Friday, May 15, 2015

May 16, 2015

First, Caleb had a Visionary spirit!

Second, Caleb had a Vigorous spirit!

And finally, Caleb had a Victorious spirit!

Here's what I'm talking about.

"Only  do  not  rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the
land, because  we  will  devour them. Their protection is gone, but  the Lord  is
with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14:9 

That’s how winners talk!

I can imagine General George Patton saying something like that to rally his troops before a battle.

I can hear Coach Coleman motivating his FCS Eagle football team with words like these!

Winners win in their heads and in their hearts before the win on the field of battle!

Caleb was a winner! I would follow him into battle, wouldn’t you?

“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. So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritanceJoshua 14:12-13

If you need more examples of how victors think and act, take notice of this verse! Look at what Caleb claims victory over!

“give me this mountain” – it’s one thing to fight FROM a mountain but it’s quite another thing to fight FOR the mountain! To fight FOR the mountain you must overcome the people who are already ON that mountain! But Caleb said, “Bring it on! I’ll take that mountain!”

That’s a victorious spirit!

the Anakim were there” – if it isn’t hard enough fight FOR the mountain imagine the people ON the mountain were GIANTS! That is who the Anakim were! This is how winners think! Caleb says, “I’ll take the mountain and whip the giants that are up there!”

That’s a victorious Spirit!

“the cities were great and fortified” – what do winners do after they take the mountains and kill the giants? What they do is attack the fortified cities! Caleb says, “First I’ll take the mountain, then I’ll smack down the giants and when I’m done I will sack their cities!”

Is this guy serious? What’s wrong with him?

He’s a winner! That’s what winners do!

Are you ready to win?


May 15, 2015

And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, 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 was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in” Joshua 14:10-11

Caleb was one of the few from his generation to enter the Promised Land and gain his inheritance. According to the Scriptures, this happened because he had a “different spirit”!

So, we are looking at several significant ways this “different spirit” manifested itself.

First, he had a Visionary spirit!

Second, he had a Vigorous spirit!

When God’s people finally returned to the region of Canaan after forty years of additional wandering, Caleb was now an 85 year-old man! But no ordinary octogenarian was Caleb! By his own testimony: “As yet I am as strong this day as 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 for coming in”

Wow!

How can that happen?

I can offer several observations!

Caleb had a purpose!

Living for a purpose much bigger and better than your self is very invigorating! Caleb was living to fulfill God’s purpose for his life and for God’s people. When you have a godly purpose for your life every day matters and every deed matters! Even when Caleb was wandering for those forty-five years he was doing it on purpose!

No wonder he had a “different spirit”!

Caleb had a promise!

God had promised Caleb an inheritance for him and his family! There was a place in Canaan with his name on it, it was a better place, it was a belonging place and Caleb was determined to possess it! That’s invigorating!

No wonder he had a “different spirit”!

Caleb had a presence!

By Caleb’s own testimony, God had kept Him alive! It’s not a bad idea to have a personal relationship with the Source of Life, is it? Because Caleb believed God and knew God and trusted God and obeyed God, God’s Spirit lived in him! Caleb had life everlasting and abundant!

Now we know what that “different spirit” was!

How do you get to your eighty-fifth year with the same vigor you had in your 40’s? Discover God’s purpose, claim His promises, and receive His presence into your life by faith!

It worked for Caleb!