How To Thrive at 85
Notes
Transcript
Numbers 14:24, Joshua 14:6-15
Introduction
Introduction
Caleb was 85 years old when he set out to do battle with the sons of Anak, to give the devil and his demons a thrashing they would never forget!
Now, just in case someone thinks, “Well, preacher, people lived hundreds of years back then, 85 years old was nothing” I’ll remind you that we are in the book of Joshua, and within a few generations after the flood, lifespans drastically dropped, by the time of Moses which is where are in the Bible, you can average by the folks we know ages on, that lifespan was about 70-80 years with some exceptions, just like today, of people living to 100 or a bit over...
I say all that because I’ve heard someone say that in response to this. I told them that we like to make these characters seem so different than we are, like they have superpowers, but in reality, we are more like them than we care to think. Realizing that brings us encouragement, but it also brings a sense of responsibility.
Here’s my point...Caleb was a man who finished well!
It's never too late to take on a giant, but it's better to start young...Caleb started young...When he was young, he was filled with the vision of a new Lord, a new life, and a new land.
Caleb had been born a slave in the land of Egypt. He knew defeat and humiliation. He knew the ever-present threat of death. He longed for a savior, for someone to come and lead him into a truly victorious life. He was tired of being kicked and cursed, of being bullied and beaten...Isn't that how sin does us today? I'm glad that we don't have to live that way, we can come to Jesus and He will give us life everlasting and a life that's worth living!
While the Christian life is undoubtedly a series of peaks and valleys, it is, above all, to be an upward journey. The church today needs people who will leave the valley and climb the mountains of opportunity that God places into their paths. Edmund Hillary, the first to successfully climb Mt. Everest, was asked why he attempted to climb the highest mountain in the world. His answer was that there are some views that are only accessible at the very top.
As Christians today, we often find ourselves plodding in the valley when the Lord's desire for us is to attain the opportunities that are only available at the top of the mountain!
Back in Numbers 13, Caleb was one of the twelve sent to spy out the promised land; he had a taste of the Promised Land, a taste of all that awaited him in Canaan.
One taste of the fruits of Canaan spoiled his appetite for the onions, leeks, and garlic of Egypt. We know that in the majority report, the ten other spies told terrifying tales of great fenced cities, and GIANTS who made themselves look like grasshoppers...We read that Caleb and Joshua were the only two that had faith in God that they could take the land that God had promised them...
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.
When others saw giants, Caleb saw God!
When others saw cities walled up to heaven, Caleb saw cities reduced to rubble!
When others saw a dangerous, dreadful, diabolical foe, Caleb only saw a defeated foe!
When others only saw foes, Caleb saw fruit!
When others looked at the problems, Caleb looked at the promises!
When so many of his fellow believers grumbled, complained, fretted, found fault, and fought among themselves, Caleb followed the Lord!
WHAT MADE CALEB DIFFERENT? WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT HIM?
That’s what were going to look at for a little while...
Caleb’s Commitment
Caleb’s Commitment
Now the first key to Caleb’s success was that 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.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber of Caleb belonged to God. Now you may think that because you are not a preacher or deacon or SS teacher or whatever, God doesn't expect to have all of you. Wrong - Wrong - Wrong.
God deserves your all. If you're holding back even a little bit you ought to be ashamed of yourself! Why? You are bought with a price...
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
You can’t go forward if you’re holding back…Not even a little. It takes commitment, something we don’t see much of anymore in the House of God. We see it everywhere else, just not here.
Caleb’s Confidence
Caleb’s Confidence
What was it that gave 85 year old Caleb the idea he could be a giant killer? It was Caleb's FAITH in God's Word!
And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.
Caleb had seen the Promised Land and for 45 years that vision burned in his heart as he wandered through the wilderness...While others complained, Caleb looked for a mountain where milk and honey flowed, where the grapes as big as my head grew! He was able to see beyond his circumstances into the promises of the Lord! - We need some people who have been cut from that same cloth!
Caleb, at the age of 85, refused to consider for a moment that he was now well stricken in years..."Well stricken in nothing," I could hear him say..."Me?..
"I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now....Now therefore give me this mountain" That’s what he says in (Joshua 14:11-12)
Caleb’s Courage
Caleb’s Courage
Commitment led to confidence - confidence leads to courage. Caleb had to overcome 3 great obstacles in his quest for Canaan...
He had to overcome Grasshoppers
He had to overcome Grasshoppers
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
As I mentioned earlier, Caleb had to go against the majority to claim what God had promised him.
There will always be someone saying that it can't be done, it's never been done like that before, we can't afford it, etc. Sometimes, as a Christian, you’re going to have to stand alone, but if you are standing on God's Word, you'll never been in better company!
In Numbers 14:22-38, we read that...
The Lord spares the people of Israel from complete destruction as a nation, but they will still be punished: no one 20 years old or older (with the exceptions of Joshua and Caleb) will enter the Promised Land. They will wander in the wilderness for the next 40 years until all of them die and a new generation is born. The 10 unfaithful spies die immediately from a plague; ya’ll hear me! The ones that didn’t show any faith, the one’s that said it can’t be done, we are grasshoppers and there’s no use to try…Oh my, that’s convicting isn’t it?
He had to overcome Giants
He had to overcome Giants
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
There’s two options -
The 10 other spies said, "Look how small we are compared to these giants" This is the outlook of fear!
Caleb said, "Look how small these giants are compared to God!" This is the uplook of faith! Caleb’s focus was on God, while the other spies focus was on themselves...
He had to overcome Gray Hair
He had to overcome Gray Hair
When God makes a promise, he will give us the strength to see it through! Never count God, or yourself out. He may not fulfill those promises when we think He should; He always works on His time, but you can guarantee, if God promised, He will deliver...Sometimes, we have to be patient.
When Caleb spied out the land, he was 40 years old. It was 45 years later that he was able to get his inheritance…And, he still had to fight for it…
As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Yes, Caleb was 85, yes, he had finally obtained that mountain, that inheritance, but it was no time to sit down, get comfortable, and rest…He was ready for war, and his inheritance.
Cable’s Conquest
Cable’s Conquest
Caleb experienced what God had promised!
He climbed the mountains and he defeated the giants - he claimed his possession!
The name of the place Caleb inherited was named Hebron - Hebron means "fellowship". Caleb refused to quit until he had obtained everything the Lord had for him! He refused to stop until he had obtained that place of fellowship with God!
This should be our battle cry! We ought to refuse to give up, back up, shut up, or be held up, until we have stood up, lined up, read up, prayed up, confessed up, stored up, spoke up, looked up, and filled up on everything the Lord wants to give His children!
Conclusion
Conclusion
WE SHOULD SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS THAN THAT PLACE OF PERFECT FELLOWSHIP WITH OUR LORD
What about you? Have you claimed your possession? It isn't God's will for you to wander around the wilderness in defeat forever!
If you’re not saved today, don’t put it off any longer, come today and be saved. Don’t reject God to the point where He rejects you!
Christian, maybe you’re cold, maybe you complain and murmur more than you trust in God. Come get right with Him this morning! Follow Caleb’s example for life: be living and thriving for God! It’s the best life!