NOW POSSESS YOUR POSSESSION

We have been looking at the series ‘possessing your possession’. We started with the topic GO AND POSSESS YOUR POSSESSION and we looked at the story of the Lord Jesus who had to send messengers to untie the ass and the colt that belonged to him.

In the second series, we looked at the story of the woman with the issue of blood when we discussed the topic STEPS ON HOW TO POSSESS YOUR POSSESSION. 

The third series was where we discussed DETERMINE TO POSSESS YOUR POSSESSION from the same account of the woman with the issue of blood when she said within her heart, that is she made up her mind and became resolute to break the protocols and rules that would have hindered her from touching Jesus.

In this forth series of Possessing your possession we will be looking at the topic Now possess your possession.

Deu 2:31-37 KJV 31 And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. 33 And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: 35 Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us: 37 Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

In the account recorded for us in Deut 2: 24-31, it was part of the valedictory message of Moses and this event was around the 38th year of their departure from Egypt.

You will see the actual event in Numbers 21

Num 21:21-26 KJV 21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders. 23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.

So in Deut, Moses was given an account of what took place in the book of Numbers. From what we read in Numbers, the children of Israel were on the border of Cannan and were to pass through the land, so as the custom was to send emissary ahead, Moses sent people to tell Sihon to let them pass through his land and that they will not disturb or pluck anything but will even buy pure but Sihon refused.

So in Deut Moses gave us an account of what God commanded them to do after that Sihon had refused them from passing through his land.

Deu 2:24 KJV Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

RISE YE UP

Rise ye up is a call to action. You see when the Edomites refused them to pass through their land in Num 20:21-22 God did not allow them to fight the Edomites but the children of Israel had to turn back and circle the land again, it delayed them and increased their number of days in the wilderness.

So this time around when they sent messengers to King Sihon and he refused, the same thing would have repeated itself, that means they would have to turn back and go in a circle again. And the man without provocation brought out his armies against the children of Israel and that will mean the children of Israel will have to turn back again. This has made the children of Israel to be discouraged and disheartened so God said rise ye up.

The reason why God called them into action was that what they had passed through will not repeat itself. Nahum says affliction shall rise up the second time. 

There are many Christian that need to rise up. Rise up in their heart, rise up to do something about their inheritance, rise up to take hold of what belongs to them. Sitting down is synonymous with complacency, despondent, laziness, carefree attitude, unconcerned attitude, nonchalant attitude, and in our own modern religious day, if it be the will of God attitude 

It is time to take action against all the evil scheme of the devil, it is time not to remain in one position, it is time not to allow the event of the past repeat itself. It is time to break the yoke of stagnation and limitation in life. God says rise ye up. That popular song says “stand up stand up for Jesus ye soldier of the cross” The prodigal son says i will arise and go to my father. Say I will arise.

Isa 60:1 KJV Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

The reason why many are not rising is because probably they have been defeated before, they have been rejected before like the Edomite refused Israel, some have experienced failure before so they are not finding it easy to rise. But hear what Micah says:

Mic 7:8 KJV Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Pro 24:16 KJV For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

TAKE YOUR JOURNEY

Secondly, God told them to take their journey. God does not want them to just rise up but he asked them to set out, move out and pull out. They said the journey of one mile begins with one step. They could have stayed there and been deliberating, meditating, pondering, considering, wondering how and where and when, but God said take your journey.

There are many of us that need to set out and take our journey, we stay for too long in arriving at a decision. Many are like the tribe of Reubenite, they had this attribute:

Jdg 5:16 KJV Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

Should I do this or not? Should I travel out or stay in Nigeria? Should I marry him or her or should I wait? Should I read chemical engineering or agric engineering? Should I start that business or not? What if, what if. God said take your journey. You have deliberated enough and now take action. You have been indoors for a long time, set out.

PASS OVER RIVER ARNON

God told them to pass over River Arnon which was on the border of Moab, and divided between Moab and the Amorites, Nu 21:13. The significance of that is that if they cross over that river, they would be crossing over into the enemy territory, area and environment which means it is either they fight or perish, it won’t be easy for them to run back.

The River Arnon separates or borders the Amorites land which they must cross for them to get the land of Cannan. One of the things we Christians need to do is to cross over the river of doubt and fear, intimidation and harassment from the devil. So many people are afraid to venture out. They don’t want to leave their comfort zone into unknown territory. They said you better stay where you are.

What is your own river separating you from your promised land? Cross it, pass over it. Pass over indecision and unbelief, pass over discouragement and fear.

BEHOLD 

The next thing God told them was to behold. Behold what now? the word “behold” in Hebrew is “raah” and it means: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider, have vision, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, gaze at.

Many times God called attention to people in the Bible to see. What are they to see and why should they be called to see? The reason is not because they don’t have eyes or they are blind but because man only sees with sensory sight senses. Man does not see what God sees or how God sees. So God called the attention of man to see what He is seeing.

God sees better, farther and clearer than we can see. Our sights are limited, short sighted or long sighted, that is why many of us are using eye glasses. Actually our eyes are not meant for seeing, they are just windows into the realm of the physical just like your mouth is not meant for eating only. GOD look and see by faith, seeing the unseen

Rom 8:24-25 KJV 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

What we see with our own human eyes limits us and limits what we can do. You will act based on what you can see. If you have small money in your account now you will act, talk and conduct your life relative to that amount you have. You will rent a small store, buy small materials because you don’t want to be in debt and want to follow that bad adage that says cut your coat according to your size. It is an unbelief statement that negates Is 54:2-3 where the Bible says enlarge your coast, spread forth your tents…

We should see the way God sees because God is not limited. He sees by faith and He speak what He sees by faith. We see better with out heart tan with our eyes. When i closed my eyes, i see better than when i open them.

When I wanted to buy land I asked many people to help me search. I told one man in our church and he asked me what type of land did i liked, is it 100 by 100 or 100 by 50?. I said I want half a plot, a very small land. He said something that shocked me. He said what do you want to do with that kind of land? I couldn’t reply. When I got home I started thinking and I had to repent. Because I had limited myself with my small thinking which was based on my income at that time. I could only see my small salary and I was acting based on that. God does not want that.

Jer 1:11-12 KJV 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

He said see. This is what you are seeing but see what I see. Can you see what I am seeing? Many of us need to change the way we see. 2cor 5: 7 says we walk not by sight but by faith. We don’t walk by appearances but by faith.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT TO SEE?

‘I have given into thine hand Sihon  the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land’

God said they should behold that He has given the king Sihon and his land unto them. But the last time I checked, Sihon was still there and his land was still intact yet God God said I have given it. This is what God wanted them to see. They were thinking of getting it but God said it was already a done deal. I have given it into your hand. it is concluded. A done deal. As far as God was concerned, Sihon and his land have become bread and butter.So He asked them to see what He was seeing.

Under the new covenant, we are to see all that God by grace has given unto us. 

2Pe 1:3 KJV According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:. 

Eph 1:3 KJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

As far as God is concerned we are already healed, blessed, fruitful, glorified and honoured. The question is can you see yourself as having them or not?

God told Joshua in Josh 6 that He has given Jericho and the king with all the mighty men of valour there into their hand.

Jos 6:1-2 KJV 1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

He asked Joshua to see. Even though as at the time He was talking to Joshua Jericho was straightly shut down, all borders closed, the wall standing tall, Rachab house still on top of the wall, yet God said see what I am seeing. I have given them unto you.

God told Abraham a similar thing when Lot had left:

Gen 13:14-15 KJV 14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

What can you see or what are you seeing? See with the eyes of faith and you will be seeing the way God. God sees the enemy defeated, land conquered, battle won. Can you see yourself differently?

BEGIN TO POSSESS IT

Lastly God asked them to begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. Here is where many people missed it. Even though God has given them the land, yet God asked them to begin to possess it and how will that be done? He said contend with him in battle. Many people think that the things of God just happen like that. No, it doesn’t automatically come to pass. The fact that God said it does not mean you will get it automatically.

The Hebrew word for “to possess” there is “yarash yaresh” and it means: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, be an heir, to take possession of.

The only way to seize his land, dispossess him and inherit the land was to contend with him in battle. Here is the good news even though they will have to contend with him and fight him, the outcome of that battle has already been determined. They were going to win because God said He has already given them into their hands. For them to inherit the land they must possess it. He repeated the same

Deu 2:31 KJV And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

UNDER THE NEW COVENANT

Here is the good news, that our own battles have been fought and won by the Lord Jesus. He had defeated the devil and gave us the victory. He said I have overcome the world Jn 16:33. You don’t say overcome if there was not a fight.

And when He defeated the devil we defeated the devil together. He did it on our behalf and it is imputed unto us as if we did it. So we are not like the children of Israel who have to go to a physical battle to possess their Cannan land. We have received the inheritance and the promise. All things are ours through Jesus.

Eph 1:11 KJV In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Somebody will say, “Where are they? Why am I not experiencing them? Why are they not my reality?

There are few things that a Christian needs to do to possess His possession.

1. Through the instrumentality of the word

Act 20:32 KJV And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

The word of God will deliver into your hand what is already yours. That is why you have to esteem the words, confess and declare them.

2. Fight the good fight

1Ti 6:12 KJV Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

What is the good fight of faith?

• It is a good fight because the outcome is known. It is a good fight because the outcome too has already been determined. We have won before we start fighting.
• It is compelling our rebellious situation and circumstances to line up with the word of God.
• It is the positive response to what Christ has done where we will not take ‘no’ for an answer
• It is resisting the devil to take off his hand from God’s property Jam 4: 7

3. Receive what is ours

1Co 4:7 KJV For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

He was admonishing them from vainglory but if you turn the statements around, it means that if you don’t have it is because you have not received it.

The word receive is “lambano” and it means to take, to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it, to take up a thing to be carried, to take upon oneself, to take in order to carry away, without the notion of violence, i,e to remove, take away, to take what is one’s own, to take to one’s self, to make one’s own and to claim, 

Jas 4:2-3 KJV 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 

1Jn 3:22 KJV And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.