In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the story of Caleb and Joshua from the Bible. He highlights the different perspectives and vocabularies of these two men. Caleb emphasizes the importance of delighting in the Lord and trusting in His initiative, while Joshua acknowledges the problem and the need for action. The speaker also addresses the challenges faced in evangelizing the world and encourages the audience to overcome their own obstacles and exercise faith.

I want you to turn now in your Bibles to the Book of Numbers. The Book of Numbers, chapter 13. Again, I'm sure many of you have studied this quite often. We have Moses sending the spies into the land. They went into this land, verse 27 in chapter 13, and they told him and said, We came unto the land to which thou sent us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless, the people are strong that dwell in the land. The cities are walled and very great. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, well, lots of enemies. And then Caleb spoke. 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. Isn't that powerful? I wonder if you'd be willing to take Caleb's testimony tonight in action with some things that you're wrestling with. Problems in the business, problems in the home. Problems are obstacles, mountains, in other areas. How many of you have heard this new word that's going all around the United States that's actually pretty old now? The word proactive. How many have heard that? Most of you. What does that mean, proactive? It simply means that when the problems are facing you, the mountains, the obstacles, the spiritual Amalekites, that you go forward anyway. You go forward anyway. Caleb saw the problem. Most of the people were frightened. Look what it says about the other people. Verse 31. We are not able to go up against these people. They are stronger than we. It brought an evil report, verse 32. An evil report of the lamb, which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The lamb through which we have gone to search it is a lamb that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. Frightening. We saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants. And we were in our sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight. If you want a title to this message, some people are big on titles, even if they can't remember anything in the message, they like the title. The danger of grasshopper mentality. And I believe the body of Christ in many places has been invaded by grasshopper mentality. Small-mindedness. Unwillingness to exercise faith. I wonder how many of us in the last 24 hours have had to exercise or have exercised faith in regard to that faith-promised challenge and privilege that's been coming at us during these days. I wonder how many of us have ended up, after hearing the messages, thinking, Well, this isn't really for me. With my present responsibilities, I really can't do any more. And I've got this problem. And I haven't got this sorted out in my life. And my mortgage is so big. And my car is broken down. And it must be a priority to get a new one. And somehow you've been overwhelmed. And so, even though the message has been strong to your heart, you have not yet responded. Probably I'm speaking to the wrong crowd here on Monday night. Because that's why you're here. You want more. You want to take some steps of faith. You're a visionary. You're motivated. Praise God. You're a Caleb. Or a Calebette. In chapter 14, we read about another man. Very different kind of a fellow. Had a very different vocabulary. His name was Joshua. He saw the problem. He was in the expedition that went in to spy out the land. What does he say? It's beautiful. Verse 8 of chapter 14. It's a Lord's delight in us. Very different vocabulary. In Great Britain, we actually have controversy in the churches between the pragmatic people who want to work and the other people who want to worship. Have you ever seen that in a church? The worshippers versus the workers. And you get people that easily say things. You know the Martha Mary story? You know Martha, she was running around serving and Mary always comes out looking better. She's worshipping Jesus. So you get the Martha Mary controversy. And people who are working hard and going the extra mile and the pragmatic type, they sometimes, you know, well, they're a little bit carnal. They're probably doing that a little bit in their own strength. The fact of the matter is, God works through different people in different ways. It's one of the things that Swindoll emphasized in his brilliant book, Grace Awakening. Something I saw for years, but he just confirmed it deeply in my heart. Let people bloom. Give them space. Give them freedom. Don't be a grace killer in someone else's life. Because often, often today, there are Christians who are getting very little encouragement. There are Christian children. I want to say a word about your children. Because there are many children who do not get enough confirmation and affirmation from their parents. And I know in my own life, and I have two of my children who in the mid-twenties, according to what they say, not because of my life, which was by God's grace consistent, but the confusion they saw in the church in Britain at that time, their own struggles, two out of three of my children went into spiritual difficulty. My older one is still plotting on. He's the one that has the children. And they don't blame me, but as I look back in rearing my children, I realized I was too negative. I did not affirm them enough. I was too critical. I wasn't sensitive enough. And if you pick up that amazing book, Seven Habits of the Effective Person, by Stephen Covey, not even a Christian book, and read the chapter in there on understanding rather than always wanting to be understood, you will discover something revolutionary in terms of rearing children. I just listened recently to the tapes. I want to just encourage you, as we look at these two men, so different, Caleb and Joshua, different vocabularies. I better finish reading what Caleb said. If the Lord's delight in us, then he will bring us into this land. See, God's taking the initiative there. We're just worshiping. We're delighting in the Lord. Like those five men praying in Acts chapter 13, we're delighting in the Lord. Then the Lord does the work, brings us into the promised land. That is not a contradiction to what Caleb says. Let's go at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. It is a paradox. And the Bible is filled with paradoxes, filled with mysteries. I believe we can receive so much from Caleb and Joshua for the challenge facing us in connection with evangelizing the world. We're the challenge that's facing us about having goals and aims in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches. However, just as Caleb and Joshua had to face the enemy, I want us tonight in this short time together to face some of the enemies that we have as we attempt to evangelize the world. I'm reminded of this, especially when I read Luke 14. Would you turn with me to Luke gospel chapter 14?