“How long are ye slack to go to possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers HATH given you”, Joshua 18:3
Note the tense used here, in modern English : “….HAS given you”. God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the Omniscient One. He is not subject to the dictates of time, we are. God is not in time, time is in God. When He declares a thing, IT IS SO! (The first chapter of Genesis demonstrates this in His creation of the world.) He speaks, His word is creative and IT IS SO! We mortals, however, are subject to time but need to come to the position, in faith, that when God speaks, that settles it and it is so. For us, what happens next is the trial of our faith, where we learn to trust God with what He has declared. Our faith will be tried in the fire of God. Here reason will try to negate what God has clearly said. Unbelief must be kicked out the door as we choose to stand firm in what God has proclaimed. His word declares “His grace is sufficient” for us. As we make the choice to believe what God has declared, the life of the resurrected Christ in me enables me, strengthens me to stand in Him, get out of the way and watch Him work, bringing to pass at His appointed time in my life, all He has promised……and God is glorified.
What is this land I am so slack to possess? (Joshua 18:3) Could it be the fullness of God, my birthright and inheritance in Christ? Jesus is coming back for His Bride, the Church – the Body of Christ……”a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle……holy and without blemish”, Ephesians 5:27. Scripture instructs us to “prepare the way of the Lord….” – to get our hearts right, in tune with His.
Is Christ’s return related to the sovereignty of God, or is it related to Christ’s Bride, the Church preparing itself? There can be no progress without change! If I continue to live my life in the same old learnt behaviour patterns, there will be no change and no progress, to God’s glory.
Do I live my life preparing my heart for Jesus’ return? Ephesians 4:13 -15 is God’s plan for the Body of Christ, His Church: “Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God….unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…..no more children tossed to and fro , and carried about with every wind of doctrine…..but speaking the truth in love may GROW UP into Him in all things, who is the head, even Christ”.
Unity in the Body of Christ is what God requires. It’s time to grow up! Only when I am One with the Father will unity prevail. Jesus declared that He had that position of “Oneness” with His Father. He came to do His Father’s will. His last battle was in Gethsemane before Calvary where He agonised over His approaching crucifixion. He asked His Father if it was possible to “remove this cup” from Him……then He chose to surrender His will: “…..nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done”.
There will never be unity in the Body of Christ unless, like Jesus, I become one with my Father. I surrender my will and thoughts in exchange for His. Only then will I enter into my birthright, the fullness of God – the LAND I am slack to possess has been made available to me through the finished work of Calvary. When I choose to be one with my Father, I will walk in humility. I will not judge my brothers and sisters. I am permitted to observe, but a critical spirit is ungodly. Forbearance is a neglected fruit in the Body, as is the continuity of a walk in love. When I am one with my Father, all the nature of His Son is manifest through me. There is no place for my petty, ungodly, unkind, prideful treatment of others, whether they are in the Church or the world. My Father sees my heart. Nothing is hidden from His eyes.
Jesus only spoke the words His Father gave Him. He only did the things that pleased the Father. He gave up all the “rights to Himself”. This is the Oneness that our Father desires. When I am one with Him, unity with the Body of Christ will be present. The greater includes the lesser. The glory of God is fully comprehensive – all inclusive. Out of that oneness every gift and fruit can manifest at any given, appointed time as the Giver of all gifts, the Lord Jesus Christ, is in residence, dwelling comfortably in a surrendered vessel. This is fullness. This is the LAND of our birthright in Christ that God “hath given us“. This is the glory of God, no one man will be seen but Christ in me!
John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another”.
In order to “go”, you have to “leave”…….
