Possessing Our Inheritance

For Thursday Oct. 9, 2014
(#911, Imperial, 1962)

Read Joshua 1:1-9.

Hymnology of our day is often misleading when Jordan is pictured as death and Canaan as heaven.  Canaan was a place of warfare and thus not a type of heaven.  Canaan is typical of the place of full salvation which is the portion of every Christian.  It was the goal to which God was leading His people.

Many Christians today, like the Israelites, are content to settle down in the wilderness: the place of defeat, complaint, struggle.  They are justified but not enjoying the possession of all their inheritance in Christ.

In this series on Joshua we are hoping to encourage each Christian to "go over Jordan" and possess our inheritance of mature Christian living.

The entrance into Canaan was entrusted to a Representative, vs1-2.

Everything in Canaan was entrusted to Joshua.  Likewise, everything in the Christian's life is in Christ.  God has nothing for anyone of us except we find it in Christ.

The land had to be claimed, vs3-4.

It is not sufficient to have the title to the land.  There are enemies.  7 nations held the land of Canaan and Israel would have to engage them in warfare.

Likewise there is conflict or spiritual warfare if we are to possess our inheritance.  Spiritual blessings are ours in the heavenly places but we do not experience them by sitting by passively.  We will find they are to be claimed by prayer, faith, the whole armor, the Word, and obedience.

Are you living in the Wilderness or have you gone over the Jordan?