SERMON SUMMARY
Sunday, July 22,
2007
The Year of the Invitation : Considering Ownership of the Promise
Sermon given by Senior Pastor, Dan Tabolt
Years ago, before
transatlantic flights were common, a man wanted to travel to the United
States from Europe. The man worked hard and saved every extra penny he
could, and finally had just enough money to purchase a ticket aboard the
cruise ship. The trip at that time required about two to three weeks to
cross the ocean. He went out and bought a suit case and filled it with
cheese and crackers. That’s all he could afford.
Once aboard, all the other passengers went to a large dinning room to eat
their gourmet meals. Meanwhile, the poor man would go over in the corner
and eat his cheese and crackers. This went on day after day. He could
smell the delicious food being served in the dining room. He heard the
other passengers speak of it in glowing terms as they rubbed their bellies
and complained about how full they were, and how they would have to go on
a diet after the trip. The poor traveler wanted to join the other guests
in the dining room, but he had no extra money. Sometimes he would lie
awake at night, dreaming of the sumptuous meals the other guests
described.
Toward the end of the trip, another man came up to him and said, “Sir, I
can‘t help but notice that you are always over there eating those cheese
and crackers at mealtime. Why don’t you come into the banquet hall and eat
with us?”
The traveler’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Well, to tell you the
truth, I had only enough money for the ticket. I don’t have any extra
money to purchase fancy meals.”
The other passenger raised his eyebrow in surprise. He shook his head and
said, “Sir, don’t you realize the meals are included in the price of the
ticket?’ Your meals have already been paid for!”
Joel Osteen “Your Best Life Now”
Joshua 13:1 Remaining Land to Be Conquered
Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: "You are
old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be
possessed. NKJV
I. Our God Wants Us to Possess the Land.
A. What does the OT show us?
How do we relate these Old Testament stories to anything practical in the
life that we live? Are we to be expected to take over our area militarily?
We are told that we learn from the examples of the Old Testament stories.
Much of what took place in the OT was in the natural to show us what will
take place in the spiritual as we rise up in faith. When the spiritual
changes, the natural will follow. God does not use us to destroy men’s
lives, but to save them. But we must understand what it means to have
dominion and the influence that we would possess in our time and our area.
Deut 28:12 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail ; you
shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of
the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe
them. NKJV
Josh 13:6-7 them I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only
divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. 7
Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and
half the tribe of Manasseh." NKJV
B. What does the NT show us?
Matt 28:18 - Mark 1:1
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Amen.
Luke 10:18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any
means hurt you. NKJV
C. The example we are to learn from.
Hebrews 4:1 The Promise of Possession.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest
any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was
preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. NKJV
II. The Obstacles to Possessing Our Land.
Num 13:1-2 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Send men to spy out the
land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each
tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among
them." NKJV
Num 13:17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to
them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and
see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong
or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad;
whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether
the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be
of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land." Now the time
was the season of the first ripe grapes. NKJV
1. Leaders from every tribe. Where will the leaders lead?
2. A walk through the land that flows with milk and honey.
Num 13:26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the
congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at
Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and
showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: "We
went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey,
and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land
are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the
descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the
South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the
mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the
Jordan."
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at
once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
1. Is there any connection between their land and Lewis and Oneida County?
2. Let’s take a walk in our mind though the land that God has set before
us in our life and time. Is it ours to possess? How do we begin to posses
our land?
3. What kind of spirit is in you? Caleb’s or the other leaders?
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up
against the people, for they are stronger than we." 32 And they gave the
children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out,
saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that
devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of
great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came
from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so
we were in their sight."
14:1So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the
people wept that night. NKJV
A. What was wrong? Why the two different reports?
Be careful [full of care] how you think.
Rom 8:6-8 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not
subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in
the flesh cannot please God. NKJV
1. These ten Leaders:
a. Used to be beaten down slaves that never let God’s goodness heal them.
b. Had hard hearts because they never let what God had done for them sink
into their spirit so that they would see the Mighty God they served.
c. Could not overcome the fears of change that were before them if they
were to rise up and take possession of the Promised Land.
d. Saw themselves as grasshoppers instead of an overcoming believer who
stands now in The Authority of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Rom 12:2 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind , that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV
B. The Spirit of Joshua and Caleb.
Num 32:12 for they have wholly followed the LORD.' NKJV
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at
once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
This week I have an assignment for us. I want us all to take a walk
through our land. What do I mean by that? Do an inventory of your life and
the situations you find yourself in. Ask yourself this question, “Am I
possessing my land or is my land, “LIFE”, possessing me? Have I taken
ownership of my existence or do I just exist? Next week we will walk
together and learn how to take possession of the promise God has given us.
A tape recording
of today’s message is available from the church. To get your cassette tape
recording of this message, just send $5 (to cover costs of tape and
postage) to:
Attn.: Tape
Ministry
Abundant Life Fellowship
P.O. Box 22
Boonville, NY 13309-0022
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