Numbers 14: 24 (NKJV) But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
We need to learn from Caleb who had the spirit of faith in him. He followed the Lord fully and always believed that He was able to drive out all the inhabitants of the land.
At age 85, 45 years after entering the Promised Land, he was still ready to conquer the Anakim, the giants in the land.
Faith is very different from physical strength. While our flesh is getting old each day, our faith is renewed daily, growing from strength to strength. Caleb asked Joshua to give him Hebron and he conquered it even though the cities were great and fortified. Although it wasn’t easy, the Lord was with him. Therefore, there is nothing unconquerable if we allow our faith to be anchored in God, whether it is a tribulation or in the area of dealing with our flesh. Caleb had the “can do spirit” with the Lord that set him apart from the rest of the people.
Numbers 33:55 (NKJV) But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
Similarly, it is our choice to deal with that issues that pertain to our lives. The parallel between the Promised Land and the abundant life is that there are certain things both the Israelites and we have to deal with if we want to have peace, love and joy in our lives. God’s instructions to the Israelites was to completely drive out all the inhabitants of the land. Otherwise, they would constantly harass them in the land where they dwelt, and be an irritants in their eyes and thorns in their sides. Therefore, the Israelites had to be decisive to drive them out, so that they would not inter-marry with them and be led astray by them to worship idols.
Likewise, if we want to enjoy the abundant life and claim this promise, we have to deal with the flesh because we have been given the ability to overcome temptation and sin that come from the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh. Every one of us has to deal with the flesh and bring it into subjection daily, and the Lord has empowered us to bring the flesh into subjection so that we will enjoy the abundant life.
Sermon Series: You Are in the Hall of Faith! (Part 4)
如何享受丰盛的生命？
民数记14:24惟独我的仆人迦勒，因他另有一个心志，专一跟从我，我就把他领进他所去过的那地；他的后裔也必得那地为业
我们要从迦勒身上学习，他里面有信心的灵。他全心跟从并且一直相信祂必将那地的居民全部赶出去。他在进入那地45年之后，在85岁高龄仍然预备好要攻打巨人亚衲族人。
信心与体力迥然不同，虽然我们的肉体日渐衰退，但我们的信心却每日被更新，日益强健。迦勒求约书亚把希伯仑交给他，他就攻取了希伯仑，尽管城邑又大又坚固。虽然不容易，但神与他同在。因此，如果我们允许自己把信心锚定在 神身上，无论是应对苦难，还是处理血气的问题我们都将攻无不克！迦勒与 神有一种 “能做到的精神”，这使他与众不同。
民数记33：55倘若你们不赶出那地的居民，所容留的居民就必作你们眼中的刺，肋下的荆棘，也必在你们所住的地上扰害你们
同样的，处理我们生命中的问题是我们的选择。应许之地与丰盛生命之间的相似之处就是： 无论是当时的以色列人，还是今日的我们，若要在生命中拥有平安、爱和喜乐，就必须先搞定一些事情。神给以色列人的指令是将拿地所有的居民统统驱逐出去。否则，这些居民们就会在以色列人居住的土地上不断骚扰他们，这些居民必成为他们的眼中钉和肉中刺。所以，以色列人必须果断地把他们赶出去，免得与他们通婚，被他们引诱而拜偶像！
同样地，如果我们想要享受丰盛的生命和领受得着这应许，那么我们就必须对付肉体，因为我们被赋予了战胜诱惑和罪恶的能力，而这些诱惑和罪恶来自于眼目的情欲和肉体的情欲。我们每个人都必须在每天的生活中处理属肉体的情欲，使它服从！ 神已经赐给我们权柄，叫肉体屈从，好叫我们能享受丰盛的生命。
讲道系列：你在信心的殿中（第四部分）