Paul set
his feet. Yes - victory can be ours!
There are four lies that I think stop many Christians from stepping
out and taking the territory. These lies are not just wrong beliefs -
they rob us of victory!
1. Territory is given to those who merit it. God will give it to me
as a reward for my righteousness if I just sit here being a good boy.
2. Its boastful and egotistical to talk of conquest.
3. I don't have the resources.
4. I am happy where I am and see contentment as more value than
victory.
Now to address these deceptions - the truth is that:
1. Territory is rarely given to those who deserve it - it is nearly
always given to those who are bold and take it. This is even true in
the spiritual realm. "(Mat 11:12 NIV) From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully
advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." Jesus has won all the
merit we need. We have none of our own. If we depend on our own
earned merit we can only lose! If we know we have the righteousness
of Christ we should then go forward boldly and forcefully. The
pioneers that opened up Australia were not good or virtuous people -
many were rogues - but their boldness won them the territory. Many of
those with effective ministries are not super-saints but they are
bold believers who push forward for the Kingdom of God. We need to
move our feet forward - boldly - if we are to take the land!
2. Its not boastful and egotistical to talk of conquest. Its
biblical! The language of conquest is all through both testaments.
God is a conquering God who has made us to be "more than
conquerors". It can be boastful if the victories are "my victories"
but if you see them as Christ's victories through you for the sake of
His Kingdom - then conquer away.
3. To say we don't have the resources is to confine God to our
ingenuity, strength and power. He supplies as we advance. If we sit
still He gives us the resources to sit. If we march he provides us
with the resources to march. If we do battle He gives us the
resources to win.
4. You may be happy where you are but the lost and perishing, the
bound up, the suffering, the demonised and the afflicted are not
happy. If you are content with that then you are spiritually dead!
You cannot be loving God and hating His agenda. His agenda includes
the salvation of the lost, the healing of the sick, the freeing of
those bound up and so forth. There are a million battles and more yet
to be won. There is plenty of territory around for us to put our feet
on - now get out there!
What I want you to feel is freedom - the freedom to step forward.
The freedom to say "boo" to the ghosts and to step into the Promised
Land that God is calling you to! I do not want you to feel guilty -
I want you to run, hop, skip and jump - get those feet moving
forward any way you like! I want you to dare to believe that victory
is possible for you - not just the bloke down the street! Not just
the preacher in another country! Not just the evangelist - but you!
If you were promised victory everywhere you went - where would you
go? Now go there!
Prayer:
Lord give us the holy boldness to step forward into new and unknown
territory and to take it for you and your Kingdom. Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!