Possessing the Mind of Christ
Possessing the land has always been the will of God. Possessing the land was never an option. There was never an alternative to this promise in the heart of God. The Father planned that His chosen people would one day possess the land He had promised to their forefathers. In Gen. 15:13, 14 - God revealed to Abraham the future: “Then the Lord said to him, know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” Then in verse 18 of the same chapter, we read: “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, to your descendants I give this land…” Notice, that from God’s perspective, He had already accomplished this. God did not say He intended to give them the land. Rather, The Lord declared: “I give them this land.” It was always their land. It made no difference that they were not yet living in the land. The land was theirs!
Whether we realize it or not, this is a challenge for most believers. Many believers are committed to following Jesus but have no understanding of what it means to think like him. In other words, before one can end up in a specific place, he or she must have some revelation of where they are going and why. Why one follows is as important as knowing the one they follow. Jesus knew that the cross was in his future. As a result, he was mindful of the cross in everything he did. When he was confronted by those who did not receive him, he never lost sight of the cross. He was convinced that at one point in time he would encounter the cross, or the cross would encounter him. In his mind, this was a reality and every day of his life was simply preparation for the day the cross would become real. The cross would not be a surprise to him. He would not allow anything at that moment to distract him from the call to bear that cross. The cross represented the will of his Father and the purpose of his presence in the earth.
God spoke to the children of Israel concerning the promise land. He revealed it to their fathers who, in turn, shared it with them. Even though they had forgotten the promise, the time would come when they would again be reminded of what they had been told. It took four hundred and fifty years of slavery and mistreatment for the children of Israel to cry out to the Lord in hopes that He would keep his promise. In response to their predicament, God sent Moses with the message that there was a promised land that belonged to them. Moses had the responsibility to lead the people of God from bondage in Egypt to the land representing freedom and blessing. It was at this exact moment that they were to possess the land. The promises of God must be received by faith. Once this becomes a reality in the hearts and minds of people, they simply wait for the moment to enter the land. They are not confused about who owns the land because they are persuaded that the land belongs to them. They own the land in spite of the fact that they have never seen the land.
Believers face this challenge every day. God reveals his promises confirming his will. Believers hear and believe the word, but fail to possess it by faith. As a result, they come to the promise land without any true conviction that the land is theirs. They are not convinced that the land belongs to them. Because they are not sure of whose land it is, the slightest distraction can cause them to forfeit the land. This is what happened to the Israelites. The giants became a distraction to them, and they withdrew in fear. They never possessed the mindset that the land was their land. They failed to internalize that the land belonged to them – including the giants. It is sad that this mistake is yet being made today. God is the same God today as he was yesterday. The land belongs to the people of God, but we must be driven by the truth and motivated by faith if we are to possess the land. God has not changed his mind. Let us pray that we change our minds and have the mind of Christ!
In His Service,
Clarence V. Boyd, Jr.
Senior Pastor