The Caleb Project Lesson One

This series is entitled, The Caleb Project, and is designed to inspire Senior Men to be engaged in ministry at their local Corps. You are never too old to do great things for God! The Graying of America has moved Senior Men to the fore front of ministry and like Caleb we need to move and take the Promised Land for God! Caleb has so much to teach us! He was a hardened veteran that served as an example of the kind of Senior Man we need today in The Salvation Army. Caleb served the Lord with his whole heart. Age was not a barrier to being on fire for God. We need that kind of spirit in our Corps today. You never retire from being a warrior for God in the spiritual battles we face each day as men. You can be an example to all men of what it means to serve the Lord until your days on earth are over. Men and boys are watching you and learning from your example. Seniors have many issues that they face today: Health issues, Pain Issues, Less Mobility and not the kind of income you are used to. If you take these on with the spirit that we see in Caleb think of the force for Good and God that you can be. It is time to step up like Caleb and take what God has promised to all believers. Lets look at Joshua 14 and see what Caleb does.

Joshua 14 New International Version (NIV) Division of the Land West of the Jordan 14 Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. 2 Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, as the L ORD had commanded through Moses. 3 Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest, 4 for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. 5 So the Israelites divided the land, just as the L ORD had commanded Moses. Allotment for Caleb 6 Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the L ORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the L ORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the L ORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 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 L ORD my God wholeheartedly.’ [a]a 10 “Now then, just as the L ORD 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! 11 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. 12 Now give me this hill country that the L ORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the L ORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the L ORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.

What does it mean to serve the Lord with your whole heart? What are the struggles you face in the fight of faith? Are you ready to be the next Caleb at your Corps? What can you do?

Lessons from Joshua 14 for Senior Men today:  His faith was to trust in the word of God. ( v.6)  His faith alerted his view of the opposition. ( v.7)  His faith enabled him to stand against the crowd. ( v.8)  His faith was rewarded by God. ( v.9)  His faith enabled him to wait. (v.10 )  His faith recognized God’s faithfulness. (v.10 )  His faith made him willing to fight for God. ( v.11)  His faith provided the ambition for life. (v.12)  His faith made has him welcome a challenge. ( v.12)  Faith in God’s promise proved itself in the end. ( v. 13 – 15)

In Joshua 14 we see the account of Caleb. The battle hardened warriors had gathered outside of Joshua’s tent at Gilgal where the Israelites had miraculously crossed the Jordon. For seven Years that was the base for the taking of the Promised Land. One guy stood out among these warriors, Caleb, he was 85 years old! He and Joshua were the only two survivors of their generation. They remembered the slavery in Egypt. They remembered the wandering in the desert. They remembered and were ready to fight to the very end. It reminds me of another old warrior, William Booth, our founder, who said at the end, I’ll Fight! I’ll Fight to the very End! So it goes for you Senior Men. Are you still ready to fight? What does that kind of fighting look like? Prayer Warriors are needed. Mentors to younger men are needed. Wise counsel and teaching is needed. Senior Men you have a very unique position to fill in The Salvation Army today! You have the time and experience needed to make wise decisions and call us to arms against the forces of evil. So get up out of the rocker and put on the full Armor of God and get ready to fight. Time to MAN UP!