BY KENNETH HAGIN JR.
God has a plan for your life! And when He reveals that plan to you, you can be sure that you are capable of fulfilling it, no matter what obstacles you may face.
God has already given you the “mountain”; now you must boldly go forth and possess it!
Now therefore GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN, whereof the Lord spake in that day….
– Joshua 14:12
In the Old Testament we read that God promised the children of Israel He would give them their own land. He instructed Moses to send twelve men, a representative from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, into
the Promised Land to collect information (Num. 13:2). In modern terms, Moses selected a committee of twelve men to conduct a feasibility study in the land of’ Canaan! The men were sent to spy out the land God had said would be flowing with milk and honey (Exod. 3:8).
The committee came back with a report that was very favorable from one standpoint, but from another standpoint, it was not very good. On one hand, Canaan was a great land just as God had said; it was flowing with milk and honey. It took two men to carry a bunch of grapes from Eshcol – it was a fruitful land! But on the other hand, the cities were fortified and inhabited by giants, and the Israelites were afraid (Num.
13:23-29).
Only two of the twelve men who conducted the “feasibility study,” Caleb and Joshua, cast affirmative votes for taking the land. The other ten men voted no, saying, “We can’t do it! We’re not able to take the
land.” The people went along with the majority report because they were afraid to obey God, and they didn’t believe they could go in and possess what He had promised. Therefore, the Israelites wandered in
the wilderness for forty years.
Then when Moses died, God made Joshua, one of the affirmative votecasters, the new leader of His people. Under Joshua’s leadership, the younger generation of Israelites finally did go into Canaan and possess the land that God had promised them. Five years after that, they began to divide the land among the tribes.
JOSHUA 14:5,6
5 As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest THE THING THAT THE LORD SAID unto Moses the man of God CONCERNING ME and thee in Kadesh-barnea.
You see, God had already indicated that He wanted Caleb, the other affirmative vote-caster, to have a certain territory. God told Caleb that the land was his. So when Caleb went to talk to Joshua, he was
only reminding Joshua of what the Lord had already said.
JOSHUA 14:10-12
10 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.
11 As yet I am 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.
12 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 shall I be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.
Caleb had wandered in the wilderness for forty years with the people who refused to believe God concerning what He said belonged to them. Everyone of those people perished in the wilderness, and their children inherited the promise instead. But the day finally came when each tribe was to be given a territory, and the head of each family was given a portion of land. So forty-five years after God promised Caleb
the land, Caleb said to Joshua, “Give me this mountain!” He was really saying, “I want what God said was mine forty-five years ago.”
Like Caleb, you need to take possession of what God has said belongs to you! It doesn’t matter if it’s something He talked to you about a long time ago or just yesterday; it still belongs to you. But whether or
not you ever possess what God has given you depends on you. If you want to take your mountain, you must first, like Caleb, recall what God has told you to do.
Have you ever noticed that over a period of time, some of the things God has said to you can become a little “fuzzy” or “hazy”? The excitement that was there when God first spoke to you just isn’t there anymore.
Maybe God’s plan for you seems hazy because you let the cares of life turn you aside. In the beginning you were excited about fulfilling God’s plan, but then as the days and the weeks rolled by, the excitement wore off and you lost your focus. Maybe you started following the plan God gave you, but you never fully accomplished it because later you sensed He was also giving you something else to do. Then you got so excited about the new vision He gave you that you forgot about the original vision and let it fall by the wayside.
We need to realize that sometimes God asks us to do more than one thing at a time. And if we’re not careful, we have a tendency to only be concerned with the new steps God has revealed to us about His plan for our lives. We tend to lay down the past steps God has given us and let the devil steal from us the blessings God wants us to reap from fulfilling what He first told us to do.
That’s why it’s important to recall the objectives and goals God has spoken to you about in the past that you haven’t accomplished yet. Make a list of them, and make sure the goals on your list are not of your own choosing. God will allow you to set some goals for yourself, but you especially need to go after the goals God has clearly outlined for you.
If you want to take your mountain and possess your full inheritance in Christ, you also need to review the obstacles you face. In other words, be aware of the things that stand in the way of your fulfilling
whatever it is God has told you to do.
Caleb knew there were obstacles in his way. The territory that God promised Caleb was the Hebron area. Do you know who lived in that area? The Anakims, descendants of giants, lived there (Num. 13:33).
Not only did they grow giant-sized grapes in Hebron, they grew giant-sized men there too! Hebron was also full of great, walled cities that were well fortified.
Caleb didn’t have to claim that particular territory where all the giants lived. Because of Caleb’s standing in the community, he could have chosen another area if he’d wanted to. He could have said, “I believe I’ll take this territory over here; it will be a lot easier to conquer.” He could have taken the easy way out. But the easy way wasn’t God’s best for Caleb! No matter how many giants or obstacles or circumstances Caleb would have to face, God’s best for him was to do what God had told him to do – go and possess that mountain!
Likewise, in your own life you must say, “Give me my mountain – God’s perfect plan for my life! That mountain may be full of giants and walled cities, but I’m going after my promised land of blessing anyway,
because that’s what God told me to do!”
As you determine to take your mountain and pursue the goals God has given you, you will not have to face real, physical giants like the sons of Anak that Caleb faced. However, at times you will face giants
of tests, trials, and obstacles, and you may be tempted to give up. But you must obey God!
That’s what Caleb did. When the ten spies gave Moses the evil report, the hearts of the people melted with fear, but Caleb wholeheartedly followed God (Joshua 14:8). And even forty-five years later, Caleb
wouldn’t allow any of the obstacles he faced to keep him from obtaining his promise – not even his age.
Caleb was eighty-five years old when he finally possessed his promise. Caleb’s age seems like a good excuse for not taking the Hebron area. He could have said, “Joshua, listen, I’m older now, and you know I’m
not quite what I used to be. So how about giving me an easier territory to conquer?” And Joshua probably would have said, “Sure, Caleb. You can have any territory you want.”
But Caleb went to Joshua and said, “Give me that mountain – the one God promised me! I’m just as strong as I was forty-five years ago!” (Joshua 14:10-12). Caleb was testifying that God was still with him at
age eighty-five just as He was when he was forty years old! Caleb understood that by himself he wasn’t strong; rather, it was God with him who made him strong.
You need to get hold of the fact that it is not you, but it is God with you that makes the difference. If you think you’re going to make a difference on your own, you’re wrong. On your own you are just “a drop
in the bucket,” so to speak.
But when God is with us, we can conquer anything that comes against us!
Caleb knew God was with him. He was thoroughly convinced that even though he and the children of Israel would have to fight against the giants, God would give them the victory so that they could possess the
land He had promised them. The Bible says that even though Caleb was surrounded by doubters, he had another spirit – the spirit of faith.
NUMBERS 14:24
24 But my servant Caleb, because HE HAD ANOTHER SPIRIT WITH HIM, an hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
For years Caleb had to put up with that unbelieving bunch of Israelites, traveling along with them in the wilderness. But Caleb kept the right attitude, and he kept dreaming about his mountain that God said belonged to him.
Caleb probably passed the forty years imagining himself standing right in the middle of the fortified city as the conqueror. He saw himself possessing his promise.
When God gives you a goal, you may have to wait awhile before you achieve it. But while you’re waiting to take your mountain, do what Caleb did. By faith, see yourself in possession of what God wants you
to have.
For example, if you need healing, see yourself with your healing. If you need to get out of debt, see yourself with all your bills paid. See the Word working in your life, and in faith, continually confess God’s promises by the authority of His Word. If God said something belongs to you, you can have it!
Now the devil will continually put obstacles in your way because he doesn’t want you to succeed in fulfilling God’s plans. But when you review the obstacles and put them up against God, instead of looking like giants, the obstacles will look like ants! Instead of those obstacles looking like walled cities, they’ll look like mole hills that you can obliterate with one swipe of your faith!
It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since God spoke to you – if He said something belonged to you, it still belongs to you! But you’re going to have to do something about possessing that promise by faith.
Caleb understood that principle. He knew that he was going to have to do something about possessing his land, or he would never get it.
What about you? Is there a mountain of blessing God has promised you that you haven’t taken yet? If so, you might be tempted to think of a lot of reasons to explain why you haven’t taken your mountain yet. For
example, you might say that other people have kept you from success or that you live in the wrong geographic location.
But perhaps the reason you’re no progressing spiritually or possessing God’s promises to you is that you haven’t exercised enough discipline to keep going until you’ve taken your mountain. Or maybe you haven’t
sufficiently motivated yourself or made the necessary commitment to succeed. Then again, maybe you’re just not willing to pay the price.
Many people dream of becoming an attorney or a doctor or an engineer but they never achieve their goal because they’re not willing to pay the price of studying the long hours necessary to succeed in those
professions They’re not willing to give up some pleasures for a season so they can study and pass the exams.
Those who have earned postgraduate degrees and are now working in their chosen career fields will tell you it didn’t come easy. They sacrificed a lot to get there. They didn’t get to where they are by always going out with their friends or by watching television all night instead of studying. No, they put in a lot of hard work and strenuous effort to reach their goals!
Many people usually don’t like to hear about sacrifice. Everybody wants something, but not everyone wants to pay the price for it.
For example, spiritually, some people would rather hear about the blessings they can believe God for than about their need to study, meditate, and renew their minds with the Word to obtain those blessings. Well, believing God is part of receiving what He’s promised, but there is also a sacrifice that goes along with obtaining the blessings of God. A person has to pay the price to spend time in prayer and in meditating on the Word and to hold on to God’s promises when it might seem easier just to give up and quit. But the rewards are worth the sacrifice!
If you’re going to take your mountain and receive God’s best for your life, you’ll have to be willing to make some sacrifices too. But if you’ll pay the price to do what God has told you to do, He will reward you – because there is no obstacle that can stop God from keeping His promises to you!
Don’t you think God knew the obstacles were going to be there when He told you what He wanted you to do? And since God knew the obstacles were going to be there, He also knew that you could overcome every one of them by trusting and believing in Him!
Many times, a problem occurs when you try to overcome obstacles that stand in your way by yourself. Remember, the Bible says, “I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). You need to realize that overcoming certain obstacles without God’s help is just not possible. You’ll just end up with a bigger mess than when you started!
Caleb relied on God’s strength. Caleb reminded himself of what God promised him. He had already examined the circumstances. He knew what obstacles awaited him in Hebron. Yet in spite of that, Caleb boldly said, “Give me this mountain!”
God is calling men and women today who, like Caleb, acknowledge that they face adverse circumstances and obstacles, but who in the very next breath will say, “Give me my mountain!”
After you have recalled what God has told you to do and reviewed the obstacles in your way, you need to renew your spirit of conquest.
Caleb had to renew his spirit of conquest in order to take his mountain. When the “feasibility” committee or the twelve spies went back to Moses, the majority gave an evil report. But Caleb and Joshua gave the minority report, saying,”…Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Num. 13:30). Because Caleb had the spirit of a conqueror, he tried to convince the people that they could take the land.
And even though the majority won out and it cost them the joy of ever obtaining the prize, their unbelief didn’t stop Caleb from ultimately obtaining his prize. They managed to slow him down, but Caleb stayed
strong.
Similarly, the devil may have managed to slow you down, but that doesn’t mean he’s won the battle. Follow Caleb’s example and renew your spirit of conquest. Remind yourself of what God has promised you.
Then brush the dust off the goals and plans God has given you and say, “All right, Lord, I’m ready to take that mountain You’ve promised me!”
Caleb followed God with all his heart. He maintained the same spirit of conquest that he displayed when God first spoke to him. Years later he was still saying, “The Lord is with me. With His help, I’m still as
good as I ever was. The Lord will help me drive out those Anakim giants”‘ (Joshua 14:11,12).
When you know God is with you, you can be confident that you are just as strong in the Lord as you ever were, because God doesn’t change. But if you don’t continually rely on God’s help, your spirit of conquest may become a little weak or dim. And the oomph or the “get- up-and-go” and enthusiasm that you felt in the beginning won’t be there anymore. You’ll become satisfied with second best.
But second best won’t do! God wants the best for you!
God’s best is waiting for you. But it’s up to you to say, “Lord, I’ve been waiting around for too many years. It’s time now to take my mountain! And no one is going to keep me from getting the victory – not the devil or anyone else!”
Now is the time! It’s time for you to rise up to your full potential in God and take by faith what God said you could have. Begin to recall the goals God has placed in your heart to fulfill and the blessings that He’s promised are yours in Christ. Meditate on those promises until you get a firm hold on them. Next, review the obstacles that stand in your way and realize that they don’t amount to anything, because God is with you! Then renew your spirit of conquest and go take your mountain!=================================================================
THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY THE WORD OF FAITH, JULY 1996, PAGES 4-7. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
