The Oklahoma land rush has always intrigued me. Just think of this odd time in not just U.S. history but in world history. The year is 1889 and the Indian Appropriations Acts has just been passed and as a result, President Benjamin Harrison opened up 2 million acres of previously unavailable land in the Oklahoma territory. In a precursor to this, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862 allowing settlers to claim up to 160 acres for free. All they had to do was live on the land and farm or ranch it. Free land. Even I can afford that.
At high noon on April 22, 1889, over 50,000 people lined up at a starting area in an empty unnamed plain in Central Oklahoma and waited for the single shot of a pistol. That shot officially opened up 6,097 plots of 160 acres each. They’re all free, just go get ya’ one. Imagine that today, 160 acres for free, there would be riots and killing before the trigger was ever pulled. But they did have a few clever ones back then and several individuals snuck out into the territory days and even weeks before to grab the choicest pieces of land that had easy access to water. These people became known as “sooners” and of course you probably know the University of Oklahoma has a football team by the same name. And the whole process didn’t take long either, all 2 million acres were claimed that very day.
Today in Deuteronomy chapter 19 we see God speaking again of the Promised Land, its borders and His clear intentions and plan for the Israelites to move into this land and claim it. Now God had a much more organized plan for the Israelites to inhabit the land than just to bum-rush it and jump onto the nearest patch. Throughout Numbers and Deuteronomy God has given the Israelites very clear instructions on what tribe would be in what area of the Promised Land. But for our study purposes today we’ll not look at the allotment of the land but the borders of the land. You see, God had clearly labeled the borders of the Promised land that he was giving His chosen people, all they had to do was claim it. You see, God’s blessings are abundant, and He intends for us to claim them all, but to do that we must lay claim to them. We must claim the limitless blessings that God has laid out before us.
In Numbers 34:1-19 we see the perfectly defined borders of the Promised land that God had laid out for His people. And what a land it was. Flowing with milk and honey, lush fruit producing foliage, fertile soil, ample fresh water and abundant game and wildlife. Beautiful green hillsides would graze their flocks and herds and be the foundations for their homes. And in his dimensions, we see that God was very generous in His blessings, the Promised land was more than enough to see His people live, multiply and flourish. And remember, the land was being given to them, all they had to do was obey God, follow His commands and simply claim the land as He instructed them.
If you calculate the land mass within the borders of the Promised land you will find that God gave the Israelites over 300,000 square miles of land. But in a strange twist of irony you will find that the Israelites only every claimed about 30,000 square miles. That's only 1/10 of the blessings that God had given them. It makes me ponder all the blessings that God has laid out for us today in a clear orderly fashion. Blessings all lined up and ready to go just like a cruise ship buffet. All we need to do is claim them. To lay stake to what He has already given us. You see, just like that free land in Oklahoma, those blessings can be yours, but you’ve got to saddle up and go get em'.
How many of God’s blessings are you claiming today? Are you heaping them up on your plate and enjoying the abundant goodness that God has laid out for you, or are you staring at a massive buffet while dying of starvation? Folks, grab your plate and get ready to load up on God’s blessings using these utensils that He has so lovingly provided us.
1) Get in the Word. Folks, more than likely your Bible is lying somewhere around your house. If you don’t have a Bible, email me today through the 5MC.com and I will get you a Bible this week. You cannot afford to go another week without access to God’s Word. If you want to lay claim to God’s abundant blessings, start with the power of His Holy Word. Spend at least 5 minutes in your Bible every single day. If you’re struggling with this, use the 5 minute challenge (5MC) as a resource. That’s the reason God originally started it, to help youth and young adults build a habit of a daily study of God’s Word. Go get that Bible off the shelf, blow off the dust and crack it open to the gospel of John. Read for 5 minutes and shut it. After reading, sit still for another 5 minutes and ponder what God has spoken to you. Repeat this every day for 30 days in a row. And then, on day 31, sit back and enjoy the abundant blessings that God has given you from those crisp white pages.
2) Serve others. Yesterday Marge and I served at our churches VBS, “Spring Breakout.” Marge served her fresh baked dark chocolate brownies to the volunteers and I painted a teacher’s lounge at the school we’re holding it at. Folks, serving others is not complicated, just get busy and help people. The best way to get out of yourself is to get into the lives of others. The blessings that flow into my life from serving others is like no other. To see people’s needs being met by the hands that God gave me touches my heart and makes my soul sing to Him. These blessings are waiting for you out there in this world today, all you must do is help and serve others with the heart of Jesus Christ.
Folks, I could continue this list for the next 2 hours, it is both endless and boundless. You see just as God laid out 300,000 Square miles for the Israelites, He has laid out blessings for us that are countless in their numbers. But in order to experience all of the blessings that God has for us, we must lay claim. I pray today that securing God’s blessings are priority number one in your life. That before you seek to bless yourself in your own power or be blessed by another, that you will seek the blessings that God has for you first. Folks, they’re right there for the taking…go get em’.
Be abundantly blessed my brother and sisters.
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