Let Us Keep The Feast...

 

“So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” (Joshua 21:43-45)

The word of the Lord at the time of Joshua was, “take the land and occupy.” We see in this verse where the Lord’s faithfulness shines through so beautifully. The people had to step forward in faith and obedience, but as they did, they were given this incredible, bountiful and beautiful land to occupy. It was all theirs. It was full of provision, protection, promise, purpose and peace. It was everything they needed to live a rich, satisfying and flourishing life.

David proclaims after being rescued from his enemies that the Lord dealt with him according to is demeanor towards Him. To those who do not turn away from Him and hold fast to His decrees and ways, He is faithful and comes through for them. He doesn’t make it too hard but gives the victory and delivers him from his enemies. (Psalm 18)

Yet, when we read ahead to the end of Joshua’s life, we find these verses that say things like, Judges 1:27,29, “But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land...Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.”

The result of living among the people of the land and not forcing them out is that later would be that the people of God would succumb to their enemies, follow their ways and practices, and fail to live into what God had for them. The people of the land became traps for them and their gods became snares. As a result of their unfaithfulness and seeking other gods, they would end up oppressed, cry out for help from God, and He would send a judge to rescue them.

This pattern of getting stuck and crying out to God for help continued on, over and over again, until the time Israel asks for a king like other people of the land. They desired to conform themselves to other people around them and the Lord lets them have their way. Things didn’t get any easier for them with a king of their own.

Sometimes a king would be godly and the people would begin to flourish then a king would be evil and the people would groan for freedom from their bondage. Over time, the relationship became so distant with God that there was a period of time that the word of the Lord was absent and people did whatever they thought was right in their own sight.

Then what was shadow is washed away in the new. Salvation comes as our High Priest, King, Shepherd, Sacrificial Lamb, Judge and Prophet becomes all in all. He is the One we were waiting for. Through Him, we inherit the land.

“He made you holy by means of Jesus Christ, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2)

What was key in the Old Testament is a shadow and reflections of the New Testament. Starting at the beginning, when we were in the garden, what God asked of us was to believe, trust and obey. He gave us free will so we could choose this but we sinned and through Adam, sin entered our world. The enemy encroached and life became this place of brokenness and barrenness where we had to labor to occupy the land.

Now we enter into this New Testament Promised Land by faith, in trust and obedience, we eat and partake of the Tree of Life (Jesus). We choose Him and have available to us this land of provision, protection, promise, purpose and peace. We are made holy by relationship with Him.

Not only are we made holy, but we are provided gifts and abilities to function in this place of Promise by faith to take the land and obtain the victory over anything that stands in our way. Since we still live in a world of brokenness and sin, we need to press in and occupy the land.

With an enemy who is much stronger than us in the natural, we are given supernatural abilities to overcome in every circumstance. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and given His gracious gifts and authority. These gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, healing, deliverance, encouragement, working of miracles, tongues, and on and on, wouldn’t be needed if we didn’t live in a broken world.

The Word says that we are given these spiritual gifts for the edification of the Church (I Corinthians 14:12), and to build up the Body of Christ in love and unity. Through Jesus, like Joshua, the shadow, we have been given the Promised Land to occupy. And how we occupy this land is by faith, trust and obedience just as was God asked for us in the beginning in the Garden. These gifts we have been given help us in fully occupying the land we are provided with His authority and power.

Paul goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 1:2:4-9, “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through Him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7)

The word of the day is still in essence the same, "take the land and occupy." While we are given this incredible land to occupy and all that we need to grow mature in unity, fully occupying the land, the Lord does not keep us from sin if we choose. What He provides is forgiveness, restoration, and freedom. If we let the things of the world encroach into our land and limit us, like it did for the Israelites after they were given the land, we may find ourselves without the peace promised to us.

We can live in less. We can live in strongholds such as drugs and alcoholism. Or we can live in worry or a pursuit of wealth. Matthew 13:22 says, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

Jesus talks about defilement in Matthew 18:10. He told the people, while they were afraid of what they ate or touched defiling them; it was not what went in, but what came out of their mouth, that comes from the heart, that defiles them. He said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 18:18-19)

“There is so much grace, wave after wave of His grace washes over me” sings.

Yet even as these tares grow up with the wheat, the Lord does not uproot us. We are never tossed aside or thrown out. We experience consequences for our sin and often our hearts become harder in our relationship with God because sin begins to bring death in our spiritual relationship with the Lord and choke out our faith.

In my own life, the shadow of living among the enemy and not evicting them represented my thought life. I let old unrenewed thought patterns exist behind the scenes. What happened with this is that when life became really difficult, I struggled with negative thinking about myself that would turn to thoughts of suicidal ideology, temptation towards an eating disorder or drinking as a way to escape them.

It took time to evict these old thought patterns. I had to acknowledge them and work directly on them. I had to bring them before God with others and let Him heal me and replace the old channels of thinking with new ones of faith and trust. It was not a one-time process but took several years. While many would consider me highly optimistic, I still just recently took a course on renewing my mind and managing my thoughts. I still evicted some stuff that stood in the way of faith and trust in the Lord.

A continuous and ongoing blatant sin in our lives or trauma we relive that becomes a stronghold will open the door to torment, shame, feeling diminished, anxiety [lack of trust] and can even result in physical health issues and lack of ability to sleep. While we have authority over the enemy, these strongholds will overtake us if we allow them and don’t turn away from them and seek the help we need within the body of Christ.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:4 about someone who was in sexual immorality and refused to repent, “Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.”

Paul knew that when he tasted from the fruit of the choice he was making over time, it would no longer be appealing. He would become sick and tired of the consequences he was reaping as a result. There comes a time where you reap a whirlwind and it seems to overtake one’s life. But then coming to the end of oneself, hopefully turns the person to repentance. The minute it does, God is there to meet them with freedom, healing and deliverance.

“If you got chains, while He is a chain breaker” sings in the background.

What God does is provide these gifts so we can minister to each other. We can confess our sin to one another and pray for each other and be restored. We can encourage and give hope and ask for healing, miracles, and deliverance from bondage where needed. We are never lost or without hope. His bright shining face is always radiating upon us and chasing us down in His love.

He doesn’t let go of us. He never leaves us. Nor will He forsake us. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 goes on to say, “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says and He has invited You into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“Rain came, winds blew, my house was built on You, I’m gonna make it through” sings.

For my two youngest boys, it was not their sin that caused havoc in their lives. It was their parent’s sin. Their parents got caught up in drugs and alcohol in a way that became a stronghold for them. It brought havoc into their lives. My middle child has memories of sitting in school and just feeling overwhelmed with anxiety.

The ongoing sin led this father into multiple occasions of going to jail or prison and abandoning his wife and children. And for the mother, it led her down a path to terminate her rights and let go of her kids.

When I got these kids, it was clear God’s hand was upon them. He was close and with them every step of the way. He cleared a path for them and has provided all that they needed. While the transition was traumatic, the Lord made it clear all the way through that He would always be with them and never leave or forsake them. I remember my Thomas learning to play guitar and singing, “Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me.” And he would stop, say “Wow” and then sing it over again. God used us, but He met them in that difficulty.

Now some 8 years or so later, mom is sober. She came to the end of herself and realized that the path that she was following was not for her benefit. She has got cleaned up, is going to AA and has a sponsor. She is working a program and wanting to live a different life. We are beginning to discuss when she might come back into the boy’s life again and how that might look. We are just starting to get together and I am encouraging her to go to church.

All that to say that Jesus is faithful and does not let us go. Our answer in difficulty is Jesus. If we keep turning to Him and looking to him, no matter what happens, He will not only see us through but take us into an amazing future. He not only restores us but He transforms us.

One of our Center Directors, who lives happily with his wife and three children is an ex-drug addict. He totally ruined his life, job and marriage. His wife left him, he lost his job, and everything he had. Like the prodigal child, he was living in squalor. But when he turned and cried out for God’s help, his whole life was transformed. He now helps others get freedom from addiction and is living his dream life.

The other son in the prodigal story, also struggled with his relationship with the Father. He never ran away but he also didn’t step into all his father had for him. Everything was always there for him and he lived in the land, but he chose to work hard trying to please his father, showing himself worthy, rather than living out of the abundance that he had available. Rather than be resentful of his brother, he could have just thrown a party for him and invited all his friends over.

The struggle this older brother was also in living among the enemy, not renewing his mind to seeing and living into the goodness and the bounty that was before him. He couldn’t believe it so he couldn’t experience it. Sometimes for the one who doesn’t have significant issues, it is harder because their thinking doesn’t get the same opportunity to be confronted. For the older brother, it wasn’t until the younger brother started to step into his inheritance that his thinking was confronted.

How much of the Kingdom do we just not press into and receive? While we do not want to get our eyes off of Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, sometimes, like the older brother, we live in the house but just don’t partake of the bounty. We don’t believe He is that good and that merciful to fully restore the younger brother and give us what we need. We work hard at earning our keep but we fail to live in the power and authority provided to us to throw the party that our younger brother needs.

I love that I get to be part of a ministry that is one big party for the younger brother. All the work is directed at people getting freedom. A lot of this is pointing people towards Jesus and also giving them practical steps to practice this. They have loving and caring coaches, group leaders, and specialists that walk along side of them, speak the truth to them, and help them to walk in it. I get to celebrate every day people getting set free.

Freedom does not only happen at my work. It happens wherever Christ is lifted high and Christians take the authority for the Kingdom that they are provided. It also happens at my church across multiple campuses. As this last weekend was about those who were wounded by the church or fallen away, it felt like it turned into a party for the younger brother. People were welcomed back into the family and offered grace, healing and freedom.

As an example of one really stepping into their authority, I recently heard a testimony by this Baptist preacher sharing the word of God who has a church. One day, when he was baptizing people, a young child started manifesting demonically. He didn’t know what to do so he just moved on and kept baptizing people. But it did something inside him to see this young girl suffer. It started him and his wife down a path of learning about deliverance ministries. Through the Word, he saw it was a regular part of the ministry of Jesus. While all the other older brothers left his side the moment he started making them uncomfortable, his compassion led him to take the authority he was given to help people get freedom.

In essence, he gave her a huge party. The result has been immense. He recently did a movie where the theaters were packed around the nation and people were set free at the end as he led them in prayer or had prayer ministers available to help them. I volunteered to pray for people as part of this and we had people waiting up to 3 hours after to receive prayer at a movie theater. But there was freedom from significant issues like suicidal ideation and even schizophrenia. It was amazing. I can’t even begin to explain the joy I felt to see people get such freedom. People were physically healed as well as God touched areas such as trauma, worry and stress.

“Strongholds are coming down and Jesus is lifted high” sings in the background.

Lord, I just want to be at the party that celebrates Your goodness and sets people free. Please keep me on the invite list and don’t let me miss an opportunity. Lord, we want to walk in the fullness of all that You have for us. Help us to see as You see and love as You love. If the enemy is encroaching anywhere in our lives, show us and help us to evict him. Let this be a long season of throwing a feast that makes You smile.