Spiritual Feet
As part of the Supernatural Body, the feet represent dominion and possession.
Dominion
‘So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them. God blessed them and told them, “multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals.”’ -Genesis 1:27-28
‘From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head and you will strike his heels.’ -Gen 3:15
‘For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.’ -1 Corinthians 15:25
Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet!
We have been commissioned to fill the earth and subdue it!
Are you stepping out and taking the territory assigned to you?
Commanded to Take the Land
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:1-9
Joshua 1 is something of a key life passage for me! For 20 years I have been stepping out and taking territory in obedience to my King Jesus as an ambassador of Christ.
It started in the Meadows, a council estate in Nottingham. I prayer walked the housing estate and occupied the main schools and pubs of the area preaching the gospel with signs and wonders following!
When engaged in freelance work with Nottinghamshire County Council I went into schools across the county doing theatre-in-education. There was a list of over 30 towns I traveled to whilst engaged in this work. In 2005, on arrival back from my honeymoon, God spoke to me and said, ‘You will go back to these towns to preach the gospel’ so I set off two days a week on a circuit of these towns and villages, prayer walking and preaching the gospel.
A little while later I saw a map of Britain divided into 12 Regions and God gave me the challenge of going to one region each month for 12 days to spy the land, prayer walk and preach the gospel – thus Mission Britain was born!
‘[…] The Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction.I am going to give all this land to you and your offspring as a permanent possession. And I am going to give you so many descendants that, like dust, they cannot be counted! Take a walk in every direction and explore the new possessions I am giving you” Then Abram moved…’ -Genesis 13:14-17
Notice how Abraham walked the length and breadth of the land that God would give him and his descendants in the future!
It’s time to get intentional about walking the length and breadth of the land that God has assigned to you!
‘So that day Moses promised me, “The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your special possession and that of your descendants for ever, because you wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God.”’ -Joshua 14:9
Spy the Land
Sometimes God sends his special agents ahead of the army to Spy the Land.
When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” –Numbers 13:17-33
Numbers 13 provides us with a great examples of how God sent spies ahead to scout the land and bring back a report before proceeding. They were to see ‘what the land is like’ and what kind of people lived there.
A team of three recently undertook a journey to Glasgow. We spent approximately three days prayer walking the city (and also engaging in drive-by prayer). Most of the trip involved ‘Spying the Land.’
When led by the Spirit to specific places we enquired as to what He wanted us to do there. At some places we were told to pray, at other places we were told to speak prophetically, and at still other places we were told to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven had arrived.
As you go out into the area assigned to you by God, ask Him to ‘open the eyes of your heart.’ -Ephesians 1:18 and to give you eyes to see what the Spirit is doing.
There are many times that God has used natural signs on the street to speak to me and direct me. For example, ‘Get your message out on the Streets,’ written on the side of a bus. Or through strange weather patterns, billboards, shop/pub/building names, darkness and light, run-down areas, the peoples condition, a physical sign that mirrors a scripture given to me. Often the natural speaks of the spiritual. There may be an area littered with loads of beer cans. That may indicate a stronghold of alcoholism.
Lifted Out of the Pit
Some of us may not feel ready to step out and conquer our Promised Land. We may be weighed down with our feet stuck in the mud…
‘He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.’ – Psalm 40:2
If that’s the case with you, I pray that God will lift you out of the pit of despair, as He has done for me, and set your feet on solid ground. He will keep your feet from slipping. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and finisher of faith.
‘For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.’ -Psalm 56:13
‘You have made a wide path for my feet to keep me from slipping.’ -2 Samuel 22:37
‘And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!’ -Psalm 116:9
As you walk through the ‘garden’, the jurisdiction assigned to you – you will find yourself walking in the Lord’s presence, just as Adam and Eve did. (Genesis 3:8)
Power & Authority
We have been given power and authority – not just in a church building but in the world. We have been sent as ambassadors to represent our country (citizens of heaven) and to infect our areas with Kingdom values (like yeast sown into a batch of dough).
I want to encourage you to step out into your territory. Walk the land assigned to you. Prayer-walk the area where you live, work or play.
God walked over chaos as he walked through the sea as described in Psalm 77, ‘Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.‘ and Jesus walked on water.
So you are able to rise above your circumstances!
We are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, far above all principalities and powers
‘The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.’ -Rom 16:20.
We are called to trample the enemy
‘You will trample on snakes and scorpions.’ -Luke 10:19
‘For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone. You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet.’ -Psalm 91:11-13
Boots Fitted with the Gospel of Peace
‘Put on your shoes so that you are ready to spread the Good News that gives peace’ -Ephesians 6:15
Gospel boots are part of the armor of God we are to put on and we are to take that gospel of peace wherever we go!
‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!’ -Isaiah 52:7
Have you walked your ground in prayer?
Are you intentionally looking for opportunities to bring the good news in your sphere of influence?
Stand Up and Be Counted!
So in summary, how’s your walk?
Are you using your feet to walk the land, take dominion, trample on snakes and scorpions and all the power of the enemy whilst bringing the good news to others?
Or are you stuck in the miry clay?
Rise up and stand in your God-given authority today!
