“Conquering Your Mountain”
Joshua 14:12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
Mathew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard see, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
The Bible definition of faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
By faith, men of God conquered obstacles and foes, lived righteously, received blessings and promises form God, suffered cruel persecutions from the ungodly, and became heroic examples for us.
Without faith we can not please God.
But if we will put our faith in God we will obtain the promises of God.
And God will give us victory over every demonic, destructive force in the world. (1 John 5:4)
I’ve come to tell you that no matter what your mountain is you can conquer it.
For greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Caleb appears first in the Bible as a member of the twelve spies who were sent by Moses to explore the Promised Land.
The spies were to report on the people, the cities, and the land and to bring back some samples of the fruit of the land.
They were supposed to encourage Israel and show them by these samples of fruit that the land floweth with milk and honey.
The spies were not sent to test the strength of the enemy, but they were sent to test the hearts of the Israelites.
The twelve spies were chosen from the twelve tribes, one spy from each tribe.
Caleb represented the tribe of Judah.
These men were chosen in recognition of their leadership in their tribes, every one a ruler among them.
They were heads of the children of Israel.
Caleb was a nobleman, or prince, in Judah.
In their search of the land, the spies came to the city of Hebron, where they checked out the strong walls of the city and noticed a family of giants living there.
When they returned to the camp, ten of them gave a negative report.
They said, the land is fertile, it is flowing with milk and honey.
But the inhabitants are strong and many. They told them about the great walled cities and reported seeing giants in the land.
When they gave this negative report, fear gripped the hearts of the people.
So Caleb steps to the front to give his report from Joshua and himself.
It is interesting to note that Cabeb was the first to speak for the two faithful spies.
He did not disagree with the facts presented by the other ten spies.
But he did assure the people that there was nothing to fear.
He reminded them of how God brought them out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, gave them victory over Amalek, supplied manna for them to eat, and the manifestation of God on Sinai.
He said, God is with us, therefore we will overcome the walled cities and any giant that gets in our way.
Lets go right now and possess it.
But the ten spies said, we can not do it.
These men excepted defeat without a battle.
They entertained the spirit of forfeit without even trying.
And I’m preaching to somebody right now that needs to know that you can not fail until you give up.
When you get knocked down, get up and try again.
When life knocks the wind out of you, catch your breath and try again.
You can’t loose the war until you quit fighting.
So whatever you do, don’t give up, don’t stop fighting, because you are not a failure until you quit.
All the ten spies saw was the problems and not the power of God.
We can not focus on our problems and be over comers.
We can not dwell on every difficult thing that is going on in our lives and expect to have victory.
We need to dwell on the power of God.
For He is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh within us.
God will give you the ability to conquer your mountain!
Did you know that the ten spies lied to the people in an attempt to persuade them not to go up into the land.
That’s why the Bible says they brought up an evil report.
Saying, the land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
They told two lies.
1. They said that the land was not a good place to live, that it eateth up the inhabitants.
2. And they added the word all to their report of the men of great stature. (when they knew that there were only five giants)
It is a spirit that decides that nothing can be done in a situation.
This spirit will cause you to think, that the task is to difficult to work with.
That you can not handle it, and that the best thing that you can do it walk away from it.
This spirit will convince you that your situation is impossible, that your children will never be saved, or that God will never bless you.
It is a spirit that opposes revival, shuns evangelism, and seeks to imprison enthusiasm.
This spirit settles for the status quo, it is content to drift along.
This ugly spirit will try to hinder the spirit of a David, questioning motives and focusing on things that don’t amount to a hill of beans.
But let me preach that there is a spirit of Caleb that is going to be heard in the church.
The voice of faith will speak forth in our services. And it will tell us that we are well able to take the land.
For if God be for us, who can be against us!
I’m trying to tell somebody, that you are not in an impossible situation.
It is not so difficult that it can not be worked out.
There is nothing that you can not conquer.
There is nothing that can come against you that you can not deal with and over come.
You can have a good family income. Your children can be saved. Your husband can be saved. Your marriage can be saved.
You can be delivered from drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. You can change the way that you think, the way you talk, the way you act.
There is not a river that you can not cross. There is not a mountain that you can not climb.
Put your faith in God and know that no matter what it is that stands between you and your promise, that it is no match for you.
You are a child of God. There is nothing you can not over come.
Don’t let a negative report get in your heart.
Don’t let the enemy or the situation convince you that it can not be done.
God said that the ten spies brought up an evil report, but Caleb had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land, where into he went; and his seed shall possess it. (Numbers 14:24)
You will possess your promise!
If we are faithful God will give it to us. You will conquer your mountain.
Let me point something out to you.
Caleb waited 45 years to receive the promise. His patience persevered and his faith did not fade. He knew that God had promised to give him the land.
Caleb did not loose hope and faith in the promise of God even though he wondered for many difficult years through the wilderness.
He was willing to endure the hardships of the present so that he could enjoy the blessings of the future.
Waiting is not easy. Because it means that something better is withheld for a later time.
The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us in 10:35-37 not to cast away our confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that everyone of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
How are you going to conquer your mountain? With patience!
Jesus talked about the days of great stress and trouble.
In Luke 21:19, he said, in your patience possess ye your souls.
In the hour when storms of evil are blowing around, Jesus said, look up, and lift up your heads; redemption draweth nigh.
You will conquer your mountain.
David wrote in Psalm 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living..
It is in the dark times that faith lights the lamp for us to see the goodness of God.
The psalmist also wrote, Psalm 34:19, Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Everybody has trouble in their life. But we can not constantly think about our troubles receive deliverance. But we ought to be thinking on things that give edification.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
We can conquer our mountain if we will learn how to think.
Let me tell somebody, that you can be forgiven and set free from sin.
Romans 6:22 says that we are now made free from sin, and become servants to God.
Romans 8:1 reads, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
You have to understand that before we got saved we walked in the dark path of sinful activities, but when we found God, He delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. (Colossians 1:13)
Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
The words were and now indicate that the promise has become real.
I want you to notice that we can be identified with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ in a living experience.
Paul said in Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
When we got saved we became the son’s of God now, although we have to wait until the resurrection for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:9)
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The promise that brings into reality all these promises is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
At the ascension, Jesus told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise.
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples received the Holy Ghost, and many people came to see what was going on.
Peter preached, and commanded them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sin and that they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The promise was made to everyone. Unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
It doesn’t matter who you are, race, culture, or nationality.
Everybody can receive the Holy Ghost now!
When Joshua and the elders were determining the inheritance of the tribes, Caleb approached him with his request.
Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; ...
He told Joshua, God promised it to me and I want it.
And if God will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out.
The cities still had great walls and were well fortified, and the giants still lived in them.
But Caleb believed that God would give him the victory.
Give me this mountain!
He was not asking for an easy way out, but at the same time he was not willing to settle for less than what God had promised him.
He hadn’t lived for God this long to just fall short of the promise.
Somebody needs to stand up and declare, give me this mountain.
I haven’t been faithful for all these years to be denied of the promise.
This problem is not going to stop me.
This sickness is not going to keep me from being healed.
This situation is not going to stop me from finding deliverance.
This circumstance is not going to stop me from getting my miracle.
Give me this mountain. It is my promise, and I want it.
And I will not quit until I get a better job, until my husband is sitting on the pew in church beside me.
I will not quit until things get better at home, until all my children are saved.
For if God will be with me, then I shall overcome.
Rejoice not against me oh my enemy for if I fall, if I get depressed, down, frustrated, I will rise again.
I don’t care what kind of mountain you are trying to climb. When God is with you, you will conquer it.
With the help of God Caleb was able to drive the giants out.
What Caleb had proclaimed by faith forty-five years earlier, had now become a reality.
Let me tell you, faith looks beyond the problems to view the promises.
Whatever God has said, faith embraces.
It makes the impossible possible and turns defeat into victory.
Jesus said, that faith is powerful enough to pluck up trees and move mountains.
And that if we can believe, all things are possible.
The promises of God are contingent upon our faith, for we must believe that God is and is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
There is no other way to please Him.
If we ask in doubt, wavering in our approach to God, we will not receive anything form Him.
Every gift from God, every promise He has extended to us, must be appropriated by faith before we can possess it.
No matter what the need is. Whether it be salvation, healing, blessing, and/or any other thing, faith in God and in His Word is the channel by which we receive our requests.
But faith alone is not enough. We also have to take action.
We have to put our faith into action in order to conquer our mountain.
The sick of the palsy pealed the roof back and was lowered at the feet of Jesus. Jesus saw their faith in action.
The woman with the issue of blood pressed her way through the crowd. Again Jesus saw her faith in action.
The disciples went and caught the fish that had the money in its mouth so they could pay their taxes.
And I’m telling you that no matter what your mountain is if you will put your faith into action. You will conquer it.
Conclusion:
I want you to know that no matter what is going on in your life that you can live victoriously.
It doesn’t matter how long you have been in the heat of the battle. You can still conquer you mountain.
Don’t ever let you situation get you down. Don’t let it beat you up.
Hold you head up high and be positive. Because God is able.
And if God will be with us, then we shall be able to overcome.
Somebody stand up and say, “Give me this mountain“.
