Hebrews 12:1-2
Deuteronomy 9:1-2
It was a known proverb. Who can stand against the children of Anak? And that proverb often took root in the minds and hearts of the children of Israel, just questioning, how on earth are we going to overcome these people!? Who can stand against the children of Anak? And sometimes in our lives we get to the situation where it’s possible that fear might grip your heart because you’re facing a situation or it’s something you’re facing and the enemy of your soul wants you to be gripped by fear.
Caleb heard this proverb. It was widely known. And when you hear something, what the enemy of your heart wants to do is to grip it with fear. It’s as if you become paralyzed in the headlights; you can’t move. Perfect love casts out fear.
You and I have to remain focused. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. And the opposite of fear is perfect love and Jesus dispels fear.
Not just this week, but for our whole life, my heart is not going to be afraid because of who God is and what he is going to complete in my life.
There was a promise made to Caleb.
Deuteronomy 31:4-7
I’m going to keep my focus on the Lord God. Caleb had a different spirit.
Numbers 32:12
You and I have the choice in our life to go forwards in the right way or not. We are free to make that choice. Before we are a Christian, the default of your life is sin. As a Christian, we have the option and the glorious power and strength of God so that we can go forwards and fulfil his will in our lives.
Joshua 14:6-10
Forty five years he’d been waiting for the fulfilment of the promise for the land he would have. During that time he didn’t doubt God. More importantly he didn’t become resentful that this thing wasn’t happening for him. He didn’t feel bitter that God had somehow forgotten him, as it were. But he wholly followed the Lord.
Joshua 14:11-12
His strength was undiminished. What I want to highlight to you this morning that the key thing was that his focus hadn’t altered. He wholly followed the Lord. Don’t discount this because it was in the Old Testament. We’re talking about a man’s relationship with God. But I’m emphasising to you that when we read about someone like Caleb who is a witness of how God interacts with an individual., how he takes an individual so carefully and nurses that life and that life in Caleb’s terms was one where he stayed focused, week in week out, and when others might have got blessed or there was something he heard about, as far as he was concerned, wholly he stayed focused. And in forty five years he still knew God was going to see him through.
Is there a mountain in your mind that you’ve been facing this week. Something that the enemy has said “you see that won’t work out” or “God will never provide for you in the way you thought he would” or “you’re never going to get blessed”. And the enemy will use anything he can to cause our hearts to be gripped by fear.
But God is faithful and he will complete the work he started in your life and this morning, the faith that is being communicated to you, as with Caleb, now therefore Lord, let’s go for it. I want to see you glorified because I want to bring glory to your name, because I am trusting you. In everything I am trusting you and until that day when I shall see you face to face after I have fulfilled my days on earth, all I want to do is to fulfil your purposes for my life. And I want to help others to fulfil the purposes for their lives.
“Give me this mountain Joshua.” God says.
Psalms 48:14
And Jesus in the New Testament he refers to “continue in my word and the truth shall make you free”. Our call is that we should continue steadfast in God.
With Caleb it was a case of “Joshua, don’t worry about the fact that this has still got to happen. I’m still relying on God to do this.”
Joshua 14:13-15
Hebrews 13:5-6
That is true of you this morning. The Lord is your helper. The Lord is your helper. Don’t fear what man can do to you. It might be in your workplace that you’re facing something that’s gripping people with fear at the moment. The Lord is my helper. It might be concerns about your family or your children or in your marriage. I will not fear what man shall do unto me because the Lord is my helper.
He is faithful and the one who has called me. I will not fear.
So Caleb possessed the area of the Anakins.
Joshua 15:16-20
There is something about having that focus in your life. You transmit it. But the key point is for us to stay focused; I’m going God’s way, I will not fear what man will do. In any situation in my life, I’m going forward in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:1-4
Verse 2: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. That’s focused. That’s Paul saying “This is the way to live and this is how you should go forwards in your life: Looking unto Jesus” By his holy spirit he lives inside you.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. He completed the work God sent him to do.
Mr Russell
John 6:53-56
This is the most wonderful union we can have. Day by day we walk by him. He’s inside you. He’s never going to leave you. You belong to him. You’ve become one with him. That is the first thing we remember as we come.
But there is another thing. When Jesus spoke to his disciples at the last supper, it used to be a supper to commemorate the deliverance out of Egypt. But Jesus said,” From this day on, whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, do this in remembrance of me”. For hundreds of years they had celebrated it to remember the deliverance from Egypt but now Jesus said “From now on, you do this to remember what I have done for you.” It was always a celebration meal. It was never meant to be me and Jesus alone, thank you Lord. It was never meant to be that. It was a meal.
The power is in your relationship with Jesus and in him. And because he lives in you, the power is in you. The power is not in the bread and wine, it’s in you! There is no mystic power in the food and drink. It was meant to be a celebratory meal to enjoy and to share together. In the acts of the apostles “and they broke bread with joy and gladness”. It’s a joyful time because we remember what Christ has done in us but also it’s a time to celebrate our one with Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:10
We give thanks to God for our relationship with Christ and our fellowship with one another. Let me say this, until you know that oneness with him, you will never understand oneness with one another. Until we get our focus on him, we won’t have fellowship with one another. You’ll only see the problems and the negativity. When I have a difficulty with someone, I can look at that person and say “he or she loves Jesus as much as I do and he or she has a longing and desire to serve him as much as I do, and therefore, we are one together”. This was very helpful in seeing past the problems and the difficulties.
When your walk with him is right, your walk with your brethren is right. And you’ll be able to see past all the problems and the negativity and see the unity.
Hebrews 12:2
The joy was us!
[Communion]
There should never be any condemnation in Jesus Christ and we should never feel condemned by one another. But now we can rejoice in what God has done for us. We are all brothers and sisters. By focusing on him and not on the negatives, that is how we love one another.
Showing posts with label Caleb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caleb. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Friday, 31 July 2009
God Will Bring You Through
Hebrews 12:1-2
Looking unto Jesus. In that first verse it talks about the witnesses from times past who have exercised faith in God. It’s interesting in verse four that it says that He is the author and finisher of our faith. This means no one here can boast of the faith they have. This also means that God in His love and mercy will fulfil His purposes in us. He is building His church in His way and His time. I want to briefly look at the life of one of those witnesses and we will come back to that verse in Hebrews 12: 2 before we partake of the bread and wine.
In a macro sense we are living at a time which is crucial for you and for me.
Exodus 14:10-13
That last verse God has impressed on my heart particularly of late. It was categorical what God said to them: ‘he Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever.’
Exodus 14:29-31
They had reached an impossibility where God, out of nothing, found the way forward for them. In any situation we find ourselves in life, we can choose the way we approach it in our spirit and mind.
Numbers 13:1-2
And so we then have a list of twelve of the tribes, preceded by the nominated persons from each of the tribes:
Numbers 13:4-16
I’m sure those people, when they were called together by Moses, got on well each other. Interestingly, in verse 16, Moses called Oshea, the son of Nun, to Jehoshua. That means that meaning of his name went from ‘he saves’ to ‘the Lord saves’. There came a part in mine and your life where we tried to save ourselves. And then there came a point where God drew close to us and he saved us.
The way God is opening up things for us in our lives is going to be tremendous when we put God first and realise that the faith we have is for Him. There is no pecking order of faith, it is all of Him. Jesus, who exemplified faith, coming to do what Father wanted, was the ultimate sacrifice in fulfilling everything that Father wanted. What we’re going to see through these verses is that the faith God has given us has been given for a reason: to glorify Him in our lives. When you look back on the impossible situation you are in now, you will see how God has got you through it.
Matthew 9:36-38
Do you do that? Do you look upon people and ask God that that person would become someone who goes into the fields so that glory might be brought to God’s name as they harvest in God’s land Or do you look at people and despise them and ensure that you remain above them? When Jesus looked at anybody in these multitudes He had compassion on them. We have to be 100% sold out for God. We are living at a poignant time for everyone here; it is God who is bringing things about.
Numbers 13:17-25
The twelve of them witnessed the same thing. Some went to different areas obviously to ensure that they covered the extent of the Lord. It’s apparent later that Caleb witnessed the people of Anak; the giants.
Numbers 13:26-27
Who sent them into the land? God did. Moses was under instructions from God.
Numbers 13:28-29
So this is the report from all twelve of them.
I just want you to see what was told to the children of Israel, by God, before they got to this stage.
Exodus 3:17-18
If they had really listened to what God had said they would have known that God would deliver the land unto them.
Numbers 13:28-29
It was known that that would be the case. So you can see, from a known number of facts, from a known viewpoint of those facts, it is possible for you to respond to what God is saying to you either the right way or the wrong way. What is it going to be? These twelve witnessed similar things. They all had the same God and knew that what God had promised they were now moving into. They also knew that they simply had to go and occupy the land and God would deliver it unto them.
Numbers 13:30-14:10
I am triple confident that the God whom we serve, that the One who has shined the glorious light of the Gospel into our hearts, is more than able to bring us through the difficulties in our lives. I think that what is now going happen, as we rest on God’s word, He will show us that He is the God of miracles and of faith. We will start going outward to help those in need. Jesus Christ is the answer for you and me. I am excited to know that what God is doing in our midst is something that will be fulfilling His purposes so that His glory will be exemplified and so that there will be others that He will drawn into His Kingdom.
I know that God has been making Himself known to you more than ever before. I think that, as you and I are open to God moving through His word, others will be drawn. Jesus is set down at the right hand of the throne of God because He has perfected God’s purpose. That purpose was that you and I should be people who know that God brought us out of the tyranny of sin. He set our feet upon a rock and has got us to a point in our lives when He is saying ‘let’s go forward together’. At the end of the difficulty you are facing now you will be grateful towards God, because you will be able to see that it was He that provided the way. Caleb knew that they could possess the land. What Jesus Christ did on the cross means that He has opened the way completely for you and for me to fulfil His purposes in our lives. He is a wonderful God.
What is it that the Lord is prompting you to do in His kingdom? Now is the time for it to happen. It is important that you and I approach circumstances with the right spirit.
There were ten people writhing in an attitude of doubt and disbelief. And then there was Caleb and Joshua with a completely different spirit. You have the spirit of Caleb and Joshua. It’s God’s spirit. It’s a miracle that that has happened in your life. What are you doing with it? It is a crucial time and it is a wonderful time as God is moving in our midst. We look, and will always look, unto Jesus and lift up His name.
Looking unto Jesus. In that first verse it talks about the witnesses from times past who have exercised faith in God. It’s interesting in verse four that it says that He is the author and finisher of our faith. This means no one here can boast of the faith they have. This also means that God in His love and mercy will fulfil His purposes in us. He is building His church in His way and His time. I want to briefly look at the life of one of those witnesses and we will come back to that verse in Hebrews 12: 2 before we partake of the bread and wine.
In a macro sense we are living at a time which is crucial for you and for me.
Exodus 14:10-13
That last verse God has impressed on my heart particularly of late. It was categorical what God said to them: ‘he Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever.’
Exodus 14:29-31
They had reached an impossibility where God, out of nothing, found the way forward for them. In any situation we find ourselves in life, we can choose the way we approach it in our spirit and mind.
Numbers 13:1-2
And so we then have a list of twelve of the tribes, preceded by the nominated persons from each of the tribes:
Numbers 13:4-16
I’m sure those people, when they were called together by Moses, got on well each other. Interestingly, in verse 16, Moses called Oshea, the son of Nun, to Jehoshua. That means that meaning of his name went from ‘he saves’ to ‘the Lord saves’. There came a part in mine and your life where we tried to save ourselves. And then there came a point where God drew close to us and he saved us.
The way God is opening up things for us in our lives is going to be tremendous when we put God first and realise that the faith we have is for Him. There is no pecking order of faith, it is all of Him. Jesus, who exemplified faith, coming to do what Father wanted, was the ultimate sacrifice in fulfilling everything that Father wanted. What we’re going to see through these verses is that the faith God has given us has been given for a reason: to glorify Him in our lives. When you look back on the impossible situation you are in now, you will see how God has got you through it.
Matthew 9:36-38
Do you do that? Do you look upon people and ask God that that person would become someone who goes into the fields so that glory might be brought to God’s name as they harvest in God’s land Or do you look at people and despise them and ensure that you remain above them? When Jesus looked at anybody in these multitudes He had compassion on them. We have to be 100% sold out for God. We are living at a poignant time for everyone here; it is God who is bringing things about.
Numbers 13:17-25
The twelve of them witnessed the same thing. Some went to different areas obviously to ensure that they covered the extent of the Lord. It’s apparent later that Caleb witnessed the people of Anak; the giants.
Numbers 13:26-27
Who sent them into the land? God did. Moses was under instructions from God.
Numbers 13:28-29
So this is the report from all twelve of them.
I just want you to see what was told to the children of Israel, by God, before they got to this stage.
Exodus 3:17-18
If they had really listened to what God had said they would have known that God would deliver the land unto them.
Numbers 13:28-29
It was known that that would be the case. So you can see, from a known number of facts, from a known viewpoint of those facts, it is possible for you to respond to what God is saying to you either the right way or the wrong way. What is it going to be? These twelve witnessed similar things. They all had the same God and knew that what God had promised they were now moving into. They also knew that they simply had to go and occupy the land and God would deliver it unto them.
Numbers 13:30-14:10
I am triple confident that the God whom we serve, that the One who has shined the glorious light of the Gospel into our hearts, is more than able to bring us through the difficulties in our lives. I think that what is now going happen, as we rest on God’s word, He will show us that He is the God of miracles and of faith. We will start going outward to help those in need. Jesus Christ is the answer for you and me. I am excited to know that what God is doing in our midst is something that will be fulfilling His purposes so that His glory will be exemplified and so that there will be others that He will drawn into His Kingdom.
I know that God has been making Himself known to you more than ever before. I think that, as you and I are open to God moving through His word, others will be drawn. Jesus is set down at the right hand of the throne of God because He has perfected God’s purpose. That purpose was that you and I should be people who know that God brought us out of the tyranny of sin. He set our feet upon a rock and has got us to a point in our lives when He is saying ‘let’s go forward together’. At the end of the difficulty you are facing now you will be grateful towards God, because you will be able to see that it was He that provided the way. Caleb knew that they could possess the land. What Jesus Christ did on the cross means that He has opened the way completely for you and for me to fulfil His purposes in our lives. He is a wonderful God.
What is it that the Lord is prompting you to do in His kingdom? Now is the time for it to happen. It is important that you and I approach circumstances with the right spirit.
There were ten people writhing in an attitude of doubt and disbelief. And then there was Caleb and Joshua with a completely different spirit. You have the spirit of Caleb and Joshua. It’s God’s spirit. It’s a miracle that that has happened in your life. What are you doing with it? It is a crucial time and it is a wonderful time as God is moving in our midst. We look, and will always look, unto Jesus and lift up His name.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Caleb's Faith
Pastors Peter and Carolyn Linnecar looks at the life of Caleb and how God told him he would possess the land. Caleb saw the giants in the land just as the other spies did, but his eyes were fixed on the promise not the problems. When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped, but when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him.
Pastor Peter Linnecar – There is an old African proverb which says: It takes a whole village to raise up and educate a child. Some of you may think, well I don’t have children. But today we want to focus on something which affects everyone whether you are a parent or part of a church.
Pastor Carolyn Linnecar – We’re going to look at the life of one of the giants of faith. Last weekend Pastor Linnecar looked in Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 at the list of historical people of faith.
Hebrews 11:33
We have a greater provision than they knew. We have the indwelling Christ. They lived according to what they knew, but we have the indwelling Christ. We have His word and we have His power within us.
The life of Caleb
I want to look at the life of Caleb. He possibly wasn’t an Israelite by birth. He was born into a nomadic tribe, but Caleb had become a Hebrew by adoption. He stood out as a man of integrity, as a man of his word. He had the capacity to represent his people.
Caleb was one of the ones who was chosen to go in and see the land. His name means dog, not a pretty meaning. But he had the dogged persistence to believe God no matter what. His faith took God’s word and stood on it. He had a stubborn faith.
There are two ingredients we need as parents. One is faith in our God. And the other is to take his principles and apply them in our homes.
Deuteronomy 1:20-21
God has given you the land. God has said the land is yours. It doesn’t matter what the opposition is, the land is yours. But there’s something in human nature which thinks it knows better than God.
Deuteronomy 1:22–23
When there are problems in your life be careful who you listen to, be careful what advice you take on board. Do you take on board advice from someone who has proven through their life that they know their God?
The spies explored the land. They discovered that the land was one flowing with milk and honey. But they also found a tribe of giants living there. Caleb and Joshua weren’t blind. They saw the giants just as much as the others saw the giants. Unbelief looks at the problems and assesses the situation in terms of their own weaknesses. Faith looks at God. Faith says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Faith looks at the one who makes the way. Caleb was one whose eyes were fixed, not on the problems, but on the promise.
Deuteronomy 1:29-33
After all God’s provision, protection and guidance. He had delivered them from Pharaoh. Now they said ‘We can’t go, it’s too great a task, we can’t face it, we can’t go’. It was a moment of definition. And in that moment a whole generation discarded everything that God had done and had promised. Because of that they perished in the wilderness and only Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land.
I want to say something to the young people in particular. And I want you to listen with seriousness as if it’s for the first time. Some of you are concerned about the concept of being born again. ‘I am not sure what I believe any more. It doesn’t happen for me, I’m not sure it happens at all’. But in the background of your life there is the provision of God. And if you’re honest you can’t deny God’s provision for you and your family. You can’t deny God’s faithfulness in providing your education, your job, opened doors for you. And you say, ‘I give up’.
Hebrews 3:7–11
Listen to what God says; don’t listen to what you’ve discussed amongst yourselves.
Hebrews 3:12–14
I don’t think there’s hardly a young person in this room who hasn’t known at some point the moving of God in their heart. You might have pushed it away, you might have forgotten about it. When God starts something in your life He intends to finish it. When God opens a door in eternity for you He intends to take you through it. God isn’t tantalising you with something you can never have.
I want you to go back in your mind and remember the time that you knew God was there for you, and rest on that. Your confidence should be in Him, not in yourself. He loves, and He seeks, and He saves and that can never change and can never vary. You’re not just beyond the pail of God’s provision. You’re one for whom He sent His Son.
Do you think He did that lightly? Do you think He did that in order that He would fail in your life? For we hold our confidence in Christ steadfast until the end. We need to stop examining ourselves and look unto Him who is the answer. The same applies to the parents who are perhaps concerned about their child. Whether that child is here or somewhere else.
Two reports came back from that land, both accounts were true. But one looked at the problems, the other looked at God.
Deuteronomy 7:9
When I think about the future, knowing that God is going to keep His mercy and His love for a thousand generations, I’m happy with that.
Caleb heard the promise of God. He heard God say that He had given a land to the children of Israel. And he took hold of that promise and refused to let it go. This was a general promise for an entire people. It wasn’t just for Caleb, and yet Caleb actually dared to believe that God meant what He said.
Numbers 13:26–29
All the problems listed, you can imagine the response. The panic rose within the people.
Numbers 13:30–31
Caleb stood in the midst of the panic, and stilled the people because Caleb had believed the promise God gave him - a personal promise. And here God has always shown us that His promise is to the generations. That’s a general promise in God’s Word. And if you will believe His general promise God will give you a specific promise.
Deuteronomy 1:34–36
Numbers 14:24
This was no longer a general promise for a people; this was a promise for Caleb, and for Caleb’s family. The very place where he’d been sent in to reconnoitre, that very place God was going to send him in to possess it.
Take the general principles of God and apply them in your life, start to believe that they’re real for you, and God will give you a specific promise.
Not everyone has the same experience, take what you know is true, hold on to what you know is true, and God is going to come and reveal Himself to you. Don’t sit there saying there’s nothing I can do. Grab hold of what you know, stand in what you’ve been taught, and wait for God to come for you with the Word that is for you. But you can do an awful lot from just believing God’s general principles.
Caleb had to wait for 40 years. He had to wait for a whole generation to wander in the wilderness. A whole generation wandered, but I dare to believe that Joshua and Caleb walked with God.
We now come 40 - 45 years on in the life of this man and the same persistent dogged trust in God still motivates him. He won’t back down. And as parents we won’t back down. We will take these principles and apply them in our families. We will put our trust in a God who is a Shepherd, a God who has never been against us but is for us and our children. And as we apply these general principles in our families we’re going to see God come with the specific.
It took 40 years. And after that the Israelites went into the Promised Land and all Israel gathered at Gilgal to determine how they were going to divide up the remaining land. And before they were going to draw lots Caleb stood up and made his claim.
Give me this mountain
Joshua 14:7–14
Give me this mountain. The mountain that the people feared because of the inhabitants. The word of God is as strong and as alive to me now as it was 45 years ago. Because there’s a faith and a faithfulness in my heart. I know the God who gave me this faith, and it is as strong in me as ever it was.
Live by the principles which you know to be true and God will speak to you.
When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped. But when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him. Take the general and God will give you your own personal promise.
This man Caleb, who came through so much and waited for so long. For all those years he walked in the wilderness some of the faith that was in him was transmitted to his family. And I know that as Christian parents that’s what we want. We hope that the faith we have will grow and flourish in the lives of our children.
Pastor Peter Linnecar -
Joshua 15:16-20
It sounds familiar doesn’t it. Caleb said give me this mountain. Then his daughter married and said give me a blessing, give me springs of water.
John 4:7–14
This weekend is about Christian parenting in an uncertain world. This woman at the well with Jesus had an encounter with the living God face to face. The conversation was intimate.
When, perhaps as a parent, you are at your wits end, what we’re trying to say now is that God’s faithful. He is a God of love. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances look like. You as a Christian parent have within you living water – His name is Jesus. Do not write yourself off as having done your bit, don’t think what is the point. There is a particular word for you – there is a well of life inside you and you can’t stop it springing up. You can’t. The nature of God is everlasting. The nature of God is always faithful, a limitless supply, always causing you to triumph. Why? Because of what happened on the cross. He conquered death and there is nothing that can hinder Him giving you that spring of eternal life.
He will give you the wisdom with your family. He loves you. It could be that what you’ve heard today has been particularly personal – where you’re thinking OK Lord I’ve got to recognise where I am in you. I’ve got to recognise that I can go forward in you knowing that you are the solution. And the faith that you’ve given me will increase. You are the author of that faith and you are going to be the finisher of it. He’s inside, by His Holy Spirit.
Pastor Peter Linnecar – There is an old African proverb which says: It takes a whole village to raise up and educate a child. Some of you may think, well I don’t have children. But today we want to focus on something which affects everyone whether you are a parent or part of a church.
Pastor Carolyn Linnecar – We’re going to look at the life of one of the giants of faith. Last weekend Pastor Linnecar looked in Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 at the list of historical people of faith.
Hebrews 11:33
We have a greater provision than they knew. We have the indwelling Christ. They lived according to what they knew, but we have the indwelling Christ. We have His word and we have His power within us.
The life of Caleb
I want to look at the life of Caleb. He possibly wasn’t an Israelite by birth. He was born into a nomadic tribe, but Caleb had become a Hebrew by adoption. He stood out as a man of integrity, as a man of his word. He had the capacity to represent his people.
Caleb was one of the ones who was chosen to go in and see the land. His name means dog, not a pretty meaning. But he had the dogged persistence to believe God no matter what. His faith took God’s word and stood on it. He had a stubborn faith.
There are two ingredients we need as parents. One is faith in our God. And the other is to take his principles and apply them in our homes.
Deuteronomy 1:20-21
God has given you the land. God has said the land is yours. It doesn’t matter what the opposition is, the land is yours. But there’s something in human nature which thinks it knows better than God.
Deuteronomy 1:22–23
When there are problems in your life be careful who you listen to, be careful what advice you take on board. Do you take on board advice from someone who has proven through their life that they know their God?
The spies explored the land. They discovered that the land was one flowing with milk and honey. But they also found a tribe of giants living there. Caleb and Joshua weren’t blind. They saw the giants just as much as the others saw the giants. Unbelief looks at the problems and assesses the situation in terms of their own weaknesses. Faith looks at God. Faith says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Faith looks at the one who makes the way. Caleb was one whose eyes were fixed, not on the problems, but on the promise.
Deuteronomy 1:29-33
After all God’s provision, protection and guidance. He had delivered them from Pharaoh. Now they said ‘We can’t go, it’s too great a task, we can’t face it, we can’t go’. It was a moment of definition. And in that moment a whole generation discarded everything that God had done and had promised. Because of that they perished in the wilderness and only Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land.
I want to say something to the young people in particular. And I want you to listen with seriousness as if it’s for the first time. Some of you are concerned about the concept of being born again. ‘I am not sure what I believe any more. It doesn’t happen for me, I’m not sure it happens at all’. But in the background of your life there is the provision of God. And if you’re honest you can’t deny God’s provision for you and your family. You can’t deny God’s faithfulness in providing your education, your job, opened doors for you. And you say, ‘I give up’.
Hebrews 3:7–11
Listen to what God says; don’t listen to what you’ve discussed amongst yourselves.
Hebrews 3:12–14
I don’t think there’s hardly a young person in this room who hasn’t known at some point the moving of God in their heart. You might have pushed it away, you might have forgotten about it. When God starts something in your life He intends to finish it. When God opens a door in eternity for you He intends to take you through it. God isn’t tantalising you with something you can never have.
I want you to go back in your mind and remember the time that you knew God was there for you, and rest on that. Your confidence should be in Him, not in yourself. He loves, and He seeks, and He saves and that can never change and can never vary. You’re not just beyond the pail of God’s provision. You’re one for whom He sent His Son.
Do you think He did that lightly? Do you think He did that in order that He would fail in your life? For we hold our confidence in Christ steadfast until the end. We need to stop examining ourselves and look unto Him who is the answer. The same applies to the parents who are perhaps concerned about their child. Whether that child is here or somewhere else.
Two reports came back from that land, both accounts were true. But one looked at the problems, the other looked at God.
Deuteronomy 7:9
When I think about the future, knowing that God is going to keep His mercy and His love for a thousand generations, I’m happy with that.
Caleb heard the promise of God. He heard God say that He had given a land to the children of Israel. And he took hold of that promise and refused to let it go. This was a general promise for an entire people. It wasn’t just for Caleb, and yet Caleb actually dared to believe that God meant what He said.
Numbers 13:26–29
All the problems listed, you can imagine the response. The panic rose within the people.
Numbers 13:30–31
Caleb stood in the midst of the panic, and stilled the people because Caleb had believed the promise God gave him - a personal promise. And here God has always shown us that His promise is to the generations. That’s a general promise in God’s Word. And if you will believe His general promise God will give you a specific promise.
Deuteronomy 1:34–36
Numbers 14:24
This was no longer a general promise for a people; this was a promise for Caleb, and for Caleb’s family. The very place where he’d been sent in to reconnoitre, that very place God was going to send him in to possess it.
Take the general principles of God and apply them in your life, start to believe that they’re real for you, and God will give you a specific promise.
Not everyone has the same experience, take what you know is true, hold on to what you know is true, and God is going to come and reveal Himself to you. Don’t sit there saying there’s nothing I can do. Grab hold of what you know, stand in what you’ve been taught, and wait for God to come for you with the Word that is for you. But you can do an awful lot from just believing God’s general principles.
Caleb had to wait for 40 years. He had to wait for a whole generation to wander in the wilderness. A whole generation wandered, but I dare to believe that Joshua and Caleb walked with God.
We now come 40 - 45 years on in the life of this man and the same persistent dogged trust in God still motivates him. He won’t back down. And as parents we won’t back down. We will take these principles and apply them in our families. We will put our trust in a God who is a Shepherd, a God who has never been against us but is for us and our children. And as we apply these general principles in our families we’re going to see God come with the specific.
It took 40 years. And after that the Israelites went into the Promised Land and all Israel gathered at Gilgal to determine how they were going to divide up the remaining land. And before they were going to draw lots Caleb stood up and made his claim.
Give me this mountain
Joshua 14:7–14
Give me this mountain. The mountain that the people feared because of the inhabitants. The word of God is as strong and as alive to me now as it was 45 years ago. Because there’s a faith and a faithfulness in my heart. I know the God who gave me this faith, and it is as strong in me as ever it was.
Live by the principles which you know to be true and God will speak to you.
When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped. But when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him. Take the general and God will give you your own personal promise.
This man Caleb, who came through so much and waited for so long. For all those years he walked in the wilderness some of the faith that was in him was transmitted to his family. And I know that as Christian parents that’s what we want. We hope that the faith we have will grow and flourish in the lives of our children.
Pastor Peter Linnecar -
Joshua 15:16-20
It sounds familiar doesn’t it. Caleb said give me this mountain. Then his daughter married and said give me a blessing, give me springs of water.
John 4:7–14
This weekend is about Christian parenting in an uncertain world. This woman at the well with Jesus had an encounter with the living God face to face. The conversation was intimate.
When, perhaps as a parent, you are at your wits end, what we’re trying to say now is that God’s faithful. He is a God of love. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances look like. You as a Christian parent have within you living water – His name is Jesus. Do not write yourself off as having done your bit, don’t think what is the point. There is a particular word for you – there is a well of life inside you and you can’t stop it springing up. You can’t. The nature of God is everlasting. The nature of God is always faithful, a limitless supply, always causing you to triumph. Why? Because of what happened on the cross. He conquered death and there is nothing that can hinder Him giving you that spring of eternal life.
He will give you the wisdom with your family. He loves you. It could be that what you’ve heard today has been particularly personal – where you’re thinking OK Lord I’ve got to recognise where I am in you. I’ve got to recognise that I can go forward in you knowing that you are the solution. And the faith that you’ve given me will increase. You are the author of that faith and you are going to be the finisher of it. He’s inside, by His Holy Spirit.
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