by: Dr. Steve Heidenreich
One morning during my personal Bible study, I came across a man in the Bible named Caleb. He is one of my favorite Bible characters because he’s one man who just didn’t go along with the crowd. There was something that made him different from the rest and it was that he had another spirit about him.
We have all heard that Moses was to send twelve spies to survey the land of Canaan. When they returned they were divided in what they saw. Ten of the spies compared themselves like grasshoppers when they saw the giants, great walls of the city and the great obstacles that was before them. Two of the spies came back and saw the greatness of God. We need to be careful how we view what God has given us to do. Like the ten spies, if we’re not careful, we will lead the next-generation into a wilderness of wandering and cause them to waste their lives.
I’m concerned how we show the land of the ministry to our young people today. Those of us in the ministry better be careful that we do not bring back a bad and evil report of what God wants to do in His ministry. We are rearing a generation who cannot handle hardness. Hardness is not abuse, but it is a building block for what God is preparing for us in the future. Like the children of Israel, many in the ministry are causing young people to murmur and have a desire to turn back and rebel against what God wants them to do. All of this happens when we come back with the evil report of the ministry. We all know and understand that the land of the ministry is full of obstacles, giants and great walls, but we also know there is a great God Who helps us conquer them.
There are basically two results that happen when an evil report is brought back from the land of the ministry. One is that our young people will wonder through life aimlessly and not be able to accomplish anything. It will cause many to waste the opportunities that God has given them.
The other result is to end up living around those who have wandered and wasted their life. It is very difficult to watch those you love, and in whom have invested your life, spend their time murmuring, complaining, wanting to turn back and then rebel against God’s plan for there lives. Thank God there are many like Caleb who have another spirit about them. There was something different about Caleb when compared with those around him. You see, Caleb didn’t go along with the crowd in that day because he had another spirit. May God raise up some Calebs with another spirit about the land of the ministry.
There are several things that we need to teach our young people about what we see in Caleb’s life that gave him another spirit.
First of all, they need to have another spirit that believes the Word of God. We are living in a time when many are leading our young people to question the Word of God. With the help of the media and Hollywood, we are seeing the authority of God’s Word being destroyed. We are seeing a people trying to change it for their way of leading our young people to a lifestyle of ungodliness. When people around Caleb were murmuring complaining and turning back against what God promised, Caleb had another spirit about him that needs to be passed on to our young people.
Secondly, they need another spirit to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The world is beginning to put pressure on the ministry, and as a result we are producing people who are halfhearted, lukewarm and caving in on their convictions and standards. Caleb was a man who was committed, meaning that he was all-out for God.
Thirdly, they need another spirit that focuses on God for the victory. Our young people are becoming a generation that is being bombarded with technology so that they are beginning to rely on technology for their path to success. Caleb didn’t depend upon his own ability, he depended upon God’s ability.
Lastly, they need another spirit that will give God all the glory. In a day when many people are singing the praises of men and following them no matter what they believe or do, we need young men with another spirit. One of the reasons the ministry has lost its appeal is because it has been focused on men. How much is God mentioned in the ministry that has been given to you. In this portion of Scripture, Caleb is mentioning God over and over. We need to praise God more than man so that He receives the glory.
When there are people with another spirit in the land of the ministry, young people never forget the promises and power of God that never changes. When people have another spirit, they will see that the places God sends them to are never impossible.
The danger of not seeing it the way God sees it is that many will lose their faith in the purpose of God, their faith in the promises of God and lose faith in the presence of God.
Which way do you see the land of the ministry?
Dr. Steve Heidenreich
http://missionsminutes.blogspot.com