“By faith he sojourned (lived) in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:” Hebrews 11:9
It’s a wonderful thing to be living in the Land of Promise as the Patriarchs of old, and I don’t mean being far away in the land of Israel, but you can be there by faith metaphorically speaking when you believe. The bible says that, “blessed are those who haven’t seen and yet believe.” John 20:29
You might say, “what do you mean, and how do I do that?” I believe the way to live in the Land of Promise is to live and breathe the promises of God. God has made many promises to us in the Bible which are all ‘yes’ and ‘amen.’ They are ours for the taking and all we need to do is believe. The question I want to ask you today is; “Are you living in the Promised Land?”
“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.” 2 Cor. 1:20 (MsgB)
We can live metaphorically in this Land of Promise when we take the promises of God into our lives. If you really mean business with God, you not only need to find the promises in His word but also to believe them and then confess them constantly. The trouble is the pressures and distractions of life can cause us to treat the promises of God lightly.
“We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe.” 2 Cor. 4:13 (MsgB)
To exercise faith effectively we need to speak out what we believe and when we do we walk in the Land of Promise. Don’t forget that when you receive that which you have been believing for you don’t need faith anymore. Faith is for the hard times when you have nothing but the promises of God to hang onto. God loves faith and says in the Bible that He is pleased when we exercise it. Hebrews 11:6.
It can be a battle to walk in this area of faith and subsequently many Christians don’t live in the Land of Promise. Because of their doubts they wander in the wilderness of unbelief.
When we believe what God says, we live in the Land of Promise and that’s not just when we get what we asked for, it’s continuing to believe no matter how long it takes. Have you given up because nothing has happened yet? If you have, then you aren’t living in the Land of Promise anymore. You are being influenced by what you feel and see rather than by what you believe.
“God declared him (Abraham) fit for heaven only because he believed God’s promises.” Galatians 3:6
When I believe God for the things that He has promised me, I sense His favour on my life, for it’s in our believing God that His pleasure rests upon us.
On our spiritual journey through life, we can choose to live in either of these 3 spiritual places.
The 1st is the LAND OF EGYPT. This land is the place of sin that is under the power of Satan. Egypt in the Bible is symbolic of a place where sinners dwell without God. It’s a God forsaken land, ruled over by a cruel Pharaoh - Satan. Pharaoh was a hard Task Master back in the day, who kept the people in bondage. If you are there today call upon Jesus who is the true Moses and able to deliver you from Satan’s grip, not only to get you out of that land but also from the bondage of sin.
The 2nd place is THE WILDERNESS where those that were freed from Pharaoh’s grip wandered around in before they entered the Promised Land. This is a place that is neither one nor the other. It’s a dry dreary place just going around in circles. It’s where the Children of Israel were delayed because they didn’t believe the promises of God and eventually perished. The Children of Israel could have passed through this place quickly if they had only believed God and were strong enough to fight the fight of faith. Exodus 13:17. The Wilderness is a place of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19 (KJV) “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
The 3rd place is the LAND OF PROMISE. It’s the place where we can dwell right now if we believe in the promises of God. It’s not a change of location geographically but a change of heart, it’s a change spiritually. You can enter this place when you embrace the promises of God and rejoice in them even before they manifest. “Blessed are those who have not but believe.”
Naturally we love the answer rather than the trial, but God prefers it the other way round, for when the answer comes it releases us from faith and the opportunity to grow in grace and become more like Jesus. Psalm 4:1 (KJV) “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress;
Where are you living today? You may have a great house in the best neighbourhood in town but as far as God is concerned you could be in suburban sin or urban unbelief. Believe God even if it seems impossible as Mary did and say to the Lord. “Let it be unto me according to your word.”