Stand Up And Be Counted!

As the descendants of Abraham began to take possession of their inheritance, there were seven tribes that for some reason, had failed to receive their inheritance. It is important to understand that when it says they had not “received” their inheritance, it actually means is that they had failed to drive out the enemy.  The land that had been promised to them by God, was inhabited by people who opposed their right to the land.  In order for them to receive their inheritance, they had to dispossess the enemy.  The land belonged to the children of Israel by right of inheritance, by promise, but it was occupied and dominated by their enemies. 

Listen to Joshua’s words:

Joshua 18:3 MSG
Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

The point is:

• The land had been given to them by God
• It was their responsibility to do whatever they had to do in order to take possession of it.

Joshua was asking them how long they were going to hang back, and put off, possessing their inheritance.  How long were they going to be lazy, afraid, and unwilling to engage the enemy and take possession of their birth rite?

We find this same culture in the church now.  The word of God is full of His promises toward His children.  We are also by faith the seed of Abraham, and we are heirs to the blessing of Abraham, Gal 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

As it was then it is still true today, there are enemies that do not want us to take possession of our inheritance and unless we enjoy living as spiritual nomads, we must be willing to fight for what is ours. Matthew 11:12, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

One reason many of Gods people are cheated out of their inheritance is: because they do not know what belongs to them, they are unfamiliar with the will, Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”

Another reason is: we are just plain slack, lazy, unwilling to fight for it.  Many Christians would rather live the mediocre self-preserving life of a spiritual pauper, than have to engage the enemy in spiritual warfare.  It’s time to recognize and start admitting that we “have not” because we won’t stand up and fight for it. 

Our inheritance is not in heaven waiting for us to die so we can go and get it!  Our inheritance is in Christ, it has been paid for by His blood, now all we have to do is drive out every enemy in the name of Jesus and take back what the enemy has stolen.