Your Dreams are only as Big as your God

The last time we spoke we talked about the spies that went in to scout out the Promised Land. 10 of the 12 came back with a bad report because they focused on the enormity of the task not the promise; God said he was going to give them the land. Their perspective going in changed after they saw the fortified walls of the cities and the size of the people.

The grapes they brought back as evidence of a forthcoming blessing wasn’t proof enough for them to stand on the word God had given them.

Today we’ll be in Numbers 14. It tells us how the whole congregation of close to 2 mil. people reacted, how Moses pleaded to God to spare the people, and how God’s promise would still be fulfilled. Keep this thought in mind as we read;

There’s some Stuff you Gotta Go Through in order to get the Stuff You Need

READ. Numbers 14:20-24. PRAY.

There was a lady who lived alone in a suburban apartment complex. Upset at the noise from the adjacent apartment that she claimed was disturbing her; she immediately picked up the phone and called her landlord. “You need to get up here right away,” she told him. “There is a huge party going on next door, and I want it to stop!” Worried about the idea of losing one of his tenants, the landlord hurried up to the woman’s apartment.

The woman was eagerly awaiting his assistance and stood there in her open doorway tapping her fingers on the door. The woman invited him in and proclaimed that this was the third time her neighbors had thrown a party this month and that this one was worse than the others.

The landlord listened closely but could not hear even the slightest sound penetrating the wall between her and her neighbor’s apartment. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I cannot hear anything.” “Well,” she explained, “You’re not listening close enough. If you will go into the bathroom, shut the door, and hold this glass to the wall, you can hear nearly every word they say!”

Just like that lady the Israelites complained and grumbled about what God hadn’t provided, how Moses and Aaron led them to die in the desert, they complained they were better off enslaved in Egypt. They complained that their wives and children would become prey to the people living in the land of Canaan.

Aren’t we the same way; we grumble and complain when things don’t turn out they way we had hoped so we back peddle. Things aren’t always as they seem. Instead of turning to God’s blessing they turn to stone the people who wanted to lead them to God’s blessing.

As funny as that story of the lady in her apartment there are a lot of people living like her. That no matter the peace we have in our lives we would rather believe things are miserable and try and convince those around us of the same.

No matter what evidence God places in our lives we can distort it when we lack faith.

Their hopes and dreams were being dashed but there were two men whose dreams were still alive, Joshua and Caleb. Today I want to look at the qualities that were present in Caleb qualities we need to keep our hopes and dreams alive.

There are three characteristics present in Caleb that we all need to have if we’re going to live out the dreams God has given us.

Before we get to the three traits found in v. 24 let me say this. I don’t believe Caleb had a dream until God used Moses in Caleb’s life to show him what he wanted him to do. I believe the minute that Caleb was chosen from amongst many, to spy out the land, the dream was in motion. The night before this 40 day journey into the Promised land, would birth his passion for adventure and his leadership qualities would start to take shape. Now for 10 spies and the whole congregation it was no longer a promised land, they had given up on God, but for Caleb and Joshua it was a promise that would have to wait becoming their dream!

Here’s the first thing you need to keep your dreams alive;

Humility v. 24 reads, “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.”

Caleb was as ambitious as an accomplished athlete, a driven businessman, as a devoted homemaker as ambitious as a graduate at the top of his class. God using servant in reference to someone as ambitious as Caleb is quite remarkable.

Ambitious people are generally not servants, at least not for long. They are usually people with their heads up in the clouds and a tilt to their chins. Caleb must have struck a balance with his ambition and his humility before God.

Caleb shows us that as we pursue our dreams no matter how ambitious they are we should never lose sight of our true position with our Master! He is Lord and we are not. Our dreams need God’s favor and when we humble ourselves to Him he sees to it that our dreams come true. “The humble will see their God at work and be glad.” (Ps. 69:32) “The Lord supports the humble...”(Ps. 138:6) “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in His good time He will honor you.” (1 Peter 5:6)

Wouldn’t you like to be honored by God? Then humble yourselves before Him as Caleb. Mark Atteberry wrote a book about Caleb entitled appropriately, “The Caleb Quest-the boldest dreamer in the Bible”. The beauty and reflection of God in his creatures is present in a flock of geese.

Did you ever notice how geese when they fly, rarely fly alone. They fly with companions in a “V” formation. They fly that way because as they flap their wings it creates an uplift for the birds that follow. The whole flock adds 71% more range than when they fly alone.

God doesn’t want you and I to fly alone. When we fly with Him we’ll not only know the direction he wants to take us but the trip will be much more enjoyable and easier when we humble ourselves and let him lead our lives. The question for you and I becomes;

No matter how big I get how large and in charge I become, no matter how high my dreams, as long as I consider myself humbled before my Lord, God is leading and I’m following we’ll get some where. Remember scripture says where I am weak He is strong, when I humble myself in my weakness He gets the glory and that excites God and makes Him want to get involved in our pursuits.

The second thing we need to keep our dreams alive;

Courage v. 24 reads, “...Caleb has a different spirit...”

A man once said that, “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are afraid.” That flies in the face of everyone who says that they aren’t afraid of anything. They must not be living yet at least not chasing the dreams of their life. When you pursue God He wants to take you places you’ve never been to places you could have only dreamed of and at first it’s scary. You never know with God how he’ll lead you just trust and follow. “Fear Not” is used more than any other command in the Bible, Why? Because I believe that God knows fear will be the thing that will keep people from following Him.

The faithlessness of the whole Israelite congregation almost led them to chose another leader to take them back to Egypt. Instead they received their judgment. For everyday they scouted out the land they would spend a year wandering in the wilderness until everyone over the age of twenty was dead.

There would be 85 funerals a day for the next 37½ years partly because of fear.

Along your journey you will have to go through people who are out in the wilderness and lack the faith needed to pursue dreams. I pray you’ll have the courage necessary to overcome that fear.

Remember that Caleb and Joshua were threatened with stoning. They could have right then retreated and conformed with the rest of faithless Israel but they chose to be courageous in the face of death. As soon as you make a stand to “be different” as the text says you’ll be met with threats to be like the rest of the crowd. We live in a world that worships conformity. I’ve got a biblical answer for you, “Don’t do it!” Caleb held onto the dream of entering into a land promised him for 40 years. Whatever the wait for you it’ll be worth it. Caleb suffered 40 years because of his peoples lack of courage. But because his courage was larger than his fears he held onto his dream. Caleb was surrounded by a spiritual desert of faithless people and so will you. Ask yourself;

“God do I have what it takes to follow you in the difficult circumstances of life?” If not God then give me courage enough to walk through those deserts until its time to enter in.

You remember the movie “The Wizard of Oz” or the story of Dorothy and her dog Toto. They made that journey along the Yellow Brick Road with their companions: The Cowardly Lion, The Tin man and the Scarecrow.

The scarecrow wanted a brain. The Tin man wanted a heart. The Lion wanted courage. Of course, the three of them already had these things, but they didn't believe they did. The Wizard gave the scarecrow some brains. And he believed he was smart. He gave the Tin man a heart. And the Tin man believed he was tender and loving. The Lion drank a special potion which, according to the Wizard was courage. "Drink this," said the Wizard, "And you will be filled with courage." Believing the Wizard, the Lion drank the potion and feared nothing. The Wizard helped change the course of people's lives by changing their beliefs about themselves.

I have hope for you today. You already possess everything you need to enter into the biggest dreams fulfilled by God. If you believe he died on a cross for your sins, sins that separated you from God, you have already made him the Lord and Savior of your life. A dream and a promise is nothing for him to give to you He’s the God who breathed life into you. Ephesians 6 tells us to take up the shield of faith because we in a war, get offensive. Caleb shows us to put on courage as we fight that war. Jesus and His shed blood ensured the victory!

We need to humble ourselves subjecting ourselves to God through his word. We need to have courage to be different from everybody else. So we need humility and courage to keep our God designed dreams alive and finally we need;

Commitment v. 24 reads, “He has remained loyal to me...” NLT

You know its going to take commitment to get anywhere worthwhile in life? You know the test of Caleb’s loyalty wasn’t going in to spy out the promised land with his men. The test was remaining loyal to God when he saw the giants and the fortified cities. The test of loyalty came when he realized that the dream of having his own land wasn’t going to be easy. An attack on your right standing with God is coming your way if it already hasn’t begun. Will you remain loyal to the God of your unfulfilled dreams? Are the promises in His word enough for you to remain in Him? He’s promised to remain in You.

The story is told of one:

Hernando Cortes had a plan. He wanted to lead an expedition into Mexico to capture its vast treasures. When the Spanish heard about it, he gave Cortes 11 ships and 700 men. Little did he know that Cortes had failed to reveal the entire plan.

After months of travel, the 11 ships landed in Veracruz in the spring of 1519. As soon as the ships were unloaded, Cortes instituted the rest of his plan-he burned the ships!

That’s what you call commitment. That’s what you call no turning back. That’s what some call burning bridges. But Cortes didn’t have any bridges so he burned his ships.

Essentially he eliminated the options. He didn’t know what he would encounter on his expedition to the interior. But he did know this: There could be no escape routes for his men. If the fighting got too fierce or the expedition too exhausting, there was no going back to Veracruz and sailing home. In one fell swoop he had not only eliminated the options but had created an intensely powerful motivation to succeed.

Today more than ever we need men and women who are willing to “burn their ships” when it comes to their commitment to God and His Word. Burning your ships expresses commitment that requires loyalty no matter what comes your way, you’re not turning back ‘till you get your blessing. You need to have a plan like Hernando Cortes, one that doesn’t have an escape route, one that will require loyalty and commitment.

Too often in our age whether in athletics, business, politics or even in marriages we have a commitment that is only honored when convenient.

Here’s what I want you to know today;

God is speaking to you through the circumstances of life. (so if you’re not living his brand of Christianity you may as well be a dead man walking) His promises and blessings will not always be served up as “grapes” on a silver platter in life to you.

Here’s what I want you to do;

Refuse to sit there as a spectator in your life of circumstances. Get into God’s word so that you can be active in the pursuit of the dreams he’s placed in you. Get the Jesus in you involved in the life of the people right in front of you; your wife, your child, parents, co-workers and teammates. Let them know by the way you are lead in life that you are a people with faith enough to not be deterred by fear. Courageous enough to be different and willing to remain loyal to the cross you carry!

Here’s what I want you to do take up your cross and don’t put it down. Stay committed to the God you’ve entrusted with your life eternal. Decide in your heart that you will be loyal to Him for everything you’ve received from him. Decide to “burn your ships” there’s no going back! Amen.