Be Strong and Courageous: Take Your Promised Land

A call rings to possess the real estate God has given each believer — promised spiritual ground that remains unclaimed until someone takes it. The narrative draws on Caleb’s eighty-five-year testimony of a forty-five-year-old promise, showing that age or past accomplishment does not negate future assignment. Taking ground requires resolute strength and courage: determination plus perseverance, a continued showing up in prayer, generosity, and obedience. The reality of enemies — likened to the Jebusites — means that some motives, habits, or spiritual strongholds have entrenched themselves on the inheritance and must be driven out rather than tolerated.

The congregation’s identity as an apostolic hub frames the practical outcome: churches are sent to plant, disciple, and expand the kingdom. That apostolic impulse produced an audacious beginning—mapping a city, declaring a 5% vision, and watching numerical and spiritual multiplication over decades. New church planters are commissioned, and a church-planting offering is called for, underscoring that expansion requires both prayer and sacrificial investment.

Scripture repeatedly commands, “Be strong and courageous,” and that command is connected to concrete spiritual disciplines: meditate on the law day and night, put the Word on lips, and obey everything revealed. Spiritual victory is both divine and human — God goes before his people, yet his people must engage in spiritual fight: identify the entrenched patterns (the Jebusites), confront them with repentance and obedience, and refuse to live diminished lives. Even moral failure does not permanently disqualify; full repentance and wholehearted obedience remain the pathway to seeing long-standing enemies removed.

The practical application is direct: name the Jebusites in one’s own backyard, develop holy dissatisfaction with limited territory, and pursue God’s full calling by studying, speaking, and obeying Scripture. The gathering moves from proclamation into commissioning and prayer, asking for tenacity, favor, and the Spirit’s power to prepare ground, raise resources, and see new worship communities established. The central assurance is both pastoral and prophetic: God’s hand is upon those who go, and the task of taking new ground continues until all promised inheritance is possessed.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Never cease taking new ground A lifetime of past successes does not justify settling for less; there remains unclaimed inheritance calling for fresh faith. Persistent vision keeps believers from spiritual stagnation and invites God to bring long-delayed promises to fruition. This posture requires refusing complacency and embracing ongoing risk on behalf of kingdom expansion. [01:54]
• 2. Courage requires perseverance and resolve Courage is not a sudden emotion but the product of steady determination and faithful endurance. Regular spiritual practices — attendance, prayer, and obedience — cultivate the stamina to outlast entrenched opposition. Long-term faithfulness often dismantles what short bursts of zeal cannot. [04:09]
• 3. Identify and evict your Jebusites Naming the entrenched sins, addictions, or generational strongholds localizes the battle and clarifies strategy. Left unchecked, these holdfasts become “splinters and thorns,” continually harassing the life God intends to expand. Confession, targeted repentance, and disciplined obedience are the tactics that force their departure. [29:40]
• 4. Speak, study, obey God's Word Meditation and verbal declaration of Scripture are linked to obedient action; together they release God’s power into contested spaces. The Word furnishes not only truth but the language and authority to dismantle false narratives and reclaim territory. Consistency in these disciplines aligns the believer’s life with promise and provision. [27:33]
• 5. An apostolic church sends and multiplies A church formed as a sending hub multiplies influence by planting, raising leaders, and investing resources beyond its walls. Sending leaders creates new opportunities for the Spirit to expand worship, mercy, and discipleship in fresh soil. Generosity and risk-taking are spiritual tools that build a multiplying movement. [08:48]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:43] - New Ground: Unclaimed Inheritance
• [01:54] - Caleb’s Example of Perseverance
• [02:35] - Declaring Strength at Any Age
• [03:41] - Strength and Courage Required
• [05:41] - Early Vision: Mapping the City
• [08:48] - Apostolic Identity & Church Planting Plans
• [22:36] - Drive Out the Jebusites (Enemies)
• [27:33] - Practical Steps: Study, Speak, Obey
• [32:35] - Prayer, Commissioning, Anointing

1. In Joshua 14, Caleb recalls a promise made forty-five years earlier. How does he describe his physical and spiritual condition at age 85, and what specific request does he make regarding his inheritance? [01:54]
2. According to Joshua 1, God commands Joshua to be "strong and courageous" multiple times. What specific instructions are given regarding the "Book of the Law" to ensure prosperity and success in taking the land? [27:33]
3. The sermon lists various enemies (the "ites") that occupied the land, specifically highlighting the Jebusites. How are these enemies described, and what warning is given in Numbers about what happens if they are allowed to remain in the land? [23:39] [25:50]

1. Courage is defined in the message not merely as a lack of fear, but as "determination plus perseverance." Why is this combination of steady endurance and showing up repeatedly necessary to outlast entrenched spiritual opposition? [04:09]
2. The Jebusites represent stubborn, controlling enemies that refuse to leave, often mocking the believer's attempt to get free. Why is "partial obedience" or simply managing these enemies insufficient for true spiritual victory? [26:59]
3. An "apostolic hub" is described as a church that focuses on sending rather than just gathering. How does this identity shift the focus from being a "comfort station" for believers to being a center for multiplication and kingdom expansion? [07:41]

1. "New ground" is not just physical land; it can be restored relationships, sobriety, a new business, or unfulfilled vision. What is one specific area of "unclaimed real estate" in your life that you feel God is calling you to possess in this season? [00:43]
2. Caleb refused to retire from God's purpose even at age 85. Have you ever felt the temptation to think you have "seen it and done it" or that your most impactful days are behind you? How does Caleb’s example challenge you to look for the next mountain? [02:35]
3. We are called to identify the "Jebusites"—stubborn habits, sins, or strongholds—in our own backyards. Whether it is anger, greed, lust, or fear, what is one "squatter" you have tolerated for too long that needs to be evicted? [29:40]
4. Victory requires studying, speaking, and obeying the Word. Which of these three disciplines—studying diligently, speaking continually, or obeying completely—do you find most difficult to maintain, and what is one practical step you can take to strengthen it this week? [29:17]
5. God’s plan involves us participating in the "sending" nature of the church. As we prepare to plant new churches and send leaders, how is God challenging you to participate—whether through bolder prayers, sacrificial giving, or stepping into a new area of service? [21:53]