Series: Giants in the Land: Volume 1 (War for Possession)
Part I: The Summons to War — Post 1 of 33
He Brought Us Out To Bring Us in
Israel did not leave Egypt merely to leave Egypt. God had a destination in view. Redemption was never meant to terminate in deliverance, but in possession. The God who saves also calls, commands, and leads His people into inheritance. To preach salvation without inheritance is to preach half a gospel.
“And He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers.”
(Deut. 6:23)
The pattern is unmistakable. God’s purpose for His people is not to wander, but to possess. Not to survive, but to reign. Not to return to bondage, but to be fruitful. Not to murmur in wilderness, but to rest in Canaan. The summons of God is not consolation, but conquest.
Deliverance Is Not the Destination
Modern Christians speak often of being “set free,” but seldom of what they are set free into. Scripture never treats freedom as a final gift; it is always unto something beyond itself. Freedom without possession is simply a new form of wilderness.
Pharaoh may be behind Pharaoh’s Red Sea, but Canaan remains beyond Jordan. Death must be behind; inheritance must be ahead. Salvation has an orientation: forward.
Egypt breaks chains; Canaan breaks unbelief. Egypt breaks slavery; Canaan breaks smallness. Egypt breaks Pharaoh; Canaan breaks the mind that fears him.
Redemption Without Occupation
A terrible pattern has emerged in our day: multitudes are content to escape judgment, but not interested in inheritance. They desire forgiveness, but not obedience. They desire comfort, but not conquest. They desire peace, but not war. They desire heaven, but not holiness. They desire Christ as Deliverer, but not Christ as Captain.
But redemption without occupation is rebellion by another name. A redeemed man who refuses inheritance will not return to Egypt, but neither will he enter Canaan. He will die in the wilderness — saved from judgment, but robbed of rest.
“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
(Heb. 3:19)
Calling Is Martial, Not Therapeutic
The summons of God is not to therapy, but to triumph. It does not ask how we feel about Canaan; it commands us to take it. The Spirit does not whisper reassurances to convince us that giants are harmless; He strengthens the heart so giants may fall.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…”
(Eph. 6:12)
Wrestling is not clerical work. It is not administrative. It is not sentimental. It demands strength, endurance, and resolve. Spiritual warfare is not a figure of speech, but the normal Christian life.
The Wilderness Teaches War
God did not take Israel from Egypt straight into Canaan. He led them into the wilderness. Not to torture them, but to train them. Not to discourage them, but to reveal what was in their hearts. Without wilderness, Canaan would have swallowed them whole.
“This is the way… that He might prove thee, to know what was in thine heart…”
(Deut. 8:2)
Many believers imagine that hardship disproves God’s love. In truth, hardship confirms it. Sons are chastened; bastards are excused. Sons are trained for inheritance; slaves are trained for survival. Wilderness is the proving ground that separates those who will reign from those who will retreat.
The Promise Includes Resistance
God could have cleared Canaan by plague or angel, as He did with Egypt. He did not. He left enemies in place — by design.
“…to teach them war…”
(Judg. 3:2)
If God teaches war, then warfare must be part of godliness. If warfare is part of godliness, then conflict is part of sanctification. If conflict is part of sanctification, then opposition becomes an instrument of grace. Giants are not interruptions to God’s purpose; they are instructors in it.
Conflict Before Rest
This is the great misunderstanding of modern Christianity: it preaches rest where Scripture preaches war. It promises comfort where Christ promises conflict. It offers peace as sedation; Scripture offers peace as conquest.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God… Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest.”
(Heb. 4:9,11)
Rest must be entered, not assumed. It must be taken, not inherited by default. To labour into rest is not contradiction; it is covenant logic. There can be no Sabbath without slaughter. Rest follows war; it does not replace it.
The Summons Is Personal
Every believer is summoned. This is not a summons for a few unusually spiritual saints, nor a summons for ministers, officers, or mystics. It is the ordinary Christian call. For the Church is not a society of spectators, but a nation of priests. Not an audience, but an army.
It is not enough to be saved from Pharaoh. One must face the giants. It is not enough to leave Egypt. One must enter Canaan. The summons of God leaves no neutral ground between wilderness and inheritance.
He brings out — to bring in. He delivers — to enlarge. He forgives — to form. He forms — to make fruitful. He teaches — to make rulers. He disciplines — to make sons. He sends to war — to give rest. He commands obedience — to give possession. He trains — to make overcomers.
He brought them out, that He might bring them in.
The Character of Rest
Rest in the New Testament is not inactivity, but kingdom life. It is not merely freedom from anxiety, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
“For the kingdom of God is… righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:17)
- Righteousness is alignment with God.
- Peace is possession of territory.
- Joy is the fruit of enlargement.
None of these are passive. All belong to those who enter in.
OVERCOMER’S CHECKPOINT
- Where has deliverance stalled into wilderness?
- Where has freedom stopped short of possession?
- Where has peace become sedation instead of conquest?
- Where has rest been assumed instead of taken?
- Where has salvation replaced inheritance?
- Where has preservation replaced obedience?
- What has God brought you out of — that you have not yet entered into?