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INTRODUCTION
The principle of preparation is one of the keys to possessing the land of victory. Joshua had been communing with the Lord and now tells the Israelites, “Canaan is ours. All we have to do is go in and possess it because God has already given it us.” Can you imagine how excited the Israelites must have been about entering the Promised Land? They had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Joshua was now telling them to get ready to enter and possess the land about which they had been hearing, talking, and dreaming.
Joshua said, “You need to hold up and prepare yourself before you can possess the land.” They had to prepare before they could possess. We, too, must first wait on the Lord before we can walk in the land. We must understand that waiting time is not necessarily wasted time. We live in a society in which we think everything has to be done in a hurry.
However, we must understand: There is a secret to waiting on the Lord. If we want to walk in the land of victory, there comes a time when we need to wait on God. We must always remember God never gets in a hurry and God is never late; God is always on time. If we learn to wait on Him, learn to walk with Him, and learn to worship Him, we will come to the place in our lives where we shall daily live the life of victory.
We must prepare before we can possess our land of Canaan. If we are not prepared to possess, we may enter Canaan for only a little while and then go back to failure and defeat. That is what often happens to someone who is saved at a Christian summer camp. They are energized and revitalized by God’s power; but after a few months, they are no longer excited, serving, and living in victory.
Too often many do not wait on God and say, “God, prepare my life, prepare my heart. Speak to me so that when I leave youth camp and am back in school, I can serve Jesus day by day.” A time must come when we learn to wait on God and let Him prepare us to possess our possessions and live the victorious Christian life.
God has called us to exit Egypt, leave the wanderings of the wilderness, and conquer our Canaan. The Promised Land is a gift. Even though God has already given us the land, we must still fight for victory. There is no contradiction here. Even though the Holy Spirit is a gift, we still need to tarry and benefit from His presence. We know we do not have to fight all the time for victory because now we are fighting from victory. We are not fighting a fight that is lost but one that is already won.
Just as God spoke to the nation of Israel, He is speaking to the Church today saying: “Prepare your heart. Prepare your life so that I can move and do mighty exploits in your church and among your people.”
There are three major elements that relate to the principle of preparation.
THERE IS A NEW DIET
The first element is the new diet:
10“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11‘Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people saying, “Prepare provisions for yourselves.”’”
The Jordan was at flood stage. You might have thought Joshua would say, “Prepare a bridge or a boat,” but he said, “Prepare provisions.” A proverb that has been attributed both to Napoleon and Frederick the Great is that an army travels on its stomach. The Word of God tells us they needed proper nourishment; they needed a new diet. The wilderness food was not good enough to give victory in Canaan. “Prepare some food. Prepare your life so you can live victoriously in Canaan.”
In Chapter 2, The Possession for Victory, we saw some of the ramifications as it relates to manna. Manna was a strange kind of food—a course and dry wafer. Manna means, “What is this?” For forty years the nation of Israel said, “What is this?”
Manna was something God had given to sustain them in the wilderness. Manna was never intended to be their permanent food, only to get them through the wilderness and to the other side. Yet many of God’s people are content to live with manna in their bellies instead of the meat of God in their hearts. They will not come to the place in life where they get so sick and tired of manna they change the way they live. Numbers 11:8 tells us that manna tasted like oil while Exodus 16:31 tells us it tasted like honey. Note: it tasted like oil and it tasted like honey. It was not oil; it was not honey. You see, it was designed to whet their appetites and cause them to want more of the produce of Canaan.
Manna was a heavenly appetizer. Appetizers are good for a while, but we cannot live on them every day. We need to go from milk to the meat of the Word. We need to get off of manna and onto the produce of Canaan.
What Joshua was saying to the nation of Israel was, “Men, you need a new diet.” A legitimate wilderness experience exists. New Christians are babes in Christ. When a ninth-month-old baby says “Dada,” you smile and think that is great; but if a thirty-year-old son says, “Dada,” you know you have a problem. It is tragic that so many of God’s people are immature as it relates to spiritual matters.
Numbers 11:4-7 tells us the Israelites became sick and tired of manna. They wanted steak and seafood. They talked about the food they used to have in Egypt. However, even though they got tired of manna, they did not do the right thing to change their diet. Oftentimes God’s people complain and get frustrated with their Christian life. Do they try to change it? Do they read God’s Word, pray, attend church regularly? No. They will not change their diets and, as a result, will not change their lives. They know they are not satisfied, but they will not change their direction.
Manna sustained them, but it did not strengthen them. The worst enemy of Christianity is to be a bored Christian. Bored believers do not have the joy of Jesus in their hearts. The unsaved person may tell you everything is fine and wonderful, but a believer who has put the things of the world behind him will say he has a joy unspeakable and a peace that passes all understanding.
A Christian who is not truly committed can only say he is miserable. The most miserable people are those riding the fence. They want to serve God and the world at the same time. These kinds of people have enough of God to bug them but not enough to bless them. They have enough of God to convict them but not enough to change them. They have enough of God to get but not enough to give; enough to be content but not enough to be totally committed to God. What we need as God’s people is a new diet, a new way of living so we can experience the supernatural power of God in our hearts and lives.
We need a new diet. We need to change the way we have been living and begin to feast on the things of God. Many of our youth and children have been dumped in the desert to live on manna. They have been left in the wilderness and have never seen the miraculous or the supernatural power of God. We need to do more than send them to Sunday school, youth services, or revival services. What young people need to see is the glory of God, the supernatural power of God, and God’s people camping in Canaan.
Now is the time for us to evaluate our diets—evaluate what we read, what we watch, what we listen to, and what we do. Now is the time to clean up our diets and live victorious lives.
What kind of diet do you have? Do you feast on yesterday’s failures and mistakes? Do you live in bitterness and hatred? Do you have a bad attitude? Do you allow a critical spirit to overwhelm and defeat you? What kind of lifestyle do you have? Only you can answer these questions. If the Lord Jesus Christ were to open the door of your heart and check your diet, would He be pleased with what He sees? Now is the time for God’s people to prepare a meal from the Word and begin to feast on the things of God. This is the diet that will sustain you. If you are going to make it in this world, you have to learn to feast on the promises and provisions of God’s Holy Word.
A Bedouin was stuck in the middle of the barren desert late one night. Feeling as though he were about to starve, he took out his last three pieces of food. He lit a candle and then cut through the first date where he saw a worm. He threw it away and then cut open the second date with the same results. He blew out the candle, cut open his last date, and popped it into his mouth.
Oftentimes that is what Christians do. They close their minds, harden their hearts, and keep feasting on the wrong food; consequently, they do not mature as Christians. That is why the carnal man is stronger than the spiritual man. That is why they do not have victory over bad habits, bad thoughts, and plaguing problems. They will not change their diets. When we change our diets, we will change the way we live.
Joshua said to those men, “Listen, you need to prepare yourself for Canaan.” If you are going to prepare yourself for Canaan, the first thing you need to do is discover a new diet.
Secondly, there was a new delay.
THERE IS A NEW DELAY
1. The problem of the Jordan.
11“Within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.”
God said He wanted them to sit down and watch this overflowing river. He wanted to impress upon their minds the impossibility of crossing this flooded river. The longer they watched the river, the bigger, mightier, and harder it became to cross.
Is there something overflowing its banks in your life? Is there is a problem you have tried to cross but failed time and again? God is saying, “Quit trying to figure it all out and begin trusting in the resources of God Almighty.” As one preacher said, “We need to quit figuring and start faithing.” We need to realize God has a plan and enough power to accomplish that plan. God wants us to have victory, to cross the Jordan, to conquer Jericho, and to camp in Canaan. He wants us to live the victorious Christian life, but we are not going to do it through our ingenuity or education. It will only be done through the supernatural power of God.
So God said to Joshua, “Just have everyone sit down and watch.” You and I can only be victorious through God’s power, God’s Spirit, God’s ability. He will give us victory over every problem, habit, and area of our lives. It happens when we decide we are going to rest on His record and resources and know He is able to meet every need we have.
Are you willing to let God take care of it? Are you willing to say, “God, I’m tired of trying to cross the Jordan and get into Canaan by myself. I’m tired of trying to do it all alone.” When we come to the place where we let God be God in our lives, He is going to help us to live victoriously every day. Notice the problem of the Jordan but also notice the power of Jesus.
2. The power of Jesus. What is the significance of three days? It speaks of the resurrected life. Jesus was in the grave three days. Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days. Abraham and Isaac went to Mount Moriah for three days. The life in Canaan is nothing less and nothing more than resurrection life. God wants us to have the resurrection power of Jesus in our hearts and lives daily. We are reconciled by the death of Jesus but saved by the life of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, He brought us to God, but it is His life that helps us to live victoriously each day. His death pardoned us; His life gives us power to live.
In Ephesians 1:19-23 (KJV), Paul used the following words to the church at Ephesus about the resurrection life: “exceeding,” “greatness,” “power,” “working,” “mighty,” and “power” (again).
a. Dynamic Power.
b.
19“And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe according to the working of His mighty power, 20which he wrought in Christ, when he raised Him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.”
b. Delegated Power. Resurrection power is delegated power. The Bible talks about “exceeding power” which comes from the Greek word “huperbáló,” simply meaning power you cannot measure or calculate. It does not matter how sophisticated your computer, you will never be able to calculate or measure the kind of power God has.
(1) Greatness. The word “greatness” comes from “mégathos.” It is from the same word that we get the modern word “megaton” which is how we measure atomic energy. One megaton represents one billion tons of dynamite, the power found in one atomic bomb.
(2) Power. There is also power. It comes from “dúnamis” from which we get the word “dynamite” or “dynamo.” Jesus Christ is not only our dynamite, but He is also our dynamo.
(3) Working. The word “working” comes from the Greek word “enérgia” from which we get the English word “energy.” The Spirit of God gives us the energy to live a victorious Christian life.
(4) Mighty. “Mighty” comes from the word “krátos” which means the “strength” that the believer has to maintain the victorious life.
(5) Strength. The word “power” at the end of verse 19 is different from the other word power because it means “strength.” Strength gives us dominion over our adversary. The Apostle Paul is saying that because Christ came out of the grave on the third day, we have an immeasurable atomic power that now energizes us to maintain, have dominion, and live victoriously every day.
c. Demonstrated Power. God wants to demonstrate His power to us. The Bible says, “Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20 KJV). Notice the demonstrated power. God demonstrated His power in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He sent Him to a cross where He hung and died and was then placed in a grave. Then God demonstrated He had enough power to bring Jesus up from the grave. When God did that, He showed the whole world the kind of power He has as God Almighty.
What problem, difficulty, or habit have you ever come against over which this power is not able to give victory? The Canaan life is a resurrected life. We have the power of God flowing through our hearts and lives.
d. Defeating Power. God wants us to have that delegated power, that demonstrated power, and that defeating power. “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet” (Ephesians 1:21-22 KJV). Every sin is now under the feet of Jesus. Every adversary, demonic spirit, absolutely everything is subject to Him. God has given us that mighty resurrection power so we can live the victorious Christian life.
e. Dominating Power. It is also a dominating power. Ephesians 1:22 says, “…under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (KJV). He is the head of all things. All we have to do is follow the head. If we will just follow the head, we will walk into Canaan, conquer Jericho, and learn to live the victorious Christian life every day. Jesus has never lost a battle; He has never lost a war; He has never been defeated. If we will learn to walk with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, we are going to have resurrection power in our hearts and lives.
f. Directed Power. “Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:23 KJV). Who is His body? We are. We are His army. Who is the one who has given us our power? The captain of the conquerors. The mighty Lord Jesus. That same power that brought Him out of the grave on the third day is the same power that rests in our hearts and lives now so we can live the victorious life.
Can you think of anything more difficult than bringing the Lord Jesus Christ out of the grave? Can you think of anything more difficult than conquering death itself? So why do we not put our faith to work and realize there is nothing too difficult for God? God wants us to live victoriously in every area of life—not in partial victory but in total victory.
For God’s people, there was a new diet, a new delay, and thirdly—a new dedication.
THERE IS A NEW DEDICATION
The Bible tells us about the tribe of Rueben, the half tribe of Manasseh, and the tribe of Gad. These tribes were interested in some real estate on the eastern side of the Jordan. We know from Numbers 32 that these three tribes had spoken personally to Moses and said, “We’ll go in with you and help you fight. We’ll do our part, but we’re interested in this portion of land. We’re interested in living on this side of the Jordan.” So Moses gave them permission, but they would have to help the rest of God’s people conquer Canaan. Then the tribes would be allowed to come back and live on the other side.
This caused a division among God’s people because these three tribes, or rather two-and-a-half tribes, would have to help conquer Canaan although they were not going to live in Canaan. Some people today want to associate with those who want to go into Canaan, but they are content to live on the other side of the Jordan.
That happens regularly in churches today. Some Christians will do everything right on Sunday; but when Monday comes, they are content to go back to the wilderness. They are not interested in staying in Canaan. They are excited about others going and wish them the best, but they are content to stay where they are. They do not believe in victory in every area of life. For them, the Canaan life is not reality today. That is just a good sermon.
However, that is not God’s plan; that is not God’s will. God’s plan, His will, is for all to go into Canaan, the land of rest, of release, of refreshment. It is not God’s plan for 80 percent of His people to go in and the other 20 percent to stay behind. His plan is for all to go into Canaan.
British naval records tell of one of its ships in a South Pacific harbor with five foreign ships. After receiving word that a typhoon was heading their way, captain told his men to “Batten her down. We’re going into the middle of that storm.” That ship left the harbor and rode out the mountainous waves and returned to the harbor after the storm had passed. All the other ships that remained in harbor were found smashed and broken to pieces. A storm is coming. If we do not get into the safe harbor of Canaan, the results could be disastrous.
When the Assyrians did come against the nation of Israel, the first tribes to fall were Manasseh, Gad, and Ruben. Victory is not found in flirting with the fringes and bargaining for the borders. Victory is found in Canaan. It is time for God’s people to go to Canaan and ride out the storm. Those who are committed to Christ, full of the Holy Spirit, and living victoriously are going to ride right through the storms of life.
CONCLUSION
Time is quickly passing for Christian believers to be what God intends. The time to prepare our hearts for victory is now. We need a new diet, a new delay, and a new dedication concerning the things of God—a new dedication that says, “God, I am going into Canaan, and nothing will stop me. I am going to experience the abundance, the victory, and the resurrection power you have intended for me to know.”
Will you make that new dedication? Will you say, “God, prepare me so I might possess my possessions. Prepare me to have a new diet and a new dedication to you. Help me to cross the Jordan and to go into Canaan!”
