The Kingdom of Heaven in 2011
Part 3
2 There remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?
(Joshua 18: 2 – 4)
Remember – we have already been given the land and so all that remains is for us to take it!
JOSHUA 3
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over.
Remember – Jesus went out early in the morning to charge up in the presence of his Father. He needed to be reaffirmed and encouraged in his calling and purpose – his identity and destiny. You are my beloved son and I am well pleased with you – you are here to bring the influence of the kingdom of heaven into the earth! When Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him to share with them the secret of his power they saw him fellowshiping with Moses and Elijah. Why was that? Because there was nobody alive at that time that he could find fellowship with that could get a handle on what he was doing or what he was about to do. Always make sure that you have fellowship with people who are able to affirm you in your identity and calling and who recognise and encourage you to fulfil and maximise your potential.
2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
Go after the presence of the LORD! Follow his plan and purpose for your life.
4 “Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Don’t get lost in the charismatic mist! The LORD wants us to keep moving! Don’t ever let familiarity with the things of God leave you thinking that you know everything about him and that you have already seen everything that he can do and how he will do it!
5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
When you choose to set yourself apart from a life lived according to the dictates and limitations of this world and to follow the presence of the LORD you will be where the signs and wonders are taking place! You will be the sign and the wonder! Always prepare today for what you want to experience tomorrow because tomorrow will be today tomorrow and today is always the day of salvation!
6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
God is always the God of forward! Crossing over is always in a forward direction! When Jesus came he didn’t come to save us so that he could include us in the Old Covenant but so that we could cross over into a New Covenant! That is what he wants us to do in regard to this present generation – to cross over into a new place of experience and a new way of packaging and presenting the good news of the kingdom that is relevant for the time and the world that we live in! We should never expect the next generation to come back to where we are and do it the old-fashioned way!
7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
The presence of the LORD in our lives is what gives us favour! We are to be like the Ark of the Covenant – containers and carriers of the LORD’s glory and manifested presence! When we humble ourselves under his mighty hand – acknowledging that he alone is our source and that all our hope is in him – he promises to exalt us and to show that he is with us! To know that God is with us – that his presence is with us – is all the exaltation we will ever need and MORE!
Noah built an ark for the salvation of his household, Moses’ mother built an ark for the salvation of her son, Jesus is building an ark for the salvation of the world! We need to hear his strategies and implement them! God exalts those who acknowledge that he knows best and do what he says!
8 “You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’”
When you choose and determine to stand in that which represents your greatest difficulty / hindrance to progress / stumbling-block / temptation / test / trial the LORD will stand with you until you have passed through! Remember – all things come to pass! When the LORD says you can stand in the face of temptation and overcome you can stand! When the LORD says you can stand in the face of sickness and overcome you can stand! When the LORD says you can stand in the face of oppression and overcome you can stand! When the LORD says you can stand in the face of poverty and recession and overcome you can stand! Is anyone planning to start a prosperous business in this time of economic doom and gloom? You can stand!
9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.”
Sadly, a lot of people forget that there are appointed times and places where the LORD has ordained a particular message for his people and if you neglect to be there you will not be prepared and equipped to take what you are unaware that the LORD has given you! In Hebrews 10 we are exhorted to not neglect or give up meeting together because that is where we find the encouragement to press on and press in to take all that is being given to us!
10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
You shall know – not just in your head but experientially – that the LORD is with you and this will be the evidence! He will drive out your enemies before you when you step out in faith! Not before you get there! Sometimes you will find yourself nose-to-nose with the enemy – but you will overcome him!
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.” 14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
A few months ago I woke up with the Lord speaking these words to me, “Go and tell my people that they have the authority to say, “STOP! ” I have since realised that this is the NOW word that the LORD has given me to share at this time.
Jesus said that we should not fear because it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom! He also said that the violent take it by force! By exercising authority! He said that the kingdom of God is being preached and it has to be pressed into! How hard are you pressing? LISTEN UP!
Luke 10: 19
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Are we catching this? All, nothing, any means…..! We are going to be looking more over the next while at our authority to say, “STOP!” and how it works! The LORD told us in New wine Church that he is building a message in us and out of the message the ministry will come! As I was preaching in Tennessee recently it came to me that all we need to do whatever we are facing is to take his word for it! Just like you would take prescribed medication! FEAR NOT! Don’t be afraid to take his word for it! To say STOP! The rookie policeman doesn’t know whether the authority he has been given will really work until he puts on his uniform and steps out into the middle of the road with his hand up and discovers that the traffic actually stops for him!
17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
STAND FIRM – until all the people of God have crossed over completely into all that represents their inheritance! We can have a tendency to write off certain sections of the church and focus on the world, but we are told to do good to all men, especially those of the household of faith! As long as there are those of God’s people who have yet to enter the fullness of their inheritance we must stand firm and reach out at every opportunity to do good to them! That means encourage, exhort, bless, etc. The priests stood in the midst of the Jordan as an encouragement to the people – some of whom were no doubt afraid! There are those among us who are afraid to cross over and so we must stand on their behalf and encourage them through! We need to model faith for people by standing up in the midst of adversity and exercising our authority to say STOP! By speaking what God has said about our situation! Remember – it is the word of his power! You speak the word and his power will manifest!
Remember – we are here to complete not compete!
Psalm 8: 1 – 6 (NLT)
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? 5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority…
When we finally get a hold of this it will transform everything about us including the way that we pray! When God speaks in heaven what he says gets done and when we speak on earth what we say gets done!
The LORD says he’s given us the land – will we take it? The kingdom of heaven in 2011!