Dr. Michael Edwards planted the Heritage Baptist Church in Washington D.C. in 1981. Beginning in a rented space at Potomac Senior High School, the Lord blessed and the church grew. The church has since grown to an average attendance of seven hundred and has a Christian school with over three hundred students. Dr. Edwards preaches in many conferences across the country and is the founder and Director of Share Point Ministries.
Think about his message simply entitled Give Me This Mountain.
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I find Caleb to be one of the most inspiring personalities in the Old Testament. At eighty-five years old, he had not relinquished the spirit that had motivated him when he was forty. He still believed that through the help and power of God great things could be accomplished. Mountains could be possessed!
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast 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 fourscore and five 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 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 14:9–12
A study of the life of Caleb will yield four lessons that are important for us to consider today.
- He Was Not Defeated or Discouraged by What Others Thought of Him
I enjoy considering the meaning of names as I study; at times, especially in the Old Testament, they can reveal something to us about the person. The name Caleb does not reveal the character of this man, but may be an insight into some of the obstacles he faced. Caleb literally means “dog.” One scholar says it means “raging with canine madness.” In our vernacular, I think we would say Caleb was a “pit bull.” The truth is that though Caleb was of the tribe of Judah, he was from a clan in Judah that had a lower culture and a poor reputation.
Notice his father was Jephunneh the Kenezite. This was a wild clan that lived as much amongst the Edomites as the Hebrews. They were not a well-thought-of group. My point is simply this: Caleb was not probably the best educated, nor was he the most cultured man, nor did he come from the royal folk; but he did have a heart for God. He was not going to let his education, his culture, or his family history stop him from being all he could be for God. He became a “pit bull” for God. No giant, no negative Hebrew could stop his zeal for serving the Lord.
- He Refused to Be Influenced by the Negative Majority
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.—Numbers 13:30
When ten of the twelve spies brought an evil, negative report, Caleb spoke in opposition to them and in favor of entering and conquering Canaan. How easy it would have been for him to just blend in. He could have let those articulate ten princes have their say and just nod in agreement.
Why should he choose to go against such an influential crowd? Because the crowd was wrong! Caleb was not going to remain silent while the majority was doubting and disobeying God. Thank God that Caleb was willing to take a stand for what was right even when that stand was unpopular.
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When a vote is taken in our nation and even in our churches, the majority always wins the vote. It has been proven time and again in the nation that the majority is NOT typically right, even though they have the strongest voice. Hopefully, that will never be true in the church. The majority should speak with the mind of Christ. If they do, it’s a wonderful thing!
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)
*https://ministry127.com/christian-living/4-lessons-from-the-life-of-caleb
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