Taking Possession Of Our Inheritance

Taking Possession Of Our Inheritance

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 12, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
you and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to
the children of Israel. Everyplace that the sole of your foot shall
tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses." Joshua
1:2,3.

UNDER the leadership of Moses the children of Israel had been
journeying towards the land of promise. Owing to their waywardness,
what might have been done in less than a month occupied many years.
They wandered up and down in the wilderness, sometimes close on the
border of their inheritance and other times lost in the great desert.
Alas, many of God's people are still in this unsatisfactory
condition–they have come out of Egypt–the depths have swallowed up
their adversaries and they are on the way to the promised heritage. But
they have not yet entered into rest. They will, we trust, ultimately
reach the peace of God which passes all understanding, for they have
sufficient faith to prove them to be God's people and therefore, the
Lord will surely bring them in.

But, assuredly, they make a great deal of marching for very small
progress. For lack of faith they go about when, with a step, they might
possess the promised Canaan. Today my earnest prayer and desire is that
going towards the promised heritage may come to an end with you this
day and you may enter into heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus by an
immediate act of faith. I want the Lord's people so to persevere in
their seeking, by Divine strength, that they may get out of the great
and terrible wilderness and come to Mount Zion and the heavenly
Jerusalem and enter into their heritage, according to that word, "We
which have believed do enter into rest."

Our friends have come as far as that first verse of our Lord's
invitation, "Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest." And they have a measure of that rest which comes
of pardoned sin and confidence in Jesus. The pity is that they have not
advanced to His next word of exhortation, "Take My yoke upon you and
learn of Me: and you shall find rest unto your souls." This is a rest
discovered and enjoyed through willing service–"You shall find rest
unto your souls." Many people are saved in one sense but in another
sense they are seeking salvation.

Oh that we may come to be saved in every sense–may salvation be ours
in the broadest, widest, deepest, highest meaning of that blessed word!
May we not only be saved from but saved to! Saved from sin–that makes
us safe. Saved to holiness–that makes us happy. May we realize our
completeness in Christ this day and cease from the wanderings of fear!
It is time that we took possession of that goodly heritage which the
Lord has made our own, for in Christ Jesus "we have obtained an
inheritance" and have the earnest of it in our possession of the Spirit
of God. Hear the watchword of the morning, you that have tarried long
enough in the wilderness–"Arise, go over this Jordan"!

If I read the whole verse it is a command to myself–"Arise, go over
this Jordan, you and all this people, unto the land which I do give to
them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your
foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto
Moses." For our help in this desirable step, first let us take a survey
of the inheritance. Secondly, let us glance at the title deeds. And
thirdly, let us make a move towards taking immediate possession. For
all this may the Holy Spirit make us sufficient!

I. First LET US TAKE A SURVEY OF THE INHERITANCE. I cannot carry you to
the top of Pisgah. And if I could, you would probably reckon that you
ought to die there. Your time has not yet come for that journey to the
sky– but I would invite you to view the purchased possession with the
eye of an enlightened understanding and then to cross over the Jordan
of indecision to possess the country.

I would say of this inheritance which God has prepared for His saints
and has given to them by a Covenant of Salt that it is exceedingly
broad. We read here in this Book of Joshua, "From the wilderness and
this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the
land of the Hittites and unto the great sea toward the going down of
the sun,

shall be your coast." These people did not conquer all the country but
were content with the narrow bounds of Canaan. They began their
enterprise bravely but soon showed a contracted spirit.

Moses, in the 34th chapter of Numbers, which is well worthy of careful
reading, gave them a little map or ordnance survey of the inner country
which they were commanded to conquer and out of which they were to
drive the inhabitants with the edge of the sword. The various races of
Canaanites had brought upon themselves the curse of a righteous God.
Their existence upon the face of God's earth had become a calamity to
mankind by reason of their horrible vices. They were doomed to utter
extinction by the justice of God, as other races have been whose story
profane history records. The Israelites were appointed to be their
executioners. But they did not accomplish their task–after a little
while they began to make treaties and marriages with the doomed people
and their intended victims became thorns in their sides.

Outside of these Canaanite nations were greater territories which
stretched right away from the Lebanon ranges down to the border of
Egypt and as far east as the great river Euphrates, from whose banks
their fathers came. This large domain was never altogether conquered by
Israel although David possessed a large portion of it and Solomon still
more. The people of these wide regions were not so far gone in evil as
the degraded tribes of Canaan and so they were to be spared, if they
submitted to the sway of Israel. Even the inner kingdom Israel did not
wholly subdue–and the wider region it left for centuries untouched.

Beloved, this is a sadly correct picture of what happens to numbers of
God's people today. The inheritance that God has given us to enjoy in
Christ Jesus is exceedingly broad. But we limit ourselves. All that we
can think or desire is ours in the Covenant of Grace. There are
immeasurable breadths and lengths, but we confine ourselves to close
quarters. Truly "there is very much land yet to be possessed"! Some
Divine Graces you must have, or you are not saved. Some sins must at
once be driven out of your life at the sword's point or you are not the
Lord's. As for the choicer Graces–you are foolish, indeed, if you
think of doing without them! And as for the less violent sins–you err
greatly if you spare one of them.

The deep knowledge, the spiritual experience, the high joy, the extreme
delight, and the heavenly communion which fall to the lot of certain of
the saints should be enjoyed by us all. There is no reason why one
should miss them. For if they have but faith enough to grasp all that
God gives, they have full permission to do so. The Lord may truly say
to us, "You are not straitened in Me but you are straitened in your own
heart." We are petty princelings when we might have an imperial
inheritance.

Just let me show what I mean. When we at first come to Christ by faith,
we begin to enter into our inheritance for we obtain the pardon of sin.
Some Believers are not even sure that they have a present and perfect
remission–but some of us know that we are, once and for all, "washed
in the blood of the Lamb." We know, therefore, in God's eyes we are
whiter than snow. But beyond that lies "acceptance in the Beloved,"
which possibly we have not dared to claim. Hosts of professors are
satisfied to be washed but have not yet asked to be clothed with the
righteousness of Christ. Beloved, we are not only absolved but we are
positively delightful unto God in Christ Jesus. He accepts our
offerings, our prayers, our praises, our heart's love. Our name is
Hephzibah, for the Lord delights in us.

Pardon of sin is like the little Canaan that must be conquered. But why
not advance to the wider regions of "accepted in the Beloved"?
Brethren, let us walk in the light, as God is in the light and have
fellowship with Him while the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleans us
from all sin.

Think of another great blessing, namely, that of sonship. Beloved, we
could sing heartily that hymn just now–

"Behold what wondrous grace The Father has bestowed On sinners of a
mortal race, To call them sons of God!"

But sonship is not all–"If children, then heirs, heirs of God,
joint-heirs with Jesus Christ." Adoption you must have– heirship you
ought to have. How rich you are since God Himself is yours–"heirs of
God"! Yes, God Himself is as truly yours as He is
Christ's–"joint-heirs with Jesus Christ." Why are we naked and poor
and miserable when we are heirs of a kingdom by reason of our adoption
of the Lord? Let us take the good the Lord provides us.

Consider now the matter of regeneration. When we come to Christ by
faith we are born again and made new creatures in Christ Jesus–this
must be. But, Brethren, when we are born again we perceive that the new
birth begets a new life and that new life develops itself in the beauty
of holiness. Holiness is the fruit of regeneration. Yet some imagine
that they cannot be holy, at least not to any great extent. They
believe that they can be saved from certain grosser evils

but they cannot ascend to those glorious heights of consecration and
sanctification without which the Believer can never attain to the
stature of a man in Christ Jesus. My message to you is, Arise, go over
this Jordan and take possession of the larger inheritance. Take
possession of it all–seek after holiness–follow on to know the Lord.

Be not satisfied until you are conformed unto His image, who is "the
First-born among many Brethren." Aspire to the utmost God can give. You
have not seen the goodly heights of Lebanon. As yet you are satisfied
to stop at Jericho, by the river's brink, as if the conquest of one
city had satisfied you. Gird on your harness and go forth to the
fight–for the Lord is with you and the land is before you.

Again, as soon as a man has believed in Jesus he is safe. If you
believe that Jesus is the Christ you are born of God. And, being born
of God you come under the Divine wing and the Lord shall preserve you
from all evil. Many are satisfied that this is true but they do not,
therefore, enter into peace as they should. That undisturbed serenity
which springs from a sense of perfect safety in Christ Jesus is a
glorious domain into which they do not enter. Our soul is made by faith
to be as calm as the lake upon a summer's evening when the surface is
unbroken by a ripple. Alas, we give way at times to doubt and fear and
hardly know whether we are the Lord's people or not. This must not go
on. We must have faith.

But we may have, and we ought to have, the full assurance of faith. In
full assurance lies the spring of perpetual serenity. The Lord can
create in us habitual calm–in the midst of trouble He can give us joy.
In the hour of struggle He can give us confidence. Oh rest in the Lord
and wait patiently for Him–then shall your times be free from
disturbance and your days as the days of Heaven upon the earth. It may
be so if you have Divine Grace enough to claim the whole of the wide
territory which the Lord has allotted you. Oh, for Divine Grace to
cry–"Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine! Over Edom will I cast out my
shoe. Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into
Edom?" God will bring us where unaided nature can never enter.

Once more–when we come to Christ by faith we have communion with God.
And this is a land that flows with milk and honey. Out of communion
comes usefulness and there are certain ones who fancy that they can
never be very useful. The Lord cannot do many mighty works through them
because of their unbelief. They have to be fed with a spoon like
invalid children. If they had but faith enough to receive power from on
high by fuller communion with God they might become as David. There is
no limit to the possibilities of usefulness in any man or woman when
perfectly consecrated. Let us not imagine that we are doomed to small
usefulness. That branch of the vine which up to now has yielded little
or no fruit may yet be made by the heavenly Vinedresser to bring forth
much fruit.

By faith let the Divine sap of Grace be received. Let living Graces
bring the living Christ into us and then we shall bring forth clusters
large as those which the spies brought from Eshcol of old. Thus much,
then, concerning our survey of the goodly heritage of salvation. The
land of promise is exceedingly broad.

Next, it is exceedingly desirable. The country into which Israel
entered was of a very choice kind. Travelers in Palestine tell us that
it is the world condensed. Within that narrow strip of territory you
get plains and hills, frosts of winter and heats of summer. You find
products both of semitropical and temperate zones. Palestine is the
whole earth in miniature and all the advantages of all lands are
gathered into it. It was, in Joshua's days, a place of extreme
fertility– "A land that flows with milk and honey." Nor was this
all–while it was fertile on the surface it was rich underneath.

It was a land "whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you may dig
brass." The useful metals were near at hand as was every other
convenience. Besides being fertile and wealthy it was prepared for
immediate habitation. The tribes had not to build houses–they
inhabited what others had built. They had not to plant vineyards but to
eat the fruit of former labors. All things were waiting for the true
heirs of the land. Beloved, when faith gets her heritage in Christ, she
is brought into a wealthy place. When sin is driven out and we come to
live in God's own land, then we find precious treasure. We dig and we
are enriched. We have all things in Christ–yes, in Him we have all
that our utmost want can require. As He has gone into Heaven to prepare
a place for us–so on earth He has already prepared–in the Covenant of
Grace, everything that is needed for the way home. Why do we not take
possession of that which He has prepared for us?

This heritage upon which we are now looking down from the summit of our
faith is full of variety. In Palestine there were fertile plains and
rich valleys between rising hills and towering mountains. It was a land
of brooks and rivers, a land which the Lord God thought upon. It was,
in those days, the joy of all the earth–it was as the garden of the
Lord for exceeding excellency. Beloved, if you come to Christ you shall
never need to go away from Him to find variety of joys. In

His teaching you shall find Lebanons of sublime doctrine and Sharons of
pleasant precept. Here are Hermons of experience, Tabors of communion,
Jabboks of prevailing prayer and Cheriths of Divine Providence.

The revelation of God is a blessed country, full of all manner of
delights. They that live in Christ dwell in spiritual realms which for
light and joy are as Heaven below. Above all things, it is "your land,
O Immanuel!" That is the dearest name for the Canaan of Divine Grace.
The saints' inheritance is the choicest form of life and peace and joy.
We come to live with Christ, in Christ, for Christ, as Christ–we rise
in Him to fellowship with the Father and with the Church of the
First-born. One heart sympathizes with all the purposes of God and we
joy in God Himself. I cannot properly describe all this but I live in
the enjoyment of it. We live through our Lord and with our Lord. And
this is life eternal. This is "the life which is life, indeed."

Compared with it, all other life is death. Divine Grace is Glory in the
bud–it will be full-blown by-and-by. This privilege is enjoyed none
the less because of daily affliction, bodily pain, opposition and
reproach–it may even be enjoyed all the more because of these–if they
are borne for Jesus' sake. Our light afflictions are like the black
shadows of a picture which throw up the bright lights and set them out
more vividly. Christ Jesus becomes more and more precious to us when we
have a straitness of earthly things. Yet this promised portion may be
enjoyed if we have abundance of earthly things. God may multiply your
possessions. And if he gives you more of Himself at the same time, they
will not harm you.

As you find all in God when you are poor, you shall find God in all
when you are rich. Your life consists not in what you possess, nor in
what you lack. You shall find in Christ a fullness, a soul-filling
satisfaction. And this shall be a pledge of that something better which
the Beloved has laid up in store for a still brighter day. What a word
is that where we read of being "filled with all the fullness of God"! I
do not think any man can exaggerate the possibilities that lie before
Believers. If any man shall draw a line and say he can go no further, I
must take leave to blot out that line–where God has set no bound we
will not allow a stop, lest we be found guilty of limiting the Holy One
of Israel–

"All our capacious powers can wish In Christ does richly meet."

All that is in Christ is meant for all Believers and therefore all
Believers may have all that is in Christ who is All in All. We should
not be content with pennies when He endows us with pounds. No child of
God could ever yet say, "I have taken all that God can give me and
still I am wanting more." God All-Sufficient is our heritage and He
more than fills our deepest need, our highest aspiration. Thus have we
surveyed our measureless inheritance.

II. I beg you, in the next place TO GLANCE AT THE TITLE DEEDS OF OUR
INHERITANCE. We shall not

require a lawyer to assist us in our examination. But if there should
be here a legal critic who would like to overhaul our papers, he is
welcome to do so. I would not mind exhibiting our title before the
whole bench of judges, for it has no flaw in it and will stand in the
highest court–yes, even in the last judgment. I have pleaded this
incomparable title in several courts already and it has been found to
convey to me a valid gift. Here is the title deed, "The land which I do
give to them, even to the children of Israel." It is repeated further
on, "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have
I given unto you." This is an abstract of our title.

First, notice its Covenant character. "I have given it to you." The
Lord had given it to them from of old when He promised it to their
father Abraham. When the deep sleep fell upon Abraham and he saw the
vision of the burning lamp and the smoking furnace, then the Lord gave
to him the wide domain and He mentions in detail all the tribes which
then held the inner circle. You will find the full conveyance in the
15th chapter of Genesis, beginning at the 18th verse–"Unto your seed
have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river,
the river Euphrates: the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites
and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaims and the Amorites
and the Canaanites and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Thus they came into possession by an ancient deed of gift which
entailed it upon them from generation to generation. I am glad that our
tenure of the kingdom of Divine Grace is ancient and well established
and that it is not so much with us, directly, as with One infinitely
greater, with whom it stands fast forever. Had the Covenant been made
with me, individually, I should fear that my unworthiness would corrupt
it. But it is made with One whose name forbids all fear of forfeiture.
The Covenant of Grace is not made with you or with me individually
because of our personal righteousness. But it is made with our Covenant
Head and Representative whose life and death have sealed and ratified
it.

As the Lord could never run back from His promise to righteous Abraham,
"In you and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed," so will He never return from His promise which He gave to us
in our blessed Covenant Head. He has given us an inheritance by an act
of Sovereign Grace and not because of any goodness in ourselves. His
gift will never be recalled since the ground of it never alters. Each
Believer may say, "He has in Christ Jesus made with me an Everlasting
Covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: and therefore do I possess
all spiritual blessings and shall possess them world without end."

Observe, next, that this deed of gift is notable for its graciousness.
What does it say? Which I do sell to them? Ah, no, it is no sale but a
free gift. Does it say, "Which I do offer to them if they will earn
it"? No, no–it is a present unconditional grant of sovereign love.
Nothing is freer than a gift–"the gift of God is eternal life." He has
given us all things for nothing, that we might behold the exceeding
riches of His Grace. Note well the righteousness of our title– "Which
I do give to them." The Lord God has a right to give what He pleases,
for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. The world and
they that dwell therein."

Of His own has He given unto us. In the great sacrifice of His dear Son
He has satisfied all claims of justice and He acts justly when He
blesses largely those for whom Jesus died. When a man has the free hold
of his land, he has a right to give it away if so it pleases him–the
Most High God is possessor of all things and when He says to His
people, "I give you this," who shall dispute His right? The blessings
of the Covenant of Grace are a royal gift–they come to us by Divine
right. Who shall question Jehovah's will? He asks peremptorily, "Shall
I not do as I will with My own?" That which Divine Grace has given us
is ours by a surer title than anything else can ever be.

Do not fail to see its sureness. He not only says, "I have given it,"
and in some other places, "I will give it," but He declares "I do give
it." God gives Christ and His Grace to us every day. The blessings of
the Covenant are continually fresh gifts of His hand. By two immutable
things wherein it is impossible for God to lie, He has given the
Covenant possessions to us and if it were to be done again He would do
it without hesitation. "The gifts and calling of God are without
repentance." "I do give," says He, and thus He stands to His act and
deed. O children of God, what do you think of your title deeds? You
stand possessed of your kingdom by the gift of Him who has a right to
give what He pleases. The kingdom is given to you because it is your
Father's good pleasure to give it to you. Not only was it his good
pleasure but it remains so.

What great simpletons we are if we do not take possession of the brave
country which is ceded to us! Does God give and do we decline to
accept? Does God give and do we let the blessing lie untouched? O
Sheep, you well deserve to starve if you will not feed on the pastures
into which the Good Shepherd leads you. The highest privileges of the
Covenant of Grace are not the monopoly of advanced saints–they are the
common property of all Believers. A habit is growing up of saying,
"Such-and-such a man is a saint." And then you set him up in a niche
after the fashion of Rome. Are you not also a saint? You will never
enter Heaven unless you are. If you are a saint, why not take a saint's
inheritance?

"Oh, but certain chosen ones are the Lord's favorites!" What? Has He
not also chosen you and favored you? If not, it will go hard with you.
Well then, being yourselves favored and chosen, why do you not take
hold upon the glorious estate which belongs to the chosen family? No
part of Scripture is of private interpretation–no bit of the promised
country may be hedged in as the peculiar portion of a few. It all
belongs to all the redeemed if they have but faith to make it their
own. Do not hedge about the words spoken of the Lord and say, "Ah, He
said that to Jacob." Does not the Lord tell us by His servant Hosea
that, "He found him in Bethel and there he spoke with us"? (Hosea
12:4).

Although choice words were first of all spoken to this man or that, yet
were they spoken for all believing people throughout all time. In the
holy heritage all who have Christ have all that Christ brings with Him.
"If children, then heirs"–not if grown-up children, not if comely
children, nor if vigorous children but–"if children, then heirs." If
you are not children, what will become of you? But "if children, then
heirs." Come, Brethren, bestir yourselves and claim your heirship. Take
possession of the whole territory of Divine Grace which the Lord has
dedicated to your use!

III. Now I have brought you to the third point–LET US MAKE A MOVE
TOWARDS OUR POSSESSION. There is your land but Jordan rolls between.
The first thing to do in this matter is to go over this Jordan. What do
we mean? Out in the wilderness as a seeker, whose faith does not enter
in, you are like a sheep which wanders from the fold and you find
little rest. You are apt to be numbered with the Bedouin of the desert
and not with the people of the Lord.

Come out from the world and be separate. The land of gracious
experience is meant for you to dwell in so that you may be recognized
as the Lord's peculiar people, separated unto the Most High. Are you
ready to come right out–to be settled in Immanuel's land–to break
every link with "the world which lies in wickedness"? I have heard a
great deal of talk about this separation but I have seen these very
talkers hesitate when the decisive act of separation from false
doctrine and unholy living has been expected of them. I pray you hear
the Divine voice which cries, "Come out from among them and be you
separate, says the Lord and touch not the unclean thing. And I will
receive you and will be a Father unto you and you shall be My sons and
daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

It is required of you in order to your full entrance into the Grace
state, that you take up a decided stand on the Lord's side. On the
other side of Jordan is your portion and not in the Wilderness of Sin.
Did I hear you say to yourself, "Suppose I am beaten?" Well, you cannot
retreat from the land for there is no bridge over the Jordan. The river
effectually bars all retreat. Are you willing to make a life decision?
Will you draw the sword and burn the scabbard? It is death or glory
with you. May you have Divine Grace to take the one irreversible step
and be the Lord's–wholly and only–forever! You can never take the
kingdom of Divine Grace until with deliberate resolve you quit the sand
of the desert for the soil of Canaan.

A balloon cannot go up into the sky until the last rope is cut. Oh, for
that sharp, decisive step, by which, like Abraham, you come out from
your father's house that you may be a sojourner with God in the land
which His Grace will show you!

Having decided for the Lord, you are next to take possession by an act
of simple faith. The Lord says to you, "Every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you." This is an
easy way of taking land–to put your foot down upon it. I delight in
that Word of the Lord to Jacob when he lay asleep, "The land whereon
you lie, to you will I give it and to your seed." If you can, by faith,
lie down on a promise and find rest in it, it is yours. Every place in
the Grace country upon which the sole of your foot shall tread is
yours. You will remember that the Red Indians agreed to sell to William
Penn as much land as a man could walk round in a day.

And I do not wonder that at the end of the day they complained that the
white brother had made a big walk. I think I should have put my best
leg foremost, if whatever I could put my foot upon would be mine–would
not you? Why, then, do you not hurry up in spiritual matters? Do you
value earthly things more than spiritual? Mark, then, that if you put
your foot down upon a blessing and say, "This is mine," it is yours.
What a very simple operation is the claim of faith! You do not have to
pass through the Universities to learn that–it is grasping with the
hand or appropriating with the foot. Many of the Lord's poor and
unlearned ones obtain more from the promises than the more cultured
ever

do.

The learned man lifts his head up, but the simple put their foot down.
And this last is the way to the inheritance. By criticism you may put
your foot in it, but by faith you put your foot on it. Strangers find
fault, children claim. He that can trust his Lord may say, "In the name
of the living God this blessing is mine." Come, then, Brothers and
Sisters, if there is a need for more holiness, put your foot on it. If
you need more happiness, put your foot on it. If more usefulness is
what you want, put your foot on it. Lay your claim to all that is put
within your reach in Scripture. This is the victory that overcomes the
world and conquers Canaan–our faith.

But the Canaanite was there! Yes, I know. But you see, he had no right
there–the Lord had outlawed him. The land was Israel's by the Lord's
gift and they had a right to fight for the possession of their own
estates. They first put their foot on it and it was theirs. And then
they said to the aboriginal Canaanites, "Clear out!" The old nations
had forfeited their lease through breach of covenant and they were,
therefore, to give up possession to the incoming tenants, whose right
was indefeasible. God's people are in conflict with sin and they carry
out this war vigorously when they have first seen their right to the
blessings of Divine Grace as given them by the living God.

You may not claim a piece of land unless you are sure that it is really
yours. You are a thief if you do. But when you are sure that an estate
is rightfully yours, then you commence your action and strive to win
it. In spiritual things waive no spiritual right. Say to sin that now
mars your peace, "Peace is mine, clear out!" Say to sin that stops your
usefulness, "That usefulness is mine, I claim it–clear out! "Hivite,
Jebusite, Girgashite–whatever sort of fellow you are–clear out of my
heart and life for holiness is mine. God, the Sovereign Possessor of
all things has given us our redeemed nature, to have and to hold for
His Glory and we mean to have it!

Each blessing is yours since you put the foot of faith upon it. But the
actual enjoyment of it will need a struggle. War! War! War! With every
Canaanite! Break their images and cut down their groves. They must be
driven out at the sword's point. You have God's help with you in this
holy battle. Your warfare will be accomplished, for the Lord Himself
has said, "There shall not any man 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 fail you, nor forsake you."

I long to encourage you, my Friends, to carry on this sacred crusade. I
would have you grasp all which the hand of Love holds out to you. Need
I urge you? If there is such need, you are in a sorry way. I do not
believe that if I should read from this pulpit that my friend John
Smith had been left five thousand acres of land, I should have to
follow him home to persuade him to go and look at it. If my Sister
yonder received a notification that a very nice little estate had been
left her in the country, I do not believe I would need beg her to look
after it. She would take an early train tomorrow morning to go and look
over her farm.

Brothers and Sisters, here is an inheritance so broad and wide and
lasting–why do you not hasten to take it? There is holiness, do you
not want it? There is serenity, do you not desire it? There is joy
unspeakable and full of glory, do you not wish for it? There is
usefulness, do you not hunger for it? This is the reason why some are
so indifferent–they are ignorant–they do not even know that these
choice blessings are to be had. All that any child of God was, you may
be. All the joy and bliss and holiness ever enjoyed on earth, you may
enjoy. The land is before you–go in and possess it. Do not be without
the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord, for in Him is "joy unspeakable
and full of glory."

Some of our dear friends hear a doctrine which is Gospel and water. And
they really do not know what the undiluted Gospel is. The Doctrines of
Grace are the cream which many cautious preachers skim from the milk of
the Word lest it should prove too rich for the stomachs of their
hearers. A solid portion of Calvinistic doctrine is like a joint of
nourishing meat and the people of this generation are such babes that
they cannot digest it. "It is too rich for me!" cries one. I know it, I
know it. But I pray the Lord to make you grow into men who can enjoy
the fat things full of marrow and the wines on the lees well refined.

There are glorious Truths of God of which beginners know nothing and
through not knowing of them they miss much joy. Full many a child of
God goes fretting and worrying when he ought to be singing and
rejoicing and would be so if he knew what God has provided for him.
Many do not possess the land because of unbelief–

"Alas, it seems too good to be true" "I'm a poor sinner and nothing at
all." Yes, that is quite true. But are you going to sing that one line
forever? Is that your style of singing–one line forever? If our
leader, just now, when we sang the hymn, had kept on with–"Behold,
what wondrous grace!" "Behold, what wondrous grace!" it would have been
very sweet–but I should have pulled his coat-tail and said, "Go on
with the whole verse."

So, in this case, you say–"I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all." Why
not go on to sing–

"But Jesus Christis my All nn All"? You are empty but Jesus fills you.
You are in prison but Jesus sets you at liberty. Why not rejoice in
that liberty? The Lord deliver us from unbelief for it is enough to
shut any man out of the inheritance! And many are indolent, Oh, the
laziness of some of God's people! I will not enlarge upon this matter,
probably you know something about it yourselves.

Lastly, the indecision of a great many is another cause why they do not
possess the land. There is a hesitancy to go up and seize it. They mean
to be better Christians before they die. I wonder how many Christians
here would like to finish their lives today! Would your life, if now
ended, be a life worth living? Suppose it were now threatened to be cut
short. Would you not pray with anguish, "Lord, let me live a little
longer, that I may distribute more of my money to Your cause, may bear
better testimony to Your Truth and may set my house in order"? Set your
house in order at once, my Brothers and Sisters. Give away a full
portion of your substance immediately. Begin to work for Jesus at once.
Why should you hesitate? You blame the sinner when he delays–surely
the saint is to be blamed, too, when he also lingers.

I have done when I have said to any soul here that is seeking the
Lord–if you today come in and accept the blessings of the Covenant,
you may have them and welcome. Do not say to yourself, "It will be a
presumptuous thing for me to believe in Jesus." It will be a kind of
presumption which has no sin in it. If a rich man, in one of the
famine-stricken districts of China were to say to his servant, "Provide
a great feast and set it out in the street." And he were then to put

up a notice to hungry Chinamen, "Whosoever will may come," I do not
think that if I were a hungry Chinaman, I should keep away from the
dinner from fear of presumption. I should go gladly and ask no
questions–for my stomach's sake– if for nothing else.

O poor, doubting Sinner, you had better do the same. Feed freely and
fear not. When God's cry is, "Come and welcome," come at once and ask
no questions. Or if a question does arise, let your hunger answer and
tell you that you must. God gives His Grace freely–freely take it.
Come, let us sing together that little ditty–

"I do believe, I will believe,

That Jesus died for me;

And on the Cross He shed His blood

From sin to set me free."

This will be a blessed morning for you if you can not only sing it, but
carry it out at once by a simple faith in our living, risen, reigning
Savior. God bless you, for Christ's sake! Amen.