Possession

Deu_1:21Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

The Lord spoke to four of us at home and outside on the 20th of this month about possessing the land. The word came in four different ways and confirmed His urging to us to possess the land. I am in the throes of processing this concept in the light of it being confirmed so many times. When God speaks in a repetitive manner on one instruction, He is urging us to take hold of this instruction and apply it to our lives urgently.

It is not easy to understand exactly how this applies to us in our present journey but we need to search the Holy Spirit for His guidance on the word. Possession is nine tenths of the law. That means, when one possess something it is more than likely he will be judged as the one who owns it irrespective of whether he owns it or not. When it comes to land this has never been truer. It is very difficult to evict a person who has occupied land legally or illegally unless it is done by force or subtly by murder as in the case of jezebel to her neigbour. In the light of this knowledge, when you think of Jesus’ word about demon occupation we see this is very true. Luk_11:21When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: Mar_3:27No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. From this passage we can easily understand the basis of true possession. Our bodies are made up of earth. In other words it is our land or territory. Demonic forces want to occupy us and control us. We must seek to destroy their insidious and overt methods of occupation of our bodies, by dispelling them even before they get a foothold into our lives. Unfortunately, many suffer the onslaught of such occupation because they have wittingly or unwittingly opened doors of occupation. Don’t forget, that satan is a thief. He does not play fair or has to.

I believe God is saying something to us about this and another verse that He gave us on the same day. Jos 18:3And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? I believe God is saying; how long are you going to allow satan to be your master? You must choose this day, whom you will serve. Secondly, if you serve God, you must evict all strongholds of the devil from your life. God is not going to tolerate continued occupation of His temple. He will destroy anybody who defiles His temple. 1Co_3:17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. The question is then posed; 2Co_6:15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Belial is another word for satan. Unfortunately, many people are living dual lives and expecting God to honour them. This will never happen. Act_17:30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: He may show grace and patience but if one does not listen, He will deal with that person in a manner that may not be pleasant. He will either take matters into His own hands or destroy that person. To some, He will show mercy and to others He will not. Rom_9:15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

When possession is not understood, full gain is not realised. The Israelites went from the wilderness to the Promised Land but did not heed God’s instructions to destroy all their enemies. They paid dearly for this disobedience. The demonic forces are always awaiting those who get saved from this world because they are vulnerable and ignorant. Many get trapped again into the same sin and lose their way. There is a great emphasis on the individual to secure his faith by believing God and fighting a spiritual warfare. Though getting rid of enemies may take time, it is important that it is done. To truly possess one’s vessel, we must dismember our members that cause problems to us in the areas of our passions. That is to say, we must die to those passions or get rid of the members. Mat_5:29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Jas_4:1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? These are difficult sayings but true. How do we go about doing that? Rom_6:13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. The key is in yielding to God. Jas_4:7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The key is in this verse. No matter what God tells us, we must do it. When we do not submit to His word which is written or spoken, we find ourselves victims of the devil who seeks to possess us. If he cannot possess us, he will oppress us. These are realities that few will agree to because they go by their intellect and natural senses. These are spiritual concepts and so must be understood in the Spirit. True possession is possessing your vessel. 1Th_4:4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

Why do I compare these verses of possessing land and apply it to us personally. I believe that when we do this, we will not be given to this world and we will no longer be victims but move to be victors, overcomers and more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. The pathway of life is made sure when we submit to God’s word. All other paths are slippery slopes that lead to suffering, shame and death.

I am convinced that my enemies constantly seek to take back what God has given me. Even Israel as a nation suffers that daily. We should take our clue from what is happening to them. All that they suffer is because they rejected the word of God. Their enemies will not leave them in peace and constantly seek to take back the land that God gave them. The enemies ask Israel; what right do you have to this land? Israel replies; God gave it to us. Likewise, the devil is working on Christians and says; what right do you have to being a Christian? This is where legality and possession comes in. What we have, we have by the blood of Jesus which is also our legal right. So, possess what has been given to you and do not give it away to another to devastate you. Esau gave away his birthright and lost his destiny. Adam and Eve gave away their authority over God’s creation to satan through deceit and lies. Jesus took it back for us and gave it to us. We are now the authority on earth and can possess the earth. All territory is fair game but we should walk in the knowledge of God’s will for us.

When Abraham and Lot separated, Lot took the good land as he saw it with his eyes. Abraham took what was his by faith. This is the key to preserving your life, promises, mantle and ministry. It is also the key to keeping what belongs to you as given by God and not gained by you. All that you gained by yourself will fade away and be destroyed. Only what you store in heaven will remain. There is another world to posses. It is the new world that God will create. However, right now, we are expected to establish the Kingdom of God wherever

we go. That means; possess the land. One is to keep yourself from this world and secondly to take the territory God has given you. This will by no means be a walk in the park. It is required of us to depend on the Holy Spirit to teach our fingers to war and use wisdom in every situation. Possessing requires wisdom. Many ministers of God start well but finish bad half way through or at the end. Others have succeeded for a little while only to be discouraged by the many attacks of the enemy. They too fall away into obscurity. As mentioned before, in any fight, one must take out the strong man first. After you do that you must fill the unoccupied places with God. If you are the strong man in your own life, you need to take out that strong man. How do you do that? By submitting to God. If some passion or demon is the strong man in your life, you need to take that out.

My friends; do not be mistaken about the fight for your life. The fight is not only to preserve you but many others. Gen 50:20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Joseph went through a horrific life in the early part of his life for a good reason. It was not pleasant because he was fighting for his life and integrity. Sometimes, I wonder which of the two the true fight is. At the end, God brings him out on top and allows a nation to be formed in Egypt under his rule till it was time to bring them out. God then sent Moses to sort possess the people and bring them all out alive. This is the typology of Jesus being sent for us.

Maybe, you are destined for something great or something small. I know that whichever task God has for you, it is to bring life to you and through you to others. Do not be easily discouraged or frightened by what God is asking you to do. Usually it is bigger than you. When God asked the Israelites to cross over into the Promised Land, they baulked at it. They had discovered that giants existed in the Promised Land. Immediately they forgot about God, His power, miracles, signs and wonders that He had done in their midst for 40 years in the wilderness. All they could see were demons and the power of the enemy. The book of Luke tells us that God has given us all the power over the enemy. Luk 10:19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. “Go” and possess the land

Lots of love

Pastor Noble     

23/04/2017