MEMORISE:
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. Luke 19:13
READ: Joshua 18:1-6
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
2 And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.
3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?
4 Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.
6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.
MESSAGE
When you read from the first chapter of the book of Joshua, you will realize that before the people of God gathered in Shiloh to set up the tabernacle of assembly in the eighteenth chapter, they had already been dwelling in the Promised Land. Today’s Bible reading even indicates that the land was subdued before them. However, up till that moment, there was still a large proportion of the Promised Land they had not occupied. When Joshua did an assessment of their progress so far, he discovered that seven tribes out of twelve were yet to receive their inheritance. Although God had given them this land by covenant and divine decree, it was still their responsibility to take it. In Joshua 18:3b, Joshua perturbed by their slothfulness in taking their possession, lamented before the people saying:
“How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?”
In like manner, our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered the world for us, but we are yet to possess all the conquered territories of the inhabited world. As the Body of Christ, are we not becoming guilty of the same slothfulness exhibited by the servant with one pound in Luke 19:20, who refused to occupy before his master’s return?
Another disheartening dimension of our failure to occupy is that territories which had been occupied by our forebears- the fathers of the early church- have been recaptured by satanic agents, under the guise of religion. Instead of taking over occupied territories, we are even losing the occupied one! This is the reason why a territory such as Constantinople (modern-day Turkey) needs to be repossessed by Christ today. Let us learn from today’s Bible reading and respond positively to the Great Commission. It is time for us to go for unoccupied territories and re-occupy those that have been lost.
There is a tendency for us to lose or limit the deep meaning of the command to “occupy”. It means much more than getting busy. It means we should spiritually take possession of territories, so that Jesus is enthroned as Lord over the whole earth. Beloved, how engaged are you for the Lord? What territories are you occupying for Christ? Are there no unoccupied territories very close to you in your father’s house? Are there no souls the devil has occupied for decades before and after you became born again? God is commanding you today, “Occupy souls for Christ.” To be effective in this assignment, you yourself must be occupied by the Holy Spirit, having given your life to Christ. The Lord will help you and go with you as you strive to fulfill this assignment in Jesus’ Name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, occupy my life so that I can occupy territories and influence others for you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 27-28
Isaiah 55
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 15: MUST I GO, AND EMPTY-HANDED
1. “Must I go, and empty-handed,”
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him,
Lay no trophy at His feet?
Chorus:
“Must I go, and empty-handed?”
Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him:
Must I empty-handed go?
2. Not at death I shrink nor falter,
For my Savior saves me now;
But to meet Him empty-handed,
Thought of that now clouds my brow.
Chorus:
3. O the years in sinning wasted;
Could I but recall them now,
I would give them to my Savior,
To His will I’d gladly bow.
Chorus:
4. O ye saints, arouse, be earnest,
Up and work while yet ’tis day;
Ere the night of death o’ertake thee,
Strive for souls while still you may.
Comments
Post a Comment