DATE: 30 June 2002
SPEAKER: Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
TITLE: Go in and possess the land - taking hold of your God given possession.
Part IV: Taking the stronghold of Zion.
TEXT: Deuteronomy 1:6-8
Today we want to take a close look at a portion of the inheritance, which is not for everyone - the high places. There are portions of the Promised Land that are not easily accessible to everyone. Deuteronomy 1:7 speak of mountains and lowlands.
Deuteronomy 11:10-12 reveals that the Promised Land is a land of hills and valleys. The plains, lowlands and valleys are relatively easy to take. But the mountains - the high places - are reserved for those who are willing to fight. 2 Samuel 22:33-35 - God wants to set your feet upon the high places, but you must be willing to fight.
2 Samuel 5:6-10; Ephesians 6:10-13. For every promise that God has made to you, for every blessing that God intends to give you, there is a fight. You will have to fight for your healing, deliverance, peace, soundness of mind, financial prosperity, family etc. Unfortunately, many people today don't want to fight for their inheritance; they just expect the blessings to drop into their laps. Sorry, no fight, no inheritance.
But the good news is this: there is truly a prize to be won. Nobody goes to war if there are no spoils. Whenever you see people going to war, be assured there is something to gain; territory, money, control, land, freedom, - the fight is about something. Nobody goes to war because they enjoy fighting. The Gulf war was a good case in point - the allied forces came against Saddam Hussein because there were spoils involved.
By the same token, when the devil comes against you, he's not just throwing punches for the fun of it. There is something he is after - there are spoils of war at stake. He has seen something in your life that is of significant value.
When you fight, you must fight with the prize in mind. If you lose sight of the prize, you can become weary and overwhelmed with the struggle. One of the reasons why people give up the fight is that they lost sight of the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:25,26. I fight to win. I am not just shadow-boxing or playing around". [Living Bible]
Don't fight unintelligently - you must understand what the fight is all about. You have to know where the struggle is, what the strategy is and what the trophy is. One of the reasons Saddam Hussein was defeated in the Gulf war, was his men did not understand what the fight was all about.
A lot of people are fighting the wrong battles in life because they don't know what the fight is all about. You see it's not really that difficult to get people to fight - fighting is already in our nature. Put two toddlers together to play, and they will get into a fight. One of the first things children learn to do is to make a fist and throw a punch, even when nobody taught them. It's in our nature.
One of the earliest family stories in the bible was about a man who rose up against his own brother, and killed him. Fighting is in the fallen nature of humanity.
But God's desire is to channel your fight against the real enemy. God doesn't want to kill your fight. He just doesn't want you to waste your time fighting for something that doesn't matter, and in the end, miss the real fight.
Ephesians Chapter 6:10 says, "Finally, My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might". In the final analysis - after all said and done, be strong. Be prepared - don't wait till the fight comes before you start preparing. A boxer trains many months before the fight.
But it doesn't stop there, it says, "Be strong in the Lord … Put on the whole armour of God". You are not strong enough by yourself. A person wears armour because they recognise their own limitations. Your armour is supposed to cover your vulnerable parts.
One of the reasons we are losing our battles in life is that we are trying to fight in our own strength. You have got to acknowledge "Lord I am not equipped for this battle. My flesh is not prepared for the magnitude of attack that is about to come. Lord, do you have anything in your armoury that can help me stand against these attacks from the devil? Do you have something to help me protect my heart, my mind, my loins, my feet?"
God then answers and says "I have got an entire suit custom made from you - all you have to do is put it on". Again, notice that you don't have to manufacture the suit yourself - all you need to do is just wear it. The trouble is we are trying to invent our own remedies for the challenges of life, whereas God says "I already have the answer to that".
The devil hates the believer who knows how to equip himself for the fight. Why? Because then you become hard to handle. You are covered on every side, so the devil doesn't know where to hit anymore.
God knows what it takes to win your battles. So, he doesn't waste time giving you clubs and machine guns and cannons and machetes. He says all you need for offence is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The only weapon the Spirit wields is the word of God. Anything else is unlawful weaponry. The Spirit won't wield your emotions, your manipulations, your charm, your psychology, your opinion or your attitude. The Spirit knows that the word is enough.
Now that you are all dressed for battle, the next thing you must realise is that there are spoils to be won. The enemy will try to lull you to sleep, by making you believe there is nothing to fight for. As long as you don't think there is a trophy at stake, you will not be motivated to stay in shape.
But when the prospect of winning a prize is strong in your mind, you will train harder and prepare better. Why? Because there is an ultimatum - you don't have forever to get ready.
Pity the man who spends all his life fooling around, and is not prepared for that moment when God gives him a chance to possess the trophy he has been dreaming about and praying for. When your moment comes, you'd better be ready. And nobody can get ready for you.
Now God had promised David that he would be king in Israel - 1 Samuel 16. Many years passed before this promise eventually came to pass. But when he got the promise it was a mess. The kingdoms where divided; and all he got were the two southern tribes which made up Judah. So for 7 1/2 years David reigned over only two tribes - 2 Samuel 2:4,11
Then after 7 1/2 years, he became king over all of Israel - 2 Samuel 5 3-5 And the moment he was anointed over all of Israel, David said "now I want Zion". He did not start dancing, he did not throw a party - he went for the stronghold, for the high place.
Now there's something peculiar about high places - they are not very easy to take. There is usually an enemy to tackle, and the enemy usually doesn't want to give up the high place.
The Jebusites had a seat of authority that was high on top of the mountains. Again, like Jericho, this was not a very big piece of land - less than 80 acres of triangular flat land. But it was situated on the top of a rocky, straight-edged cliff about 2,500 feet above sea level. Strategically, it was the best location in the entire land. From this vantage point the Jebusites could see any enemy approaching from any angle.
David wanted this high place because it was the best location. But in order to take it, he first had to take the stronghold. And this was not easy because for the time being, the Jebusites had the best location. Sometimes your enemy has the best location. He is strong and you are vulnerable; and he can see you coming from any angle. Not only that, he has the stronghold.
What is a stronghold? Very simply, it's something that has a strong hold on you. Something that has a strong grip on your life. Something that is deeply rooted and embedded in your life, that just refuses to go away. Every direction you turn it says, "I am here to stay".
It doesn't matter whatever territory you take, if you don't take the stronghold, you won't have peace in the kingdom. It doesn't matter what else you overcome, if you don't overcome the stronghold, the enemy will keep mocking you.
Nobody knows what your stronghold is, but you do; and you've got to take it. When David decided to take Zion the enemy mocked him: "You're a joker David. We have the stronghold - we don't even need to fight you. The weakest demons in hell will stop you". The blind and the lame referred to the idols, which the Jebusites placed on their walls. Psalm 115:1-7.
But you see the problem with the devil is that he is a little bit too confident. He is too sure of himself. Sometimes he thinks that his stronghold in your life is really stronger than it actually is, He will always underestimate you, because he always forgets to factor in the anointing; and of course your dogged determination.
When the enemy thinks he has all the bases covered, God has a way of showing you the loophole. There is always a loophole. When the devil thinks he has fixed you with all the rules, God will come up with the exception.
Zion was so high, so daunting, so intimidating that nobody had ever challenged it before. But David looked and saw a way. There is always a way because Jesus is the Way.
The trouble is most people are not willing to do what it takes to follow that way. Because sometimes, the way to your high place might be through the gutter. David went up by the gutter and took the stronghold of Zion - that which had daunted and intimidated him. And the first thing he did was to establish himself there. Joshua had taken this city before but he failed to drive out the inhabitants or establish himself there - so they came back. Judges 1:8,21 ; Matthew 12:43-45
Davis built his house, fortified the city and changed its name to Zion. You need to change the name of your struggles and call them "Zion". You see, the greatest victories come in the places where there have been the greatest the greatest struggles. Where the battle is, there the spoil is; where the fight is, there the victory is; where the struggle is, there the power is concentrated.
God wants to anoint you in the place of your battles. There is an anointing for conquering the lowlands and there is an anointing for taking the high places. There is however, yet another anointing for maintaining your victory on the high places. This anointing comes with the presence of God. No wonder the passage concludes: "So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him". 2 Samuel 5:10
How did David secure the presence of the Lord? He went and fetched the ark of covenant. And guess where he placed it. Yes, right there on Zion - in the place of his greatest battles and toughest struggles. Your greatest anointing will rest in that area where you have your greatest struggles.
GOD IS READY TO GIVE YOU THE HIGH PLACES - ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THEM?
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW
Deuteronomy 11:10-12 reveals that the Promised Land is a land of hills and valleys. The plains, lowlands and valleys are relatively easy to take. But the mountains - the high places - are reserved for those who are willing to fight. 2 Samuel 22:33-35 - God wants to set your feet upon the high places, but you must be willing to fight.
2 Samuel 5:6-10; Ephesians 6:10-13. For every promise that God has made to you, for every blessing that God intends to give you, there is a fight. You will have to fight for your healing, deliverance, peace, soundness of mind, financial prosperity, family etc. Unfortunately, many people today don't want to fight for their inheritance; they just expect the blessings to drop into their laps. Sorry, no fight, no inheritance.
But the good news is this: there is truly a prize to be won. Nobody goes to war if there are no spoils. Whenever you see people going to war, be assured there is something to gain; territory, money, control, land, freedom, - the fight is about something. Nobody goes to war because they enjoy fighting. The Gulf war was a good case in point - the allied forces came against Saddam Hussein because there were spoils involved.
By the same token, when the devil comes against you, he's not just throwing punches for the fun of it. There is something he is after - there are spoils of war at stake. He has seen something in your life that is of significant value.
When you fight, you must fight with the prize in mind. If you lose sight of the prize, you can become weary and overwhelmed with the struggle. One of the reasons why people give up the fight is that they lost sight of the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:25,26. I fight to win. I am not just shadow-boxing or playing around". [Living Bible]
Don't fight unintelligently - you must understand what the fight is all about. You have to know where the struggle is, what the strategy is and what the trophy is. One of the reasons Saddam Hussein was defeated in the Gulf war, was his men did not understand what the fight was all about.
A lot of people are fighting the wrong battles in life because they don't know what the fight is all about. You see it's not really that difficult to get people to fight - fighting is already in our nature. Put two toddlers together to play, and they will get into a fight. One of the first things children learn to do is to make a fist and throw a punch, even when nobody taught them. It's in our nature.
One of the earliest family stories in the bible was about a man who rose up against his own brother, and killed him. Fighting is in the fallen nature of humanity.
But God's desire is to channel your fight against the real enemy. God doesn't want to kill your fight. He just doesn't want you to waste your time fighting for something that doesn't matter, and in the end, miss the real fight.
Ephesians Chapter 6:10 says, "Finally, My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might". In the final analysis - after all said and done, be strong. Be prepared - don't wait till the fight comes before you start preparing. A boxer trains many months before the fight.
But it doesn't stop there, it says, "Be strong in the Lord … Put on the whole armour of God". You are not strong enough by yourself. A person wears armour because they recognise their own limitations. Your armour is supposed to cover your vulnerable parts.
One of the reasons we are losing our battles in life is that we are trying to fight in our own strength. You have got to acknowledge "Lord I am not equipped for this battle. My flesh is not prepared for the magnitude of attack that is about to come. Lord, do you have anything in your armoury that can help me stand against these attacks from the devil? Do you have something to help me protect my heart, my mind, my loins, my feet?"
God then answers and says "I have got an entire suit custom made from you - all you have to do is put it on". Again, notice that you don't have to manufacture the suit yourself - all you need to do is just wear it. The trouble is we are trying to invent our own remedies for the challenges of life, whereas God says "I already have the answer to that".
The devil hates the believer who knows how to equip himself for the fight. Why? Because then you become hard to handle. You are covered on every side, so the devil doesn't know where to hit anymore.
God knows what it takes to win your battles. So, he doesn't waste time giving you clubs and machine guns and cannons and machetes. He says all you need for offence is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The only weapon the Spirit wields is the word of God. Anything else is unlawful weaponry. The Spirit won't wield your emotions, your manipulations, your charm, your psychology, your opinion or your attitude. The Spirit knows that the word is enough.
Now that you are all dressed for battle, the next thing you must realise is that there are spoils to be won. The enemy will try to lull you to sleep, by making you believe there is nothing to fight for. As long as you don't think there is a trophy at stake, you will not be motivated to stay in shape.
But when the prospect of winning a prize is strong in your mind, you will train harder and prepare better. Why? Because there is an ultimatum - you don't have forever to get ready.
Pity the man who spends all his life fooling around, and is not prepared for that moment when God gives him a chance to possess the trophy he has been dreaming about and praying for. When your moment comes, you'd better be ready. And nobody can get ready for you.
Now God had promised David that he would be king in Israel - 1 Samuel 16. Many years passed before this promise eventually came to pass. But when he got the promise it was a mess. The kingdoms where divided; and all he got were the two southern tribes which made up Judah. So for 7 1/2 years David reigned over only two tribes - 2 Samuel 2:4,11
Then after 7 1/2 years, he became king over all of Israel - 2 Samuel 5 3-5 And the moment he was anointed over all of Israel, David said "now I want Zion". He did not start dancing, he did not throw a party - he went for the stronghold, for the high place.
Now there's something peculiar about high places - they are not very easy to take. There is usually an enemy to tackle, and the enemy usually doesn't want to give up the high place.
The Jebusites had a seat of authority that was high on top of the mountains. Again, like Jericho, this was not a very big piece of land - less than 80 acres of triangular flat land. But it was situated on the top of a rocky, straight-edged cliff about 2,500 feet above sea level. Strategically, it was the best location in the entire land. From this vantage point the Jebusites could see any enemy approaching from any angle.
David wanted this high place because it was the best location. But in order to take it, he first had to take the stronghold. And this was not easy because for the time being, the Jebusites had the best location. Sometimes your enemy has the best location. He is strong and you are vulnerable; and he can see you coming from any angle. Not only that, he has the stronghold.
What is a stronghold? Very simply, it's something that has a strong hold on you. Something that has a strong grip on your life. Something that is deeply rooted and embedded in your life, that just refuses to go away. Every direction you turn it says, "I am here to stay".
It doesn't matter whatever territory you take, if you don't take the stronghold, you won't have peace in the kingdom. It doesn't matter what else you overcome, if you don't overcome the stronghold, the enemy will keep mocking you.
Nobody knows what your stronghold is, but you do; and you've got to take it. When David decided to take Zion the enemy mocked him: "You're a joker David. We have the stronghold - we don't even need to fight you. The weakest demons in hell will stop you". The blind and the lame referred to the idols, which the Jebusites placed on their walls. Psalm 115:1-7.
But you see the problem with the devil is that he is a little bit too confident. He is too sure of himself. Sometimes he thinks that his stronghold in your life is really stronger than it actually is, He will always underestimate you, because he always forgets to factor in the anointing; and of course your dogged determination.
When the enemy thinks he has all the bases covered, God has a way of showing you the loophole. There is always a loophole. When the devil thinks he has fixed you with all the rules, God will come up with the exception.
Zion was so high, so daunting, so intimidating that nobody had ever challenged it before. But David looked and saw a way. There is always a way because Jesus is the Way.
The trouble is most people are not willing to do what it takes to follow that way. Because sometimes, the way to your high place might be through the gutter. David went up by the gutter and took the stronghold of Zion - that which had daunted and intimidated him. And the first thing he did was to establish himself there. Joshua had taken this city before but he failed to drive out the inhabitants or establish himself there - so they came back. Judges 1:8,21 ; Matthew 12:43-45
Davis built his house, fortified the city and changed its name to Zion. You need to change the name of your struggles and call them "Zion". You see, the greatest victories come in the places where there have been the greatest the greatest struggles. Where the battle is, there the spoil is; where the fight is, there the victory is; where the struggle is, there the power is concentrated.
God wants to anoint you in the place of your battles. There is an anointing for conquering the lowlands and there is an anointing for taking the high places. There is however, yet another anointing for maintaining your victory on the high places. This anointing comes with the presence of God. No wonder the passage concludes: "So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him". 2 Samuel 5:10
How did David secure the presence of the Lord? He went and fetched the ark of covenant. And guess where he placed it. Yes, right there on Zion - in the place of his greatest battles and toughest struggles. Your greatest anointing will rest in that area where you have your greatest struggles.
GOD IS READY TO GIVE YOU THE HIGH PLACES - ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THEM?
TO ORDER THIS MESSAGE ON AUDIO OR VIDEO TAPE, CALL 020 88 555 888 NOW
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