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[ Silence ] [MUSIC - "I AM ON THE BATTLEFIELD"] I am on the battlefield for my Lord. I am on the battlefield for my Lord

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And I promise Him that I will serve Him till I die I am on the battlefield for my Lord Oh, I am on the battlefield for my Lord. Oh, I'm on the battlefield for my Lord, for my Lord.

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And I promise Him that I will serve Him till I die. ♪ I am a mother of fear for my Lord ♪ ♪ I was a lonely idol ♪ ♪ I was a sinner too ♪

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♪ I heard a voice from heaven ♪ ♪ Say there is work to do ♪ ♪ I took the master's hand ♪ ♪ And I joined the Christian band ♪

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♪ I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ Yes, I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ But you know I promised him that I ♪

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♪ Would serve him 'til I die ♪ ♪ I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ I left my friends at Kindred ♪ ♪ Bound for the promised land ♪

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♪ The grace of God upon me ♪ ♪ So Bible in my hand ♪ ♪ To distant lands I trod ♪ ♪ Christ in us, come home to God ♪

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♪ I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ Yes, I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ I promised him that I would serve him 'til I die ♪

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♪ I am on the battlefield for my Lord ♪ ♪ You know, when I met the Savior ♪ ♪ I met him with a smile ♪ ♪ He healed my wounded spirit ♪

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♪ And he owned me as his child ♪ ♪ Around the throne of grace ♪ ♪ He'll place my soul a place ♪ ♪ I know I'm on the battlefield ♪

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♪ For my Lord ♪ Yes, I am on the battlefield for my Lord. Oh, I am on the battlefield for my Lord. I promised him a long time ago that I would keep on serving till I die.

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I am on the battlefield for my Lord Yes, I am on I'm gonna stay right here for my Lord I'm gonna keep on standing on the battlefield for my Lord

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I promised Him I would keep on marching Yes, I would I would serve Him I promised him a long time ago

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I said I'm gonna keep on serving I promised the Lord I would serve him I promised the Lord I would serve him Until I die

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I am old I've had to fear For my For my

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Lord. Let's all say Amen. Our message today is based on a passage of Scripture recorded in the book of Joshua, the 14th chapter,

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the portion of the 12th verse. It is a word that comes to us through Caleb as he speaks. "Now therefore, give me this mountain." Now give me this mountain.

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The subject of the message is, ask God for a mountain. Ask God for a mountain. Caleb was among those 12 spies sent by Moses to view the Promised Land.

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When they returned, they had conflicting reports. Ken said, "We cannot possess this land. We are like grasshoppers and they're like giants. We can't conquer this land."

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But Joshua and Caleb said, "Yes, we can possess the land." And so the vote was 10 against and 2 for. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up when the majority is against you. So Joshua shows that courage.

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He's not a young man anymore. What I have just described occurred when he was about 40 years old. Now he's 85, same age that brother that stood up earlier today, celebrating 85th birthday. 85.

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He's seen many winners. He's had many ups and downs. So what in the world can an 85-year-old man do with a mountain? And yet he comes in the spirit that we would classify as the evening of his years and asks

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for a mountain. I was in a meeting just a few years ago and I had passed 65. And there was a brother sitting next to me and I was explaining to him the things that I've dreamed of doing in the next few years.

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And when I finished, he turned to me and said, "You may do all of this." He was about 65 himself. He said, "But I'm not. I'm going to rest.

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I'm going to take it easy. You can go ahead with all your wonderful plans." I'm going to rest. I'm going to take it easy. You can go ahead with all your wonderful plans, but I won't be in that number. Well, that's the attitude of most of us. We look forward

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to those years, those retirement years, where we can take it easy. We've had a difficult struggle and so we want to take it easy and Joshua and Caleb represent courage, faith, endurance, faithfulness as we approach that particular period. Now this report that they made to Moses was considered sort of a rebellion report.

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They did not do what was planned because God had already promised them the land. So what is occurring here is what takes place in one's life. From promise to fulfillment, what takes place? What period are you in your life?

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From promise to fulfillment. And what really occurs from promise to fulfillment depends upon our performance. We start with promise time and time again. Some older person meets a young person and says, "What are you going to be, young man

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or young woman? What do you plan to be?" That's promise. I'd like to be a doctor, I'd like to be a teacher, a preacher, a scientist, whatever.

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That's promise. But as we move into the years, we begin to consider the extent to which we have performed toward achieving, toward the fulfillment of that promise. Now this request, "Give me this mountain," this request has to do with the occupation

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of hill country. It has to do with the dwelling place of giants. The Atikin were there, giants in the land. And this man, at a period that we usually think of one being feeble, weak, says, "Give

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me this mountain." A mountain, the symbol of obstacles. You have any obstacles? Any hindrances to what you would like to do?

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Those are mountains, obstacles, opposition, oppression, mountains. We praise and we honor the person who can climb high mountains. One mountain climber said a short time ago when he was asked, "Why do you want to climb mountain?" And he answered, "Because it's there." Because it's there. Mountain climbers.

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We followed Lance Armstrong as he has moved from one place to another on his bicycle. And the most difficult part of the race is entering into that area where there are mountains in France. The newspaper reported yesterday that our president was riding his mountain bike.

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When I was riding a bicycle, I encountered hills from time to time, and I would get off the bicycle and push it up the hill because it's difficult, difficult to deal with mountain climbing. So it's interesting that when we come to the division of the land, to the tribes of Israel,

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that Caleb who is old in years but young in spirit says, "Give me this mountain." It's interesting when people are asked to make decisions relative to property. Many times when they're dividing up the land, relatives have differences regarding who's going to get what, what property.

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Who will get this? Who will get that? if it's just land and no dwellings on it, they want the land that's situated near a corner which may be considered, when appraised, the most valuable. That's what they would

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like. The most popular place. Give that to me. That's what... And there's a clamor, and many times considerable differences expressed over who's going to get what in the mountains. But Caleb doesn't go out looking for the easy places,

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the level land, the valleys that may be fertile. He doesn't do that. He comes and he asks for the most difficult. the hill country, give me this mountain.

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I've asked for it before and the time has come now that the assignments are being made. Give me this mountain. Many people will clamor for something

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that's already a success. Young man went to a church in West Texas a number of years ago and he said, I'd like to have a Sunday school class.

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And he said, all our Sunday school classes are taken. We don't have a vacancy at this time. He said, well, just give me the names of some people, this age group, some boys this age group, that

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are not attending Sunday school. And so they did. So he took it. And he had the largest Sunday school class

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in a short time in the church. He asked for a mountain. So I say to you, ask God for a mountain. Too often we ask God for those easy things,

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things we think we can manage. We ask him for that. Some years ago when I was with a group that went to visit with the governor, giving him advice about appointments and the like,

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when we were leaving the governor said to us, "You don't come to see me often enough. Then he said, you don't ask

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for enough. You know what? We were asking for those things. A black person on the embalming board, black person because we had a lot of people in the funeral business wanted a black person on the TSU board because that's a

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predominantly black institutions. Those are the kind of things we were asking for. But he says you don't ask for enough. Well I think God speaks to us today through this message saying you don't talk with me enough, you don't ask for Ask me for a mountain.

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Ask God for a mountain. Hills that seem too high for us to climb, obstacles with challenges that we feel that we can't measure up to, ask God. Ask God for a mountain.

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Now this mountain, my brothers and sisters, is an inheritance. You read that passage. This is the inheritance of Caleb. He has a right to this mountain. He inherits it. Not that he has earned it, but it is an inheritance. Because Because God has promised it.

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And what God promises us, we get. So Caleb comes to remind them of the promise that has been made, that this mountain is to be given to his tribe. We have many mountains today to ask God for.

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As we face the challenge of the future, we have the mountain of social security. We all want to be secure, and that appears on the horizon as a mountain. What's going to happen to social security? And heaven knows the difficulties in our paths as we travel onward and upward.

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We face one difficulty after another. But here, Caleb speaking, you promised me 40 years ago this mountain. And even though many years have passed since that time, I am as strong now as I was then. Give me this mountain.

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Give me this mountain. George Washington Carver asked for a mountain, and he discovered the vast treasures that were housed in the peanut and the sweet potato because he asked God. Others had passed over it.

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They left it there for younger men, so to speak, but this is a request that comes from a senior citizen, if you please. Give me this mountain. Mountain is the impossible.

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Do you have any impossible things in your life? Things that you've tried to do of your own? Well, he comes to God, who has vast resources. He is absolute.

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He has full control. He's able to deliver whatever he promises. And it's this God who is the God of Israel, who's the God of the universe,

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who's our God that we can speak to him saying, "Lord, give me this mountain." I encountered a mountain as I was coming up, like most of us, poor and you have dreams.

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And as we encounter those dreams, we found one door after another, many times shut. You know what it is to walk all day and get a red section from the paper

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and go to those places that say they want something and you can get there and they say no. We've had the experience of driving and coming to places that are supposed to be open, motels and hotels, but they'd be closed in our face.

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But here we're asking God, ask God. In spite of what happens, ask God for a mountain. Dr. Jenkins, who pastored the New Hope Church for 40 years in Waco, came to a point that he had difficulty financing the note of the church.

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It was during the Depression and they were trying to build a new church. And in the midst of building this church, they ran out of funds and they needed more money. And they asked this person and that person for money, and they were turned down.

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Dr. Willis, who was the head of the Knights of Penthouse, was there, and he said to Dr. Jenkins, "You've asked all these others. You haven't asked me." And so he asked him and he, through his lords, financed the church so that it was complete.

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Could it be that God has spoken to us, saying, "You've asked this person and you've tried this but you haven't asked me. Ask God. Ask God.

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Ask God for a mountain." Well, there is a passage of scripture that's used as one of the hymns of the temple. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

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He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper. Ask God for a mountain.

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Are there any mountains too high for you to climb? Are there any rivers too wide for you to cross? Ask God for a mountain. Ask God for a mountain.

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Well, the one whom we follow and honor as our savior grew up in the hill country of Galilee. He dwelt among the hills. God could have had him born in some devil place,

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but he was born in Bethlehem and grew up in the hill country of Galilee. It seems to me he asked God for a mountain. He could have been one of the Pharisees and received honors and privileges and all of

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that, but he just became a teacher of common people and they heard him gladly. He asked God for a mountain. Well, in the course of time, the tide of public opinion turned against him, and he was misunderstood, falsely accused.

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He was abused. He was crucified. And there on that dark Friday, he cried from the cross saying, "Father, forgive them, for I know not what they did."

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He asked God for a mountain. And I say to us today, ask God, ask God. If you've been turned down over and over again by the cruel circumstances of human existence, ask God for a mountain. He understands. He understands. Ask God for a mountain.

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Ask! Ask! Ask the Savior to help you! Comfort, strengthen, and keep you! He is willing to aid you! He will carry you through. Ask God for a mountain. I'm here to tell you that He'll give you the mountain. He'll give you the mountain, and you can rejoice in His name.

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You come now to the invitation, the invitation to Christian discipleship, invitation to walk with God in conquering the cruel circumstances of human existence. You may come by letter, or Christian experience, or profession of faith. Ask God. I don't know how much more time we have.

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Caleb was in his 80s, 85, and he asked God for a mountain. So whatever time remains, say, "Lord, I'm asking you for a mountain. Give it to me."

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Come to let us. Lord, the church is open. May you unite with the people of God here by letter. Commitment of faith.

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Come. Come, come. ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ Come, come to Jesus ♪

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♪ While you have time ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, come to Jesus ♪

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♪ Make up your mind ♪ ♪ Make up your mind ♪ ♪ He will make ♪ ♪ He will make ♪

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♪ Your life brand new ♪ ♪ Oh, he will take care of you ♪ ♪ Come to Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪

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♪ Just knowing Jesus ♪ ♪ Sure has paid off in my life ♪ ♪ Come to Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪

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♪ Ooh, though you may not have a friend ♪ ♪ He'll go with you to the end ♪ ♪ Come to Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪

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♪ Oh, help me say it one more time ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪

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♪ While you have time ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ Make up your mind ♪ ♪ He will make your life brand new ♪

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♪ Oh, he will take care of you ♪ ♪ Come to Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪ ♪ Oh, say it again ♪

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♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪ ♪ Come unto Jesus ♪

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♪ Make up your mind ♪ ♪ Oh, he will make your life ♪ ♪ Life brand new ♪ ♪ Oh, he will take care of you ♪

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♪ Come to Jesus ♪ ♪ While you have time ♪ - Would you continue to pray that softly while those who stood celebrating birthdays this week

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go to the foyer, as well as the couple celebrating a wedding anniversary. Could you go now please? (music)

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