THE SENIOR SAINT WHO ASKED GOD FOR A MOUNTAIN
JOSHUA 14:1-3
J. Hudson Taylor was the founder of the China Inland Mission. One day a man, attempting to find out the difficulties of missionary work, asked Hudson Taylor, what is the hardest mission in the world? Without any hesitation whatsoever, Hudson Taylor replied, "The hardest mission in the world is submission to God."
In our text, we see a senior saint, named Caleb, who was submitted to God. Caleb, a man who was devoted to the Lord.
While they were dividing the land, there is an interruption, there is a man who says to Joshua, 45 years ago, I was promised where I walked spying out the land , that it would be mind. Therefore, see that mountain over there, give me that mountain.
Let look at that man Caleb and look into his life and see what it is about him that he was able to make that request.
I-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FAVORED MAN:
Numbers 14:24A-But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him
(V. 6), “. . . CALEB THE SON OF JEPHUNNEH THE KENEZITE . . . "
It is possible that Caleb’s ancestors on his father’s side, were originally outside the covenant bond of the Children of Israel. The reason for suggesting such a view is based upon Caleb’s family tree mentioned in Joshua 14:6
If Caleb came from a family that was originally outside God’s covenant, then God again has brought to the forefront the fact that anyone who turns to Him by faith can be included in the household of faith.
Caleb had another spirit-not only a bold, generous courageous, noble, and heroic spirit; but the Spirit and influence of the God of heaven thus raised him above human inquietudes and earthly fears.
As we look at the life of Caleb, we see the difference between his and the others, it was the Spirit of God.
What God chooses, He cleanses. What God cleanses, He molds. What God molds, He fills. What God fills, He uses. - J. S. Baxter
This morning if you are saved, you have his Spirit, you are favored by God. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, it is no telling what you would be doing.
ILLUSTRATION: On a particularly rough airplane flight, a lady became very airsick. Her shoulders drooped, and her head slumped forward - she was totally wiped out. The stewardess came by to help her. "Come, come now," she said, "buck up and get control of yourself. Sit up and take courage." She put her arm under the lady’s arm and helped her sit upright in her seat, gave her gum to chew, and then went to get her some water. With the help of the stewardess, the lady finished the trip in far better condition than she began it in. This is like the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He comes alongside to help us when we are in hopeless defeat. He admonishes us, encourages us, and restores hope and faith in our lives.
II-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FAITHFUL MAN:
Numbers 13:30 and Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
ILLUSTRATION: The story is told of a man who rode in his car as it was being towed to be repaired. When they arrived at the repair shop, the tow truck driver told him, "I didn’t think I was going to make it up that big hill." The man replied, "I didn’t either. That’s why I kept the brakes on so we wouldn’t roll backwards."
CALEB DIDN’T PUT THE BRAKES ON HIS FAITH
Caleb wasn’t looking at the giants like the people were doing but according to 14:8, he had his eyes upon Lord.
Someone has said, little faith in a strong plank will get you across the stream, but a strong faith in a rotten plank will get you into the stream. (Caleb faith was in the strength of the almighty God)
Caleb’s faith was not a sham faith, but it was a real faith. His faith was faith wearing working clothes. He said we are not only able to take it, he moved out to take it.
He had working faith like James talked about. “faith without works if dead;”
ILLUSTRATION: D. L. Moody was saved at the age of 19. D. L. Moody heard an evangelist by the name of Henry Varley say, "The world has yet to see what God can do in and through and with and for a man wholly committed to him. D.L. Moody said, "By God’s grace I will be that man!" He was an uncultured, uneducated, untrained shoe salesman but God used him to move 2 continents for Christ.
Why? He was committed! Are you totally sold out to Jesus Christ and Him alone this morning?
III-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FEARLESS MAN:
Numbers 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
Why was he fearless? Because he was looking from Heaven’s viewpoint.
I heard the story of man who got on a airplane to fly for the first time. He was very nervous. As he looked out the window, he punched the man next to him and said, look, the people look like ants. The man replied, they are ants, we haven’t took off yet.
The people were saying, we look like grasshoppers in the the sight of the giants, and Caleb was saying the giants are grasshoppers.
He was in the minority, he had been out voted 10-2, but he still had the courage to stand for what was right.
I am afraid the reason our country is such a bad shape is that we as Christians have stood back and let the world have ever thing their way.
Caleb said about the enemy, they are “bread for us.”
ILLUTSTRATON: In his book One Crowded Hour, Tim Bowden describes an incident in Borneo in 1964. Nepalese fighters known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn’t clearly understand what was involved, but they bravely said they would do it, asking only that the planes fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, "Oh, you didn’t mention parachutes before!"
Jesus calls us to follow Him with a similar kind of commitment and courage, willing to risk all for His sake
IV-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FOLLOWING MAN:
Numbers 14:24B and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
God had all of Caleb that there was! Note the repeated phrase "Wholly followed the Lord." This is said about Caleb 6 times in the Old Testament. It is a phrase that means "To close the gap." It is a phrase used by hunters to refer to their closing the gap between themselves and their prey. It refers to the fact that Caleb was committed to keeping the distance between him self and the Lord at a minimum. Every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber of Caleb belonged to God.
LLUSTRATION: When Julius Caesar landed on the shores of Britain with his Roman legions, he took a bold and decisive step to ensure that success of his military venture. Ordering his men to halt on the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, he commanded them to look down at the water below. To their amazement, they saw every ship in which they had crossed the channel engulfed in flames. Caesar had deliberately cut off any possibility of retreat! Now that his soldiers were unable to return to the continent, there was nothing left for them to do but to advance and conquer! And that is exactly what they did.
Too many Christians have left themselves some sort of an escape hatch back into the old life of sin. We need to burn every bridge that leads back to the old life and set our minds to the task of conquering our Canaan.
"Three little girls were talking about their dads. One said, ’My father is a doctor, and he practices medicine.’ Another said, ’My dad’s an attorney, and he practices law.’ The third said, ’My father is a Christian, but he doesn’t practice any more.’
THERE ARE A LOT OF CHRISTIANS LIKE THAT TODAY
V-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FRUITFUL MAN:
Numbers 14:37-38 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
Caleb and Joshua were the only two (out of 603,550 men) who survived the forty years of wilderness wanderings and entered the promised land (Num 32:10-13). Their brethren did not enter Canaan, for as the Lord said of them "they have not wholly followed Me".
Hebrews 3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
ILLUSTRATION: When Martin Luther was in the throes of the Reformation and the Pope was trying to bring him back to the Catholic Church, he sent a cardinal to deal with Luther and buy him with gold. The cardinal wrote to the Pope, “The fool does not live gold.” The cardinal, when he could not convince Luther, said to him, “What do you think the Pope cares for the opinion of a German boor? The Pope’s little finger is stronger than all Germany. Do you expect your princes to take up arms to defend you — you, a
wretched worm like you? I tell you, No. And where will you be then?” Luther’s reply was simple: “Where I am now. In the hands of the Almighty God.”
THAT WHERE CALEB WAS ALSO, IN THE HAND OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD
VI-NOTICE THAT CALEB WAS A FIGHTING MAN:
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.
Someone has said, Caleb was old but he was bold. Even though he was 85, he wanted another Challenge.
ILLUSTRATION: Ray Crist, a retired scientist who started teaching at Messiah College near Harrisburg in 1970, put down his pointer Tuesday at age 104. He started at Messiah at age 70, after a career in science and a decade teaching at Dickinson University. In his 34 years at Messiah, he took only a token salary of $1 a year. Crist, though, has no plans to rest on his laurels. Instead, he’ll keep up with his research and academic papers, the latest of which sets out to explain how plants absorb toxic metals and thereby clean the soil.” When you have a mission, you go after it," said Crist, who worked on the Manhattan
Caleb choose the most rugged area , that which was full of giants. This was where Abraham was buried, where he had build his altars, the symbol of God’s presence.
Sometime the hardest places are the places where God is.
ILLUSTRATION: I read where a missionary couple who were in a hard place in China years ago. Their home Church begin to pray and work to get them back home. When they came back to their home Church, they asked them to pray to God , He would send them back..
ILLUSTRATION: President Eisenhower told this tale, "An old farmer had a cow that we wanted to buy. We went over to visit him and asked about the cow’s pedigree. The old farmer didn’t know what ’pedigree’ meant, so we asked him about the cow’s butterfat production. He told us that he didn’t have any idea. Finally, we asked him if he knew how many pounds of milk the cow produced each year. The farmer shook his head and said, ’I don’t know, but she’s an honest old cow, and she’ll give you all the milk she has!"’
God’s people need to be like that old cow. We need to give everything we have for Him
At the age of 85, he drove them out and possessed the Mountain. We need to do the same
CONCLUSION: I read the story that a preacher told about coon hunting. It seems that Jim prided himself on getting a treed coon down with a single shot from a 22. Tony decided to play a trick and adjusted the sights so it would shoot a little low.
One night they were out hunting and pretty soon the dogs took off. They ran and ran until they gave the signal that a coon had been treed. Jim took the gun and set the sights on that old coon. When he shot, nothing happened. Jim couldn’t believe that he had missed. He shot again, and hit the branch the coon was sitting on. He shot a couple more times and missed each time. Jim simply couldn’t believe it.
About that time, as Tony told the story, that coon got real nervous and started running down the tree. All the time the dogs are barking. It ran across the ground toward Tony and ran right up his legs and perched himself on Tony’s head. Jim said, "Don’t move. I’ll get him!" Tony saw the 22 aiming right at his head. He began to scream, "Aim higher! Aim higher!"
Now I’m not so sure that all of that story is true, but I do think that we miss out on a lot of God’s blessings because we aim too low. Like one fellow said, "Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it every time."
CALEB WAS A SENIOR SAINT WHO AIMED HIGH
