“How To Reach Your Mountain”
Joshua 14:1-15, 15:13-14
Caleb has every right to be tired....to be weary......to be satisfied with just sitting back and proping his feet up.
After all.....he was 85 years old, and had just come out of 40 years spent wandering in the wilderness. But Caleb is not content with where he is.....he’s not quite got what he wants yet........he’s not ready to sit back and take it ez. Instead......he says......”Give Me This Mountain”
Give me a river with nothin’ to do...give me a Mountain, give me a Dew.
Are you satisfied with where you are in your life ? How bout your spiritual life.....satisfied, content with your spiritual life ? The Apostle Paul who saw the Lord on the road to Damascus and was miraculously changed, and went on to become the great missionary wasn’t. He said....I’m pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The disciples weren’t.....they said....”Lord teach us to pray........Lord increase our faith.”
Caleb wasn’t satisfied with where he was.....he wanted a piece of the rock....he wanted a room with a view......he said....”Give me this mountain.” Forty five years earlier he had laid his eyes on this mountain.....and he never lost sight of it. Too many people are willing to dwell in the low county.....two many children of God willing to settle for living in the valley.....too many of us content with being nominal Christians........too many of us dwell in mediocrisy when God wants us to live on the Mountain. Caleb wanted the mountain.....he wanted to be a little bit closer to heaven. Let me tell you if you’ve got goals that you want to meet.....you can learn alot from Caleb......if you’ve got dreams......look at Caleb.....he can tell you how to make it happen......if you want more out of your spiritual life......take note of Caleb......he can show you how to reach your mountain !
1. Caleb was Confident.
Illust. A noted brain surgeon, Dr. Bronson Ray, was taking a stroll when he saw a boy on a scooter smash headfirst into a tree. Realizing that the boy was seriously injured, the doctor told a bystander to call an ambulance. As he proceeded to administer first aid, a boy not much older than the injured one nudged through the crowd that had gathered and said to Dr. Ray, “I’d better take over now, sir. I’m a Boy Scout and I know first aid,”
That’s being confident ! Yet, the kind of confidence that Caleb had was a confidence that can only dwell within a person who has faith in God....who trusts God with his life........his future !
45 years prior to the words that we just read.....Caleb was sent out on a mission. He, along, with eleven other men were sent into the land of Canaan to check things out. They were to report back to Moses, and the nation what they found. Upon their return, ten men gave a negative report that discouraged the people from going into the land. Caleb, and Joshua, however, looked upon the positive, remembering above all else that God had promised them the land !
a. Confident in spite of the opposition. Though outnumbered, and a member of the minority, Caleb remained confident. He stood up for what he believed, spoke what he believed. If we’re to ever get anywhere in life, we must be confident about what we’re doing....and why we’re doing it...and more importantly we must be confident because we know that what we are doing is the will of God.
b. Confident in spite of the obstacles.
Those who know the geography of that land, and the history of the ancient people there.....say that the land that Caleb asked for was the most dangerous area of the land.
It was fortified with walled cities, and ocuppied by giants, yet this had no effect upon Caleb.
c. Confident because of the opportunities. It was the land of promise.......the land of plenty......the land of prosperity.
d. Confident because of the omnipotent. It was Caleb’s faith in a all powerful God that gave him the confidence to reach for that mountain.
2. Caleb was Consistent.
Because of the unbelief of the people, and their refusal to go in and take possession of the land.....they were made to wander in the wilderness for a period of 40 years.........Caleb wandered along with them......he had to wait........but he was.....
a. Consistent In His Faith.
Caleb’s faith was real...and nothing or no one could change it. The negative words or thoughts of others had no effect upon what he believed.
b. Consistent In His Following.
5 times Caleb is referred to as one that wholly followed.
c. Consistent In His Forty Years Wandering.
He came out of the wilderness experience with the same attitude he had before.........let’s take the land !
3. Caleb was Certain.
a. Certain of the presence of God.
b. Certain of the promises of God.
c. Certain of the place of God.
Give me this mountain !
4. Caleb was Courageous.
a. Willing to go against the flow.
b. Willing to go against the fences.
c. Willing to go against the forces.
In spite of his age.....in spite of his adversaries.....in spite of the attitude of others.........Give me this mountain !
5. Caleb was Compensated.
a. Compensated with survival.
He and Joshua were the only ones to survive the wilderness experience.
b. Compensated with superiority.
c. Compensated with sucess.
Author: Shirlee Kimball, 4/3/77
Give me this mountain today, dear Lord; even the peaks so high;
Let me lift up mine eyes to the distant hills, as the end of the day draws nigh.
If I linger too long in the valley, dear Lord, I might lose the will to go on; For each hour of the day that I do not climb, makes the journey seem harder and long.
Give me this mountain today, dear Lord, while the soft breezes blow o’er my soul; while the sunlight gleams on the distant hills, and I can still clearly see my goal.
Give me this mountain today, dear Lord; its’s a stepping stone to eternal day; One more mountain, one more hill, Lord; one more step on life’s way.
