Christine Caine - Possess The Promise, Part 1
Good people, good Christian people, heaven bound, there's no issue. But the truth is, you get into a faith environment, you start reading the word, you start deciding I wanna go more full on for God, and then you get around these Christians, and suddenly you've just taken five steps back. They're like you know what, you don't have to be that committed. You don't have to give that much, you don't have to serve that much. You don't have to go to church that much. You don't really have to be that morally pure.
I'm not where I thought I would be, and this certainly isn't the relationship I thought I would have. This isn't the path that I thought I would be on. Did you forget about me, God? Real thoughts for a real God, and sometimes it feels like every other person is possessing the promises of God but you. You don't see the fulfillment of the dreams that God has put in your own heart. Well, I wanna tell you that God has not forgotten you. His promises are still true, and it's time to possess them. I'm gonna show you how. I'm Christine Caine, and I have a personal mission to Equip and Empower people just like you, to connect with your God given purpose and potential. I am so glad that you're joining us today.
Hey, I am so excited to be here today. I'm so excited you've tuned in and joined us. I know that God's got a word for you. Today I'm gonna be talking about one of my favorite subjects. I'm talking about possessing the promises of God. You see, this book is a book that's full of promise. This is a book full of hope, this is a book full of life. I cannot handle people that take this book and turn it into a dead, boring bunch of rules and regulations, and try to bash people over the head with it, because it is full of promise, it is full of hope. It actually relates to every part of our life. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, this book is full of promise and hope.
And you know what the good thing is about God, when God promises things, he's not like my kids. I have my little Sophia, she's still learning what truth really means, because it's quite relative to her. She'll go, "Mom, I promise, but I had my fingers crossed, behind my back". As if somehow that means that the promise doesn't keep. Well some of us, we've been let down, because people have made promises. Perhaps they promised to stay married to us forever, and they've walked away. Or perhaps they promised they're gonna be there for us, and they betrayed us, and they've left us. Well that's not the kind of promise that I'm talking about, 'cause sometimes when I talk about the promises of God, people think, well, you know, is this God gonna be like my father, that walked out, or is he gonna be like my ex-wife, that walked out and left me. Or is it like my kid that crosses their fingers behind their back, and they're really lying.
Well I'm here to tell you that's not what I'm talking about. Numbers 23:19, it says God is not a man that he should change his mind. Now this is a case that God is definitely not a woman, because a woman has the prerogative of changing her mind every 35 seconds, but right here, it says God is not a man, that he should change his mind. As he said, and will he not do it, or has he spoken and will he not fulfill it? But that's what I love about this word. God said it, God will do it. If God promised it, he said it. There are no expiration dates on the promises of God.
I know that there's someone, and you're in your lounge room right now, and you think that God has forgotten you. God has spoken a word to you, a long time ago, a word of hope, and a word of promise, and you think he's forgotten it, but I'm here to remind you today, you've tuned in at the right time, that God is not a man that he should lie. If he said it, he will do it. He will come through. In fact 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20 says that no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes and amen in Christ. All of the promises of God are in Christ yes, and in Christ amen. God has promised that he will never fail, he will never leave us, he will never forsake us. He has promised us that all things work together for good for those that love him, and are called according to his purpose.
You know, you might've been going through something that's actually not good, something that's really bad, and you think can this work out for good? Well, God has promised that if you trust him, he will take even the bad, broken pieces of your life, he will weave them together, and he will work them together for your good, and for his glory. That's the promise of God. He's promised us salvation, he's promised us healing, he's promised us deliverance. Do you wonder why the devil does not want us to read this book, because this book is a book of hope and light, and if he can make us think that this is boring, that this is irrelevant, that this is not true, we will not go to this book to lay ahold of the promises of God.
If you need healing today, God's word brings healing into your life. God's word can bring deliverance, restoration, reconciliation, this is a book of life, these are the very words of God, spoken to us, to turn our life around. Well, here is the deal. If this is a book that's full of promise, and this is a book that's full of hope, then why do some of us seem to walk into the promises of God, and others don't? Now I know a lot of people think, well Chris, does God have favorites? Why does that person walk in the blessing of God, or the prosperity of God, or the fullness of God, or the favor of God, but I don't?
Well the truth is, everyone of us, everyone watching on the other side of the screen, everyone here today has the same access to the same promises from the same God, but not all of us access those promises. And that is because some of us are willing to do what it takes to go in and possess, and for the next three weeks, we're talking about how to possess the promises of God, because too many Christians are living so far beneath the promise of what God has for their life. We are not walking into the abundance, and the blessing, and the prosperity that God has for us, because somewhere along the line, we believed a lie, somewhere along the line we thought I'm not God's favorite. Somewhere along the line, we think well I've failed, I've messed up, God can't bless me.
But I'm here to tell you that if God said all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus, yes and amen, that that means those promises are for you. Healing is for you, deliverance is for you, salvation is for you, that God has an awesome purpose, plan and future for you. So we're waiting on God, to drop it out of the sky, and God says I'm waiting for you to go in and get what I've already promised you to get. Now Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 8, I love this, because the Lord says, "I have set the land before you". Now check out these words, "Go in and take possession of the land, that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them". So God says I want you to go in and take possession.
Now too many of us have grown up with a kind of kumbaya Christianity, or actually if you're as old as me, you would know who Doris day is, and she used to sing a song, I won't try to sing, 'cause that will mortify you. But there was a song like "Que Sera Sera... Whatever will be will be the future's not ours to see". That's heresy, that is just wrong. We do not live according to the Gospel of Doris day. It is not a Que Sera Sera Christianity, whatever will be, will be. God says I've promised it. I need you to go in and possess the very, very thing that I promised you, so that you can lay ahold of the purposes of God.
In Joshua chapter 18 verse 3 it says so Joshua said to the people of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you"? And I wanna ask you that today. How long will you put off taking possession of the land? That's what we're talking, that's what's on the table for the next three weeks. I'm asking you how long will you put off? We live in chaotic times, we live in urgent times. There is so much going on around us, and we need the people of God to step into the promises of God, to lay ahold of those promises so that we can be blessing, and prosperity to the world around us. How are we going to be salt and light if we ourselves are not partaking of the promises of God, so we have gotta make sure that we go in and possess.
God wants us to possess what he has already given us. And I think this is the missing link for a lot of Christians. A lot of us are sort of just waiting, we just think, you know what, if God wants to drop it into my lap, God will drop it into my lap. And God's saying I've already given it to you, I need you to go and get what I've already given you. And if we could understand that God has done everything that he could do, now it's up to us to do our part, that we work together with God, that's how it works here on this earth. We partner, we are co-laborers with him. We go in to possess the promises that he has for us. Many of you have lived bound to that addiction, or in a wrong relationship, or just with a negative thinking pattern and you think you can't get out of it. But I'm here to tell you that this word promises freedom, it promises life.
Jesus said in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1, it is for freedom that Christ set us free. That's what Paul writes to the Galatians. And so we don't have to live bound one second longer. We can move into the fullness of the freedom that God has for us. So how long, that's my question, and for the next three weeks we're gonna land there. How long are you gonna wait to go in and possess? Because I believe that you've tuned into this broadcast right now, in the timing, the plan and the purpose of God to find your deliverance, to find your healing, to find your breakthrough, to move past where you are, into the fullness of the promise that God has for you.
Jesus loves you so much, has such an awesome plan, purpose and and he died on a cross and rose again from the dead, not so that we can just have our whatever will be will be kind of life, but where can go, and have an abundant, overcoming, victorious, Christian life. He says I didn't come that you might just have life, but that you might have life and life more abundant. And it is about time that the people of God on this planet begin to live a victorious, overcoming, abundant, passionate, purpose driven life. So I don't know about you, but I'm excited.
There is always going to be an attack of the enemy, and there are certain things we need to do to step into the fullness of what it is that God has for us. Now, in Joshua chapter 5, they're right there, on the edge, at Gilgal, they're about to go in, and I want you to see this, because there are certain things that God says you're gonna have to do before you go in and possess the land. The Bible says as soon as all the kings of the amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel, until they crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time". And all the men just said, "Ouch".
Okay, I just need you to know there was no anesthetic, I just won't even go there. Thank you Jesus that I am a woman, that's all I wanna say right at this moment. So Joshua made flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-Haaraloth. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them. You would want a reason to be circumcised when you're an adult male, with no anesthetic. All the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness, after they had come out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. The Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had swore to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
So it was their children whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, I know there's a lot of, if you've just tuned in, and you're like what is this woman talking about, I know there's a lot of circumcision but it's in the Bible, I told you it's not boring. People try to make it boring. This book is full of life and circumcision, okay. And so, for they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, and all the people said amen, they remained in their places in the camp, until they were healed, indeed. Until they were healed, and the Lord said to Joshua, "Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you". And so the name of that place is called Gilgal 'til that day.
Maybe you're in Gilgal right now, and that's what I believe, that I'm speaking to you, see what happens is the Lord said there's something that you have gotta do, if you wanna go in and possess the promises of God, here we are at Gilgal. This Promised Land, and God has promises for you, for your marriage, if you're married, in your single life, in terms of abundance, for your finances, for your health, for your flourishing in life. The Word of God is full of the promise of God, but if we are gonna lay ahold of those promises, remember, God's not gonna drop something out of the sky that he's already given us, he wants us to go in and get what he's already given us.
Now how we gonna do that? Well there are certain things, and the first thing that we're gonna have to do, without any exception, is that we are gonna have to cut away certain things. In fact, in here, all jokes aside, the Lord was saying something very serious to the children of Israel, he said to Joshua, I want you to circumcise the sons of Israel again, the second time, and you go why would he do that? And essentially a whole generation that had come out of bondage, a whole generation that had come out of captivity, they had had their own cutting away. They had had their own circumcision. They had paid their own price. But now another generation grew up in the wilderness, another generation was ready to go in and possess the Promised Land, but the Lord said before you go in to possess, you have to have your own cutting away.
What is God saying? He's saying that this generation cannot get into their Promised Land, based on the price that was paid by the generation before them. Every generation must pay their own price. Now you and I live in a world of entitlement, where we have a whole generation that's raised up, that just thinks hey, I deserve this, I should have this, but I need you to know that if you are gonna step into the promises of God, every generation has to pay their own price. There is obedience for every generation. There is sacrifice for every generation. There is a cutting away of the flesh for every generation. There are no free passes into the Promised Land. Jesus died to give us our promises, we need to go in and possess our promises, but we're gonna have to have a cutting away.
The writer to the Hebrews in the New Testament says it like this, in Hebrews chapter 12 he says, therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside the weights and the sins, that so easily ensnare us. The fact that the writer to the Hebrews uses two words, weights and sins, suggests to me that there's a difference between a weight and a sin. And you might be thinking why am I not possessing God's promises? Well, it could be weights that are in your life. You go, well a weight is not a sin.
So a weight could be the people that you're hanging out with. Good people, good Christian people, heaven bound, there's no issue. But the truth is, you get into a faith environment, you start reading the word, you start deciding I wanna go more full on for God, I wanna lay, and then you get around these Christians, and suddenly you've just taken five steps back. They're like you know what, you don't have to be that committed. You don't have to give that much. You don't have to serve that much. You don't have to go to church that much. You don't really have to be that morally pure. You don't really have to not entirely tell the, you know, they'll try to make it, just water it down a little bit, dilute it down a little bit, dilute your commitment down, your faithfulness down, your loyalty down, that sense of being all in for the purposes of God, and you know what the greatest gift you can give to yourself is cut it away.
Now that doesn't mean we're ever ugly to people, but it does mean that if you care about your destiny, then you might have to make a decision to leave some people behind, so that you can step into what is is that God has for us. Not everyone's gonna come with you, and that's the bottom line. I sit here and I think at 50 years old, where are the thousands that stood on altar calls when we were in youth ministry together, saying here I am Lord, send me to the nations, and you know, I did that, and we were so keen. And I remember in those days, we were so enthusiastic, man, we just wanted, if we were ever gonna get married, we were just gonna marry the man of God. You know, the elite, the navy seal, the one that God had for us, that man that was gonna step into destiny with us.
Well you know, and you say Lord I'll do anything, so we're serving in youth ministry, and you're not going on any dates, because you're waiting for the elite one, and all your friends are getting married. Now you're 24 and you go on an altar call, and there's not like hundreds or thousands anymore, there's just a few dozen, where you go on that altar call and say Jesus, I'll do anything, I'll go anywhere, I'll serve you, I will go, I'll go to Siberia, I'll go to Mongolia, I'll go to anywhere for the sake of the Gospel, and but Lord would you just bring me a nice, Christian man. So you've gone from the man, the elite Lindt chocolate, to now you go, God I'm giving you a few more options, like Christian, just Christian you know, so maybe like Hershey's, like just, you know, like there's lots of Hershey's in here we can have.
And then, so now you're still driving 14 year olds to youth group because you told the Lord you'll do anything, you're putting out the chairs, you're still earning like $50 a week for serving in the youth ministry, you own one pair of jeans, with holes, they cost a lot now, but back then, you know, and so that's what you would do, and all your friends now are having grandchildren, and they're buying investment properties, and you're still serving the Lord, it's all for the Lord, and now you get to 28, and it's just like five of you on an altar call now, like you know, Lord, here I am, send me to the nations, I'll go anywhere, just male, just a man, like you know, and so, but, and then you get to 50, and you go where is everybody? Where is everybody?
I said I was gonna follow Jesus, I wasn't using Jesus to get married. I wasn't using Jesus to have kids. I wasn't using Jesus to get a house. I said I will follow you wherever, for all of my days, and so I've had to cut lots of things off along the way. Because there's a lot of people, good people, but they wanted to settle in the wilderness when I wanted to go into the Promised Land. And that meant that I had to make some decisions, and it's probably been the greatest cost to me, because I love people so much, and I love, and sometimes, one of the greatest mistakes probably that I've made is that I've cared about someone's destiny more than they have. And so I have lingered back with them longer than they have because I so wanted them to come into the Promised Land with me, but there are times where you've just gotta cut it off, because they're not gonna come with you. You can love them, but you've gotta love them from a distance.
And that could be a word for someone today, where you're like wow, I don't wanna hurt someone, but you're hurting your own destiny, by staying somewhere where you're not supposed to be. It could be a level of thinking, or a level of giving. I mean you can choose what is a weight. And a weight is normally a good thing. It's something that help get you where you are, but now it's become an anchor and a weight, and it's holding you back from where you need to go. It could be a level of thinking, it could be just where you are in life, or it could be a sin. Not telling people about sin is actually not loving. Loving them is not denying that it's killing them. And let's not confuse tolerance with endorsement. We don't have to endorse things, because we don't want to seem like we are negative or critical, or judgemental. Speaking the truth in love is what the scripture tells us to do, not throwing out the truth, in the name of love. You cannot have love without truth.
And so the writer here, in the book of Joshua, says you know what, you need to circumcise the sons of Israel again, the second time, what do you need to cut away today? Maybe endless, wasted leisure time. You need to make more time, sometimes you think I can't do the will of God, because I don't have enough time. Well, you actually do have enough time, maybe you just need to stop watching so much TV. Or maybe you need to get off your phone, and stop playing so many games. Now I know this, you know, some of you think she's meddling now, like I don't wanna get off Pinterest, because, you know, Pinterest is not worth your destiny, that's all I wanna say. You know, and you always, you feel worse when you come off than when you go on, you always thought your house looked wonderful, your lounge room looked beautiful, your bedroom was awesome, until you got on Pinterest. And then all of a sudden you saw your neighbor's bedroom, and suddenly you wanted to upgrade yours. And so my deal is that some of us are wasting a whole lot of time, and we need to cut that away.
And so we need to cut away some of the wasted thoughts that we have, some of the things that we're reading, that are just wasting our life, and wasting our destiny. You have more time than you think. Some of you need to get off the phone, and stop calling your friends, and you know, talking about one another's prayer needs, which is just a secret code for gossip. And so, you know, maybe if you stop gossiping, or slandering, or get off your blogs, and your negativity, and your fear, and your doubt, you would create a whole lot more time to go in and possess the promises of God. A lot of us just think I'm too exhausted, I don't have enough time, I don't have enough energy, I can't go in and possess the promise of God, and the Lord says, you know what, you need to cut away certain things. We have a generation, and it is our time to do some cutting away. We need to cut away certain things so that we can make some room to go in and possess the promises of God.
I wanna remind you that this word is a book of hope. It's alive, I wish you could see it moving. This thing is alive, it is not dead. It is full of life, it is full of hope, it is full of purpose, it is full of destiny, it has promises pertaining to every aspect of your life, spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, financially, all the promises of God, scripture tells us, are in Christ Jesus yes, and in Christ Jesus amen. And I want you to make sure that you join us again next week as we go in and continue in this series, on how we are going to possess the promises of God, 'cause God's got great promises for you. You've not done the one thing that has separated you from God, that means you can't possess his promises. There is nothing that could separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. All his promises are for you in Christ Jesus, yes and amen. I'll see you next week.