Hey, that's Mine.

Getting kids together is a good time.

Wait a minute.

That’s my thing.

That’s my cup.

That’s my toy.

I have to have it.

Now, never mind the fact that the other kid has been playing with it for an hour already...

Once it is recognized, transfer must take place immediately, or else we rage.

Because its mine. They aren’t taking care of it.

They don’t even like it enough.

They won’t use it right.

If it is mine, I must have it.

It is mine, it was given to me. Give it back.

Hey, that’s mine.

And now we want it.

So we fight.

For the kids in the room, I am not condoning that kind of behavior with toys. But I think it is something that all of us could understand as we attempt to figure out how to live as christians. because…

With that same kind of ferver.

With that same amount, though maybe a different kind of emotional energy.

Consider, what is ours. Consider what has been given to us by our father. Consider who has it. And take it back.

As we grow - our next season has to include possessing the land.

As we grow, our next season has to include taking and keeping what has been given.

We are called to possess the land.

there are things that get in the way.

There are barriers

There are Giants. But there are blessings. There are promises. There is a future.

Let’s pray. Numbers 13 tells us the story of the Israelites scouting the land that had been promised to them by God.

It opens with God telling them to go and look at the land.

Numbers 13:1–3 CSB

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

So Moses sent 12 men. And those men are listed here - each of them, their names recorded forever in history. Moses changed the name of one of the men, from Hosea to Joshua - that’s called foreshadowing.

Moses gave them instructions; Numbers 13:17-20

Numbers 13:17–20 CSB

17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.

What does it look like? What has the Lord promised us? We have been calling it the land of milk and honey… but what is it really? And so they went the direction that Moses told them. And when they got there, they found wonderful things. They saw old cities. Cities their great great great grandfather would have seen. Numbers 13:21-25 Hebron would have been there since before Abraham entered Canaan.

Numbers 13:21–25 CSB

21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.

That is the end of the good part of the story for a little while. The nation of Israel won’t possess the land - for a while.

Joshua, the one Moses renamed will actually be the one to lead them in.

Before that can happen, Israel will whine.

We will get to more of that in a minute.

As God’s people - we have to understand that we ARE called to posses the land. All of it.

Wherever you are - it has been given to you to occupy. The space around you - and in front of you, is yours to take for the Glory of our King.

We are called to grow, to expand. To take ground.

Because God has given it to us. That’s the only reason we get to do anything. Alistair Beg has that wonderful video where he tells us that the only reason we have to get to heaven, is because the man on the middle cross told us we could come.

But that isn’t all that is promised.

Recognize what is ours and what has been given to us. Look at it, identify it.

Your house.

Your car.

Your Job.

Your family.

Your community.

Deuteronomy 6:10–12 CSB

10 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

We have to look at those things through a lens of faith and not fear.

What has God promised you? What did he promise your ancestors? What did he promise us as a church - as people of God.

2. Identify the giants for what they are.

Numbers 13:26–31 CSB

26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” 31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!”

They told the nation about what they had seen. And they shared in such a way that it struck fear into anyone who was listening.

Joshua and Caleb were the only ones with any sense. Numbers 14:6-9

Numbers 14:6–9 CSB

6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”

David echoed this same kind of sentiment.

1 Samuel 17:26 CSB

26 David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Listen. God has already said that we can.

The giants in the land weren't there to stop the Israelites; they were there to show the world how big their God was. The giants in our community—the broken homes, the addicted youth, the lonely seniors—are not just problems. They are the 'Land' we are called to possess.

We don't defeat them with anger or politics.

Apathy.

Isolation.

Fear.

Disconnection.

Giants.

Next week - we are going to look really close at giants, and how we deal with them.

3. Take and keep the land.

Exodus 23:30 CSB

30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land.

Push back darkness

Joshua 1:3 CSB

3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.

Turn your heart.

Away from fear, and into faith.

Fear is the root cause of our disobedience.

God said this is my land. I am putting my foot on it.

The foot is down, the foot is down.

What are the promises he has said we can have?

Time is too short to be afraid.

Time is too short to be offended.

We have a mission.

Hey, that’s mine. Isaiah 49:6

Isaiah 49:6 CSB

6 he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus begins the command by saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." * The Connection: If Jesus has the authority over "all the earth," our job is to go and enforce that authority where it isn't yet recognized.

The "Land": In the New Testament, the "land" is the hearts and minds of people. We possess the land when we make disciples of all nations

2. The "Gates of Hell" Strategy

Matthew 16:18: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

The Connection: We often think of this verse defensively, but gates are stationary. Gates don't attack; they protect territory.

Modern Application: For the church to possess the land, it must be on the offense. We are called to storm the "gates" of our culture—apathy, brokenness, and injustice—to reclaim the people held behind them.

3. Occupying Until He Comes

In the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:13), the King gives his servants resources and says, "Occupy till I come" (KJV) or "Put this money to work until I come back" (NIV).

The Greek Word: The word is pragmateuomai, which means to do business or to be actively engaged in the marketplace.

Modern Application: A church "possesses the land" when its members are active in the "marketplace" of their city—business, education, arts, and government—bringing the values of the Kingdom into those spaces.

4. Taking "Every Thought Captive"

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 provides the New Testament "Battle Plan" for taking territory:

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

The "Land": The territory is the worldview of our community.

Modern Application: We possess the land when we replace the "Giants" of secular lies with the "Fire" of Biblical truth.

5. From "Temple" to "Kingdom"

In the Old Testament, God had a Temple in a Land. In the New Testament, the Church is the Temple, and we are sent into the Land.

The Strategy of "Presence": Just as the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan River to claim the path, New Testament believers carry the Presence of God into their workplaces.

The Result: Everywhere you set your foot (at the office, in the grocery store, in your neighborhood), you are bringing the "land" under the influence of the King.

Hey. That’s mine.

Those over there? Those are mine. That land over the river? That’s mine. The people who don’t know Jesus yet? Those are mine. Where you go, the presence of the Lord goes.

Is he soveriegn there? Or are you hiding? Because there are giants. Identify the land. See the giants for what they are.

And take ground.