Bob’s Blog

All Jesus-followers are called to obediently wait on God’s timing, developing our dreams and lowering our lives into the basin of God’s richest blessings.

God has been disclosing to us through his Word the fact that Caleb was the boldest dreamer in the Bible.  In The Caleb Quest we are learning that dreams don’t come true by accident.  On the contrary, fulfilled dreams are the result of clear thinking, strong faith, patience and hard work.  It is common for us as Jesus-followers to be born with a desire deep within—a seed, a purpose, a dream, and a promise of something greater.

We understood in our last message that a close look at Caleb’s dream revealed three qualities that excited God and made him want to get involved in Caleb’s pursuits.

Caleb activated God’s desires by his humility

Caleb activated God’s desires by his courage

Caleb activated God’s desires by his loyalty

Catherine Marshall in her book entitled Beyond Ourselves, writes…”In order to fly, the bird must have two wings. One wing is the realization of our human helplessness; the other is the realization of God’s power. Our faith in God’s ability to handle our particular situation is the connecting link.”

We all come to points in our lives where we wonder if our dreams will come true.  Perhaps we wonder what we really want to do. Different things can trigger such a feeling—we may be…

in school looking for a career path,

married looking for things to do around our role as a spouse or a parent,

older looking for either a career change, or for new activities that can excite us and fill our days as well as ourselves, or

in our golden years and feeling a desire to still be productive and useful.

What I have learned through 40 years of ministry is this compelling principle:

Dreams don’t always come true when we want them to.

Life is seasonal.  We experience different seasons of life. Like new chapters in a book that keep the story going, seasons reflect periods of time in our lives. God has seasons—similar to winter, spring, summer, and fall.  We all go through periods when we are either in the deserts, beaches, valleys, or mountains.

Just like life is seasonal, so our dreams are seasonal.

There are sequentially four seasons to a dream:

Summer—when an idea or seed thought begins to grow within our heart and mind.

Fall—when that dream is tested.

Winter—when we wonder what is happening to our dream as it seems to be going nowhere.

Spring—when our dream finally comes true.

As we comprehend God at work in the midst of our dreams, we concentrate mostly on what happens in the seasons of fall and winter. This is the time period between a dream’s conception and its birth.

Paul shared with Titus that he was called to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.”  Paul writes about God’s season in Titus 1:3…

…and which now at his appointed time through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

Basically, Paul was speaking of God’s use of his preaching of the gospel at God’s appointed season, or time. Let’s make no mistake about it—God doesn’t do stuff just on a whim or an impulse.   God’s timing is most often different from our timing, but God always has a plan and a purpose for everything he does or allows.

The apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:8…

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

An economist who read this verse was quite amazed and talked to God about it. “Lord, is it true that a thousand years for us is like one minute to you?”  The Lord said, “Yes.”  The economist said, “Then a million dollars to us must be like one penny to you.”  The Lord said, “Well, yes.”  The economist said, “Will you give me one of those pennies?”  The Lord said, “All right, I will.  Just wait a minute!”

Let’s consider Jesus’ coming, for instance. The prophet writes in Isaiah 40:3-4…

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”

Paul writes in Galatians 4:4…

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…

Jesus didn’t come to earth until God was ready for him to come. For in God’s timing, his season, Jesus came to redeem us—not a “season” sooner or later.  So the timing of God’s seasons is just as important as the changing of the seasons themselves.

And just like the seasons of the year, our seasons have specific time frames. Now these time frames, these seasons, may be dependant upon our learning and applying specific lessons to our lives or a need for growth and dependence upon God.  So. . . what do we do?

Let’s once again consider what Caleb did and how God responded in Numbers 14:24…

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

We pursue the heart of God and wholeheartedly follow him. God promises to provide the blessing in his time. Now we discovered in our first message that Caleb waited upon God’s promise during a forty-five year season to inherit the land.  Caleb was still vigorous at the age of eight-five (see Joshua 14:10-11) when he received his inheritance!   

So like Caleb, we ask God to show us the lessons we are supposed to learn during God’s appointed seasons.   We experience a particular season because God has appointed us to be in that season.  We are in that season because God loves and desires that we grow in our faith and in knowledge of him. So. . .let’s make no mistake. . . it’s no accident. . .it’s no coincidence. . . that many of us right now are in a season of transition personally and as a church. So, we should thank God for loving us enough to want us to learn and grow.  We grow in our patience with God concerning his timing.

The key to everything is patience.  You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not smashing it.  –Arnold Glasow.

Divine Delays

We live in a terribly fast-paced culture.  We’re so used to getting things in a hurry that we go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde if we have to wait even a few seconds longer than we think is reasonable.  For example, notice how instantly irritable we get if the guy ahead of us sits a little too long when the light turns green.  Or think about how many times we’ve rolled our eyes, tapped our feet and grumbled under our breath because the checkout clerk in the express lane of the supermarket had to run and do a price check.  We want our stuff, and we want it now! But when it comes to our dreams, we simply must develop a whole new perspective. 

Worthwhile dreams have many enemies and encounter many obstacles.  Our best friend in the dream business, God himself, is often responsible for the delays we experience.  Let’s look at a few reasons for these divine delays.

1.   God’s timing is governed by first things first

God may love our dreams and their fulfillment might well be on his agenda, but God may have other things he wants to do first.

We must remember that God is sovereign.  God has a plan for this world, and he is going to unfold it as he sees fit, no matter how anxious or restless we may be.  That was certainly the case with Caleb.  He was all charged up and ready to go busting into the land of Canaan in Numbers 13.  But God slammed the door because he had something else he wanted to take care of first.

There were the dream killers who gave a negative report.  God wanted to weed out of the population those who murmured and whined.  So God decided to do it by sending them on a forty-year trek through the wilderness (Numbers 14:29-30).  In essence, God was saying to Caleb, “Sorry, my friend.  I haven’t forgotten you, but I want to take care of this problem first.”

And here’s the point we must not miss: the forty-year delay, as difficult as it must have been for Caleb to endure, actually sweetened his dream when it finally did come true.  So we need to understand that the Bible tells us that God’s character is based on order and design—for God is not a God of disorder, but of peace… 1 Corinthians 14:33.  We need to believe that God knows what he’s doing, that he will take first things first and bless our dreams when the time is right.

2.  God’s timing is guarded by the strength of character

God may be waiting for us to show more passion for the little things, giving us time to prepare for what our dream come true will require of us.

If our dreams came true, would they put great demands on our time?  If so, maybe God is waiting for us to become more disciplined and organized so that we won’t get in over our heads.  God most often will test our strength of character with the little things before he gives us something bigger.

Perhaps we’ve noticed that many great Bible heroes went through a time of preparation before God called them to greatness. For example, Moses lived in a wilderness for many years before God called him to lead his people through one.  Joshua humbly served as Moses’ understudy, hungrily devouring the timeless principles of leadership.  Caleb went through a time of grounding before God called him to go into battle to claim his inherited land.  And Jesus patiently taught and trained the disciples for three years before he turned them loose to build his church.

If our dreams seem to be on hold, we need to spend some time thinking about the specific ways our lives would change if our dreams suddenly came true.  The bottom line is this: if there’s any hint that we’re not prepared in strength of character—physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually—to handle our dreams come true, then we must get to work.  God might be waiting for us to do our part before he does his.

3.  God’s timing is gauged by the sin issue

God may be waiting for us to deal with some sin in our lives.

If we’re parents, we’ll have no problem grasping this idea.  We know how easy it is to grant our children’s wishes when they’re obedient and respectful.  But when they sass us…leave chores undone…or worst yet, when they blatantly disobey the rules we’ve set up, we’re not receptive at all to their requests.

Just as God had to deal with the sin issue regarding the children of Israel, he will deal with the sin issue concerning Jesus-followers today.  Right now, sin may be the only thing standing between us and the fulfillment of our dreams.  We may be smarter and more talented than others who have done what we dream of doing.  We may have fully prepared ourselves to succeed, and we may have shown passion in the small things God has given us to do.  But God may discount our prayers and actively slam every door of opportunity because of some sinful habit or attitude with which we’ve grown comfortable.  God may be actively opposing us as a way of disciplining us for our disobedience. 

There was an old Bible that ended up in our church office after Sunday worship.  As I looked through it, I noticed that the owner had highlighted or underlined many verses that contained a promise of God’s blessing.  Very nice, I thought, until I noticed something odd.  In many cases, the person had failed to highlight the conditions that were attached to the promises.  For example…

“Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). 

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

In every verse, the owner had highlighted the second half of the verses not the first.

Questions: are we living our lives the way this person marked the Bible?  Are we ignoring the conditions of God’s promises?  Are we assuming that God will bless us, even if we’re not living for him?  Are we telling ourselves that we’ll still get our dreams met, even if we’re not coming before God with our sins under control?  If so, we must wake up.  It doesn’t work that way.

So what we’ve realized is that our dreams come true in the fullness of time.  They come true when God, in his infinite wisdom, says the time is right.

Proverbs 16:9 affirms…

In their hearts human beings plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

Our job is to be faithful in the meantime.

For Personal or Group Discussion…

Let’s take an inventory and ask the following questions…

1.   Have you ever had a dream come true?  Looking back, could you have done anything      to speed up the process?

2.   Can you think of a reason why God might be waiting to bless your current dream?  Do you need to be attentive to the work God has already given you?

3.   Have you ignored a sin in your life?  Why haven’t you dealt with it?  What could you do today to start bringing that sin under control?

I want to encourage you to lower your bucket into the basin of God’s provision. What is the reservoir of resources that you have— the talents, the motivations that are yours and that were present in your more rewarding experiences through the years? The answers for your future are that close to you. If you haven’t done it, you could make a list of the achievement/experiences that were particularly meaningful and look for what motivated you in those experiences, as well as the talents that you drew upon. These key things will undoubtedly form the core of any new activities or dreams. They are the gifts God has given you for whatever he has chosen you to do. Your deepest passions help to fulfill the purposes for your life. They reveal them to you.  What are your circumstances, who are the people you know, what are the contacts you have? They, too, are part of your provisions. Become aware of the timing and the help of those situations, and the people that surround you. There may be a fit with what you are doing. Some would call it serendipity. I would call it “God in the details.” Something you need or someone you need is there just when you need help the most.

I read of a story of a cancer survivor who was told she had a year to live. She felt lead to write a book about her struggles, even though she basically felt her life had ended. She decided to follow that leading in her heart. She lowered her bucket into the basin of God’s provisions. It would seem God had another job for her to do. Eventually her book was published. As she would say, “By God’s grace a whole new world opened up.” She went on to live thirty six more years! While this might not be everyone’s story, it shows the power of listening to and answering the call of your heart. Sometimes we don’t need to ask “Why?” we should do something, but “Why not?”

What is the message your heart has for you? Take advantage of “where you are” and find the courage to follow your own heart’s leading. Your soul’s story is where your passions and dreams reside, and they hold a rich promise for your future.

As this message series comes to an end and we lay it aside, let’s take up The Caleb Quest.  Let’s pray that someday, at the time of God’s choosing, we’ll each see the fulfillment of our lifelong dreams for ourselves, our family, our community, our church, and our world.  But just as fervently, we must pray that when our dreams happen, we’ll use them to bless others.  If we do, like Caleb—the boldest dreamer in the Bible, we’ll make a startling discovery: that the giving away of our dreams will bring us more joy and beauty than their fulfillment ever did!  The wise man Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:11…

He has made everything beautiful in his time.

Amen.

All Jesus-followers are called to exhibit qualities that excite God and make him want to get involved in our dreams—their passions and pursuits.

We discovered in our first message that Caleb was the boldest dreamer in the Bible. In The Caleb Quest we are learning that dreams don’t come true by accident. On the contrary, fulfilled dreams are the result of clear thinking, strong faith, patience and hard work. It is common for us as Jesus-followers to be born with a desire deep within—a seed, a purpose, a dream, and a promise of something greater.

We understood in our last message that a close look at Caleb’s dream revealed three reasons why it was a good one and, at the same time, gave us the tools we needed to assess our own dream.

Caleb’s dream fit with God’s will

Caleb’s dream fit with his talents

Caleb’s dream fit with Israel’s need

Now before we move on to our next segment in the life of Caleb, we need to understand an important truth. It’s simply that God doesn’t take kindly to dream killers. Let’s check out Numbers 14:36-38…

So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

Of course, we must not suggest that God is going to strike us down with a plague if we dare utter a negative word to a dreamer. But clearly, God came down hard on those who tried to kill Caleb and Joshua’s dream. Therefore, when someone shares a dream with us, we need to be cautious in what we say. Even if the dream sounds a little crazy, we choose our words carefully. The last thing we want is to have blood on our hands. If a dream is going to die, we must let it be of natural causes, not murder!

If we really want to activate a person’s desires it is helpful to know what things please that person. For example, if you want to know what pleases me, it would be good to engage me in a conversation regarding my favorite sport teams, camping at Yosemite, asking me about my five fabulous grandchildren or talking with me about ministry that changes lives for Jesus. If we want to activate God’s desires it is good for us to know what things please God. God has made those intentions known in his Holy Word.

We must also understand that when it comes to activating people’s support, we are drawn to some people more than others. It really has nothing to do with love or affection for a person. Some people can say that they honestly love everybody and do their best to prove it in the way they conduct themselves in life. But if we really want to be honest with ourselves, we connect with some people better than others.

We understand some people better than others. We admire and respect some people more than others. We have more in common with some people than with others. And yes, we enjoy some people more than others. So we must confess: we have favorites. We’ve always had favorites, and we will continue to have those people who we connect with better than others. We must not feel guilty about this because God has favorites too.

Oh yes, God loves everybody. John 3:16 settles that question once and for all. But at the same time, we can see throughout Scripture that God was drawn to certain individuals more than others, and God granted them special privileges and blessings. For example,

God had special feelings for Noah and his family (Genesis 6:17-18)

God shared a special friendship with Abraham (James 2:23)

God placed a hedge of protection around Joseph (Genesis 39:2)

God saw great potential in an obscure shepherd boy named David (1 Sam. 16:12-13)

God favored Mary over all the young Jewish girls in Judea (Luke 1:26-28)

Then there’s Caleb. We discovered in our last message that God made no secret of his special feelings for this high-energy dreamer.

Let’s look again at Numbers 14:24…

The Lord replied… “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

There’s no mistaking the fact that God was a huge Caleb fan, and as such, God was determined to grant him success.

Now I have no trouble understanding this idea that God is on our side when I think about how I feel as a sports fan. For example, I love the San Francisco Forty-Niners. If I had Godlike power, I would definitely use it to help them win some football games. Okay, all of their games. If needed, I would kick up a little gust of wind in Candlestick Park to blow the opponent’s field goal attempt away from the goalposts. Or I would make the football take a bad bounce to let the Forty-Niners fall on a fumble deep into their opponent’s territory. No, I wouldn’t be obvious about it. I wouldn’t trip up the quarterback as he begins to drop back for a pass or cause an intended receiver to drop a pass. Well, maybe I would. Let’s say that, in the interest of good taste, I would try to be discreet about my interventions; but I would definitely see to it that my boys came out on top!

And so it is with God. God’s special affection for Caleb compelled him to get involved in Caleb’s request and even to verbally guarantee the fulfillment of his dream, “I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Caleb still had to do his part, and he certainly could have fumbled the ball. But as long as he stayed in the game with his dreams fitting God’s will, his talents, Israel’s need—God was going to be in his side, working on his behalf, helping the pieces fall into place.

Getting God Involved

If we look closely once again at our key verse from Numbers 14:24, we’ll see that God called attention to three qualities in Caleb. No doubt Caleb possessed other admirable traits, but these are the ones God saw fit to mention as he guaranteed the success of Caleb’s dream. Certainly they are the qualities that excite God and make him want to get involved in our pursuits.

1. Caleb activated God’s desires by his humility

“But because my servant Caleb…”

We mentioned in our last message the fact that God identified Caleb as “my servant.” Servants are humble people who recognize their place in the grand scheme of things and do their best to fulfill their accountability to their masters, and also serve as need be, to take the responsibility for those assigned under their care.

Humility =

“An attitude of dependence as we recognize that all we have is a gift of God.”

Humility expresses a genuine dependency on God and others. Humility recognizes that we live the Christian life in the same manner we become a Jesus-follower—by the grace of God. Humility is an attitude of the heart and mind. It asks for and receives God’s forgiveness and, in turn, is quick to forgive others. It is content to be behind the scenes. However, those who are humble can count on God to give them productivity and peace.

Gordon T. Smith writes concerning the call to humility… “The call to humility is a call to serve God with sober minds—with full awareness of our gifts and our limitations. Humility is simply living in the truth—recognizing the reality and character of God, and living in personal dependence on God as Creator and Savior.”

That God used this word “servant” with reference to someone as ambitious as Caleb is quite remarkable. Ambitious people are generally not servants…at least, not for very long. Instead, they live with upward tilt to their chins. They have their eyes on positions of authority. They become the guys who crack the whip and give the orders. So God’s use of the word “servant” shows that Caleb managed to strike a delicate balance.

We know God loves this quality in Caleb, because the Bible speaks again and again of God’s special affection for humble people.

Let’s check out the following verses from the New Living Translation:

The humble will see their God at work and be glad (Psalm 69:32).

Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud (Psalm 138:6).

The LORD supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust (Psalm 147:6).

God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble (James 4:6).

So humble yourselves under the might power of God, and in his good time he will honor you (1 Peter 5:6).

Let’s look at an incident that brings these verses to life for each of us.

Remember the exhilaration you felt coasting downhill on your bicycle when you were a kid? Soak up the stunning scenery on the Maui Downhill Bike Ride as you coast down the slopes of Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano. Cruise down the ever-changing landscape from the lava encrusted top of the crater, to the lush seaside plantation town of Paia, 38 miles away. Bike down a volcano for an unforgettable island experience! It is the world’s longest downhill bicycle cruise down the slopes of Haleakala, the largest dormant volcano in the world. The tour will start just outside Haleakala National Park. Cycle at a leisurely pace, pedaling past open fields and pastures and a stunning Maui landscape spotted with colorful flowers and regal trees. Stop for great photo opportunities as your bike guide shows you the rich cultural and historical background of the area.

Sue and I have taken this Maui downhill bike ride twice. It is truly as described—“an unforgettable island experience.” It is interesting though that when we started the bike ride at the top of Haleakala; our bike guide did an unusual thing. He asked each of the riders how skilled we were in riding a bike. He asked all those who were skilled and good riders to raise their hands. All these riders were ready to roll at great speeds. Therefore, he placed all the riders who wanted to bolt down the volcano at the back of the pack. The slower and least experienced riders were placed up front. It seems that the logic of this placing was reversed. Why not place the best riders first? But because of the treacherous downgrade in which we were going to ride, our bike guide ingeniously placed the slower and most inexperienced riders at the front. This protected all riders from losing control of their bikes and losing their lives at the same time. Now, those of us in the back of the pack had to humble ourselves and let the much slower riders control the pace of the ride. This positioned an attitude of dependence on the slower riders to set a pace that would make the downhill ride safe and enjoyable for all riders!

The laws of logic mean nothing when God gets involved in our dreams. God’s favor can overcome any prideful spirit as we become his servants. And God’s favor is his gift to those who are humble.

2. Caleb activated God’s desires by his courage

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit…”

The second quality that obviously excites God and makes him want to get involved in the pursuit of our dreams is courage. God said, “My servant Caleb has a different spirit.” God has always wanted his people to be different. Not weird, but different than the “ordinary” of life—to live a cut above with the strength of character.

Courage =

“The mental and moral strength to trust God,

venturing, persevering and withstanding danger.”

Courage implies firmness of mind, will and spirit to trust God in the face of danger or extreme difficulty. It suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or stress with fortitude and resilience. The spirit of courage suggests a quality of temperament that enables people to hold their own against opposition, interference, or temptation.

Caleb needed that different spirit of courage as he trusted God to lead him into Canaan and inhabit the land promised to him. He knew that it would take a different spirit to claim the dream God gave to him. He would need a spirit of courage that would enable him to hold his own against opposition, interference, or even the temptation to quit.

It takes great courage to be different in a world that worships conformity.

Daniel was thrown into a lions’ den for being different (Daniel 6:19-23)

John the Baptist was beheaded for being different (Matthew 14:6-12)

Jesus was nailed to a cross for being different (Luke 23:44-45)

Even Caleb and Joshua were criticized and threatened with stoning because they dared to stand in opposition to the negative report that the other ten spies brought back to Moses.

The reason the world loves conformity is because it breeds a sense of security. Force is applied by those in groups around us in an effort to restrain the nonconformist. We call it peer pressure, and it can be very powerful.

We are all aware of and perhaps have experienced the peer pressure that is evident in the world.

Conformity says you must approve of and do what I do. Courage says I must do something harder: I will accept you even when your behavior offends me.

Conformity says you must agree with me. Courage says I must do something harder: I will tell you the truth; because I am convinced ‘the truth will set you free.’

Conformity says you must allow me to have my way and lead you in that way. Courage says I must do something harder: I will walk in the right way and plead with you to follow the right way, because I believe you are worth the risk.

Conformity seeks to be inoffensive, but courage takes risks and becomes offensive.

Conformity glorifies division; courage seeks unity.

Conformity costs nothing; courage costs everything.

The good news is that God fully understands the courage it takes to be different and has promised to bless those, like Caleb, who muster that kind of courage. God has promised to be our protector if we can muster the courage to be different. God’s favor is his gift to those who dare to step out of the crowd.

3. Caleb activated God’s desires by his loyalty

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly…”

In this phrase from God’s Word, our eyes are naturally drawn to the word “wholeheartedly.” To follow someone or something wholeheartedly takes loyalty.

Loyalty =

“The quality or state of being unswervingly

faithful to God, showing allegiance and fidelity.”

Loyalty is likened to a tie binding one person to another. In the context of this phrase, it means total commitment to carry out God’s way over personal convenience or desire.

In our last message we stated that the trademark of Caleb’s life was one who “followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” Of no one else in the Bible is this testimony repeated so frequently. Let’s check out the other references to Caleb’s wholehearted loyalty to God:

‘–not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly’ (Numbers 32:12).

“…except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly” (Deuteronomy 1:36).

…but the others who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 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’ (Joshua 14:8-9).

Now loyalty comes easy most of the time. For Caleb, marching into the land of Canaan with his “band of brothers” to carry out their mission was no test of loyalty at all. But when he saw the giants and the fortified cities…when he began to realize that taking the land wouldn’t be as easy as they thought…when panic began to spread among his group…and when the radical element among the people started talking about stoning him—that’s when following the Lord wholeheartedly became a real test.

The vast majority of the time, being loyal to the Lord will be no challenge at all. Life is good for the moment. The thing is, we know Satan has something up his sleeve. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy.” That verse tells us that he’s at the drawing board right this minute, planning a nasty little surprise for those who desire to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The point is that being loyal isn’t hard. Continuing to follow the Lord wholeheartedly is. Caleb remained loyal to the Lord and won God’s favor in the process.

For Personal or Group Discussion…

Let’s take an inventory and ask the following questions…

1. Could God call you his servant? In what ways are you humbly serving the Lord?

2. Can you give an example of a time when you chose to be courageous and separated yourself from the majority and suffered as a result?

3. Are there specific times, places, or people that Satan uses to attack your loyalty? How can you resist those influences?

As we conclude this message, I can’t help but thinking about one of my all-time sport heroes—quarterback Joe Montana. Having Joe on your team was like having God on your team. Let me explain. The San Francisco Forty-Niners were playing the Cincinnati Bengals in their third Superbowl appearance in 1989. The Niners started their winning drive at their own 8-yard line. Over the next 11 plays, Joe Montana orchestrated a drive covering 92 yards with the decisive score coming on a 10-yard pass from Joe Montana to wide receiver John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining.

Randy Cross, the Niners center, was interviewed after the game and shared why playing with Joe was like having God on your team. He said that as they huddled in their own end zone with 92 yards to go for a victory, Joe knelt down and looked around one by one into the eyes of his teammates. He said the following words, “Ok guys, now is the time to take this ball down the field. We are going to score and take the trophy back to San Francisco!”

The best news that we can hear from this message is this: We can have God on our team.

[Brazilian soccer player, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learned that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Milan's 2007 Champions League triumph.]

We can have God on our team. Not someone like God, but God himself. God will suit up and take the field with us. God will pass the ball so we can score. God will even call time-out when we’re winded and need a little rest. God will run the plays so we can experience victory.

No, God won’t do it all for us. We still need to be humble, courageous and loyal. We still have to suit up and take the field. We still have to run and block and do our part. But God will be in the game. And, as Caleb discovered, when God is on our side, victory becomes more than just a possibility. Why? Because God is undefeated! Amen.

All Jesus-followers are called to a penetrating purpose, a passion—essentially a quest deep inside them to believe and achieve a God-honoring dream.

Caleb was the boldest dreamer in the Bible. I want to begin this message series on The Caleb Quest by asking some important and penetrating questions:

Did we begin our adult life with ambitious dreams and the energy and determination to make them come true?

Did our focus change along the way as life “happened?”

Did we allow our dreams to fizzle or even die? Is that the way it has to be?

Do dreams come true for “ordinary” people? And if so, what does it take to make them happen?

God has answered these questions in the life of Caleb, the boldest dreamer and achiever in all of Scripture. In The Caleb Quest, we will discover that dreams don’t come true by accident. On the contrary, fulfilled dreams are the result of clear thinking, strong faith, patience, and hard work. Geared to the everyday Jesus-follower, this biblical plan will help us take action in the pursuit of our dreams, and use our dreams to bless others!

It is common for us to be born with a desire deep within—a seed, a purpose, a dream, and a promise of something greater. We have all felt it at times in our lives. There is a certain knowledge within that somehow, somewhere, a destiny lives in our souls, one that will spring up every now and then and tap us on the shoulder with a friendly reminder of that special thing we were created to be.

Dale Carnegie wrote…

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

We have been given by God the responsibility to be bloomed where we are planted.

Paul writes in Romans 8:29…

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

As Jesus-followers, we have been given a destiny—to be more like Jesus. God has made us in his image, and that’s what The Caleb Quest is all about. A God-sized dream, living and growing way down inside us, causing a desire so strong it can only be satisfied by our heeding it—heeding it and giving everything we have to making it come true.

Maybe we’ve felt it and figured that this dream or destiny wasn’t for us. We know that we are created by God as workers to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, but somehow we’ve given up on that lifelong dream. If so, perhaps the spiritual principles that lie in this The Caleb Quest messages series can change our minds about dreams and purpose, and especially about giving up.

What We Can Learn from the

Boldest Dreamer in the Bible

The Bible has a story about a man named Caleb, who understood that feeling, that thing that we sometimes spend a lifetime chasing. Deep within Caleb’s heart he had a quest, a dream bigger than the sun. And he, knowing this, prayed and asked and searched God on the matter until finally, in all of God’s splendor, events and times and souls came together and Caleb saw his dream come to completion.

There is a defining verse from Scripture that really captures the essence of Caleb’s life from Numbers 14:24…

The Lord replied…“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

Caleb was “my servant,” according to the Lord’s own testimony, and a remarkable servant he was! He—except for Joshua—was the only one of the twelve spies who was willing to follow the Lord all the way, even in spite of the giants in the land. Therefore, he alone was allowed to go with Joshua into the Promised Land. Six times in the Bible, first of all here in the verse above, we are told that Caleb “wholeheartedly followed the Lord.” Of no one else in the Bible is this testimony repeated so frequently.

To possess the Promised Land, however, Caleb had to conquer the land he wanted, the mountain of Hebron. At this time, he was 85 years old, at least 25 years older than any other man in Israel. Yet he and his family alone, of all the tribes who entered the land, were able to complete God’s command to drive out all the pagan inhabitants from his inheritance—even though these were the same fearsome giants who had so terrified the ten spies 45 years earlier!

Likewise, Jesus says to us today in John 12:26…

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

Caleb had a quest. The quest to wholeheartedly follow the Lord all the days of his life.

Now, as we’ve reviewed Caleb’s story, we can come to the conclusion that the best dream is the one that finds us, rather than the one we have to find. We must not think that a dreamless person shouldn’t go looking for a dream. Perhaps many great achievers in life had to search for their dreams for many years. But when we’re blindsided…when the vision of something we’d like to be or do knocks us off our feet, we have every reason to believe it will become the great, driving passion of our lives. And it’s those great, driving passions that stand the best chance of coming true.

If we’re lovers of the ocean, we’re probably familiar with an artist named Christian Lassen. He is known around the world as the premier marine artist of our time—Hawaii’s Master Artist of the Sea. Raised on the Island of Maui, Christian Lassen has translated his love of the ocean into some of the most beautiful and popular works of art the world has ever known. Collected by a host of famous art lovers and commissioned by such institutions as the United Nations and the Walt Disney Company, this young painter is one of the best selling artists in history, with a tremendous following in both American and International markets.

Lassen has a dream. All of his paintings reflect this dream as expressed in the following vision: “I believe in making a difference through my art. In my work, I seek to act as a messenger, alerting people all over the world to the deterioration of the global environment, and to the need, as well, for greater understanding and respect for the world’s diverse cultures. The Earth’s irreplaceable treasures are steadily being eroded, but each of us, collectively and as individuals, can make a difference and must! This is my message.”

Sue and I have one of his paintings adorning our dining room that we purchased in Lahaina, Maui several years ago. Every time my wife, Sue, and I sit down with family and friends in our dining room, we are reminded of what can happen when a man and a dream collide.

Right now, do you have a dream? Something that you are living for… something that you think about every day… something that quickens your pulse when it crosses your mind… something that affects the decisions you make… something you’d even be willing to risk your life for, if it came to that place.

A close look at Caleb’s dream will reveal three reasons why it was a good one and, at the same time, give us the tools we need to assess our own dream.

1. Caleb’s dream fit with God’s will

God made it clear from the very beginning that he wanted his chosen people to inhabit the land of Canaan. Hundreds of years before Caleb was born, Abraham and Sarah with family in tow, left Haran and entered the territory for the first time.

Near a place called Shechem, the Lord appeared to him and said in Genesis 12:7…

“To your offspring I will give this land.”

Caleb would have been well aware of that promise, which is, no doubt the primary reason he held onto his dream for so many years which such unwavering faith, devotion and confidence. It really makes a world of difference when we know beyond any doubt that God is on our side!

So it’s important that we take a look at our dream in the light of what God has said in his Word. It really doesn’t matter how passionate we are about a dream or how relentlessly we’re willing to pursue it. If God doesn’t approve of our dreams, then they’re in serious trouble.

Let’s check out the powerful verses from 1 Chronicles 29:11-12…

“Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom: you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly. God is ultimately the one who determines who among us achieves greatness and receives strength. We often talk about successful people being in the right place at the right time, but clearly there’s more to it than being lucky. God is constantly helping some, hindering others.

Now we can’t always explain why God works a certain way in one person’s life and differently in another person’s life. However, we must do everything possible to make sure our dream fits with God’s will. We must want God to look at us and say, “Yes, I like what you have in mind.”

Personally I’ve often found it helpful to take verses of Scripture and frame them in opposite terms. For example, let’s take Paul’s words in Romans 8:31…

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

This verse is one we’ve memorized and quoted many times. But let’s discover what happens when we frame the question in opposite terms…

“If God is against us, what difference does it make who’s for us?”

Packs a punch, doesn’t it?

We, as dreamers, must simply take a hard look at our dreams and make sure they fit with God’s will. We must not be afraid. We get out God’s Word and see if our dreams are compatible with what God has said. It they don’t, then we’re on our own. On the other hand, if we’ve searched the Scriptures and know that our dreams fit with God’s will, then we move on to the next tool in assessing our dreams. We’ve already taken the first and most important step in the right direction.

2. Caleb’s dream fit with his talents

We might wonder why Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of Israel, when Caleb was just as faithful and committed. The reason undoubtedly had to do with their gifts. A special bond existed between Moses and Joshua as specified in Deuteronomy 34:9…

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

This close relationship between Moses and Joshua existed, probably because Joshua was a natural-born student who loved to sit and learn at Moses’ feet. They probably spent countless hours together, much of it one-on-one as Joshua soaked up his mentor’s accumulated wisdom.

Caleb, on the other hand, was more a man of action as indicated in Joshua 14:10-11…

“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 wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 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.”

This in incredible—Caleb’s motor was still running at the age of eight-five! He probably found it difficult to sit still long enough to be trained in the subtleties of diplomacy and political gamesmanship. He was a guy we would call when we have a joy that needs doing. Caleb’s dream fit with his talents.

We must evaluate our dreams in the light of our talents. We have to face up to the fact that there are some things in life we will never be able to do:

If we’re tone-deaf, we’ll never be an opera singer. (Rap, maybe, but not opera!)

If we have two left feet, we’ll never be an Olympic gymnast.

If we can’t stand the sight of blood, we’ll probably never make it as a surgeon.

If we’re six-foot-six and weigh 275 pounds, we have no future as a jockey.

If our patience runs thin being around children, we’ll never be a teacher.

We can mark this down: God’s blessings are always going to harmonize with God’s gifts! God is not going to bless our efforts to achieve something that he hasn’t gifted us to do.

Paul says in Romans 12:6…

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. We can be sure that it will be in those different gifts that we’ll find God’s blessing. So it makes sense to invest our time and energy in some talents that we do possess. It sounds noble to say that we’re going to work on our weaknesses, but wouldn’t it benefit us more to work on our strengths?

In his book entitled, Strengths Finder, Tom Rath asks an important question when we seek to fit our dream with our talents. Tom writes… “Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? Chances are you don’t. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.” This book is loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying our strengths.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?

By working hard and reaching our highest potential in the area of our giftedness, we will move ourselves ahead of all the people who may be equally talented but not as committed. And in a highly competitive culture, that’s an essential part of making our dreams come true.

3. Caleb’s dream fit with Israel’s need

One of the first things we realize about Caleb’s dream is that it was going to benefit the entire nation. Clearing the race of giants known as Anakim out of the hill country was something Israel would have to do, sooner or later, if the people were going to enjoy any degree of peace in their new homeland.

Caleb was itching to do the job as recorded in Numbers 13:30…

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

That Caleb was ready to take possession of the land was an unexpected and very welcome blessing for everyone. We need to think about how our dreams would impact the people around us if it were to come true. So as we access our dreams, it’s important for us to think beyond ourselves.

Philippians 2:4 says…

…not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.

Galatians 6:9-10 says…

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Our dreams may be something we think we can’t live without. But if they aren’t good for the people God has placed in our sphere of influence, than they aren’t good. We can choose our dreams in life. However, God has chosen the consequences. If the dreams aren’t good, especially to those who belong to the body of Christ, than they aren’t good, period.

If we’ve dissected our dreams and found that they don’t fit with God’s will, our talents, or the needs of the people around us, we now face the prospect of discarding them. That can be hard, especially if they’re dreams we’ve been carrying in our heart for a long time. Now is the best time to make that discovery, not after the dream has come true. We can imagine how sick we’d be if we spent our entire life chasing a dream and finally achieved it only to discover that it was hallow all along.

For Personal or Group Discussion…

Let’s take an inventory and ask the following questions…

1. Does your dream fit with God’s will? What specific Scriptures can you point to that confirm this certainty?

2. Do your dreams fit with your talents? Specifically, what talents do you possess that you believe are in harmony with your dream?

3. If your dream came true, how would it affect the people in your world? Specifically, how might it bless them, not harm them?

The story is told of a pastor who saved up enough money to buy a few inexpensive acres of land. He had a dream of fixing up a little run-down, weather-beaten farmhouse that sat on the acreage, a sad picture of years of neglect. The land had not been kept up either, so there were old tree stumps, rusted pieces of machinery, and all sorts of debris strewn here and there, not to mention a fence greatly in need of repair. The whole scene was a mess.

During his spare time and his vacations, the preacher rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He hauled off the junk, repaired the fence, pulled away the stumps, and replanted new trees. Then he refurbished the old house into a quaint cottage with a new roof, new windows, new stone walkway, new paint job, and finally a few colorful flower boxes. It took several years for this pastor to accomplish his dream.

When the last job had been completed and he was washing up after applying a fresh coat of paint to the mailbox, his neighbor (who had watched all this work from a distance) walked over and said, “Well, pastor—looks like you and the Lord have done a pretty fine job on your place there.” Wiping the sweat from his face, the pastor replied, “Yeah, I suppose so, but you should have seen it when the Lord had it all to himself.”

Well, on the night after Moses called the twelve spies together, Caleb hadn’t yet connected with his lifelong dream. However, it was just over the horizon. He didn’t know it, but he was relentlessly marching toward it. Maybe we are personally or as a church too. Maybe today will be the day when our lifelong dream will strike like a bolt of lightening and knock us off our feet. Or maybe it will happen tomorrow. The important think is to believe our dreams are out there. But let’s make sure that our dream fits God’s will, our talents, and the needs of God’s people! Amen.