This is Sunday afternoon, August 10, 1975, in Richmond, Virginia. The ministry is given by your brother, Stephen Kong.
We do thank the Lord that we may be together again.
I would like to read from the book of Joshua, chapter 1. We will read the first nine verses.
And it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
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 border.
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Be strong and of good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
In the past, we have been going through briefly the five books of Moses. In the first book of Moses, Genesis, we see the purpose of God. Now, what is the purpose of God? What is it that God is really seeking after?
The purpose of God is in man. He is looking for a man after His own heart—not just any man, but a particular man, a very special man: a man after His own heart.
Then, of course, we see in the second book of Moses, Exodus, the works of God. It is the work of redemption. Through redemption, God is to obtain His purpose.
In the third book, Leviticus, we see the call of God. After we are redeemed, then He calls us to come and serve Him as priests—a high privilege.
In the fourth book of Moses, Numbers, we see the ways of God. God has to deal with us in certain ways that we may grow up into maturity, into sonship.
Finally, in the book of Deuteronomy, we find the law and the land—the inheritance. In a sense, you can see that God’s purpose is to obtain a man. Then, in the book of Deuteronomy, it is as if a man is in the land.
Not just one man, of course. They are going to enter into the land; but so far as God is concerned, there is a nation, a corporate man. That nation, the corporate man, is to enter into the land, which is Christ.
In other words, God’s purpose is a man in Christ. God is after a man in Christ. This man in Christ is not merely an individual man or woman in Christ. Of course, we are men and women in Christ; but this man in Christ is a corporate man in Christ. That is what we find in the first five books of Moses.
Now, after that, we have the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua is a very unique book. Why? Because in that book we are shown how this redeemed people enter into their inheritance—or, in other words, how they possess their possession.
Moses, who is a representation of the law, could not bring the people into the promised land. Moses remained strong to the very end. His eyes were not dim, and his strength was not abated.
You have to understand that, so far as the law is concerned, the law of God never loses its strength. The law defines our relationship with God and with men, and it never changes.
But because of the weakness of our flesh, the law is not able to bring us into God’s promise, into God’s inheritance. After Moses, God raised up Joshua.
Now Joshua represents the principle of grace. The very name Joshua, in Hebrew, means, “The Lord is Savior”; and if it is in Greek, it would be Jesus. So here you find Joshua representing the principle of grace.
The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ Jesus. What the law cannot do, our Lord Jesus came in grace to do. Because of His finished work on the cross, after He had finished the work of redemption, He ascended up on high and sent the Holy Spirit to us.
The Holy Spirit is the spiritual energy that will bring us into our possession. So the whole book of Joshua tells us of the principle of grace. It is only under the principle of grace that we possess our possession.
You know, the book of Joshua has a counterpart in the New Testament. The New Testament counterpart of the Old Testament book of Joshua is the letter to the Ephesians.
In the letter to the Ephesians, you find that it is roughly divided into two parts. The first three chapters of Ephesians tell us of our possessions.
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. The first three chapters of Ephesians tell us what our possession is. It is Christ, and how rich He is—the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Then you find, in the second part of the letter to the Ephesians, that it tells us how to possess our possessions. The first prayer in Ephesians is a prayer for revelation.
Paul prayed to God that He would give the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of God. In other words, we need revelation. We need to see. We need to see what our possession is. We need to see the promised land. We need to see how rich our inheritance is.
Our portion is Christ. He is the cup of our portion, and our lines fall unto us in pleasant places. We need to see that, and it takes revelation to see it.
Then you find, in the second prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3, a prayer that we may apprehend what has been revealed to us. How are we going to apprehend? We may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner man.
In other words, our inner man—our spirit—needs to be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, that Christ may dwell in our hearts, that we may be rooted and grounded in love, so that we may apprehend with all the saints the breadth, the length, the depth, and the height, and know the love of Christ which surpasseth knowledge, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
So here you find in the letter to the Ephesians that there is the matter of revelation: we need to see. Then there is the other matter of apprehension: we need to apprehend what has been revealed to us.
So in the book of Joshua, we come to the question of how to possess our possession. Moses had died, so God began to speak to Joshua.
In the first chapter of the book of Joshua, God said to Joshua, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give unto them, even to the children of Israel.”
First of all, we need to see this: the land into which they were going to enter was not a land that God was going to give them. It was a land that God had already given them.
In other words, you cannot possess what is not yours. If you try to possess what has not been given to you, it is an illegal occupation. You become squatters. But if it has been given to you, it is yours. Then it is your right to possess it, and you should go in and possess it.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, the promised land, the land of Canaan, was not a land that God was going to give to the children of Israel then. Long, long ago, there was a man who dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees.
The Lord of glory appeared to him and called him to come out of the land of the Chaldees and go to the place of God’s appointment. He obeyed. Abram obeyed God, and he went out, not knowing where he was going; but he knew Who was calling him.
Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees. He crossed the river Euphrates, and of course he had his problems. He stopped short midway in Haran. After his father died, God appeared to him once again and encouraged him to go on, so he obeyed.
In Genesis 12, you find Abraham came into the land of Canaan. When he entered into the land of Canaan, he came to Shechem, by the oak of Moreh. God appeared to him and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.”
Now remember, brothers and sisters, at that time Abram had no child. But when God promised that land to him, God did not say, “I give you this land.” God said, “I give your seed this land.”
Abraham, believing God, built an altar to God. So, way back in Genesis 12, you find God had already given that land to the seed of Abraham.
Abraham sojourned in the promised land as a stranger. He pitched his tent there. He moved around in the land, but always lived in a tent. We are told that not only Abraham did that, but even Isaac and Jacob. They all lived in tents. They were strangers and sojourners in the land of their inheritance.
Then the children of Israel went to Egypt for four hundred and thirty years. As if God’s promise was not going to be fulfilled, so far as the human mind was concerned.
It had been hundreds of years. Would God fulfill His promise to Abraham? It seemed to be further and further away. Why? Because, at the end of four hundred and thirty years, the children of Israel were literally slaves in Egypt.
When they first went into Egypt, there were only seventy-five people, but they were treated royally because Joseph was the prime minister there. But then a new king arose, a new dynasty that did not know Joseph. So the children of Israel entered into slavery.
Not only did they not have the promised land, but they were slaves in Egypt. Where was God’s promise? The promise was probably forgotten even by the children of Israel. They gave up all hope of the promised land.
Then, after four hundred and thirty years, God sent Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt in order to lead them into the promised land. So, dear brothers and sisters, first of all, we need to remember that they were going to enter into a land that had been given to them hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
Brothers and sisters, is this also true with us? We are not going to possess something that has not been given, as if we do not have it and then are going to enter into it and possess it now.
We are called to possess our possession. In other words, God has already given us the land. Our land, of course, is Christ. God has already given us Christ. It is already ours.
In Ephesians 1:3, we are told that God has blessed us—not that He is going to bless us, but He has blessed us, has already blessed us—with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
In other words, God has already given us Christ, and in Christ, everything. Christ is our portion. Christ is our possession. Christ is our property. Christ is our inheritance. Christ has already been given to us, and because He has already been given to us, we are called to possess Him in all that He is.
Now, brothers and sisters, our problem is that we are always thinking in terms of pieces and bits. Our mind is too small. Our mind is fragmentary. We cannot comprehend that when God gives us something, He gives all.
We always think, “Well, when God gives something, He gives a little bit, and then a little bit, and then a little bit more. If we ask, He gives a little bit more.” That is our mind. Our mind is built in that way, and because we are built in that way, we act in that way too.
But God is different. When God gives, He gives all or nothing. God so loved the world that He did what? He gave eternal life? Oh, no. He gave forgiveness of sins? No. He gave comfort? No. He gave wisdom, strength, healing, gifts? No.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That is what He gave. When God gave, He gave His Son; and in His Son, all things—all things.
So, dear brothers and sisters, this is something we need to realize. Oftentimes, when we come to God, we think that we come to God and draw forgiveness of sins out from God.
We weep before Him. We cry to Him. We ask for mercy. We touch the compassion of God. We move His heart, and God cannot stand it anymore, so God says, “All right, I forgive you.” Then we go back free, you know?
Another time we feel some need again, and we come to God and beg and beg and beg, until God says, “Well, I cannot stand the begging anymore. All right, I will give you healing. I will give you a gift.” Little by little, we try to get something out of God. That is our concept.
But, dear brothers and sisters, it would completely change our outlook if we saw that, when we come to God, God gives us His Son. Christ is given to us, and when God gives Christ to us, everything is there.
He has given His all. If you come to God again and ask for something more, God says, “You have made Me poor already. I have nothing to give.” We have exhausted God. God is exhausted by giving His Son to us, and He has done everything.
What are we doing today? What we do today is discover what God has given us in Christ—not just asking Him and drawing out one thing after another from heaven. No, it is all here. It is all here with us in Christ.
It is only a discovery, a new discovery. We enter into a fresh understanding of Christ. That is what it is.
So here you find, when God told Joshua, He said, “You go into the land which I give to the children of Israel.” “I have already given.” So far as God is concerned, it is given.
When God gives, He never takes back. You know, children—sometimes when children are playing together, a child may become very generous and give his toy to another child. But a minute later something happens, and he wants his toy back.
God is not like that. When God gives, He gives, and that is it. He never takes back. He is careful to see that it is fulfilled.
Now think of the love of God. When you give something to a person, so far as you are concerned, you have given. But suppose that person is not able to take that gift. You will say, “That is his problem, not my problem. If he cannot take that gift, very good, then I can take it back.”
But you find the difference here: when God gives, He not only gives, but He sees to it that you are able to receive it. That is the grace of God.
Brothers and sisters, we often say that even the faith that receives the gift comes from God. If He does not give you faith, even if there is gift and there is grace, you will not be able to receive it. He sees to it that you have faith.
Oh, nothing—really, nothing—comes from ourselves. Everything comes from God. So God told Joshua, “You just go into the land that is already given to you. It is your right to possess it.”
Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is our portion. He is ours. All that is in Christ is given. Now go in and possess all.
How big is the promised land? God said, “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”—that is, the Mediterranean—“toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.”
The land that God promised to Abraham is not merely the land that we call Palestine today. It is land stretching from the river Euphrates all the way to the Mediterranean, and down to the south, to the brook of Egypt. That whole piece of land was given to Abraham and to his children.
Unfortunately, the children of Israel have never fully possessed their possession. Only for a short period under David and Solomon did they appear to possess the land that God promised them—and then only for a little while.
Isn’t it true with us? The Christ that God has given to us is infinite. We cannot even imagine. That is why, in the book of Ephesians, we are told of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Oh, the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. Now just think of that: the fullness of the Godhead—that is to say, all that God is, all that God has, all that God is able to do. Who can fathom the fullness of the Godhead?
But all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, and ye are complete in Him. The land that God has given to us in Christ is so infinitely great that, humanly speaking, we can never measure the breadth, the length, the depth, and the height.
So Paul says in Ephesians 3 that we may be able to apprehend with all the saints. Now, if you try to apprehend by yourself, it is impossible. You have to apprehend with all the saints.
All the saints include not only a few of us here. All the saints include all the saints today on this earth, and more than that, all the saints who lived before us and all the saints who are coming into being after us. We have to apprehend with all the saints—that is to say, the whole church.
It is for the whole church to apprehend. Apprehend what? The breadth, the length, the depth, and the height. Grammatically, that sentence is never finished.
Paul is quite a grammarian, I would say. Of course, he knows his grammar. But when he comes to this point—“that ye may be able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height”—it is as if he is out of breath. It never ends.
We would say, “Now, what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height?” You cannot say. Why? Because the riches of Christ are unsearchable. The land that God gave to us is so immense that it is beyond our understanding.
Some people try to figure it out. If you have a good mathematical mind, of course, when you read the Bible you always try to figure things out. For instance, you try to figure out exactly what is the length, breadth, and height of the holy city, the New Jerusalem.
Well, a measurement is given, so you can try to imagine. But can you imagine a city that big? Can you imagine a city that tall? The figure given there is only to give you a sense of breathlessness. That is all.
In other words, it is beyond our imagination. It is so immense. You can encounter a certain figure, and then you are lost. It does not mean anything to you. Trillions, billions, millions—it does not mean anything to you.
If it is a hundred, it means something. You know what it is. A thousand, yes; ten thousand, yes; even a million, probably, yes. But when you go to millions and billions and so forth, you are lost. You are lost.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is exactly what it is. Who can say, “I have Him all”? Who can say, “I know Him all”?
The more you know Him, the more you begin to discover you do not. You do not. You do not even touch the surface of it. You are like little children playing with pebbles by the seaside. You are like little children trying to draw seawater with your little bucket, and you think you have the sea. Not at all. Not at all.
How foolish it is for us to feel that we know it all, that we have it all. No. Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ—this is our possession. This is what God has given to the church.
The church is the body of Christ, the fullness of Him Who filleth all in all. This is what it is.
Because of this, you find the second part of God’s word to Joshua: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”
There is no contradiction here. On the one hand, the land is already given. On the other hand, God says, “Now go in, and every place that you put your foot down is yours.”
Is there any contradiction? No, there is no contradiction. The whole land was given, but only when you put your foot down does that spot where your foot treads become yours in actuality.
In other words, it is given; now go in and possess it. Enter in and experience it.
You remember when Abraham was a stranger and sojourner in the promised land. One day, his nephew Lot and Abraham had some problems with their herds because they had so many cattle. Their herdsmen began to quarrel before the Canaanites.
Abraham said, “That is not right. We are brothers. We are supposed to belong to God, and here we are, our herdsmen quarrelling before these people. It is not a good testimony.”
So Abraham, being very generous, said, “Now, Lot, you choose. If you go to the west, I will go to the east. If you go to the south, I will go to the north. Let us be peaceful.”
You remember Lot. Against all principles of courtesy, he took this opportunity and jumped at it. He looked, and he saw the plain by the river Jordan, where Sodom and Gomorrah were located. It was very fertile, like Egypt, from which they had just come out. So he chose that.
Now, humanly speaking, I wonder if it ever went through the mind of Abraham for a second: “My, he got the best.” But the Bible does not say that thought ever came to him.
After Lot left, God appeared to Abraham. In Genesis 13, God said, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward and southward and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it.”
Then God said, “Arise, walk through the land.” Two things: seeing and walking.
First, you lift up your eyes and see it. Of course, Abraham saw that land Lot had just chosen too; it was within his view. God says, “First look. Whatever you see is yours.” The second thing is: walk over it. Walk through it.
So, brothers and sisters, these are the two spiritual principles that work together. The first thing is revelation. We need to see. In our spirit, we need to see what God has given to us. We need to see Christ, brothers and sisters. We need to see Him.
If we only see Him, not only will He enlarge our capacity, but He will stir us to rise up and walk through it—to possess our possession, to apprehend Him, to experience Him.
Wherever your foot steps down, that is to say, it is yours: you experience it. Now, what is Christian experience?
Christian experience is not experiencing something other than Christ. Christian experience is not experiencing something that is not yours. Christian experience is experiencing Christ, Who is already yours.
That is the reason why you are not merely experiencing this and experiencing that. Some people say, “I experience second grace, second blessing.”
The first blessing is faith. The second blessing, for some people, is sanctification. For some people, it is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, the baptism with the Holy Spirit. That is a second blessing.
Sometimes we say, “I have the first blessing; now I have the second blessing; now I have the third blessing; I have a fourth blessing.” One by one, you try to get this and get that. Not at all. Not at all.
God has only Christ. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. You have already been blessed. He has blessed us with Christ, and what more can you be blessed with?
It is only that, after a while, you happen to walk over one portion—ah, you discover! Actually, it was already given. You are experiencing Christ a little bit more.
Is this something new? So far as the experience goes, it is new; but so far as our gift goes, it is old. It is not that you are drawing something out of heaven. No, it is already given. You are just discovering it.
That is the reason why you do not enter into Christian experience by begging. You enter into Christian experience by faith—by faith.
Brothers and sisters, if you remember this, you find it governs our whole Christian experience. All so-called Christian experiences are experiencing Christ. If it is experiencing Christ, it cannot be something that is not already given. It is just appropriating something already given.
It is an exploration. It is a discovery. It is not, shall I say, an invention. No, not at all.
So here you find God told Joshua, “You lead the people in, and wherever the sole of your foot treads is yours.” First receive it by revelation; then, by faith, appropriate it. When you appropriate it, it becomes real in experience to you.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. But if the truth is not there, the Holy Spirit has nowhere to lead you.
In other words, the Holy Spirit is leading you into all that is already done in Christ. All that Christ has done for you is here, and the Holy Spirit is leading you into all that Christ has done for you.
Rise up and appropriate. Walk over it. Do not be lazy. Do not be so self-contented, but rise up in your spirit. If you see Christ by revelation, it will move you to go ahead and appropriate all that has already become yours. Put your foot down.
Finally, in verse 6, you find God telling Joshua three times, “Be strong and very courageous.”
Whenever you find something repeated in the nine verses—in that short message God gave to Joshua—you must notice it. Three times God encouraged him and said, “Be strong and very courageous.” Why is that? There must be some reason.
Joshua had been with Moses for forty years. He was the closest associate of Moses, Moses’ attendant. He saw everything over those forty years.
Moses failed with this people. What kind of people were they? Stiff-necked, rebellious, unbelieving. Moses could not do anything with them. Could Joshua succeed?
No doubt Joshua must have been thinking about that when he looked backward over the forty years and saw that Moses, his master, failed. Would he be able to lead these people into the promised land? He had his doubts.
He was dealing with a people who would always rebel. Human nature never changes. God had to encourage him, saying, “Be strong and very courageous.” He needed courage.
Then, looking forward over the land, it was not a land that was unoccupied. Joshua had been one of the spies thirty-eight years earlier. He saw it all.
It was a land inhabited by seven tribes, and these seven tribes were not weak people. They were strong people. They had built cities, very tall, as if they reached heaven. Even in the land, they saw giants there—the Anakim.
Joshua was a soldier. As a soldier, of course, he had to figure it out: “Can I, with this people, go in and destroy the seven tribes who are stronger? Could I do that?”
Looking forward, there was not too much hope. Looking backward, he saw a helpless people. Looking forward to the enemies, he saw formidable foes. There did not seem to be any chance of defeating the enemy.
Dear brothers and sisters, is it not true with us today? Do we still have confidence in our flesh?
For forty years, the children of Israel were in the wilderness. The whole wilderness experience was to prove one thing: that there is no good in the flesh—just to prove that one thing.
If that is the case, do you have any confidence in the flesh? If you still have confidence in the flesh, you will fall back again. Know that. Notice that.
So when Joshua looked at the people, he was fearful. Thank God, he had no confidence in the flesh.
Brothers and sisters, the reason why we do not enter into the fullness that is in Christ is this: one thing that stands in the way of our entering into the riches of Christ is our confidence in the flesh.
The flesh can never inherit that which is given to the spirit. You can never experience Christ if you have confidence in the flesh. That is the reason why they could not enter into the promised land.
We need to be fearful about that, lest we have any confidence in the flesh. Paul tells us in Philippians that we have no confidence in the flesh. We worship God in the Spirit—no confidence in the flesh. That is the way to know Christ.
But, on the other hand, there were the people in the land—the enemies. Brothers and sisters, the enemies that the children of Israel met in the wilderness were types of the flesh.
But the enemies they were to meet in the promised land were types of the evil powers of darkness. So in Ephesians 6, we find that we are fighting against principalities, authorities, the powers of darkness, and wicked spirits in the heavenlies.
In the wilderness, it is a struggle against the flesh; but in the heavenlies, it is a conflict with the evil forces. Two different kinds of enemy.
Joshua, by the grace of God, was able to overcome the flesh. Why? Because he was the one chosen to lead the people to fight against Amalek. Amalek represented the flesh. He was able to overcome Amalek; he was able to overcome his flesh.
So he could live, and he was given the promise to enter into the promised land. But to fight against the spiritual forces—was he able to do that?
Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and authorities. It is not against man; it is against the evil forces in the heavenlies. No wonder Joshua needed to be encouraged.
God encouraged him: “Do not be fearful.” It is true that, so far as the flesh is concerned, there is no hope; and so far as the enemies are concerned, they are formidable. But be strong and very courageous.
Be strong. In the Bible, again and again, we are encouraged to be strong.
Ephesians 6 tells us, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.” Second Timothy 2:1 tells us, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” First Corinthians says, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
We are always encouraged to be strong—not to be strong in the flesh, but to be strong in the spirit; to be strong in the grace of God; to be strong in the might of His strength.
You know, our flesh is very strong. Our flesh is strong in everything except spiritual things. When it comes to other things, our flesh is so strong and able; but when it comes to spiritual things, our flesh is so weak.
Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. When you come to prayer, your spirit is willing, but your flesh is weak, so you go to sleep. Our flesh is strong in everything except spirituality.
But we are exhorted to be strong in the spirit and in the might of His strength. We are exhorted to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Oh, brothers and sisters, we ought to know that we can do nothing by ourselves; but we are also exhorted that we can do all things through Him Who empowers us.
You know, brothers and sisters, it takes a long time to learn the lesson that without Him we can do nothing. It takes a long time to learn that lesson.
But after we have learned somewhat of that lesson, we go overboard. We become so passive, so paralyzed, so withdrawn, so introspective. “Oh, we can do nothing. We can do nothing.” So we do nothing—literally nothing.
We have to move on to the other side and see that we can do all things through Him Who empowers us. Be strong. Be strong and very courageous.
Brothers and sisters, in the matter of possessing our possession, in the matter of possessing Christ, our spirit needs to be strong. We need to be strong in our spirits. We need to be strong in the grace of God.
Yes, we cannot do it; but strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner man, we are to allow Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith, rooted and grounded in love, and to apprehend with all the saints. We have to be strong.
Strength speaks of the condition; courage speaks of an attitude. Be strong and very courageous.
Maybe that word courageous can be changed. It bears the same meaning. Maybe we can use another word that will give us some understanding. How about using the word daring?
Believers, we who are the Lord’s, need to be very daring. Look at the people of this world. Sometimes they are very daring—daredevils. But we need to dare things.
They dare to do many things to destroy themselves, but we need to dare to do things to apprehend Christ. We are too passive.
We just sit back, open our mouths, and let the manna fall into our mouths. We do not even go out and gather the manna.
God’s people are too, too passive. In the matter of possessing Christ, you have to be strong in your spirit and very daring—very daring.
That is the reason why, in Matthew 11:12, you find Christ saying that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. The word violent there is the same thought as daring.
Only the daring take hold. Brothers and sisters, we are to be desperate. We dare to do anything—anything to apprehend Christ.
We are willing to gamble everything. We are willing to give Him everything. We are willing to put everything on the table. We are willing to dare to do everything, if only we can know Him.
That is what Paul was. He dared to count all things as loss in order to know the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Brothers and sisters, that kind of spirit is needed today.
Humility, yes. Of course, humility is the spirit of Christ. We need to be humble; that is true. But humility and daring go together.
It is not because you are humble that you dare not do anything, and then you are finished. You need to be humble, knowing that you can do nothing yourself. You need to be humble and see that whatever God has given, it is His grace. You have nothing to boast of.
You need to be humble to see that without Him you can do nothing. That is true. But, on the other hand, Paul said, “I can do all things.” We need to boast in Christ. We need to be courageous and daring in Christ. We need to have that kind of spirit.
Be strong and very courageous. Only the strong and the courageous possess their possession.
But how can we be strong and very courageous? What is the secret of it? Here you find God told Joshua two things.
“None shall be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” The abiding presence of the Lord.
How can we be strong and very courageous? When we have the sense of His abiding presence. Oh, brothers and sisters, if we have the sense of His abiding presence, we dare to do anything.
If we do not have His presence, no matter how we try to encourage ourselves, we will not be able to stand up. We will not be able to. His abiding presence is the secret of our strength.
Oh, how we need to cultivate our communion, our fellowship with the Lord. How we need to cultivate our friendship with the Lord. How we need to cultivate the abiding presence of the Lord. How we need to live in the presence of our Lord.
If we cultivate that presence, then our spirit will be strong, and we will be courageous.
So first of all, it is the abiding presence of the Lord. We need to commune with Him. As we commune with Him, the sense of His abiding presence becomes our strength—our spiritual strength.
Number two: “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.”
The word of God—the word of God.
Brothers and sisters, how can we be strong and very courageous? Number one, let not the word depart from your mouth. That is to say, read the Word.
Not only read the Word, but meditate upon it. Not only meditate upon it, but take heed to do it.
If we read the word of God, know it by heart, meditate upon the word of God, let it digest within us and assimilate it, and if we do the word of God by obeying it, then, brothers and sisters, your spirit will be strong and you will be courageous.
No one will be able to stand before you. In all your ways, you will prosper.
So, dear brothers and sisters, if we want to possess our possession, if we want to possess Christ, remember: we have to be strong in the spirit and very courageous.
It is His abiding presence, and it is His Word, that gives us the strength to go on and possess our possession. So may the Lord prepare us in this way.
Our Heavenly Father, our hearts are humbled before Thee, knowing that Thou hast given us such an immense gift, an infinite gift—even Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that everything is in Him and has been given. Thou art calling us to rise up in our spirit, be courageous, and possess our possession.
Oh, how Thou dost long that we may possess our possession. It pleases Thee. It glorifies Thee if we know more of Christ.
Oh, our Father, how we praise and thank Thee. We do ask, Lord, that by Thy Spirit Thou wilt strengthen our inner man, that we may truly rise up in our spirit and claim Christ as our own, to glorify Thee.
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.