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America's abundance of food, possessions, and relative safety can quietly lull believers into passive, timid lives that avoid controversy and risk. Yet an eighty-five-year-old man in Scripture boldly asked for a mountain crawling with giants as his personal inheritance. What kind of faith enabled him to speak and act with such audacity, and what changes might his example inspire in us today?
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/what-s-your-mountain
#mlcc #church #churchonline
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/what-s-your-mountain
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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LearningTranscript
00:00I think we live in a great country.
00:02It's not a perfect country by far.
00:05We have our problems in America, but it's a great land to live in.
00:09I mean, think about it.
00:10We have an abundance of food.
00:13I can't imagine that any of us here this morning lacks food.
00:18We probably all eat a little bit too much food.
00:21And as a matter of fact, if you have a faint hint of garlic
00:24wafting around in this room today,
00:26it's because of us last night at the celebration of love.
00:30So it's not the neighbor necessarily sitting next to you.
00:33It's the collection of all of us who ate the garlic food last night.
00:36So I guess we are, what, odorous or odious or...
00:40We stink.
00:41Yeah, yeah.
00:42We stink.
00:45But we truly do have an overabundance of food.
00:49We really do.
00:50We don't...
00:51I don't think any of us lack eating anything.
00:53And we do, in this country, also have a reasonable security.
00:58Now, I understand we probably lock our doors at night.
01:00We lock our cars and we go to the mall.
01:02I understand that.
01:03But all in all, compared to other nations,
01:06there's a reasonable amount of security that we do have.
01:10And because we have an overabundance of things,
01:13not just food, but things, material things,
01:16and we have reasonable security in this country,
01:19I think that trips us up and, in a sense,
01:24lulls us into a sleep, into a slumber.
01:30And I think what it does is it moves us as believers in Jesus Christ
01:34because of an abundance of things and a reasonable security.
01:39I think what it does is it forces us
01:41or it moves us to live passive, timid Christian lives.
01:47Things are going well.
01:49I want to remain safe.
01:51I don't want to rock the boat.
01:53I don't like controversies whatsoever.
01:56I like to be safe and I like to know exactly what my box is that I'm living in
02:00because I have an overabundance and a reasonable sense of security.
02:04I tend to get passive and I tend to get timid in my Christian walk.
02:09I want to maintain the status quo.
02:12And as Ronald Reagan said,
02:14status quo simply means the mess that we're in.
02:16We want to live a quiet kind of life.
02:22And I think because of the things that we have
02:25and the reasonable security that we have,
02:27it tends to make us very passive and timid people.
02:31There was a study done in World War II fighter pilots,
02:37ace fighter pilots of World War II.
02:40Guy's name is E. Paul Torrance, a doctor who made this research.
02:43And as he researched the fighter pilots, the aces,
02:46the top of the top, the cream of the cream of the fighter pilots of World War II,
02:50he found that there was one characteristic that they all shared.
02:54Every one of them.
02:55There was many of them that overlapped, but this one, they all shared.
02:58And the one characteristic that every one of the ace fighter pilots of World War II shared was
03:03they were risk takers.
03:06They were always pushing and testing the limits of their abilities.
03:09They weren't satisfied with the way that they were.
03:11They were always going a step further.
03:13They were trying to get outside of the box, if you want to say.
03:17And as he does this study,
03:18he found that these people were resistant to accidents
03:20and they actually had a higher survivor rate than those pilots that flew in World War II
03:25who always played it safe.
03:28They were risk takers.
03:31And he comes to this conclusion, Dr. Torrance, he says this,
03:35living itself is a risky business.
03:38If we spend half as much time learning how to take risks
03:41as we spend avoiding them,
03:43we wouldn't have nearly so much to fear in life.
03:48Risk takers.
03:50There's this little saying, I'm sure it's not true,
03:53but listen to this, it's not true about a person,
03:55but it was written like this.
03:58There was a very cautious man who never laughed or played.
04:02He never risked.
04:03He never tried.
04:05He never sang or prayed.
04:07And when he one day passed away,
04:09his insurance was denied.
04:12For since he never really lived,
04:14they claimed he never really died.
04:16I don't want us to get to the end of our lives
04:22when our energy is consumed
04:25and we are laying on our deathbed
04:27and we look back at our Christian life
04:29and say, I wish I would have risked this.
04:33I wish I would have stepped out by faith
04:35and I wish I would have obeyed God's calling
04:37and I wish I would have done this right here,
04:38whatever this is.
04:40I don't want us to regret our life
04:42that we're living right now
04:43when we get to the end of it.
04:44I don't want us to be passive, timid Christians.
04:48Don't want us to be status quo kind of people.
04:51Now, when I say a risk taker,
04:52I'm not talking about a,
04:53now this is just my opinion,
04:54someone who jumps off El Capitan
04:56with just a parachute
04:57that has a tendency to get blown back
04:58into the mountain and die.
04:59I'm not talking about necessarily like that kind of risk.
05:02What I'm talking about is stepping out
05:04and doing what God has called us to do,
05:05knowing God has called us to do it
05:07and saying, although I feel uncomfortable at this,
05:09this may be pushing me outside of my comfort zone.
05:11I'm willing to risk
05:13because God has asked me to do it.
05:14That's what I'm talking about.
05:17The Bible is full of men and women
05:19who lived,
05:21lived passionate lives
05:22and risked great things for God.
05:25Did something great for Him.
05:27Wouldn't we like to risk something great for God?
05:29Wouldn't we like to say at the end of our life
05:31that we took that chance,
05:33although it pushed us outside of our zone,
05:35we took that chance and took that risk
05:36because God called us to do that.
05:39I don't want us to get to the end
05:40and regret what we left undone.
05:43And the person we're going to be introduced today
05:46in the Bible out of Joshua chapter 14
05:48is just one of these people
05:50who understood what it means
05:51to risk something great for God.
05:53There are tons of people we could have chosen,
05:55but in our series of Joshua,
05:56we come to Caleb in chapter 14.
05:59Here's a guy who truly understand
06:01what it means to step out
06:02and do something great for God
06:04because he knew who his God was.
06:06Now you're probably saying,
06:07well, wait a second.
06:07Last time we were in chapter 10.
06:09We're skipping so many chapters here in Joshua.
06:11That's true.
06:13The last half of chapter 10
06:15and all of chapter 11
06:16and all of chapter 12
06:17are dealing with battles
06:19that the children of Israel fought.
06:20Battles and victories.
06:22So if we would have read through them,
06:23we would have read about one battle here
06:25and one battle here
06:25and a victory here
06:26and a victory there
06:27and it would just repeat itself
06:27over and over again.
06:29So we're going to skip all of those battles
06:31in chapter 10, 11, and 12
06:33in chapter 13,
06:35there's a brief discussion
06:36of the parts of the land
06:37that has yet to be conquered.
06:39There's still some peoples
06:40that have not driven out yet.
06:41And then at the end of chapter 13,
06:43they start dividing the land up
06:45just like God promised
06:46the children of Israel.
06:46This is your inheritance.
06:48This is the promised land.
06:49So they start dividing the land up
06:50and here in chapter 13
06:52on the east side of the Jordan.
06:54So the two and a half tribes
06:55are on the east side of the Jordan.
06:56They begin dividing that land up.
06:58When we come to chapter 14 right here,
07:00the first part of it,
07:01they're going to start talking about,
07:02okay, it's time to divide the land up
07:04on the west side of the Jordan.
07:06So verses one through six
07:07introduces this idea
07:08of now we're going to divide
07:09the inheritance up
07:10that we're going to give the people
07:11the land that God had promised to them.
07:13And then we come to the character Caleb
07:15in verse number six of chapter 14.
07:19We're going to be introduced
07:19to this guy named Caleb
07:20and exactly what it was
07:22that he risked for God,
07:25what made his faith so great.
07:28In verses six through eight,
07:29I want you to take a look at here.
07:30We see Caleb had faith
07:32in the power of God.
07:34Caleb had faith in the power of God.
07:36Look at verses six through eight.
07:39Then the people of Judah
07:40came to Joshua at Gilgal
07:42and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh,
07:44the Kenazite said to him,
07:46you know what the Lord said to Moses,
07:48the man of God in Canas Barnea
07:50concerning you and me.
07:51Now remember, he's talking to Joshua.
07:53When the 12 spies went out,
07:5510 came back with a bad report,
07:57two had a good report,
07:57Joshua and Caleb.
07:58And those two are the only two
08:00that made it to the promised land.
08:01So Joshua and Caleb
08:02have this really close relationship.
08:04They've been through a lot together.
08:06The same promise that was made to Joshua
08:08was a promise that was made to Caleb.
08:09You're going to make it
08:10to the promised land.
08:10I promise you'll get the inheritance.
08:13So there's a special relationship
08:14between Joshua and Caleb.
08:16I was 40 years old
08:18when Moses, the servant of the Lord,
08:19sent me from Canas Barnea
08:21to spy out the land.
08:22And I brought him word again
08:24as it was in my heart.
08:25But my brothers who went up with me
08:28made the heart of the people melt.
08:30Yet I wholly followed the Lord, my God.
08:34And Moses swore on that day saying,
08:37surely the land on which your foot has trodden
08:39shall be an inheritance for you
08:40and your children forever
08:41because you have wholly followed the Lord, my God.
08:45So here we see that Caleb shows
08:47he has great faith in the power of God.
08:51Caleb was the kind of guy
08:52that looked at the world
08:53through the eyes of faith
08:54and didn't look at it
08:55as things appear in this world.
08:57And I'm wondering,
08:58where was Caleb at
08:59when the covenant
09:00with the Gibeonites was made?
09:01It would have been great
09:01to have his insight in here
09:03because this seems to be the guy
09:04that looks at the world
09:05through eyes of faith.
09:06Okay, what's God going to do
09:08because God is so powerful?
09:10How is he going to act?
09:11Not a one who goes
09:12simply by appearances.
09:14And when he came back
09:16from spying out the land,
09:17he said,
09:17I told the people
09:19exactly what was on my heart.
09:20I was fully convinced
09:22that God was powerful enough
09:23to give us this land.
09:24I really believed
09:25in the power of God.
09:26I was persuaded
09:27that God was going to do
09:28what he said he was going to do.
09:29And he spoke from his heart openly
09:31and without any fear.
09:33So matter of fact,
09:33let's look briefly
09:34at exactly this story.
09:35If you have your Bibles,
09:36look at Numbers chapter 13.
09:38Numbers chapter 13,
09:39I want to just go back
09:40and look exactly at this account
09:42of him spying out the land.
09:44Verses 25 through 30.
09:46So Numbers 13, 25 through 30.
09:50Now this is the account
09:51of when they went
09:52and spied out the land.
09:56At the end of 40 days,
09:57they returned from spying out the land
09:59and they came to Moses and Aaron
10:01and to all the congregation
10:02of the people of Israel
10:03in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh.
10:06They brought back word to them
10:08and to all the congregation
10:08and showed them the food of the land.
10:10Remember,
10:11they had taken a large cluster of grapes,
10:13so large that two men
10:14had to carry them on poles
10:15between themselves.
10:16So they brought back
10:17this huge cluster of grapes
10:18and they showed him that.
10:21And they told him,
10:22we came to the land
10:23to which you sent us.
10:25It flows with milk and honey
10:26and this is the fruit.
10:28So far, so good.
10:30It is what you said,
10:31land of milk and honey.
10:32And look at the fruit,
10:32man, it's gigantic.
10:33This is great.
10:34So it starts off well,
10:35but,
10:37verse 28.
10:39However,
10:40the people who dwell
10:42in the land are strong
10:43and the cities are fortified
10:45and very large.
10:47And besides,
10:47we saw the descendants
10:48of Anak there.
10:50The Amalekites dwell
10:51in the land of Negev.
10:52The Hittites,
10:53the Jebusites,
10:53and the Amorites
10:54dwell in the hill country.
10:55And the Canaanites
10:56dwell by the sea
10:57and along the Jordan.
10:58So you can see,
10:59they come back
10:59with this report.
11:00Yeah, it is a land
11:00flowing with milk and honey.
11:01And here's a grape.
11:02And all of a sudden,
11:03they just launch into this.
11:03And Caleb's listening
11:09to this whole thing.
11:11And he says right here
11:12in verse number 30.
11:13Now, I don't think
11:13he said shut up.
11:15My Bible says
11:16he quieted the people.
11:17He may have said,
11:18just be quiet.
11:20So here,
11:21verse 30.
11:22But Caleb quieted the people
11:24before Moses and said,
11:25listen,
11:27let us go up at once
11:28and occupy it,
11:29for we are well able
11:30to overcome it.
11:31Yes, it's true.
11:33It is true.
11:33There are giants in the land.
11:34But I believe
11:35in the power of God.
11:36He's going to give us this land.
11:37Come on, you guys.
11:38Stop whining.
11:39Let's go.
11:41That's Caleb.
11:42That's his attitude.
11:43He had faith
11:44in the power of God.
11:45God's going to do
11:46what he says he's going to do.
11:48The other spies,
11:49as we continue reading on,
11:50they seem to be biased
11:51by their fears.
11:53Their fears led them
11:54to the decision
11:55that they made.
11:56Not faith in the power of God.
11:58Look and continue reading
11:58in verse 31 and 33.
12:01Then the men
12:02who had gone up with him said,
12:04we are not able
12:05to go up against the people
12:06for they are stronger
12:08than we are.
12:09So they brought
12:10to the people of Israel
12:10a bad report
12:11of the land
12:12that they had spied out,
12:13saying,
12:13the land through which
12:14we have gone to spy out
12:16is a land that devours
12:17its inhabitants.
12:18And all the people
12:19that we saw
12:19in it are of great height.
12:22And there we saw
12:22the Nephilim,
12:23the sons of Anak,
12:24who come from Nephilim.
12:26And we seem to ourselves
12:27like grasshoppers,
12:28and so we seemed to them.
12:31You see what they were doing?
12:32They were focusing
12:33in on themselves,
12:34and they were not focusing
12:35in on the power of God.
12:36They were thinking
12:36only of themselves.
12:37Caleb says,
12:38wait a second, guys.
12:39Stop complaining.
12:41God is all-powerful.
12:42He promised us this land.
12:44He will give it to us.
12:45Let's go.
12:49They complained
12:50the whole time.
12:52They forgot
12:52how powerful
12:53their God was
12:54and looked
12:55only to themselves.
12:56When the spies
12:59came back
12:59with the report,
13:00Caleb didn't minimize
13:01the problems.
13:02It's true.
13:03There are giants
13:03in the land.
13:04That is true.
13:05There are fortified cities.
13:06Yes.
13:07So he didn't minimize
13:08the problems,
13:08but he magnified God
13:10in the midst
13:11of those problems.
13:12He said,
13:12our God is all-powerful.
13:14He can do exactly
13:15what he wants to do.
13:17And I think
13:17that's sometime
13:18with us, too.
13:19We start looking
13:20at the problems
13:21and we stop realizing
13:22exactly how powerful
13:23God is
13:24in the midst
13:24of our circumstances.
13:25All we see
13:26is the problem.
13:27We don't see
13:27the power of God.
13:28Caleb says,
13:29I believe God
13:30is powerful.
13:31I believe you'll do
13:31exactly what he says.
13:34We come to ourselves
13:35in the 21st century
13:36and it seems to me,
13:38it just seems to me
13:39that we,
13:40our view of the power
13:41of God
13:42is limited.
13:44I think we
13:44intellectually understand.
13:45We know the Bible
13:46teaches God's all-powerful.
13:47We can do all things.
13:48We understand that
13:49intellectually.
13:50But in the midst
13:51of a crisis,
13:51in the midst of a trial,
13:52in the midst of the time
13:53we're stepping out by faith
13:54and risking something
13:55great for God,
13:56we question,
13:57is he really all-powerful?
13:59Is he really?
14:00And I think we have
14:01a tendency to limit
14:02the power of God
14:03in our lives,
14:04lives of ourselves
14:05and the lives of the church,
14:06the lives of the people of God.
14:08I mean,
14:08look at Caleb,
14:09for example.
14:10He saw not only
14:11the deliverance
14:12from Egypt,
14:13he saw the parting
14:14of the Red Sea,
14:16he saw the manna
14:18that was miraculously
14:19given day by day
14:20to the children
14:20six days in a week,
14:22the seventh day
14:22they didn't have it.
14:24He saw this
14:25that was recorded
14:25in Deuteronomy chapter 8.
14:27Your clothing
14:27did not wear out on you
14:29and your foot
14:29did not swell
14:30these 40 years.
14:31They didn't need
14:32any new clothes
14:32for 40 years.
14:34He saw that.
14:35He experienced it himself.
14:37He saw the parting
14:38of the Jordan River
14:39at the flood stage
14:40when the nation of Israel
14:40crossed over on dry ground.
14:42He saw it all.
14:44He saw the destruction
14:44of Jericho,
14:45how God made the walls
14:46fall down simply because
14:47they were obedient
14:48to the command of God.
14:50He saw that all.
14:54Sometimes I think
14:55that we believe
14:56since the resurrection
14:57occurred,
14:58God doesn't display
14:59his power anymore.
15:00Now, granted,
15:01the resurrection
15:02was a wonderful display
15:03of God's power,
15:04but somehow we think
15:05that's it.
15:05God doesn't do
15:06powerful things anymore.
15:08He doesn't act
15:09on behalf of his people
15:10powerfully.
15:11He doesn't move
15:12where people have to say,
15:12that's not man,
15:13that's God.
15:14That must be God's power.
15:15Since the resurrection,
15:16somehow we get in our mind,
15:17God doesn't display
15:18his power anymore.
15:19What I want
15:24is that we never become
15:26like the people of Nazareth.
15:29The people of Nazareth
15:31in Jesus' day
15:31had a certain characteristic
15:32that was described
15:33about them,
15:34and I hope we never
15:35get to that place
15:35as a people of God.
15:38Jesus comes
15:38and he preaches
15:39and he does a mighty work
15:40and they're saying,
15:41well, who is this guy,
15:42Jesus?
15:43I mean, he's the son
15:44of a carpenter.
15:45We know Mary,
15:45his wife,
15:46and aren't his brothers
15:46and sisters around here
15:47with us somewhere?
15:48I mean, who is this guy
15:49that does this mighty work?
15:50Who is this Jesus guy?
15:53And then it's recorded
15:55exactly what is said
15:56about them.
15:57And they took offense
15:59at him, Jesus,
15:59but Jesus said to them,
16:01a prophet is not
16:02without honor
16:03except in his hometown
16:04and in his own household.
16:06And here's a place
16:07I never want us
16:08to come to
16:09as a people of God,
16:10both individually
16:11and as a church.
16:12I never want us
16:12to get to this place
16:13what's described
16:14about them next.
16:15and he did not
16:17do many mighty works
16:19there because
16:19of their unbelief.
16:23I do not want
16:23to limit the power
16:24of God.
16:26Caleb says,
16:26I understand exactly
16:27how powerful God is
16:28and I believe
16:29that God is powerful.
16:30He'll bring us
16:31into this land.
16:31He can overcome
16:32all obstacles
16:33and lives
16:34and he will fulfill
16:35his promises.
16:36I don't ever want us
16:36to get to the point
16:37where it's set among us
16:39and God didn't do
16:40many mighty things
16:41in Medical A Community Church
16:42because of their unbelief.
16:43I don't want us
16:44to get there.
16:46Another thing about Caleb
16:47that we see in this text,
16:48not only did he have
16:49faith in the power of God,
16:50he had faith
16:51in the promises of God.
16:53Look at verse number 9.
16:54I've already read that
16:55but I'll reread it again.
16:569 through 11.
16:58So,
16:59he goes out as spies.
17:00He comes back,
17:00gives a good report.
17:01Now verse number 9.
17:02And Moses swore
17:03on that day
17:04saying,
17:05Surely the land
17:06on which your foot
17:06has trodden
17:07shall be an inheritance
17:08for you
17:09and for your children
17:10forever.
17:11You personally,
17:11Caleb,
17:12this promise is to you
17:13because you have
17:14wholly followed
17:15the Lord my God.
17:17And now behold,
17:17the Lord has kept me alive.
17:18Now Caleb is speaking again.
17:20And now behold,
17:21the Lord has kept me alive
17:22just as he said
17:23these 45 years
17:25since that time
17:26of the time
17:26that the Lord
17:27spoke this word to Moses
17:28while Israel walked
17:29in the wilderness.
17:30And now behold,
17:31I am this day
17:3185 years old.
17:33I am still as strong today
17:34as I was in the day
17:35when Moses sent me.
17:36My strength now
17:37as in my strength
17:38was then
17:38for war
17:39and for going
17:40and for coming.
17:41Caleb had faith
17:42in the promises of God.
17:43That promise
17:44that came to him
17:45through Moses,
17:46the place that you
17:47walked on
17:47when you spied out
17:48the land,
17:49I'm going to give you that.
17:50That's my promise
17:51to you, Caleb.
17:52Do you believe that?
17:54Do you believe
17:55I can keep you alive
17:56all of these years
17:57and bring you
17:57into a land
17:58that has been promised
17:59to you?
17:59Do you believe that, Caleb?
18:00Caleb says,
18:00I believe with all my heart.
18:02He had faith
18:03in the promises of God.
18:05When he went out
18:06to spy the land,
18:07one of the places
18:07that he went
18:08was Hebron
18:08or Hebron.
18:09He spied out that land.
18:10He walked through that place
18:11and now at 85 years old,
18:14Caleb still had
18:14great faith
18:15that God would keep
18:16his promises.
18:17The promises
18:18that he made to Israel.
18:19He's 85 years old.
18:20He has seen a lot
18:21in the last 45 years.
18:23He has seen the people
18:24go through the desert
18:25complaining,
18:27whining to God
18:28and dying off
18:29because of unbelief.
18:31He has seen the crossing
18:32in now
18:32to the promised land
18:33and years of war
18:35that have taken place
18:35to inherit the promises.
18:39He has seen a lot
18:40but he still believes
18:42that God's going
18:42to keep his promises.
18:45It gives us
18:45a little timeline
18:46also here
18:47exactly how long
18:48it took to take
18:49the promised land.
18:49How long were the wars
18:50that we read
18:51in 10, 11, and 12?
18:53How long did it take?
18:54We really lose track
18:55of time
18:55because there's really
18:56no time references
18:57in there.
18:58But we have a time
18:59reference right here.
19:00See, the promise
19:01that was made to Caleb
19:02came two years
19:03after they left Egypt.
19:04So two years
19:05into their wandering
19:06came the promise.
19:07They wandered a total
19:08of 48 years
19:09so that's another
19:0938 years.
19:11So Caleb is now 85.
19:13He was 40
19:14when the promise
19:15was made
19:15so you take 45
19:16minus 38
19:17that comes up
19:17to seven years.
19:19So seven years
19:20have transpired
19:21since chapter 10,
19:2211, and 12
19:23have taken place.
19:24It kind of gives us
19:25an idea of how long
19:25it took him
19:26to conquer the land.
19:27It wasn't just
19:27a matter of months.
19:28It was years.
19:29Seven years
19:30up to this point
19:31right here.
19:32So seven years
19:33have come up
19:33to this point.
19:35Caleb was motivated
19:36by faith,
19:37not only in the Lord's promise
19:38but also the great task
19:40that was ahead of him.
19:40That seemed to motivate him.
19:42He seemed to say,
19:43yes, the task
19:43is going to be difficult
19:44but I believe
19:45in the promises of God.
19:46If he promises it,
19:47he'll fulfill it
19:48because I believe
19:48in the power of God.
19:50So the task
19:51that lay ahead of him
19:51was great.
19:52He says,
19:52that's great.
19:53That encourages me.
19:53That motivates me.
19:54That challenges me.
19:57Now most likely,
19:59none of us
19:59have ever received
20:00a promise like this
20:01that Caleb received.
20:02This exact promise,
20:03okay?
20:04The place that your foot
20:05walked on,
20:05I promise to give you
20:06that as an inheritance.
20:07I'm going to keep you alive
20:08the whole time
20:09and you're going to make it
20:09into the promised land
20:10and I'm going to give you
20:11this land.
20:12Now none of us
20:12have ever received
20:13a promise like that.
20:14I mean, we haven't.
20:15In other words,
20:15through God saying,
20:16through my power,
20:17you will live to possess
20:18the land that I promised you.
20:19We've never received
20:20a promise just like that
20:21but this promise
20:22that was made to Caleb,
20:23this promise
20:24comforted Caleb.
20:26If you think about it,
20:27it comforted him
20:27as he wandered
20:28through the desert
20:29with the children of Israel.
20:30He knew he was going
20:31to survive.
20:33He knew he would make it
20:34to the promised land.
20:35He's going,
20:36another year,
20:37another,
20:38I'll make it.
20:40I'm going to make it in.
20:41So the whole time
20:42that they're wandering
20:43that last 38 years
20:44in the wilderness,
20:44he knows God's
20:46going to keep his word.
20:47That promise comforted Caleb.
20:49The promise also encouraged Caleb
20:51in the time of his trials.
20:53In the time when the people
20:54complained to God
20:55and all the battles
20:56he had to fight,
20:56it was a great encouragement
20:58to Caleb to know
20:59in these difficult circumstances,
21:01they're not always
21:02going to remain the same.
21:03They will change.
21:05Things won't always be
21:06as they are.
21:06So it was a great encouragement
21:08to Caleb,
21:09this promise that was made to him.
21:11Not only that,
21:11this promise was a motivation
21:13to Caleb.
21:13It motivated him to act.
21:15It didn't motivate him
21:16to sit down and say,
21:17okay God,
21:17now you do it.
21:18No,
21:18God called Caleb to do it
21:20and it motivated him
21:22to act on this promise
21:23that God made to him.
21:24Knowing that the power of God
21:26was with him to fulfill
21:27exactly what God
21:28had called him to do.
21:29Now,
21:30none of us have ever
21:30received a promise
21:31that specific,
21:32just like that.
21:34But you know,
21:34God has made special promises
21:36to us in the word of God.
21:38Specific promises
21:39to his people.
21:40For example,
21:42God promised,
21:43God acts in our lives
21:44beyond what we ever
21:46could imagine he can do.
21:48So imagine something
21:49so great and magnificent
21:50that only God can do.
21:52You got it?
21:52Think about it.
21:54Now God can go beyond that.
21:56Did you catch that?
21:57You imagine something
21:58so great that you say,
21:59only God can do.
22:00Imagine it.
22:01God can go beyond that.
22:03He promises he can go beyond
22:05everything that we possibly
22:06can imagine
22:06that he can do in our lives.
22:07He can exceed that.
22:09Ephesians chapter 3,
22:11now to him who is able
22:12to do far more abundantly
22:14than all that we ask
22:15or think,
22:17according to the power
22:18at work within us.
22:20Another promise
22:21God has given to us.
22:22God gives us all things
22:24we need to really live
22:25that abundant life
22:26that Jesus promised
22:27and to really be holy people.
22:29He's given us everything.
22:30We lack nothing.
22:31We lack nothing
22:32to be really living life
22:34and being holy.
22:37He says in 2 Peter 1,
22:38his divine power
22:40has granted to us
22:41all things
22:42that pertain to life
22:44and godliness.
22:46Through the knowledge
22:46of him who called us
22:48to his own glory
22:49and excellence,
22:50he has given us
22:50all things
22:51to live this abundant life.
22:53He's given us
22:53all things
22:54to live holy lives,
22:55lives separated from sin
22:56and dedicated to God.
22:58He's given us
22:58everything we need.
23:00That's his promise.
23:02The next promise
23:03he makes to us
23:03is God promises
23:04to empower us
23:06for our spiritual battle
23:07that we fight
23:08and every one of us
23:09fights one.
23:10We don't fight
23:10with flesh and blood.
23:11That's not the battle
23:12that we're engaged in.
23:14We're engaged in a battle
23:16against spiritual forces
23:17in the heavenly places,
23:19against demonic forces
23:20that want to destroy you
23:21and me and the church.
23:22That's where our battle is
23:23and God says,
23:24I have empowered you
23:25to fight this battle.
23:26I've given you weapons
23:27that are not man-made weapons.
23:292 Corinthians,
23:31for the weapons
23:31of our warfare
23:32are not of the flesh
23:33but have divine power
23:35to destroy strongholds.
23:38God empowers us
23:39to fight this spiritual battle.
23:41We do have special promises
23:42given to us,
23:43many more that we can find
23:44throughout the Bible.
23:46Caleb understood
23:47he had great faith
23:48in the promise of God.
23:49He believed God
23:50would keep his word.
23:52The last thing
23:52we're going to see here
23:53is that Caleb had faith
23:54in the presence of God.
23:57He had faith
23:57in the presence of God.
23:59Verse number 12
24:01and on down
24:01to the rest of the chapter.
24:03So he had first,
24:03he had faith
24:05in the power of God.
24:06God would fulfill his promise
24:07and bring the people
24:08into the land.
24:09He had second faith
24:10in the promise of God,
24:11that specific promise
24:12that God made to him.
24:14Verse number 12.
24:15So now give me this hill.
24:17Give me this hill country
24:18of which the Lord spoke
24:20on that day.
24:21For you heard on that day
24:22how the Anicum were there
24:24with great fortified cities.
24:26He's just repeating
24:26what he said
24:27in Numbers 13.
24:29It may be
24:29that the Lord
24:30will be with me
24:31and I shall drive them out
24:32just as the Lord said.
24:34Then Joshua blessed him.
24:36I can imagine
24:36there's probably a smile
24:37on Joshua's face
24:38at this time.
24:39He's thinking back
24:40to that promise
24:40that God gave him
24:41through Moses.
24:42I remember Caleb.
24:43I remember that.
24:45I remember exactly
24:45what God said to you.
24:46Here it is, Caleb.
24:47God bless you.
24:49Take that mountain.
24:51Then Joshua blessed him
24:52and he gave Hebron
24:53to Caleb,
24:54the son of Jephunneh,
24:55for an inheritance.
24:57Therefore Hebron
24:58became the inheritance
24:58of Caleb,
24:59the son of Jephunneh,
25:00the Kinezite,
25:00to this day
25:01because he wholly
25:02followed the Lord,
25:03the God of Israel.
25:05Now the name of Hebron
25:06formerly was Kiriath Arbor.
25:08Arbor was the greatest man
25:09among the Anakim
25:10and the land had rest
25:12from war.
25:13You heard that word
25:14Anakim a couple of times.
25:15That's simply,
25:15they are a race of giants.
25:17They are giant people.
25:18They're really big.
25:20You can imagine
25:20how hard it would be.
25:22He's looking up
25:23at this mountain
25:24and Caleb says,
25:25I want that mountain.
25:26And Joshua's going,
25:27but there's giants up there.
25:29They're really big.
25:32Not only that,
25:32you have to fight uphill
25:34to fight against the giants,
25:35to get up to the mountain area.
25:37Are you sure, Caleb,
25:38you want that?
25:38And Caleb says,
25:39I want that mountain.
25:41I don't care
25:42if there's giants up there.
25:43I want that mountain.
25:44He was so passionate,
25:45he believed
25:46in the promises of God.
25:47He believed
25:48that God would go with him
25:49to conquer that mountain
25:50filled with giants.
25:51Didn't make any difference to him.
25:55God had kept Caleb alive
25:56all of these years
25:57and had given him
25:58a glorious promise.
26:00So what if there were giants
26:01on the mountain?
26:02That was his land.
26:05That was the promise
26:05God made to him.
26:08Faith in God's promise,
26:09you notice,
26:10did not make Caleb passive,
26:12but brought him
26:14to an act of obedience.
26:16So faith in God's promises
26:18is not expressed
26:19by human passivity,
26:20but by acts of obedience to God.
26:23It doesn't mean
26:23we get a promise from God.
26:24We just sit down
26:24and wait for God to do it.
26:25No, God says,
26:26I want you to do that.
26:28He said, Caleb,
26:29that's your land,
26:30but you go take it.
26:31Caleb said,
26:32I want that mountain.
26:33I want that mountain.
26:35There's no doubt with Caleb.
26:37It seems like,
26:38oh, may the Lord be with me.
26:39No, he's saying,
26:40God has been with me
26:41in the past.
26:41He's with me now.
26:42He'll be with me
26:43when I fight for that mountain
26:44that he promised me.
26:46God's with me.
26:48You know,
26:49I think sometimes for us,
26:50we lack boldness
26:53in our Christian life.
26:54We lack boldness
26:55because we cannot see
26:56that God is with us.
26:59God has called us
27:00to some great task
27:02and say,
27:02step out.
27:03I want you to risk
27:03something great for me.
27:05And we say,
27:06yeah, God,
27:07that sounds great,
27:08but how do I know
27:10you're really going to be
27:10with me in this thing?
27:12And we become shy,
27:15become timid,
27:16and we withdraw back.
27:17I think we lack boldness
27:20often because we can see
27:22that God is with us.
27:25During World War II,
27:26Pastor Cage Munk,
27:28a Danish pastor,
27:29spoke out against
27:31the Nazi annexation
27:32of Denmark,
27:33and he said this
27:34to a bunch of fellow pastors.
27:36This is how he said it.
27:38We stand as a temple
27:39of the holy God.
27:41All others have their obligations
27:43to this or that.
27:45We alone have our obligation
27:47to the truth.
27:49When justice or injustice
27:51is at stake,
27:52then we must never ask
27:53whether it is worth it,
27:55for then the devil always wins.
27:58On these issues,
27:59it is always worthwhile to fight.
28:02What we as a church lack
28:03is most assuredly
28:04not psychology or literature.
28:08We lack a holy rage.
28:12In January 1944,
28:14the Nazis took him out
28:15into a field
28:16and filled his body
28:17with bullets.
28:18But he says,
28:19this is not right.
28:21What's going on?
28:23And he had a holy rage
28:25to stand up
28:25and to speak about
28:26a moral evil
28:28in his society.
28:29This is not right.
28:32I think we lack a moral,
28:33we lack this holy rage.
28:36Somehow we just allow
28:37these things to take place
28:38in society
28:39and we don't think
28:39anything about it.
28:40We allow these things
28:41to take place
28:42in our neighborhood.
28:42We don't think
28:43anything about it.
28:44We lack a holy rage
28:45to stand up and say,
28:46this is not right.
28:48It's wrong.
28:52Moral courage
28:53is what's needed today
28:54to stand up
28:55against the evil
28:55of our society.
28:57We need a holy rage.
28:58Chris Cordelais,
29:01he's a high school
29:02senior in Pennsylvania.
29:03This was in 2001
29:04in Associated Press.
29:06He wanted to display
29:07the Ten Commandments
29:08on his locker
29:09at school.
29:10So he put the Ten Commandments
29:11up and the principal
29:13asked him to take it down,
29:14citing separation
29:15of church and state,
29:16which is a bunch of lie.
29:18Just easy.
29:19It's a way to say it's a lie.
29:20So Chris came up
29:22with another ingenious plan.
29:24He made a sandwich board
29:26and posted five
29:28of the Ten Commandments
29:28on the front
29:29and five of the Ten Commandments
29:31on the back
29:31and he wore his poster board
29:32to school.
29:34And the principal said,
29:36okay,
29:37I respect his opinion.
29:40I may disagree with it,
29:41but I respect his opinion.
29:43He can continue to wear it.
29:44That was a creative thought
29:47on how to get his views
29:49of truth,
29:50moral truths
29:51in society,
29:52the Ten Commandments.
29:55What we tend to lack today
29:56is a holy rage against evil.
29:59We just allow it to take place.
30:02You may say,
30:02you know,
30:03why is Hebron
30:03such an important city?
30:04And I don't know
30:05if Caleb was even thinking
30:06about this at the time.
30:07I'm not sure.
30:07Maybe he was.
30:08I think he probably was.
30:09This is my opinion.
30:10Why is this just
30:11an important city?
30:12Well,
30:12the reason why it's so important,
30:13if you go back
30:13and look in the history
30:14of the history
30:15of the nation of Israel,
30:16the three major patriarchs
30:18of the Israelites,
30:20Abraham,
30:21Isaac,
30:21and Jacob
30:22are all buried in Abraham.
30:24They're all buried there.
30:25That's their burial place.
30:26It's the origin
30:26of the Jewish people
30:27in Abraham.
30:28God calling him out
30:29to go to a place
30:30he'd never been before
30:31and making a nation
30:32out of him.
30:32He's buried right there.
30:34And I can imagine
30:34for Caleb,
30:35the constant reminder
30:36of God's faithfulness
30:37was seen
30:38in the life of Abraham,
30:39Isaac,
30:40and Jacob.
30:41And he says,
30:41I want that place.
30:42Sarah,
30:43Rebecca,
30:44and Jacob's wife,
30:45Leah,
30:46are also buried
30:46in this place.
30:49Caleb wholly followed
30:50the Lord
30:50and God rewarded him,
30:51blessed him for that,
30:52kept him alive,
30:53fulfilled his promise
30:54because Caleb believed
30:56in the power of God.
30:57Caleb believed
30:58in the promise of God
30:59and Caleb believed
31:00that God is going
31:00to be with him
31:01through this life.
31:03He believed all of that.
31:04when we come,
31:09when it comes
31:10the time
31:10that we need
31:11to step out
31:11and risk something
31:13great for God,
31:13there's three things
31:14we need to remember.
31:17Three things
31:17that we need
31:18to remember
31:18as we step out
31:19of our comfort zones
31:20out of passivity,
31:22intimity,
31:22and say it's time
31:23for us to do
31:24something for God
31:25that's going
31:25to make a difference.
31:27Three things
31:27we need to remember.
31:28Number one,
31:29God's power
31:30is available to us.
31:31the one who created
31:34everything we see
31:36by the word
31:38of his mouth.
31:39That power
31:40he has given to us
31:42is available.
31:46Is anything
31:47too hard for God?
31:48No.
31:49Then why do we think,
31:50God, I can't do that.
31:50I can't step out
31:51by faith
31:52and do what you're
31:53calling me to do.
31:53It's just too hard.
31:54I can't do it, God.
31:55I'm not sure
31:56if I have the power.
31:57You don't.
31:58That's a good thing.
32:00But God does.
32:02The second thing
32:03you remember is
32:04God's promises
32:05stand firm.
32:07What he has promised
32:08he will do.
32:09Those things
32:10that he has said,
32:11none of his words
32:11will fall to the ground
32:12without being fulfilled.
32:13He will keep
32:14all of his promises.
32:17Third thing is this.
32:19God's presence
32:20is always with us.
32:22God's presence
32:22is always with us.
32:25God's calling
32:26some of you,
32:26and I don't mean
32:27full-time Christian service.
32:28That's not what
32:28I'm talking about.
32:29It may be that,
32:29but that's not what
32:29I'm talking about
32:30when I say calling.
32:32He may be calling you
32:33to be a doctor.
32:34He may be calling you
32:34to be a lawyer.
32:35He may be calling you
32:35to be a dental hygienist.
32:37He may be calling you
32:37to be a pastor.
32:38Whatever God's calling is.
32:40Or he may call you
32:40to volunteer
32:41for some ministry.
32:43Whatever it is
32:43that God's calling is
32:44for your life,
32:45that he's asking you
32:46today
32:46to step out by faith
32:48and to take a risk.
32:49That is your mountain.
32:52What is your mountain today?
32:55What is your mountain?
32:56What is it that God
32:58is calling you to do
32:59that you've just
32:59over your life said,
33:00God, I'm afraid to do it.
33:02I'm not going to step out.
33:03I don't really know.
33:04I don't really know
33:05if you're powerful enough
33:06to actually keep your promise.
33:08And I'm not sure
33:08if you all should be with me
33:09when I'm doing this.
33:10What is your mountain today?
33:13What is it that God
33:14is asking you
33:14to step out
33:15and risk something
33:15great for him?
33:16What is it?
33:17I don't know.
33:17I mean,
33:17I know what mine is.
33:22Sir Edmund Hillary
33:23was the first man
33:24that conquered Mount Everest,
33:25made it actually
33:26to the top of the summit.
33:28What you may not have known
33:29is the first time
33:30he tried to make it up,
33:31it was a disaster.
33:32Two of his people,
33:33two of the people
33:34that went up with him died.
33:35He barely made it
33:36down off the mountain himself.
33:37It was a complete disaster.
33:40When he got back to England,
33:41they asked him
33:41to come to the Royal Society
33:43to tell about his experience
33:44on Mount Everest.
33:45And so when he came
33:46into the Royal Society,
33:47he came up to the platform
33:48where he was about to speak.
33:49They had on the platform
33:51a picture of Mount Everest
33:52on a stand.
33:53So he walks up
33:54to the picture of Mount Everest
33:55with his back
33:56to the whole audience.
33:58Him facing Mount Everest,
34:00looking directly at this
34:01with his back
34:01to the audience,
34:02he says in a voice
34:03that was steady and calm,
34:05this,
34:06Mount Everest,
34:08I'm coming back
34:09and I'm going to conquer you
34:11because you can't get any bigger,
34:14but I can.
34:17Let me ask you,
34:19isn't it time to step out
34:20and take a risk for God?
34:21Isn't it time perhaps
34:24to have that holy rage
34:26where we have to stand up
34:26and say,
34:27this is not right.
34:29This moral evil
34:30on our society
34:31has to be addressed.
34:33We cannot allow injustice
34:35to continue on.
34:39What's your mouth?
34:42Perhaps it's time today
34:43to step out by faith
34:45and risk something great for God,
34:47like Caleb,
34:48who had faith
34:49in the power of God,
34:50and the promise of God
34:51and in the presence of God.
34:53What a great man Caleb was.
34:56And when everything
34:57is said and done
34:58in the human history,
35:00I don't know if God
35:00is keeping records
35:01of what's going on right now.
35:03I don't know.
35:03I have no idea.
35:05But if he is keeping records
35:06of what's going on right now,
35:08is our name in that record?
35:12Exploits that we do for God
35:14are our names recorded.
35:17Whatever your mountain is today,
35:21I challenge you,
35:22like Caleb,
35:23make a bold statement
35:24based on the power of God,
35:26the promise of God,
35:27and the presence of God,
35:28and say,
35:28give me that mountain.
35:32Will you have that dedication
35:33this morning?
35:34Whatever God's calling is,
35:36it's God's calling.
35:38Whatever God has asked you to do
35:40is God's business.
35:41It's not the same
35:42for each individual.
35:43But whatever it is
35:45that God has called you to do
35:47and you have been hesitant,
35:49I ask you today,
35:51maybe during this time
35:52that I close in prayer
35:53and we worship in song,
35:55that you will make
35:56a conscious decision.
35:57I will step out by faith
36:01and risk something great for God.
36:03I'm tired of being passive
36:05and timid
36:06in my Christian experience.
36:08Let's pray together.
36:09Dear Heavenly Father,
36:13I am grateful to you
36:14that you have recorded
36:15in your word
36:16this man,
36:17Caleb.
36:20It wasn't necessarily
36:21that he had so great faith,
36:22Father.
36:22He had great faith in you.
36:24He had a great God
36:25that he could trust completely.
36:28God that never failed him.
36:29God that always kept his promises.
36:33God that made great promises.
36:35Promises beyond anything
36:36Caleb could ever have imagined.
36:38Promises that carried him
36:40through for 45 years
36:42struggle and hardship,
36:44difficulties.
36:46I just thank you
36:47for recording this for us.
36:49I thank you
36:50because it challenges
36:51each one of us
36:52to get out of our comfort zones,
36:55to get out of the box
36:56that we've made for ourselves,
36:57the status quo, Father,
36:58that we have somehow
36:59built into our lives
37:01because we're afraid
37:02to risk something.
37:04Help us today, Father,
37:05with your power
37:06based on your promises
37:08and your presence
37:09to step out
37:11and do something great for you.
37:13Because in the end, Father,
37:14you receive all the glory.
37:16It's you.
37:16It's not that
37:16we have done anything great.
37:18It's you.
37:18You did it.
37:19It's your power,
37:20your promise,
37:20your presence.
37:22So, Father,
37:22we want to glorify you
37:23in what you do through us.
37:26May we be dedicated
37:27to step out
37:27and we're something great for you.
37:29In Jesus' name,
37:30Amen.
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