Owning Your Land

Session One Introduction Overview “Joshua” could be categorized as a non-fiction adventure book. God provided for His people an inheritance by way of a journey to a particular plot of land. The journey is as much the gift from God as the promise land itself. While always moving forward toward the destination, it was during the journey that the Israelites were able to grasp the mind set of freedom. The journey prepared them for freedom in their land. This freedom was contingent upon two premises; first that the people believe and trust in the One true God, and second that they would obey Him in all things. Writers of scripture present the whole truth about the people they write about. In fact these writers tended to go out of their way to show warts and all. The Israelites are real people, with real struggles and real fears, who experience real victories through the power of God. In the book of Joshua the Israelites must make the decision to trust and believe God, day after day. The good and bad choices they made, while going through the struggles they faced, provide insight, and offer hope to fellow journeyers searching for the way out of slavery to freedom. Slavery Slavery can take many forms. Slavery to any habit can become quite comfortable, but it always prevents the enslaved one from being who God designed him or her to be in order to carry out His purposes. The words Sarah Groves chose in her song, "Painting Pictures of Egypt" express this human dilemma. She feels a tug of war between the promise and her actual experience. The struggle between emotions and truth can be frightening: "the future feels so hard." The fact is change is hard. The good news is Christ came to set us free. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19 NASB) Freedom This study is about taking back the land God has given you from the enemy, and keeping it. The land referred to in Joshua was a physical piece of property. The land we will be taking back, for the most part, is spiritual. We will be looking to take back those places in our hearts and spirits which the enemy has infected, and in some cases has kept us in a spiritual or emotional type of slavery. First, God illustrates what He wants to be understood in the natural, or physical, and then in the spiritual. "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." (1 Corinthians 15:46-49 NASB) He knows we need the journey explained in concrete form. The principles which Joshua and the Israelites learned provide that concrete form. Their journey is a road map in the natural or physical, for seekers of freedom to follow. Preparing the Heart Prayerful self-examination draws us into the presence of Father God for His healing and cleansing. The Father desires all to be healed. There are several things to remember along the journey. Healing is a process. It may or may not look the same for each person. God alone knows what the best plan is for each person, and His timing is always perfect. Resist the temptation to make assumptions about what healing “should” look like for yourself, or for others. Instead practice exercising grace. Make it a habit to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth, asking for a spirit of revelation and understanding to guide, counsel, teach, and correct. Ask the Holy Spirit if there is any hidden sin He would like to deal with. He will answer. When the Holy Spirit speaks He provides a way out of the sin, problem, or situation without condemnation. The enemy instead uses condemnation to shame, blame, and cause self-doubt. When God reveals sin, He shows the way out -- the blood of Jesus Christ. "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death." (Revelation 12:10-12 NASB) When we confess sin to Jesus we know His blood cleanses us and we are forgiven. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-10 NASB) The devil prefers us to stay in the place of guilt because he knows then we’ll be ineffectual Christians. Forgiveness When anyone accepts Jesus into their heart and asks Him to forgive him, He is quick to forgive all past, present and future sins. Living in the land of freedom requires acceptance of this forgiveness and continuous walking in the free gift of grace, throwing out all the enemy's lies. Accepting forgiveness can be just as difficult as forgiving others. When we refuse God’s love and forgiveness we are really saying God’s precious Son’s death and humiliation on the cross is not enough. We walk in needless pain when we refuse to receive what He provides for us. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4 NASB) God has done all the work. He has defeated the enemy. Now step out in faith, and grab hold of victory and freedom. Resting In His Forgiveness When Jesus washed His disciples' feet he was teaching them an important lesson about servant leadership, and also about the cleansing of a person's heart. "Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean," (John 13:9-10 NASB) When we go through a day, we wash our hands many times. We do that spiritually too. When tempted, run from the temptation, effectively washing it off. Understand temptation itself is not sin. God will always provide a way out of the tempting situation. “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB) A Tool What is offered in these pages is simply a tool to help readers get into the word of God. It’s truth that sets us free! Choose today to know truth. Know change can be hard. God never said it would be easy. The walk to freedom in Christ is costly. Each individual must make the choice whether to journey toward freedom or to ramble on in slavery. I pray these pages will encourage you to seek the heart of the Father. It’s in knowing Him in greater depth which brings blessings and freedom.