Obviously the children of Israel were not fully Aligned with the purposes of God, and when they encountered difficulty in the wilderness they went off course (for forty years!). Once they came into Agreement with the two who originally agreed with God, and Aligned themselves with God's purpose, they Advanced! With this in mind, let us now address what I will call the "power of advancement."
The Power of Advancement
"Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." (Joshua 1:3-4) The obvious and literal application of this verse has to do with natural territory. I believe that this certainly applies to us in the natural sense, however we are going to delve a bit deeper into the spiritual application first.
I love the visual imagery of the "sole of the foot treading upon," the idea that something is under our feet. You see, in Biblical times it is said that when an enemy was defeated the conquerors would place their foot upon the neck of the defeated foes and make an open show of their victory. This picture sheds light on the following verses; "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly..." (Romans 16:20) "[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross]." (Colossians 2:15 Amplified Bible)
All of us have "territories" in our hearts and souls, our internal kingdom, that need to be conquered. Yes, I am very aware that Jesus fully conquered the carnal Adamic nature on the cross, a victorious Finished Work. However, like all spiritual things, this Finished Work of carnality being defeated must be apprehended and applied in our lives. If we have no practical application of the Finished Work, then we lapse into Gnosticism. If you are of the opinion that you do NOT have any "territories" in your internal kingdom that need to be conquered, just ask those who are close to you to enlighten you!
Often times those areas that need conquering the most are in reality God-given traits that are not in submission to Father. King David's primary strength and character trait was intimacy. He is known as the man after God's heart; "...He raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will." (Acts 13:22) However we see that this particular character trait, when not in submission, brought tragic results. His greatest strength was his greatest downfall; "...at the time when kings go forth to battle... David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba..." (2 Samuel 11:1-3) David got out of Agreement and out of Alignment and we all know the rest of the story. Thank goodness that was not the end of the story for David. Through repentance, he got back in Agreement, back in Alignment, and restoration of Advancement ensued.
Walking Out Agreement and Alignment
We must allow the Spirit to empower the "sole of our foot," a practical walking out of Agreement and Alignment to claim every "territory" of the soul that was conquered on the Cross of Christ!
Father gives us a blueprint of this process, "From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates..." (Joshua 1:4) In Biblical symbolism the wilderness represents a place of testing and trial. The purpose of trial and testing is the proving of our faith, that Christ might appear within us when we are under pressure; "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" (1 Peter 1:7) Or said another way; "When He comes to be glorified IN His saints [on that day He will be made more glorious in His consecrated people], and [He will] be marveled at and ADMIRED [in His glory REFLECTED] in all who have believed [who have adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him..." (2Thessalonians 1:10 Amplified Bible) Those in what we call "the world" are looking for people who handle stress better than they do!
The book of 1 John addresses this subject also; "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are WE in this world." (1John 4:17) The word translated as judgment is krisis in Greek, from which we get our English word "crisis." I believe that to some extent everybody is in a crisis... an "Identity Crisis." Testing, hardship and trial are things that we can pretty much count on at some point in our lives; "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) When those trials, testings and hardships come, that seems to be when we have a choice whether to identify with the old nature or to identify with our new nature in Christ. The real question is this, Who will "appear" in the time of our Identity Crisis? Will it be Christ "appearing" in us, or Adam "appearing" in us? That verse says, As He IS... not as He was or as He is going to be. As He IS presently, right now, in the middle of our crisis... As He IS so are WE! Let us have boldness and confidence that when trials come, the nature of Christ will be seen in and through us. This is Kingdom advancement!
The word Lebanon is l'banon in Hebrew, and means "white mountain." It is from the Hebrew word l'bab which means "the heart." Of course we know that in Biblical symbolism, the color white represents purity, and mountains represent a place of worship. So when we put all that together, Lebanon speaks of "a pure heart of worship." This is where the wilderness of testing and trial is designed to take us... to "a pure heart of worship!" Trial and testing will either make us "better" or make us "bitter," and the choice is ours.
The next place we come to is "even unto the great river, the river Euphrates..." (Joshua 1:4) The word Euphrates, perath in Hebrew, means "fruitfulness." When the wilderness of testing and trial produces "a pure heart of worship," the result is fruitfulness! Let us keep in mind that fruitfulness is not activity. Fruitfulness can be the predisposition that gives birth to activity, but the two words are not synonymous. Fruitfulness is a life that is full of fruit! "Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4 Amplified Bible) Fruit is simply the tangible natural expression of the Life of the Vine. Father is the Husbandman, Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches, and the effect our lives have on others as Christ is being revealed through us is the fruit.
Our blueprint verse goes on to state, "...all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." (Joshua 1:3-4) The word Hittite is from the Hebrew word cheth, and it means "terror." I find this especially significant in light of the world we live in today. It seems like fear is everywhere! Just turn on the television news, or pick up any newspaper... fear. Most advertising is fear based also- fear of getting older, fear of wearing the wrong style, fear of not being accepted, etc. And that's just the secular world. Turn on most "Christian" television or radio, pick up many "Christian" books and magazines, and you will find fear. Fear of what is going on in the world, fear of Islam, fear of other Christians that believe differently than we do, fear of saying the wrong thing (if you're a "name it and claim it" person), fearful eschatology, etc.
Fear as a Motivator
Why all this fear? Because fear sells! Fear is a very powerful motivator. Fear is really about control. If I can cause you to fear, I can control you!
Fear as a motivator is not totally intrinsically evil, however. A while back I stepped out into the street only to notice a car speeding towards me. Fear motivated my slightly chubby, middle-aged body to move a little faster than usual... I was quite glad for fear.
For our purposes in this writing, we're not examining the reverential awe / fear of the Lord (which is good), rather we're examining the fear spoken of in 2 Timothy 1:7; "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." The word translated as fear in that verse means dread, timid, faithless. I find it interesting that the word faithless is used in defining fear, because fear really is the antithesis (opposite) of faith.
It is my belief that fear can go beyond just being an emotion, it can be a spiritual force which has great impact upon the soul (mind, will, emotions). Fear operates in much the same way as faith, only opposite. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word (rhema- spoken, living, engrafted Word) of God; "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Because we were chosen and called (spoken into existence) in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4 & Romans 8:30), we all have a destiny (a Word) that shapes our future, embedded within us. Faith is exercised as we begin to hear with our spiritual ears and then speak (agree with) that Word within us; "The Word, God's message IN Christ, is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word- the message, the basis and object- of faith, which we preach." (Romans 10:8 Amplified Bible)
Because fear is a spiritual force, it operates in much the same way as faith. Fear is activated as we begin to focus on, listen to (fear comes by hearing) and speak (agree with) those words that are contrary to the Word of faith within us. This kind of fear contradicts the Finished Work of the cross of Jesus Christ. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but one of power (fear leaves us powerless), love (fear breeds prejudice and hatred), and a sound mind (fear produces double-mindedness). This fear does not proceed from God, rather its’ source is found in spiritual darkness. Most fear is really "faith" in evil!
If ever there was a "territory" that needs conquering in our world today, it is fear! Father is raising up a people who allow the Spirit to empower the "sole of our foot," with a practical walking out of living in faith and not fear. As the land of the Hittites (fear) is under our feet, having practical dominion over fear, this will take us "unto the great sea." (Joshua 1:4) In Biblical symbolism, the sea speaks of the "unregenerate," those lost in spiritual darkness, tossed about with the waves. As I said before, those in what we call "the world," the unregenerate who are tossed about, are looking for people who are not operating in fear and handle stress better than they do! It is time that the "sole of our feet" march out of the comfort of the four walls of the church building and take us "unto the great sea!" Just for clarification, I am NOT saying to march out of the four walls of the church building and never go back! To be out of any kind of local fellowship is to be out of Alignment.
To be continued...
Doug Fortune
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