DATE: 16 June 2002
SPEAKER: Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
TITLE: Go in and possess the land - taking hold of your God given possession
TEXT: Deuteronomy 1:6-8, Matthew 5:1-5
As a child of God, there is a portion of the earth that belongs to you. It is now yours to claim.
Genesis 12:1-3
God's first words to Abram were "…get out…" Every time God deals with His people, He is always calling them out of something.
But when God calls you out of something, He does not leave you in limbo - He does not hang you out to dry. When God asks you to leave something, it's because He has something better for you.
When God told Abram to leave his country, where was God taking him? "To a land that I will show you." God had a place in mind for Abram - it was a land. God knew where the land was, but Abram did not, so God said, "I will show it to you".
Also notice all the things that will follow as Abram obeyed and followed God:
"I will make you a great nation"
"I will bless you"
"I will make your name great!"
"And you shall be a blessing"
The bible tells us in Genesis 12:4 that Abram obeyed God - he took that step and moved out of where he was. There was action involved. Abram had to do something to cooperate with God.
Up till time, no one had ever owned land; nobody had ever claimed that any piece of land belonged to him or her. Abraham's family lived a nomadic lifestyle. They just moved from place to place and lived off the land. The only value that land had at that time was the immediate benefit the people could get off it. And once the land was spent - when all the game was eaten and all the food was depleted, they simply moved on and found another piece of land to live off.
This was the thinking in Abraham's day. It was this nomadic lifestyle that precipitated in conflict between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen - because the land could no longer sustain their livestock Genesis 13: 1-9.
But as soon as Lot was separated from Abraham, God spoke to him again; and now showed him the land which He originally promised him Genesis 13:14-17.
But in order for God to really bless Abraham, He had to first get him to stop thinking like a Nomad. Nomads had no desire or interest to own land. Afterall, what was the point owning a piece of land that would soon be depleted.
Farming on the other hand was predicated on the concept of land ownership. No one would want to waste time cultivating a piece of land if they had no intention of owning it at the time of harvest.
When European explorers discovered the America's, the place was occupied by "Native American Indians", who being Nomads and they had no concept of land ownership. When the explorers asked to buy the land off the natives, the natives had a good laugh. They sold the land at ridiculously cheap amounts.
The thinking of the Indians was, "what would anyone want to do with a depleted piece of land anyway". Afterall, all the games had been killed, all the edible plant life had been exhausted - and the Indians were getting ready to move on.
To the Indians, paying for a piece of land was like paying for a piece of the sun, the moon or the stars - it was a silly proposition. The explorers paid for the land anyhow, and guess who owns America today.
In Genesis 23:1-20, Abraham was the first man to buy land. The Hittites said, "don't be ridiculous Abraham, take any part of the land and use it - don't bother about paying - all the land belongs to all of us".
This sort of thinking is what fueled the principles of communism for several decades. "Nobody owns anything, everything belongs to everybody". No wonder communism was a colossal failure. This kind of thinking stifles creativity and kills productivity.
In many parts of the middle of the Middle East, foreigners are not allowed to own property.
Anyway, Abraham insists on paying for the land - so he buys it for 400 shekels of silver; and the first title deed is drawn up. Till today, the principles of conveyance draw their roots from this transaction.
Thus began the process of real property ownership. This infact, is where the expression REAL ESTATE comes from.
Now remember, that God had promised to give this land to Abraham. Yet, notice that he still had to pay for a little portion of it.
Abraham bequeaths his wealth to his son Isaac, including this land - Genesis 25:5
Isaac considers moving away from the land because of famine but God tells him to stay. He obeys God and is blessed, to the extent that he becomes a threat to the inhabitants of the land - Genesis 26:1-6, 12-22
Jacob receives Isaac's blessing and runs away from home. God promised to give him the land - Genesis 28:10-35. His son Joseph is sold into slavery and later all the family joins him in Egypt. This was the foundation for 430 years of slavery.
But at the end of that period, God appears to Moses and promises to take the people back into their land - Exodus 3:7,8
Notice that even though God had promised to give them the land, it was not empty - it was occupied. Someone currently occupies the land that God wants to give you - but don't let that fool you. The occupants of the land are not as strong as they look Numbers 13:25-30; Numbers 14:6-9.
Even though God had promised the land to the children of Israel, they had to fight for every square inch of it. The land did not simply fall into their laps.
As the seed of Abraham, through faith, you also have an inheritance in the earth, Romans 4:13 but you must be willing to do what it takes to possess your inheritance. You must be willing to fight if necessary. God said, " I have set the land before you- now you go and possess it"
As Moses approached his last days on earth, he reiterates God's promises to the children of Israel - Deuteronomy 6:10-12; 8:7-10
Joshua succeeds Moses and God reiterates the promise to him - Joshua 1: 1-6. In Joshua chapter 3, Joshua sends some men to spy out the land. In chapter 3, they cross the Jordan, in chapter 4 they established a memorial to the Lord, in chapter 5, they are circumcised and they ate the Passover - both tokens of the covenant. Now they are ready to possess the land - except that there is a little problem. The occupants of the land have no intention of leaving.
So God reveals a principle to Joshua. "I am about to transfer this land to you, but before transfer can occur, ownership must be established. This land is mine - and that is why I can give it to you. Don't make the mistake to think it belongs to you - you are merely stewards"
Joshua chapter 6 was the process of establishing true ownership. God said everything in Jericho belongs to me - don't touch anything in it. Joshua 6:16-19, 24 - 27. The entire city was dedicated to the Lord. They did not even live in it!
Before this, the whole land was shut up - Joshua 6:1 And God said, "I will open it up to you, but you must not forget that you are stewards". Until we recognize that we are stewards of all that God gives us, we will be limited in our ability to possess the land.
•Do you have a steward mentality or an owner mentality?
•When extra money comes into your hand, who do you think of first - yourself or God?
•Have you ever given an unusually large offering to God without any encouragement from the pastor?
•When you are challenged to give a large offering - and for reasons beyond your control you are unable to, do you feel bad, or do you just shrug your shoulders and forget it?
•Are you as concerned about not being able to give to God as you are about not being able to get what you want for yourself?
Achan did not understand the stewardship principle and on account of his disobedience, God prevented the people from taking the next city Joshua 7:1-12
WHAT MUST YOU DO TO TAKE HOLD OF YOUR INHERITANCE?1.Recognise that God has already given you an inheritance.
2.Repent of your nomadic lifestyle. God does not want you to keep moving from place to place - He wants you to have a place of your own. 2 Samuel 7:8-10
3.Go and spy out the land. Make enquiries, start viewing properties, talk to a mortgage advisor - find out what is possible and trust God to do the impossible, Don't be afraid of the current inhabitants.
4.Put the principle of stewardship in the forefront of your life. Be a tither - 10% of your gross income belongs to God. That is your Jericho; the land which you laboured for, but are not allowed to partake of.
It's time to take hold of your inheritance.
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW.
Genesis 12:1-3
God's first words to Abram were "…get out…" Every time God deals with His people, He is always calling them out of something.
But when God calls you out of something, He does not leave you in limbo - He does not hang you out to dry. When God asks you to leave something, it's because He has something better for you.
When God told Abram to leave his country, where was God taking him? "To a land that I will show you." God had a place in mind for Abram - it was a land. God knew where the land was, but Abram did not, so God said, "I will show it to you".
Also notice all the things that will follow as Abram obeyed and followed God:
"I will make you a great nation"
"I will bless you"
"I will make your name great!"
"And you shall be a blessing"
The bible tells us in Genesis 12:4 that Abram obeyed God - he took that step and moved out of where he was. There was action involved. Abram had to do something to cooperate with God.
Up till time, no one had ever owned land; nobody had ever claimed that any piece of land belonged to him or her. Abraham's family lived a nomadic lifestyle. They just moved from place to place and lived off the land. The only value that land had at that time was the immediate benefit the people could get off it. And once the land was spent - when all the game was eaten and all the food was depleted, they simply moved on and found another piece of land to live off.
This was the thinking in Abraham's day. It was this nomadic lifestyle that precipitated in conflict between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen - because the land could no longer sustain their livestock Genesis 13: 1-9.
But as soon as Lot was separated from Abraham, God spoke to him again; and now showed him the land which He originally promised him Genesis 13:14-17.
But in order for God to really bless Abraham, He had to first get him to stop thinking like a Nomad. Nomads had no desire or interest to own land. Afterall, what was the point owning a piece of land that would soon be depleted.
Farming on the other hand was predicated on the concept of land ownership. No one would want to waste time cultivating a piece of land if they had no intention of owning it at the time of harvest.
When European explorers discovered the America's, the place was occupied by "Native American Indians", who being Nomads and they had no concept of land ownership. When the explorers asked to buy the land off the natives, the natives had a good laugh. They sold the land at ridiculously cheap amounts.
The thinking of the Indians was, "what would anyone want to do with a depleted piece of land anyway". Afterall, all the games had been killed, all the edible plant life had been exhausted - and the Indians were getting ready to move on.
To the Indians, paying for a piece of land was like paying for a piece of the sun, the moon or the stars - it was a silly proposition. The explorers paid for the land anyhow, and guess who owns America today.
In Genesis 23:1-20, Abraham was the first man to buy land. The Hittites said, "don't be ridiculous Abraham, take any part of the land and use it - don't bother about paying - all the land belongs to all of us".
This sort of thinking is what fueled the principles of communism for several decades. "Nobody owns anything, everything belongs to everybody". No wonder communism was a colossal failure. This kind of thinking stifles creativity and kills productivity.
In many parts of the middle of the Middle East, foreigners are not allowed to own property.
Anyway, Abraham insists on paying for the land - so he buys it for 400 shekels of silver; and the first title deed is drawn up. Till today, the principles of conveyance draw their roots from this transaction.
Thus began the process of real property ownership. This infact, is where the expression REAL ESTATE comes from.
Now remember, that God had promised to give this land to Abraham. Yet, notice that he still had to pay for a little portion of it.
Abraham bequeaths his wealth to his son Isaac, including this land - Genesis 25:5
Isaac considers moving away from the land because of famine but God tells him to stay. He obeys God and is blessed, to the extent that he becomes a threat to the inhabitants of the land - Genesis 26:1-6, 12-22
Jacob receives Isaac's blessing and runs away from home. God promised to give him the land - Genesis 28:10-35. His son Joseph is sold into slavery and later all the family joins him in Egypt. This was the foundation for 430 years of slavery.
But at the end of that period, God appears to Moses and promises to take the people back into their land - Exodus 3:7,8
Notice that even though God had promised to give them the land, it was not empty - it was occupied. Someone currently occupies the land that God wants to give you - but don't let that fool you. The occupants of the land are not as strong as they look Numbers 13:25-30; Numbers 14:6-9.
Even though God had promised the land to the children of Israel, they had to fight for every square inch of it. The land did not simply fall into their laps.
As the seed of Abraham, through faith, you also have an inheritance in the earth, Romans 4:13 but you must be willing to do what it takes to possess your inheritance. You must be willing to fight if necessary. God said, " I have set the land before you- now you go and possess it"
As Moses approached his last days on earth, he reiterates God's promises to the children of Israel - Deuteronomy 6:10-12; 8:7-10
Joshua succeeds Moses and God reiterates the promise to him - Joshua 1: 1-6. In Joshua chapter 3, Joshua sends some men to spy out the land. In chapter 3, they cross the Jordan, in chapter 4 they established a memorial to the Lord, in chapter 5, they are circumcised and they ate the Passover - both tokens of the covenant. Now they are ready to possess the land - except that there is a little problem. The occupants of the land have no intention of leaving.
So God reveals a principle to Joshua. "I am about to transfer this land to you, but before transfer can occur, ownership must be established. This land is mine - and that is why I can give it to you. Don't make the mistake to think it belongs to you - you are merely stewards"
Joshua chapter 6 was the process of establishing true ownership. God said everything in Jericho belongs to me - don't touch anything in it. Joshua 6:16-19, 24 - 27. The entire city was dedicated to the Lord. They did not even live in it!
Before this, the whole land was shut up - Joshua 6:1 And God said, "I will open it up to you, but you must not forget that you are stewards". Until we recognize that we are stewards of all that God gives us, we will be limited in our ability to possess the land.
•Do you have a steward mentality or an owner mentality?
•When extra money comes into your hand, who do you think of first - yourself or God?
•Have you ever given an unusually large offering to God without any encouragement from the pastor?
•When you are challenged to give a large offering - and for reasons beyond your control you are unable to, do you feel bad, or do you just shrug your shoulders and forget it?
•Are you as concerned about not being able to give to God as you are about not being able to get what you want for yourself?
Achan did not understand the stewardship principle and on account of his disobedience, God prevented the people from taking the next city Joshua 7:1-12
WHAT MUST YOU DO TO TAKE HOLD OF YOUR INHERITANCE?1.Recognise that God has already given you an inheritance.
2.Repent of your nomadic lifestyle. God does not want you to keep moving from place to place - He wants you to have a place of your own. 2 Samuel 7:8-10
3.Go and spy out the land. Make enquiries, start viewing properties, talk to a mortgage advisor - find out what is possible and trust God to do the impossible, Don't be afraid of the current inhabitants.
4.Put the principle of stewardship in the forefront of your life. Be a tither - 10% of your gross income belongs to God. That is your Jericho; the land which you laboured for, but are not allowed to partake of.
It's time to take hold of your inheritance.
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW.
NOW.
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