Give Me This Mountain

Pastor Richard Hall

Midland SDA Church

December 29, 2018

I. Illustration:

The tallest mountain in the world is Mt. Everest – 29,035 feet above sea level. The mountain is on the border between Nepal and Tibet but actually is in Nepal. The first time that it was successfully climbed was May 29, 1953. Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal completed it as a team.

Many before them had tried and failed. The mountain has many challenges.

· 40 degrees below zero

· 125 mph wind gusts

· Storms and avalanches

· The death zone – about 25,000 feet – Oxygen deprivation

The most famous person that climbed the mountain, but failed is: George H.L. Mallory. He died on the mountain in 1924. His body was found in 1999 – 75 years later. He was found at 28,000 feet, with all his gear except his camera and a picture of his wife which he had planned to leave on the summit.

Some believe that he made it to the summit, left the picture and was on his way back down. A search for the camera continues even now.

II. Caleb’s Mountain:

God gives all of us mountains to climb – some are physical challenges – others are spiritual quests. The life of Caleb is a great example of a spiritual and physical challenge! At age 85 he cried, Give Me This Mountain! I’ll tell you more about that later!

The church needs leaders like this today! We need men and women with vision, faith, and courage—who are eager to dare and to do something for the cause of God – even something difficult!

Caleb was one of the 600,000 men plus the women and children (two million total) that Moses led out of Egypt as they escaped the terrible slavery they had been under – 400 years.

· Caleb witnessed the ten plagues that fell on Egypt.

· He saw the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day. (Exodus 13:21)

· He witnessed God’s divine power on display as the Red Sea opened – the waters rolled back.

· He was among the children of Israel that walked to the other side on dry ground!

· He saw all the powerful demonstrations of God’s providences and his faith grew strong.

Jeremiah 32:17 echoes pretty well Caleb’s mindset:

“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.”

When the children of Israel camped at Kadesh, near the border of Canaan – they decided to send out 12 spies to survey the land. Caleb was one of those 12 spies.

The spies spent forty days checking out Canaan in covert operations and then they returned. Ten spies gave this report:

Numbers 13:27-28, 32-33

“We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey and this is it’s fruit.”

They brought back samples :) vs. 27 – to share with the 2 million people :)

· Grapes, figs, pomegranates

“The grape cluster was so big it took to men to carry it.” PP387

Good News/Bad News – Which do you want first?

· Good News – Canaan is a fantastic land!

· The bad news – the people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and large and giants live there.

We were like grasshoppers compared to them.

After the ten spies had stirred up all the people with a terrible report – Caleb got their attention. It was his turn: he was a man with a positive outlook on life. I like to be around people like that – don’t you? Like the boy that was told to go shovel all the manure out of the barn – with all this manure, there must be a pony somewhere. :)

Caleb said: “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Numbers 13:30

It is not a sin to see the difficulties that confront us. It is not evidence of unbelief to know about the enemy’s strength.

But you can’t let the difficulties stop you. You can’t let the strength of the enemy cause you to turn back.

Because we serve a God who is mighty to save and mighty to lead His people.

Our Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to Save,

He is Mighty to Save.

Caleb did everything he could to encourage the people not to listen to the “it can’t be done crowd” (the ten spies). Negative people pull you down.

He didn’t contradict what had been said. It was true: The walls were high and the people were strong.

But Caleb had his eyes on God! And he encouraged the people to remember the promise God had made years before.

He would drive out the Canaanites with hornets. Ex. 23:28 – “And I will send hornets before you which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.”

Illustration:

Have you ever been chased by a hornet? I’ve been chased by wasps, yellow jackets and bumble bees – but none of those compare with hornets.

Pat is the only one in our family with a hornet story. She was bird watching with some others at Camp Yorktown Bay in Arkansas. The group had hiked up the hill through the woods and were off camp property. They came to a house that wasn’t being lived in – it had a deck on the back that was almost at tree top – a great place to look for birds. They didn’t realize until it was too late – there was a large hornet nest on the deck. The last person up onto the deck got nailed by a hornet.

The group was trapped! They needed a plan:

· Jump off the deck into a tree top and climb down – Pat voted NO!

· Plan B – one of the men took off his shirt, threw it over the hive and everybody ran past. When the man tried to retrieve his shirt – the hornets were pretty agitated and put some hurt on him.

God had promised to drive out the giants with hornets. Hornets will put high octane fuel in your tank – they will make you move in a hurry. Pat doesn’t enjoy running but she ran that day!

But the people would not listen to Caleb or Joshua. So God said this:

Numbers 32:11-12 – read it.

Think of the tragedy of unbelief – 599,998 men about 20 years old died in the wilderness because they did not “wholly follow” the Lord. Only Caleb and Joshua out of 600,000 men who left Egypt walked into the promised land.

All their peers died – now there really was a generation gap.

Conclusion:

Why did Caleb and Joshua survive? Because they “wholly followed” the Lord. Complete trust – without reserve.

This story inspires me. God is calling for men of faith and women of faith – young people and old people of faith. To experience spiritual revival – see what God can do through you!

God is looking for people that are willing to go any place and climb any mountain for Him.

After wandering 40 years in the wilderness, the children of Israel finally entered Canaan. Caleb and Joshua were the only men above age 62. All the rest of the man above age 20, who left Egypt, had died in the wilderness.

On his 85^th birthday, Caleb said to Joshua – one old friend to another – the only two old people left.

Joshua 14:10-12 – “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet, I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me. Just as my strength, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now, therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day.”

Give me this mountain! Caleb asked for the territory where the giants were, where the walled cities were. Give me this mountain.

A true revelation of Christ brings the revelation of infinite possibilities. Nothing is impossible with God!

God needs more of us – standing – ready to say – Give me this mountain! Give me something hard to do. Give me something big to attempt for Christ.

And when Christ gives us something big to do – the forces of opposition will be overthrown, the walled cities of ignorance, superstition and prejudice will be destroyed!

Caleb was what some would call “an old man” when he asked for the mountain, when he asked for something difficult to do. He was past 85 years old, but he didn’t count himself as put out to pasture – or on the shelf. He didn’t count himself retired or worn out.

He felt he was just as good a man as he was 40 years before. His faith was stronger. His hope was brighter, and he asked God for something hard to do, and he did it.

That is the beauty of it. If you are 85 – if you are a senior citizen – take Caleb as your example. :)

The service of a dedicated man or woman has no boundaries. You can’t be too old to serve God!

MH 159 “There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.”

Appeal:

God is give us vast opportunities to serve – He doesn’t promise that the way forward will always be easy – but He does promise, Lo I AM with you always.