Page 56 - The Divine Quest

The Divine Quest Page 53

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any
excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

We have been given the capability by the Spirit to direct the course of our thoughts.
We can turn our mind to focus upon the things that are wholesome and which lead
to life. Consider that when you go to work you are able to put off the cares of home
and concentrate on the task at hand. When you go to school you are able to focus on
the subject you are studying. One hour we might be looking at mathematics, and we
turn our minds to the study of this field. In the next hour we may be studying English
composition, and we turn our minds to this direction. In the same way, we can turn
our minds away from the worries, doubts and fears that the enemy presents to us, or
which our flesh would lead us to dwell upon, and we can dwell upon the faithfulness
of God, His unfailing love, his many kindnesses to us, and His magnificent promises.

We must have an attitude concerning our thoughts where we declare to Satan, “This
is my mind, not yours. I will determine what thoughts are served up, and you are not
invited to the dinner.” We must then invite the Holy Spirit to come and join us and
to make known to us the thoughts of God.

What I have been describing may sound a lot like warfare, and it is. Paul used the
language of warfare when speaking about this struggle in Ephesians chapter 6. Our
souls are the battleground and we must go in and take possession of them. Many
enemies have slipped in and taken up residence in the land of our souls, and just like
the Israelites who went into possess the promised land, we too must go in and drive
out the enemy. The land will not be handed to us on a silver platter. We must have
courage and the assurance that everywhere that we set our feet has been given to us.

How much of your own soul do you want to possess. You will have to first dispossess
the enemy. The Spirit has given me an insight into this matter that could bring
understanding to many. All of the things written about in the Old Testament were
written for the benefit of the saints today. What transpired in a physical setting
concerning the patriarchs and the nation of Israel bears spiritual application for us
today.

God promised to the children of Abraham a land of their own. By faith Abraham
went and sojourned in the land, but he did not take possession of it. It would be more
than 400 more years before Joshua (a type of Yahshua - same name) would lead the
descendants of Abraham to take possession of the land. Before Joshua led the people
into battle he sent spies in to look over the land. They noted the boundaries of the
land, describing the mountains and valleys and streams and the abundant
fruitfulness of it. It was indeed a land flowing with milk and honey.