“Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims 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” (Joshua 14:12).
TEXT — Joshua 14:6-15
Message
Dr. Ben Carson, the respected American neurosurgeon, is a model to many young people around the world. He has an amazing story and credits his success in life to his mother. She worked three jobs to support herself and her two boys. When Ben was in the fifth grade and came home with an unsatisfactory report card, Sonya, his mother, chose to limit her sons’ television viewing and sent them to the public library. That choice saved their lives.
Caleb also made a brave choice. He desired Hebron, a city garrisoned by the giants. At 85, he requested that Joshua give him the mountain called “invincible”, as his possession, when his age mates would have been retired. He still remembered God’s promise to him when he was just 45. He had brought an encouraging report of faith, along with Joshua, after undertaking a mission to spy on the land of Canaan. He got permission to root out the giants from Hebron, which became his inheritance and that of his children for life.
Caleb was a man of faith who knew no impossibility. He trusted that with God’s help, he would fight and courageously conquer the territory that many dared not seek. He knew that the tougher the battle, the greater the benefits. He seemed to be saying that even if Satan dwelt in Hebron, he was able to capture, occupy and transform it into the city of God. He wanted Hebron or nothing else.
Sonya Carson prepared her sons to aim higher in life by cutting off all distractions to their dreams. Caleb did not ask for the valley; he set his sight on the mountain. You must cut off the distraction of those who do not believe in your goal and focus on your dreams in order to get to higher grounds successfully.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
