Sunday Message: Give Me This Mountain Joshua 14:7-15 with Pastor Barry Kerner
Give Me This Mountain
Joshua 14:7-15
Pastor Barry Kerner
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson commissioned his secretary Meriweather Lewis to blaze a trail across the West. I’m not sure I’d have chosen a guy named is “Merry Weather”?
The weather was anything but merry.
But Lewis & Clark were two of the greatest explorers in history.
But when you read their journals, you realize they nearly died crossing the Rocky Mountains. At one point, they were so starved, their party ate 20 lbs of candles.
This morning I wonder what mountains you’re facing?
Fear of Covid? Fear of the economy crashing? Fear of losing your business? Or your job? Fear of the upcoming elections? The direction of our nation?
What mountain do you fear? Some mountains don’t look too intimidating from a distance.
8 or 9 months ago, many of us thought, “Surely by this time, Covid will decline and we’ll be getting back to how things used to be. Everything will be reopened. The economy will rebound. And kids will be back in school like normal.”
But now, the mountains are looming larger than ever right in front of us. Maybe they seems insurmountable.
But Jesus tells His disciples that every mountain is movable.
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said, “ For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Does that sound crazy? A movable mountain?
As Christians we’re promised trials and tribulations. Sometime we have to tackle our mountains headlong.
Have you faced a mountain in your life and wondered if you would ever overcome it?
I receive great inspiration when I read the stories found in Book of Joshua. One of the main themes of Joshua is PROMISES.
Joshua 21:45 reminds us, “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. That reminds me of God’s PROMISES and His faithfulness.”
Joshua 24:15 tells us, “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, … But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” that reminds me of a choice and a PROMISE I’ve made and that I have to remain faithful.”
We all face mountains in our lives and often its a struggle overcoming life’s mountains and remaining faithful to the PROMISE we made to GOD.
Right now, I’m facing the mountain of getting older. I see new gray hairs on my head and feeling aches in my body that I’ve never felt before.
It seems that I was 17 years-old just yesterday! And yet, I have a vision of aging well from the Bible.
Psalm 92 promises me that
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
The story of Caleb in the Bible encourages me when I struggle to overcome the mountains and trials in my life.
Joshua 14:7-15
7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country, this mountain that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)
Then the land had rest from war.
You may recall that Caleb was one of the 12 men sent to spy out the Promised Land for Moses and report back on the conditions there.
When the men returned, 10 of the spies gave a bad report, stating all the reasons why they couldn’t conquer the land. However, Caleb and Joshua had a different spirit; they gave the people reasons why they could succeed. After all, they declared, “The Lord is with us.”
However, the people chose to believe the bad report. They disobeyed God and refused to go into the Promised Land. As a result, the Lord caused the people to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
Many name books / websites list the meaning of CALEB as “Dog” because it has a root meaning faithful. CALEB is actually a compound word in Hebrew – something that is quite common in ancient Hebrew. Col (Cuf + Lamed) = all or whole. Lev (Lamed + Vet) = heart. Therefore, CALEB (or COLEV as pronounced in Hebrew) actually means “whole hearted”.
On six separate occasions the Holy Spirit has recorded the fact that Caleb wholly followed the Lord. In a day when some who believed in God were content simply to follow, the Bible tells us that Caleb followed wholly, wholeheartedly
Numbers 14: 24 tells us, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”
Numbers 32: 11-12 says,‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— 12 not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’
Deuteronomy 1: 36 reminds us who inherited the Promised land, “Except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”
In Joshua 14: 8 Caleb is speaking and he says, “but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. “
In Joshua 14:9 is is said of Caleb, So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’
and in Joshua 14:14 scriptures record, “So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. “
We are not called to be half-hearted Christians. Like Caleb, God’s desires us to wholehearted Christians-Once we accept Christ as our Savior we are to be ALL in at ALL times.
Even though Caleb had to go through the wilderness too, the Lord made him a promise found in Numbers 14:24, “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.”
Caleb held on to the Lord’s promise for all those years. When they were complete had no problem speaking up. In Joshua 14:10-12, Caleb was able to stand before Joshua and declare boldly:
“And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 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. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said”
Don’t you just love that Caleb said, “give me this mountain” rather than hemming and hawing, “may I have this mountain, pretty please?”
Caleb knew what belonged to him and was willing to fight to get it.
I take away 3 things from Caleb’s story that help me to overcome mountains in my life. I pray that you will hold on to these as you face the mountains in your life.
- BELIEVE GOD’S WORD Caleb held fast to God’s word that the land was his, even though it didn’t look like it.
While others saw only obstacles, Caleb saw the possibilities:
The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
- BE RESILIENT When I throw this ball down to a hard surface? What happens? It bounces back!
I am sure that Caleb experienced much disappointment when he was denied going into the Promised Land the first time – all because the other people refused to believe God and did not claim what was rightfully theirs.
Disappointment hurts. But it is a mark of Spiritual maturity when you don’t let disappointment stop you.
You accept it, you admit that it hurts, but you forge ahead anyway.
You know that quitting is the 100% way to failure.
When Caleb said, “Give me this mountain,” I see his statement in 2 ways:
- He was determined to get what belongs to him, no matter what
- He was willing to embrace and overcome whatever obstacles and setbacks stood in his way
Suffering is a part of life in this sin-filled world. We won’t truly be free of pain until we get to heaven.
Oh what a glorious day that will be! But in the meantime, God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is our Comforter and Guide.
He helps us grow stronger as we go through life’s trials.
- BE WILLING TO FIGHT THE BATTLES Whenever you are trying to achieve something good in life, watch out!
There will be opposition.
The way to overcome is to keep the outcome for which you are believing firmly in your mind.
Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
You have to make God’s PROMISES bigger in your mind than any obstacle standing in the way.
Visualize those PROMISES several times a day and “see” it in your mind’s eye.
One of my favorite songs is Faithful Is Our God by Hezekiah Walker
Faithful, faithful, faithful is our God
Faithful, faithful, faithful is our God
I’m reaping the harvest God promised me
Take back what the devil stole from me
And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all
Yes, I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all
We need to remember that our God is faithful to His promises. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can enter into the realm of Satan and reclaim all that he has taken from us.
Caleb held on to the vision that he would receive the land the Lord gave him.
He and His people were willing to fight the “giants” in the land to receive their inheritance.
He knew His enemies would not give up without a fight.
So he faced that reality, and he was willing to endure any “battle scars.” But he wasn’t willing to give up. We also need to stand on the Word of God and refuse to give in and give up.
As a result, this was Caleb’s prize as found in Joshua 14:13-14, ”Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.”
Caleb received his inheritance because he wholly followed God.
We receive our inheritance in the same way. By wholeheartedly following God!
We may get some bruises and scrapes along the way, but we remain determined to claim our mountain.
Just as in the natural, Spiritual mountains are not easy to climb. But once you get to the top, the view is spectacular!