Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Take the Land

“Day 1

Take the Land
The Book of Psalms reveals the fullness of the rule entrusted to humankind:

The heavens are the LORD’s,
but the earth He has given to the human race.
Psalm 115:16
We were created to manage this third rock from the sun, for good or for bad. It has been given to the sons of men. But just because something is given doesn’t mean it is taken. Even though God has provided you with everything you need to maximize your life and everyone else’s within your sphere of influence, He won’t make you do it. He will equip you, but He won’t force you. Every man must take responsibility and initiative.

At the same time, God’s Word clearly tells us:”

“Wait for the LORD;
be strong and courageous.
Wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14
Waiting for the Lord doesn’t mean to sit down and do nothing. If you’re waiting on the Lord for a job, you don’t sit at home all day looking at the phone. If that’s all you do, you’ll be waiting for a very long time. That’s passive waiting.

God wants active waiting. You ask the Lord for a job, and you believe, in His time, He will provide that job. Because you believe, you get up, get dressed, and go out and look for what you believe God has provided for you. By being active in your waiting, you exercise faith. You believe so strongly that God’s going to do what He said He would do that you actively look to find just how His provision is going to come.

Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26.”

“Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?
How do birds demonstrate how to actively wait on God?

A bird doesn’t create or provide its own food, but it still has to do something to get the food that’s been provided for it. A bird can’t just sit on a branch with its beak wide open, waiting for God to drop in a worm from heaven. Instead, the bird needs to look for a worm, a bug, or a seed that God has provided.

Describe in your own words the difference between active and passive waiting.

What are you waiting on from God?

Is your waiting active or passive?

It’s one thing to acknowledge intellectually that effectively leading your home, church, and community is God’s will. It’s another thing to believe it so strongly that you actually begin to walk in God’s will as a kingdom man.

“If you’re just waiting for your wife, kids, church, or friends to align themselves under the rule of Christ, you’re going to be waiting a long time. You’ll be like a starving bird sitting on a limb, looking up to heaven, and wondering when the worms are going to drop. This kind of faith is no faith at all. James 2:17 says, “Faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” If you believe God’s destiny for you is to be a kingdom man, start acting like a kingdom man.

You can do that by starting to take what God has already given you. A kingdom man moves according to what God’s instructed him to do, thus ruling his world rather than allowing everything and everyone else to rule him. Be a man of movement.

A kingdom man moves according to what God’s instructed him to do, thus ruling his world rather than allowing everything and everyone else to rule him.
Read Joshua 1:1-9. What phrase did God repeat to Joshua over and over?

Why do you think God chose to emphasize that phrase?

What types of emotions might Joshua have felt?”

“Joshua 1 records a pivotal time in the history of Israel. In this passage the nation, after 40 years of wandering in the desert, had finally come to the border of the land God had promised to Abraham centuries before. They were on the edge of their destiny, poised to cross over the Jordan River.

Imagine the sense of excitement around the camp. The land their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents had longed for was within sight. The tents must have teemed with excitement about what was before them. But perhaps not everyone was excited.

Moses had led the people out of Egypt and through four decades of desert life. But now he was dead, and an untested leader named Joshua was taking over. His first assignment was to lead the people to their destiny, to claim what God had promised them. I’m sure Joshua was nervous, especially since the impenetrable fortress city of Jericho waited on the other side of the river.

Maybe that’s why God reminded Joshua again and again to be strong and courageous.

What task might God be reminding you to be strong and courageous for today?”

“What are the immediate challenges waiting for you if you decide to be a kingdom man?

If you have the same feeling as Joshua—that the task is too big for you and the responsibility is too great—then you might find Joshua 1:3 particularly comforting. God told Joshua, “I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.”

That’s right. The outcome isn’t in doubt. God has already given you the land. He’s already prepared the way for you to be a kingdom man. This is what He wants for your life. Your job is to be strong and courageous and cross the river.

Thank God for having already secured the victory for the battles you will face as a kingdom man. Pray for strength and courage to take possession of the land He has promised you.”

Excerpt From
Kingdom Man (Member Book)
Tony Evans
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kingdom-man-member-book/id1041134779?mt=11
This material may be protected by copyright.

Monday, April 1, 2019

Claiming your Territory

“CLAIMING YOUR
TERRITORY
The church I pastor has a motion-detector lighting system, which automatically turns off the lights in a room if no one is present for a certain number of minutes. When someone walks into the vicinity of the motion detector, the lights come back on.

In many ways the motion-detector lighting system pictures a kingdom man’s practice of his right to rule. The electric company has supplied all of the electricity needed to fully power every light in our buildings, but that power doesn’t come on until motion is detected. No motion, no lights.

Similarly, God has provided each man everything he needs to exercise his authority. But just as with the motion-detector system, motion is required to witness the power that’s available.

For a kingdom man, the question isn’t one of power or authority. It’s one of motion.

It’s time to start claiming the territory God has granted you.”

“Group Experience
Get Started
1. Share one insight you gained as you completed week 2.

2. Why does the Enemy want you to forget that God has created you with glory, honor, and dominion?

3. Describe the dominion God has entrusted you to lead. How, as a kingdom man, are you meant to exercise authority over it?

4. What is a kingdom man’s family supposed to feel when he is rightly exercising his authority?

Man Up
Watch DVD session 3 as you complete the viewer guide below.
God has decided to do most of what He does based on the ___________________ we make.”

“God now must stand with you and for you and in support of you because you are ___________________ with Him.

Every man has a divine ___________________.

God will only deliver that destiny when you’re ready to ___________________ it.

There’s no man who has reached his destiny without going through the ___________________.

Everything you need for where God is taking you, you ___________________ have.

God will ___________________ it, but you have to ___________________ it.

When you’re a kingdom man, there is an ___________________ to claim because there’s a ___________________ to fulfill.

Four Principles to Taking Your Destiny
1. Leave ___________________ behind.

Yesterday will ___________________ you, whether it’s good, bad, or ugly.

2. Seize your ___________________.

God is waiting on us to ___________________ our movements toward Him under His rule so He can take us to what He has set up for us.”

“God responds to ___________________.

God is looking for movement. That movement is called ___________________.

3. Focus on ___________________, not people.

4. Stay tied to God’s ___________________.

Kingdom men first ask, “What does ___________________ say about this matter?”

Discuss the DVD teaching with your group, using the questions below.
1. What kind of yesterday do you need to leave behind—good, bad, or ugly?

2. Why do you think God responds to motion rather than just words?

3. Do you struggle with focusing on God and not people? Which people in particular draw your focus away from God?

4. What practices do you need to introduce into your life to stay tied to God’s Word?

5. What is one specific way the other men in your group can pray for you this week?

Close with prayer.”

“Hit the Streets
Scripture Memory
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. Ephesians 1:3
→ Consider what experiences in your past are holding you back—good, bad, or ugly. Write them on a piece of paper; then bury them as a symbol of leaving them behind.

→ To stay tied to God’s Word, find a daily-Bible-reading plan online or at a Christian bookstore. Make room for a daily devotion in your schedule.

Read week 3 and complete the activities before the next group experience.”

Excerpt From
Kingdom Man (Member Book)
Tony Evans
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kingdom-man-member-book/id1041134779?mt=11
This material may be protected by copyright.