POSSESSING THE LAND

SERMON STARTER

 

          In 1976 Lois and I settled our affairs in California, packed all our earthly belongings in a U Haul 28 foot cab-over box truck and headed 2600 miles East for Hartford, Ohio. WE THOUGHT we settled our affairs,  not so: we left two life insurance policies with Prudential open and still running. The years passed and two years ago my oldest daughter, Barbara, was looking in an unclaimed funds internet site and saw our names. One of the policies had defaulted to the State of California. It took me several months to claim what was ours. It was a struggle, but we got our possession.

          When the Children of Israel under Moses' leadership approached Jericho on the outskirts of their Land of Promise, many were terrified at the thick walls of Jericho and it's armed defenders. Apparently, they wrongly believed that God's Promised Land would be handed to them on a platter. This was not to be so for their only way to Possess the Land was through warfare and great struggle. That wrong belief led many of those people of the great promise to die a nomadic death in the wilderness of the desert.

          We are no different today. Many of us have also balked at the struggles that are involved in entering God's Kingdom. We have preferred to enter into God's Land of Promise through ritual and religious country club-ism and found it to be a dead end. The ministry failures of many national religious elitists attest to the reality that entering God's Promised Land does not happen with acquisition and worldly power, but with great personal struggle, sometimes involving pain and hardship. Re-read Hebrews 11 and think about it.

Pastor Phil  <><<

Paul and Barnabus taught in Acts 14:21-22:
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

 

January 21, 2012

Sheepfold Ministries, Pastor Phil Roland

 

POSSESSING  THE  LAND

Deuteronomy 1:8

 “The Land of our Inheritance will not be possessed without a battle.  We must possess and inhabit the land promised to us by the Word of God given to our forefathers.”    Pastor Phil

“See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers--to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--and to their descendants after them.”            Deuteronomy 1:8 

THE CHALLENGE OF THE CHURCH TODAY:

I. POSSESS THE EXTERNAL LAND

      A. JESUS is our spiritual Joshua = YA-SHU-A= Victory, "Jah" Saves

                        1. Two Joshuas: One who saved ancient Israel

                        2. The other Joshua is the one who has saved us all

      B. Joshua Broke the Power of Authorities - Joshua 11:23;

            "So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to

             Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their

             divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war."

1. There were 32 Kings and Kingdoms in all

                        2. God promised the Land to Abraham and to Moses

C. Joshua broke the powers of  "Archa" and "Exousia" - Col. 2:13-15

            "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your     flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all           trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was         against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way,             having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

                        1. These were ancient regional authoritative Angelic Beings

                        2. Joshua didn't just subjugate the Physical Land, but Spiritual

D. Joshua Divided the Land Before Them -  Joshua 14:5

            "As the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and

             they divided the land."

                        1. Under Joshua ancient Israel received the coveted land

                        2. Under Ya-shu-a we have a Spiritual Inheritance -  Heb. 11:16

                        "But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore

                         God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a

                         city for them."

E. Ancient Israel did not deal well with the Presence of their Enemy

                        1. Israel Did Not Possess All Their Land - Judges 1:19

                        "So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the                                                              mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the                                lowland, because they had chariots of iron."

a. Israelites were terrorized by the Iron Chariots

POSSESSING THE LAND, cont., p.2

 

                                    b. Their fear and unbelief limited God

                                    c. Impossible w/men, w/God, possible - Matt. 19:26

                                    "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this

                                     is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

d. W/o faith it is impossible to please God - Heb. 11:6

                                    "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who

                                     comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a

                                     rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

                        2. Israel didn't completely Possess the Land - Judg. 1: 21,27,28

3. The people of the Land gave them Baal worship - Judg. 2:12
                        "and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought

                         them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from

                         among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they

                         bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger."

F. Jesus, our Joshua, has commanded us to Possess the Land

                        1. We are given power to do His Works and Greater - Jn. 14:12

                        "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that

                         I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do,

                         because I go to My Father."

                        2. We are to destroy the devil's works - 1 John 3:8

                        "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the

                         beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He

                         might destroy the works of the devil."

G.  What Has Been Given TO US Must Be Possessed BY US

                        1. A Word to the Church - Matt. 28:18-20

                        "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been

                         given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make

                        disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father

                         and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all

                         things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,

                         even to the end of the age." Amen.

                        2. Put on God's Armor for His church - Ephesians 6

                        3. Our Battle is Within - 2 Cor. 10:3-5

                        "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the

                         flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in

                         God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and

                         every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,

                         bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"

                       

THE CHALLENGE OF THE CHURCH TODAY:

II.  POSSESS THE INTERNAL LAND

            A. Our Joshua has Broken the Authority of Evil Over Us - Col. 1:13

            "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the

              inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power

             of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,"

                        1. We have not yet Possessed the Land of God's Kingdom

                        2. We have been given Authority to Possess it

 

POSSESSING THE LAND, cont., p.3

 

            B. The Works of the Enemy Must Be Dealt With in the Land of

                        1. The Mind                         

                        2. The Will

                        3. The Emotions                

                        4. The Body

            C. Kingdom Principle:  What is Given Must Be Possessed

                        1. Salvation is Given By Faith

                        2. It Must Operate by the Same Faith

                        3. Faith Extends God’s Authority Into Every Area of Our Living

            D. The Enemy's Works Must Be Torn Down his Presence Driven Out

                        1. We must Pull Down every "Towering Fortress" in the Mind

                        2. Anything exalting itself against God's Dominion / Presence

                        3. Submit ourselves to God - James 4:7

                       "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

                                               

THE CHALLENGE OF SATAN:

III.  OUR ENEMY WANTS TO ROB YOU OF GOD’S PROVISION

            A. He Will Challenge the Believer - Genesis 3:1

            "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the

             LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said,

             'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

            B. His Works Must Be Met With Superior Force - 1 John 4:4

            "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who

             is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

            C. The Cross is the Focal Point of his Defeat - 1 Corinthians 1:18

            "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,

             but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

D. He is a Defeated Foe who has left his Forces Scattered in the Land

                   1. No genuine work of God will occur w/o the Enemy's                                              Opposition

                        2. Remember the enemy flees when we resist

 

 

There's an interesting postlude to this sermon. On the actual day I was prepared to give this message I was coming off a medical pack of oral steroids. The steroids were given by my doctor to combat sciatica, the inflammation of the sciatic nerves that descend through the lower back and through the legs to the ankles. This type of medication renders you temporarily pain free and gives you abundant energy.

I didn't understand how much energy I was operating under

until 8:45 that Sunday morning as I finished breakfast. I noticed a slight nausea and weakness that sent me to my easy chair. Several things happened simultaneously:

1) Sick at my stomach

2) Profuse sweating, followed by dry mouth

3) Absolutely no chest or neck pain

4) Overall physical weakness

5) Dizziness

6) Eyesight failing: going from color to black and white and back

7) All involuntary: I had no control over what was happening

          My elder, Bob Baker, arrived at 9:10 am and took me to the emergency room at the hospital. By this time my hands were ice cold, white, tingly and clammy. My undergarments were wringing wet.

          The hospital did all the usual tests: EKG, X-Rays, Blood tests, etc. The results were inconclusive. . . The final analysis was over stimulation of the Vagas Nerve. Here's a link to explain it.

Vasovagal Syncope

Vagal Nerve Fainting

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12051/1/Vagal-Nerve-Fainting.html

These exact symptoms happened when I was under pressure as we flew home from the Atlanta airport in 2003. The airline brought in an ambulance and insisted on three hours of cardio-vascular testing. The results were the same as today.

What are the triggers for this problem?

STRESS AND PRESSURE

On Sunday mornings my stress levels are over the top. I have a lot of responsibilities to be concerned with. It was in the midst of these duties that my Vagas nerve decided to act up again.

Thanks for your prayers,

Pastor Phil Roland   <><<

P.S. There was absolutely no heart damage or cardio-vascular incident ("MI"). . .