Expedition into Your Territory, Part 1
In November of 2010, I visited with groups of businesspeople in Poland. One very dark and cold Saturday night in my hotel room, the Holy Spirit gave me an exciting message of hope and exhortation to share with the Believers in Poland. Great timing (of course), since I was invited to speak to a local congregation the next morning!
This message I delivered is applicable to every person on this earth. If you have a God-given calling, and I believe you do, this message will spark something in you. It’s about eternal worth. It’s about tending the territory assigned to your care. It’s about walking in the favor of God by knowing the territory you tend.
Your calling meets a need for some people, somewhere, at some time. Wow. Could it be more vague? We’ll use the word “territory” for this message, in lieu of purpose or calling. It paints an accurate picture for today.
Territory can only be assigned by God. Remember how the Israelites divided their promised land by tribe? Think of it this way: YOU had a territory picked out even before you were born on this earth. Jeremiah 29:11
Sure, we can get “jobs”. We can start a career, make a career move, or even stay on our current career path. The question is this: Do you want to work with the favor of the Lord? Do you want to make a significant contribution that will extend past your children’s generation? If the answer is yes, then we must press in and find the territory that has already been staked out.
Enough already, let’s look at how we discover our territory and explore it, as a Lewis and Clark expedition!
First, we must recognize under whose authority we are operating, and understand that authority. Matthew 8:9-10 The centurion knew of kingdom order. In the American culture, we are less aware of royal protocol. Jesus was amazed with this centurion! Look at Nehemiah. Study how his venture began with holy order. Nehemiah was given authority first from God, then from earthly king Artaxerxes, which allowed him to carry out his task in Jerusalem.
In Matthew 12:30, Jesus made it clear “He who is not with me is against me.” Search my heart God, see what pride is in me that keeps me from recognizing your authority. I don’t want to wander through a territory without trusting the Father. There could be all sorts of dangers that I’m not prepared to face on my own.
One of my regular (yet scary) prayers is for humility. God, humble me so I can receive from you.
