There’s Still Land to Take

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If you could own land anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

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Service Intro:

In our Not Finished Yet series, we’ll discover how God sees us even in our struggles, how He calls us to trust Him with our brokenness, and how we can live with purpose and hope — all the way to the finish line.

You still have a role to play. God’s promises didn’t expire with age, illness, or hardship.

Announcements

App

Study Guide

Prayer requests

Opening Prayer

Opening Song

Kids Time

Oliver, Charlotte, and Elliot.

Hey kids!

Do you like change?

Sometimes change is scary.

Have a great day!

Sermon

In our Not Finished Yet series, last week, we were reminded that we are not forgotten. Though we may suffer, be “old,” have some limitations, the truth is that when it comes to God and His Kingdom work, we are not forgotten.

Today’s encouragement is that there is still work to do, promises to be fulfilled.

You still have a role to play. God’s promises didn’t expire with age, illness, or hardship.

Introduction – The Temptation to Settle

Are you ever tempted to settle for your lot in life? Your place. Your struggle. Maybe your own prison?

Are you too tired of fighting? Tired of wandering around in life as though you’re in the wilderness like the Israelites for 40 years.

I always wrestle with the concepts of contentment and settling.

Though often discontent in my career, I can look and say “only so many years until retirement.” So, do I settle? And is retirement itself, “a settling phase or a contentment phase?” If I’m not content, am I just settling because it’s easier? Safer? Shall I put off my dreams, goals,or maybe even God’s promises and just settle in for the long haul?

Paul wrote about being content, but not so much about settling. And we often quote this when someone is wrestling with where they are in a situation. “Well, Paul said to be content in whatever situation while he sitting in a jail cell.”

Now, that’s true, but I don’t doubt Paul also wanted out of the jail cell, and prayed for it, so he could continue in his ministry and to probably be able to go wherever he wanted and eat whatever he wanted as well.

There’s a real difference between contentment and settling in your circumstances.

Contentment trusts God in the present while still pursuing His purposes; Settling stops pursuing because it believes nothing more is possible.

Many of us reach a place in life where we think, “I’ve done enough. I’m too old. I’m too tired. My season has passed.”

And so, we settle.

That mindset can creep in especially with age, illness, depression, or prolonged hardship.

But Scripture shows us a different story.

Even the greatest leaders and faithful servants wrestled with this tension — including Joshua. He had fought battles, conquered cities, and led God’s people faithfully for decades.

By the time we meet him in Joshua 13, he was old and by human standards, he had every right to settle.

But God saw something Joshua didn’t — that there was still more ahead. Listen to what the Lord told him...

1️⃣ There’s Still Land to Take (Joshua 13:1)

Joshua 13:1 ESV

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.

Even as Joshua aged, God was not done with him.

There was still work to do, and land to take.

God's plan was never dependent on Joshua's youth or strength, but on God's own power and faithfulness.

The same is true for us today.

I often say that if you’re still breathing you still have purpose.

Today I will say it this way...

If you're still breathing, there's still land to take.

There’s still work to do, inheritance to give, and inheritance to receive.

So, let me ask — are you truly content with where you are today, trusting God’s purposes? Or have you just settled because it feels like nothing more is possible?

That’s what I love about Caleb.

Remember, it was he and Joshua who scouted out the land and came back ready to take it — even when others were afraid.

And decades later, even as an old man, Caleb still wasn’t ready to settle.

Let’s listen to his story in Joshua 14.

2️⃣ Faith Doesn’t Expire (Joshua 14:6-12)

Joshua 14:6–12 ESV

Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

Caleb’s said: “I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me... So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke.”

Caleb had waited 45 years to receive what was promised. He’d suffered walking in the wilderness due to the sins and lack of faith of his brothers who were afraid to take what God had already said was theirs, and he wasn’t about to settle for less than what God ha promised!

Though he was now an old man, and though he’d been through the trials and tribulations of the wandering, his faith never diminished. His hope in God’s promises remained.

He knew, God’s promises don’t have an expiration date.

They are not limited by time, age, illness, or even our failures.

The only limitation is you, and me. Our mindset. Our faith.

Some of us are living with promises we’ve given up on — because we think it’s too late.

Caleb could have said, “it’s been 45 years and I’m too old to go. I’m tired and worn out. Just let me settle here in Gilgal. I’ll be content with this place God has brought me.”

Caleb reminds us: it’s never too late to believe again.

Believe that the impossible is still possible. Believe that the dreams God gave you still matter. Believe that the usefulness He has gifted you with still remains.

If God wasn’t finished with Caleb, He’s not finished with you.

3️⃣ Strength Is Measured by Faith, Not by Age

Caleb’s physical strength may or may not have truly matched his youth — you know how us old men are — but his faith was as strong as ever.

He wasn’t going to let age or physical limits keep him from receiving what God had promised him when he was forty. He was ready to take the land that was rightfully his.

And here’s the good news for us: God doesn’t ask us to be physically strong or even physically able. He asks us to be spiritually willing.

"Lord, give me my mountain." Whatever your mountain may be.

Your mountain might not be literal land — it might be a calling, a passion you’ve dreamt of, a relationship to restore, a person to encourage, or a prayer burden to keep lifting.

But like Caleb, we all face the same reality: There will be moments when our strength runs out. When age, illness, weakness, limitations, or discouragement feel heavier than our faith.

4️⃣ God’s Power Is Perfected in Our Weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)

And that’s where we find the greater truth — God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The Kingdom doesn't advance through human strength but through surrendered hearts and willing hands.

When we feel weak or unqualified, God is fully able.

Caleb could have settled.

5️⃣ Your Role Still Matters

And so could Clara Hale — known to many as Mother Hale.

She had raised her family and endured the loss of her husband. By her mid-sixties, many would have said she’d done enough. That it was time to rest.

But when Clara noticed the growing crisis of abandoned children affected by drug addiction in her Harlem neighborhood, she opened her home to one child... then another... then another.

At 65 years old, she founded Hale House and spent the next two decades caring for over 1,000 children in need.

She once said,

“All children need is a little help, a little hope, and someone who believes in them.”

Mother Hale didn’t let her age or weariness become a reason to settle. She surrendered her hands and her heart to God’s purposes — and He used her mightily.

And if He did it for Caleb... and for Clara... He can do it for you.

Even if you can't "do" what you once could, your influence, prayers, wisdom, encouragement, and presence still matter.

Psalm 92:12–14 ESV

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

If you are here, God still has work for you.

Whether you are old or young, fully-abled or disabled, trapped in a prison of your mind or in a physical prison, there is still land to take and work to do.

God is not finished with you yet.

Closing Challenge

What is the 'land' God is calling you to take in this season of life?

What promise have you let go of that God may be to renew?

You may feel like your best days are behind you, but in God’s Kingdom, every day is full of fresh purpose and promise.

Call to Action:

This week, ask God to show you your 'land' and to give you the faith of Caleb to pray, “Lord, give me this mountain.”

If God was able to give new purpose to Mama Clare at 65 and Caleb could claim new ground at 85, you can claim new purpose today.

Closing Prayer

Closing Song

Remember friends — it’s never too late to believe again. No matter what this week holds, God’s not finished with you yet. Keep trusting, keep praying, and keep asking, ‘Lord, give me my mountain.’

Post Service Discussion

🔎 Opening Question

What stood out to you from today’s message?

❓ Deeper Reflection Questions

Joshua heard from God at an old age that there was still work to do. Have you ever experienced a moment when you thought your usefulness had ended, but God revealed new purpose?

Caleb waited 45 years to see God’s promise fulfilled. What’s something you’ve waited a long time for? Has God renewed your hope or vision for it?

We talked about the difference between contentment and settling. Which of those do you feel you’re experiencing right now? Why?

Your ‘mountain’ might not be land — it might be a calling, a relationship, or a prayer burden. What is a ‘mountain’ you feel God may be calling you to claim in this season?

"God’s power is made perfect in weakness." How has God shown His strength in a time when you felt weak or limited?

📖 Extra Scriptures for Chat Discussion

Isaiah 46:4 — "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he... I will sustain you."

Hebrews 10:23 — "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering."

Psalm 92:14 — "They still bear fruit in old age."

💡 Optional Insight to Share:

“Sometimes the ‘land’ God asks us to take isn’t something big or new. It might just be faithfully loving a family member, mentoring someone younger, or offering prayer support when we can’t do much physically. God defines ‘fruitfulness’ in ways the world often overlooks.”