GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN
Joshua 14:7-12
Caleb: “mad dog” in Hebrew (“raging with canine madness”)
Joshua 14
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 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.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain…
- Moses sent to search the land in the second year after the Exodus. He and Joshua were the only two of the 12 who encouraged the people to go up and possess the land. The other 10 were fearful, intimidated, cowards, and unbelievers. They believed only what they saw. Joshua and Caleb believed what God said.
- (Anakim) and had been for centuries.
- . The army would laugh if he tried to enlist. He’s an old man. With gray hair and baggy skin. At least on the outside. But inside he’s vigorous and bristling with surging youth and strength and aspiration. His 85 year-old bag of skin is holding a 25 year old man inside who is mad. Mad as all get-out. Mad and determined. And fearless. Just like a dog “ranging with canine madness…” (That’s the meaning of his name in Hebrew) He had the spirit of a MAD DOG.
Your destiny will be decided What you do or don’t do will determine your future. This is not just “a meeting” it is “the meeting.” You have a choice to make. I cannot relate nor articulate the importance of these next few minutes.
Look at me. This 85 year old skin of mine is holding a 25 year old man inside. My mind is possessed, my youth is restored, my resolve is maxed out and I’m taking my Mountain.
I absolutely unequivocally refuse to:
- Think like an old man
- Look like an old man
- Act like an old man
- Dress like an old man
- Do what old men do
- Go where old men go
- Talk like old men talk
- Walk like old men walk
- Expect what old men expect
- Believe what old men believe
- There are records to be set
- Standards to be established
- Places to go
- Things to do
- Messages to be preached
- Books to be written
- Nations to be reached
- A world to be changed
- A God to be honored
- A church to be revived
- A country to be awakened
- A calling to be completed
1. Caleb Saw it (had a dream) (Old men dream dreams and young men see visions)
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions… Joe 2:28
God had birthed in him an impossible dream. His life took on new direction, new passion and new resolve. It was burned into his spirit like a hot branding iron. He could not escape it. (When God called me to preach) My friends and my relatives said “I know Dick, this thing he’s doing will last about 6 months and then He’ll give it up.” Well, la-de-da… It’s lasted, not six months but 60 years. My friends are forgotten, my critics are gone and my relatives are dead. But I’m HERE and STILL AT IT! Caleb could not resist His Dream. He could not forget it. He SAW IT with his EYE of FAITH…. With the same kind of eyes Joshua and Caleb had at Kadesh Barnea. Joshua saw the Promised Land and Caleb saw his promised mountain. Remember we walk by faith and not by sight.
We must see it until we see it. SEE IT until we SEE IT. Where are you going? What do you intend to do with your life? What will remain here on earth as your testimony to the Power and Greatness of God after you are dead?
Are you looking at the giants that now inhabit your mountain? Are you seeing retreat instead of attack? Are you seeing run instead of charge? Are you seeing loss instead of gain? Are you seeing failure instead of success? “IF God be for us who can be against us?”
2. Caleb Wanted it
He was driven to seek something bigger and better
Are you tired of the same old same old? Do you long for a new beginning? Are you looking for a way out and a way up? Are you ready for a move from the mediocre? Just how desperate are you for a change of direction in your life and ministry?
Do you plan on staying where you are right now, tonight? Or are you determined to GO to the place God has prepared for you? Are you going to continue to live on the level of normality or are you going drive out the giants and take your Mountain?
The trouble is most of us have become comfortable and complacent. We have all our ducks in a row. Life has become an interstate highway and we are running on cruise control. Most of what we do is cookie-cutter stuff. Over and over. Again and again. Same thing week in and week out, year in and year out. And we are stuck. Wallowing in monotony. A prisoner of the normal. The natural. Ruled by facts instead of faith. Living a life and locked in a ministry marked by Lackluster.
It is time for a game changer. Do you feel it? Do you have a stirring in your spirit right now? Are ready? Will you move out? Will you take your mountain?
Actually, Life has no limits. Your ministry has no limits. Opportunity does not have an expiration date. Every door is open and every light is green. The time is right and God is waiting on you to seize the moment.
The time to move out, move on and move up is NOW.
RIGHT NOW. THIS MOMENT. IN THIS HOUSE and in THIS MEETING. NOW is the accepted time.
Did you know it is never the “right time” as far as the devil is concerned? How do we know it is the right time? How can we know that this is the moment? I’ll tell you how you can know. Because the Word says so and because you “feel” it. Some are frightened with “feelings” but the only people who don’t have “feelings” are DEAD PEOPLE. Your spirit is being stirred right now. The Word of God and the Will of God is presenting themselves to you as I speak. God is making His move and tonight it is your move.
If you are only focused staying where you are, you will miss all the excitement of living life with the volume turned wide open. God designed life and ministry to be exciting. He is not the Author of dull.
Recently I posted on FaceBook “how to have and exciting life.” It went something like this:
OK. Where does that put us tonight? We are either settled in and hunkered down in the doldrums and dullness of a mundane life or we are on the prowl for better stuff. We are either sitting or climbing. We are either piddling in mud puddles swimming with tadpoles or we are among the big fish out in the deep. We are stuck or we are moving on with God. We are hunkered in the valley or we are driving out giants and taking our mountain.
God has a bright, exciting and intense future for every one of us.
Jer 29:11 I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (The Message) What kind of future are you hoping for??
That tells it like it is. That tells it like God wants it to be. That tells it like God has planned it for us.
3. Caleb Believed God
“Behold I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it” Rev 3:8
Real Bible Faith is a faith that never takes “no” for an answer. Bible Faith is Activated Faith. Bible Faith is a faith that “takes.” It is not Reactive…. It is Proactive. It is not Defensive… it is Offensive. Most believers are operating in defensive and reactive faith. Some are operating in Passive faith. Passive Faith is just that… passive. It is inactive. It accepts things as they are and it is content to leave things unchanged. Aggressive Faith is a Faith that makes things happen.
It reaches out into nothing and holds on until nothing becomes something. It TAKES things. It MOVES things. It CHANGES things.
The Faithfulness of God and Confidence in His Word has been the driving Force for 60 years of ministry in my life. When Pat and I did not know what to do or where to go or how to minister, the God always had the answer for us. The foundation of our ministry has been the initiative to believe God and Trust His Word and to take it to the whole World.
It was prophesied nearly 53 years ago that the small congregation of dirt farmers and factory workers that composed Lott Road Baptist Church (eight miles from Eight Mile) was commissioned by the Holy Spirit to take the Word to the World. At last count, Life Church now has ministry in 17 nations many of them with churches, Faith Academies, Bible schools , seminaries and degree offering colleges that have been established. GOD IS AWESOME.
Now… what had God promised you? What has God instructed you to do? Where has God told you to go? You know. It is burned in your spirit. You think about it. Dream about it. Want to do it. NOW IS THE TIM.
4. Caleb never quit
If there is any lesson I have learned and learned well, it is the fact that we never quit. No matter what. No matter who. No matter when.
Now, just where does this leave you right now?
What are you going to do? Where are you going to go? What are you going to acquire?
Stay stuck? Stay sad? Stay bored? Stay discouraged? Stay in your cookie-cutter same old, same old kind of life? Or will you Move Out into a Mountain-conquering and mountain-possessing life?
Right now you have a challenge facing you. You have a decision to make. And you will make it one way or the other. You can decide to stay like you are and where you are or you can decide to kick it up a notch, pick up your stuff and TAKE YOUR MOUNTAIN. Taking your mountain comes out of a personal decision you and you alone can and will make.
And not deciding is really deciding. No decision is really a decision. No response is a response.
My challenge to you is do not wait. Do not stay where you. The opportunity is NOW. The time for you to take your mountain is NOW. IN THIS MEETING. TONIGHT.
Do it
dickbraswell 
Leave a Reply