Possessing Your Inheritance
We will be considering the historical account of what happened when Israel came to Kadesh Barnea. Do you remember how Moses sent spies to “spy out” the Promised Land before Israel was to go in and possess it? I have found in these scriptures some suggestions that relate to our particular place here in this hour. I believe this message will help us discover how we can conquer and possess our inheritance…. That Place that God has Promised us.
Num 13:25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. (These are the spies who were sent to search out the Promised Land and they returned to Kadesh after their mission)
26 ¶ And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. (They were the descendents of the giants…)
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. (Thank God for Caleb…)
This is an historical account of a real event that happened in lives of the people of God. In my recent studies, God has revealed to me that nothing that happened in the Old Testament is without significance in our contemporary spiritual living. We can read what happened in the Old Testament under the old covenant and see how it relates to us in this day in which we live… The Day of the New Covenant.
All that has happened and that is happening in history has actually been foreshadowed in the Old Testament. That is why I say that the people of God who know the Word of God need never to be taken by surprise at what is taking place on the earth at any given time. As a matter of fact, we are the only people who actually understand what is happening in the world today. Did you know that every answer you are searching for can be found in the Word of God? You can find the solution to every problem you are facing in the Word of God.
Many ask me “what’s going on , Bro Dick?” “What’s happening and where are we in God’s Grand Plan?” “How can we relate to world events and what can we expect to take place in the near future?” The fact is that nearly everything that happened to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament is some kind of shadow or type of what God is doing or going to do with His People in our day.
If you can visualize this and get this truth in your heart, you will understand something about this message on Conquering and Possessing. God is a God Who is Exact. When God does anything He does it according to His own Plan and His own Time. He does not vary one bit. He is a God Who “changeth not.” What God promises, God performs. What God says, God does. Therefore we stand on the Word of God. We know that God is not like man, but He acts according to His promises and He does what His Word declares. Knowing, this, we can look at some of the things that God did in Israel’s history and compare them to what is taking place today in the world and in the church.
I want us to learn about conquering and possessing. I fully believe that this is the hour that God has literally raised us up for (the Church as a whole and this Church in particular) … and that is to conquer and to possess what is legally and scripturally ours.
The “acts” of God are receiving national attention. Though many do not recognize what is happening as the “acts” of God. However, history is lining up with the prophetic Word of God. Nations are rising and wars are rumored and international events are falling into place just like the Bible predicted them to hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The Islamic world is poised and positioned to square off with Israel and the world is watching… very carefully. The Church of the Living God has been raised up in this hour to declare the Word and to conquer and possess what God has promised to all those who believe.
Now, just let me try to show you how exact God is. Jesus was crucified during the time the Jews celebrated their Passover. In the day when God was preparing to liberate Israel from Egyptian bondage the Passover commemorated the very time the Death Angel “passed over” those whose door posts and lintels were smeared with the blood of an innocent lamb. You remember that story. On the Passover at the time of Christ, the Sacrificial Lamb of God was crucified… and His death coincided exactly with the Day the Jews were delivered out of Egypt.
What happened three days following the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross? He arose. Notice this… exactly three days after Israel was delivered from Egypt they journeyed to the Red Sea. As the Egyptians pursued Israel, the Red Sea was miraculously parted and all 4 million of the Jews crossed over on dry land… what an awesome event!
Three days after Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb, He was miraculously resurrected by the Power of God… and this, my friend, was the greatest miracle of all ages… the established Fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead!
Now, what happened 50 days after the risen Christ ascended to heaven? Pentecost happened that’s what. Pentecost was the day the New Testament Church was born. On this day, the awesome outpouring of the Holy Ghost took place and the world was forever changed.
Let’s go back to Exodus and see how exact God is. Fifty days to the day after Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage, the Jews were camped at the base of Mount Sinai the mountain that represented the very Presence of God. Moses, their leader, went to the top of the mountain and communed with God… face to face… and brought the Tablets back that instructed them how they were to live under the Law.
Can’t you see how God has “stretched” Himself to show us exactly what His will is? Can’t you see how God has revealed Himself in His Divine Acts to prove His faithfulness? The Miracle of Pentecost was foreshadowed in the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
On the Passover Jesus was Crucified then three days later… Raised from the dead. Three days after Israel was delivered from Egypt, they supernaturally crossed the Red Sea.
50 days after the Ascension Pentecost came. 50 days after Israel was delivered out of Egypt, they are at Mount Sinai waiting to hear from God.
How marvelous and miraculous is God’s timing and exactness in revealing His will and purpose to His people!
At the time the 120 were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were commanded to Conquer and Possess. After Pentecost, the Church had One Commission:
Go ye into all the world (to the uttermost part) and preach the Gospel to all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
The Church was commissioned to conquer and possess the nations of the earth right after they received the mighty Baptism in the Holy Ghost.
Mt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1)
After Israel met with God on Mount Sinai, they received the commission to conquer every enemy and possess the Promised Land… a land that “flowed with milk and honey…” Fourteen months to the day after Israel stood at the base of Mount Sinai, they made their way to Kadesh which is a city on the southern border of the Promised Land. Fourteen months after they had met with God on the mountain, they are now ready to go into the land and possess it as God had commanded.
Now it’s been much longer than 14 months since God gave the command to the Church on the Day of Pentecost to go to the nations and preach the Gospel. In this Dispensation of the Church Age God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh and He has commissioned you and me to Conquer and Possess. Conquer and Possess. No longer can we keep our lights hid under a bushel or under the bed, but this is the hour when we must launch out and conquer and possess the Land.
Just as it was in the Old Testament as Israel faced its greatest challenge, I am discovering some attitudes in the Body of Christ today that concern me.
For example, the 12 spies were sent to spy out the land… one man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel… they were assigned to find out how powerful the enemies were, how fortified their cities were, and how difficult it would be to overcome them. Of the 12 spies, there were but two of exceptional spiritual caliber. One was Caleb and the other was Joshua.
Caleb came from the tribe of Judah. “Judah” means “praise the Lord.” There is something unusual and exceptional about a man who is not ashamed to praise the Lord. Caleb was one such man.
It took the 12 spies 40 days to complete their assignment. They returned and declared that they had never seen a land like the one they saw. It was indeed flowing with milk and honey. It was a land lush with produce and awesome to see. They brought back one single cluster of grapes so large it took two men to carry it. This was a token of the measure of God’s blessing on the Land of Promise.
Everything looked very promising, but there were some in those days who “walked by sight” and not by faith. Unfortunately, there are many today in the Body of Christ who walk the same way. They live by what they see instead of by what God says. When Moses and Aaron asked the returning spies what they had discovered ten of them replied… “We SAW giants… we SAW walled cities… we SAW great armies well supplied and well equipped… when we SAW the giants we looked like grasshoppers… “ They probably said, “Moses, we might as well forget it. Hang it up. They are too big and too much and too formidable… we will never be able to stand up to them, much less overcome them…” “It’s impossible.” “It just can’t be done.” “We cannot take the land, there’s just no way…” These ten were living by sight and not by faith. They were moved by what they SAW and not by what GOD SAID.
Thank God for Joshua and Caleb. These two spies were faith walkers and not sight walkers. They believed what God said and not what they saw. They walked by faith and not by sight. Ten came back fearful and doubtful and negative and pessimistic… two came back encouraged, full of faith and ready to take the land. Ten came back and told Moses what they saw, two came back and told Moses what they believed.
This needs to settle in our spirit. We need to grasp this Spiritual Principle. This ONE REVELATION will forever change how you live. I have come to the realization that I will not be moved by what I see… I will not be moved by what I feel… I will be moved only by what I believe and I believe the Word of God.
The spiritual ears of Caleb and Joshua had heard the voice of God when He said “every place that you put your foot on is already yours… I have already given it to you… All you have to do is go in and possess the land… I am going to send my angel before you and he will go in and drive out every enemy and destroy every obstacle… all you have to do is put your foot down on the place I have given you because it is already yours…”
God had already conquered the land for them and all they had to do was go in and possess it. Take it. Joshua and Caleb were faith walkers. Joshua and Caleb were Word Believers. Joshua and Caleb were ready and anxious to immediately possess the promise. But the ten came back who were moved and influenced by what they saw.
I believe that the biggest problem to the success of the Church in taking the world for Jesus is the fact that it has traditionally been moved by what it saw and motivated by what it felt. We have all been guilty of living by what we see rather than what we believe and by what the Word of God says. We will never possess what God has promised if we continue to live and walk by sight and not by faith. Joshua and Caleb came rushing back to Moses and said… “I’ll tell you what, we are well able to possess the land and overcome every enemy… and what’s more, let’s go do it RIGHT NOW!” I like the “right now” kind of people, don’t you? And I believe God likes the “right now” kind of people, too. I’m tired of the “down payment, lay away, monthly installment plan…” I want it RIGHT NOW. Folks, there are some spiritual principles we must get. In preparing to conquer and possess the land, these two faith filled spies gave some instructions. Look at Numbers 14:
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
Verse 9 gives the instructions… Number one:
Rebel not against the Lord
9 …Only rebel not ye against the LORD…
In other words, do not resist what God is saying and what God is doing. The word “rebel” here means to “quench or resist or turn a deaf ear to…” Do not resist what God is saying and what God is doing. Do you realize that God is doing a mighty work in the earth today? This is a unique and historical time. We are eye witnesses to a Mighty Visitation of the Holy Ghost. And the extreme tragedy is that many who God desires to bless and move through are resisting what He is doing.
The first command before we can possess the Promise is; do not rebel against the Lord. Don’t resist what God is saying and what God is doing. Don’t quench the Spirit of God. When we refuse to rebel against the Holy Spirit we open the door to Revival and Renewal and Restoration. Renewal begins when people determine to LET GOD and ALLOW GOD to do whatever He wants to do.
IF what we desire and what we believe does not coincide with what God’s Word says we need to change what we desire and what we believe and make it line up and coincide with the Word of God. When we decide to believe God and to believe His Word and then determine to do what God says, we tap into the Power of God and the impossible becomes possible.
When men and women determine in their hearts not to resist what God is doing and decide to get fully involved and committed to the Move of the Holy Spirit, they are getting ready to Conquer and Possess the Land. Joshua and Caleb knew that God had some great things in store for them and that God’s favor rested upon them. They determined not to rebel against the Lord.
The second instruction is found in the same chapter and the same verse…
Neither Fear Ye the People
9 …neither fear ye the people of the land…
Praise the Lord! Do you want to be delivered form any and all fear? Fear that will rob you of the victory? Do you want to Conquer and Possess the Land? Do you want to live in the arena of great success and great accomplishments for the Kingdom of God? Then God is saying to you “Don’t be afraid…” and especially don’t be afraid of what people think or say or do.
Do you know what fear is? Fear is faith in reverse. It is faith backing up. Nearly every time Jesus appeared in a time of difficulty, the first words He spoke were “Fear not”… “Be not afraid…”
Here at Lott Road, we are a strategic part of the Great Work God is doing in the earth today. I am sure of this and I will not be afraid. I will not fear man or what man may say or do or think. I will not fear denominational rebuke or threats from those who do not understand. Fear of men will rob us of great spiritual victory. Fear of what people say or think or do will negate our faith. Fear of men will rob us of the greatest spiritual victories we will ever have. Fear will paralyze us and prevent us from conquering and possessing. Joshua and Caleb said “God is with us and we are well able to conquer and possess this land so don’t rebel against the Lord… and don’t be afraid…” Thirdly, they said…
Our Enemies Have Already Been Defeated
9 …for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them…
In other words, they said all our enemies will be bread for us… they are already defeated. Their defenses have left them and the Lord is with us. We can eat them up. Let’s go get ‘em….
Will you please tell me who our enemies are? Do you know what their names are? Are you aware that Jesus the Crucified and Risen Lord has already defeated them? The devil and all his demon hoards are “bread for us” because Jesus has victoriously stripped them of all their power and authority. And furthermore, the devil and all the demons of hell are still defeated and they will remain so until the very end of the Millennial Reign of Our Lord. Hallelujah! Glory to God! Listen to this….
1Jo 3:8 …. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy (annul) the works of the devil.
Col 2:14 (Jesus’ Redemptive Work on the Cross succeeded in) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled (disarmed) principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Jesus literally annulled the work of the devil and robbed him of all his resources. Jesus humiliated him by parading him, bound and shackled, in the very presence of the entire demonic domain. Jesus was the Ultimate Conqueror and Possessor. And then Jesus gave you and me… all believers… total victory and authority over the devil and all demons and demonic powers… forever.
Here, Joshua and Caleb give these fearful, unbelieving, timid, rebellious, spiritual crybabies, who dared to doubt God, a powerful and positive word that all Israel’s enemies had no defense. They declared “we can swallow them alive!”… What a message! And this message was given under the Old Covenant with Old Covenant limitations… we have that Same Message under the New Covenant that is ratified by the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God. You and I are literally able to “swallow up” every devil and demon because Jesus has made them “bread“ for us through His redemptive work on the Cross of Calvary. Hallelujah!
The next instruction for Israel was this…
God is With Us
9 …and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
Folks, that’s enough right there even if we did not have the other benefits… amen? Just to have the assurance that God is with us and that He will never leave us nor forsake us nor abandon us… what more do we need? Why do we yet cower in fear and tremble in the face of difficulty and impossibility? Remember what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8?
Ro 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
What are you “saying” to your “all these things”? Your disappointment. Your weakness. Your sickness. Your lack. Your discouragement. Your impossibility. What are you “saying” to all these “things”? Paul said “If God be for us who (or what) can be against us?”
Having God with us is enough. More than enough. Having Emmanuel at our side is more than adequate. Do you believe the Word? The Word says that you can “do all things though Christ…” and that with God “all things are possible.” The Word declares that all the Promises of God are “Yes and amen…” We conquer and we possess by having and acting on the Revelation that God is with us. There is absolutely no demonic force or power that has not already been conquered and that has not already been defeated. And Jesus has given us the Victory. Jesus told us that the very gates of hell cannot and will not prevail against the Church (the Believing Body of Christ). Folks, that’s us.
The next thing these Faith Heroes declared is this…
Let’s Go and Let’s Go NOW
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Joshua and Caleb were living in the Old Testament Age. They were operating in the promises and provisions of the Old Covenant. That covenant that was empowered by the blood of sacrificial rams, lambs, goats, and bullocks. Now, you and I are living in the New Covenant Age. We are empowered not by the blood of bulls and lambs and goats, but by the Awesome and Powerful Blood of the Precious Lamb of God. This New Covenant provides much better promises and much better provisions because it is ratified and empowered by the Redemptive Work of Jesus on the Cross.
Joshua and Caleb only had the testimony which was given to them by Moses. They did not have the Bible as we have it today. They were living under the Old Covenant with Old Covenant limitations and inadequacies. Now, I am talking about promises and provisions given to you and to me by our Father God through the Sacrificial Blood of His dear Son and our Saviour the Lord of Glory… a New Covenant which is a New and Better Way according to the Book of Hebrews.
Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
If the above promises I have listed were available to the Old Testament Saints who were living under Old Covenant provisions, then, how much more is available to us who are presently living under the promises and provisions of the New Covenant? How can we doubt the reality of the promise and provision for us to Conquer and Possess what God has already given? How can we doubt our ability to overcome every obstacle and every impossibility knowing that God is with us and that Jesus has defeated every enemy and all demonic forces in order that we might Conquer and Possess what He has already provided?
One of these days God is going to help me really communicate to you what I am feeling in my spirit. Seems like all my faculties of communication are so inadequate and limited to really say what my sprit man is saying… I feel it inside and want to get it outside… I am laboring the point for you so that you may understand that God has already given us the ability and the power to Possess every Promise and to Conquer every enemy. God had made three commitments to Joshua even before they began their journey into the promised land.
First, God said that He would give the promised land to their seed.
Secondly, God said that He would send His Angel before them to prepare the way.
And thirdly, God said that He would drive out their enemies.
These promises were made under the Old Covenant. We live in a New Day. We have a Great High Priest Who is Risen and Who is seated at the Right Hand of God… He has entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies and has sprinkled His Blood on the Heavenly Mercy Seat. Never again does an earthly high priest have to go into to an earthly temple or tabernacle to sprinkle the blood of goats and rams and bullocks and lambs each year to make a yearly atonement for our sins… because Once and For All, Jesus, our Personal Sacrificial Lamb has Entered in to the Heavenly Holy of Holies and sprinkled His Precious Blood on the Mercy Seat and has Put Away all our sins and the judgment our sins deserve… forever and ever and forever and ever. Hallelujah.
Under the Old Covenant God said:
(1) I will give this possession to your seed
(2) I will send My Angel before you to prepare the way and
(3) I will drive out every enemy.
What do you think He is saying to us today? To the Church of the Living God operating under the provisions of the New Covenant? Just reckon what He is saying? I’ll tell you what He is saying because He has already said it.
“Ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” (Jn 15:7)
“With God all things are possible.” (Mk 10:27)
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Rom 8:37)
Saints, God has more for us than we have ever even thought about. If we have not been receiving it, it could be because we have been hung up just like the unbelieving spies in the days of Joshua and Caleb. We do not have to go out and conquer the world. It has already been conquered for us. Jesus has defeated the devil and given us the victory. The battle is over and the victory has been won. Victories are won before battles are fought. It is finished. Satan is defeated. Demons are conquered. Jesus is Victor. What more could we possibly ask?
Now, here at Lott Road, we are standing on the very threshold of a New and Better Thing. We are at the place of entering into and receiving the Promises God has given us. Let me tell you a little bit about the Promised Land that is ours by faith. I agree that Canaan Land was and is a geographical and a physical location. It had mountains and rivers and plains and valleys. Just as surely as Canaan Land was a geographical reality so also is our Spiritual Land of Promise a Spiritual Reality. And it is just as real as Canaan Land was.
“Canaan Land” for the believer is not heaven. It is not a possession for us to receive after we die. The “Promised Land” is not heaven. Even if some of our old hymns implied that it is. The Promised Land is Here and Now and Today and it’s for you and it’s for me. And we can have it if we want it. If we don’t have it, it could be because we don’t want it or we have not received the knowledge necessary to acquire it. Now exactly what is the Promised Land?
- It is Unparalleled Power. It is Dunamis. It is Exousia. It is Power and Authority. It gives us the right to say “we are able” to conquer and possess the land. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we would be capable of doing greater works that He because of the Power we receive through the Holy Ghost. The Land of Promise God has provided for us is one of Unparalleled Power and Victory and Ability to overcome daily every attack of the defeated enemy. Every satanic attack. Do you know why the devil is so interested in making us sick? Do you know why the devil is so interested in making us physically weak? It is because he knows that our body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost.
- It is Unequaled Provision. God said that He will see to it that we will lack absolutely nothing. How about Milk and Honey? Supernatural provision. “Ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you…” “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus…”
God has promised that he will withhold “no good thing” from us and that He has already blessed us with “all spiritual blessings” in Christ Jesus. We have at our disposal all of Heaven’s resources. And Angels stand ready to be dispatched on special assignment at our command. - It is Unbelievable Communion and Fellowship. Jesus has told us that He will never leave us and that He will never forsake us. “Lo, I am with you always even unto the very end…” Under the Old Covenant, Joshua and Caleb and the Old Testament saints had no idea what it would be like to dwell in the Constant Presence of Jehovah. They only saw Him once in a while and then for brief encounters. But we are able to enjoy constant communion and fellowship with our Heavenly Father … We have the privilege of living in His Presence constantly and continually. Communion and Fellowship with the Father has been forever reestablished for all believers. And we don’t have to have an earthly priest to get in to Him. Hallelujah.
- It is Undaunted Unity and Accord. Read John chapter 17. Jesus prayed that we all might be “one” as Jesus was in the Father and as the Father was in Him. And that we all might be “one in Them” that the world might believe. Jesus said that the Glory He had He has “given to us” that we might be one even as God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are all One. Unity. Accord. Togetherness. No more hierarchy. No more competition. No more gossip and backbiting. No more jealousy. No more criticism. No more division. No more factions. But Together. As One. Forever. Hallelujah.
- It is Unlimited Knowledge and Understanding. We are coming into the time and place where God is dealing with us by Divine Revelation and Divine Knowledge. Secrets and truths that the church has never known nor understood since its birth on the Day of Pentecost are now being revealed. I can’t speak for you, but I have made up my mind that I am going to possess what God has promised. All of it. Every bit of it. I am going to have what Jesus has bought for me through His Work in Redemption. I am going to have it. And I’m going to keep it. Hallelujah.
Are you ready to Conquer and Possess? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you sense that your spiritual life is in a rut? Are you ready for more? Do you intend to press into the Kingdom? This awesome account of the faith of two men… Joshua and Caleb… reminds us of just how great our God is and what Great Provision He has for us.
I challenge you… I challenge us… right now… Let’s “Go in at once” and Conquer and Possess what God has already given us….
Let’s go. We are well able. We are the giants and they are the grasshoppers.
Hallelujah.
dickbraswell 
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