I have a question I want to ask you this morning that can apply to you as an individual as well as to you as a church. The question: Do you believe that your best years are behind you, or do you believe that your best years are yet before you? Some people as well as some churches believe that their best years are behind them. Many people as well as churches believe that their future will be less than that which has passed.
If as an individual I believe that my best years are behind me I want be of much good for the future as a matter of fact believing that could lead me to not only be non productive but could lead to me dying.
For us to be effective as people and as churches we must live in the confidence of God’s promise that some of our best years are yet to come. You see, I believe that some of my best years are still ahead of me. I also believe that some of the best years of this church are not behind it but are ahead of it.
In Revelation 21:5 these words are found: “And He who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’” This does not mean that the future will become progressively better and better. Rather, it means that in the midst of the pain, suffering, and tragedies that lie before us in our future, God goes before us to make all things new—inviting us to that future that He has both promised and prepared for us. God is not simply in the past. God is in the present and the future leading and drawing us toward newness of life.
Throughout this message I will be referring back to Numbers 13 which will give us the background for the setting in Joshua 14.
In Numbers 13 we have the report of the spies as they returned back to Moses and the Children of Israel.
None of the 12 that went could deny that the land of Canaan was a very fruitful land; the bunch of grapes they brought back with them was a demonstration of that. God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, and the evil spies themselves admitted that it was such a land.
The 10 evil spies then began to share how strong and fearful they enemy looked, indicating that they were no match for what was in Canaan. Oh yes they said, the land is all God said it would be but the obstacles are too much.
That sounds like the enemy today, he tells us the future does look bright for you and the church but the obstacles are too much for you to receive what God has said is yours.
When they saw the Nepthalim they said they became like “grasshoppers.” In other words they felt like small insignificant bugs that could be stepped on and destroyed.
Caleb and Joshua stood for God; they knew that if God promised it then it would come to pass. They knew that their God was greater than anything in Canaan.
God’s promise to them is in Exodus 33:2 - "And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.”
Listen: It doesn’t matter what the situation appears to be, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are; if you have God’s promise, you will be able to do whatever He has said.
They had been delivered from Egypt in the past, what a great victory that was but God was not finished with them. Even though their past was great their future was to be greater. They were to inherit a whole country that God had promised to them.
You see it is God’s word not circumstances or situations that should control our actions.
Part of the problem with the church is that we aren’t trusting God’s Word. You and I can’t defeat the enemy in our own strength, in our own power. But we can defeat him if we stand on the Word. Nothing can stop you; nothing can prevent you from maintaining victory as long as you are standing on the Word.
Now back to the story. You remember God’s people believed the 10 spies and were turned from going in and possessing the land. Instead of relying on the supernatural Word of God, they relied on the natural word of man.
Notice Joshua 14:8, it says: “Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt…”
That word “melt” means to melt, dissolve, and be liquefied
1a1) to melt, cause to dissolve, consume, cause to vanish
1a2) to intimidate (figuratively)
The other ten spies discouraged them, filled them with fears, sunk their spirits, so that their hearts flowed, and became as weak as water, having no strength left in them, or hope of possessing the land; being told what stout and gigantic men the inhabitants of it were, and how strongly fortified were their cities.
The enemy will do his best to intimidate us and make us think that our future will be nothing but defeat if we try to posses what God has promised us.
They believed more in what man said instead of what God said.
Forty-five years have now passed, they have entered the land, and now the land is being divided up. Caleb comes to Joshua and says, “Give Me Hebron.”
Joshua says, “Well Caleb, why should I give you Hebron?”
Caleb: “Because long ago, God promised me this mountain.”
Joshua: “But you’re old Caleb.”
Caleb: “I’m just 85.”
Joshua: “But that’s old to be a warrior. Don’t you want another piece of land where we have already driven out the enemy? Just enjoy what we have, don’t worry about the un-conquered land. Let the younger men take care of that.”
Notice Joshua 14 11 when Caleb says, "As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.”
Caleb was saying: “My physical eyes may have grown dim but I still have a vision of possessing that mountain.”
Listen to me this day Quimby, don’t ever lose the vision God has give to you as a church. Don’t lose the vision of taking your mountain. I really believe that God is giving you a brighter vision than ever before. I believe that God is going to use this church to take Johnsonville and the surrounding area for His glory. You can’t afford to throw that vision away.
Caleb said: “I may be 85, but I’m vigorous, strong and ready to go.”
Every year this church gets a little older just like everything else. A lot of things have happened over the years but that’s no reason to go to the nursing home or the retirement community. God is not finished with this church yet. He is giving you a new, fresh, and brighter vision than ever before.
Again I ask you, do you believe your best is behind you or do you believe that your best is ahead of you?
Look at someone and say: your best is ahead of you!
It’s not time to retire; it’s time for this church to refire. Caleb didn’t let his age stop him from taking the mountain. You can’t let anything stop you from taking your mountain.
Caleb was eighty-five years old, but he didn’t look for an easy task, suited to an “old man.” He asked Joshua for mountains to climb and giants to conquer! His strength was in the Lord, and he knew that God would never fail him. Now is not the time to lay back and take it easy. Now is not the time to reminisce at the great victories of the past. Now is the time to seize the future because the best years are ahead of us.
He is ready to give you new vitality, new victory, new joy, new fellowship and you need to be ready to respond.
We are never too old to make new conquests of faith in the power of the Lord. Like Caleb, we can capture mountains and conquer giants if we wholly follow the Lord. No matter how old we become, we must never retire from trusting and serving the Lord.
You cannot deny that the harvest is there any more than the 12 could deny the land was fruitful. Don’t believe the false voices: the false voice of doubt, the false voice that says’ you can’t reach this people, that you can’t reap your harvest & take your mountain for God.
“Well what are you going to do Caleb; there are giants in that mountain. Are you going out there and talk about your problems? Are you going to talk about your arthritis or the other aches that you have?”
“No, I’m not going to talk about my problems, I’m going to talk about my God and take the mountain.”
The day has dawned that we need to stop talking about our problems and our difficulties and our obstacles; we need to turn our eyes away from the giants and fortified cities and what we think are impossibilities and turn our eyes unto a God who has already given us victory.
Just like the 10 who talked about the giants, if we talk about problems and difficulties and obstacles it will just discourage people.
God has given you the mountain of this area and the surrounding area. What are you going to do about it? Sit around and complain or take the mountain. What are you going to do; sit around and dwell on the past victories or look for greater victories?
“Well Caleb what do you plan to do, go sit down by the brook and say Holy Spirit give us those giants.”
“No, I’m going to grab my sword, take my boys and my family and kill all those giants.”
Thank God for prayer. We need to do more of it. But it takes more than prayer to take your mountain, it takes action. We must pray and then we must act in faith.
You can pray all you want to for a harvest of souls to come in but unless you are willing to go out into the highways and byways and share this gospel you want take your mountain, you want receive your harvest.
God doesn’t want us to just sit around and pray. We must attack the mountain; we must take action.
It reminds me of another person who faced giants later on. When Goliath came up against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, He’s so big we can never kill him. David looked at the same giant and thought, He’s so big I can’t miss.
Caleb must have had the same spirit as Paul when he said: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
It’s time we got out of this complex where we believe that our best is behind us instead of ahead of us. We need to stop letting the problems and obstacles that appear to us make us feel like we can enjoy great victories in the future. We need to realize the power we have and that with God we are the giants and all the problems and obstacles that are in front of us will not be able to stop us from the great things the Lord has for us.
Zechariah 4:6 – “So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel {Quimby}: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.’”
John 14:12-14 – “(12) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (13) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (14) If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
This reminds me of a story I heard from our late Bishop Underwood that I want to share with you:
Ill. A man was traveling with an animal trainer in the circus. They passed through the area where they kept the elephants; there was a little baby elephant that weighed about 300 lbs. It had a rope around its leg tied to a stake. It just walked back and forth all day long.
They went on a few feet away and there was a big 10-ton elephant.
This elephant had a chain around its leg. His leg was chained to a stake in the ground just like the small elephant and like the small elephant the big 10-ton elephant was walking back and forth.
The man asked the trainer why the big elephant didn’t just pull up the stake and run away.
The trainer said that when the 10-ton elephant was the size of the small elephant he was tied to a stake. You see elephants are too smart and it is etched into his mind that he can’t pull up the stake even though he is bigger than he use to be. If the elephant ever realized how strong he was we could never keep him tied to the stake.
Oh – if you and I could only realize who we are in the Lord. We have the very power of God living inside of us. We have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us. We need to wise up and realize that we have the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit to help us take our mountain for God.
