What does 'Beyond' mean to you

Well, my name is Fred Tomlinson and it's a great pleasure to be able to talk to you today. The question that is on my heart today and I want to put out to you is what does beyond mean to you? You know, it's my opinion, maybe some of you listening to me will share it, is that very many, perhaps even most evangelical Christians today, having prayed what is now known as the sinner's prayer, unwittingly live out their lives according to an ancient Spanish motto which is no more beyond. In other words, there's nothing more to be discovered that is not in this world anyway. To them, today's agenda, like today's agenda is to buy a daily devotional book, attend a church service on a Sunday, if providing your program permits that, and then to try and do your best to live a decent Christian life. To them, to such people that is, any reference to going beyond is kind of code for heaven when they depart this world. It was in 1492, I believe, that one man led a party to set sail from Europe to unknown destination, quote unquote, and the result of that mission caused the Spanish government, I guess, to change their motto from no more beyond and they dropped the word no from it, so it just read, I believe, more beyond. Well, here in North America, just over a hundred years ago, about, sorry, I must correct that, a hundred years before I was born, the word was out that there was a better life to be found in the West, in California in particular, and, you know, it was a special kind of man and a special kind of woman that would leave the, you know, accepted security of the Eastern towns and head toward the remote American West. We call them the pioneers, their tedious journey with oxen and horse-drawn wagons took months and the odds were stacked against them. The dangers and challenges were more than they could have imagined, yet nothing deterred them. They were propelled by a vision for a better life and courage ran hot in their blood. As we turn to the scriptures, we find them replete with men and women with blazing vision and with just indomitable courage. Among those persons that we find in scripture was a man whose name was Caleb, and I'd like to talk a little bit about him in just a moment or two. The fact is, I can say this, that your story, your personal story, will not be the same as Caleb's. My story is not the same as your story, nor is your story the same as my story. You know, that's okay, because that's life. All of our circumstances differ for a whole range of different reasons. But you know, also, as the possibly hundreds of people who will listen to what I'm saying now over the internet, everyone's story is different. But you know, here's the purpose, it's really the purpose of this message I want to bring to you today. That yes, of course, there's a beyond that we will discover in due course when we move on into the closer presence of our Lord Jesus. But even in the Old Testament, God promised his people who would fully obey him, that he would make their days as heaven on the earth. You remember, in Galatians 2.20, that famous verse, at least famous to us and well known, the Apostle Paul makes a reference to the life which I now live in the flesh, the here and now. And I could think of Jesus and some things that he said, but I'm thinking in particular of when he prayed to his father. And there are a number of things which he had been saying to his father. And he makes reference to those who are in the world, those while they're in the world, in the world, he was requesting of his father, keep them from the evil. Because there are so many other biblical references that we can think of that remind us that this so great salvation is something which is available for men and women like you and me to know about and to experience in our lives and to be put into the practice of our lives, to be realised by us while we live in the flesh. This in no way diminishes nor does it take away from that which we anticipate when we leave this scene. But the great tragedy is that in so many cases, any attention that's given to the beyond is focused on beyond this life, when in fact, God through the person of the Lord Jesus and by the power and operation of the Holy Spirit of God is looking to create a heaven in the hearts of men and women who were once lost in sin and shame and dead in trespasses and in sins as the and to so transform their lives that they experience a union with God by the Holy Spirit which is truly heavenly. Let me refresh your memory, I think it was Deuteronomy chapter 11 where I'm quoting from if I'm not mistaken, that if the people would obey and fully obey his word, he said, I will make your days as the days of heaven upon the earth. Amen. So that's our focus and should be and must be our focus as we turn to the scriptures. The apostle, rather Caleb, forgive me, Caleb was one of two men, the other being Joshua who completed the journey from Egypt all the way to Canaan. They were the only two that made it, not even Moses was permitted to make it and there are reasons for that that we're not talking about today. But, excuse me please, as a kind of prologue to anything else I'm going to say, every now and again when we're reading in the texts of scripture, we come across something that appears just remarkable. We might be tempted to say, well this is like a remarkable coincidence but we don't believe in coincidences in this realm. But what I'm thinking about, just to be clear, is today, on this occasion, is not the actual words of the text but now just some of the references and I'm not claiming, nor is there any claim being made that the textual references, that is the chapters and verse numbers and so on, are inspired. We're not believing that at all. But the fact is, nevertheless, as you read, you'll stumble across these kinds of things. In the book of Joshua, right at the beginning of the book, this is how verse three reads, chapter one verse three, Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people unto the land which I do give to them, even unto the children of Israel. Verse three, the verse, every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you as I said unto Moses. Now then, if I turn over the pages of my Bible and I go into the book of Ephesians chapter one and verse three, same reference, I read, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. So the same reference, Joshua 1.3, Ephesians 1.3. Of course, the context in so many ways is completely different, we understand that. But here's the point that caught my attention many years ago, was that in the Joshua reference, God was saying to the ancient people there, that he had made a provision, he'd prepared and ordained a provision for them, particularly. And in the heart of God, it was already theirs, it was given to them. But the commission was, and would involve them actually going in to possess that land. He said, every place that your foot shall tread upon, it's already yours. And here the Apostle Paul is saying that God has blessed us with all, all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And I believe the same principle applies that we're required to actually understand what God is offering to us, that only then can faith be quickened in our hearts to believe God, to experience it. And then the actual particulars are realized or become realized in our lives. Amen. And, you know, if I may just do this one more time, I will go to Joshua a few times in the reading here, perhaps if you're following in the Bible, you might want to turn there. But in Joshua, in chapter 13, I read this. I was reading this the other day, just before my birthday. Now Joshua was old, this is the old King James, Joshua was old and stricken in years. How about that? And the Lord said to him, thou art old and stricken in years. Something when God says that, to you. And then he goes on, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. So God had made this great provision of territory in his heart and mind for this people. God had commissioned Joshua now taking over from Moses to lead the people on in, and God is saying, in effect, to Joshua and to those that would follow him, every place that you put your foot, it's yours to be had. And one of the real challenges that faces you and me as we think in terms of a beyond, a beyond my current spiritual status quo, my current spiritual experience, that there's something more to it. I want to encourage you in this little talk I'm giving in this session, that God has made a full provision, he's blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Peter will say he's given unto us all things that pertain to living a godly life. And this is the potential provision for every child of God. But each one of us individually must begin to recognize this fact. We'll never fully understand or comprehend all that's involved in this, but we begin to understand that God's got something bigger and better and richer and more wonderful and more glorious, more heavenly for each of us. And as I start to believe that, and then the Spirit of God will quicken my heart and quicken faith in my heart, so that it is then, as it were, that I put my foot on it, I claim it, I enter into it. Put a different way, the issue is possessing, realizing, possessing our possessions that God has made available to us. And the real challenge, I think, for me and for each one of us, is that we should beware, seriously beware, lest we leave this world having only partially possessed that which God had made available for us. And, you know, the heading over our YouTube channel is presenting the way of God more perfectly from a text in the Book of Acts. And that's my desire, my passion in these days. I think it has been for many years, but I do believe I can say as never before today, my passion is to be able to communicate by the grace of God and allowing him to speak his word into the hearts of men and women through this broken part of a life that he has redeemed, that he can quicken something in your heart and in your minds to begin to comprehend God has prepared some better thing for you than what you've already experienced. This doesn't diminish the value and the benefit and the grace that God has ministered unto you, that's brought you here, but there is more. That's the message. And we don't want to finish this session by just giving a kind of a nod of approval to that and say, yes, I believe that. The proper response is that we reach out and get hold of it and enter into it in a completely new way. I think the enemy's been doing a fine job, if he gets any credit at all, for continually lying to professing Christian men and women that for one reason or another, and of course it's not really hard for the enemy to put his finger on something in each and every one of our lives where he can say, yeah, but what about that? In other words, he wants to convince us that for some reason or other, perhaps for many reasons, I'm disqualified from this. Yes, I believe all this about this great gospel, this full salvation, but it can never be for me because I blew it back then. What I did or what I failed to do has disqualified me in some way. I think the enemy just loves to say that to the people of God, that this will never be your experience. And I'm here today to expose that lie, and it is a lie because God has a completely different word to speak to you. It's a word of great encouragement. Let me tell you that I can say this, and I'm totally convinced that whatever God has begun in your life, he will complete it. God has not finished his work in your life, nor has he finished it in my life. Amen. In actual fact, and I'm saying this about myself at my stage in the journey, and not only is it a lie that I'm done for and there's no more, the fact is God is saying that which I've been doing in your life is only just getting started. So that's a bit presumptuous. I believe it. I believe it. And I've said this before, and I believe it strongly that everything, I mean everything that has been part and parcel of my life, everything that's been part and parcel of your life has been for today. It's brought you to today. The good, the bad, the ugly, as surely as God has chosen you and had his eye on you and his hand on your life, notwithstanding all that's been wrong and displeasing to him, he's brought each of us to this moment in time. Right now, as I'm speaking and you're listening to me, everything's been for this. That's how important it is that we respond properly in the present moment. Let me remind you that you are God's workmanship. You've been created by God unto his idea of good works and he's chosen you that you should become a partaker of his divine nature. I've already reminded you of the fact that God's given everything that you will need, everything that is necessary to live this godly life. He's given it to you in Christ and it's being ministered to you by the Holy Spirit so that you can get hold of it and it can become realised in your experience regardless of the fact that some of you, perhaps many of you, perhaps all of us, have left some kind of a mess behind us somewhere in the past. But this is a new day and this is the one who makes all things new, who is speaking by his own spirit into our hearts and telling us that it's not the end. It's not even the beginning of the end, I'm quoting Winston Churchill, but it may just be the beginning of what God is doing and planning for your life. Isn't that wonderful? There's so much more in the heart and mind of God that pertains to your sonship, be you male or female, you understand. There's so much more that pertains to your calling as a son of God that as yet remains to be realised and I'm wanting to point you to that fact. I'm wanting to encourage you. If needs be, I want to strengthen your weak knees, I want to lift up your arms, I want to encourage you as I know I am encouraged by so many also myself. Amen. And so with that I'm turning my attention to Caleb, but you know as I'm saying that I'm thinking there's a quote I want to bring to you of A. W. Tozer which I think is absolutely apropos here. He made this statement, he said, I want to boldly assert, listen very carefully, it's very interesting, I want to boldly assert that it is my happy belief that every Christian can have a copious outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a measure that is far beyond what he received at conversion. And I also want to say far beyond that which is enjoyed by the average orthodox believer today. And he went on to say it's important that we get this straight. He said, for until, how did he say it, until all doubts are removed from us, faith is impossible. And he's saying that God will not surprise a doubting heart with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, nor will he fill anyone who has doctrinal questions about the possibility of being filled. That's the essence of what Tozer said. And with that, then there's Caleb. Amen. And you know a couple of things I'm going to say about him. It won't fit your life, as I said earlier, it won't fit perfectly into the mould of your life or mine. I was raised in a Christian home, some of you were, some of you were not. No one's better than another, no one's disqualified, but we've just got different stories. But the reality is God is working on our lives today, that's the most important thing. The first reference to Caleb is actually in the book of Numbers, if you want to turn there you may, in the book of Numbers chapter 13. There's a whole issue that's going on here, let me just mention it very, very briefly for you, and that is that the children of Israel have been brought out of their bondage and slavery in Egypt by God's mighty hand. They're in the wilderness, the potential is that they go on to the promised land and so on. But at this early stage, which is referred to in chapter 13 of Numbers, the Lord has encouraged or directed Moses to get twelve men together from the twelve tribes and that they should go on themselves into the land of promise and sort of check it out. They were to go in as spies. And then if you notice here in the first part from verse 4 down through 16, just about I think, the various names are given of those that are chosen. However, it's in verse 6, of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh was chosen. So that's our first reference to him. And so the men actually go out to spy the land. We can just drop down just for a few verses to give us an idea of what's going on here. In verse 17, Moses sends them out to spy the land. He says, off you go and see the land, verse 18, what kind of land it is and the people that dwell there, whether they're strong or weak or whether they're few or whether they're many. And the land itself, is it where they dwell, whether it's a good land or a bad land and the cities that they live in, whether they be, you know, tents or in strongholds and the land, whether it's fat or lean and whether there's wood therein or not and be of good courage and bring of the fruit of the land because now is the time of first ripe grapes and so on. So that's what's going on. So they set off and they go and we're focusing here on Caleb. And the fact is, this experience, this would also be true for Joshua of course, because don't forget I reminded you there were only two men who made the entire journey and this here is a defining moment in the unfolding story that covers so many chapters in this whole section of the Old Testament. And the fact is that the twelve go and again thinking of Caleb in particular, what he was exposed to would be a defining moment in his life. He would see something that would transform his life, quite honestly. And there's a sense in which that may very well have happened in your life in one way or another. It's not some kind of test we have to subject one another to, but perhaps just in mentioning this, perhaps your mind goes back over perhaps decades of your own life where there have been circumstances or a particular circumstance where somehow as you look back upon it, you know that was a defining moment and that was God that was creating that moment in that way and making it so powerful in its memory as I look back upon it. For me, I could look back and I could say yes, I'm thinking of particular individuals that I met in an earlier message. I remember talking about doorkeepers, people who unwittingly opened doors for all of us, but for me opened the door into something that I had not been aware of before. And that moment when that happened was a defining moment. I saw something. The light went on inside, or as we say in Britain, the penny dropped, or at least the older people in Britain say. But God did something. Or maybe it wasn't a person. Maybe it was when you were actually reading the book of the Acts of the Apostles, for example, and you read there and somehow the Holy Spirit quickened what you were reading and you realised that the Christianity and the church that you find at the beginning in the opening chapters of the book of Acts was so different from anything we've been experiencing in our average church life and in our personal lives as well. And what a great thing is it when God, you know, he turns his bright light on, he illuminates something. It's as though, you know, that something falls away from our eyes and inwardly we see something. What we do with it is another matter and we could talk about this from our own experiences. You know, there's one man I know who is listening to me right now. Quite often there'll be a conversation, something will be said and he'll say, well, how did that work out for you? Well, we could say that about this. We saw something that was life transforming, potentially, but the big question is, well, what was the effect of it? How did that work out for you? And that's the important thing, isn't it? For Caleb, when he went into that land, moved around there, he saw a hill area. It stood actually 3,000 feet high and something was going on in him. I think it's very reasonable to say he was born in Egypt. Something was going on. He looked there, he saw this hill country. No doubt he saw the white houses, the dwelling places there. It was, he knew, it was like a holy city. In fact, it would be referred to and known as the second holiest city in Israel. It was Hebron. And that particular city, he would know immediately as he saw it, this is the place. This is the place so rich in history. It would be beneath those oak trees, somewhere there on that hill where Abraham would have pitched his tent. It would have been there where the two angels visited his tent. It would be the place where somewhere in that area buried was both Abraham and Sarah. Also Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah, they were buried there. It was a sacred place. He was looking at it. And then, of course, there were the grapes that they found there, the fruit that they found there. What I'm trying to convey to you was for Caleb, God was granting to him a vision of another world. He was seeing something that he'd never seen before. It was another land and he actually tasted its fruit. Isn't that wonderful? I think in the symbolism of the Old Testament, he saw, as it were, that which was invisible. He knew now without any doubt there was somewhere so much better than anything he had ever seen and ever known, whether that were in Egypt or the amount of journey he'd taken already in the desert. Amen. I want to ask you, has there been a moment like that in your life? Have your eyes been opened at some point, whether it was seeing a person, a man or a woman, who was truly godly? And not because they knew the Bible from cover to cover, there was something present in their lives that made them stand out clearly as a godly person. Or perhaps for you, it was when you were reading through Scripture. It might even have been reading the book of Acts more recently and you saw the glaring contrast between the Christianity of the early church and that which is so common today. Amen. The amazing thing for Caleb is that he would very shortly suffer some grave disappointment and that was when the 12 spies returned to Moses, 10 of them gave an evil report. I haven't got my time, my time is rushing away on me, to read all of the text of Scripture but the fact is 10 gave an evil report. They said no way, it's no use thinking about it any further, there's giants there and it would just be crazy to even think of us trying to get into there and live there and so on. But it was Caleb and Joshua and how tempted I am to read some, I must read something here, I'm reading in verse 28 just to pick out here. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land and the cities are walled and they're very great, moreover we saw the children of Anak, the Amalekites dwell there in the land of the south and he goes on and describes them. But then Caleb stilled the people, verse 30, before Moses and said let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said we'd be not able to go up against this people for they're stronger than we and they brought this evil report and I think you know God's response to that and essentially it was for the next 38 years or so they would tramp around in the wilderness until the entire generation would perish and Caleb and Joshua would make the journey. But the fact is you know, can you imagine for Caleb as we're isolating him, having seen what he's seen, having known that this was a complete lie that these other people were bringing, just as you may have seen something, perhaps just a glimpse, a moment, something dawned on you that God has something very special, very wonderful for you and then so quickly there's the negative voices and for Caleb he lived for the remainder of that time in the wilderness, imagine almost 40 years in the wilderness with an unbelieving multitude and he lived in the very heart of negativity. There are some who are listening to me now quite possibly who within even within the context of your own home there's opposition and negativity and that's not easy by any means for anyone to deal with but Caleb lived, everyone was negative, he was surrounded by rank unbelievers who were constantly whining and whimpering and complaining and yes there were giants in the land and so on but he refused to be daunted or distracted from them. I know in the journey of my life I've faced many giants, they come in many forms, I mean just for example I've faced the giant of complacency around me, where you know people who've known the kind of things I've been trying to bring before your attention just now and yet and particularly as they get older they sort of you know well you know they go out, if you don't live in North America you won't know what I'm talking about, but in their complacency they buy a new lazy boy chair you know, in other words you just just crash out, you know I've been there, done that, you know this is the way it's always been, this is the way it's always going to be. What a tragedy, the spirit of God is wanting to wake you up, arise, wake up and pay attention to the fact that God has some better thing than this for you, will you believe it? There's a giant of theology, I've faced that one along the way myself as well you know, where I'll hear those who say well yeah that was great then but this is now, you know, and we must not be daunted by these demonic voices which they actually are, and then there's the whole thing about the cost of believing God at this stage in your life and this part of your journey and so on. I'm thinking right now as I'm saying this to you, I'm thinking of standing in front of a senior police officer who said to me, Tom Lindsen you are a fool to give up this career with what has just recently happened to you, and you think about these things, I can remember being in a room in a house which we would forever for the rest of our lives remember as the cockroach house, you can decide why we remember it that way, but I remember painting the ceiling, I remember someone who'd come to visit me, the room was empty, just a ladder, me painting in this place which is so far in contrast to what I just left following the leading of the Lord, and this man said to me, you know my wife and I think that you're a fool to leave that place where you were living for this, and then he went and he left me painting and thinking and there's that enemy constantly, these giants that want to distract us and discourage us, they come in many different forms for each and every one of us, but they're there and God's looking for these people who have courage in their blood and faith in a God who has promised, who will not be daunting, but who will, you know, having seen what we've seen, and certainly this was true for Caleb, it was etched into his mind for all those years, traveling around, traipsing around in the wilderness, in the desert, surrounded by unbelieving men and women, but the fact is that which was etched into his memory he could not forget, and even, you know, even the sultry heat and the freezing nights and all these voices, nothing could distract him from this. Glory to God, and so he continued, and then we come to chapter 14. I wish I could fill in more spaces than I'm able to do now, but we're in chapter 14 of the book of Joshua, and so much has changed. They've now, as it were, the new generation have now moved on into the land of Canaan. They've started to possess the various territories which have been prescribed and designed for each of them, and then we see, of course Moses has gone by this point, and Joshua was in control of everything, and where can I read here? Let's just look at verse 6. Then the children of Judah came to Joshua. Of course we remember that Caleb was from this tribe. The children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, said to him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said to Moses, the man of God concerning me and thee. In Kadeshbania, 40 years old was I when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadeshbania to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren that went with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive as he said these forty and five years. So he's 85 now. Even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet, I am as strong this day as I was the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out and to come back again. Amen. That's fighting talk. Now notice this, verse 12, and everything I've said in my mind leads to this one statement. Now, therefore, give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spoke in that day. And you can read on how that chapter continues and how it all flows on from there. Hallelujah. This dear Caleb, this great heart, at 85 years of age, he's still on fire for God. The vision that he saw those 40 years earlier is vivid in his mind. I believe he dreamt about it every night. He longed for it through the long, weary years. And traipsing around in the desert, they finally cross into Canaan. Many things are being done. And now, finally, it's his moment. We hear God talk to Israel about the day of their visitation. This was the moment of his visitation. God had him right there in this place, standing with Joshua. Caleb reminds Joshua of the promise God made to both of them, in particular for Caleb, it was for this territory. And so now he comes to Joshua and says, now, therefore, give me this mountain. You know, he had the vision. The vision tarried. He waited for it. And finally, in the fullness of time, and I love that phrase in Scripture, read Galatians 4, 4, where it really reaches its climax. But in the fullness of time, and you know that there's not only a scheme that God has planned out for your life, but there's a timing as well. And in the fullness of time, that means when the moment of God's foreordained planning came to fruition, that was the moment. God's word against the children of Israel of old was that they had not recognised the day of their visitation. Let me ask you, beloved, as I draw to a close here, will you recognise that this is your moment? Here, where God has brought you to this place, he's facing you with these challenges, and he's looking for the kind of response from your heart that we see Caleb giving here, where we come and lay our lives before God and say, Lord, I believe it. I've known about it for these years, and you've been good to me. You've been faithful to me. But here I am, Lord, sensing that there's still yet more that you have for me, and I'm coming today in the name of Jesus to get hold of this, to receive and realise this that you've promised, so that it becomes real in my life. Amen. And, you know, what a wonderful thing this is. I'm wondering if there's anyone listening to me today who will stand, you know, facing their giant, guarded, but divinely promised inheritance, who will cry out with the kind of courage of Caleb, give me this mountain. May the Lord open our eyes that there is a beyond. There's a beyond for you, my dear friend. That the day, that moment, the day, that day was not in Caleb's hands. This, this that we're talking about has not been in your hands, but when the time came, in the fullness of time, he seized it with both hands. Will you do that today, beloved? Recognise God's in this, God's in this that you're hearing. It's the Word of God here, and it's the heart of God towards you. Whatever has gone wrong, whatever is behind, whatever is happening at the present moment, will you reach out in your heart to God and say, Lord, in Jesus' name, give me this mountain. I want to experience this beyond that you have planned, and ordained for me. It may involve and likely will involve leaving your comfort zone, whatever that means. I don't know what it means, but you must give yourself to God without compromise and say, Lord, I'm here to claim what you have promised. Amen. Let me just say this, and I'm going to pray, but if this has helped you, if you feel that God has spoken to you, I'd love to hear from you. You can comment on YouTube, or you can contact me in a variety of other ways that mckenziefellowship.com will tell you about, and I invite you to even consider joining our online meeting each Sunday. You'll read about it on our website, but let me pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray, O Lord, that you will take these stumbling words of mine, Lord, but by your powerful Holy Spirit, that word that is sharper than a two-edged sword, cut deeply into men and women's hearts this day with your word, Lord, and let there be an awakening that takes place. Let there be an impartation of faith, Lord, and I pray, Father, that there'll be a response that grasps hold of your word, that these very things may be realized, experienced, possessed, and enjoyed by those who are responding. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.