“Give Me This Mountain”—Take Hold of the Promises

We thought you might enjoy this computer-generated image of me pursuing Jesus as He passes the baton to me. We all have a race to run—a purpose and a destiny. If we are going to fulfill that destiny, we are going to have to go after it with all our hearts.

Sometimes the circumstances of life put hurdles and obstacles in our way. At times, our destiny is thwarted and delayed. But we cannot give up. We must keep looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and take hold of the promises of God.

It reminds me of Caleb, one of the 12 spies who went up to search the Promised Land. Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report, but their 10 companions brought back a discouraging report, saying, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33 NKJV). The grasshopper spies were defeated in their own minds before any battle took place.

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I recently shared this message, “Give Me This Mountain!” at Northwoods Community Church in Solon Springs, Wisconsin. Take your mountain! Listen to the audio recording here:

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But Caleb was different! It says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’” (Numbers 13:30 NKJV). Caleb had a strong spirit. He saw the great opportunity in the land of Canaan. But the 10 spies had their eyes on the giants. Instead of walking by faith in the promise of God, they were controlled by what they saw with their natural eyes.

The ten spies who gave the negative account died of a plague, and the people of Israel who listened to them were consigned to travel around in circles in the wilderness for 40 years until they died. But God set apart the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb, saying that they would live and go in and possess the land. He gave a special promise to Caleb: “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24 NKJV).

So after 40 long years of wandering in the wilderness with a bunch of naysayers followed by five more years of battle, Caleb came before Joshua and claimed the land that was promised him by Moses, “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day…” (Joshua 14:12 partial NKJV).

For us, the mountain represents the things that God has promised us, but we have not yet received. It may be a promise from the Word of God concerning healing, a financial need, our family, our business, or, or, or… It may be a specific word concerning our ministry calling. It’s any part of our inheritance that we have not yet received.

Here are three things that Caleb did to take his mountain. They are also three steps that we need to take in order to take hold of the promises of God in our life.

Caleb remembered the promise. Think of it! Caleb was a faithful man of God. He had served the Lord fully. And yet for 45 long years he waited and patiently endured because of the unbelief of others. He must have been tempted to give up in frustration. He must have thought, “When will I ever receive the promise?” Yet, when the time was fulfilled, he remembered the promise that was given him through Moses.
Caleb claimed what was rightfully his. He believed the Word which was spoken, so He boldly claimed what was his. Nothing mealy-mouthed here. “Give me this mountain!” he demanded, and he received. Heclaimed his inheritance. He forcefully demanded what God had said. He didn’t demand something that wasn’t his. He didn’t demand something that wasn’t promised. He didn’t just name it and claim it out of the air. He took the Word of God and said, This is mine.
Caleb took action. He didn’t just ponder the promise and talk about it to his friends. Caleb was not passive. He did something about what God had spoken. So many people have a calling on their lives, but they never take action. They wait and wait and wait. No, when the time is right, go up and possess what is yours! Caleb took the mountain and defeated the same giants that made the 10 spies cower in fear.

You, too, can possess what is yours in Christ Jesus! You can fulfill your destiny. I want to encourage you. You can take the mountain! Grab hold of the will of God today, in the name of Jesus.