CBN TV - Max Lucado: Claim Your Inheritance!
Max Lucado: Claim Your Inheritance!
–GLORY DAYSDuring the Glory Days of Israel, the seven year era that
shines between the difficult days of Exodus and the dark age of the
judges, Max says, the Hebrews were unstoppable. They won twenty
battles, conquered seven kings, and reclaimed 10,000 square miles of
choice property. Just like Joshua and the Israelites, Max says you can
move from a wilderness existence into a promised inheritance. You might
not need to cross the Jordan River, but you do need strength to get
through the week. You might not be facing Jericho, but you might be
facing rejection or heartache. The Amalekites may not stalk you, but
disease and discouragement and danger might be dragging you down.
Max offers encouragement to Christians who feel “stalled
out” in their spiritual growth. He draws inspiration from his favorite
book of the Bible, the book of Joshua, and dares us to believe that
our best days are ahead of us. He believes God has a Promised Land for
us to take. Max says, “That land is defined by grace, refined by
challenge and aligned with a heavenly call.” He says there is only one
condition: you must turn your back on the wilderness. Just as Canaan
represents the victorious Christian life; the wilderness represents the
defeated Christian life.
In 2007, the REVEAL Research Project went on a search
for “Joshuas” and surveyed the members of more than a thousand
churches. They wanted to find the percentage of churchgoers who are
actually propelled by their faith to love God and love others with
their whole hearts. The result: eleven percent! Nearly nine out of ten
believers say they languish in the wilderness. These Christians are
saved but not empowered. They are out of Egypt, but not yet in Canaan.
They are “stuck” in the wilderness.
PROMISED LAND LIVING
“You were made for the Promised Land and your Glory Days lie
ahead,” shares Max. He offers the following advice to help you live
your Promised Land now:
- Read the Bible and meditate on it day and night.
“Wilderness people trust Scripture just enough to escape Egypt.
Canaan dwellers, on the other hand, make the Bible their go-to
book for life,” shares Max.
- Face your Jericho. Your Jericho is any
attitude or mindset that keeps you from joy, peace, and rest. It
stands between you and your Glory Days. Promised Land people do
not deny the presence of problems.
- Keep God center stage. Daily use the weapons of worship, Scripture, and prayer.
- Immerse your mind in God-thoughts. In the
book of Joshua, Caleb could have cursed God. He didn’t deserve
the wilderness. He had to put his dreams on hold for four decades.
Still, he didn’t complain. When the time came for him to inherit
his property, he stepped forward with a God-drenched mind to
receive it.
- Trust God’s promises. Choose to believe
that God is up to something good even though all we see looks bad.
“Our Promised Land isn’t a physical territory, but a spiritual
reality. It’s not real estate but a real state of the heart and
mind,” reveals Max.
Promised Land life: (1) we don’t know about our inheritance. No one
ever told us that we fight from victory, not for
victory; (2) and, because we don’t believe in our inheritance. That
was the problem of Joshua’s ancestors who didn’t believe that God could
give them the land.
ABOUT MAX
Max grew up in a small town in Texas and went to church
with his family. When he became a teenager, he walked away from his
parent’s faith. One night, after he downed a six-pack of beer, he
started to ponder if there was more to life than partying and chasing
girls. Soon after, Max joined a Bible class at a university where his
heart was moved by the love of God. After graduation he became an
associate pastor at a small church in Florida where he met his wife
Denalyn. During this time he also wrote a column in the weekly church
newsletter which ignited his passion for people, ministry and writing.
In 1983, Max and Denalyn moved to the mission field in Rio de Janeiro
to help plant churches. Through his experiences there, Max wrote his
first book and launched his extensive writing career. He also serves
the people of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio where he has been on
staff since 1988.
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