Claiming Your Canaan Series:this Land Is Your Land

In our society today, there are many misunderstanding, mistakes, mix-ups, misinterpretations, misconstruction, and misapprehension surrounding the Christian life. A trip to the local Bible bookstore confirms this accusation. Because after all the shelves are lined, and filled with books that talk about how to make the Christian life easier and more acceptable to the world. However, the truth of the matter is not a walk in the park! This thing that we got into when we were saved is a battle and the devil is on full blast!

We are engaged in warfare with a spiritual enemy who is far more powerful than we are, Eph. 6:12. Because the truth of the matter is that in our own strength, we are no match for the devil. But the good news is that he doesn’t have the power that our God has. That’s why 1st John 4:4 tells us greater is he that is in me then he that is in the world! Therefore, in the midst of the battles, there is always hope for victory, In fact, the Bible tells us that we are the recipients of victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. While we are engaged in the battle with evil, there is the expectation that we can and will walk in victory in our lives. And for me, this is what the book of Joshua represents.

In this book, we find that Moses, the great leader of Israel has died and a new leader named Joshua has been appointed to lead the nation of Israel into Canaan. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel is about to take possession of the land in which God has promised Abraham centuries ago. This book is about the battles Israel faced in order to claim that promise from God. If you notice, Joshua is a book of warfare, suffering and great victories.

It is a book that teaches the modern Christian a lot about obtaining spiritual victory in your life. I know that we sing songs about Canaan Land and often we have the idea that Canaan refers to Heaven. But that’s not true. Because when we get to Heaven, there will be no more wars, there will be no more enemies, there will be no more suffering, lies, let downs, no more giving up the right for the wrong, and there will be no more death, and sin.

But these are the issues that are present in the book of Joshua and what its pages hold. No, Canaan isn't Heaven, but it is a picture of the life of victory that is available to every child of God who has been born again!

This morning, I want to begin this series that will take us through the book of Joshua. And as we journey through Joshua, I just want to hit a few high spots in the book. I am entitling this series "Claiming Your Canaan." My goal in preaching this is help us to stop wandering around in the wilderness so you will know how enter into your Canaan Land of spiritual victories.

This first chapter serves as somewhat of an introduction to the book, and it informs us that, Canaan Land is our land. As we open this dialog I want you to listen carefully to what the Lord has to say to Joshua concerning the land of Canaan, and about how he is to claim it.

These verses will help us to understand what it takes to go from wandering around in a wilderness of defeat to living in a land of victory. It will teach us what we need to know about how to be victorious and not victims. It will teach us how to be the head and not the tail.

Because there are some truths given here that we need to understand this morning and first we need to know "Canaan Land is your land!"

So what we see in verses 1-9 that there is a call to claim the land. In these verses, Joshua is reminded that the Lord has already given the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. Joshua is commanded to lead the people into Canaan to claim the land that they had been promised to them by the Lord.

The land was given to them back in Gen.12:7 and the promises were reaffirmed to every succeeding generation of the nation of Israel. The land was indeed their land. There was no need for them to continue their wandering around in the wilderness. They had a land, and all they had to do was come and claim it.

I look around on a daily basic and I see Christians who are defeated, who struggle with sins, who, for all intents and purposes are wandering around in a spiritual wilderness. And I need to tell somebody this morning that it does not have to be that way.