This is the message for the elderly folks. I believe that the Lord will give me another time to preach it.
Caleb – a man of faith and patience
Caleb was a remarkable man of faith and
patience.
His speech to Moses in Joshua 14:6-13 sums up
all that is in his heart toward God:
1. His
humility
2. His
faith & self-control
3. His
was a man who believed in God’s Word
FIRST LESSON – Caleb was humble
- · Caleb did not praise himself.
Joshua 14:6-7
“Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in
Gilgal. And the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word
which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh
Barnea. I was 40 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….”
Caleb speaking to Joshua about what God spoke
to Moses (man of God) concerning him and Joshua. Caleb was a humble man. He did
not immediately proclaim his goodness but mentioned that this was what the “man
of God” spoke concerning him and Joshua thus deferring to Joshua as his leader.
Caleb did not boast of himself to Joshua. He just mentioned what Moses spoke
about him and Joshua at Kadesh Barnea.
Prov 20:6 “Most men will proclaim each his
own goodness. But who can find a faithful man”
It is better for us to be faithful than to
proclaim our own goodness. Caleb is an example of such a person.
- · Caleb respected Moses as his leader.
Caleb called Moses the servant of the Lord.
He showed respect for Moses as his leader. Caleb showed forth his humility
through the words he spoke. Caleb was submissive. He did not go into the
Promised Land when he was 40 years although he saw the potential. He subjected
his desires to the desires of his people even though he knew that it was wrong.
- Caleb believed in the timing and sovereignty of God.
When the people changed their mind the next
morning in Numbers 14:39 – 44, Caleb somehow knew that it was not God’s timing
and did not follow them.
Also I believe that Moses (and Caleb knew)
what was in the people’s heart when they changed their minds. In actual fact, I
don’t think that they were ready to take the Promised Land at that time as
they were going to do it in the flesh! God knew that and stopped them from doing it by causing them to lose their first battle.
SECOND LESSON – Caleb was a man of faith
& self-control
- · Caleb followed God with all his heart even though he was in the minority.
He did not blindly follow the crowd. He
followed God with all his heart and spoke out words of faith to encourage the
people to take the Promised Land. He saw God and not the ‘giants’ in the land.
In fact the people wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb on that day when Caleb and
Joshua declared that they are well able to take the land.
Numbers 14:6-10
“But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son
of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their
clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel,
saying “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 of 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”. And the congregation
said to stone them with stones….”
- · Caleb did not lose his faith in God for another 45 years.
Even though he lived, ate and wandered with
his people, his generation for all the 40 years in the wilderness, he kept
himself pure and untainted.
He did not allow his heart to lose faith in
what God spoke to him concerning the Promised Land as his inheritance. How did
he do this?
I believe he kept his communion with God
alive and his walk with God intact all through the 40 years of wandering. Can
you imagine Caleb mixing with the crowd day after day? Can you imagine him
listening to all their complaints and murmuring? Yet he kept his faith in God
alive even though he probably was taunted and discouraged by his own people who
wanted to go back to Egypt at the first sign of trouble.
In fact Caleb said in Joshua 14:8 that the
words of the other eight spies cause the heart of the people to melt but not
his heart as he continued to wholly follow the Lord.
“Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me
made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God”
Caleb had self-control to wait for God’s
timing for 45 years! Do you have an outstanding prayer request that you are
still waiting for God to answer? Follow Caleb’s example to keep on believing
and keep on praying.
Exercise self-control to never give up praying….never give
up believing….
Joshua 14:10
“And now, behold the Lord has kept me alive,
as He said these 45 years, ever since the Lord spoke His word to Moses while
Israel wandered in the wilderness and now here I am 85 years old”
THIRD LESSON – Caleb was a man who
believed in God’s Word
- · Caleb believed God’s word with all his heart
Joshua 14:12
“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”
When did Caleb first heard about God’s
promise to him with regard to his physical inheritance in the Promised Land? It
was about 45 years earlier?
Joshua 14:9
“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”
Caleb believed in God’s Word for as long as
he could remember. 45 years down the line and he still can remember vividly what
God promised him then.
When we are old, we can forget many things
but I realize that spiritual things are hard to forget.
Prophecies and visions
given by God regarding our destiny in life are things hard to forget. I recall
prophesying over a sister once. I said “God has a full time call upon your
life”. She broke down in tears when I said that. She said that she had received
this call before. She later quit her job and started work with a Christian NGO.
I remember to this day vividly what happened
on my baptism day. I remember a power like the fire of God came upon me from my
belly up. The power physically raised both my hands up to heaven like
electricity the moment I came out of the water. I cried “Father, Father,
Father” – 3 x.
I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me:
“You are only a sojourner on this earth. This
earth is not your home. You are only passing through. Heaven is your home. One
day you will come home to heaven. I have
work for you to do on earth. In this world you have tribulation but be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world”
·
It is never too late for us
to respond to God to fulfill the vision/destiny He has laid upon our hearts
No matter how old we are. No matter how many
years we have left to live on the earth. If we respond to God’s call upon our
life, there will be the grace given to us to accomplish it to the fullest.
Joshua 14:11
“As yet I am as strong this day 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 coming in” – this signifies the grace of God upon
Caleb’s life to accomplish what God had laid upon his heart four decades ago.
Joshua 14:12
“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 city 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”
Joshua 14:13
“And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to
Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron therefor became the
inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh to this day because he wholly
followed the Lord God of Israel”
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| Hebron - Caleb's inheritance... |
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