Take The Shot

for you have been called by God. I believe it. Do me a favor. We, uh, I'm going to just be honest, this is, this is the experience we call these experiences not services. If it's, if you're new here, we don't know what services are. That's when you go to a restaurant, you get serviced. You come to legacy. You don't get an experience. And here's, here's the way I'm going to challenge you today. I need you to preach with me today. Okay. So we're going to read a lot of scripture and some of them, I want you to read it with me. And then I'm a yell and you can yell back. How about that? We'll make it an equal opportunity experience, uh, but a couple of things we started a series last week called made for y'all were here. Are you watch made for more? We really believe that that we were made for more. And one of the things we were excited to announce is we mentioned earlier is that, uh, in the beginning of 2027, we're launching our second campus legacy church, Santan Valley, Santan Valley. That's the whole valley. That's East Mesa, Apache, Jumpston, Queen Creek, Santan, Florence and everywhere the light touches is our kingdom, uh, but after the 1140 are, well, I don't know, at 1 15, we're going to have an interest gathering. So if you're interested in being a part of that campus or learning more, come back at 1 15 and we'll be in the auxiliary room, uh, right next door, um, or I'll be in here. We will be right in here.

You don't even know. You just go grab a donut and then come back. We're going to be in here. I stand corrected. So we'll be right back here at 1 15 to talk about what that's going to look like. So just a warning. I never gave you a verse. I was trying to kill time while you got to the Bible. Y'all never even got a verse on my bad, my bad, James chapter four, verse 17. We got it for you. James chapter four, verse 17. And this is, uh, what it says, matter of fact, let's say it together. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him, it is then or her. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him or her, it is sent. I want to give you one more verse. Uh, second Timothy chapter one, verse seven, let's say this together, for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. I want you to correlate this real quick. First James basically articulates that there's two forms of sin. There's a sin of co-mission when you do what you know you shouldn't. And then there's a sin of omission where you don't do what you know you should. And he's saying, either way, it's sent. And then second Timothy, Paul in his letter, second Timothy says, God has not given us a spirit of fear to give you, but of power, love and self-discipline. And I, and I thought about this, this thought, the devil doesn't have to tempt you to do the wrong thing if he knows you're going to pass on doing the right thing. And I want to talk to some of us today, honestly, all of us, but I don't know if all of us are going to lock in and receive, I pray that you do, but I really believe that God is desiring to do something in and through us. That's going to require us to view timidity with the same lens that we would view lust.

It's sent for us to view passivity as the same way as we would view murdered. It's sent. So I want to talk to you for the next, I don't know, how long is the basketball game, two or three hours? Till the person next to you, the title of my sermon today, say take the shot. Take the shot. You can be seated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I can't talk about basketball without a basketball, can somebody bring me a basketball, please? Oh, they used a Hooper to bring the ball. Hey, this my man, Greg, I just officiated his wedding on Friday night. Congratulations. But I was, I thought of Greg because his best man said Greg was a Hooper, he had like this best man to get this beautiful story about Greg Hooper in college, and I figured everybody says they're a hooper I keep him in a trunk just in case I drive by a park and I'm like, and kids look like they need buckets. But, but, uh, great. What position did you play in college? Schoon guard Schoon guard. That's interesting because growing up, uh, Greg's a little bit younger than me and we've already had this debate. Um, he, he's, he's saved and obviously he's, he's doing a great job. He just married Gloria. Congratulations on that. Uh, but yeah, it was beautiful, but, uh, one issue I have with Greg is that he's a self expand and that goes against, uh, good theology because, uh, before God established Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors is his team, he had to start with the prophet Kobe being Bryant as the first and, uh, Greg just disagrees, which is everybody's allowed to be wrong about one thing at

Legacy Church and that's his thing. And so one thing I like, uh, is how, why to me Kobe is so influential because when I was a kid, uh, I, I was, I was a true disciple of the mamba and, uh, I remember when I was, uh, 11, I was, I was looking at a magazine, ESPN magazine, who remembers magazines before, before there was Instagram, you had to read a magazine and I was reading ESPN, the magazine. And I remember, uh, learning about Kobe doing this interview where they were complaining about, uh, well, you're not, the teammate doesn't feel like you're good team and Shaq says you're a bad teammate and Phil Jackson is trying to get you to pass more. And, uh, the interviewer was like, well, why don't you trust your teammates and Kobe says something I'll never forget. He said, I do trust my teammates. I just trust myself more. I was like, now that's a bar, right? I was 11 years old. I heard that. I was like, I love that. And then Kobe did another interview, uh, because he shot 0 for nine and a quarter and they're like, well, what would have happened? Like, well, you could have gone over 30. What would you have done? And he said, I would have rather gone over 30 than 0 for nine because 0 for nine means you stopped shooting. I was like, so I grew up a shooting guard too. And I was always like, I want to be like Kobe. Everything was like Kobe. I, I dressed like Kobe. I bought the Kobe's when he was a Adidas before he had been went to Nike. Some of y'all don't know about that. Uh, I'd, everything Kobe did. I did, I saw Kobe, uh, married a Hispanic woman. I said, God, okay, I'm a dude. So obviously it was God's plan, but he used Kobe to show it to me and, um, shout out half of legacy church. All these mixed babies running around that you can't tell whose kid is who's, but one thing I thought was interesting when I got to college,

well you, you play shooting guard in college. Well, they switched me. I was a shooting guard in high school. When I got to college, they said you got to be a point guard. So when I was a point guard, they were like, you got to be a pass first point guard. So I was passing all the time. And that was weird for me. Because I'm used to being past too, not having to pass the ball. And so I'm passing the ball. And I remember, uh, in college one year, my sophomore year, we had a really good team and we were playing my hometown. I didn't go to school in my hometown, but we came to play against that team in a game and the clock is winding down. It's, it's like a movie, right? Like 10, nine, eight, and all the way to two seconds. And I got the ball and I'm looking for someone to pass to and the, the game ends, the buzzer sounds. I never got a shot off. And what's crazy about that season is, well, we lost that game, but not only that after that, I had a successful career. I was second team, all conference and, and we, we won some games, but my coach told me at the end of the year, he's like, you know, it's interesting. I've never had a guard make all conference who never shot a three attempt the whole season. I was like, I didn't even realize I hadn't done it, but I was, I had gone from being a shoot first to a pass first to where I passed on moments that could have won us games. And you just passed me the ball. You didn't get it back. I'm going to just let you know. Yeah, you're done. You're done. You're done. You're done. And I hope you were thinking what I should have been thinking was if I spent all my time passing and never look at the rim, how are we going to win the game? And I wonder how many of you have passed up on the moments that God placed and created you for because you were looking for someone else to take the shot. And here's what makes it worse. You still achieved a measure of success. It's your second team, all conference.

And you're proud and you're happy and your mom showing up and your girl showing up and they're hyping you up and like, that's my man. Are you go, girl? And God's like, but I placed MVP first team talent and potential and purpose inside of you. But since you kept passing it to everyone else, someone else took the shot. Let me rephrase that your spiritual you can only pass it so many times before you don't get the call back Therefore I a prisoner for serving the Lord beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling because you've been called by God He's only gonna beg so many times He's only gonna knock so many times He's only gonna call so many times Before the shot that was designed for you gets passed to someone else And you know, it's crazy. I comprehended that in basketball and After that, I was like fine. I'm a shooter. You put me you want to get the ball. You better rebound this miss But it's still I got to into the church setting I got to Christianity and all I knew was hoop So I become a youth pastor and I'm I'm I don't really know what I'm doing I'm used to more coaching than than than preaching and so I started coaching my first time I got in full-time ministry I was also a high school basketball coach at this Christian school and what they would do They would take their students on mission trips to around the country around the world But they would take the sports teams and they would do sports clinics at these places and so my pastor was like Hey, why don't you I got invited to do a ball? you go and place in me since you are youth pastor and you already coached these kids a lot you go and Do the ministry and and go play and teach the kids hoop and let me know how it goes So I go we go to Utah Alabama whoever been to Utah Alabama your line ain't nobody been in Utah Alabama it's the middle of nowhere and We go to this very impoverished neighborhood and a lot of drug trafficking and human trafficking and crime but every but basketball is a universal language so all these kids from the community and all these you can't tell if they're 16 or 46, but they're in the gym and They're all we're teaching them basketball and we did it all week and then at the at the end of it

The head coach and he had been coaching the boys basketball team for like 30 plus years Pillar in the community great guy really distinguished he the last night. He's like alright guys. We're gonna today's the Evangelism day we're gonna teach them the gospel so y'all pray for me I'm gonna give the message for the gospel and I remember I had this thought like Why did I come then I thought I was cuz you know, I've been who put with these kids they talk trash I'll talk trash. They don't even know I'm a pastor yet. They just know I've been giving them buckets, but I'm I was like, huh? I thought I was gonna do that. He's like I got it Justin Okay, and so he goes and and you got all these kids there and he gives a presentation I'll never forget not one person responded And it and that kind of hurt my heart and so we got back to Arizona and my pastor like how to go and I told him kind I went he's like wait wait wait. Why didn't you do it? And I was like whoa, you know, I I don't want I don't want to step on toes. I like I was just I was the new guy and I had I kind of convinced myself that you know like You got to be humble So like you just stay quiet like to be humble is to be quiet and just watch and observe and if someone asks then You can volunteer, but don't speak up like just wait till be asked And now I think how brilliant of a strategy of the enemy To villainize confidence and calling but to glorify false humility and timidity Because here's what the false humility was he was like, how did I was like, oh I'm good, you know, he did a good job and I was like he actually didn't do a good job. He's a great coach, but he is not a youth pastor and I don't think it had anything to do with his age matter of fact in our church some of our best leaders are in their 40s 50s and 60s for student ministry. They are off but nominal the kids love them They respond to them they engage with them had nothing to do with AIDS or age or ethnicity And at everything to do with that was not his calling that was not his grace But since I didn't take a shot and say hey, well, just so you know I'm available like I've been with these kids all week. I'm a youth pastor like you I'm available I'm not I don't have to but just so you know, but because I stayed quiet Can I promise kids we've got stayed no, but I could have promised that I would at least took a shot And it was probably a higher probability of a teenager who had just been competing with me for five days Versus a stranger who they didn't have any relational equity with

And you're like and I hope you've ever been a similar situation You're like I just didn't want to step on toes. I didn't want to overstep and I was taught, you know Speak quiet speak when spoken to and all these things in yeah, yeah Well a legacy church after that moment I made a decision I'll never pass again on a shot that God's put me in position and take so we created values For our staff like if you're gonna work here or lead here You we have a certain set of values and one of our values is when or go home Yeah, and what does that mean? It means? that advance the mission or vision of legacy church, which is to love, live, live like Jesus, to reach the unchurched, de-church, and overtures so they can experience, sorry, they receive and reflect the love of Christ in this church. So essentially, we're a bridge for people experiencing and accepting Jesus. Here's the problem with bridges, they get walked on. So we have a value that's like, when are going home? But oftentimes, we're getting walked on a, hey, I can't wait to be there on Sunday, oh, awesome. And then they decline the planning center request. Hey, I feel called here. And then they leave here after three weeks. And then we got to keep showing up, we got to keep serving, we got to keep giving, we got to keep leading, we got to keep why? Because we're shooting to win, not to shine. That's what protects you from pride and prideful and selfish ambition is when you're shooting to win, not to shine, meaning I don't need the light to shine on me, I need to shine through me.

And as long as God gets the glory, as long as I was obedient, as long as I was faithful, as long as I did, all I could to win, the outcome is in his hands. And I just want you to kind of let that marinate in your mind, in your heart, because I wonder what are the areas that either you haven't taken shots or you're frustrated because you're not feeling appreciated, you're not feeling seen, let me explain something to you. Everybody say faithful. Being faithful means being consistent, it means being a good steward. Being faithful does not equate to being famous. Being faithful does not equate to being appreciated. You don't get to say, well, God, I tried, but they just didn't appreciate me. So I was like, you know, I ain't gonna waste my time no more. If he was like, but did they call you or did I call you? 'Cause first of all, it wasn't your time, it was my time that I gave you to sow and to my kingdom, but you stop sowing, so you'll, you stop reaping. And so what I want us to understand, if we're gonna be made for more, we have to be faithful with little. We have to be faithful with the now. And I love faithful, it's two words. It's faith and it's full, but I like to reverse it. Faithful is to be full of faith. But here's how you can become full of faith for the present. I love that song, "Fear is not my future."

Well, how do I ensure that that's true by being faithful in the present? Because if I waste the present, I can't use faith as a bellock hard for the future. Faith is not a bell out, it's a bench press. Meaning I have to commit to strengthening it and growing it daily, day by day. And as I grow it, matter of fact, as he grows me by me being faithful to him, all of a sudden I can have confidence and be full of faith for my present and future. Amen. So I wanna go back to the Word of God. We started last week in Numbers, and we were introduced to Joshua and Caleb, and I all wanna go to the book of Joshua, chapter 14. And it's been about a 40 year, 45 year gap between then and now if you missed last week, watch last week on YouTube, but I wanna take us to Joshua 14. And now what's happened is the children of Israel, they've gotten out of Egypt, they've conquered territory, they've advanced, they've taken land and now Joshua is responsible for dispersing the land according to the 12 tribes of Judah. And this is where we find ourselves. Joshua chapter 14, verse one. These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited the land of Canaan, which Alias are the priest, Joshua, the son of none, and the heads of the father of the tribes.

Sorry, I'm gonna start at verse seven. Verse seven. Actually, verse six, six seven. All right. Then the children of Judah came to Joshua and Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Japhena, the kinizite said to him, you know the word which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord, my God. I wanna pause right there. Everybody say, what was in my heart? We're gonna circle back to that a little bit. Verse nine. So Moses swore on that day saying, surely the land where your foot has trodden, shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord, my God. And now behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these 45 years. Ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness, and now here I am this day, 85 years old. just as my strength was then. So now is my strength for war, both for going out

and for coming and he was like, I want all to smoke. Verse 12, "Now therefore, give me this mountain "of which the Lord spake in that day, spoken in that day. "For you heard in that day how the Anakin were there." That's those are the giants. "And that the cities were great and fortified. "It may be that the Lord will be with me "and I shall be able to drive them out," as the Lord said. "And Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron "to Caleb the son of Jephaniah as an inheritance. "Hebron, therefore, became the inheritance "of Caleb the son of Jephaniah to this day "because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. "And the name of Hebron, formerly, was Kirchof Arba. "Arba was the greatest man among the Anakin. "Then the land had rest from war." Okay. Today, I want to go, I need you to lock in with me. Okay, 'cause I don't want to just be pastor Justin. I want to go back to those years ago. I want to be coach Justin, okay? So I'm going to wear both hats today. So I'm going to talk to you. Boy, I would talk to my team, but I'm going to throw spiritual language on it. So the seasoned saints and the super spiritual people who sat on the bench and don't know sports don't tune out. Okay. Hey, there's a safe place for everyone. You belong here.

You're safe here. All thanks for all people. Okay. Now everybody's up. I'm a player. I'm a player. So, so, so notice what Caleb is doing. Caleb says, I want to say it was in verse seven. Yeah, verse seven, he said, "I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, "sipped me from Kadespa, I may have to sprout the land "and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. "Nevertheless, my teammates who went up there with me, "they made the heart of the people melt, "but I wholly follow the Lord, my God." If you're going to be a score, the first thing is practice your form, or to say practice your form. You got to practice your form. But here's what I need you to understand. When it comes to shooting in the kingdom, when it comes to winning in the kingdom, the form you practice is not what's in your hands, it's what's in your heart. Because God is more focused on forming what's in you than what can come out of you. And here's how you know the difference. When my prayer life constantly revolves around God, would you just bless this? God, would you help me with this?

God, would you do this for me? God, would you open this door? Instead of God, would you create in me a clean heart? God, would you form me? God, would you change me before you even change them? Show me me. So we have to practice our form. Because if God can form our heart, he can entrust our hands. But you got to know, he needs to know that our heart isn't it, that our heart is after him, that our heart is in my head's place. And honestly, you can't teach heart. Anybody ever coached a team? Full of talent, but just soft. You're like, man, y'all just, Kobe, one time, told this thing, man, y'all, Charmin, just a tissue paper soft, toilet tissue paper soft, soft is Charmin. What he was saying is, y'all got no heart. And I wonder if we're being overwhelmed by the enemy because our heart has not been formed with power and love and self-discipline. And so we are overwhelmed and overreact to the things that are external because we have not first been formed to the one who is internal. So everybody say, practice your form. So Caleb practices his form, but did you notice the language he says?

He says it was 45 years ago where Moses gave me that promise where God gave me that promise through Moses and said, everywhere that your feet trot, put up verse nine. So Moses swore on that day saying, surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever because you have wholly followed the Lord, my God. Meaning that Caleb walked into the promised land, but because the people he was connected to, the teammates he had, the brothers and sisters he had because they weren't fully committed. It said that for the next 40 years, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. But in verse, I don't know if you caught it, but I thought that was interesting. In verse 10, he said these 45 years later, I'm sorry. Well, Israel wandered in the wilderness and now here. I am this day 85 years old Did you catch the differentiation? He said 45 years ago. I got a word from God But the teammates I had the brother and I had they they weren't rocking with me. I was on a soft team So they wandered the wilderness for 40 years Caleb you was with them. What are you talking about? He said nah, nah, nah We were in the same room, but we weren't in the same place. I Can't tell somebody just because you're in a situation that you did not ask for that that you did not cause and you feel like You're stuck you were not stuck matter of fact Oh, I got to teach you how to score when you're in a situation you need to earn learn the art of the pivot You need to learn how to pivot your feet

Can I can I coach you real quick church? Yeah, if you're gonna be a good score, you got to know that sometimes Where you want to go and where you are not the same But in basketball when you're holding on to the ball, you can't jump up and come down and have both feet leader ground That's a travel It's cheating So the secret what what good players understand what the mama was famous for What's for his footwork his pivot to the person next to you pivot your feet What's a pivot a pivot is when I keep one foot planted and even though I Want to move forward I or someone the defense is pressing up on me I can use my other foot to pivot around and create space so I can still get my shot off and I came to tell somebody that you're not stuck you're planted You just got to make sure that you keep one foot planted in the promise that God gave you Even as you're pivoting through situations that don't look like the promised land Because I I'm not traveling to where they're going because that's not my calling I'm keeping one foot planted in the promise and even though it might be longer than I anticipated Even though I didn't I didn't know what they were gonna do it doesn't matter I'm keeping a foot planted and I'll learn how to pivot you got a pivot sometimes Sometimes you got a pivot cuz you didn't see that relationship bending sometimes you got a pivot cuz you didn't see that career ending Sometimes you got a pivot cuz you didn't see that child coming sometimes you got a pivot because you didn't see that news coming But you can pivot just stay planted because if you stay planted in the promise that means at the right time The enemy's gonna fold the enemy's gonna back up and you're gonna be able to take the We won't turn y'all in the shooters today so So Caleb said it's been 45 years But while they were wandering W.A.N. D.E.R. I Was wondering W.O.N. D.R. cuz my mind was not in slavery. My mind was not wasting My mind was not what wandering my mind was not just wandering around with us I was thinking about the promise even though I was at a job I didn't ask to be at I was thinking about the promise

Even though I was in a situation I didn't ask to be in I was thinking about the promise even though I had to deal with the results of the decisions that the person I'm attached to me I'm but I learned how to pivot and I learned how to be with Israel in the same Environment but I'm not like Israel because I'm not in the same place Tell the person next to you just cuz you see me here don't mean I'm here You you gotta tell that to your coworkers on Monday just cuz you see me here don't mean I'm here Just you gotta tell that to your bank account just cuz you see me here don't mean I'm here you you got to tell that you got used to Because where you see me and where I am or treatment just wait 45 years. It'll We used to We used to play all these ranked teams when we're playing club you play kids are ranked they're big That's you know, that's the number one kid in the country. It's a number one kid in the area and my coach used to tell me He said hey, they got to lace their shoes up. Just like you do and Just cuz they're ranked there now. Don't mean that would be there go take his spot The rankings are always up for grabs Meaning that maybe if you would just keep practicing your form What you see 45 days from now weeks from now months from now years from now the rankings can change Don't get caught up in the rankings. Don't get caught up in where they're ranked you now Don't get caught up in what he said when he left or what she said when she though I don't get caught up in the rankings because that can change. You just want to be it you want to outlast them The best player in eighth grade doesn't matter when they get to the league nobody cares Give back to the Bible Justin they're not ready for that So so Caleb says oh, this is my favorite part He says I'm just as strong now. Oh, I want to ask you this though. Could that be your testimony? Come on season Saints. He said I'm just as strong now as I was and I still want to smoke Why could he say that because he stayed practicing his form One of the guys at our church he plays in the NFL and he played for the same team for years And then he's recently got released and so I hit him up the other day just to do a wellness check to see you know Hey, how's everything going? And he's like oh, I'm good. I'm like. Oh, where are you? He was like, I'm in Florida right now

I was like, what's employees like I'm training. I was like you live in Arizona though And you know, you're not playing on team. Why would you why do me please? Oh, no I don't want to go I don't want to go back home and get comfortable. So I just I said, I'm gonna just keep training in Florida I was like, so what's been going on cuz it's been weeks and you ain't been on teams like I'm still training I Kids you not we prayed two three hours later. He says me it's X X team. Just sign me. I'm moving You know why Because where he was and where he was we're not the same And some of you once you get cut you still on the couch man I can't bleed a cut me and I can't bleed a give up on me and I can't believe I came out here And I moved all the way to Arizona and I'm all I'm I even hear anymore And I can't believe I'm here you grow a girl boy You better learn the art of a pivot you better learn how to keep practicing your form You better be in Arizona But your mind is in Florida cuz I'm getting ready cuz that one just state a word. I'm ready Go to verse 12 Justin go to verse 12 So Caleb says I'm just as strong now now therefore put a verse 12. This is a baller quote now therefore give me this He didn't even say give me a plot of land Give me this spot Give me a chance He said give me the whole mountain That's gangster That's a killer talk right there. That's that's He said of which the Lord spoke in that day who spoke it So what he was doing is he was reminding Joshua what God had told Moses and He had probably been rehearsing and in his mind all those 45 year all those 40 years in the people of Israel wandering and lost and wasting time He had to keep rehearsing what the word of the Lord was for his life and at the right time You know what he did he projected his voice so the person actually project your voice because some of the times What God said to us stops there it never comes out of us

That that's why I Always challenged people yes, there's times we need to pray in your head, but there's other times you need to pray with your mouth Why because it's not just for your benefit It's so the people of around you can understand what the Lord has to say about that situation It's so your kids know what the Lord says it's so that your friends know what the Lord says It's so that you know what the Lord says because if the only voice of God is my voice and not your voice when I'm not there You're not gonna know God, but if you get used to saying the word of the Lord over your life with your own mouth and projecting your voice All of a sudden your voice is the loudest voice in the room And so Caleb said give me this mountain which the Lord spoke to me I Was thinking about the fact that you know So many of us We're we live in extremes. Have you noticed that people are just so extreme? It's like either you're this or you're that either you're that or you're there it's like so so extreme and One of the extremes that I've seen is like people that are loud are viewed as arrogant or cocky or Showing off and things like that and I'll be honest. I used to be those people that way. I remember I had a friend who told me he's like I'm a priest all over the world and I'm gonna do some other things I was like who do you think you are? Who do you think who do you think you are so arrogant? and Then fast forward a few years later He did every single thing you say it was gonna do I Was like thank God you my friend. Hey, you want to come preach your legacy? But but but the Bible says wisdom is proven right by her children But if you read problems with the Bible says wisdom shouts out loud like wisdom is speaking wisdom is talking and And here's what here's what I realized If I'm not loud about the promise the devil will be loud about the giant The Bible says goliath for 40 days three times a day two or three times a day. I'm not in that mode right now, but

He would keep speaking fear to the children of Israel and they kept hurting it And then David shows up like who does unstorganize Philistine think you're talking to? And then the Bible says his brother's like, be quiet, you're just, why? Because fear was their perspective. And they were speaking fear. They didn't, they didn't, they couldn't understand someone that would project their voice to declare the word of the God. And this is what I told you a couple weeks ago. You got to make sure that you're not allowing your environment to dictate your calling. I told you all, I don't got no broke friends. I only got rich friends and I don't care. What do I mean by that? You talking about monetary influence? No, I'm talking about they are rich in their calling. They are rich in following the things of God. Like they're, which allows me not to belittle my own calling. Anytime you have to be like, well, I don't want to know if I want to say this because I don't want them to think I'm bragging or both. I don't want to be too much. If that's your first thought for the people around you, those are not your friends. You need a new circle because you're real friends and we're like, let that little light shine. They're going to hype you up. They don't cash you up. They don't, they don't be like, why?

Because real bowlers, game recognizes game. They be like, hey, put me with some killers. I don't want to be with people with no heart. Like I want to play with the best. And if everyone else gives you that way but you don't be yourself that way, that's going to be the problem. And if you don't know how to speak life and the word of God over yourself, over your family, over your friends, the enemy knows how to speak death very well. He speaks death very fluently. And very loudly. So Caleb was like, give me my mountain. And he said it with his chest. And the Bible says, Joshua said, here you go. So, so, hear my heart. This is not a TED talk. This is not a motivational speech. I'm trying to help the people of God walk like the people of God. And I want to rebuke this passive aggressive Christianity, this, this passivity, this timidity, this. I don't really, no, no, no, because the Bible says that the gospel is not passive, it is aggressive. Now, in fact, Jesus said that from the time of John, the Baptist, when he began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and the violent take it, the violent are attacking it, violent people are attacking it.

I like the King James Version. It says, for the kingdom of heaven suffered violence and the violent take it by meaning that the enemy is not playing fair against you. So why are you belittling yourself? So here's the thing you got to do. You got to practice your form. You got to pivot your feet. You got to project your voice like, hey, give me the ball. And then you got to protect the call. Everybody say protect the call. The Bible says in verse 13, that Joshua blessed him and gave Hebrew on the Caleb the son of Jefana as an inheritance. Hebrew on therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jefana, the king of Zai, to this day because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebrew on formally was Keir Jef Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakin. Then the land had rest for more. I want you to hear that what he said. He said, Joshua gave it to him as in he blessed him and then Caleb went and got the mountain. It became his inheritance. And to this day, what is significant about that? It means that once he got it, he protected it. Because the attacks didn't stop coming. Matter of fact, the Bible said it had been 45 years since the moment when Moses said it belonged to Caleb versus when Caleb got to actually come back and claim it.

So you know what that tells me? The giants had grew stronger in 45 years. The obstacles had become bigger in 45 years. But Caleb said, nah, nah, they think they've been growing. I've been growing too. Meaning it's not too late. And once he got it, he protected it. Some of us are guilty of doing the things to get the blessing and then focus more on the blessing that we got than the one who gave it to us in the first place. And we're no longer actually protecting it. We used to be disciplined in that era. We used to avoid that. We used to not play around with that. We used, you know what I mean? And then we stopped protecting it. One of my author, I really admire his name is Mark Baderson. He says, most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory. Most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory. And here's what's dangerous about that or beneficial about that. What are you remembering? Because if you constantly remember all of your misses, you'll stop shooting. But if you constantly remember, And so for me, I have to remind myself, even if I've messed up, even if I've missed, even if I've slipped, I gotta remind myself,

but I remember that feeling, I remember that moment when God met me, I remember God's faithfulness, I remember, I'm gonna shoot again. I wanna give you one more passage. I think it's really cool. So Joshua 13, 14, 15, 16, he's just dispersing land, but in Joshua 17, it says something really cool. It says, there was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, where he was the first born of Joseph, namely for Makir, the first born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he was given Gilead and Bashan. So just so you're on the same page, you guys remember Joseph, he had the Kuji sweater, his dad, he was the favorite, then the brothers, teammates hated him, traded him to the ops, and then he gets stuck out there, and then he starts winning again, and they come up, and everybody wants to be around in the winter, so anyway, he had two sons. The older was Manasseh, the younger was Ephraim. Everybody say Manasseh. Now, Manasseh had a son named Meekir, Makir, and the Bible says he was a man of war, like he was, he was like, look, I don't talk, like I just, this is how I talk, like he was wild. But because of that, Joshua's like, hey, you get the land, you earned this, which is a, I think something we need to understand. Some of the things we're praying for,

we have not earned the right to shoot. Every time I play for a coach, they gotta earn the right to get the green light. And some of us are praying for things we're not qualified for because we haven't been faithful in our previous seasons. And it's actually for our protection, because if God actually passes you the ball, John ain't ready, he about to get hit in the forehead, that's a baseball guy, what a baseball guy. He's like, the ball ain't coming to me no way, they always hit it over there. Or my hooper's that, killing the illustration, there you go, Greg. She was ready though, she was ready. Here's the problem though. If you pray for something you're not prepared for, God will pass you the ball and you'll be outside your range when you shoot it. And then it'll show. And so sometimes it's not that God ignores you, God's preparing you so that you can actually take the shot you think you want and shoot it with confidence. And your team can have confidence in it as well. You know the reason we're starting, we're starting in Santan Valley in three months, which is crazy because we launched Legacy in five months and God moved. So we, because we have a good, a long-term memory of what he did before, we're like, he could do it again. (congregation applauding)

But let me jump down to verse three. So that's my key, the first one. But then, but Zellitha had the son of Hepper, the son of Gilead, the son of Mechear, the son of Manasseh had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of the daughters, Mala, Noah, Hagla, Milka, and Tirza. And they came near before Eleasar the priest before Joshua, the son of none, before the rulers saying, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers. Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their fathers, brothers." Now, if you just read that, you're like, "Oh, that's cool. Shout out, the ladies got their part too." That was not normal. In Jewish culture, the inheritance went to the sons, and if you had no sons, you had no future, you had no legacy, because if you had daughters, they would get married into another tribe, and then they have to be a part of that inheritance. So these five daughters are coming to Joshua, be like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we want our part too." Because the Lord said that we would not be overlooked. And can I tell you what makes that part even more baller in Joshua 13? If you know Genesis 48, can I show you Genesis 48? Okay, Genesis 48. This is when Joseph is still alive,

and Jacob, his father, who's also Israel, is still alive. This is what it says. It said, "Jacob was half-blind because of his age and could hardly see." So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them. Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children too." Joseph moved the boys who were at their grandfather's knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand, he directed E from towards Jacob's left hand, and with his left hand, he put Vanessa at Jacob's right hand. Now, why are they talking about hands? Why does it matter? It's very important because in Jewish culture, the right hand was the strong hand, it was the dominant hand, it was the hand of blessing. So the older son always got the right hand blessing from the father, and the younger son got the left hand, which signified what was everyone's left over. So if you're right, you're all right. If you left, you get what's left. And that's how it operates. verse 14 says, but Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boy's heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy,

and his left hand on the head of Manasta, though he was the first born. Now, why would he do that? There's an order. There's a there's a like we that doesn't even make. So the Bible says Joseph was hot. He was heated. He was like, wait, I got too much in the coach mode. I forgot I was past with my bad, my bad. Y'all took me there. Y'all, it was y'all fall. I went full sin on coach, coach J, talking to my kindergarten team right now. So, so Joseph was was furious. He was like, wait, you don't understand. Like you just messed up my my son's birthright because this blessing was was for real. And I was thinking about because Jacob never really gives a clear explanation. He just says, this is what I'm doing. And this is how it's going to happen. And blah, blah, blah. And I was wondering what if it's because Jacob saw himself and Ephraim and he saw Esau in Manasta because he grew up the younger brother that always had to manipulate and fight to get what was his. So he was mine in his own heart, might have been like, I want to make sure the younger one gets what gets the best, not what's left over. The problem is that when we make decisions based on our previous trauma, instead of the promises of God, someone always gets left out. And so now Jacob unintentionally or intentionally is crossing over the older to benefit the younger. And I believe Holy Spirit was telling me there's a lot of you that have experienced the Manasta experience where you've been looked over, you've been crossed over, you've been there's been things that you worked hard for that you actually rightfully deserved. But because someone in leadership was half blind, they didn't fully see all that was inside of you. And you got looked over. But can I tell you what God told me to tell you? When I was growing up, my godfather was my first real coach and I'm right-handed. All right. All right. All right. I tied. I shoot everything right-handed. But when I was growing up, he made me only use my left hand. So he would keep my right hand behind my back and only use my left hand. And he said, because I don't want teams to be able to game plan and force you only one way. I want you to be actually stronger with your left hand. So I became so confident and consistent with my left hand that teams thought I was left-handed. And they'd be like, he's left-handed, planned for the left, but they didn't know that no. I have a strong left hand, but everything in my left hand is to set you up. I might hit you with a hezy, I might be not this time, but eventually I might have my left hand ready so I can cross over to the right. And I came to tell somebody that you think God left you out and you think God forgot about you and you

think God crossed you over and you had to hesitate and should I and can I and will I and oh and oh and God said, no, no, no. You just need to stay ready to cross over because once you get up with a cross over, they're not going to know what to do with you. They're not going to know what to handle you. And if you know that God, this is the season where I've been patient and I've been faithful, but I'm ready to cross over. Why? Because I'm going to take a shot. I'm going to take a shot. And I'm flopping over to make sure that I can get it back in my student hand because if he let me still, I won't miss. And that's why Joshua 17 got some oil on it. When you understand that the daughters of Monasta, all they were doing was saying, hey, Jacob was half blind when he made that promise. He had a good heart, but he was half blind. I'm not going to let a half blind person be the dictator for my inheritance. I'm not going to let them be the lead for my inheritance. Did you all see how he moved the rim? It was going in anyway. But I need you to know, I skipped something in chapter 13. Can I give it to you? I'm sorry. Chapter 14 and chapter 14 is that that Caleb received Hebron as his inheritance. But it was formally known as like Kadesh Bay are or something weird, right? You don't know it. It's not there. You don't need to know. Here's what you need to know. It was named after the giant anoch of that time. So Caleb said, give me this note, but it had a name of a giant. But before it was named after the giant, the first person to claim that mountain was Abraham and So Caleb really said, give me a cemetery. But God promised Abraham an inheritance that Jacob never collected, that Joseph never collected, but Caleb said, I'm coming to collect. And even though this giant has unlawfully renamed that mountain, it's still going to be Hebron, meaning there are some things that the giants have unlawfully claimed in your life that you need to be like, God, no, no. I want my mountain back. Fear will not have my mountain. Tastivity will not have my mountain. Depression will not have my mountain. That is the name of a giant that is unlawfully squatting in my mountain. So God, if you just let me cross over, I'm going to take that mountain back. I'm going to take my family back.

I'm going to take my sanity back. I'm going to take my calling back. Why? Because it was always mine in the first place. God was just waiting for me to take them. Hey, if you're still watching at this point, I believe that it's not an accident. I believe that if you're feeling something in your spirit, that is God trying to get your attention and invite you into a deeper relationship with him. And so if you're ready to take that step, I want to walk you through what that looks like. It's simple. We're going to say a prayer together. And it's just you acknowledging that you believe that Jesus is who he says he is and that you're willing to commit your life to following him and learning what it means to be a son or daughter of God. So, repeat after me if you can. Jesus, here I am. I believe that you love me, that you died for me and that you want a relationship with me. I acknowledge that I'm a sinner and I need a savior. And I'm committing to learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If I mess up, I will not quit because you've never quit on me. I invite your Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me in your truth from today on. In Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, we're proud of you. That's a huge decision. And we don't want you to feel like you have to have figured all out on your own from this point. We have a value, a legacy that says we follow Jesus for ourselves, but not by

ourselves. So I would invite you to text the number below, follow the instructions. And we're going to send you resources so you can learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus and be on this journey of faith. Congratulations. Your life will never be the same. Thank you for watching. Hope you enjoyed the online experience. Hey, if this message impacted you, make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and share it with the friends so we can continue to share the gospel. Hey, here at Legacy Prayer is our priority. You have any prayer needs? You can send them to [email protected]. If you'd like to financially partner with Legacy, you can text any dollar amount at caz.church. Click on "Waste to Give." You'll find links to support Legacy Church. You can find us on social media. Otherwise, go out and love Nick and-- Be like Jesus. We'll see you next week. We'll see you next week.