Our sufficiency for ministry comes not from ourselves, but from God, who makes us able ministers of the New Testament. This is illustrated by the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, highlighting different ways individuals can become lost to God's purpose, whether through drifting, carelessness, or determined rebellion. The sermon emphasizes that God is able to make all grace abound, providing sufficiency for every good work, even when facing overwhelming challenges, as exemplified by Caleb's faith in conquering the giants of the promised land. Ultimately, the message calls believers to embrace God's sufficiency, conquer their mountains, and actively pursue His purposes rather than retiring to valleys or succumbing to the giants of pride, self-righteousness, and self-works.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.60 → restored 4.33
Be faithful, weary, upon the cavalry road, In front of the heaven, it shall be near the road. Be faithful, weary, pilgrim, the morning I can see. Just lift your cross and follow through to me. I've worked so hard for Jesus, I often boast and say, I've sacrificed a lot of pains to walk the narrow way.
I gave a fame and fortune, I'm worth a lot to be. And then I hear him gently say to me, I left the crown of glory and counted it but lost. My hands were nailed in anger upon a cruel cross. But now we'll make the journey with your hands safe and mine. Let's lift your cross and follow close to me. Oh, Jesus, if I die upon a foreign fearsome day, Would be no more than love, deem, no less would I repay.
No greater love of mortal man than for a stranger died. These are the words he gently spoke to me. Just a cup of water I place within your hand. Just a cup of water is all that I demand. But if by death delivering, they can by glory see. I'll take my cross and follow close to thee.
Brother Stuart was speaking. I was certainly thanking the Lord that he's made each of his servants different. Because Stuart was saying how he would like to see a snake that was twenty-five or thirty feet long. And I remember a couple years ago at Turkey Hill, someone said, I just saw a snake go underneath the volleyball tile. And so while they began to dig for the snake, I ran over and stood on a picnic table. And then they found the snake, and it was probably twelve inches long. But I was sitting there cheering them on. And so really, to be honest with you, I just do not see that snake. I don't want to tempt him in any way.
You know, conferences are a lot of fun. especially for speakers, we get fed good, we get treated good. And sometimes I wonder if maybe we don't hit you with such a barrage of topics that you wonder what in the world is going on? Kind of hard to maybe clutch your thoughts. I heard one time about a conference where a number of notable people went, not a Bible conference, but these people were there and it seemed like just about every topic had been addressed and Yet it came time for one more person to get up and speak. And so he got up as he rose to the podium. He said, to be honest with you, he says, I believe every topic has been addressed that I've ever thought about addressing anyone about.
But he said, I am perfectly willing to take my turn at speaking. And so if someone will just suggest what I speak about, I'll do it. And he paused for a moment and someone shouted out, why don't you speak about a minute? Well, after last night, I'm not going to ask you now what to speak about because you're liable to say, why don't you speak about a minute? But it is fun to be at conferences and to enjoy the fellowship and the food. I trust as well you're enjoying the Word of God as much as I am. Another time I heard someone say, you know, really I would rather hear him speak than eat. And the other person replied, well, I sat at the table with him, and I've heard him eat, and I would much rather hear him speak than eat.
Turning your Bibles this afternoon to the book of Second Corinthians, Chapter Three. Second Corinthians, Chapter Three, for just two verses, and then we'll be on our way to a couple other passages, and hopefully we'll look at the significance of these passages just a little bit later in our time together. Second Corinthians chapter three in verse five. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament. Notice the word able in verse six really is the same word that are used in verse five where it says, but our sufficiency is of God, who hath made us able or made it sufficient, ministers of the New Testament.
Second Corinthians chapter nine and verse eight. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every or to all good works. Boy, isn't that a tremendous verse? That one almost deserves to be underlined in your Bible, whether or not you write in your Bible. My mother is one that doesn't write in her Bible, not even to put her name in it. And every once in a while I say, Mom, really, you ought to underline a verse that's as good as that. And on one occasion, I think she was tempted, but then she decided she would not mark in her Bible and she can't get over her mindless like a tablet.
But this one deserves some special attention. Can you imagine God making this promise and the promise that he makes is not to the most capable, the most elegant speaker, but I believe it is to the youngest believer in Christ. It's to the weakest saint. And he says, God is able, he's sufficient, to make all grace abound. You know, the other night, as we began the conference, our brother Stuart was reading from Revelation. And it's beautiful as you go to the book of Revelation and you see how that a book that is going to deal with judgment and with war begins its way. Grace and peace.
And it talks about it being from God, from the Spirit of God and from Christ. Isn't that lovely to know that a book that is filled with judgment and a book that is filled with war, the first thing he wants to make clear is that God has grace available. And so he comes and he says, I want you to know that God is sufficient. God is able to make all grace abound toward you, toward every single believer, that ye always having all sufficiency. There is never a time that we are not sufficient, not of ourselves, but of him, in all things that ye may abound to all or to every single good work.
And the reason I like this verse is because every once in a while do you get a little bit discouraged working in your assembly? Do you get a little bit discouraged working with your Sunday school class? Or do you get a little bit discouraged as no one really seems to notice the burden that you bear and no one else seems to have this same thing pressing down on them? And every once in a while it's good for us to read Second Corinthians chapter nine in verse eight. This afternoon I would like to speak to you on a mountain to conquer or a valley to retire but watch out for giants. Luke chapter fifteen and verse two.
A mountain to conquer or a valley to retire but watch out for giants. Luke chapter fifteen. We'll begin reading in verse one, just several verses, because I'm quite sure that you're familiar with the gist of the story that is here. Then drew near unto him all the tax collectors and sinners to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, Saints, this man received his sinners and eateth with them. And he spoke this parable unto them, saying, What man of you having a hundred sheep is he loosed one of them? does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he finds it verse seven at the end he speaks of this I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that retenteth more than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance verse eight he speaks of a woman who has lost the coin.
I want you to notice verse ten. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repented. And then the next story he talks about is concerning a man with two sons. And I really think there are two lost sons in here, and we'll discuss this in just a minute. But I want you to know that at the end of the story, again, he deals with the fact that there would be one of those sons, and they would repent. and come back. I think it is interesting to view how Christ addressed his audience on a number of different occasions. Remember we have already looked in our session yesterday afternoon how he would address a group of people on that occasion.
He spoke to them concerning a tree that was planted. It was a planned tree. It was put in a special place and it had a purpose and that purpose was to bear fruit. And now the Lord Jesus addresses a crowd, a different crowd. And this particular crowd, it says, is made up of tax collectors and sinners. I like that grouping of people, don't you? Especially around April of every year. This group of people were not religious. They made no pretense about how great of life that they had lived. It's almost as if you were going to a camp of starving men and you would be driving a bread truck and you would park it there.
You can imagine the crowd that it would attract. But in addition to the people that are there that have a tremendous need, as well, verse two says, there are Pharisees and there are scribes and they are criticizing him. They say, can you imagine him? He receives sinners and he eats with them. And the Lord, rather than give to them a hot reply, he will speak to them in several parables. I believe that he not only spoke to them, but I believe as well he wants to speak to me and he wants to speak to you. Is it possible that so often we get so intent upon saying, listen, this is a gospel story that we don't see really the message that may be there?
I am not saying for a moment that you cannot use these passages to preach the gospel. I'm simply saying that that's not the only lesson that God might have had in mind as Christ spoke those lessons on that particular day. First of all, the lost sheep. You see, the sheep that was lost had not fallen over the cliffs to its death. The sheep that was lost, it had not been attacked and killed by some animals. The sheep that was lost was still very much alive, wasn't it? But something happened to that sheep. It lost its way. It needed guidance. And the result was that it wandered away from the flock.
It wandered away from the shepherd. And the result was he says the sheep was lost. Next we come to a lost coin. Now the situation of the lost coin is entirely different. story is told about two young boys and they were fighting over a nickel. You know this story is an old one if they were fighting over a nickel. And as the battle was going on, well the younger one got the nickel away for just a moment, he put it into his mouth and he swallowed it. And of course the older boy began to yell and holler and the mother came and as she was trying to administer whatever you administer to a boy to get a nickel out, she said to the older boy, call for help.
And so the boy went to the phone and he made a call and And shortly the preacher appeared on the doorstep. And the mother, of course, had him come in and address the situation with him. And finally, she said to the son in the presence of the preacher, she said, Why in the world did you call the preacher instead of the doctor? And she said, he said, well, mom, I've always heard you and dad say that our preacher could get money out of anyone, and so I thought he would be the right one to give. Several weeks ago, or I guess it's been several months ago now, I was talking to a fellow in our city who was a pastor of one of the local churches there, a fine fellow, and he was talking about the money crisis that they're going through as they're expanding to a gymnasium, a library of school, and new buses.
And he said, well, he said, I try not to put a financial burden on the people. He said, I simply tell them, just give as you feel lead. But he said, I furnish all my ushers with a lead pipe. Well, this lost coin is quite a bit different than that. This lost coin, when it was lost, it did not cease to be silver. When it was lost, it didn't become bronze or it didn't become copper. It didn't lose its inscription of the emperor. It simply went out of circulation, and the result of going out of circulation was that it was no longer of real value, no longer of real use to the person who owned it, even though it was still their property.
And then you come to the next story, the story that we often call the prodigal son or the lost son. And I want you to notice that in this particular case, the son is not at home. Instead, he's in a far country. The son is not a worker, but he's a waster. The son is not one who encourages them and uplifts them, but instead he's dragging them down. He's discouraging those people. The son is not involved in making something useful of himself, but instead he is destroying. And all know that the son is lost, including himself. We even have his testimony concerning that. In verse fourteen, he says, he began to be in want, and really it should say he began to recognize that he was in want.
Verse fifteen, he decided that if he could, he would even eat as the pigs ate. And finally in verse seventeen, it says that if he will come to himself, he will begin to realize the mess that he's in. Now rather than stop at just three things that are lost, I want you to include one additional one. There is another brother in that story. I call him the bitter brother, and he's lost as well. Because, you see, being lost doesn't necessarily mean that a person is not saved. I hope you recognize that there are going to be more than one way to be lost. Certainly when we talk of salvation, a person who has lost is one who has never come to Christ, recognizing that they are a sinner, recognizing that Christ died on the cross.
And they receive, they take Christ as their personal Savior. But it's really what it was this morning to hear that one young man last night decided to make it a night to remember. And they received, he received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. But as well, I think it's possible for you and I as Christians to be lost in a different sense. I'm not even suggesting that we can lose our salvation. I think one of the best things about eternal life is that it's called eternal life. Isn't that nice? The world, man might say, you can lose eternal life, but God doesn't lie. And he says, it's everlasting life. It's eternal life. It's equality, and it's permanent.
But I'm talking about being lost to the plan and to the purpose that God had in mind. Just as that she did not cease to exist, and just as that coin did not change from silver to bronze, and just as that sun did not become a hog in the pen, they were lost. but they did not change. They simply were lost to the purpose for which they were intended. And the better brother was also lost in a very unique way. Now, what is the condition and what are the circumstances by which each of these were lost? Well, if we look at the sheep, it's hard for me to imagine that the sheep got lost intentionally.
I don't think one morning the sheep got up and said, you know what, I'm mad at the shepherd this morning. I'm aggravated at the flock. I'm going to run away. And so he puts all of his stuff into a little knapsack and he puts it over his shoulder and he goes hopping across the hillside, determined to get lost. But you know what I think really happened? I think that sheep got up one morning and began to say, you know what, that looks like a nice clump of grass. And so he goes over there and he begins to munch on it and pretty soon he says, you know what, that one looks greener. And so he goes there. And then he sees another one way down there. He says, that one looks better yet. And so he goes there. And after a little while, guess what? He looks around.
And he is absolutely lost. Not intentional, but drifting. To be honest with you, most of the people that I see that are lost to their purpose and to their cause are not lost intentionally. But they simply find that every day they chase rainbows, they chase a fortune, they chase success, and they drift further and further away from the plan, the purpose that God has. May I suggest to you that there are many of us, and we are AWOL, when it comes to our assembly, to our home, and to ourselves as individuals, in completing the plan that God has for you and I.
And not very many people are determined in their mind, I'm going to get lost to the cause of my assembly. I'm going to get lost to the cause of my home and my family. I'm going to lose myself when it comes to personal devotion. But I find an awful lot of them get lost in an unintentional way. And then I look at the coin, and it's lost in a completely different way. The coin, I notice, is lost through carelessness. and carelessness really of another, not itself. And I'm reminded again that there are many that are lost really through a carelessness and maybe not even other self.
Recently, I had the responsibility to deal with a very difficult situation in which I saw a family that could not have been more out of order if they would have tried to have been out of order. And I began to think of this little story concerning the lost coin, and as this lady missed the coin, you know what she had to do? She had to light a light, and she had to begin to sweep her house. Now I'm just going to suppose to you, to suggest to you, lest I don't get any supper, that that house was a fright. I think it's high time that we got back home and we began to do a little bit of housekeeping so that we could find some of the things that we have lost.
And some of the things that we have lost are our children. We have lost time together as husband and wife. We have lost many things that I think are critical, and they come not because we intentionally want to destroy our home. They come because of carelessness. And because one day leads quickly to another, and before we know it, our children have grown up and they're gone. What a shock when your children begin to grow up. I remember when Pam went to school the first day and my wife cried. She said, Rob, how in the world can that girl be old enough to go to school by herself?
And I didn't want her to know that I couldn't believe that Pam was actually five years old. And this year our youngest one went to school. And I was kind of concerned when Kyle went to school, to be honest with you, he's more like me than any of the others. That's why I'm most concerned. I remember the first day of school when they let us out for a recess and I walked home. And I remember the look on my mother's face and she said, you didn't get thrown out of school the first day. I said, no, they gave us a break and I'm home. And she said, no, she said, you're supposed to stay there. And I said, all right, I'll go right back after cookies and milk. And I didn't get cookies and milk, but what I got was warm.
It just wasn't milk. Well, it's a surprising thing to watch your children grow up. And I think that one of the things that we've got to be careful of is that through carelessness, we don't lose our own children. You know what I'm speaking of? It's so easy. It's so easy to say, you know, they're so young, they're not bothered by these things. They're so young, I don't even think I'll take the time to sit down and to explain to them, look, here are some of the things that you're going to meet head on. I want you to know, mom and dad, that very seldom are you ever going to say something to your children that they haven't been exposed to already.
You might think they don't know it, but they do. And it might be after you've explained to them all you know about the subject. And you leave the room. They're going to laugh and say, you know what, I really ought to have a talk with mom and dad about certain facts. They need to know. This is in the late, not in . Well, most of us parents do live in the dark ages. It would be a shame if we lost our family to the perilous ones wouldn't. And then the lost son. He's different than the sheep that drips. He's different than the coin that was lost through carelessness. He is one that is, through his own determination, says, I'm going to make a success.
On my last trip to the West Coast, I talked to a young girl, a talented young girl, in many, many ways, bright, straight A student, as a matter of fact, extremely bright in not only school things, but as well in life. Beautiful girl, talented. And yet with all of this, she came and she was brokenhearted because she said, to be honest with you, she said, I am frustrated because she said, I spend a week at camp and I see the impact of the Word of God and I go home and my own father, who is an elder in the assembly where I fellowship, says, make a success. And she said, I see my brother and he's made a success and he's the family hero.
and he doesn't have time for God. I see my father, he's an elder in this image. He doesn't have time for God. I see my mother, and she's a success, and she doesn't have time for God. And she says, I don't want success, if that's what it is. It takes a brave girl, twenty years old, to see that, doesn't it? Here is a young man, and this young man, through his own determination, says, I'm going to live like mine was. I am going to make a success, and I want you to know that trying to make a success, he loses himself, doesn't. What a tragedy. I don't really believe that when he packed his little suitcase and he boarded the D.C.
tin and took out for finer things, I don't think he said on the plane, he said, you know what, I am going to spend all my money and I'm going to be a heartbreak to my father and to my brother. You know what I think he said? As he waved to them out the little porthole window of the airplane, I think he said, you know, when I come back, I'm going to own this airline. And my dad and my brother are going to be so proud of me while I'm liable to, I'm liable to buy my brother a new tractor for being so faithful and staying on the farm. I'm liable to send dad to Florida for a week or two. You just wait and see what I give for them when I make it rich.
I don't really think that boy intended to eat dinner with a hog, but he did. And then there is another son that was lost, and the son that was lost is also a son that stayed at home. He is lost because of a bitter attitude. He didn't leave home because he was pleased to stay there, but he was lost by his attitude. I think of First Corinthians chapter thirteen. And there it speaks of how that if a person can speak with a voice of an angel, boy, I would like to do that. Recently we had a radio program on in Wichita and you talk about something humiliating. It's to listen to yourself over the radio. And you say to your wife, is that what I sound like all the time?
And she says, all the time. And I say, I can't listen to that. And Dad was giving me a bad time. And I say, well, listen, Dad, let's put a series that you did on, all right. And about ten minutes into the program, he called and he said, Robbie, says, I can't take it. I said, you're going to take it. And that lesson is thirteen lessons long, and we're going to listen to every one of those. It's good for you, Dad. And I preached the same sermon back to him. I've often thought, oh, Lord, if you would have given me the voice of an angel, I would not only preach, but I want you to know, folks, I'd sing. Well, you're safe. I don't have the voice of an angel. But he said, you know, if you did... And you didn't use that voice in love, it wouldn't be worth anything.
And then he goes on to say, if you had riches on tow and you said, all right, this day I give all my riches to God. And if you did that and did not do it out of love, he said, it's worth nothing. He said, if you took your body and you literally sacrificed your body and you did that without love, it's worth nothing. Now, to be honest, in our own mind, we say on a scale of one to ten, if you did that, even if you didn't do it the right motive, it's at least worth a six. Don't we say that. All right, four. Well, maybe two. And God says it's nothing.
It's zero. And so I am convinced that this other son is lost just as much, and he's lost sitting right there at home with his feet under the table, and he's bitter. about his brother. You know, the real tragedy of the story is this. The sheep was found. Isn't that good news? The shepherd went out and he retrieved the sheep. And God's message is this. Will you repent? Will you change? Will you change priorities? The coin that was lost was found. The young son that went out to make a fortune, he found that a fortune is not to be made in the world, and he comes back repentant.
But the bitter brother that stayed at home and his attitude is the thing that made him lost, we never read as him being restored or repentant. What a tragedy. Now you say, what in the world has that got to do with mountains and valleys and giants? Well, I was hoping someone would ask that before five thirty. And so turn in your Bible to the book of Numbers, chapter thirteen. I am convinced that if we're honest with ourselves, every one of us has to confess there has been a time in my life, maybe last week, or maybe today, that I was a sheep that was drifting. If every one of us are honest, we have to say, you know, if I'm honest, I've got to admit that at one time or another, maybe last week and maybe even today, I was a coin.
And if we're honest, we've got to say, you know what, I'm like those two boys. Maybe it was last week and maybe even that rebellion is going on today. What's the solution for it? Numbers chapter thirteen, beginning in verse one, And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, which I gave unto the children of Israel, of every tribe of their fathers, shall you send a man every one a ruler among them. And skipping down to verse eighteen, and see the land, what it is, and the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, few or many. And what the land is, that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad, what cities they are, that they dwell in, whether in camps or in strongholds.
And what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there was wood therein or not, and ye of good courage, and bring of the crew to the land. Now the time was the time of the first rite great, so they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zinn unto Rehob, as men came to Haman. And they ascended by the south and came into Hebron, where Ahaman, Shishai, Talma, and you may pronounce those names differently than I do, and you can correct me later, the children of Anak were. And then I want you to notice the statement of the men for the sake of time we won't read it in verses twenty six and twenty seven they talk about how indeed it's a tremendous land verse twenty eight nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in the land the cities are walled and very great moreover we saw the children of annax there see that the children of annax now notice verse thirty can't have still the people before moses said let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.
Verse thirty-three. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anax, who come of giants, and we were in their sight as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight. Numbers chapter fourteen in verse twenty. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, because all these men who have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put me to the test now these ten times and have not hearken to my voice, surely they shall not see the land which I swore to give unto their fathers. Neither shall any of them that provoked me see it. We have just read a story about a man by the name of Caleb.
And I thank God for Caleb. We live in a day and age in which there is a lot of drifting, a lot of carelessness, a lot of determination to make it big in this world. And it is wrecking assemblies. It is ruining homes. And it is rendering individuals useless for the plan and the purpose of God. But lest we get discouraged, lest you, Caleb. Because here is Caleb. And remember how that Moses sent out men from every tribe, chief men. And they went out, and indeed they saw a land that flowed with milk and honey. And yet the report came back and they said, Well, the fruit is big. And while it flows with milk and honey, the people are giant.
The sons of Anak are there. And it lists three of those sons. And the people are discouraged and they say, We cannot do it. And Caleb gives a different recording to let us go up at once and possess it. Why? Because he believed, first of all, the Word of God. He was dependent upon God. Remember that verse we read in Second Corinthians? How that God is able and God is sufficient. I agree if you look at the forces that are going against individuals today, the pressure on the husband to make a living. The pressure on the woman to function as a wife and a mother. The pressure on children to do all the things that this world puts pressure on you to do.
I agree. Sometimes we wonder, are we sufficient? And I'm glad that God has already made this statement. His word says, yes. I am able, he said. I am sufficient. And I am able to give to you that which makes you sufficient. Isn't that nice to know? And so it is that word that Caleb believes, and it goes in the power of that. Next, he says, sure, we saw a giant. But he said, I want you to know that they were only the sons of Anik. Isn't that nice? The fierce sons of Anik. Turn on your Bible now, if you will, to Joshua chapter fourteen. For the sake of time, we won't develop the whole story, but I trust you will see at least the major point.
The book of Joshua chapter fourteen. And in verse six, we have a very interesting fact revealed. There is Caleb, and it gives his background, and you will see that he's a Kinsai. As best I can tell, the Kinsai was actually a descendant a long time back out of Edom, out of Esau. And perhaps that's one of the reasons that he had as a name, Daw. But notice verse ten. And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years, forty-five years, even... since the Lord spoke his word to Moses. You see what kept Caleb going?
Caleb was kept going by a promise by the word of God. Isn't that nice? To know that we have something that does not change in the day in which everything is changing day by day. It's God's word. It's God's promise. While the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness and now lo, I am this day four-score 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 in, even so is my strength now for war, both to go out and to come in. Now, therefore, give me this mountain. I like that. I like Caleb, don't you? With the God we had more Caleb. You see, Caleb was one that had several things going for him.
First of all, he is marked by one that was dependent upon God's word. Next, he is marked by one that had a vision for what God saw. When he went into the land, instead of seeing giants, he saw the fruit. Instead of seeing defeat, he saw victory. You can take some people into a donut shop, and they will see the whole of the donut. And you'll take others in there, and they will see that thing that is iced and tastes delicious and has about a thousand calories a bunch. Caleb was marked by vision. Caleb was dependent on the Word of God, and Caleb had faith. that God was able and sufficient to carry through all that God had promised.
What about us? One of the reasons why I think a sheep we wonder is because we don't have vision. We do not stay planted in the Word of God. We don't really believe that God is sufficient for nineteen eighty-one to us. One of the reasons that we're careless is because I don't think that we stay in the Word of God. We don't have a vision for the work that God has, and we really don't believe that God is sufficient in nineteen eighty-one. And one of the reasons why we have a tendency to try to strike it rich on our own is because we don't say in the word of God, and we don't have a vision for what God would have us to see.
And next, we don't believe that God is sufficient for nineteen eighty-one. Did it sound like the problem was the same in every case? Well, if so, you're listening correctly. The real thrill, I believe, of this chapter, this story is found in Joshua chapter fifteen and verse fourteen. And I just want you to turn there. And it says this, here is a man eighty-five years old, unless you feel sorry for him. I want you not in any way to have sympathy for Caleb. He doesn't want it. He wouldn't know what to do with the sympathy if he gave it to him. But Caleb, one that was dependent upon God, one that had a vision for a work to be done, one that believed that God was sufficient, he comes to Joshua and he says, all right, Joshua, I want the portion as God promised it to me.
And so he says, as a matter of fact, he says, I want the mountain. Now, you see, a valley would be a nice place to retire, wouldn't it? I'm liable to get in a lot of trouble, but... It never ceases to amaze me how the people of God can all retire and leave an assembly that they've been working in for years and go somewhere out where the fish are biting good and have no thought about the responsibility they got back home. That's a good way never to get invited back, but nevertheless, I feel strongly about that. And here's Caleb. And he's eighty-five years old and he doesn't say, listen, I want to know where's my pension. He says, where's the mountain? And he chooses the mountain, according to chapter fifteen and verse fourteen, he said this.
Caleb drove out from there, three sons of Anak, Sheeshai, Ahimon, Talma, the children of Anak. Do you know what he did? He chose the mountain where those giants lived. He looked at the whole promised land and he said, all right, where are the meanest bullies? And there was the mountain. He said, all right, I claim the mountain. I love that spirit, don't you? Do you know that Anak means its long neck? I think it speaks of pride. And so here comes Caleb, and Caleb means dog. And dog says, I'm going after you, pride. And so Anak, a giant, and by the way, pride is a tremendous giant, isn't it?
And he has a son, and she-shine, you probably pronounce his name different, and I apologize if you're from the part of France that he's from, and I'm butchering this. But it means this. It means clothed in white. Self-righteousness. You know one of the reasons why we are lost to the work of God? We think that what we're doing is pretty important, don't we? And so it would change our plans if we decided to visit people in the assembly. It would change our plans if we decided that we needed to study the Word of God besides just the food that we get in a public way. We're pretty good just the way we are.
And I see the sheep as it begins to munch grass and go in further and further away from the plant and the purpose of the vine. The next son, Ahayman, means brother. He was proud in his self-position. He says, you know, I'm as good as anybody. Why, look at my ancestors. Several years ago, everyone got busy tracing down their family tree. I think it was this book called Roots. Matter of fact, I understood they were going to replay that miserable thing. And so a couple of my brothers got very interested in this because Dad said, you know, on my side of the family, we got royal blood in it. Well, I can remember grandpa and grandma, and I know they had blood, but I'm not sure I would describe it as royal.
And so as they began to discover our roots, I said, just leave me out of the tree. And sure enough, if you go back far enough on our family tree, there are a few branches that we would like to cut down. Self-position. I have never seen Christians busier today than at any other time of you. It is amazing that we even have time to breathe and eat. And I think that's what this has in mind. The last one, he's naming Spurrow. I think it has to do with self-works, the pride of self-works. And I want you to know that these giants could be.
And these are exactly the giants that would keep a whole nation out of going in and claiming that promised land. And when finally Caleb is allowed to go in, Caleb says, all right, where do those bullies live? They all live on a mountain. He said, fine, give me that mountain. Isn't that beautiful? I love that about Caleb. You see, Caleb could have been discouraged. To Caleb, he had a vision of what that promised land could be. To some people, in order to believe it, you've got to see it. Caleb could have been weary by waiting. But for Caleb, he said, no, he said, I'm waiting here.
He said, I am not about to retire. He said, God is renewing my strength. He said, I'm as ready now as I was that day. I'm after them. And the dog goes after them. Aging. For some, it may be retiring. For Caleb, he said, no. He said, I'm going to take on a giant of a task. Never before have we needed people that would be willing to look at the assembly and say, all right. God will supply that which I need to minister to the saints in this assembly. Never before have we needed parents who will commit themselves to the home since when is raising children an unimportant occupation.
But for some reason, it appears in Christian families that that is not something that would bear full attention of both mother and father. Would God we get back to a respectable occupation like that? And would to God, we would see that more important than making it big in life is being pleasing to God in a personal way. A mountain to conquer, or a valley to retire, look out for giants. Someone might have the nerve to say, well, did Caleb actually go and subdue that old father, that old giant in his three sons?
And I want you to know, that if you were to ask, did God prove to be sufficient for that good work? I want you to know that the answer is emphatically yes. Here is the way God answers out of the New Testament, for which cause I awful suffer those things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed. and then persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day, Caleb won. Caleb conquered a mountain, a mountain that I believe was pleasing to God.
Say, do you have a little mountain picked out for this fall? It's so easy for us to talk about conquering mountains. and to shrug our shoulders and to walk away and never see that God wants you to be a Caleb. Right here and now in your own mind would you identify a mountain in your life and maybe that mountain has some giants on it and maybe you're like the sheep and you've kind of been running from it or maybe you're like the coin and you've kind of been hiding from it or maybe you're like the rebellious son and you've been running full blast determined to get away from it or maybe you're like the bitter sun by your attitude you will never approach that mountain and could i encourage you this day based upon the sufficiency of god god is able for all good works to ask god