Entering the inheritance God has for you.
Deut 26:1 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it,
Joshua 3:1 “Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.” (NLT)
- The Acacia Grove Mindset – Renew Your Mind
The Acacia Grove experience is fundamental to the Jordan at the edge of the river and stepping in to cross over it. In Hebrews the word Acacia means durable and was sometimes translated “incorruptible wood”. It is a hard wood with a beautiful fine grain or close grain, which darkens as it ages. Insects find the taste of acacia wood distasteful, and its density makes it difficult for water or other decaying agents to penetrate.
The Acacia Grove refers to God’s holiness and life-changing encounters with God. Before going through the Jordan river, we need God’s holiness. Holiness consists of that internal change or renewal of our souls whereby our minds, affectations and wills are brought into harmony with God. Moving towards the river, we must visit Acacia Grove to cleanse ourselves, the renewal of our minds and seek God like never before.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Renewing your mind requires faith, and faith is acting on the Word of God. You apply it in order to change the way you think about your life, your work, your relationships—everything.
The old way of thinking, that we can turn back to Egypt, like the previous generation, will not make it. There is no turning back. We must face the future with its realities that it will bring. We must face the giants. We must face the unforeseen future; we must face the unknown.
Through His written Word, God provided the way for you to be changed from the inside out. The Word allows you to know Him and approach your life in a way that pleases Him—and is successful every time.
The renewing of the mind brings your will into agreement with the Father’s will. As you fill your mind with His Word by reading, thinking about, memorizing, praying, speaking out loud, even singing, you begin to think in a way that pleases Him, and His ways become your ways. You become, through His power and wisdom, a master of the circumstances of life. When difficulties or decisions arise, you automatically view them through the eyes of God’s Word. That new perspective changes everything.
2. Move the edge of the Jordan River – Focus on God
Joshua 3:1 “Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.”
Israel is standing on the edge of the Jordan river to cross as they are moving into a new future. Currently we are in the same position. We must cross a river that we have never crossed before. Never in history have we travelled this way before. Covid-19 created a way we have never travelled before.
Our ordinary methods of prayer, worship and the way of working will not be enough for this season of moving through and over this river. We, as did Joshua and God’s people, must cross over by the power of God. God is at work worldwide. God’s desire is to get us from we are, from a comfort zone, to where He is working, in the faith zone.
The promised land could not be entered without crossing the Jordan;
Deuteronomy 11:31 “For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it,”.
Deuteronomy 12:10 “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,” .
The means of entering the Promised Land was by crossing the Jordan. Just as the Israelites couldn’t leave Egypt, except by passing through the Red Sea, Scripture does not provide a way to enter the Promised Land apart from crossing the Jordan.
Rivers are first a river of death to self, to pride and interdependence. People all over the world lived, without Christ, felt that they have it all, and don’t need any intervention from God. Covid-19 brought the whole world to a point where they are realising that they are not able to cross this river with-out God.
Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.
Nehemiah 8:10 Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
Psalm 9:9-10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble
3. Lodging at the river. Spend time with God
Joshua 3:1 “Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.”
Before we can enter the promise of God, we need to lodge and cross the river. The word lodge used in Joshua 3:1 means to stop and stay for a length of time, to lie down and stray to patiently remain and tarry.
All over the world there is some form of lock down, a time to lodge. During this time we need to camp out with God. We need to take time, be patient, wait on God through prayer, fasting, worship cleansing through repentance and hearing God’s Word with an open heart.
People have become so comfortable, that they felt that they do not need God anymore. They are in a spiritual drought, in desperate need of God.
Psa 63:1 O God, you are my God, and I long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land, my soul is thirsty for you.
The word “drought” means a continuous dry wind that blows rain clouds away, scorching the ground, a restraint of refreshing rain for long periods of time, an extended dryness in the heat of summer.
The Word of God promises refreshing water to those who are in a dry and thirsty place:
Psa 105:41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out, flowing through the desert like a river.
Psa 107:35 He changed deserts into pools of water and dry land into flowing springs.
Our responsibility is to stop, lodge and drink deeply of the waters of God. To drink means to absorb, consume, take in.
We need to take time, be patient, wait on God through prayer, fasting, worship, cleansing through repentance and hearing God’s Word with an open heart. We must develop a personal love and commitment to drink deeply of the river of God.
Jeremiah 31:12 (NIV) 12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord—the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more
Conclusion:
Like never before, it is now the time to Renew your mind, focus on God and spend time with God