Print Student Study Guide YouVersion Notes
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: SONS & DAUGHTERS – TAKE THE LAND
Based on the message by Pastor Chad Everett
OVERVIEW
What has God given you that you are not actually living in yet?
Through faith in Jesus, you are a son or daughter of God and an heir according to the promise. But being an heir does not automatically mean you understand what belongs to you or are living in possession of it.
God’s promise to Abraham included two important things: lineage and land. Lineage is about identity. You need to know who you are, whose family you belong to, and what is available to you through Christ. Land is about territory. God gave His people land, but they still had to move forward and possess it.
That same challenge applies to your life. There can be territory in your thoughts, attitudes, habits, relationships, and choices that you have allowed something else to occupy. Fear, disappointment, wrong thinking, destructive patterns, or spiritual opposition can keep you from moving forward.
Abraham had to believe God when his circumstances looked completely different from what God had promised. Zacchaeus had to see himself differently after encountering Jesus. A woman who had been bound for 18 years was called a daughter of Abraham and set free. God’s people had to enter territory occupied by nations greater and mightier than they were.
Being a son or daughter does not mean you will never face opposition. It means opposition does not get to decide whether you advance.
“Possess the land. Take the land. Move forward. Advance.”
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Read → Respond → Reflect → Pray → Live It
Read each passage carefully and pay attention to what Scripture actually says.
Respond from the Bible. Let God’s Word establish truth instead of your feelings, friends, social media, culture, experiences, or assumptions.
Reflect honestly. Think about your relationships, reactions, choices, habits, influences, struggles, and the things that are shaping your identity.
Pray about what the Holy Spirit reveals, then live it. Do not stop at recognizing something needs to change. Take a step forward.
SECTION 1 — KNOW WHO YOU ARE AS AN HEIR
FOCUS
Through faith in Jesus, you are a son or daughter of God and an heir according to the promise.
It is possible to be an heir and still live without understanding or accessing what belongs to you. Your inheritance is not only about something you receive someday. Your inheritance is Jesus Himself. Growing as a son or daughter means learning who you are and beginning to live from what God has made available through Christ.
READ
Galatians 3:26–29; Galatians 4:1–7
RESPOND
- According to Galatians 3:26, how do we become sons of God?
- According to Galatians 3:29, what becomes true of those who belong to Christ?
- How does Galatians 4:1 describe an heir while he is still a child?
- According to Galatians 4:4–5, why did God send His Son?
- According to Galatians 4:7, what are you no longer, and what have you become?
REFLECT
- What has the biggest effect on how you feel about yourself: what God says, your appearance, grades, athletic ability, who likes you, how many friends you have, or what people think about you?
- When you feel left out, rejected, embarrassed, or not good enough, what do you start believing about yourself?
- Are you trying to get attention, acceptance, or value from people that you should be receiving from your identity as God’s son or daughter?
- If you really believed you are an heir and that Jesus is your inheritance, what would you stop chasing to prove that you matter?
PRAY
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what it means to live as a son or daughter and an heir instead of allowing your circumstances or feelings to define you.
LIVE IT
Choose one situation this week where you normally feel insecure, rejected, or not good enough. Before responding, remind yourself: “I am God’s son/daughter. I am an heir through Christ.” Then choose your response from that identity.
READ MORE
Romans 8:14–17
SECTION 2 — KNOW YOUR LINEAGE AND LIVE FROM YOUR IDENTITY
FOCUS
Lineage is about knowing who you are and the family you belong to.
People looked at Zacchaeus and called him a sinner. Jesus called him a son of Abraham. A woman had lived bound by a spirit of infirmity for 18 years, but Jesus called her a daughter of Abraham who ought to be loosed.
Your past, struggles, failures, circumstances, or labels from other people do not get the final word about your identity. You need to know who you are before you can fully understand what belongs to you.
READ
Luke 19:1–10; Luke 13:10–17
RESPOND
- How did the people describe Zacchaeus in Luke 19:7?
- What began to change after Zacchaeus received Jesus?
- What identity did Jesus give Zacchaeus in Luke 19:9?
- How long had the woman in Luke 13 been bound?
- What did Jesus call her in Luke 13:16, and what did He say should happen to her?
REFLECT
- What label have you accepted about yourself: awkward, angry, anxious, unpopular, not smart enough, not attractive enough, a failure, the funny one, the athlete, the good kid, or something else?
- Have you ever changed how you talk, dress, act, or what you believe because you wanted to fit in with a certain group or be liked by someone?
- Is there a mistake, sin, family situation, relationship, or struggle that has started to feel like part of who you are?
- If Jesus were calling you by your identity as His son or daughter instead of by your struggle, what might you need to stop calling yourself?
PRAY
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any label, struggle, or past experience that you have allowed to define you more than your identity in Christ.
LIVE IT
Write down one false label you have believed about yourself. Cross it out. Underneath it, write: “I am a son/daughter of God.” When that old label comes back this week, choose to agree with your identity in Christ instead.
READ MORE
2 Corinthians 5:17
SECTION 3 — BELIEVE GOD’S WORD OVER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
FOCUS
God promised Abraham descendants when everything he could see seemed to say the opposite.
God brought Abraham outside and told him to look at the stars. Abraham had to decide whether his faith would be based on his circumstances or on what God had spoken.
Faith believes the Word of the Lord before the results are visible. What you see right now does not have to determine what you believe.
READ
Genesis 15:1–6
RESPOND
- What did God tell Abram He would be to him in Genesis 15:1?
- What circumstances did Abram bring before God in verses 2–3?
- What did God promise concerning Abram’s heir?
- What did God tell Abram to look at in verse 5?
- According to Genesis 15:6, how did Abram respond to what God said?
REFLECT
- When things are not going the way you hoped at school, at home, with friends, in sports, or in a relationship, how quickly do your circumstances begin changing what you believe about God?
- Are you comparing your life to what you see on social media and deciding that someone else’s life, appearance, friendships, or opportunities are better than yours?
- What are you worried about right now because you cannot see how it is going to work out?
- When you pray and nothing seems to change, do you keep trusting God, or do you begin assuming He is not listening or does not care?
- Where do you need to believe what God says before you can see any evidence that things are changing?
PRAY
Tell God honestly about the circumstances that make faith difficult. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you believe His Word even before you see the results.
LIVE IT
Identify one circumstance that regularly affects what you believe. Find one truth from God’s Word that speaks to it. Write it somewhere you will see it this week and choose to agree with God when your circumstances tell you something different.
READ MORE
Romans 4:18–21
SECTION 4 — POSSESS THE LAND GOD HAS GIVEN YOU
FOCUS
God gave His people land, but they still had to go in and possess it. An inheritance promised is not the same as an inheritance possessed.
There can be territory in your life that you have allowed something else to occupy. Thoughts, attitudes, habits, fear, compromise, or spiritual opposition can begin to feel normal simply because they have been there for a long time.
God has not called you simply to survive. Know what belongs to you through Christ and begin taking back territory that should no longer belong to the enemy.
READ
Deuteronomy 11:22–25
RESPOND
- What were God’s people commanded to do in Deuteronomy 11:22?
- According to verse 23, what did God promise to do before them?
- How were the nations in the land described compared with Israel?
- According to verse 24, what would become their territory?
- What did God promise concerning those who would stand against them?
REFLECT
- What has taken the most territory in your thoughts lately: fear, comparison, anger, lust, insecurity, someone you like, wanting approval, your phone, your appearance, success, or something else?
- Is there something you keep doing privately that you know does not belong in the life God is calling you to live?
- What have you started calling “normal” because everyone around you does it, even though you know it does not line up with God’s way?
- Is there an attitude, habit, temptation, relationship, or thought pattern you keep saying you want freedom from while continuing to give it access to your life?
- If you were serious about “taking the land” in that area, what would you actually need to change?
PRAY
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any territory you have surrendered or allowed the enemy to occupy. Ask God for courage and wisdom to begin moving forward.
LIVE IT
Name one piece of territory you want to take back. Then choose one specific action this week that moves you in the opposite direction of the pattern that has been controlling you.
READ MORE
Joshua 1:7–9
SECTION 5 — KEEP ADVANCING WHEN YOU FACE OPPOSITION
FOCUS
Moving forward does not mean you will never face resistance.
Paul said a great and effective door had opened to him, and there were many adversaries. An open door and opposition existed at the same time.
Disappointment, tragedy, struggle, and resistance can cause you to retreat from things you once pursued with faith. Opposition does not automatically mean you are going the wrong direction. Sons and daughters need to know when it is time to get back up and keep advancing.
READ
Matthew 11:12; 1 Corinthians 16:8–9
RESPOND
- What does Jesus say about the Kingdom of heaven in Matthew 11:12?
- What did Paul say had opened to him in 1 Corinthians 16:9?
- How did Paul describe the opportunity in front of him?
- What existed alongside that great and effective door?
- What do these passages show about expecting opposition while moving forward?
REFLECT
- Have you ever stopped obeying God, speaking about your faith, praying, or pursuing something He put in your heart because you were afraid of what friends or classmates would think?
- When someone makes fun of what you believe, disagrees with you, excludes you, or pressures you to compromise, do you become quieter about following Jesus?
- What disappointment has made you want to quit: not making the team, losing a friendship, rejection, family problems, unanswered prayer, failure, or something else?
- Have you mistaken something being difficult for God telling you to stop?
- Where have you backed down that you know you need to start moving forward again?
- If “Possess the land. Take the land. Move forward. Advance.” became personal for you this week, what would you actually do differently?
PRAY
Ask God to show you where opposition, disappointment, or fear of what other people think has caused you to retreat. Ask the Holy Spirit for courage and power to get back up and move forward.
LIVE IT
Choose one place where you have backed down. Take one real step forward this week. It does not have to be huge. Pray again. Have the conversation. Make the right choice. Try again. Take the next step.
READ MORE
Ephesians 6:10–18
FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT
You are not called to live as though you have no identity, no inheritance, and no authority. Through faith in Jesus, you are a son or daughter of God and an heir according to the promise.
So where have you stopped advancing?
Maybe you have allowed other people to determine how you see yourself. Maybe you are changing who you are to fit in. Maybe comparison is taking over your thoughts. Maybe there is something happening privately that you know needs to change. Maybe disappointment has changed what you expect from God. Or maybe you have become quieter about following Jesus because standing out feels harder than blending in.
Do not let what you see determine what you believe. Do not let opposition determine whether you advance.
Know who you are. Believe what God says. Identify the territory. Take the next step.
You may take some hits along the way. Get back up.
“Possess the land. Take the land. Move forward. Advance.”