The Power of Advancement Part 1 by Doug Fortune

By Doug Fortune
"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.
 
 
 
 
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"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!
 
That's Not the End of the Story
 
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 fulfill 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.
 
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)
 
Wilderness – In Biblical symbolism the wilderness represents a place of testing and trial...
 
(To be continued)
 
Doug Fortune
 

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