August,
2002
"Inherit
The Land"
Psalm
37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give
you the desires of your heart.”
This was our
theme last month from Psalm 37. I pray you took some time, scheduled
some appointments with God, and did just that – delighted
yourself in Him. He so wants us to do that. Why? Because He delights
in us!
Ps. 37:23
“If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps
firm;”
So we know
that God wants us to delight in Him and that He is actually the
reward and then He shares His delight back to us. Isn’t
that a wonderful relationship that He has planned for us?
But of course
God always has multiple blessings. And last month, we saw that
one of the blessings is that our heart gets changed – circumcised
- as we delight in Him.
Another of
the main blessings is that He promises to lead us into the land
of promise. Remember Numbers 14:8 “If the Lord is pleased
with us, and takes delight in us, He will lead us into that land,
a land flowing with milk and honey and will give it to us.”
This is what
we are going to talk about this month from Psalm 37 – inheriting
the land – the promises of God.
Before we
begin, please read all of Psalm 37. You can read it by clicking
on this link. Use your “back” browser button to return
here.
http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=Psalm+37&version=
Did you notice how many times this Psalm refers to inheriting
the land? In the NIV translation it comes up in the following
verses: 3. 9, 11, 18, 22, 27, 29, 34. That is a lot of times.
It makes me think that God wants us to know about this.
What does
that mean – Inherit the land???
From the NIV
Study Bible notes – it says “Receive from the Lord
secure entitlement (for them and their children) to the promised
land as the created and redeemed sphere and bountiful source of
provision for the life of God’s people….those who
hope in the Lord i.e. trustfully look to Him to bestow life and
its blessings as a gift – will inherit the land –
not those who apart from God and by evil means try to take possession
of it and its wealth.”
I love that
– to receive from the Lord secure entitlement – for
you and your children. The promise is secure because of Jesus.
It is the bountiful source of provision and all blessing from
God.
What is the
land the Lord has promised you??? It can actually be a physical
place as it was for Israel. You know the Bible says that God places
us in our neighborhoods, in that He chooses and sets up the boundaries
He desires for us.
Acts 17:26-28
“From
one man, He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit
the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and
the exact places where they should live. God did this so that
men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and
move and have our being.”
I am a native
of Arizona. I was born here, my children were born here –
even delivered by the same doctor as myself. My family on my mother’s
side were pioneers of the land. My grandmother came to Arizona
in a covered wagon. They had multiple ranches and were involved
in settling the land. My father’s side of the family were
pioneers in the banking business. They helped to finance the miners
and ranchers. So you can see why I feel a very close tie to the
land and the territory of Arizona.
Though my
husband and I have moved many times in and out of the Midwest
for job requirements for him, I always knew that we would eventually
be back here. The Lord led us back to Arizona two years ago –
which was actually much sooner than we had expected. But I believe
it was His way of saying , “Now is the time to return to
the land of your inheritance.” I am so thankful and grateful
for many reasons. One is so that I can be with my granddaughter!
But, also, I can see His hand in the Phoenix area, the Valley
of the Sun (Son), and I am privileged to be part of what He is
doing here in this state. He gave us a home that overlooks the
whole metro area, and He has led me to pray for His revival and
blessing upon this land.
The land of
your inheritance can also be the promises of God for yourself
and your family, your future, your financial provision, your ministry.
What blessings, gifts, state of mind and heart has the Lord been
promising you? I believe now more than ever, He wants us to enter
into these promises. Enter into the rest of God that comes with
trusting Him and delighting in Him.
Let’s
look again at Psalm 37 and see what God has to say about how we
can inherit these things.
Who is it
that gets to dwell in the land and inherit the promises of God???
Those who
dwell in or inherit the land (vs. 3. 9, 11, 18, 22, 27, 29, 34)
are those who….
Fret not (vs.1,
7, 8)
Trust in the Lord (vs. 3, 5)
Do good (vs. 3)
Delight in the Lord (vs. 4, 23)
Commit their way to the Lord (vs. 5)
Are still and keep His way (vs. 7, 34)
Who wait patiently (vs. 7, 34)
Refrain from anger and wrath (vs. 8)
Hope in the Lord (vs. 9)
Are Humble (vs. 11)
Are blameless (vs. 18, 37)
Are generous (vs. 2, 26)
Are upright (vs. 37)
Are Righteous (vs. 3, 5, 7, 39)
Have God’s word in their heart (vs. 30-31)
Are peaceable (vs. 37)
That seems
like a tall order. And you may be thinking I could never “do”
all those things. But sounds to me that God is more interested
in our character and our “being” and our “heart”
than in what we do for Him.
God hates
religious tradition and legalism and hypocrisy and He will not
allow anyone to enter into His rest and peace that allows themself
to live a lie or to put others in a heavy yoke of rules and judgment….trying
to earn His favor and acceptance by “doing the word”…We
do the word because we are loved and accepted and blessed –
not in order to get God’s love and favor so that maybe –
just maybe – we will be good enough …
I don’t
know why, but some of us have a big fear of freedom…just
like the Israelites had – they preferred the bondage of
Pharaoh and slavery and the whips upon their backs to the freedom
and provision they had from God in the wilderness….they
could only trust the rules, the law – not the person of
God who revealed Himself in miraculous ways to them in the wilderness.
So when it
was time for the Israelites to go into the land of promise, they
did not because of fear and unbelief. Then they changed their
minds and went in anyway….after God said no…and they
had no victory over the enemy….they tried to do the work
when God had shown them that their hearts were not right…
No amount
of effort on our part will get us into the land of promise that
God has – we can only enter through faith in Him, and hope
and trust and by being obedient and committed to the vision and
dream and to God’s timing!!! (wait, be still, be patient…)
God does want
us to enter into this glorious land of promise. God wants to bless
us, yes. But His goal is not merely to bless us, He wants to transform
us into the image of His Son, Jesus. Yes, He desires to use us
to take the land. He wants to guide us in turning our cities back
to Him. His plan is for us, His church to demonstrate the love
of God so strongly and powerfully that there will be revival in
our cities. But there can be no healing of our land (our nation,
our city, our home and family, our own heart issues) until we
submit ourselves to His work of transformation and cleansing and
receive an impartation of holy living.
Several years
ago as I was seeking the Lord in worship and prayer, I felt that
He spoke to me three words that were to be the pattern of my life.
They certainly apply to all of us who are desiring and seeking
the Lord with all of our hearts.
Presence –
Purity -- Power
As we spend
time in His presence, He will purify our hearts, and out of that
will flow His power to us and through us.
When we are
walking (presence) with Jesus in a surrendered relationship and
our hearts have been (purified) by His truth and love and we are
transformed (Rom. 12:1-2), then the dreams and desires of our
heart will be His desires – that He will place there. Then
to carry these out, He will (empower) us to do it.
Yes, as Psalm
37 says – Delight in the Lord AND Inherit the Land
For me, the
bottom line is this – Jesus/God is the land of our inheritance.
It is He in
whom we delight and out of that relationship will flow all the
milk and honey you can eat and drink –
Because God
is limitless in his supply of love and blessings.
L.O.V.E.,
Patty
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