Steven Furtick - It's A Lot (01/28/2026)
In Joshua 17, Pastor Steven Furtick shares how the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh felt their land allotment was too small despite being numerous and powerful. Joshua instructs them to clear the forested areas themselves to claim the full extent of their inheritance, showing that God has already given us more than we see, but accessing it requires faith-filled effort to remove obstacles. The sermon calls believers to stop complaining, embrace growing pains, clear limitations, and possess the abundant inheritance Christ secured for us.
A Fresh Word from God in Joshua 17
It is my delight to inform you that I have a word from God for you today, so go with me. And let's spend a few moments together over in Joshua chapter 17. My original intention was not to preach from Joshua 17. Remember that sermon I told you I was going to preach, Robert, when we were out there? Yeah, it's changed. It changed since Thursday. So now we're over in Joshua 17.
I was preparing some thoughts for a group of church leaders from over 200 churches around the country, and some from different countries in the world even, that are coming in next week to be empowered and equipped through an event we have called Inside Elevation. Isn't it cool that people will fly on a plane to come and see what's in your backyard? Tell somebody, say, you're so special. You're so special. Tell them, say, you're so special. Tell you. You're so special.
And as I was getting into that idea, the Lord released me to share it with you first. And so it was too hot to hold on to. I couldn't hold it that long. So, not to set your expectations too high for the sermon, but it was really exciting to me. And this is one of those sermons where your response will largely govern the effectiveness of the message as it makes its way into the entry of your heart, and hopefully produces results in your life that will be congruent and consistent with the character of Christ as being formed in you. But you have to respond. Touch somebody and say, respond. Respond. Respond. Respond. Respond. Respond. Respond. Rest us abundantly.
The Complaint About the Allotment
Well, if you're so numerous, if you've got it going on like that, Joshua answered, and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. And the people of Joseph replied, well, the hill country is not enough for us. And all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth-shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.
But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, you are numerous and very powerful. You will not only have one allotment, but if the forested hill country is in front of you, you shall have it as well. So clear it and its farthest limits. Its farthest limits. God wants to take you beyond the places that you've been. Its farthest limits.
This is a message from somebody. This is a message of faith. This is a message of faith. This is a message of faith. Clear it and its farthest limits will be yours. Though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron. And though they are strong, you can drive them out. We can do this.
I want to speak to you from a title today that is a statement you may have said when life was overwhelming you as it was for the Manassites in this passage. And just a simple thought. I want you to turn and give my title to five people around you. Tell them, it's a lot. You may be seated. It's a lot.
Understanding Our Inheritance in Christ
We see in the book of Joshua an unfolding understanding of the concept of the inheritance of the people of God. Inheritance. While this is a word that many of us cannot relate to naturally, I don't know about you, but I'm not counting on anybody to give me anything. I've got to save my own. It's a concept that spiritually you should become very familiar with.
I'll give you something to think about as we start, and I'll get into the sermon headfirst today. Christianity is not an invoice. It's an inheritance. Christianity is not an invoice. It's an inheritance. And often, it is presented as an invoice. It is what you must do and the price that you must pay in order to access all that God has.
But I found out through really studying the Bible and not just listening secondhand to what people told me about it, that this faith that I am a partaker of and this faith that I stand in is an inheritance. It is less of a requirement-based religion and more of a relationship-based religion. And that everything that I need from God has already been provided. And the issue now is my ability to access that which is already mine through Christ.
Touch your neighbor and say, I've got an inheritance. I've got an inheritance. And we are watching the various tribes that were born of Jacob. Now, as they have crossed over into the Jordan, have fought battles, and are now settling into their inheritance. And it is a progression of maturity that creates their ability to handle their inheritance. Because if you don't know how to handle your inheritance, if you don't know how to use what you've been given, then it would be better for you not to get it. And so they're in the process of learning how to handle their inheritance.
Learning to Appreciate What We've Been Given
I don't consider myself an outdoorsy person, which is kind of funny because I live in the woods. The piece of property that Holly and I live on is a large piece of property. And we wanted something that was kind of, you know, like just private. And we're enjoying it, but I didn't grow up like on a big piece of land. You know, I didn't grow up out in the country. I grew up in the Metropolis of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Pastor Wood.
And I was, you know, given opportunities, I guess, to be outdoorsy. But I'm not outdoorsy. Holly and I, we're more of porch people. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, we like the visibility of the outdoors within the realm of our peripheral vision. But we don't necessarily want to be out there. We like a screen separating us from the elements. And we enjoy the outdoors that way.
And yet I wanted my kids to grow up outside. I feel like it'd be good, especially for the boys, for their manliness. And I feel like that they can learn some things outside. And I think it's good for their imagination to be outside. And so I was excited. And when I found this piece of property that we ended up building our home on, I brought my friend out who has a big piece of land, bigger than the piece of land that I was looking at. The one we live on is big, but his is even bigger.
And I took him out there before I bought it. And I said, what do you think? Now it's summer. And so we couldn't really get on the land too good. There was a lot of growth. It was overgrown. But we did what we could. And we walked around it a little bit. And he said, it's perfect. You should buy it. You should fall down on your knees right now and thank God for it and buy it.
And so I didn't fall on my knees or anything like that, but I bought it. And after I bought it, we started to clear it. And he came out to see me again. And when they started clearing it, he could see more of it. And he was like, oh God, this might be the most beautiful property I've ever seen in my life. He goes, you have to thank God. You can fall on your knees. Thank God every day this is your property.
He goes, but you don't even know what you have yet. You don't even know what you have yet. It's going to take a couple of years of living here and getting out there until you appreciate the full value of what you have. Touch your neighbor and say, you don't even know what you have yet.
From Secondhand Blessings to Personal Investment
Well, so we move in, we built the house, we move in, and my kids go outside the first time that they went outside to play. And when they came back in 10 minutes later wanting to play Xbox, I was kind of disappointed, you know, because I had visions, old school visions, like Holly was going to be having to ring a dinner bell to get them in. You know what I'm saying? Like you hear about, I thought we'd be shooting flare guns at night to get them to come back, but no, 10 minutes in, they're back wanting to play Xbox.
So I called my friend that assured me that I should buy the land. I said, man, I'm kind of disappointed because my kids went out and 10 minutes later, they came back in, I bought all these trees, and they don't even want to climb them. He said, it's all right. They'll grow into it. They'll grow into it.
I'm setting you up today for a sermon because we're watching a people in Joshua chapter 17 who are growing into their inheritance, who are learning the difference between being slaves and being settlers, who are learning what to do with something that they've never had, which is a possession of their own.
I remember when my dad bought 10 cheap acres in Macedonia, South Carolina, I didn't understand why he would want 10 acres of land. He was a horrible farmer, and I didn't understand why he would want it. He said, son, one day you'll understand there's just something about a man being able to walk out on his property and just do what he wants, just do whatever he wants. That's enough.
But see, the thing about my kids and the thing about me as I was a child is it's hard to appreciate the value of what you haven't invested in the value of what you are not fully invested in. I want to talk for a moment about secondhand blessings. Secondhand blessings, because in the passage, we're watching the people of Joseph run up on Joshua talking about what you've given us is not enough. We have become too numerous for the space that you have assigned to us. Actually, Moses assigned the space. Joshua just allotted it.
Boy, if you want something to help you fall asleep, try to read Joshua 15 and 16, where they just list the different parcels of land and who got it. It's hard for us to appreciate the value in that, because we weren't invested in the battles. But for those who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years to get to their own land, when they read Joshua 15 and 16, they're talking about, that's my land. That's my land. I had to endure for that. They value it because they were invested in it.
By the time you get to Joshua 17, you're seeing the end result of a large investment. And when you only see the credits, but you didn't watch the plot unfold, it is difficult to appreciate the product.
Walking in Second-Hand Grace
Now, the Manassites were not able. Manasseh was Joseph's oldest son. Ephraim was the youngest son. But Jacob had a thing about birth order. And so when it came time for him to bless his grandchildren, who he practically adopted as his own, he put his right hand over his left hand and blessed Ephraim before Manasseh, and he put the second hand on the head of the firstborn and the first hand, the right hand, on the head of the secondborn, which is not the way it's supposed to be.
But every time you look at a cross, you ought to be reminded that you're walking in a blessing that you did not earn and you cannot deserve. Touch your neighbor and say, I'm a second-hand believer. I'm a second-hand believer.
See, the blessings that I have in my life were not a result of my morality. The blessings that I have in my life were not a result of my work ethic. When you look at my life and see what God has done for me, you need to know that I'm aware that if it hadn't been for the Lord, if it hadn't been for the cross, I'm living in the inheritance that was provided for me.
I'm blessed and I don't deserve it. I have peace with God and I don't deserve it. I'm free and I don't deserve it. I have a reason to live. I have a purpose and I don't deserve it. I'm one of those second-hand believers. I'm living in what was handed down to me. I've got an inheritance.
I wonder what Joseph was thinking. Joseph has been dead for many years by the time his descendants are inheriting this land. Now, he spent some time in prison so they could have their blessing. He spent some time in Potiphar's house being falsely accused of rape by Potiphar's wife. She was running after him, trying to get him, and so he had endured scandal and shame that was not the result of his action but the result of an accusation that was unfair.
Joseph was the one who was thrown in a pit by his brothers, and those very same brothers were the ones that he would preserve for what God meant for evil or what people meant for evil. God used for good. Joseph had been through all of that, and now his descendants… Watch this. Now the next generation after the next generation after the next generation has the audacity to roll up on Joshua tomorrow.
I wonder how their complaints look to Joseph if he's like watching them from heaven or wherever Joseph was watching. I don't know. I'm just picturing it. He was like, whatever, talking to me about crowded spaces. It was crowded in the cistern that they threw me in and left me for dead. The one who actually brought about the blessing is now generations removed from those who receive it.
I wonder what it looks like to Jesus with what he went through for us and the price that he paid and the invoice that he stamped and the settlement that he provided for us to be right with God. When we start complaining, you know the worst thing my kids can say to me, I'm bored. I'm what? Did you just ask me to be hit over the head with a board? Because that's what I heard you say. Is that what you said? Because it's difficult to fully appreciate what you're not fully invested in.
But before we disparage the people of Joseph, the descendants of Joseph, for coming to Joshua and asking for more land… I want to be real careful about this because they have grown since the time that Moses assigned their borders.
Contentment Without Complacency
Moses assigned the borders. He died. Joshua led the people into conquest. They conquered. And now Joshua is allotting the limits of the land to each of the tribes. And he's given the people of Joseph, the Ephraimites and the Manassites, he's given them a great place to live. The psalmist said one time, the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me. He was saying, I'm good with what I've got. And I understand the value of contentment.
On one hand, I want to say that they should have been content to go from slaves to settlers. You ought to be happy with any amount of land that you're given. And there is a sense in which all of us, I think, could be a little bit more content. No matter our battles, we've got a lot of blessings. And Paul said, I've learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, whether I have a little or a lot, I've learned how to be content.
Yet the same guy who said that also said, I press toward the mark for the prize. And what I'm trying to discern in this text and in my life is the balance between contentment and complacency. Because on one hand, I want to say, really? You're cramped? Really? Your ancestors had to put up with Pharaoh's whip? And you can't deal with close quarters? Really?
But on the other hand, I get it. Because when Moses assigned the land, there were only 32,000 of them. Now there's 52,000. They've outgrown the space that was assigned to them. I want to speak to you about growing pains. I feel the spirit of Kirk Cameron coming upon me. I want to speak about growing pains.
There are many preachers that can put a Drake reference and a Kirk Cameron reference in the same sermon from the book of Joshua in an obscure passage in the 17th chapter. Break out. Break out. That's what was happening. As their blessing was breaking out, their world was closing in. God will often use discomfort to move you into your destiny.
It's possible that the people of Joseph were not griping as much as they were growing. This shoe doesn't fit anymore. As one church growth expert said, the shoe should never tell the foot how big it can get. They've come to a point… Maybe you've been at this point. Maybe this is why you've been restless. Maybe this is why you've been tossing and turning. Maybe this is why you appreciate your life. You sense there might be something more, and there has to be something more.
Where you started is not where you want to stay, because perhaps you have outgrown yesterday's blessing. Can I preach about this? Because you come to a point sometimes where what was handed down to you can't hold you anymore, and it's time to believe God for something more.
Asking God for More Without Settling
Do I have anybody in the church today who's believing God for something more in your life? In other words, I don't want to settle where I started. I want God to use me more. I want God to speak to me in deeper ways. I don't want to live off the same five Bible verses that I knew when I was 12. I want God to speak to me in hidden places. I want greater insight. I want greater effectiveness. I want a greater sense of purpose.
If you're with me, shout more. Shout it again. Say more. God is not intimidated by your request for more. Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, if God didn't want to give you more, he'd have killed you and taken you home already. Shout more.
I'm sorry I holler when I preach, Joel. I know I should keep a very steady tone and stay down here in a conversational manner, but when I think about what God has in front of us and when I consider the promise that it's always more than what's behind me, I feel like it's time for somebody to break out of tight spaces and break out of straitjackets and break out of confinement. Shout more!
They say to Joshua, what we say to God, you should have given us this more land. Observe the text. I want to teach it correctly because it says that why have you given us only one allotment? Allotment. Allotment. Allotment. What you have allotted to me doesn't feel like a lot because I feel like I was meant for more. I want some more.
Joshua… I like him because he does not rebuke them for their ambition, but he reminds them of their possession. He says, um, okay. If it's like that, if you want more… I just saw you on your feet. You're standing up and screaming about it at some campuses. I see you asking me. I see you asking me for more opportunities. I see you asking me for more. Okay. All right. Well, if you want more…
Touch somebody and say, if you want more. If you want more. If you are so numerous and if the place where you are, where you just set up, if it's too small for you and if you're breaking out… Because there will come a time in your life… Oh, I've got to stay on this point for a minute… Where the people that you were positioned with yesterday and the mentalities that they represent will not be an adequate support system for where God is taking you.
And what's happening in, as you're growing into your inheritance, you're growing out of your past. And when you start outgrowing it, you've got to shed some stuff. You've got to shed some ways of thinking. Paul said, when I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I understood like a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things because I'm growing into it.
Don't somebody say, I'm too grown. God wants to wake you up to realize that there are some things that you are too grown for. They are not you anymore. I'm too grown to be bitter. I'm too grown to be negative. I'm too grown to be cynical. I'm too grown to be lazy. I'm too grown to hang around people who are believing for everything. I'm outgrowing it. I'm too grown. I can't stay here. I'm too grown. I can't stay here. I'm too grown.
Now, do not pervert my message and leave your husband over what I just preached. If I were irresponsible, I would stop the message right here. and give you a license to leave whatever you think is limiting you. But what Joshua does, he does something very wise, very astute. It shows his experience. It shows his enlightenment. He points out the limiting factors.
What Looks Big But Isn't Greater
When the people approached Joshua, they mentioned these Canaanites, more specifically the Rephaites, who are larger in appearance than the Israelites, but not greater in power. I just said a whole lot. I don't think you caught it. They were larger in appearance, but they were not greater in power.
What I said about the Rephaites, I'm also saying about whatever stands against you today. It may be larger in appearance, but it is not greater in power. Not if you have the Spirit of God, which is a deposit. Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, guaranteeing our inheritance, reminding us of our possession. The unlimited Spirit of God lives on the inside of me.
But there are Canaanites in the forest. There are walkers in the forest. Help me, Daryl. There are walkers. We would push out more, but we would push out more. It's a lot, Joshua. It's a lot against us. It's a lot. In 42 years I've been like this. I'm not going to expect improvement. Joshua reveals the real limitation.
He said, if you are so numerous and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, if you're beginning to sense that there is more for your life than you are currently experiencing, go up into the forest because that's within your property line too. But, see, you haven't been able to see the full lot. You've been missing the forest for the trees.
I can tell you've been listening to me preach for years when you can call me out like that. You're missing the lot for the little. And you assume that all there is to you is what you can see. And you are limiting yourself based on what your dad accomplished. But part of what your dad accomplished was so that his ceiling could become your floor.
Jesus said, if I go to the Father, greater works will you do in my name. I need to slow down. I need to slow down. He said, clear it. This is strange to me. They're complaining about enemies. But Joshua doesn't tell them to defeat their enemies. He tells them to clear their land. Clear it and its farthest limits will be yours. Clear it.
See, there's two parts of your property. There's the part that you're living on and there's the part that's wooded. And you haven't ever gone into that part because you're scared of what's in there. But the moment you become more convinced about what's in you, then you are afraid of what's against you. You're about to push the limits of what's possible for your life.
I don't know how you can sit down while I'm preaching like this. I feel like God's coming through with a chainsaw today and clearing out limitations. Let's talk about it. Let's talk about site work. Site work. Site work is a construction term that I misspelled on purpose. I misspelled it on purpose because every time that they bring me a document with the expenses of all these buildings and campuses that you're building, that we build all over the place, the first thing that I do is take heart medication. The second thing I do, I look for the line item called site work.
That's my least favorite thing because all the other stuff… I can see it when it's done. All the other stuff they charge you for. This is how much for the steel. Okay, I can see steel. I can walk up to it. I can touch it. This is how much for the bricks. This is how much for the lights. This is how much for the video equipment. This is all stuff I can quantify. But site work…. Site work is expensive. And you have nothing to show for it. And it takes months. And they don't build anything. They're taking dirt away. Put in a septic system. There's nothing sexy about a septic system. But you have to do the site work. You have to do the site work.
Because if your lot has too many trees on it, you can't build. As they were sizing up what God had given them… And I wonder how you size up what God has given you, and I wonder how you size up the responsibilities you have, and I wonder how you size up the talents you have been given. As they sized it up, they weren't seeing everything they had, because their lot was blocked.
Joshua says, the first thing you do before you try to conquer your enemies is clear your lot. He said, you've got a lot. Touch your neighbor and say, you've got a lot. You've got a lot. You've got a lot. You've got a lot. You've got a lot.
But you can't see what you have until you invest in your inheritance. Until you invest in your inheritance. Until you clear it. See, my lot, the lot that we live on, has a lot of trees. And so, when we first moved in, they had to clear a lot of the trees. But it's like, it's a big lot. Touch somebody say, it's a big lot. It's a big lot. It's a big lot.
And my staff, they went in for my birthday, they bought me a four-Wheeler. Don't you wish you had a staff that loved you like that? Don't you wish. I mean, they went in and they bought me a four-Wheeler. I've been kind of wanting one for a while. I think a little birdie told them. I've been telling Holly, I think I want a four-Wheeler because I want my kids to get out there and enjoy the land.
You know, my dad bought me a dirt bike one time. I got good memories about coming around the corner and finding him on the ground. He had broken his ribs when he fell off the dirt bike. You know, just happy memories about that. And I want some of four wheels, some a little more stable. And they start riding it and we were riding on the driveway and I enjoyed it. We were going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.
But then Skyler came over. Skyler came over with a chainsaw one morning and what he did, he went all around my property and he started clearing out stuff. Oh God, I have a vision for what God's going to do in your life. If you get this message, he went through my property and he started clearing stuff. I didn't even ask him to, I woke up and there were chainsaws going in the backyard, but they wanted me to know there's more to your lot than the driveway.
There's more places you can go than back and forth. Back and forth. Go back and forth to work. Go back and forth to your job. Go back and forth home. Go back and forth from habit and addiction to trying and doing. Back and forth. Touch somebody and say, clear a new path. Clear a new path. Clear a new path.
Joshua said, if you want to conquer new land and if you want to claim new territory, it's time to clear a new path. I told you I'm not from the woods, so I might not be swinging it right, but you get the point. I'm trying to say that it's going to require an investment from you to access what you've been given.
Can I tell you something, and I don't mean to hurt your feelings? You have a whole lot more than you're using. A whole lot. You're a whole lot smarter than you've been acting like. You've got a whole lot more brain than you've been putting to use, but see, there's too much clutter. There's too much worry and anxiety and fear.
It's not that they didn't have the land. It's that they couldn't see the potential of it because of what was in the way. It's not that you don't have the gift. It's not that you don't have the strength. It's just that this is a clearing season, and God sent me today to issue you a clearing permit for whatever is keeping you from accessing every blessing that Christ died to bring into your life.
So we're coming through the forest, and we've got something for worry, and we've got something for fear, and we've got something for shame. I'm preaching with my hoodie trying to work up a sweat. I'm trying to get somebody excited about your inheritance. I'm excited about my lot. I've got a lot. I've got a lot.
I wish you'd tell your neighbor, you've got a lot. You've got a lot. You've got a lot. I know you don't feel like it's a lot, but ask that little boy. He only had a little bit. It was five loaves and two fish, but when he cleared a path and brought it to Jesus, it released the potential, and a little is a lot when God is in it.
Ask that widow with a little bit of oil when she got some jars and made some space to put it. She lived off what's left. Shout it out. I've got a lot. Now, if you know God's been good to you and you know he's blessed you with a lot, make some noise for 15 seconds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot more than you think it is. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot.
I'm riding four-wheelers now. My kids, they don't come in after 10 minutes anymore. Why? Because we cleared a path. Now they got something to do out there. Now they got some heavy-duty equipment. Now they got something powerful that they can ride over all of the overgrowth and the undergrowth and whatever kind of growth. We're going somewhere. Touch somebody and say, I'm going somewhere. I'm going somewhere.
I can't stay stuck where I started. I want to possess everything that Christ possessed for me. It's a lot! I used to watch WWF growing up, and I asked my dad one time why didn't his muscles look like Ultimate Warriors? Why don't your muscles look like Hulk Hogan's? Why don't your muscles look like Macho Man, Randy Savage? Why don't your muscles look like Lex Luger? Why don't you have muscles like them?
You know what he said? He said, I got them. They're just covered up. Now he might have been making excuses, but I want to make a declaration over your life. You've got it, but it's covered up. But God brought you to church today, into his presence. Come on, help me preach this. I got a lot!
I got a lot of love in my marriage, but it's covered up by my selfishness. I got a lot of opportunity in my life, but it's covered up by my insecurity. You can't even see your opportunity because of the density of your insecurity. You can't even see your talent because it's covered by your trouble.
Joshua said, if you can clear it, you can conquer it. For all of you who shouted, I want God to do more in my life. For all who shouted, I don't want to stay stuck where I started. Don't be so quick to claim what you were unwilling to clear. Because the abundance of the blessing will correspond with the abundance of the burden.
The gifts God gives are free, but they are not clear. That's why you have to go in and declutter. I read Gretchen Rubin's book on happiness. She said, the first thing you have to do if you want to be happy in your life is clean your closet. No, I didn't see that coming. I bought the book in the airport. I thought she would say, you know, sponsor an orphan. You know, if you want to be happy, accomplish something great.
She said, go in your closet and start clearing out stuff you don't need and give it away. Because when you clear your life, you regain a sense of control. Yeah, when your life is so cluttered, when your mind is so cluttered, you cannot access wisdom. You have an inheritance. You have the wisdom of God. You have the mind of Christ. You have those muscles that are just covered up.
They teach us that our brain, when it develops, it doesn't get smarter by getting bigger. You don't need more brain. You need better connections between the neurons in the brain you already have. You need a new path cleared. And this message today is a space maker. This message today is designed so that the Spirit of God can do some site work in the ground of your heart, so that God can build your life.
Your lot is what God gives you. Your life is what you build on it. God gave me a lot. It's not arrogant to say it. God gave me a lot. God gave me a lot. I'm blessed. I'm numerous. I'm abundant. God gave me a lot. And now he's called me to build on what he's given me.
And I'm looking for every builder to stand up on your feet. Every builder who says that where I am is too small to contain all that God has put inside of me. See, when I was working on this message, man, I knew that there would be a lot of people who are totally confused about how much they have. Totally confused. Because the enemy has blocked your property.
So you wake up in the morning and you only see so much. You look within yourself. You take inventory. And where you really get in trouble is you compare your lot with your neighbors. See, you have to make the most of the lot. Tell somebody, I have a lot. I have a lot. And you have a lot. Tell them, you have a lot. And your lot is not my lot. So I don't have to make my lot look like your lot.
Frame of reference. One of my friends came to church here several years ago on a weekend. And I was very disappointed in the quality of my sermon. I didn't think I preached great. I didn't think that the crowds were that responsive. It wasn't packed out. And I wanted to show off for my friend. I'm just being honest. I wanted the thing to be on fire.
Well, I was apologizing for him afterwards. I said, man, I'm sorry. It wasn't really on today. I don't know what happened, man. I said, I don't know. I worked on it. He said, stop, stop, stop, stop. He said, I don't get to go to Elevation every week. He's in ministry and he's in a small space right now. He said, for me, your worst day at church would have been my Pentecost. To me, he said, it was like a Billy Graham crusade in there. What are you talking about?
Do you know you can get in the worst trouble of your life trying to build your lot to suit someone else's assignment? Why can't I do that like her? Well, all that time you've spent comparing, you could have spent clearing. Is this good preaching, Karen?
I want to say what the psalmist said. He said, when I look at my life, I consider the context of what I've inherited. The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me. It's not the boundaries that are holding me in. It's my belief about what's within the boundaries.
And so this week, I don't need God to give me more land to claim. I need to clear what he's already called me to conquer. When you start working your land, here's what happens. When you start investing, the Spirit of God is here. I want to make sure that I end this on time. But, boy, you know I could preach on this a lot longer. Come back next week. We'll pick it up.
It's something about when you start working and you start clearing. He knew that if they could get familiar with their inheritance, they could overcome their fears and possess their promise. So he said, I know that what you're fighting seems too big for you right now, but invest in the inheritance God gave you.
You're going to clear the land and make a path and begin to uproot stuff and begin to tend what God has called you to take care of, and you're going to see your inheritance for what it is. Sometimes the reason you don't fight for it is because you don't value it, and the reason you don't value it is because you haven't cleared it. And since you haven't cleared it, you haven't been able to see it for what it really is.
So clear your land. Clear your land and challenge your limitations. Maybe the limit isn't what God didn't give me. Maybe the limit is what I'm not using. Clear your land. Nobody ought to know this more than the people of Joseph. Nobody. Joseph exceeded every limitation that life threw on him. Every one of them.
So now his descendants are faced with a limitation. And it's no incident that the one who chronicled the history says, the people of Joseph. Do you know what that means? That means they are descendants of an overcomer. In fact, when Jacob got ready to bless Joseph, you know what he said about him in Genesis 49-22? He said, Joseph isn't like most people. Joseph is a fruitful vine. A fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall.
What does that mean? He refused to be locked in to the limitations of life. Now, if that's true of the heirs of Joseph, what about the heirs of Jesus? Are there any heirs in the house? I said, are there any overcomers in the house? Any climbers in the house? I'm not stuck where I started. I'm a descendant of resurrection. I have an inheritance that will not spoil, and will not fade, and will not perish. Shout about it, somebody!