Point #1 – LOCATION = THE HEART
Read Joshua 14:6-8 ESV “Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.’”
Caleb is reminding Joshua that all of the leaders of Israel that went to spy out the land saw the same thing. They all saw that the land was good, the fruit was good, and the people were big. But Caleb and Joshua’s report to Moses was different from the rest of the leaders. The other 10 leaders spoke only about what they saw and what scared them. Caleb and Joshua spoke about the words from God. They spoke that they were “well able” to take possession of the land and defeat the giants, because GOD said they would. They spoke the words that were in their heart.
Discussion Questions
- Have you ever had someone tell you something, and then they asked you later on to remember what they said and you couldn’t?
- Have you ever read something, but then couldn’t remember what you read when you were finished?
- Why do you think that happens? Why do we forget things we hear and read?
- Do we remember something better when we read it over and over or when we hear or say something over and over again?
It’s the same thing with God’s word. The only way we can get God’s word in our heart is to read it over and over again. To study it. To hear it being taught over and over again. To say it and pray it, over and over again. This is how we memorize poems and songs, but it’s the same way with God’s word. If we want it to be in our heart, we have to do what it takes to get it in there.
The Bible says that whatever ABUNDANCE is in our heart will come out of our mouth. What do you think that means? What does the word ABUNDANCE mean? (Allow your child to answer: a large quantity, an overflow, over and above.) So, if I had an abundance of soda in my cup, it would be spilling out, overflowing out of my cup because I had an abundance. There would be so much that it wouldn’t be able to all stay in the cup. It’s the same way with our heart. Whatever there is an abundance of in our heart, we will speak out of our mouth. If we have an abundance of love in our heart, we will tell others how much we love them. If there is an abundance of fear in our heart, we will say how scared we are. If we have an abundance of kindness in our heart, we will say nice things to others. If we have an abundance of anger in our heart, we will talk about how things make us mad all the time. If we have an abundance of God’s word in our heart, we will speak the truth out of our mouths. We will speak about what God says about every area of our life. About how we should live, what we should say and do, how we should treat others, how we are to overcome the enemy. It is so important that we do our best to get God’s word in our heart.
Scripture Memory Verse
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11 NLT
Prayer
Jesus, we are so thankful for the Bible, for the truth that is in there for us to read and learn. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would help us to remember God’s words when we read them, when we hear them, when we pray them, when we speak them out of our mouth. Help us to want to read your words over and over again, so that we won’t forget them. We want to hide your words in our heart. We want to keep ourselves free from sin, fear, and anything that would try to separate us from you. We want your words to be the abundance in our heart, and nothing else. We want to overflow with your goodness, your love, your kindness, joy, hope and faith. We want to be overflowing with you, Holy Spirit. We ask you to come now and abundantly fill up our hearts to overflow. We love you so much, and we pray it all in Jesus’s name, amen.
Activity Page
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14XG6xhoHwsZwYDePdKS6MPOIg-K5L7ED/view?usp=sharing
Worship Song
“King of My Heart”