Series: Renewal of the Mind; Promised Land

Sun am 21 July 2019 – Kobus Swart

Col. 3:1 – Mirror; 1 Cor. 10:11; Num. 13:33; (Josh. 5:3-7); (Ex. 3:8, 17); Jude 1:5; Josh. 14:6-15; Heb. 4:6-10; Col. 2:2 – Amp; 1 Tim. 3:16; (Col. 1:27); (Matt. 22:11-12); (Ps. 139:16, 23); Eph. 2:10; Eph. 6:12); (Col. 2:15); (John 16:11); (2 Kings 2:9-14); 2 Tim. 2:2

Set your mind on the things from above, not what you see or feel, but set your mind on throne room realities, referring to the finished works of Jesus (Col. 3:1 – Mirror). How do you see yourself? It is important to see spiritual picture of the history of Israel in their deliverance from Egypt, then through the Red Sea, into the wilderness; a journey that could have taken eleven days took them forty years! Then before they entered the Promised Land, they had to go through the Jordan. Is the Church of Jesus Christ still busy crossing the Jordan River? If so, why? Have we possessed our Promised Land yet? Many believe that is one day in heaven. No! That is an old religious mindset. God put eternity in our hearts. Jesus tore the veil from top to bottom and access was made possible for us into the heavenly realms, and to live a supernatural lifestyle. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Cor. 10:11). It is talking about us and to us! People are looking for something deeper. A new sound is being released in the earth; for those with ears to hear, listen!

Twelve spies were sent to inspect the Promised Land. Only two came back with a positive report. The others came back with a negative report, There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight (Num. 13:33). Where does the nonsense start? In the way you see yourself! That is the way everyone else is going to see you, including satan. The declarations that come from the innermost being of who I am will convince and scare the enemy. The enemy works on the lies we believe about ourselves. After crossing the Jordan, the sons of Israel drew near to Joshua in Gilgal (Josh. 14:6); a new generation had to be circumcised!

Some are asking if Moses was a false prophet when he told the Israelites in Egypt that the Lord was going to take them to a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8, 17), when all but two of that generation perished in the wilderness. Was Moses a false prophet? No! Likewise, God has promised the Church a victorious lifestyle, taking dominion and listening to the first mandate that came to Adam and Eve: multiply and rule. Where is the government of God on this earth? God, after delivering a people from the land of Egypt, destroyed all those who did not believe. He destroyed a whole generation (Jude 1:5). A journey that could have taken eleven days took forty years, going around the mountain, around the mountain; this is where the Church is, history repeating itself. God saved two spiritual fathers, Joshua and Caleb; they had to lead a whole new generation into the Land of Promise. That is why they had to stop at Gilgal where the circumcision took place. Joshua and Caleb were FORERUNNERS, and, likewise, God has forerunners today like Joshua and Caleb. Caleb was 85 years old! (Josh. 14:10). I want to see the spirit of Joshua and Caleb, forerunners – they do not give up! They do not jump ship when there are trials and tribulations. Caleb had a different spirit; he asked for the hill country. That is where the Anakim lived and the giants were hiding. Joshua gave Hebron to Caleb, and it says the land had rest from war (Josh. 14:11-15).

The “giants” represent fallen angels and principalities in a specific realm, taunting the Church. They have taken possession of the realms that belong to us. The enemies in Canaan were the Canaanites that had to be destroyed. Unfortunately later they built alliances with the enemy. They did not take the word of the Lord seriously and they missed the Promised Land. Joshua did not give them rest (Heb. 4:6-10). There remains therefor, another day – TODAY!

What is mysticism? To be a mystic or to be mystical is beyond the physical, beyond the material, it is in another realm. [For my concern is] that their hearts may be [a]braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love, that they may come to have all the abounding wealth and blessings of assured conviction of understanding, and that they may become progressively [b]more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, [which is] Christ (the Anointed One) (Col. 2:2 – Amp). The mystic secret! Christ! (1 Tim. 3:16). Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). The door is open to another realm but we are trapped in the frequency of the earth; trapped in time and space while there is so much waiting for us. A mystic is someone who believes and has insights into mysteries transcending ordinary knowledge, as by direct communication with God. There are New Age mystics and people from the East who can do more supernatural things than the Church can. Unfortunately, however, it is the counterfeit, it is not the real thing because it is not done in the name of Jesus Christ, nor do they have the right garment on in the wedding feast (Matt. 22:11-12). Are we going to keep running from that which seems mystical and too super-spiritual? There is a new generation busy forming because our forerunners, fathers in the faith, have been awakened by the Holy Spirit.

Each one of us has a scroll (the Book of life) in which the destiny of our whole life has been written (Ps. 139:16). For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph. 2:10). We must walk in the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Every time you and I fail to walk in what God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in, we lose something (for example mantles, crowns, destinies) that the enemy picks up. The spirit of Caleb must be awakened in us. Based on the finished works, Jesus destroyed and proved powerless the principalities and powers in heavenly places (Col. 2:15; John 16:11). He wants the Church to be aware that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). What heavenly places? Not the highest heavens. It is a realm (where principalities and powers dwell) that has to be conquered by the sons of God.

Elijah gave Elisha a double portion of the spirit that was on him (2 Kings 2:9-14). What happened to the double anointing of Elisha when he passed on? Paul passed his anointing, his commissioning to Timothy his spiritual son (2 Tim. 2:2). Can you imagine if every generation that walked with God passed double to the next generation? What happened to those mantles? I encourage you to wake up, spend time with God and take back what belongs to you. Take up the destiny that was designed for you. Connect with the truth of who you are. How do you see yourself? Get rid of any negative view of yourself. Stop confessing negative things about yourself. You have been created by God to walk in good works prepared beforehand for you. We are predestined into sonship. The sons of God will take the high mountains and dispossess the so-called ‘giants’. Satan is a liar. Do not accept his accusations. May the Lord give you wisdom to identify the things you have lost and sacrificed to satan. Take it back! Declare it: “I am a GIANT-KILLER”!