Possessing Our Inheritance
Good morning KIC Lubowa and Happy New Year!
I have written a devotion on 'Possessing our inheritance.'
God has been challenging me over the past couple of months about preparing my heart and positioning myself for my inheritance. By inheritance, I mean God's promises as spelt out in the scriptures, the specific prophecies that have been spoken over our lives as well as God's purpose for our lives as individuals or a community.
As New Covenant people, all of God's promises for us in Christ are yes and in Him amen (2 Corinthians 1:20); scripture further tells us that we can only inherit God's promises by faith and perseverance (Hebrews 6:12). By grace, through the finished work of Christ at the cross, God has provided a good inheritance for each one of us, but by faith we need to possess it!
Israel's journey from Egypt to the promised land is full of lessons that are pertinent to this subject. Let us look at a familiar passage in Numbers 13.
Background
Israel had been in slavery to Egypt for 430 years and God through Moses had delivered them with great signs and wonders in order to bring them into the promised land.
Approximately a year into their Journey, Israel comes to a place called Kadesh Barnea, an oasis in the Negev desert. Israel is on the brink of entering their inheritance except that they aren't quite there yet in their hearts.
It's important to note that as far as God is concerned, the land is theirs and yet they wander for another 40 years in the desert before they could enter it because they had not prepared their hearts to receive it.
Numbers 13:2 NKJV “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, everyone a leader among them.”17-20 "Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes."
Vision precedes provision
As I read this portion of the passage, I noticed something I had never seen before. God sent them in the season of the first ripe grapes! Moses further instructed them to carry some of the fruit of the land.
God clearly wanted them to see the promised land in its full potential; He also wanted them to bring back a memorial of sorts, a visual cue that would help the rest of Israel perceive the bounty of their inheritance. Images tend to heighten our appetite for stuff. The business world profits greatly from this principle of visual marketing! We must see, on the inside, through the lenses of faith, what God has for us before we can take a hold of it. God gave Abraham two pictures to aid his transition from childlessness to being a father of nations. Every time his feet touched the desert sands or when he looked up and saw the numerous stars in the sky, something would shift in his heart until the day his vision was birthed.
Let us read on.
Numbers 13:31-33 NKJV “But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Our toughest enemy is the one within
Israel could have easily entered their promised land but TNN - 'Ten Spies' News Network had poisoned the entire congregation with their unbelief. Their biggest hindrance was not the giants in the land but their grasshopper mindset!
There is an insightful story in the book of Joshua that beautifully demonstrates this truth. Joshua sends out two men to spy Jericho and these men encounter Rahab who had this to say about Israel: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you.” (Joshua 2:9-11 NKJV)
Their enemies were literally in 'flight mode' from the moment they heard of God's deliverance of the nation of Israel and how he was dealing with their enemies.
There are no self-made people in the Kingdom of God. You need others on your journey, choose them wisely.
1 Corinthians 15:33 NLT ... “bad company corrupts good character.”The ten spies infected the entire Israel camp with their unbelief and consequently delayed Israel 40 years before they could enter their promised land. Joshua and Caleb are the only ones from the original group that left Egypt who entered the promised land. We must be careful that we seek and stay plugged into a faith-filled community of believers who hold us accountable and challenge us to step into the fullness of God's purpose and plan for our lives.
I am amazed at the number of people who have come through the doors of KIC Lubowa over the years and the awe-inspiring testimonies of transformation that we have witnessed. Many of these people have consequently been entrusted with more and more leadership responsibilities both in ministry and the market place.
When I first joined KIC Lubowa, I was very timid and I did not think I had much to offer. I had been a Christian for a long time but I had never been a part of a community that fully embraced people from all walks of life. Over the years, people have loved me, discipled me and consequently helped me work through lots of baggage from my past. I have gained confidence, not in me, but Christ who lives in me and consequently stepped into leadership within KIC, gained the respect and trust of peers and older people, found myself a good wife and now I am a father in the natural. God is good! That, my friends, is the value of community in possessing our inheritance.
If you wait until all your ducks are in a row, you will never step into what God has for you
Numbers 13:30 NKJV “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” See also Numbers 14:7-8
I love Caleb's attitude: "We have seen the land, it is indeed as God said, a land flowing with milk and honey. Why waste any more time? Let's move forward after all God is with us"
Caleb and Joshua had seen the giants too; they were well aware of the dangers ahead of them. However, they had complete confidence in God who was going ahead of them, the same one who had delivered them with His powerful arm from Egypt, parted the sea for them to cross, provided water from a rock, turned sweet the bitter waters at Marah, provided mana and quail for food etc. Their testimony was bigger than their fear.
Perhaps as you read this message you are battling discouragement because the waiting has gone on for so long, maybe you've experienced what Caleb and Joshua must have felt, being so close and not being able to enter in for one reason or another. Be encouraged, our God is able. Be strong, be courageous, do not give up.
Hebrews 10:23-24 AMP “Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds”
Isaiah 41:10 NLT “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Questions
How can we emulate Caleb and Joshua's example in encouraging an atmosphere of faith within our fellowships? How can we courageously step into our inheritance this year?
Prayer
Please continue to pray for the peace and prosperity of Uganda as we draw closer to the elections.
Pray for the safety and wellbeing of medical workers amidst the rising number of Covid cases.
Pray for the wider body of Christ that we will have the courage to pursue God's purpose for the church in this season of fear and uncertainty.
