A TIME TO LOOK BACK 5-30-99 Wesley Home

A TIME TO LOOK BACK

Joshua 14:1-13

Text: Joshua 14:10 "...He has kept me"

Introduction

   This was a time of retrospection or a time to look back and recount the blessings of God and how far He had brought them.  I know that Jesus said "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God..."  But this is not the kind of  'looking back' I'm talking about here.  Just as we have passed from 1998 into 1999 and heading for the year 2000, it would be good for us to recount the past and see what God has kept us from.

            Joshua and Caleb were two of the original twelve spies that were sent into the Promised Land to spy out the land 45 years before this time in our text. Moses had yielded to the fears of the people and had agreed to send in the spies.  (Deuteronomy 1:19-46) Read for this is enlightening.

            Out of this spying mission there were two reports; A pessimistic report by ten of the spies that minimized God and maximized the enemy. (My PC --each screen has a minus sign at the top and 2 little boxes and an X . The minus sign is to minimize or reduce the page on the screen, the little boxes maximize it. It took me a while to learn this because I didn't read the instructions good enough.  The second report given was by Joshua and Caleb. It was an optimistic report that Maximized God! (Num.14: 6-9).

            Here was Caleb, now 85 years old, saying,  "Give me this mountain..." Forty years earlier, he had been faithful to the mission God chose for him. Now he is reporting to Joshua with this text in Joshua 14:10 "He has kept me...alive"

            In this message, I want us to look at some of the ways in which the Lord kept Caleb and in looking back on our life, how He has kept us!

I. HE HAS KEPT US FROM DISCOURAGEMENT

            A. Ex 14:29-31 The crossing of the Red Sea

                        1. It was here that the majority of the Israelites complained bitterly to Moses,  "you've brought us out here to die..." Not Caleb.

                        2. Have you had a "Red Sea crossing" this past year? I tell you God has been good! Even when we came to our "wits-end”, God was there to see us through!

                        3. It was there that Moses said, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” Remember, our moment of desperation is God's opportunity to work a miracle. But we have to trust Him! Even though when it looks hopeless, He will be there to take us through to victory.

            B. During the Golden Calf episode (Ex. 32)

                        1. Here, when it seemed all Israel was turning their back on the Lord, Caleb was not discouraged. Describe this scene, while Moses was in the mountain hearing from God.  The people turned to idolatry, away from the true worship of Jehovah.

                        2. When someone close to us may have faltered and became discouraged, God has kept you from turning away.  When you were tempted to substitute other things in your life for your allegiance to God, you kept your faith in Him.

            C. During the entire 45 years of wilderness wanderings Caleb was kept from

                 discouragement. (Joshua 14:7-8)

                        1. When he was almost stoned to death (Numbers 14:1-10) Read

                                    a. Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage the people, but they turned on them and wanted to stone them to death.

                        2. When serpents or snakes bit thousands. Num 21:4-6

                        3. Thank God! He has kept us from discouragement. That doesn't mean we didn't have moments of discouragement, but God saw us through it!

II. HE HAS KEPT ME IN HEALTH AND STRENGTH

            A. CALEB AND JOSHUA'S GENERATION WAS ALL DEAD (Num. 14:36-38)

                        1. Every one of those who left Egypt was not permitted to go in and possess the land of promise because of their unbelief. They were all dead.

                        2. Look at Caleb again: Joshua 14:10-11 read.

                                    a. He was still strong and ambitious at 85 years of age. (v.11)

                                    b. Give me this mountain!

            B. Spiritual health promotes good physical health.

                        1. 3John v. 2 "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."

                        2. Is your soul prospering? Are you enjoying spiritual health?  Are you still challenged by mountains, even though you've served the Lord a long time?

III. HE HAS KEPT ME FROM....A CRITICAL SPIRIT

            A. What Caleb had seen

                        1. Miriam, the sister of Moses was turned into a leper when she became critical of Moses (Num 12:9-10)

                        2. The 250 Princes of Korah that were swallowed up by the earth in an earthquake because they had mounted a rebellion against Moses.  (Num. 16:31-35

                        3. If you've been in the Church very long, you may have seen church problems or trouble.  It is not necessary, nor is it pretty.

            B. The Lord is able to keep us in peace even when there is turmoil and strife around us.

                        1. Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble."

                        2. Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trust in you."

                        3. It is easy to join the crowd when they are inciting trouble and turmoil. It takes a real Christian to be steadfast and stand for the right. When someone comes to you and wants to share gossip, be sweet and polite, but tell them "I don't want to be a garbage dump" It is usually couched in such terms as, " I don't know if this is true or not, but this is what I heard..." Then that my friend is garbage...don't repeat it and don't listen to it.  Be the one who promotes peace and you will have peace.

                        4. "Oh my brother there is honey in the rock for you"  That sweetness and peace He will give us if we keep our eyes on Him and not on the turmoil that surrounds us.

IV. HE HAS KEPT ME...IN TIME OF TEMPTATION

            A.  Caleb was one of the leaders in Israel. As such, he was a target for temptation.

                        1. He was not afraid to take a stand for what he felt was right, and what was the will of God.

                        2. He, no doubt, was tempted when they threatened to stone him.

                        3. After he heard the negative report of the majority 10 spies, he may have been tempted to join in. (Num 13:30).

                        4. But because he did not join-in he was the only one, besides Joshua, that did not die in the Wilderness. (Num. 26:65) "For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun."

CONCLUSION:  What has God kept you from this past year? He alone knows! We are here!  It is to those who endure to the end that will hear the Master say "Enter in to the joys of thy Lord..."  HE HAS KEPT ME ALIVE! FOR WHAT? TO GO ON LIVING! TO GO ON CONQUERING! TO GO ON UNTIL HE SAYS  "IT IS ENOUGH, WELCOME HOME MY CHILD"

            What does 1999 hold for us? Y-2K?; Disaster? Economic Hardship? Yes, maybe all that, but no matter what...if we have our eyes on Him and our trust in Him, all will be well. Just as He has kept us this past year, so He will keep us this coming year.