ON THE EDGE OF GREATNESS
TEXT: Numbers 13:30
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
The title of this morning’s message is: “On The Edge Of Greatness”.
RECAP
Have you ever been there - “On The Edge Of Greatness”?
Because this is precisely where Israel was at in our text.
If you were here this last week you will recall
How we found ourselves in Joshua chapter 3,
And how through the Word of God we joined Israel…
As they stood along the banks of the river Jordon.
In affect – they stood on the very Edge of Greatness.
You see, God had great plans for His people…
And God had a great many blessings He wanted them to experience.
The Canaan Land and all that God had been promising was now right in front of them.
It was a time of excitement… and a time of great anticipation
As the people understood that the Lord had not only brought them to this place,
But that He was also leading them forward in a new direction towards something truly great.
And my view - is that spiritually speaking, this is exactly where we as God’s people are at today.
As yet another year dawns – we are on the Edge of Greatness.
We know that God is using us… that God’s spirit is moving within us…
And that God desires to lead us into something greater this year with Him.
Only their is a catch…isn’t there.
There is a challenge…
You see, for Israel there was an obstacle and a hurdle they needed to be overcome first,
They had to be willing to Cross over the Jordan.
And just like it was for Israel then – so too will it be for us this year.
There will be a river of opposition that we need to cross over with God
In order to experience true greatness with Him.
For us that river of opposition might be finances…
It might be a fear and trepidation of the unknown…
It could be persecution, or it could just be our own complacency and reluctance to embrace change.
Look Israel had their Jordan standing in the way of God’s best for them – and we have ours,
And we must be prepared to cross over our Jordan in order to experience great things with God.
Thankfully, as we discovered through the Word last week,
The Lord will always provide His people with what they need to cross over.
In fact, God gave Israel two fundamental things that assisted them with this task.
First of all God gave them a Direction
That is to say, He provided His people with a course and a heading to follow.
And after that, He then provided them with His Instruction,
And this was really the help the people needed in order to get to where they were going.
Direction and Instruction that was what God gave His people when it was time to cross Jordan.
And this is exactly what God is prepared to give us.
Remember Joshua and all the Officers…
Gave commandment to the people on that day saying:
“Just Focus on the Ark…and Follow it…
In other words, keep your eyes upon God and follow Him…
Because then God will do something wonderful.”
And do you know what - He did…
Because as the people focused on the Lord and followed His Direction for their lives,
God delivered them in the most extraordinary of ways,
Namely by holding back the waters and staying the flood that was right in front of them.
And in the end, the people crossed over the Jordan – unaffected and unimpeded.
In fact the Scriptures declared that when the time came for the people to cross over
They did so effortlessly on dry land - without even so much as mud marring their garments.
You see for Israel - the time had come for them to cross over into God’s best
And so too has the time come for us to do the same this year.
This can be a year of great things – But we need to be willing to cross over the Jordan first.
And we need to be willing to step out in faith with God.
INTRODUCTION
However, this wasn’t of course the first time Israel found themselves
Standing on the banks of river Jordan.
No, in fact here – in Numbers Chapter 13
Some 40 years earlier – Israel found themselves in the exact same place.
They were standing on the Edge Of Greatness…
And again, God’s very best was laid right out in front of them.
However, as you probably already know - the first time they were here,
Collectively the people didn’t have the heart to cross over into something Greater with God,
And they ended up settling for less than God’s best…
Because they could not muster the strength to cross over.
And I want us to look at this today – and I want us to see why.
Why didn’t Israel cross over into greatness with God – the first time they were given the chance?
Lessons To Learn
You see, even now we still have a great many things to learn…
And God still has a whole lot to teach us,
Least of which is our need to learn from Israel’s mistakes.
In fact, in 1 Corinthians 10:11 Paul declared this about Israel saying:
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:
and they are written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the world are come
In other words, even in this age and in this time upon the earth…
We are still learning from God’s people.
That term admonition in the Greek means “to warn” or rather “to encourage”
In other words, Paul said: “all these things were written in the Scriptures
So that we would be warned and encouraged to behave differently.”
You see, we have a chance to learn from Israel’s mistakes today…
By making a firm commitment to embrace something truly great with our Lord in this new year,
The first time - it is being offered to us.
I don’t know about you – but I don’t want to wonder around aimlessly for years,
Not when God has something great in front of us right now.
Truth is, we can’t afford to compromise or settle on this side of the Jordan
When greatness awaits us over on the other side.
Three things
So what’s it going to take for us to be a part of something great this year?
Well for one thing its going to take a heart like Caleb.
Caleb said: “Let us go up at once, and possess this great thing God is offering;
Because with the Lord - we are well able to overcome”.
Today I just want to talk about three things,
Three unique characteristics about the heart of Caleb
That proved necessary to cross over into Greatness.
And I want to talk about this stuff… Because Unfortunately – it was these same three things
Israel lacked the first time around.
You see, in order for true greatness to be achieved we need to understand
That God will reveal to us The Vision…. That He will be faithful to His Promise…
And that ultimately He is the one that gives The Result
And guys if we fail to see and understand this,
There will simply be no crossing over into Greatness this year.
1) THE VISION
So firstly, we need to be able to see a vision of greatness.
More to the point, we need to share in God’s vision…
To see the opportunity that lays right in front of us.
And you know what – we are really no strangers here to sharing in God’s vision – are we.
The question now is – what kind of Vision does God have in store for us this year?
You know, God has always sought to share His great vision with His people,
Even all the way back in the OT.
And Let me tell you something - Caleb saw it.
Drop back with me in Chapter 13 and read verses 1 and 2:
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
The Leaders Were To Search
God’s instructions were; “I want you to send chosen men out
So that they can search the land”
That term search in the Hebrew in a broad sense means to “explore”
But more specifically, it means “to seek out, “to find out” or to “discover”.
Now this task was not just to be assigned to anyone.
These were to be men of wisdom and renown, men of responsibility,
And men who carried the respect of the people as leaders.
You see, God wanted Israel’s leaders to get a glimpse of the vision He had for them.
And upon seeing first hand - all of the great things that awaited them across the Jordan,
God then wanted these leaders to come back and share that vision with everyone else.
Initially it was the leaders who were to look at the greatness God had promised
And then, it was to be their responsibility to share that vision with the people.
And that is still largely the function of spiritual leadership today
To seek out and explore through the Scriptures God’s vision of tomorrow…
And then share God’s Word with the people about it today.
Proverbs 29:18 says: Where there is no vision, the people perish…
Be rest assured your Pastors have a vision for the Lighthouse
And it’s a vision that reaches deep into our hearts,
It’s a vision that involves each and everyone of you…
And it’s a vision that will see this Assembly faithfully standing in the truth
And following God’s will – wherever that leads – until we die or the day the Lord returns.
But as we are going to see in a moment…
A vision is nothing - if God’s people aren’t prepared to follow it.
Eyes Verses Heart
Guys if we are going to cross over into greatness this year,
Then we have to not only let the Lord share with us His vision,
But we have to believe in it enough to know that something truly great awaits us on the other side.
There was just so much opportunity sitting in front of Israel that day,
And do you know something – Caleb saw it.
Because he not only went out with His eyes wide open…
But he crossed over the Jordan with His Heart open too.
And because of that, God was able to place in Caleb’s heart
An extraordinary vision of something great.
Caleb saw the vision of His God…
The tragedy though – was that no one else really did.
In fact, the report of all the others sent out to spy the land was quite different.
Drop down and read with me verse 26:
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
So here it is – having seen all that God wanted them to see…
The Lord having revealed to them where they were going…
And just how much He wanted to bless them,
It was time for them to share this vision with people. Verse 28:
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
So Here’s the report…
“Yeah there is some great stuff over there – but there are a great many obstacles too.”
And for them – the obstacles seemed so much greater than their God.
Guys - Real spiritual vision involves us seeing things as God sees them.
And God sees great things ahead for His people.
Vision is the ability to see God’s presence,
To perceive God’s power,
And to know that God has a bigger plan for us all - In spite of the obstacles ahead.
Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land – and they viewed things with an open heart,
And God instilled within them a great vision for the future.
Everybody else though crossed over and only saw things with their eyes.
What I’ve come to learn in my life is that
Our faith in God is often the primary force determining whether a vision succeeds or fails!
Caleb had the right attitude and he had faith in God! Read verse 30:
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
This year as we stand on the verge of greatness,
We must be a people who have a heart like caleb
To not only see the opportunity right in front of us with our eyes,
But to glimpse a greater vision God has in stall for our future with our hearts.
In Christian walk have we not had many years to consider all that God can do.
We have seen His past faithfulness…
We have experienced His blessings…
And there is absolutely no reason why we can’t believe in His future provision.
But are we prepared to be a people who will cross over into greatness?
That’s the question!
As we think of the souls that have been saved
And the lives that have been touched and changed over many years
Because of the influence and ministry of God’s people,
Don’t we want to continue moving forward with Jesus?
I mean don’t we want to see the Lord’s great vision for us through to an end.
For Gods people - True Greatness always begins
When they open up their hearts to God’s vision for them.
2) THE PROMISE
So firstly, we need to share in God’s vision for Greatness to come in order for great things to happen,
Secondly however, and equally as important we need to have faith in God’s promise to come.
Israel had to cross over the Jordan in order to embrace greatness.
And God had promised them greatness – hadn’t He
I don’t want us to fail to notice something important back in the last part of 13:2
Because God said: Search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel:
Notice that God states this in the present tense.
In God’s mind He had already given to them what He had promised.
The land of Canaan was theirs – all they needed to do was just cross over and take it.
They already had the sure promise of God…
But it would be up to them to cross over and possess it.
Unfortunately, this principle is still being missed by Christians today.
God has called us to greatness, but we have to crossover.
Everyone who looked at the opportunities before them
Could see the evidence of greatness in their future – just as God promised. Verse 27:
...We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Spiritual Crossroads
The first part of the report was good. It was undeniable that there were blessings ahead...
They just had to be prepared to cross over and take it.
You know, I look at this and what I see is God’s people standing at a spiritual crossroads.
My personal feeling is that God has now led us to this place.
We are in a similar place to where Israel was at all those years ago,
Because my view is that we too are now standing on the banks of the Jordan…
With some big choices and decisions ahead of us.
Brethren make no mistake we are on verge of greatness.
Like Israel we are at a spiritual crossroads.
There is the way forward and there is the way behind.
There is of course all the things that lay behind…
And then there is all of the great things that lay ahead.
This is a momentous occasion we find ourselves on the verge of today…
Because true greatness awaits – that’s what God promises.
The Promises
Now this was a defining moment in the history of Israel…
Because this was a day that would change the lives of God’s people forever.
It was at this point though, that Israel entered into a crisis of faith.
Because for whatever reason they stopped believing in God’s Promises.
God promised to give them something great.
He promised to give them an inheritance in the promised land.
And ironically He promised it over and over again. Listen to these verses
Exodus 3:8 records for us this:
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
Leviticus 20:24 says:
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
And it just keeps going - Exodus 13:5
5 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey,
All God’s promises of something great were there.
And the leaders even went out and saw it,
But when push came to shove the people simply failed to believe in what God had promised them.
And the real tragedy in all of this - was that God’s people came close enough to see it,
But they just lacked the faith to possess it.
What did they say verse 27: We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
“Yeah The land God promised is good…
But the obstacles we need to overcome in order to claim it – are far greater.”
In a nutshell…they said It can’t be done!
The Report
Ten of the spies sent out came back with a bad report, and a lack of faith concerning the situation.
Rather than seeing the greatness sitting right in front of them…
They allowed their fears and unbelief to stop them from crossing over.
And here’s the thing – you can always tell the level of faith
Someone places in God’s promises by the report they give...
That is – by the way they talk, and by what they say on the edge of something great.
Take a look at verse 32:
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
Those who cannot trust God to overcome the challenges they face
Will generally never find the courage to cross over into greatness.
Unbelief always waits for a more convenient season.
The people were positive as long as they were not confronted with the need to advance.
They were happy enough, as long as they
Didn’t have to go out of there comfort zones.
Of course, we too can take this attitude all too easily.
After all, there will be some giant obstacles we need to overcome too.
But yet again Caleb had a different view of things – didn’t He.
Take note of what Caleb said in verse 30:
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Now that’s quite a different response from the other 10 spies - isn’t it.
"The Lord will lead us.... The Lord will give it to us... Do not be afraid, ...
God is with us" (Num 14:8).
In other words, God will be faithful to what He promised.
If we are going to be a people who cross over into greatness this year.
We have to believe in what God promises.
And just like with Israel – God has made so many promises to us here [the Bible].
Look - Joshua and Caleb knew that the God who led them that far,
And Would not abandon them now on the edge of greatness. – do you?
3) THE RESULT
So we have to have enough heart to see the Vision of God
And we have to have enough faith to believe in the Promises of God to follow God into greatness.
Thirdly, and this is really the only thing left…
We need to Expect great things from God.
You see, if God is really leading us into greatness,
There is only ever going to be a great result waiting for us at the end.
The Right Balance
This is not so much about us doing something great for God,
As it is, God doing something great - yet again - for us.
This is why so many people fail to cross over,
It’s because they think they have to do something great,
Rather than seeing their need to just follow a great God...
And let Him deliver a great result in their lives - I say Amen to that!!!
Guys as we stand on the edge of our river Jordan this morning,
There is only thing left keeping us crossing over into greatness – and that is our choice.
I mean when your on the edge of greatness….
And you’ve seen the vision,
And you have faith in God’s promises…
Then the only thing standing in the way of God’s best
Is your decision to cross over into greatness.
Choices and Paths
GREATNESS IS ULTIMATELY DETERMINED BY A DECISION TO CROSSOVER
For Israel, God had led them out of Egypt…He had provided for them every step of the way…
And He now brought them to the very edge of the promised land.
This was supposed to be something Great.
This was their time.
This was their hour.
This was their choice.
Here they were at a crossroads in their life.
Here they were at a very important fork in the road.
Here they were confronted with a life defining choice…
Where they going to settle where they were – or were they going to cross over into something great?
One path would lead them over the Jordan and the other path would lead them away from it.
One path would lead them into the Promised land and the other path would lead them into a Parched land.
One path would rescue them from the wilderness and the other path would return them to it.
One path would lead them to compromise – the other path would lead them to greatness.
What Is Greatness?
Guys - this is exactly where we are at as God’s people today – we are on the edge of greatness.
I believe that it’s God’s desire for every single one of us to enter into His greatness.
In fact, I believe that it’s God’s desire for His Churches to enter into greatness.
That is not say that all churches are going to have glorious buildings to look upon,
Or hundreds of Church members who gather each week.
And this is the problem so many people have– isn’t it
They just don’t know how to define “Greatness” in their walk with God.
You see, spiritual greatness is not determined by Church attendance numbers,
The size of weekly tithes, or the general building facilities.
For us as Christians – true greatness comes by
Being all that we can be, in the place that God has placed us – wherever that might be!
That’s all. That’s greatness.
I don’t have to be you, and you don’t have to be me
Neither does this Assembly have to be like this Church or that.
We just need to be surrendered enough to God’s calling for our lives
To let Him use us greatly in His Kingdom – isn’t that what you want?
It’s An Easy Choice?
There is no question about where God wanted Israel.
There is no doubt about the path He wanted them to walk.
He wanted them to cross over the Jordan.
He wanted them to enter into His Rest.
He wanted them to experience His Best.
And guess what – that’s what God wants for us too. We just have to make the right decision.
For Israel… there on the Edge Of Greatness…
That they found themselves at a crisis of belief.
Even with overwhelming evidence of God’s power and might
And countless miracles now behind them,
They suddenly stopped believing God and stopped moving forward.
The problem is that if you don’t want to move forward…
You just end up going back – don’t you.
On the edge of greatness God’s people may decide to stop moving forward.
And often the reason God’s people stop moving forward is because they find the road to hard.
They think they can’t possible overcome all that stands in the way of them
And that they can’t possible make a difference in the world as dark as this.
But remember this God gives the results.
What do the Scriptures say:
May be you feel on the edge of greatness in your church…
But your church is not growing and your about to loose heart,
Well Psalms 127:1 says: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
In other words – God is responsible for generating the results not you.
Maybe you have been labouring intently – praying for something great to happen.
But people are not responding to the Word…
And they don’t have a heart for the Gospel truth – should you give up on greatness?
Remember our responsibility is not what people do with the truth when they hear it…
Our responsibility is to just share – because only God will do the rest.
1 Corinthians 3:7 - So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
God is the one who gets the results.
Jesus said in John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If you are seeking to accomplish great things in and for God this year – know this
Only in and through God will truly great things happen…
Because without Him we can’t accomplish anything.
CONCLUSION
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow will be our day,
A day where we find ourselves at a crossroads…
A day where we need to make a decision…
The question is, when the time comes,
Will we Be willing to step into greatness and Let God give us the result.
Or will we fail to move forward with God?
Between where we are today - and where God wants us to be tomorrow,
There always lays a challenge.
There is always work to be done - and usually some sacrifice to be made.
When it comes time to step up and be counted,
Having the strength of heart to step forward into greatness,
And make the decision to cross over with God into greater things will be the difference.
So what do we do when the time comes?
Well this morning we saw through Caleb three things.
Three characteristics necessary for us to cross over into greatness.
As God’s people we don’t want to settle "for the way it is."
We want to answer God’s call into greater things.
What will be your response?
Will you choose to go forward for the Lord
Or will you just settle to remain the same?
My feeling is that we are at the edge of greatness,
That we are standing at an inter-section of opportunity and choice.
Will we need to go forward in this year and seize the opportunities that God has for us.
But just like Caleb knew and understood…
Greatness comes by sharing in the Vision God has for us
Greatness comes by believing in the Promises God makes to us
And Greatness comes as a Result of choosing to go where God leads us.
To put things another way – as Caleb said:
Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome.
Let this year of 2022 – be a year of great things for us all.
