Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars
Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected
| PentecostalTheology.com
Conquest of the Land of Our Souls – Ray E Horton
I was reading in Exodus 23 where God said He would go before the Israelites as they conquered and took possession of the land. I saw a good analogy here for the conquest of everything that needs to be cleaned up in our soul lives.
When we were Born Again, our human spirits were made perfect and righteous with the righteousness of God in Christ, united with Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. That is our identity, who we are.
But, what we are most aware of in the natural, our souls, that is our mind, will and emotions, need to be cleaned up, and that is a life-long process as we renew our minds to who we have become in Christ.
We Are Not Alone in the Process
Thankfully we are not alone in this process, for the Lord goes before us, co-laboring with us, just as He was with Israel in driving our their enemies.
Conquering the land of our souls:“the weaknesses, wrong beliefs, bad attitudes, poor habits and obvious and hidden areas of sin that we are all in the process of overcoming”
I see the Canaanites, Hivites, Hittites, Amorites, Perrizzites and all the other “ites” that they were to drive out, as analogous to the weaknesses, wrong beliefs, bad attitudes, poor habits and obvious and hidden areas of sin that we are all, to a greater or less extent, in the process of overcoming, conquering the land of our souls.
The process is gradual, yet it must be completed, for stuff left unattended to will continue to draw us down. It is just like we read in Ex. 23:33: “They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” For us, are not these gods the idols we have in our lives that often come before him?
As we read in Joshua 6, the Lord said to let the praisers and priests with trumpets go before the army as they marched around Jericho seven times. They then shouted and the walls fell down.
We too may have to go around and around in overcoming. But, let the praise of God be on our lips and a shout in our mouths. God goes before us, but we must do our part aggressively. Whether or not we are used to shouting at the devil and our sin, that may be what is called for – then, sudden victory.
Another interesting comparison: The overall conquest didn’t happen overnight for Israel, and neither does it for us. “I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you” (Exodus 23:29).
We Grow Little by Little, He Is Faithful
If the Lord dealt with everything in our lives at once, even within one year, it would be overwhelming, and areas we were delivered of that we didn’t have time or emotional stamina to tend to would be desolate and the worst could then come back; “wild beasts,” even demonic lies, would multiply against us.
“Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land” (Ex. 23:30). Little by little the Lord works in our lives until our strength in each area is increased and we fully possess that victory.
God is so good. Jesus walked our path before us and experienced all the temptation that we experience, although without sin. So, He understands. Remember, there is no condemnation when we fall in areas in which the victory has not yet come. We repent, get up, and go on, praising the Lord for His forgiveness and wonderful and steadfast work in our lives.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with rejoicing” (Jude 1:24). The time of victory and rejoicing will come. He is committed to present each of us “blameless.”
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
He Will Present Us Blameless
If we do not give up, but continue with Him in the process, He will complete the work in our lives.
Our spirits arrived instantly when we were Born Again. He goes before us as we renew our minds and conquer the land of our souls, being steadily transformed, from glory to glory. And once we have graduated to the other side, our bodies will be glorified, and we will be presented complete and blameless. Hallelujah!
