It was a long awaited day, for the Israelites. They camped opposite the Promised Land territory, God had been telling them about for years. Moses sent out twelve spies to see what the land was like. After forty days, the twelve assigned spies including Joshua and Caleb, came back with a report of what it was like in the Promised Land.
The mission was to gather facts to inspire and rally the people to go in and possess the land. Instead, through unbelief and doubt, ten of the spies came back with a bad report. And it had the opposite effect on the congregation. It moved them to disbelief and criticism of Moses and Aaron. So much so, Father God was angry about it. Let’s look in the word of God for a moment to see how the ten spies, Joshua and Caleb responded
We Can Do It!
25 When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, 26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” -Numbers 13:25-31
In light of that story, are you possessing your land? You know as a Christian believer, God has promised you a type of Promised Land? It’s the fulfillment of His promises to you in your life. And yes, this land is flowing with milk and honey.
The fruit is so bountiful that it takes two well-abled men to carry it. Remember, the cluster of grapes lifted on two poles depicted in all the Promised Land pictures from the story…
The Conquest
Even with the beauty and potential of possessing our Promised Land in all its bigness and grandeur, there’s one small matter we Christians share with the Israelites. We overlook the fact that we have to fight to possess this promised land and in our case the promises of God. We’re alike in a lot of other ways with our Israelite brothers and sisters in God’s family.
We have to face the same fears, insecurities and doubt, when we see the giants that stand in our way of possessing the promised land. Did you notice all the residents listed in Scripture were giants (We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites), many descendants from Goliath’s relatives. Many scholars have said over the years, the giants the spies saw were perceived instead of literal, from them saying “we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Through study, archaeological digs, and Jewish history, the Biblical account has been confirmed, the Promised Land residents were literal giants. And no, as a believer I didn’t need confirmation that the Bible is true. But I find it highly interesting and faith building to say the least. I hope you do too.
Your promised land may be a healthy life, prosperous life or a blessed family. And the giants of sickness, lack, and family trouble are very real, as well. In fact, we have to make the same type of decision they had to make. We have to decide whose report will we believe? When the doctor’s report comes in and it’s bad. Or our money account has a few dollars left in it and we still have bills to pay. You might be in the middle of defeating the giant of divorce and alcoholism in your family.
For my newest book, from the WOW! Women Series I studied for a chapter about defeating the giants in your generation. I did a study on the two women matriarchs, respectively of David and the giant Goliath. I outlined seven steps, Father God gave me to defeat the giants of your generation. Here’s a little acronym from that study called FIGHT to help us possess the promises of God in our lives more and more.
- Face your fears with faith. You have to decide whose report to believe. When you face your fears and choose God’s word to believe, you discover like never before God is for you, and who can really stand against you. More and more, you realize ‘no weapon formed against you shall succeed and every accusation risen against you, you shall refute it.
Even, when other people have decided to believe a bad report, negative circumstances, we choose like Joshua and Caleb to believe the word of God. We believe, with God for us, we are well able to go up and take the land (receive the promise.)
- Invite Father God’s presence into your circumstance. So often, the last thing we think about is praying for his blessing or intervention. Make it your first step instead of our your last. Ask for his help, his mercy and grace or his miracle.
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Grow up in the faith. Recognize you have to fight for the promises of God in your life. You can’t stay a spiritual baby. You shouldn’t have to go back and forth, always having to relearn the simple things of Christ. God’s perfect will for us is that we grow up in the faith and fight for the things He’s promised us.This is the season for YOU to possess the promises of God in their fullness. But you have to be willing to grow up (man up and woman up) to fight the good fight of faith, God’s way. Remember, our weapons of warfare are not carnal. The victory is already ours. Father God has said YES and amen to each of his promises
- Hear Father God’s Instruction. After you’ve prayed and you’ve asked for his miracle intervention, listen for God’s guidance, his instructions. He may instruct you to ask, to fast, to plant a seed or wait for His next move. Yes, God’s ways are mysterious but not unknowable.
Remember, get your plans, your strategies from God. He’ll take you by the hand and help you. There are times you won’t have to fight for the battle is the Lord’s. There are other times where you must F.I.G.H.T. the good fight of faith, using weapons that are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. (2 Cor. 10:4)
- Take Territory for your life and the kingdom. It’s all about territory. Father God wants to enlarge your territory bit by bit. It’s so, you won’t be overwhelmed and quit or lose. He will always set you up for success. But you have to live and fight God’s way. Know that each battle, you engage in, when you’re victorious, you gain territory in the kingdom of God. You may be in the battle of your life, for your health, your finances, your home, your family… On the other side, is your greatest victory and ministry. You’ve been chosen to show the way in this area. There’s a group of people, a city, for some even a nation waiting on you to walk in your victory. So, you know what I’m about to say, F.I.G.H.T.
Yes, the promises are yes and amen, already. In Christ, we have the victory. But in possessing the land, receiving the promises, there has to be a conquest, a fight. Think about it, similar to a natural fight, you don’t run out presumptuous, unprepared, imprudent and expect victory. Instead, you execute wise planning, preparation and even training to prepare for the battle, the conquest, the victory. From my last teaching, T.R.U.S.T. you know that’s what the process is all about, preparing you for the conquest.
In like manner, the Holy Spirit is prompting us the body of Christ to F.I.G.H.T. We have to face our fears, invite Father God’s presence to go with us, grow up in the faith, hear Father God’s instruction and gain territory in the kingdom of God.
So, you made it through the process, you did it God’s way, your victory is sweet. But now it’s time. You’re ready. Get your gloves. Put your dukes up and F.I.G.H.T.
Fighting the good fight,
Earma Brown, 12 Book Christian Author
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