Message Notes

31 August 2014

Text: Joshua 14

“GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN”

(I) A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE PLACE OF CALEB IN THE GENERATIONS OF ISRAEL

1. In the original generation

a) Moses…80 years old when he started his ministry

b) Joshua and Caleb… 40 years old, the younger end of the generation

2. Through the 40 years in the wilderness

a) Moses was the leader

b) Joshua and Caleb assisted

c) They experienced and saw all that Israel went through

d) They were able to see all the works of God…both blessings and judgments

3. In the next generation

a) Joshua and Caleb were now 80 and are the leaders of the next generation

b) Need for those who have seen and experienced to lead

c) A new generation that came up who did not know Moses

d) Need for the young to rise up as Caleb and Joshua did

(II) A LOOK BACK AT THE PERSONAL TESTIMONY OF CALEB AT 40 YEARS OLD

1. A confident spirit to overcome the armies of the land

“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’ ” Numbers 13:30

2. A great faith in God who will give the land to them

“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.” Numbers 14:7-9

3. A servant with a different spirit

“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.” Numbers 14:24

4. Full obedience to the Lord

“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ ” Joshua 14:7-9

(III) SUSTAINING STRENGTH AT 85 YEARS OLD

1. Through the keeping of the Lord

“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.” Joshua 14:10

2. The sustained strength of Caleb

“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.” Joshua 14:11

(IV) A CHALLENGE TO CONQUER ONE’S MOUNTAIN

“Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day;” Joshua 14:12

1. A great task of conquering this mountain

2. As promised by the Lord

3. It will be a great challenge

“For you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified.” Joshua 14:12

4. The Lord will help him to success

“It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” Joshua 14:12

(V) AS THE NEXT GENERATION OF BETHANY

1. Leading the original generation

2. Part of the tail end of the original generation

a) Similar to Caleb and Joshua

b) Seen all of that has happened

c) Learning to have the same spirit

3. The next generation

a) Time to lead the next generation

b) The next generation to rise up with the same spirit

c) To take on the challenges of life with strength and courage