Courage to Leave a Legacy
From Bill Johnson Ministries
When God brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land, He gave them
a very clear assignment—an assignment that prophetically illustrates the
assignment we have as His children in the New Covenant. The Israelites were
to displace the pagan peoples living in their promised territory, spread
their tribes throughout it, and ultimately establish (verify) centers of
worship and cities of refuge in each region. Likewise, Christ commissioned
us to go into our promised territory—all the world—and make disciples of the
nations, displacing the influence of the kingdom of darkness and releasing
the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven. As it is for us, the Israelites'
success in fulfilling each part of this assignment was entirely dependent on
their ability to do what God had been training them to do in the
wilderness—to follow His manifest presence and do what He said, when He said
to do it. And upon what did their ability to follow His presence and obey
His voice depend? God made the answer to this question clear to Joshua when
He commissioned him to lead the Israelites in their assignment: No man shall
be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses,
so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and
of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the
land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very
courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses
My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the
left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you
may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be
dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you.