GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN

Joshua 14:12 “Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said”
After they had taken the Promised Land, it was divided to the tribes. And the 1st to come was the tribe of Judah. And the 1st to seek to get his Possession was Caleb.
It was a possession promised him, years earlier; And now was the time to receive it.

Joshua 14:6-12 “Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb…said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea.
Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
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 85 years old.
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.
Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heard in that day how the Anankim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, than I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.”

Here is the language of faith. Faith sees God 1st.

Joshua 14:6 (above)
“Thou knows the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee.”

He lays the stress on “Thus Saith The Lord.”
Just where it ought to be.
He could have spoken of his faithfulness.
Or bravery, standing against the many who wanted to turn back.

But instead Caleb spoke only what God said. What he wanted was that portion that the Lord had for him. And he was willing to go up against the giants in that Mountain to have it.
At 85, he was as strong as he was at 40. God had kept him alive and strong thru the wilderness wanderings ; and the war which took the land.

Now, he was to go and personally, with his family, take their possession….and he was ready for it. Faith sees God 1st. And what God HAD GIVEN him , was his. All he had to do was go and get it.

The Anankim were giants, there cities were “great and fenced”. Fortresses.
But all Caleb had to do was what he was told about them, and he knew God COULD NOT , NOR, WOULD NOT FAIL HIM.

Caleb’s testimony was (Joshua 14:7) “…and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.”
This also is the language of faith.
A heart that wants God’s Will, will follow on in faith to have it.
Caleb had entered the Promise Land, quite sure that it was all that God said it was.

And it was!!
Everyone agreed that it was; but the problem?
The price to pay for it.
Faith sees God 1st. And when faith is not active…then something else is in the line of vision where God should be.

Numbers 13:27-28″And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sent us, AND SURELY IT FLOWS WITH MILD AND HONEY; and this the fruit of it
NEVERTHELESS THE PEOPLE BE STRONG THAT DWELL IN THE LAND, AND THE CITIES ARE WALLED, AND VERY GREAT: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.”
Numbers 13:30 ” And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, LET US GO UP AT ONCE, AND POSSESS IT; FOR WE ARE WELL ABLE TO OVERCOME IT.”

How could they overcome? Only by God’s power….but Caleb, by faith,saw that power on their side.
And God is well Able. He blesses faith most…tho He often “takes care of” all His children…it is faith, He honors.
So, when Caleb steps out on faith and says “Let’s do what God wants, and go up at once. He has brought us here against superior odds. He has fed us, clothed us, kept us from wild animals, and people….Let us honor His Word and His Might and go in.”

God honored Caleb.
God promised him that he would “go in” and have his promised land.

And now, old, but full of the strength of faith he always had, Caleb comes to get his possession.
“I am as strong this day , as I was in the day Moses sent me.”
And Caleb took his land, from the giants, and dwelt there.

God loves to bless faith, our faith.
And faith is active…belief in the heart, and obedience in the life.

GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN…was our title, and we ask you:
What has God promised you?
Have you traveled the Way He has lead, to gain it?
Do you also believe that , despite the difficulties, “WE ARE WELL ABLE TO OVERCOME” ?
Faith sees God 1st….that is in promise and in obedience.

The Lord Jesus said when He was here:
Matthew 9:28-29 “And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus said unto them, BELIEVE YE THAT I AM ABLE TO DO THIS? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Then touched he their eyes, saying, ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH BE IT UNTO YOU.”

Often the Lord deals with us in this way…according to our faith.
He blesses most, those who trust Him.

The Scribe Which Is Instructed Unto the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 13:52 ” Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

We are starting this blog for Christians. To strengthen and encourage God’s people to seek, and trust the Lord.
All given with the prayer that they meet the need of those who read them.

We believe that one of the greatest needs of this Church Age is to understand and Have Christ’s kingdom come within the heart of each of His own.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.”(KJV)

Notice it is “in earth”, not on it.
This is His Personal Kingdom coming with in your life. When you make Him King, and He reigns there.
When we are born again (John 3:3, 7) and “ye must be born again”….we enter His kingdom as His citizens. But it is only when we are obedient to His laws and ordinances that we make Him King in our lives.

If we are still “running the show” ; He is not King, Personally.
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done.”
When this becomes a fact in our everyday lives, we are subjects of that Kingdom, and expressions of it:
Our Wills are His, and are then empowered to do His Will.
For it is then, He sits on the Throne of our Hearts.

Not that we make others do His Will….but that WE DO HIS WILL.

Then HIS KINGDOM HAS COME ….WITH IN US.

It is a great feeling to come to the place where the arguments WITH GOD, end; and the Holy Spirit–instead of correcting , empowers to go forward in peace, joy and faith.

AND HOW SHALL HIS KINGDOM COME?
Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”

This is “on the earth”.
There are some who believe that His Kingdom will be brought in, when enough of His Own are praying for it.
I do not know if that is true.
But I do know that readiness for His return will be conditioned by prayer:

Luke 18:1 “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Jesus speaks here, of the closing days of the Church Age. Just before He returns. Just how the times will be, and just what we should be doing about it .

Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”

Everyday we hear and see more of what Jesus said would happen….happen.
And what are we to do about it? Hide our heads….Act out…..wring our hands in fear?
No! That is not it!!
Look up! Lift up your heads!
1st turn your eyes away from the world-system.
2nd be actively seeking the joy and peace of God for each situation you need to go thru, till He comes.

We should rejoice in seeing these come to pass , even as Jesus said they would.
We should be praying. “Amen! Even so Come LORD JESUS”
And we should be “loving His Appearing”. For there is a Crown of Righteousness laid up for all who Love His Appearing! (2 Timothy 4:8)

Luke 18:2-7 “Saying, there was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Tho I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says.
And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, tho He bear long with them?”

If this were a Roman Judge (the Jews were always in 3’s). He would not care much for the needs of a Jew. Especially one of no importance, like a widow. For she could do him no damage!
But she kept coming back! She was often in his court!

Now he feared not God nor regarded man.
So anything he did , would be on a personal level….without thought of anything or anyone else.
Not because of pressure from someone or something.

But she kept coming! Avenge me of mine Adversary!
This is not a request for punishment of her Adversary.
But for a Decree, issued by this Judge, that would give her PROTECTION from his injustices.
To keep him from harming her.
LIKE A RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED TODAY

Luke 18:5 “Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

“She weary me”; Literally means. “She give me a black eye”
Her always appearing there , in his court, might ruin his reputation!
People might get the wrong idea about him.

This Judge acted from only self-involved motives.
From this consideration–alone–he thought it best to avenge her.

And our Lord said “Hear what the unjust judge says”
Because the Lord Jesus wanted to show that all the judge’s motives were personal…yet what she sought ; she got.

Then our Lord Jesus contrasts the unjust judge and God. Shall not GOD surely do right?
Shall He not avenge His own elect? From their Adversary?
And how are we to ask?

Luke18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Faint means to weaken in purpose, or spirit; to languish; TO JUST GIVE UP.

When we pray, we ought to believe that God is going to hear and keep at it until we know He does.

Luke 18:7 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, tho he bear long with them?”

We are not what we ought to be in this Age; yet He bears long with us.
Wanting us to be other than we are ….to enjoy the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit’s enablement. To get us out from the Adversary’s injustices. To know the power of life (abundant life) as obedient subjects of His kingdom now.
Loving us, rebuking us, and chastening us that we might become full sons.

Luke 18:8 “I tell you (and this is the Lord Jesus speaking) that he WILL avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”

Yes, He will avenge us…speedily.
“Heavenly Father, Avenge me of my Adversary!”
This is like a restraining order, remember; against our Adversary , the Devil.
To keep him from hurting us.
And we should always ask for such decrees against our Adversary.
He will not only issue such Decrees, He will do so speedily.

Yet , Jesus asked; “shall he find faith on the earth?” Not that He doesn’t know….but to AWAKEN US to the VERY DANGEROUS TIME IN WHICH WE LIVE.

There are temptations, cares, enemies of God, worldly pleasures, evil companions, …..
All of them can be used by our Adversary to “hurt us”.
To keep us from entering into God’s Best for us.

The Devil seeks to defeat every child of God….not in Salvation.
But in Progress.
To keep them children , when they should go on to maturity in the faith.

To keep them self-centered, instead of Christ-centered; That will devour up a whole lifetime of works and attitudes.

Shall He find “faith” on the earth?
This faith here is (in the Greek “pistis”). Conviction of truth or the truthfulness of God. Reliance upon Christ for salvation and CONSTANCY IN SUCH PROFESSION.

Do you TRUST Christ for Salvation, but not for today?
Shall we not all apprehend that for which we are apprehended of Christ Jesus?

Has the Church ever had so much riches as it has today?
With so little results?

Why is it we see so little Reality in a Christian’s Profession?
I don’t know…but I am sure it is a matter of the Heart.

I believe that today many claim the Promise; without having the corresponding experience of that Promise.
They honor the Word, while rejecting the living LORD of that Word.
As Israel of old, they draw near with their lips, to God; but their hearts are far from HIM.
For I believe it is a matter of the heart. Who or What do you love?
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”
What “life” will you have?
1 Peter 1:3 ” According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, thru the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue”
He “hath given”. Then why don’t we have it in practice?
Because the PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST COSTS US . He wants to “COME” and reign in our lives, with that joy and power that comes with HIMSELF.

What takes 1st place in your life?
To what do you give final obedience….for surely this is your God.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven”
He is King. But is He my King? Is He your King?
Who sits on the throne of your heart?

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

He stands ready to do. To do for you. And Jesus has said God will issue such Decrees against our Adversary when we cry unto Him.
So where does that place us?
And just what kind of Christians ought we to be; with so much offered?
He is King….Will you make Him your King?

And This is the Victory that overcometh the world, even our Faith

1 John 5:4 “For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”

Faith is defined in our Bibles as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).  And it is the substance which makes real the things of God.   By it you “see”, we are given light or enlightenment for our path. (Ephesians 1:14-19)By it we are given “hearing” , for the Scriptures open up and you hear the voice of God to you through them.   By it we are given “power” for the life we live, for God’s heart responds to faith in Him.  By it we are given peace–peace with God.(Romans 5:1)

It is evidence, for it proves itself again and again by saving us in the time of fear, doubt, and temptation; proving God’s faithfulness.

Mark 5:24-34 “And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.      And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,   And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had,  and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,    When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.     For she said,  If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.     And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.   And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him , turned him about in the press, and said,   Who touched my clothes?     And his disciples said unto him,  Thou seest the  multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou,  Who touched me?     And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.     But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.       And he said unto her,    Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”

This “Virtue”  here is  “Dunamis” in the Greek, a word from which we get Dynamite.  It  is “force,  miraculous power” and certainly it was.

But the thing I want to point out was….It wasn’t anything that He did for   He gave no command concerning her.   He did not pray for her,   nor did He touch her personally.  She touched Him, by faith, in the belief that touching the hem of His garment would be enough.   It was!

It was her faith, and the dilligent use of the means–her going and reaching out to His hem as he walked by–that caused this Virtue to come out of Him.

The Power was His,  the faith hers,  which brought His virtue to come out of Him.

I believe this is important to us, because we can touch Him in just the same way today.   Without some special manifestation from Him.   But our faith drawing , what we need from Him.

By the exercising of our faith, this virtue will be granted to us.

Also notice, He was “thronged”, or crowded.  There were a lot of people pushing up against Him.   But virtue only went out of Him to her.

It is also true that though she had faith that He could heal her,  yet she mistrusted His goodness.   She trembled when He asked for her to come forward…because that is what He was doing when He said,  “Who touched my clothes?”   Coming forward was  hard, but look what it gave her?

A personal word from the Lord,  “Daughter (to make known to her, He knew she was of the house of Israel. Those to whom He was sent.), thy faith hath made thee whole; (giving her the key to future actions where He was concerned);  go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (If it was healed why did He repeat this   “Be whole” again?   Because He was showing her that He would have spoken on her behalf, had she asked Him.)

Faith is that which makes the things of God, Real.  Real to us.   We call it Spiritual Reality.      And if God is real to you ; what lies ahead is a whole new viewpoint.

She knew He could heal her, but she never expected He would help her….Faith broke through the barrier of fear and brought two miracles.   She was healed, and she was seen and blessed.

Let your faith be encouraged by looking to Jesus Christ.

 

We are starting this blog to share the messages, and teachings, I have had during my ministry as a preacher.   We will use the King James Version –one of the most beautiful in description, we think–unless we let you know otherwise.

I write “we”, because my wife is at the controls of the computer…I am merely sharing–she  is merely writing, and together we pray for these to help anyone who reads.

We encourage all Christians, and anyone else who reads these,  to look further into the Scriptures for themselves.  In  God’s Word  there is great help for those who read,  not just great stories–although they are there , too.

The first, and what we feel is the most important need for Christians, is :

“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:10

As Christians we can go along, knowing that we are born again…and “ye must be born again” (John 3:7) as Christ Jesus said–but often without the purpose we would expect, or the guidance  in our lives we want.   What is often lacking  is a more personal relationship with the Lord, and how to get it.

The Lord have a good picture of 4 different kinds of Christians in Luke 15 :

Luke 15:1-7    First there is the “sheep ” Christian.   (Luke 15:4) “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”

These “sheep” Christians are those who are to follow their Shepherd,  but instead follow their own guidance.   Thinking they know better pasture, or better paths;  but in doing so, get “lost” from the Shepherd and “lost” from the goal they were headed to.  (Not lost as to their salvation).

For most of us who have experienced this type of straying;  it wears us out, or injures us–Note Luke 15:5 “…he layeth it on his shoulders,”.   The sheep can’t get back by itself.

All Christians are precious; and our Shepherd , Jesus Christ, seeks us out.

Luke  15:8-10 talks about the coin Christian: Luke 15:8 “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light  a candle,  and sweep the house,  and seek diligently till she find it?”

The coin Christian is one who is in the House.  They are not “straying” in the world; but are not in their place , either.

To illustrate:   I knew a man, when I was young , who taught Sunday School in our Church, and also helped  with the music program.    One of the deacons came to him and told him that he would have to  choose between them.       Feeling that his training wasn’t as good as others, he gave up the Sunday School.     Years later, one of those boys he taught , now grown into a man, came back into town and stopped for Church.  He came up to this man, and told him he still had the Bible that man gave him in that class; and how much he remembered of his lessons!        Yet that man had give up–“lost” for the Lord–the work he was doing to do something else.

Not all are to teach or preach.   Some are to pray, visit, or encourage;  but all are to be in the place that the Lord wants.    And notice “the candle” that is lit to light up the house, so the coin can get into its place.

Then there is the Prodical Son Christian( Luke 15:11-24)–but first we must deal with the Father:  Luke 15:12 ” And the younger of them said to his Father,    Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.  And he divided unto them his living. ”

In those times, the younger son could not receive his inheritance till the eldest received his double portion.    So the eldest received two thirds and the younger got one third of the estate.  ( Remember this!)

The youngest took off.   He wanted his will, so he did what he wanted–Forget the Father;  Forget the house–till he was “wasted”.   And it only got worse from there…till:  Luke 15:17 “And when he came to himself,      He said; how many hired servants of my Father’s have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger!”      He was a Christian; far away from God and His Will for his life,  but he thought of the Father, and of the Father’s House….even the servants have better than he had,  so he repented of the  sin of  self-will, and went back.

He wasn’t even completely home before the Father saw him, and came and fell on his neck and kissed him.    Home–forgiven–restored as son , to be close to his Father again.

Now the fourth Christian is the elder brother (Luke 15:25-32) and he was owner of everything that was left (Remember the Remember this!) ; and yet he was not close to His Father, even though living in the house.

Some Christians work hard at pleasing God….so hard that they forget the important personal relationship they are to have with Him.     They are “out in the field”  working;  never enjoying the peace and joy of a fatted calf  they own by right of sonship with the  Father.      It sounds like he didn’t even want that kind of joy with the Father  Luke 15:29 “And he answering said to his Father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment;  and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:”

All that the Father had was at his beck and call. Luke 15:31 “And he said unto him,  Son,  thou art ever with me,  and all that I have is thine.”        But he didn’t really know it till the other son came home.

As Christians we need to :   Seek the Lord’s leading…and follow.

We need to : Be in our place, in the ministry He gives;  to be a blessing to others.

We need to :  Come to our senses and yield to the Father’s  Will for our lives.

We need to :  See His love for  us  Personally, and enjoy it.

With prayers we send this out, for your thoughtful consideration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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