Take All!

I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. – Ps 18:37

David may have been Israel’s greatest king from a spiritual or military standpoint; but in terms of administration and sheer royal majesty, no Israelite king beats Solomon. Only under him did the kingdom of Israel attain the closest thing to ‘world-power’ status, fit almost to rank beside Egypt and Assyria. And in his time, the borders of Israel reached the farthest than at any other time in history – about four times the area they occupy today (“occupied” territory and all). Yet as large as Israel was then, it was still not up to the “Canaan” that God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

This is because the Israelites never really took over all the Land that was given to them. In spite of the fact that the LORD assured them victory in every battle, in spite of the fact that they had seen kingdom after kingdom fall before them, they still did not take over the land completely.

Out of fear, unbelief or just plain old laziness and complacency, each tribe that was allotted Canaanite territory always left some groups unconquered until years later those little remnants became their nightmare; (e.g. the Philistines).

Beloved, we mustn’t settle for less than whatever God has clearly revealed to us. Age, the passage of time and the harsh realities of life can sometimes make us begin to consider the vivid visions and prophecies of earlier years as naive and unrealistic. But taking over lands flowing with milk and honey from Giants – is NOT “realistic”, yet that’s exactly what Canaan was.

Make up your mind today not to live any less than God has made available to you. When you take over your “Canaan” and I take over mine, we would be effectively bringing the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. We mustn’t allow temporary successes or relative prosperity make us complacent. Our “Canaan” awaits; Let’s go take it all!

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

You Should Win

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us… – Rom 8:31

Josh 7:1-7 narrates how the Israelites were soundly routed by the inhabitants of the Canaanite town of Ai. We know the story, they lost 36 of the three thousand soldiers sent into the Land, and they all returned home devastated and miserable about the defeat.

It’s quite interesting that the Israelites didn’t attribute their loss to poor logistics, their probable inferior skills or even the fact that they sent three thousand men to fight a town of twelve thousand! None of that was considered; they lost and all they could think was, “This was not supposed to happen”.

Evidently, the Israelites had more faith in the Old covenant than we in the New Testament have in ours. Because when we experience failure and defeat in our lives today we usually take it as a natural consequence of things. “Life happens”, we often respond.

But to the Israelites, God, not life, was what was supposed to happen. Whenever they were in a battle, God fights for them, period. No questions asked. It didn’t matter the size and the pedigree of the opposing army, victory was assured. Sometimes, the LORD doesn’t even hide His gross partiality and favouritism to them; He’d send in hail to kill more enemies than the Israelites did, He’d make the Sun stand still to give them an advantage, He’d even reveal the military strategies of the enemy nation, (Josh 10:11-14; Jdg 5:20; 2Ki 6:12, etc.).

Beloved, God doesn’t love the Israelites more than He loves you; as a matter of fact, whatever affection He had for them under the Old Covenant pales into insignificance compared to the love He has for you whom He has accepted in His Beloved Son (Eph 1:6).

So live with an expectation of victory every day of your life; God expects no less from you.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN 

Oh God, Deliver Me from Houseless Giants

In Dt 6:10,11 Moses promised the  Israelites that in Canaan they would inherit large towns, with good buildings that they didn’t build, and houses full of good things that they didn’t put there. Wells that they didn’t have to dig, and vineyards and olive orchards that they didn’t have to plant.

The template for taking over the land of Canaan was straightforward:

> Go into the area of land allotted to you

> Kill whatever giant you find in that area

> Take over the giant’s property – that is now your inheritance

(see Jos 10:36-37; 11:21-22; Jdg 1:10; 20).

But here’s a little practical problem: not all the giants would be hanging around their homes. Imagine with me a brave, ambitious Israelite who, with Joshua’s permission, eyes some choice property in an area. But on his way there he stumbles upon a fierce ‘goliath’ of a guy who was on the way to the forest. The battle is bloody and exhausting; but because he has the covenant backing from the LORD, the Israelite defeats the giant. But by now he’s weary, exhausted and spent; and he hasn’t confronted his own giant yet!

The giant he just defeated most likely has a nice house, too; along with a big garden and a superabundant storehouse. But giants don’t move around with dog tags around their necks, and there was no way to the location of this fallen giant’s property. 6 hours of exhausting warfare gone, no house to show for it.

This is unfortunately where we find ourselves sometimes: fighting battles that have no attendant spoils, involved in fights with no prizes at the end, and expending energies with no connected reward: Houseless Giants.

What are ‘Houseless Giants’? They are those conflicts that add nothing to either your pay check or your prayer life. They are troubles that bring you no value; ill winds that blow no good.

Haman’s decision to kill Mordecai ended up enriching him, Daniel’s persecution for his praying was an avenue for his promotion, and Goliath was David’s intro to national limelight.

Sadly, few of our real life ‘enemies’ fall into this category. Most of the things and people that bug us add nothing to us in the end. Petty quarrels, pesky headaches, office squabbles that affect your productivity, unbearable neighbours that spoil your mood for the rest of the day… ‘Houseless Giants’.

Get your priorities straight today. Jesus’ enemy, Judas, helped Him fulfil His destiny; any ‘enemy’ of yours that’s not doing same seriously does not deserve your time. Focus on the struggles that matter; not every ‘giant’ you meet in life is meant to be confronted.

SELAH.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

What Giants?

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us… – Rom 8:31

As appealing as the prospect of taking over “Canaan” may seem, not many persons are that excited about it. This is because we have been conditioned with phrases like, “For every new level, there’s a new devil”, “In every rose, there’s a thorn”, “For every treasure, there’s a Dragon”… in essence, for every ‘land of Canaan’ “flowing with milk and honey”, there’s the ANAKIM – a fierce race of giants already living in the land you want to possess.

That seemed to be what the Israelites discovered when 12 men were sent to spy out the land for them. When they returned, the majority report was, “Those people are much too strong for us… the people are like giants. In fact, we saw the Nephilim who are the ancestors of the Anakim. They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers.” (Num 13:31-33 CEV).

In His mouth-watering depiction of the Land, God had conveniently left out that important piece of information, - at least that's how many of us see it.

We consider the attendant problems of the the Land as part and parcel of the Promise.

But if Moses had confronted God about the giants in Canaan, I believe the LORD would have replied with just two words: "WHAT GIANTS?"

First of all, though the Anakim may have been over ten feet tall,  they would still be tiny dots from God's perspective, (which is probably why He didn't 'notice' them).

Secondly, and much more importantly, He didn't mention the giants to the Israelites because the giants were HIS business, not theirs. Something is fundamentally wrong if a Full scholarship awardee starts losing sleep over the tuition fees.

When God gives you a promise or a prophecy, embedded in it is the victory. He didn't bring you to a Land flowing with milk and honey only to be devoured by the inhabitants, NO! On the contrary, He's giving you a land that you had not worked for, houses that you did not build, and you will  eat fruit from plants and trees that you did not plant. (Josh 24:13 EasyEnglish).

Beloved, if you focus on the possible problems you'll miss the promise, Prov 10: 22 says, "The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."

Your “Canaan” awaits; Let’s Go There.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

Canaan: Let’s Go There

And I will give unto you, and to your descendants after you, the land in which you are a sojourner, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. – Gen 17:8

In scriptures, “Canaan” is the general name given to the whole land of Palestine west of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea down to the Mediterranean. It’s also the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants in Gen 17:8.

Canaan is the original “land flowing with milk and honey” (Num 13:27; 14:7-8). In Dt 8:7-9 Moses described it as “a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey; A land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.” And in Dt 11:12, he says Canaan is a land the LORD God cares about: watching over it all year long.

As a result of these, Canaan has become a biblical metaphor for every good and perfect promise God has for the Believer. Just like Abraham and his descendants, you and I too have our own “Canaan” – promises made to us by God either by prophecy or by a specific revelation from Scripture.

“Canaan” means different things to different people. To one person, it’s a dream job, to another it’s a global ministry, to yet another person it’s total healing and recovery or financial abundance; still to another it’s blissful marriage.

Whatever your “Canaan” is, as long as it is backed by the sure word of God, it’s possible and up for the taking. God’s called you to hope, health and wellbeing. Regardless of where you are in life right now, “Canaan” awaits; Let’s Go There.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN