It's Time To Make A Move

I really felt like I'd put a word on my heart for today. And it is a celebration, and we are taking a big step. It's a step not like what we see in Deuteronomy 1.8. And Deuteronomy 1.8 is the end of Moses' life. So everybody knows Moses' story, called by God out of the backside of nowhere to lead people out of bondage into the Promised Land. But the people wouldn't have it, so they wandered around the desert for 40 years, just making laps in the desert. And now it's time for Moses to die. And Moses leaving the scene, and so he's encouraging the people. And that's what Deuteronomy is about. At the end of Deuteronomy, Moses dies.

The Lord takes him up on a mountain. He shows him the promised land. He ain't going in, but he can see it. And then Moses dies. And Joshua rises up. You know why God's always got somebody in the wings. He's always got somebody ready. And Joshua was ready. He was ready on day one. When the spies went in to check out the land, Joshua said, this land is awesome.

Now, there are a few obstacles. Namely, there's some enemies there, but God's got that. Let's go. But he was drowned out by 10 of the 12 spies, but he's ready now. And Moses is encouraging Joshua and the people, and he's saying it's time. This is what we see in verse eight. He's speaking on behalf of God. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land, the Lord's swore he would give your fathers. to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Into their descendants after them. And I think it's important today that we celebrate what we are doing. We're stepping over the Jordan today. We're stepping literally into a new season. a new chapter for our church. We've come out of town stage into a new gathering place. There's incredible, by the way, but you know what the best thing about this place is? It's bigger. What does that mean? It means your neighbors can come. Your family can come. Your co-workers can come. Many, many more people can come to experience what God is doing. And when we started the journey across the parking lot into this building, we said it's together, we move. So we're doing something together today.

And honestly, by God's grace, we've done something together today. But today's not really all about you just going home and going, hey, our church did something today. God wants you to do something today. He wants me to do something today. He doesn't want the story today just to be together. We move. He wants the story today to be, I moved.

I moved. I stepped into the future. I stepped in to the vision. I stepped in to what God had for my life. Yes, we are doing that collectively, but I did that individually. And I want you to see just really quickly the paradox that is in this text. This is all about how the Lord works. This is all about what he does. Look at the paradox. See. Now, that's the important part today. I think my voice just cracked on that. Sorry. I got acknowledged stuff like that because everybody goes, that was funny. But he seems to just be going on. No, I got it. I understood it. I heard it too. See. See. Do you see today?

Can you see today? Can you see? Can you see God's vision for your life? See, I have given you this land. Can you see that today? Because the world's story wants to cloud our vision. Some of the failures that you've come through want to cloud your vision. Maybe there was someone in your story with a sharp object and they poked your eye.

And you haven't been able to see good ever since they said that. Ever since they did that. Ever since they named you that. And it's clouded your ability to see. The kingdom of God always begins with see. Worship doesn't begin with singing. Worship begins with seeing. And some of us today were worshiping full throat because we could see full vision. Some of us were like, I like the song and I'm singing the song, but I don't see it yet. Life begins with seeing. And that's why we talk about it, passions at each church. Every single time we gather, that's why the men of our house today were praying again this morning for a spirit of sight, for revelation.

That's what we're praying for today. That you walk in, and at some point you go, oh, wow. Whoa. It's like me getting contacts. I've told this story a lot of times. Matt Shelley had a summer job I had in Houston, Texas at a church. I was a summer college intern, and thank God she was in the summer college ministry, and that all worked out great.

We were sitting in church one Sunday, and Shelley was sitting right next to me, and she said, you need glasses. And I'm like, I don't need glasses. I'm 25 years old. See, fine. Any wife here ever told your husband you need glasses? How'd that go? Not great. I was like, I don't eat glasses.

She's like, no, you're squinting. I'm like, I'm not squinting. And then I try to, you know, like, wide my is outro big and see. It's like, no, I can see fine. I see everything in here. We're in big church, you know? And I was like, I can see the choir.

I know the robes are green. I can't really tell the men's section from the women's but I know they're all up there. Long story short, after I got contacts a few weeks later,

My word. I was driving down the road and I was just like, what? Have you ever been, anybody been through what I'm talking about? You're like, is that always been there? I can actually read the 1-800 number on the billboard. Didn't know there was a number.

Sight. And you walk around for a season and you're just like, no way. Wow, that's amazing. Oh, I can see the detail now. And that's what God wants for you today. That's what this whole promise begins with, see. And so I have to ask on our behalf on mine and yours today, can you see what God has for you? Because these people have been making laps for 40 years.

And they could not see what God had. for them. And what he had for them was an interesting paradox. He said, see, I have given you, can you say that with me? I have given you this land. Now, I like that. That's God working. That's God saying, I'm going to do something here. I'm going to give this to you. But then look at the very next line. Go in and take possession

Of the land. I've given it, you go possess it. I'm giving it to you, you go take it. I'm giving you a land, but you've got to go take the land. And I just believe today that it would be possible for us to walk into this place and go, well, the Lord has given us an amazing thing today. And he's saying, I have. Now you go take it. And he's saying that not only for us collectively, he's saying that to you individually, go take the land. What kind of land is it? This is what he said to Moses. The Lord said, I've indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers.

Now just notice all the eyes here. The Lord is very focused on what he's doing here. I have indeed seen, I have heard them crying out. I am concerned about the fact that I can't circle things, they're suffering. I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land into a check it out, into a good and spacious land, a land flowing crowder with milk and honey. I don't know. I'm trying my best. I'm holding the pen different ways. There we go. I think it's me. A land flowing with milk and honey.

Now, when I said that today, nobody went, what? Flowing with milk and honey. I'm lactose intolerant.

Sounds awesome, but do they have oat milk? Almond milk? What kind of milk they have?

Is the honey local honey? I like the one that comes in the squeeze bottle. It looks like a bear. They have that one.

What kind of honey is it? That's probably what you'd get from us. But if you said that to people in this time, They've lost their minds.

It is a good and a spacious land and it's flowing with milk and honey.

Can you see it? Because that's not just us, that's you. God has a good and spacious land for you. A land flowing with milk and honey.

You can read other context of God's vision for your life, and it sounds like this. It's a place of abundance. That's what God has for you. Not necessarily riches in the sense of what the world says, but abundance. It's a place where you can settle. It's a place where you can, and when I say that, I'm telling you, I wish I could preach a sermon on every one of these words, because settling, we're losing settling these days. We're very flighty people. We're very contract-oriented people. The God's vision for you is somewhere you can settle,

Somewhere that you can plant and harvest. The man is ending in the book of Joshua. As soon as they cross that river, They see that there's produce there, there's fruit there, there's abundance there, there's milk and honey there, and they can eat it. They can eat crops, they didn't plant, they can enjoy fruit. They didn't tend to, and they do. They have the first pass over there, and on that day the man esces. The room service is over. And now you plant, you harvest. This is your land, you go possess it, you go clear it, you go kill it, you go get the rocks out of it, you go put good seed in it, you tend to that seed, you water that seed, you nourish that seed and nurture that seed

And you watch it grow, you watch it multiply, you watch a crop come up, you watch more than you planted, be born on a tree and you watch a tree produce trees and a tree, make an orchard, you go in and settle in that place and plant and harvest there. I want you to serve me there. I want you to worship me there. I want you to be a witness to all the false gods and the people who follow them there. I want you to wait in expectation there until we go to the real promised land. This is God's vision for you.

His vision for you is not to keep making laps. in the desert. His vision for you is a promised land. When he told them that, they said, no, we're good with the desert. You know why? Because of what else he told Moses. Listen to this. I've heard, I've seen, I'm concerned, I've come down. And I'm going to bring them out to a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey. And then there's this imdash in here.

The home of the Canaanites, not good. The Hittites, they're not great. The Amorites, heavily armed.

The Parasites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, all theites. And now, he goes on, the cry of the Israelites has reached me and I, there he is again, have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. That was all great.

Until we got to this part, Isn't it a paradox? It's a good and spacious land. Oh, by the way, the Emirates are there. They'll rip your head off. The Canaanites, their fierce, the Jebusites.

Why do you just say it's a good and spacious land? And I've got rid of all the problems. because he wanted them to believe all in the journey that the same God who gave them the land, who parted the sea, who let them walk on dry ground, who gave them cloud by day and fire by night, and man on the ground was the same God who would lead them in victory over every opposition challenge that they would face in their journey, that the same God was the God that was going to give them victory. And if he'd said to them on day one, come on, tell me if you agree with me. If he'd said to them on day one, there are no challenges in the new land.

How closely would they have walked with him? Are you with me? Hello? How closely would they have walked with them?

The gift of God to you and me are the challenges that we face in the promised land, because they keep us closely tethered to the source of life. And when you're cruising and the bonuses are coming, and the royalty checks are coming in, And the trust fund account is solid, and your kids are in some kind of a zone where they're like saying, yes, ma'am, and no ma'am, and got my homework done early. And when you're in that zone, it's hard to stay tethered to the source of life. But ma'am, when that phone call comes, we hit our knees.

And so God was saying, I want you close. Someone to give you challenges. But don't worry, I can overcome every challenge.

And with me you can, too. He said to them, see, I have given you this land, go in and take possession of it. Possession is a Hebrew word. And that Hebrew word is the word yarash. And it means to occupy by driving out the previous

And possessing in their place, driving out the previous tenants and possessing in their place. Can I just ask you, anybody got squatters on your land right now?

I don't mean in your backyard. Anybody got squatters in your mind right now? Some thoughts came in and pitched the tent and set up camp. And they're like, hey, thank you very much for giving us a place to live. And you're like, okay, and you're managing a process where you know in Christ, you're in the Promised Land. If you're saved by the way, you're in the Promised Land right now because the Promised Land isn't a place, it's a person. And if you're in Christ, you're in the Promised Land right where you're sitting today.

But here's the thing, you're not in there by yourself. There's some enemies in there too. Namely, there is an enemy in there, and his mission is not to annoy you, his mission is to destroy you. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, and for a time being, he's loose on this earth, and even though I'm in the promised land in Christ, I still got an enemy, I've got adversaries, and I have challenges in this fallen world. And what God is asking today, is there anybody in the place who's ready to take what God has given you?

I think so much of our faith honestly has been so grace-influenced, and I love that. If you came out of a church or a faith or a stream or a church or religion, there was all works-influenced, man, welcome to grace. This church is built on the radical grace of God.

In other words, it's built on the understanding from God's word that you and I can earn our way into God's good grace. We can't earn our way into his favor. We can't earn our way into heaven. We can't earn our way into a better relationship with God. We don't get up to God. God came down to us. But it's possible that in a grace saturated mindset, you can forget that God in grace now wants to activate and animate you into works.

Thank you, Brad. I'm glad you came today. That's one amen. Hello? You're not saved by works, but you're saved to work.

You didn't get saved because of anything you did, but you got saved so that you could do something.

And if you're trying to get saved by working, it does not gonna work. But if you are saved and you're not working, it is possible that you didn't get saved.

Because it's a give and take this gospel of ours. I'm gonna give it to you. You go take it. And some of you have got stuff living in your head, taking up real estate and your mind that you need to go take back in the name of Jesus. Some of you've let habits come into the story of your life that you need to go take back. Some of you let your parents send into your present story and you need to go take back your land today and possess what God has given you. Some of you are living under a lie that somebody told you whose name wasn't Jesus, and you need to go in today, and you need to cancel that lie with the truth of God's word, and you need to possess what God has given you.

He's given it, but you need to possess it. Oh, come on, this is what the gospel looks like. Let's just let the word speak for a moment. We know these texts like the back of our hand, most of us, for it is by grace, You have been saved through faith and this is not of yourselves the gift of God, amen, not by works so that no one can boast. Hallelujah, praise God.

For we are God's handy work. Created in Christ Jesus, say it with me, to do good.

Let's try it again, say it with me. do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Philippians two, same idea. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name. That's Jesus. It is above every name that at the name of Jesus every nation bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, on every tongue, acknowledge or confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, comma to the glory of God, the Father. Therefore, Not done yet, my dear friends.

As you have always obeyed, not only my presence, but now much more of my absence continue to work out your salvation. I gave it to you, you go possess it.

I gave you the land, go take the land. You got Jebi'sites, great, go take them. You got canonites? Fine. Let's go take them. You got the hitites? I'm with you. Let's go take the hitites. And let's clear this land of everything that's not God. Let's wipe out everything in this story that is not Holy Spirit and does not honor Jesus. Let's go take the land. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you. to will and to act. The translation I memorized growing up to will and to do his good pleasure. To will, God will give you the want to if you don't have it today if you ask him and he will give you the due today in order to fulfill his good purpose for your life.

So we're closing today and we're asking a few questions today. What less have you learned to live with?

You know what I'm talking about, right? You're making a lap. You pass by that and say, yeah, remember that? Pass them by that. Oh, yeah. Pass them by that. And you're just out in the desert just making circles. You know there's abundance. You know there's milk and honey.

You know there's a good and spacious land. You know there's a place to settle. You know there's a place for inheritance. You know there's a place to serve and worship God. You know there's a place to be a witness for the name of Jesus. You know But you have learned to live with less.

And God is saying today, don't just let passion city church trilleth be the ones who cross the river today. It's time. Yeah, there are enemies in the land, and I know that's scary, and I know that it causes some people to say, I just rather be in the desert, honestly, than have to deal with the fight.

And then other people come along all through this story, and they would rather make an alliance with one of these non-yawai honoring people than to fight. And I just want to say today, let's don't be either of those people today.

Let's don't keep making laps numbing ourselves because we don't want to deal with the conflict of taking ground and let's certainly don't make alliances.

With this world, because it's easier, hello, to make an alliance with the darkness than it is to fight, and to win in Jesus' name.

When you read Joshua, when we're about to get into Joshua's church, we'll see this, and so I'll leave it to then, but Joshua 14, when Joshua was giving his last words to the people, It's all about Joshua calling us up, don't make a deal with the devil. And I know not too many people in the gathering today made a deal with the devil this week.

I'm not sure too many people who are to say answer some of Colt worship service. But the devil has all kind of emissaries. And a lot of them look less terrifying

Than he is. And it's easy to make an alliance because you think an alliance for me will get me further faster than fighting and taking back my land and planting and harvesting. What less have you learned to live with? A couple of other questions that just I think linger today. What lie have you given a seat at your table?

A lie is only as powerful as the person who repeats it. Maybe your dad told you you'll never amount to anything. That was a lie, by the way.

But it's not powerful unless you repeat it. And then you say, I don't know if I'm ever going to amount to anything, then it's powerful.

Maybe somebody told you, you're not worth living with. I'm out. And that is painful, but it's only powerful if you repeat it.

I'm not lovable. That's powerful. Maybe somebody told you, you're a failure And that's not great, even if you were in a short moment, someone who missed the mark. But it's only powerful if you repeat it. I'm a failure.

And maybe today, you need to identify the lie that you've given us seed at your table and you need to go, you know what, God has given me the land. It's time for me to go possess it. I am not a failure. I am not unlovable. I am not someone who's never gonna amount to anything. I am a son of the living God. I am a daughter of the King of Kings. I was worth Jesus to God when he thought about living without me. He was willing to put his son on the line so that I could be in a relationship with him.

What family pattern have you capitulated to? Well, you know my dad was that way.

What can I do? You can go in and possess the land God gave you. That's what you can do because you have a heavenly Father whose genes are inside of you and whose blood runs in your veins today. You have got a new opportunity because of a new birth because you were filled with the Spirit and you've got a brand new name. And you do not have to capitulate to the story. Well, you know, my mom was always like that. And that's why I'm like that. God is saying, I've given you the land. Go take it.

Go take it. Move across your gravel park and lot. Move out of your town stage. Move into your new land. Move into your new place. Move into your new space. I provided it for you. Go in and take it. We got to have a new mindset, people.

I'm telling you, room service is over. And I love the fact that you could pick up a phone and hear my voice even. That's great. But if our lives devolve into sound bites from other people on podcasts while we're drawing our hair

And a five-second little quick read because That was easy. It's mana. And it's amazing. But it's room service. Anybody ever get room service? Hello? Anybody still at the Fairfield Inn? You got to go down for the buffet. That's great. I shouldn't have said Fairfield Inn. We'll edit that out. But anybody ever been anywhere where you get room service? Hello? Anybody at Triller Thrive ever gotten room service? Anyone here? Hello? Yeah? I mean the kind where you're in your bathrobe when they knock on the door. Anybody? I'm just asking. Okay. You know, please come in. They bring a tray or roll a trolley in. You just sip and coffee and you bathrobe. Isn't that awesome? That's over. You got to open this.

And get in it. Okay, we're closing. What dream or vision have you let die?

Who do you want to become? I'm not asking you who you are today. I'm asking you who do you want to become?

Then go take the land. What legacy do you want to leave? And what today needs to be evicted from your land? Do you know what it is? You need to serve an eviction notice today in Jesus' name. Get off my land, get out of my story, get out of my thinking, get out of my marriage, get out of my secrets, get out of my life. God has given it, but I got a word. I've got to take it. I can't just sit back and go, well Lord, will you do something about that? He's like, no, I need you to do something about that. I've given you the land. I need you to go take it.

I need you to rise up. I need you to stand up. I need you to wake up. I need you to believe I can in the power of God go and take the land that God has given to me. I can't wait till we get into Joshua. Hopefully we'll start next week, Grant. Brad, I can't wait. It's gonna be a journey.

And we're gonna get to, Grant's like, don't preach it today. We're gonna, I'm closing. We're gonna get to Joshua 12. And when you turn to it, I'm gonna be shocked. Honestly, if anybody's got it highlighted, it's just the list of names

Blew me up and blows me up. On the east side of Jordan Moses took down two kings, but Josh will led the people into the promised land over the Jordan. And do you know how many battles they had to fight?

Well we know about AI, let's barely get in there and we got that. You know about what's the one with the big walls that came down? Jericho, you know about that one. but didn't list all of them. Every king that Joshua defeated. 31 kings. He defeated.

Man, your average believer in America, you fight one tough fight for faith and you're like, I don't know if I can do this anymore. You fight, you got one battle you had to deal with and you're like, ah, where's God? My story. You got six kings that you had to take on and you're ready to take the whole thing apart and cash it in.

Joshua says at the end of his life that he feels as strong as he did at the beginning. 85 years old, he said, I still feel as strong as I did the day that we walked into this land because of the power of God in and on his life. And I'm telling you, you don't have one king. You don't got one battle. There's not just going to be one hurdle. There's not just going to be one mountain. There's not just going to be one challenge. There's just not going to be one dark night of the soul. There's going to be a whole lifetime of challenges in the promised land God has given to you. But he says, hey, here's the bottom line of all bottom lines today.

I will be with you. And I'm telling you, listen to me, listen to this. Listen to this. If the story were told of how this building got built. If the story were told of how we are in this room worshipping God right now, the story would be a story of vision and a story of faith, and it would be a story of fight.

You have no idea how many kings had to come down so that you could sit in that seat today. Not one, not two, not five, not ten, not fifteen, not twenty, not thirty. People fought and fought and fought and fought. They saw melons, but they overcame. They saw obstacles, but they believed. They saw things that were knows, but they saw God turn them into yeses. This is the fruit of faith. And it's not just true for us today. It's true for you. We have stepped over our Jordan today.

Will you step over yours? Will you step over yours today? Because that's what we came here for.

We didn't come here today to have a grand opening. We're having one, but that's not why I came here today. I came here today believing that God wants somebody in this balcony, somebody in this terrace, somebody on this floor to step over your Jordan today, to step into your promised land today, to step in and take possession of what God has given you today.

And that you'll always say, you will say to your children, and potentially to their children.

February 1st, 2026. And your next line will not be. That was the day we opened Passion City Church at Trillis Live. Your story will say that was the day your mom stepped in to take possession of what God had given her.