Today’s devotion is from Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT)
Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
Going from possession to occupation…
It is time for New Covenant believers to occupy their promises. It is time for the body of Christ to live in health and prosper even as their souls prosper. Jesus did not just give His life for us to go to Heaven one day, He gave His life so that we could enjoy an inheritance here on earth and live the blessed life!
Instead of the children of Israel taking the eleven day journey and occupying their promised land, they went around the mountain in the wilderness for forty years. The Lord had already given them the land, but they did not occupy what was already theirs for years. Ultimately their children occupied the land because they would not use their faith to cross over Jordan and take what belonged to them.
As with the children of Israel, much of the church will not get in faith and lay hold of and occupy what the Father has given them in Christ. Instead of living the blessed life, many live sick, in lack and in defeat. The question is, how do we occupy what is already ours in Christ?
One of the keys is to know that we have already been given everything we need pertaining to life and godliness in seed form. Most everything that the Lord gives is given in seed form through the seed of His living Word. Jesus has taught us how to use His Word together with our words of faith to create our future and to live the blessed life. He wants us to be involved in the process and to speak our blessings into being just as He spoke the universe into existence. We have to start by using the Word as seed and begin to sow for our future harvest.
THREE SEASONS OF SOWING
Firstly, as believers we need to Sow the Word as a faith seed into the good ground of our hearts with our words of faith as Jesus taught us to do. Psalm 45:1 says, ‘My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.’ You use your tongue as a pen and you write your future according to the Word on your heart. You sow the seed of the Word into your heart and in season the Word that you have sowed will produce a harvest of health, provision and blessings in your heart.
Secondly, we sow the Word as a faith seed from our Hearts for a future harvest with our words of faith. In other words… the first time that we sow the Word, we are sowing it into our hearts and now, the second time we sow the Word, we are sowing it out of our hearts from the harvest that has manifested in our hearts. Romans 10:8 says, ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart - that is, the word of faith which we preach.’ This is talking about the Word that is already in your heart. Once the Word has born fruit in your heart, you sow what is in your heart into your future with words of faith. This time the harvest is in the realm of the spirit.
Now, thirdly, we sow financial faith seeds for a future harvest with our money. Paul takes time to teach the church in Corinth about sowing financial seeds as an offering to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, ‘But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.’ This scripture gives a very important key to having all sufficiency in all things as a harvest.
Sowing financially is an act of faith that precedes harvest time. This is a very important scriptural step that many believers miss.
Now, it is time to Reap your harvest with your works of faith. Works of faith are the last step in occupying…
James 2:18-20 says, ‘But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?’
Taking baby steps and beginning to walk on water, making the effort to take up your bed and walk, driving to a dealership to start looking at cars and just doing something in the natural and in faith releases the manifestation of the harvest so that you can occupy your promise.
What I have just described is an ongoing thing that we continually do. As we do it, we always occupy our inheritance in the appointed time. God is faithful!