God wants each one of us to possess everything He has for us. He wants to teach us how to fight the good fight of faith using His Word so our faith won’t fizzle out!

Fight the good fight of faith. . . .
—1 Timothy 6:12

Possessing all of God’s promises means to receive and walk in our inheritance in Christ—our own personal Promised Land. It means to possess all the promises in God’s Word, including those He’s personally made to each one of us.

It will take a fight of faith to receive what God has for you in this life. But besides fighting the good fight of faith for your Promised Land, you need to get God’s plan. If you don’t know what God’s plan is for you to possess your land, your fight of faith can end in defeat. I’m talking about faith in God’s Word. But I’m also talking about obedience to His plan. We must obtain the blessings of God His way, not our own way.

Remember that when the Israelites came to the border of the Promised Land, God gave Moses a plan for taking the land. God knew exactly how He was going to fight the Israelites’ battle for them so they could go in and possess what belonged to them.

But then the Israelites got into doubt and unbelief and ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years. So God had to raise up a new generation of Israelites who would believe Him and take Him at His Word. God is still looking for those who will take Him at His Word and possess their Promised Land.

Faith Fight

God in His patience waited for those younger Israelites to grow up. Then He again took them to the border of the Promised Land and said, “Now go in and possess what belongs to you.”

Now, here’s what I want you to see. God gave Joshua the plan for possessing the land, and this time, the Israelites were obedient to carry out God’s plan. They didn’t shrink back in fear, but crossed over into the land in spite of a raging river at flood stage and the impenetrable enemy fortress of Jericho. There’s always a way when God gives His plan!

You can’t receive your Promised Land from the Lord just by saying, “I’m going to possess the land! I’m going to receive what God has promised me.” That’s the right attitude, but then you have to have the right plan.

In the natural, what happens without a plan? If you were going to start a cross-country road trip from California to New York, you would need a plan. You would need to find out which roads to travel to best to reach your destination. You can’t just start driving on the highway, declare where you are going, and expect to arrive at your destination! Driving randomly, you’re liable to end up just about anywhere!

But that’s the way many believers operate when it comes to possessing their Promised Land. Some just declare what belongs to them and expect the promises just to fall on them! Others jump out and start doing things—anything—in their own strength to try to make something happen. All they know is that their personal inheritance in Christ is part of God’s redemption. But they don’t know how to fight the good fight of faith in order to receive what belongs to them, so they often end up confused or discouraged.

There’s a saying in the world that it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose—it’s how you play the game. But that’s not true when it comes to the game of life. In life, it’s not just how you play the game that’s important. Winning is important, too! As a Christian, winning means finishing your course with joy because you’ve done what God has told you to do every step of the way.

People who allow their faith to fizzle will quit in the middle of their spiritual race. But those who give up will never know the thrill of victory. All they will know is the agony of defeat. There’s no way you can possess what God has promised you if you quit!

Faith that perishes is faith that fails in the tests and trials of life. But when you tap into the power and the plan of God by standing in faith on His Word, there’s no such thing as perishing—there’s only possessing. Believing God’s Word and acting on His Word and His plan is how you fight the good fight of faith and obtain the promised blessing.

However, you need to know that the enemy is not going to let you possess anything in God without a fight. Even the Israelites had to march around the walls of Jericho and shout the victory in faith and in obedience before those walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6:5). In other words, they believed God’s Word was true, so they obeyed and acted accordingly—and they saw the truth of God’s Word come to pass before their eyes!

If you have the idea that you’ll never have a battle in life, you are mistaken! The devil will try to take every inch of your Promised Land away from you—and he will do it if you’ll let him! You’ll have to fight by faith each step of the way for what rightfully belongs to you. It’s a faith fight because you have to fight by faith in God’s Word, not by faith in your own strength or ability. And the Bible calls it the good fight of faith, because if we’ll stick with it, it’s a fight that we win!

In fact, the Word is the only weapon you need to fight with, backed by the Name of Jesus and the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11).

That’s why we need to develop our beliefs according to God’s Word—so that we think like God thinks. When believers don’t develop their faith so they can stand strong against the devil’s strategies, their faith fizzles out. The great revivalist D. L. Moody once said, “Faith that fizzles in the finish had a flaw in the beginning.”

So why are some believers missing it possessing their Promised Land? One reason is that they lack proper knowledge. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. . . .”

Just because people are members of a church or hear a message on faith or listen to teaching tapes is no sign they have Bible knowledge. For one thing, they may be hearing, but they may not be receiving. Or they may be hearing with their mind, but not with their heart. Or sometimes what they hear confuses them because they haven’t developed a strong relationship with God.

You won’t be able to possess what God has for you unless you develop a strong relationship with your Heavenly Father. Without a relationship with Him, your faith will fizzle. But with the knowledge of God’s Word, we will have the confidence to fight the good fight of faith and stay with it, because we know God personally. And we know He will never let us down!

We need to get our actions in line with God’s Word and then watch the Word work! The Bible says, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19).

When you walk closely with your Heavenly Father, you can talk to Him about those areas where your heart is not willing or obedient. He will help you both to will and to do His good plan for your life (Phil. 2:13)! Then you can really become the success God wants you to be.

Do you want to know how to ensure that you possess your Promised Land and win the good fight of faith? You begin by renewing your mind with the Word of God. Believers who fulfill the promises of God for their lives renew their minds so they can have the mind and attitude of Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:16
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The Amplified Bible explains what this verse means, saying, “We have the mind of Christ, the Messiah, and hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.”

Jesus Christ always kept His mind on His Heavenly Father. He always abided in fellowship with God the Father. That’s why it wasn’t difficult for Jesus to always want to do His Father’s will.

If we want our minds to be in line with the mind of Christ, then we’ll have to practice Romans 12:2: “ . . . be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . .” This scripture must  become a lifestyle with us! To a large extent, your mind determines whether or not you receive what God has for you in life. If we get our minds transformed, we will be transformed!

In a sense, we are in partnership with God in obtaining His promises. But so many believers want to forget about their responsibility—what they are to do with their own mind and body. It seems like they want God to take all the responsibility. They act as if they’re waiting for the Holy Spirit to somehow supernaturally cause them to inherit all the promises of God so they won’t have to put forth much effort.

But it will take some effort and commitment on your part to inherit God’s promises to you—your own personal Promised Land. You won’t be able to do it without getting your mind renewed so you think in line with God’s thoughts.

We’re quick to quote, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). But often we don’t like to quote Romans 12:2: “ . . . be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . .”

Of course, we need to establish a strong relationship with the Holy Spirit, so we can know how to follow Him. But we also need the whole counsel of God’s Word. God’s Word tells you the part that you play in your own success. The Bible says to renew your mind with the Word so that you are not conformed to his world. Then you will be able to prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for your life (Rom. 12:1–2).

According to Romans 12:2, we aren’t limited to knowing the will of God only with our spirit; we can also know God’s will from our renewed mind. How can that be? Because there are some things we don’t even need to ask God about. His Word tells us what His will is, and when our mind is renewed, we readily know right from wrong.

Believers always want to know what the will of God is for their lives. It seems like Christians often get confused and fizzle out in their faith over this one question. But we don’t need to stumble trying to discover God’s will for our lives. As we stay in close fellowship with Him and renew our mind with His Word, we will know what to do in every situation in life.

Let’s get on track with God’s Word. With all of our hearts, let’s seek the Kingdom of God first and His righteousness. Then we can find out what pleases God so we can walk in close fellowship with Him. Walking in close fellowship with God is how we can learn to possess our Promised Land and win the good fight of faith!