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Category Archives: Christian Articles

Caleb: Give Me This Mountain

May 8th, 2013

I will  presenting this  lesson on June 3, 2013 at the Southern Illinois Preacher’s Retreat at Little Egypt Christian Youth Camp, at  Dahlgren, IL

Text: Joshua 14:6-14

Introduction:

The title of our message today is a statement or demand that a man named Caleb made to Joshua.  It was made during the conquest of the “Promised Land,” the land of Canaan.  Most modern translations translate Caleb’s statement in this manner: “give me the hill country.”

Before we get into the exposition and application of the passage in Joshua 14, we must get the background of the passage and the   events in our text.

We go back 45 years to see what’s going on. We have the   narrative of the   “Exodus.”  Numbers 10 and following recount the departure from Mt. Sinai and the events that transpired.  The people are at the border of the “promised land.”

Moses follows the command of God to send 12 spies, one from each of the 12 tribes to go and check out the land and report back to him.  The tribe of Ephraim chose Joshua, the son of Nun; the tribe of Judah chose Caleb, son of Jephunneh. No doubt they were picked because they were the strongest, bravest, and most reliable.

Moses gave them instructions and they spied out the land for 40 days and then returned to give their report. (Number 13:17-33) The report  started off  really well  but  10 of the  spies said that they  could not  conquer the land, even  though God  had  promised it to them

Caleb and Joshua told Moses and the people, that with God’s help, they could   conquer the land but the people believed the report of the 10 spies. Because of that every man 20 or over died in the 38 yrs.  of wilderness wanderings and did not get to enter the “Promised Land.”

As we said, the bright lights in this story   were Joshua and Caleb. In Joshua 14:24 we read these words: “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”

Now we fast forward 45 years. A  new  generation of   people, under  Joshua’s leadership has engaged the enemy in battle and  won  many  decisive  victories and  it is time  to divide the land and  give each tribe their  inheritance. Now we have an 85 year old man stepping up to claim his inheritance. He is a picture of a child of God who is not satisfied with the ordinary, but wants all that God can give him.

What contributed to the   success of Caleb?  How did he   show his faith and put it into action?   What are some of the characteristics and traits that Caleb possessed that we ought to emulate in our walk for the Lord Jesus?

Exposition of the Passage.

Caleb Was Committed. Joshua 14:8, 9, 14

  • God had all of Caleb.
  • He “wholly followed the Lord.” – This is said of Caleb at least 5 times in the Old Testament.
  • Caleb’s faith did not help him move any mountains, but it did help him capture one.

Caleb Was Confident of His Own Faith. (Joshua 14:10-11)

  • Caleb knew that his strength and vitality was a gift from God. And gave God the credit.
  • Caleb knew that he would have to use His God-given strength and go out and fight for his inheritance.
  • Someone said, “Caleb’s faith wore work clothes.”

Caleb Was Patiently Persistent.

  • God had made a promise to Caleb 45 years ago.
  • Caleb believed it and expected God to keep His Word.

Application for Us.

What   does it mean to follow the Lord fully or wholly as Caleb did?  How might we follow Christ fully today?

  • We must seek to follow the Lord at all times.
  • We must follow Jesus all our days.

James DeForest Murch wrote a song back in the 1930’s. It is called “I’ll put Jesus First in My Life.”  The chorus reads as follows:

“In ALL that I Say, In ALL that I do,

               Throughout the world of toil and strife,

               By Day and by night, through trust in His might,

               I’ll put Jesus First in My Life.”

  • We Must Follow Jesus With All Our Heart.
  • We must believe God’s promises completely.
  • We must do more than “window-shop with God’s promises.”

Illustration: “A fellow said to his wife, ‘Why do you call it shopping? You never buy anything.’ She replied, ‘Well, why do you call it fishing? You never catch anything!’”

As believers, we need to be like Caleb and claim God’s promises to the fullest. He said that He wanted us to have an “abundant life.”

Every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber of Caleb belonged to God—can we say the same?

  • We must follow the Lord with undivided attention.
  • We must seek Him and His kingdom first.
  • We must  not  love the world (1 John 2:15-17)
  • We must show that we have “changed kingdoms.”
  • We must show that we have been  “rescued from the domain of darkness” (Col. 1:12-14)

We Must Follow The Lord Despite the Hazards or Dangers

  • Caleb faced giants in the land (Num. 13:33).
  • Caleb faced the wrath of his brethren (Num. 14:10)
  • He took a mountain from giants in his old age (Jos. 14:10-12)

What of us today?

  • We must not follow only when convenient.
  • We must not only follow when it is popular.

As the preacher is told to “Preach the Word in season and out of season…” All Christians must follow Him completely.

We must be fully equipped for service to our Lord!   In II Tim. 3:15-16, we are told that the Lord will equip us for service if we will let Him.  He has given us all we need “pertaining to life and godliness,” so we can “take it to the bank” that He will be with us. We have the promise that the Word of God is given that we may be complete in the Lord.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus at all times (Heb. 12:1-4), knowing that He will be with us “for the duration,” yea, for all of time.

We must take up the “Whole Armor of God.”

Conclusion

  • We must let the example of Caleb inspire us to follow the Lord fully.
  • We must follow Him all the days of our lives.
  • We must follow Him with all our hearts and minds.
  • We must follow Him despite all the dangers.

If we do, we will have a full, useful and abundant life in the Lord.

Don’t forget—Caleb and Joshua were the only 2 (out of 603,550 men) who survived the wilderness wanderings and entered the Promised Land.  Their brethren did not because the Lord said, “they have not wholly followed me.”

How are “we” following the Lord? Like Caleb? Or like those who died in the wilderness?

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An Example of a Sincere Faith

April 5th, 2013

standfirmThe Word of God tells  us   of many   men and  women of faith. We read about how they  put their faith into action.  Serving  God requires  action on our  part. If we are willing to  accept the Lord Jesus as  our  Savior and obey the Gospel by being  “buried with Him in baptism,”  God had promised that  our  sins will be  remitted and we will receive the “Gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

We  must  want to  grow “in the grace and  knowledge of the Lord Jesus.” The Lord has promised to  equip His  followers  for  service.  We  must  put  our faith into action and  be “doers of the Word and not  hearers only.” We must desire to grow spiritually.

We  must endeavor  to have a  faith that is real, a faith that is  active and ongoing. The  Apostle Paul had that  kind of  faith and he shared the importance of that faith with Timothy, as well as others.  Paul never ceased to encourage Timothy. I’m sure  he learned that, in part, from Barnabus, who is  called “the son of encouragement.”

Faith, like other characteristics of  believers  is meant to  grow. All of us are at  different  places  in our  spiritual pilgrimage.  Paul in 1 &  2nd Timothy  is attempting to  encourage Timothy and get  him to build upon his  faith in Jesus. In the  2nd  Epistle, Paul who is in prison  in Rome  awaiting  execution knows that this is   last  chance  to write to Timothy. He   wants Timothy to come to  Rome; we  do not know  if he  made it.

In  2 Timothy  1:3-5 we have Paul reminding Timothy of the  heritage  he has in Christ. He  first  tells him that he  is  praying for him.  Secondly, he reminds Timothy of his spiritual heritage.  Timothy was  blessed to have  a  faithful grandmother and mother.

Paul tells  Timothy  that  he  is confident of the  faith of Lois and Eunice and that  he  believe that  kind of  faith is  present in  Timothy also.  Paul calls it a “sincere” faith (ESV). The  NKJV uses the  word “genuine,” while  the  ASV uses  “unfeigned.”

Denny Petrillo, President of Bear Valley Bible  Institute of Denver, in a  series of  expository  lessons  on  2 Timothy given at the 2012 “Re Charge Me Conference” in Monterey, CA explained “sincere faith” in the  following  manner.   “It is a  faith that is  present, even in the dark. It is a  24/7 faith. His faith is the   ‘real deal.’”

It seems, according  to 2 Timothy 1:6-7 that Timothy’s  faith  may have  been weakening. Paul admonishes  him to “fan into flame” (ESV) or “kindle afresh” (NASB1977).  We  must always  be growing  in Jesus, using what  He  has   given to  equip us  for  service. We must take  advantage of all the Lord has  for us.

If we have the “sincere faith” Paul  mentions  here, we will be  able  to live an  abundant life in the Lord  Jesus and  help others  to the  same, thus living out our faith as the Lord Jesus  told us in  Matthew 5:16: “In the  same way, let your light shine before  others, so that they may see your good works and give glory  to your Father who is in Heaven.”

Having a  “sincere or genuine faith” means  putting Jesus first and living out our faith.

 

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How Then Shall We Live?

January 17th, 2013

One of the greatest and most precious promise in the Word of God is th certainty go the return of the Lord Jesus for His church.  Christians are expected to live a different kind of life than that of the unbeliever. Col. 3:1-2 tells us that we are to set our minds on the things that are above; that is on things that have a Heavenly perspective.

How should we live and conduct ourselves in the here and now as we wait for Jesus’ return?  Every generation of Christians from the first century has had the promise of His coming. Believing that He could come at any time should motivate us to greater service to Jesus and His church.

How should we be living in anticipation of the return of the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13)?  We must be found not only waiting and looking forward to His coming but must be active and faithful in our service to Him. Paul gave us a wonderful motivation for righteous living–believers are waiting for a hope that is already a certainty. We can look forward to Christ’s return with eager expectation.   We must adhere to the words of a popular song: “We’ll work til Jesus come.”

By utilizing the term“Blessed Hope,” Paul brings out at least 2 aspects of Christian living that should be stressed today.

Waiting with anticipation and  hoping for Christ’s glorious appearing.  The waiting is good  for us: it builds character, endurance, and perseverance. The hoping makes the waiting bearable.

C. S. Lewis wrote: “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think to the other world that they have become ineffective in this one. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.”

Four words seem to characterize our earthly sojourn.

  1. Occupy.  Use your talents for the Lord. I believe that every Christian has at least one talent that he or she can utilize to bring glory to God. There is room in the Kingdom for all Christians to develop and use their talents to further the work of the church.
  2. Purify.  We must say “No!” to the world’s attractions. (1 John 2:15-17)  we must practice mind renewal in a mindless society (Romans 12:1-2).
  3. Watch.  This watching will include waiting and working. We must seek to be active in His service and not just occupy a pew.  We must want to do all it takes to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
  4. Worship.  Gathering around the Lord’s Table reminds us of both redemption and the return of the Lord Jesus.

Keep looking up! Jesus  may come TODAY!

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