140. Possess and Inherit
Isaiah 57:13 But he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.
“You will possess the land.” “You shall inherit the kingdom.” The promise of land begins in Genesis 12 with Abraham and ends in the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation 22. In between, the promise has come to us and we possess it now by faith, and we look forward to full entry into the inheritance by sight when Jesus returns. This promise is for “he that puts his trust in the Lord.” Believing in Jesus has many rewards. Possession of the land and inheritance of the mountain are two of them.
The Lord told Joshua and Joshua told the people: “Go in and possess the land the Lord is giving you.” This interesting command is given also to us in the New Testament where the land is the kingdom of God. It raises a question: How do we possess a free gift? Answer: by faith. Faith takes hold of grace and makes the gift my own. We possess a Christmas gift by thanking the giver and enjoying the gift. This gives us some clue in regard to the question, “How do I possess the kingdom?”
Even though God gives the land we must still go in and possess it. The kingdom God gave us is filled with evil gods and enemies of God. We possess the kingdom by going into spiritual battle and driving out Sin, Death, and the Devil who are opposing our entry. With the Sword of the Spirit we defeat the Enemies and drive them out by faith. Through repentance and faith we possess. Through prayer we possess what God gives. The meek inherit the earth, not with strength and violence, but with the stronger power of love, gentleness, forgiveness and mercy.
It doesn’t look like the Christians in the world are possessing the land or inheriting the mountain. For this reason we need the promise to believe (see) what is really happening in the spiritual (real) world. Trust, possess, inherit.