Joshua 14:6 Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' 10 "Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."
I love this story. Here is a man who lived most of his life with a vision in his heart that was withheld until he was almost to old to enjoy it. Yet his faith never faltered. His zeal never waned. His commitment to the dream God gave him was as strong in his elderly years as in his youth. Here is a man who believed God with active faith.
I spoke about this earlier when we saw Caleb in his prime of life. Here he is again taking hold of divine ability and making it his own. It must be said again that we can use faith to reinforce the status quo or to challenge us to rise to our full destiny. Our faith can either direct our footsteps to take ground for the kingdom of God or stay in the place of lack. It is our choice.
Caleb is my hero. He represents for me my goal. I want to still be taking ground for the Kingdom when I am very old. He never lost his active faith to the very day of his death. That's what I want to be like. I want to have Never Ending Faith.
We have all seen it. Someone gets the revelation that God exists and can be related to in a personal way and they are ready to go to the ends of the earth to proclaim their new found faith. But time and disappointment can turn that burning passion into a flicker. We have all felt it. So how did Caleb keep his passion for God? If we look at his life carefully, he met every challenge with faith that was followed through with passionate obedience.
Numbers 14:24
"But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.
Faith acted on builds Faith.
To me it is that simple. Those who drew back were always doing so right from the start. The two that went into the land to possess it were always entering in wholeheartedly what ever their circumstance. This is the essence of true faith and answers the question of the relationship between Faith and Works. We act on what we believe. We cannot do otherwise. When we believe God we will do what he says.When we act on our faith we grow in faith.
Faith acted on builds Faith.
James 2:14-20
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Though we start of with great faith unless we use it by engaging in radical obedience we begin to lose it. Faith is like a muscle. It grows with resistance. If it has no resistance to build with muscles will atrophy and become weak. When we face each circumstance with faith and press in with our will set to obey to see the circumstance under God's dominion we build our faith.
I tell those I am teaching the will's power is illustrated by how Johnny Wisemuller was able to wrestle alligators. An Alligator's jaws are incredibly strong to bite. These amazing creatures spend much of their time building these muscles by pressing them together with great force. On the other hand their muscles to open their mouth are very weak. They have nothing to press against and so they do not develop. Johnny knew that all he had to do to incapacitate an alligator was to wrap his arms around its closed mouth and the gator could never open it. Mind you the ride they gave Johnny as he held on was a sight to behold. But still as long as held held on to those ferocious jaws he was safe.
Our wills are exactly like this. No one is weak willed. Not even deeply depressed people are. I have seen people do incredible feats that required incredible courage just to kill themselves. They have been so determined that nothing could stop them. They were not weak willed. People say, "I can't stop!" What they mean is that they have so exercised their wills in a certain habit that they are like an alligator clamping down on it prey. They feel as if they have no power to stop it, This is especially true of those who exercise their wills to do what their emotions tell them they must do.
The wonderful truth that Caleb tells us is that unlike the alligator, who has nothing to exercise his jaw opening muscles with, we have daily opportunities to strengthen our will by fighting the good fight of faith. We daily war against powers that push us to the limit of our endurance if we will not cave in.
Caleb never caved in. He never joined the, "Let's go back to Egypt" chorus when every one was singing it. This gave him lots of opportunity to see the result of his faithful obedience. So here we see him at the end of his life full of faith. He had taken every opportunity to set his will in line with his faith. As a result his faith grew and became never ending.
When we see the trials of like like Caleb did..... as opportunities to demonstrate God's power we no longer shrink back in fear. We look forward to the next battle with relish.
Eighty five years old and as strong as ever! That's the result of an active faith that is continually being developed by co-laboring with God to the building of His Kingdom. That's what I have set my course to be. It is what I have found to be true. I believe it.
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