Pastor Elwin Ahu
January 24, 2010 - W1004

We all have dreams.  Dreams for our marriage that our spouse will always overlook our faults, be able to take care of the house and kids, and make us laugh whenever we need it.  Dreams that our parents will always understand us, never compare us to our siblings, and always accept us just as we are.  Or, dreams of the perfect job that allows us to do what we love to do and for us to be recognized and appreciated for it.   Dreams, when fulfilled, bring such joy.  But when are dreams are not fulfilled, when our expectations are not met, sometimes it shatters us and negatively affects our future.

Sometimes are dreams and expectations are not met because we do not have the right dreams. What are the right dreams?  What should your dreams be?  Your dreams should be the hopes and promises that God has placed in your heart. 

Today, as we conclude our series on “When Opportunities Knock,” we will be talking about dreams and examining the life of Caleb.  If you recall our service recently when we talked about Moses delivering the Israelites to the Promised Land, you will call that Moses sent twelve hand-picked representatives into the Promised Land and all but two of them came bad with negative reports.  But there were two men, Joshua and Caleb, who came back and reported great news about the Promised Land.

Well, fast forward to the book of Joshua where Moses has already passed and left the leadership position to Joshua.  They are in the Promised Land, things have settled down, and they’re enjoying a bit of R&R – rest and relaxation – when Caleb reminds Joshua of the dream Moses spoke to them about…regarding the gift: 

"Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua ... and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, 'You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses ... concerning you and me ... saying, "Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.”’” (Josh. 14:6, 9)

Caleb wanted to remind Joshua of the dream…of the gift that he was promised.  Why was it important that Caleb remind Joshua of that gift?   It was important because of who Caleb’s father was…Jephunneh, the Kenizzite.  Jephunneh was a foreigner.  He was not an Israelite; he was a Kenizzite – which meant that Caleb was also a Kenizzite.  Yet, Caleb lived his life in such a way that when Moses needed to select twelve men to go into the Promised Land and to scout it out, Caleb was one of the twelve selected.

Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise – gift – that God had for him.  In the same way, God has a gift – promise – for you too.  Hold onto it.  Hold onto that dream no matter what and remember…

1. Your future isn't defined by the past, but by your willingness to follow Him FULLY in the present.

God’s promise is still available for you but you must be working to follow Him fully.  How do you do that?  How do you know how to follow Him?  The best way is through daily devotions.  By spending time in the Word each day, God can speak to you.  He can fill you with hope and the promise He has for your life.  So all you need to do then is…

· Recalibrate your COMPASS.

Recalibrate your compass just as Caleb did and follow God fully.

"I was forty years old when Moses ... sent me ... to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God fully." (Josh. 14:7-8)

What is your compass? Some people call it your instincts or a hunch.  Our internal compasses are often affected by our past or our circumstances, but if we do that, our compass may not be pointing “true north.” How are you calibrating your compass?  Some people say they are calibrating the compasses based on what they friends say but if you were to ask 20 people where true north was, there’s a good chance that you’d get 20 different answers.  And if you’re not calibrating correctly, you may not realize the promises that God has for you and your life.

Sometimes life isn’t rosy and in those times, you need to rely on what God has already written for you.  So how do you know what that is?  How do you recalibrate your compass?  Through daily devotions and spending time in His Word, God speaks to you.  And when you’re doing your devotions, don’t just read…write it down!  Write down what God is saying to you so you have it as a reference when you need it.  Don’t just trust your friends to be your compass; you may never get to where God wants you to be or you may end up drowning because you were going in the wrong direction.

The hardest thing to do is to wait.  Our society today just doesn’t know how to wait.  Who remembers the days before cell phones when you had to wait until you got home to call someone?  Nowadays, we carry cell phones and are phones are always with us – no waiting.  Some of us don’t even wait until after we get out of a meeting or movie to respond to someone, we text! 

We’re so impatient, we don’t even wait for God’s promises.  But when we don’t wait, we end up taking things into our own hands rather than waiting on God’s timing.  In order to follow Him fully, timing must not be an issue.  We need to be just like Caleb who waited as long as it took to realize God’s promise in his life…

·   Time is not AN ISSUE.

"Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today." (Josh. 14:10)

To Caleb, time was not an issue.  He waited forty-five years for God’s promises!  You need to remember that God has a time and His time is perfect.

"But do not let this one fact escape your notice ... that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." (2 Pet. 3:8)

In spite of our need to wait on God’s timing, this passage cautions us that God has different timing and we are not always able to understand His timing.  He has His own timing but when there’s an opportunity, go for it!

2. When God places a dream in your heart, GO FOR IT!!
"I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in." (Josh. 14:11)

Caleb was eighty-five years old when he said this…what’s our problem?  Why do we hesitate when we know what God wants for our lives, our marriage, our family, and our relationships?  When God places a dream in your heart, go for it!

·   Your dream will only be as big as YOUR GOD.

For Caleb, nothing would hold him back!  For us, sometimes we get so apprehensive and we don’t want to do what God wants us to do.  But the way Caleb saw it, the dream God gave him was bigger than any enemy or challenge that he would face. 

"'Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken.' So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb ... for an inheritance." (Josh. 14:12-13)

The Anakim were giants.  Caleb told Joshua to give him that land where the giants were.  Why?  Why not?  It’s not that Caleb didn’t know about the giants, it’s just that he knew that his God (and God’s promise) was bigger than the giants. 

Keep in mind that God will never give you a dream greater than what He can fulfill but you have to be willing to go for it. 

Check out the inspirational story about this young, autistic man named J-Mac and watch him go for it (courtesy of Wikipedia and YouTube):

Jason McElwain, nicknamed "J-Mac" (born October 1, 1988), is an American with autism who made national news in 2006 when he played for four minutes during a high school basketball game and scored twenty points.

McElwain was diagnosed with autism at a young age, he had trouble interacting with other kids, but during his teenage years he began to develop social skills and make friends. McElwain had a passion for basketball, so Greece Athena High School basketball coach Jim Johnson appointed him manager of the team.

On February 15, 2006, Greece Athena was playing Spencerport High School for a division title. Greece Athena got a large lead, so Johnson decided to let McElwain play in the last four minutes. After initially missing two shots, McElwain made six three-point shots and one two-pointer. After the final buzzer rang, the crowd dashed onto the court in celebration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fw1CcxCUgg

We all want a chance to take a shot but what is God’s dream for you? 

We need to be more like Caleb.  To never give up. To rely on your inner compass.  To believe in the promises that God has given you.  And to be willing to take the shot. 

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.   What does it mean to follow God fully?  Give an example.

2.   What have you been using to recalibrate your compass?  How does that compare with using your God-given dream?

3.   How do you view time today?  Is waiting upon God a difficult issue for you?

4.   What dream has God placed in your heart?

5.   Name a situation that God proved Himself to be bigger than.