Claiming Our Inheritance and Stepping into our Promised Land
The importance of God pouring out revelation through the Word is so vital to our knowing who He is to us. I get so excited to just open up the scriptures and ask Papa: “Where do you want to take me today?” I have no agenda nor do I focus on reading in any certain place or reading any set amount. I love it when you are just opening up the Bible with no rhyme or reason and you just start to read and God shows you answers to your questions or to prayers you have been praying. You see, the scriptures come to life and speak to your heart. This happens to me the majority of my time reading the scriptures. I see the Holy Spirit bring it to life and that is how I have been “remembering” the stories; they mean something in my heart and they become one with my heart. The enemy can’t take it away from you then because now there is a “heart connect” and it was not just something you read because someone or some religion told you that you had to read a certain amount of your Bible on a given day.
My prayer for you is that God may use this book to help the scriptures open up to you in a whole new way. I pray that He opens your eyes and ears more to see the Bible come alive like you have never encountered it before. There is so much God has hidden in the scriptures and that amazes me each time I read it. You can go to the same scripture and He can talk to you about it in a brand new way! We are in exciting times and on the precipice of seeing Him reveal His hidden mysteries more and more to those who will search them out.
God showed me an incredible analogy within the Baptism of Jesus a few years ago. He gave me this revelation over a period of time. He would reveal more and more of the story as if it was still unraveling in my heart. I continue to chew on the revelation in amazement of how there is such purpose to what we do and where we go. He has been showing me to continue to keep alert and watch for the little things and He will highlight even the smallest movement of Him to me. I just need to stay awake!
This revelation came while I was studying the Book of Joshua as I was writing my first sermon while I attended the Global School of Supernatural Ministry (GSSM). This was before we were sent out into the Nation (USA) on practicum (10-12 weeks of teaching and preaching all over the US and into Canada). I was stepping into new territory and I was excited to jump in with both feet.
I had only really been walking with God for about 2 ½ years at this point. The only time I ever spoke in front of large group was a year earlier to give my testimony. Before that, you would not have even found me in front of even a small group to speak; it scared me to death to speak to any size group even to read in a small setting. I would fret and find ways to get out of talking. I was embarrassed by my reading which was only at about an 8thgrade level even after graduating High School. My speech was not much better. Reading, English, and Speech Classes were my worst subjects and it got worse when I was separated out in school to attend a special reading class – I wasn’t special. I felt dumb and that just added to my embarrassment and reinforced my low self-esteem.
While attending GSSM, God poured out His goodness so mightily! I want to give credit to Ben Williams (staff at GSSM) for his teaching which stirred my heart to dive into the scriptures. I started to meditate on scripture and chew it up until I understood what God was saying to me. I watched God unveil so much revelation as He created a hunger inside of me that really has never stopped. I pray God continues to stir up and increase the hunger inside of you to go after the hidden mysteries within the scriptures.
Have you ever wondered “why did God choose the Jordon River to have Jesus Baptized?” He could have chosen from many different bodies of water, even the Sea of Galilee. I would like to propose this thought to you: May be the reason God chose the Jordon was because it represented the death of Christ to come.
God had me dive into the concordance where I find out the meaning behind the words:
• Jordon River- the Descender; the Jordon flows into the Dead Sea
• The Dead Sea is a sea with no life because of its high salt content
Matthew 5:13 tells us that “You are the salt of the earth”.
• We are the salt of the earth!
• God called Joshua to cross over the Jordon and not go through the Jordon because God was going to put the enemy under his feet as he crossed over the Jordan into his Promised land.
Joshua 1:11 instructed them to: “Prepare your provisions, for within three days you shall pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
Joshua 3:15 warns them, “For the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest”
• He and those who bore the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the flood waters and when the soles of their feet rested in the Jordon, the waters coming from above were cut off.
They were to keep their eyes on the Ark (Jesus) and not to look to the left or the right, but keep their eyes forward which means we can’t be looking to our past either (it isn’t ours)! Lot and his family were told to not look back and when his wife was disobedient and looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt that is there still to this day!
Matthew 22:44 tells us that Father God said to Jesus, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under your feet”. As we step into the enemy camp, he is cut off and we claim territory everywhere we step says The Lord God Almighty.
The enemy is under our feet!
• The Dead Sea is downstream of us
We are called to not look to the left or the right, but to keep our eyes on the Ark (Jesus)
• When you take your eyes off of Jesus, you get caught up in chaos of the enemy and swept downstream into the Dead Sea
• Isaiah 60:5 states “then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and tremble with joy and be enlarged; because the abundant wealth of the [Dead Sea] shall be turned to you, unto you shall the nations come with their treasures.”
When we get swept into the Dead Sea, we are waiting for someone to help us! Dreams and Visions are floating in the Dead Sea, waiting on the Sons and Daughters to pull them out. They help us refocus on Jesus and be restored back to what we were created to be. Once again we can be on our journey with our new found love and be rejuvenated because we know we are treasures that were lost but now are found!
So how about this thought for a snack to chew on: Jesus was baptized in the Jordon which represents the Descender! We know that when He went down it represented death and as He came up, it represented life everlasting! So Jesus being baptized in the Jordon represented the true death on the cross into the hands of the enemy to complete death. Jesus was baptized in the Jordon, the Descender! As He was raised up, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form representing a new spiritual life that was born. What if we truly die to our old self during Baptism, not just a pretend, symbolic death! Our old life has passed away and we truly are a new being!
The Holy Spirit descends upon us in the same way as it happened with Jesus. Jesus was fully a man- He had laid aside His deity so that He could be our example as He walked on the earth. We can’t follow something that is not tangible and we also need the same opportunities and capabilities as that person. Jesus was fully man and didn’t have the Spirit of God in Him until that very moment. I believe He couldn’t because if He did then He was not fully man. If you are full of something it is one way or the other. It can’t be both so He is either fully God or fully man. It never says He was both. So as we follow Jesus, we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. We ask Him into our heart and not just with a “feel good” prayer, but actually making a heart connect with Jesus.
I believe we then need the Spirit of God to fill us with His spirit just like Jesus breathed on the disciples in the Upper Room. That represents being empowered by the Spirit of God with His power and authority. The water Baptism seals the deal and I believe it represents the total transformation of the death of your old man and the birth of your new man! The Holy Spirit also descends upon you in bodily form like a dove whether you see it or not. By faith we receive. I believe these 3 components are important to successfully walk out your destiny. These are thoughts to think about:
• When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it is Jesus coming into our lives and that relationship is the start! He goes to the Father and intercedes on our behalf!
• When we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God infills us and that brings the comforter, the power and authority of the Almighty God in Spirit form.
• When we are water baptized, God descends upon us in bodily form and resides inside of each of us. Our body becomes the Temple of God.
So what if, when Jesus says in John 17, in His prayer to the Father that His prayer is truly for us to be one with Jesus as Jesus is one with the Father. What if that prayer is truly answered with the help of the Holy Spirit to bring it all together. We need to really know that it is not just me in this body, that Jesus as well as God resides inside of us! Wouldn’t the world act differently and wouldn’t we act differently if we really knew who really is inside of us? That should give us reverential Fear of the Lord where we would want nothing other than to honor Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with all of our actions concerning how we even treat our bodies!
I have been really praying and asking God to show me more! One day, I felt God directed me to read Isaiah 5! I started and continued on to Chapters 6 and 7. The scripture really opened up, causing me to know Jesus was the same as me!
Isaiah 7:14-16:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when He knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
Yes, you are reading correctly! This scripture is talking about Jesus being born to Mary! Isaiah is prophesying about when the land of the two kings will be laid to waste – It is after Jesus knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. What if it is stated twice is so we don’t overlook this important scripture. The Concordance says:
• Know: to perceive and see, find out and discern; to know by experience; Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon says “to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to know, to be acquainted
We also learn right from wrong! I have known kids as I was growing up that really had purity about them and I don’t think they had the ability to sin! They were different! Maybe that is the same way Jesus was raised! We can’t believe that God came to earth to just save us. There is so much more to that process and the reasons why God chose the way He did was to set us free through free will; He won’t force us to want a relationship with Him, but that is one of His greatest desires.
I have another thought which is not heretical or bad theology, but it is just Trina thinking out loud! What if it is true that God knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb like scripture says in Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
He knew us before and God is all about relationship! That relationship was strong and He set you apart. Together with God we decided to come to earth and knew that we could overcome everything the enemy throws our way. When I consider this, I begin to really think. I also had to learn right from wrong and it took me a little longer than Jesus and I am still a work in progress. Jesus is tangible to me. It is like seeing an older brother overcome a battle in his life and it gives you confidence to overcome the same opposition in my life. The opposition is the battle no matter what it looks like. It is against the enemy and I need to use my power and the authority of God that lives inside of me to keep the enemy under my feet. I believe there is so much revelation in these chapters in Joshua. I believe God unravels revelation to show us the way to walk into our own promised land.
God tells us to arise and become powerful (Joshua 1:1-2). Arise means to choose to come into being (come into life).
• Arise è6905 (quwm) küm: to arise; become powerful; choose to stand in order to receive
• Arise è(dict) Come into being (come into life)
• Being è(dict) life
Isaiah 60:1 says to Shine and we are the light of Christ and God is calling us to let the light within us to shine. So God is calling us forth to wake up and change positions by standing for what we believe. This is part of finding passion, purpose, vision within our lives, and understanding you have a destiny that is greater than anything you could ever dream or dare to imagine.
God was calling Joshua to arise after the death of Moses and take his place! God is calling forth the Joshuas to step into leadership, to arise and change positions in their lives by taking ownership of who they are in Christ. We can’t receive the promised land if we are not standing up. Right relationship with God, eyes focused on Jesus, and guidance and direction by the Holy Spirit are essential to our lives as Christians.
God had groomed both Joshua and Caleb years before to take this journey into the Promised Land; they were ready 40 years earlier. I believe there are some of you reading this who God may be talking to directly. God is calling you forward to step in as a leader. There was a move of God that touched hearts and gripped people reverently years ago and the church tried to shut it down like so many other times. Is it a now season for you to step into something you thought had died? I hope you don’t think you are too old- Caleb was 80 years old and felt as young as he did when he was 20 when Moses told him of the promised land he would inherit. He waited years beside Joshua as he led and as Joshua claimed his territory. It was time for him to step into his promises and I believe it is a now season for you also. However it is important for you to take everything to God- do not just rely on my word to you.
God told Joshua that He was with Moses and that He (God) would also be with Joshua. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! Joshua and Caleb carried a different Spirit of God with them from the rest of the Isrealites and I believe it is the same Holy Spirit we carry today once we receive the Baptism in the Spirit. So if God was with them, He is also with us!
He will not forsake you nor will He fail you! He calls us to “be strong and of good courage” and I believe each one of you reading or listening to this book is also called forth to lead others, encouraging them to also inherit their promised land. What if as we step out of our comfort zone we start to run after the things of God and really start to be real with others in our lives. We must purpose our hearts on God and run with passion towards the visions and dreams God pours into us, not allowing man to stop us or to cause us to doubt. We are conquerors and not grasshoppers. I know that I myself want to walk into my promises of God and claim my territory to inherit my promised land. I don’t want to allow fear of others to cause me to become full of fear to the point where I stop and sit. Not even for a bit! I feel the promised land is knowing our true identity in Christ and jumping into the Spirit of God wholly and sold out, running with access to all of the tools, knowledge, and wisdom of God. With God we can free the captives, unleashing the chains of their bondages.
I hear people say there is a cost and they don’t know if they want to pay the price. I say that the price was so large that He sent His only son to die for you and me. There can’t be a higher price!
I also believe that if we walk where we are called, our families will also come into alignment. I heard a testimony of a lady a few years ago and she wanted her son to walk beside her in ministry, but he wasn’t anywhere close. She was afraid her boldness would cause him to go backwards, stepping away from God and that he would even reject her. She finally started to step into where God was calling her and today her son is beside her in ministry just like she prayed. So I should be who God is calling me to be, at all costs and know who I am in Christ. I must trust and believe God for all the rest around me. I must love them where they are, honoring and respecting them for who they are and not for who I want them to become.
I want to walk out Isaiah 61 because God told Isaiah that he was anointed and qualified and so are you!
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORDis on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
As we walk forward, even if the enemy causes you to stumble, don’t hide your mistakes. Allow people to see you get your eyes back on Jesus and walk it out standing tall and overcoming that thing that caused you to stumble yesterday! We need to see how to walk this all out. The world has been so full of plastic people, hiding everything they do which they feel will cause them judgment or worst of all rejection. Stop trying to measure up to others and stop telling yourself you are too old! Whatever your excuse is, stop it now!
God gives us some incredible commands and we can use them to prophesy over our lives, for example:
I am a conqueror and I will overcome the enemy as I cast him under my feet. I will stand on this rock (Jesus) and the gates of hell will not prevail. I will keep my eyes on Jesus and I will not look to the left or to the right and I will prosper everywhere I go. God I thank you for empowering me the ability to meditate on your word and your word will not depart from out of my mouth! I will meditate on your Word day and night and as I obey your Word, you will make my way prosperous and teach me to deal wisely and to have great success. I will be strong, vigorous, and courageous. I will not be afraid nor be dismayed because you Almighty God are with me everywhere I go.
God commanded them to go through the camp, to prepare their provisions and to pass over the camp. What if that is to get rid of baggage we have been carrying? We keep picking up the past or stuff that is not ours to carry as a burden and I believe this is what God wants us to give to Him.
An amazing Power Evangelist, an incredible man of God, spoke to our class at GSSM while I was attending and I remember him showing us scripture that talks about our past no longer being ours. If you look at scripture, sometimes it is not what is written but what is not written. For example, in the Scriptures below, the future and our present are mentioned (“death nor life”) however, our past is not mentioned.
Romans 8:38-39 (Amp)
For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:22 (Amp)
Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter), or the universe or life or death, or the immediate and threatening present or the [subsequent and uncertain] future—all are yours
The past is not listed in either of these two scriptures. Romans 8:38-39 explains to us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. When we are baptized, it is our old man that is dead and the past is gone. We, as humans, sometimes have trouble letting it go. The Holy Spirit is in us to empower us to stay away from the past. Scripture from 1 Corinthians shows us what is ours and again why is the past left out? Is it because the past is no longer ours (Jesus paid for it on the Cross) and when God tells Joshua not to turn to the left hand nor the right hand and that in doing so he will prosper. The key is to not look even to the side but to stay focused on what lies straight ahead.
I was in church a few years ago and an amazing farmer and grandpa in our church spoke. He shared about plowing the fields. When you plow the fields, if you take your hands off the plow to look back, you start to look focused on the end of your plow row and you start to plow where you don’t belong. We can’t take our eyes off of Jesus in front of us, because if you plow in the wrong place, I believe people get hurt. If you sow seed in the wrong location or in soil that is not good, you won’t be prosperous. It is vital to know the Father and what He is saying for each moment of our walk with Him. Jesus only did what the Father did and only went where the Father went; this only comes with an intimate relationship with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.