Possessing The Promise – – Part II

Numbers 13:1-3; 17-33 – – (I ask that you read these verses…)

Let us pick up where we left off yesterday regarding Possessing the Promise and the Paralysis of Analysis.  The student of the Bible understands that throughout the Holy Writ there is evidence that the battle we discussed yesterday is very real and is waged and won so that it can be walked out or lived out here on Earth.  The life and times of Daniel is an exceptionally good example that we will not go into at this juncture.  Instead, I want us to turn our attention to another figure in Biblical History found in 2 Kings 6 – Elisha who has been called the “Double Portion Prophet”.

In this account, Elisha thwarts the efforts of the entire Syrian army through his ability to See and Hear in the Unseen Realm!  The Syrian army had arrived at Dothan to take Elisha captive.  It is remarkable how foolish unbelieving man can be at times!  Elisha’s servant woke up, looked out at the massive Syrian army, and was terrified.  He ran to Elisha in complete terror crying out – WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? 

You realize that this is not really a question but an expression of desperation on his part.  Elisha calmly and casually woke up, sat up, and prayed a simple prayer, “Lord, open his eyes that he may see….”  What?  He does see!  He sees overwhelming odds against them, that is the problem.  He Sees, but only with the eyes of the natural! 

Elisha’s prayer is not that his natural eyesight, improve but rather that God would allow the servant to See the Unseen!  That was Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17-18 when he prayed that God would grant to them the “spirit of wisdom & revelation”, and “the eyes of their understanding be enlightened.”  That is clearly something that each of us could greatly benefit from.

God honored the prophet’s prayer and opened the eyes of the servant and his Fear immediately turned into Faith!  The ability to See into the Unseen Realm enables the individual to see what God sees.  The servant could now see the angelic host that was prepared to do battle for them.  He understood the calmness of the prophet because Elisha knew that there was more with them than with the enemy!  That will bring calmness to the heart like nothing else.

The Promise that God made to Abraham, “The land is yours” came with a Problem, “There are occupants in the land who have controlled it for a very long time.  People who did not recognize or honor God’s, Decree and were determined not to give up the land they occupied.”  That is a Problem!  Therefore, they had to strategize, learn how to fight, and move into an attitude of victory. 

Simply put, God had given them a Promise, but the inhabitants refused to honor the Promise or Covenant, so it was up to Israel to move into spiritual and physical warfare and Possess the Land (Promise)!

DO YOU GET THE PICTURE?

This is all an example for us!  Canaan was the land in question.  A good discussion here would be “What does Canaan represent?”  This is more than just a plot of ground in the Middle East.  I say that because the promise made to Abraham was The World according to Romans 4:13. This is more than the Jewish people in Canaan!  It involves the Church too!  What took place in the natural was to instruct us in the spiritual.  God wants us to “take” and “possess” the Land, or the Promise!

Let me break it down in this way:

1. God gave Adam RULE over the Earth.  [Genesis 1:26,28]
2. God repeated that AUTHORITY to Noah.  [Genesis 9:1-2]
3. God gave man RULE over the Earth.  [Psalm 8:6]
4. God’s Kingdom is EVERLASTING, and His DOMINION endures for ALL GENERATIONS.  [Psalm 145:13]
5. God promises to SUBDUE people & nations under our feet.  [Psalm 47:3]
6. God has given AUTHORITY or DOMINION over all the POWER of the enemy.  [Luke 10:19]

Those are biblical facts!  Those are all Promises of God!  Needless to say, the enemy does not want us to inherit or possess the Promises of God, so we have the responsibility to Reclaim the Land and Appropriate the Promise by Enforcing Calvary’s Victory! 

Therefore, Canaan represents The Place of Promise!  The Place of Abundance!  The Place of Victory and as Jesus declared, “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force.”  Some things in this walk require engaging in Warfare albeit Spiritual Warfare and not with flesh & blood!  The question immediately becomes: “How Do We Do It?” “How Do We Possess the Promise?”

That is where we will stop today and pick up there tomorrow and consider the application of this so that we can, in our individual lives and corporately begin the process of Possessing the Promise! 

Until we meet again, may the blessings of the Lord abound in your life, and may the Holy Spirit enable you to see clearly into the Unseen Realm!