Skip to content Stepping Up to Greatness: Learn from Your Past Mistakes May 27 · 31 min ...more
Stepping Up to Greatness: Learn from Your Past Mistakes
May 27, 2025 · 31 min
In today's Men's Breakfast, John Mark encourages men to acknowledge their potential for greatness by learning from past mistakes, as Moses did with the Israelites.
Series "Men's Breakfast" with John Mark Caton May 27, 2025 · 31 min · "Men's Breakfast" with John Mark Caton
In today's Men's Breakfast, John Mark encourages men to acknowledge their potential for greatness by learning from past mistakes, as Moses did with the Israelites. ...more Show the full description Show less In today's Men's Breakfast, John Mark encourages men to acknowledge their potential for greatness by learning from past mistakes, as Moses did with the Israelites.
Series "Men's Breakfast" with John Mark Caton Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
101K followers
John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
101K followers
Breaking the Cycle: From Wilderness to Promised Land 0:02 Welcome to Men's Breakfast with John Mark Keaton. Join us as John Mark shares his insights with other men in his ministry rooted in the timeless truths of the gospel. Today's message will encourage you to0:14 inspire, inform, and invest in the lives of others. This is men's breakfast with your host, John Mark Caton.0:23 We, we started a brand new, series, entitled stepping up to greatness. And so we're gonna go back, to the book of Deuteronomy and, pick up where we left off. And as we talked0:35 about, last week, you know, the book of Deuteronomy is pretty powerful book. It's the 1 if you look at all the old testament books, Deuteronomy is the book that Jesus quoted the most, other than0:46 Psalms and Isaiah. If you look through the new testament, it's the 1 that is, quoted the third most, in the new testament. It's really, kind of, Moses,0:58 getting the people ready to go into the promised land. Now Moses isn't gonna make it into the promised land. He's, he he he missed his shot 40 years earlier, but he's meandered around in1:10 the in the desert for 40 years with with the children of Israel. So he's gathered the children of Israel together and said, listen, let me go a little historical on you. We're moving towards Valentine's. Anybody ever1:21 been in a fight with your bride? And she goes a bit historical on you. That's kind of what Moses does. And, no? No? Okay. It's1:33 before 7. Yeah. I I know that. Alright. But here here's here's the deal. That's exactly what Moses does to him. We're gonna read over the next couple of weeks as we look. Moses kinda got1:45 the children of Israel together. Now the old past generation has died off. And he says, here's what you did. Here's what we should have done. Here's what you did. Here's what we should have done. Here's what you1:57 did. Here's what we should have done. Therefore, we're still here. And the saddest thing of all, it should have taken them about a month to get from slavery in Egypt into the promised2:08 land. And here they are 40 years later. Now that's a rut. How many of you from time to time ever felt like you've been in a rut? I mean, I've2:20 been in a rut. Right? This devotional I'd read a number of years ago, AW Tozier wrote this. He says, we really get a chance to make a a choice2:32 in our spiritual journey. We can be in a rut, we can rot, or we can choose revival. That's kind of an interesting way of putting it. And and so if you feel like you're in2:44 a spiritual rut, man, let's do some things to get out of it. Maybe you're spiritually rotting. I I don't know how what that means, but it clearly he's he's a pastor. Right? So he had to get 3 r's in there. But2:56 then he says, we wanna choose your Bible. Here's what he says. 1 of the worst enemies of men today that we face today, the treacherous enemy facing the church of Jesus Christ today is the dictatorship3:08 of routine. When routine becomes the lord of our life and the church, it seems to be the most deadly thing. As we get down in, Deuteronomy,3:20 chapter 2 here in a few minutes, 1 of the things Moses says that god shows up to the children of Israel and he says, you've walked around this mountain long enough.3:32 And it's the mountain of God, by the way. We looked a little bit at that last week, I won't dig back in. It's a great mountain, But God says, you've walked around this mountain long enough. He says it's time for3:44 you to go to the promised land. You know, a lot of times that's what we do. Something powerful will happen in our life, an old song or old this or old that or we've got some childhood spiritual memory, and we wanna3:55 circle that mountain over and over and over again. And I love what god shows up does. He shows up to the children of Israel and says you've walked in circles long enough.4:07 Guys, I want you to know, we should have 0 interest in circles. How many of you know? We should have more interest in where God wants us to go,4:20 what God wants us to do, how he wants us to lead our families, how he wants us to impact our community, how he wants us to raise our kids. God cares more about where he4:32 wants to take us than us to spend the rest of our life circling the same thing. Sometimes it's a sin. Sometimes it's a past sin that we just circle circle4:44 circle circle. Some sometimes it's some amazing, revival that has taken place in our life, but we wanna circle, circle, circle. Man, I love what we're gonna see here today is that God says you've circled4:56 this mountain long enough. And so, guys, I I wanna invite you and invite our staff to be on a journey together, not in circles, but towards5:08 something. And it's whatever God has for us. Man, you you heard Justin mentioned a few seconds ago. What an amazing weekend. Yeah. And and we're just talking a few seconds ago. How many of you know5:20 it is a great problem to have when people line up to get on your campus? That is a great problem to have. Even when they start cussing at our volunteers by the time they get here. You know, the point the5:32 point is it's outside in the parking lot, it's every man for himself. Right? When you get in here, we love Jesus. But out there, anything goes. Alright? Just get to your spot.5:44 But here's what we want. I mean, we don't want a circle. We don't want a circle. We've got a circle drive that goes around. Someone could pull on this campus, just drive circles around. Every Sunday morning, they could5:54 drive circle circle. They can't go fast on Sunday, but they could drive circle and never be impacted because they've never gotten to the destination. They've never gotten where god wants them to be. So I wanna encourage6:06 us to be men that don't walk in circles, but we're on our way together to the promised land. So this book of Deuteronomy, it's really, Moses, calling the children of Israel6:17 together saying, God's got more. God's got more. And last week, we started talking about our steps to greatness that, 1 of the things that Moses does, he looks back on god's faithfulness. He6:29 says, man, he fed you, manna and mead. He had the cloud, had the fire. God led you all the way. He took you out of slavery. He hit led you toward the promised land. He talks about god's faithfulness all through6:41 the book of Deuteronomy. Then he talks about our failure and that's kinda where he goes a little historical on. He says, man, you you and I need need to understand that we have blown it. The only reason why we are not in6:52 the promised land is because we made a choice not to be in the promised land. And then I love what Moses says, but god can still do it. He said, you've circled long enough. And guys, so maybe7:04 there's some of you men in here you said, I've circled a lot in my life. Can I tell you this? Moses would look you in the eyes today, say, yeah, we've circled long7:16 enough. It's time to start going in straight lines. It's time to break out of our our rut. It's time to no longer rot. It's time to experience a little revival for us in our life. And so7:28 last week, we said, man, we we need to recognize that we've stayed where we are long enough. If you missed this, go back on our podcast. And we said, man, it takes action to go forward. Remember, we looked this idea.7:39 We've got a break camp and go. There has to be some sort of action as we move forward. Now let's jump back in Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 9. We're just gonna kind of start reading through this. I wanna go a little,7:50 historical on you because all it's all leading to a point. So in Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 9, at this time, I said to you, this is Moses talking to the children of Israel. This is where we finished last week. He8:02 says, you are too heavy a burden for me to carry along. And so Moses was trying to do everything. Moses was hearing all the disputes. He was acting as their judge. Everybody8:14 brought everything to him. And his father-in-law, Jethro, came to him and said, you can't do it by yourself. You can't do it by yourself. And so Moses said, okay. You're right. I'm gonna choose8:26 some men who we can farm out some of the tasks to. And this is where we concluded last week, is that, guys, when we think about God blessing us as a church, and it is amazing8:38 to celebrate, you know what we need? We need exactly what Moses needed. We need men to step up and say, hey, what can I do? Where can I serve? Who can I minister8:50 to? Man, what barrier can I remove each and every week? What can you use me to do? And that's exactly what it has. What happened? What happens there? He says, at that time, I said to you, you are too heavy a burden for9:02 me to carry alone. Moses just being honest. I can't do it. It says, the Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you're as numerous as stars in the sky. But how9:13 can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? Moses said, man, God's blessed us. Even in the midst of our9:25 disobedience, God has blessed us to such a place Moses says, I can't do it. I I can't solve all the problems in the world. I can't carry all the burdens and I can't handle all the disputes. He9:37 says, therefore, I'm gonna raise up some men and you can just continue to read on. And so he chooses me and that's what happens in verse 13 and 14. He says, choose wise men, understanding men, well respected9:49 men from each tribe. In other words, your places. He goes, we're gonna we're gonna raise them up and if they can handle it, we'll give it to them. Only the big stuff will come to Moses from here on out. See, that's10:01 the value of men stepping up to lead their tribes, their groups, their places, and their people. That they're the ones that handle the problems. We got a problem. Let's fix it. That's what dudes do. How many of you know10:12 that? Right? I mean, you you that's just what dudes do. And, man, more than ever, now more than ever in our culture, in our country, in every space, in our community, we need men that'll stand10:24 up and say, let me solve some problems. Let me fix it. You know, it's 1 thing to point out a problem. It's another thing to solve it. How many of you have been around, maybe a work environment or some10:36 that that some people are fantastic at pointing out the problems? How many of you? Yeah. Alright. I got an idea. When you point out a problem, show up with a solution.10:48 Right? That's really how men should operate. Yeah. There is a problem. Here's the solution. Here's what we're gonna do. And so that's what Moses said. Your problems, your burdens, your disputes are too much for me to10:59 bear. Choose some men from among you. They're gonna step up and they're gonna do it. We'll give it now the big stuff Moses said, bring the big stuff to me. If you can't fix it, man, bring it to me. We'll get it taken11:11 care of. So always the challenge for us as men is to be willing to step up. Man, just as God had blessed them where they had gotten, become so big, there were more of them that he says,11:22 more numerous than the stars in the sky. Man, that's what's happening. That's what's happening in our children's ministry, our student ministry. And just to mention, 44 people11:35 baptized Sunday morning. Man, we ought to be so fired up about that. Just told me, we ran out of towels. I don't know if you saw. Couple of last people we baptized, they just walked off wet. Right? They're still wet.11:46 That's all we know. What happened to you today? I was baptized. We ran out of towels. How many of you would say that's a good thing? Right? That's a good thing. I mean, give God a hand on that.11:59 And so as we just jump down, let me just give you a couple thoughts today. We're gonna pick it up in verse 21. We're gonna go to for them to move forward. First of all, they had to remember they had12:11 a clear promise from God. Alright? They had a clear promise from God. You see this in verse 21. It says, see the Lord your God has given you this land. Now, again, this is Moses going12:23 historical on them, reminding them of their failure, but here's what they had, that a clear promise from God. And when do we see that? We saw that all the way back in Exodus chapter 3. He says, go12:35 up, take possession of the land. It's the Lord God. He's gonna give it to you and your fathers just as he told you. And now notice verse 21, he says, do not be afraid and do not be discouraged. They had a clear12:46 promise. Moses said, don't forget, we had a very clear promise. Some of you have had a clear promise from God for a long, long time. If you'll just follow me, if you'll serve me, if you'll love me, if you'll care for me,12:57 if you'll be who I wanna be, don't worry about your problems. Don't be fearful of your past. Don't be discouraged when things don't work out because that's exactly what he says in verse 21. He says, do13:09 not be afraid and do not be discouraged. And they had a clear promise. You say, where was their promise? All the way back in Exodus chapter 3. Let's go that. So Moses has tried in in13:21 a small way. He grew up in Egypt. He tried to kinda, save, some of the slaves in Israel. He ultimately leaves, spends 40 years out in the desert. So at 80 years old, he has this interaction13:33 with this burning bush. Y'all remember this. It's in Exodus chapter 3. Says, then the Lord said to them, I have indeed said to him, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have13:45 heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, for I am concerned about their suffering. He says, so I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to13:57 bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And this is the home. Now here's the problem of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,14:08 and the Jebusites. Alright? So I love what the Moses does. He said, don't ever forget about the promise. Man, the promise for us as men today is that the slavery that we were14:20 in was a slavery descent. In the New Testament, who took care of that? Jesus did. He bought and paid for our salvation. He paid the price for all of our sins. And if you14:32 and I have trusted Jesus Christ by by faith, that he died, he was buried, he rose again the third day, we have been released from slavery and bondage to sin to14:44 move into the promised land. Alright? But it requires some action. Now, salvation is for us. Just like these were all Jews. Can I tell you? They were Jews14:56 when they were in slavery. They were Jews when they were in the wilderness, and they were Jews when they were in the promised land. Right? So here's I where I think a bunch of us are. Bunch of us through15:08 salvation have been released from the bondage of sin and we become Christians, but we're walking around in circles in our own wilderness because we're not figuring out what's the15:20 straight line that god wants me to walk. How does god want me to live? How does god want me to move forward? And so here's where I wanna encourage us today. If we're gonna step up to greatness, let's find some straight15:31 lines. Man, I'm gonna serve here. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna say, God, yes. I'm gonna make worship a priority in my life. It's not gonna be, except maybe opening day of deer season, but other than that, we're gonna15:43 make worship a priority. Right? And that's what Moses reminds him. He says, listen. God promised you the land. Guys, there are some of you that God has been promising you better things for a long, long time, and you15:55 believe them in your heart. You think about them all the time, but you're not walking in straight lines. We're instead choosing to meander around in the desert. I I I just love this idea that Moses reminds them16:07 God gave us the land. Now just jump down to verse 22. So here's the plans for success. Here it is. He says, then all of you, came to me and said so remember, he's going16:19 historical. Let us send some men ahead to spy out the land and bring back a report about the route we are going to take and the towns we will come in. That's a good military strategy. Right?16:31 So here so Moses says, god promised it. He's taken us out of slavery. We're out here in the wilderness. We're not yet going to the promised land, but god's given us the land. It's a land where there are enemies,16:42 difficulties, hardships, Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, all of those people. And he goes and Moses said, don't forget, you stopped. And we came up with a good strategy. We came up with a good plan. And16:54 he goes, here's the plan. We're gonna choose people from every tribe. We're gonna choose 12 men, send them in. They're gonna spy out the land. That's a pretty good strategy. Right? That's a good plan. They're gonna go17:05 in, tell us the route routes we're gonna take. They're gonna talk about the cities we're gonna come into. So we can develop a plan. We can develop a plan. And then when we develop a plan, we're gonna go in. Right? Wrong.17:17 They sent these 12 people in and look at this verse 23 says, the idea seemed good to me. I selected 12 of you, 1 from each of your tribe. They left and went up to the hill country and came to the17:29 valley of Eshel and explored it. Taking with them some of the fruit, they brought it down to us and reported it is a good land that the Lord is giving us. Man,17:41 everything seems lined up. They've gotten the promise, they're out of slavery, they're moving towards the promised land, they know God's given it, God's promised them there are gonna be problems in there, he says there's17:53 enemies in there, there's cities in there, and he says, man, we developed a good plan. Send 12 people in, they go into the plan, they they go into the land, they bring back fruit. You remember the story. What happens?18:05 Those men come back men come back and discourage the people. And that's what that's the saddest thing about this whole book,18:19 is Deuteronomy should have taken place 40 years earlier, But instead, they go into the land, and they go, you know what? There are some problems in there. There are some18:30 enemies in there. There are some pretty fortified cities in there. And instead of going in, the people get discouraged and then begin to meander around, and they live in the wilderness for18:42 40 years instead of in the promised land. And guys, my encouragement, if you are living in your spiritual wilderness, let's stop walking in circles.18:55 Let's start going in straight lines. Let's say, God, what do you want me to do? How do you want me to live? How do you want me to worship? Do you want me to study your word each and every day? Man, they19:07 had a pretty good plan. I I love what, Proverbs says, Proverbs 16 verse 3. You say, pastor, how would I know what to do? No. Just go with Proverbs chapter 16 verse 3. It says, commit your way to the19:19 Lord, and whatever you do, your plans will succeed. You know, I think a lot of times we sit around and we plan and we think about it. Well, maybe I should do this bible study or maybe I should serve in this ministry, I19:31 should do this, I should do that. How do I know which 1 is right? You wanna know how you know which 1 is right? This is the dude's way. Just try it. Just try it. Say, I'm19:43 gonna try this. If this doesn't seem to line up with my giftedness, I'm gonna try something else. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do that. The 1 thing I'm not gonna do is walk around circles. And so they had a good plan.19:53 They had a clear promise from God, but they journey forward. Now, pick it up and then notice this. Look at verse 26. But you were unwilling to go up. They20:05 had a promise from God. They had a good plan, but notice, they got fearful. And the 2 common things we're afraid of is is or or hold20:17 us back is a lot of times we lack faith or we lack spiritual courage. That's exactly what happened to them. So notice what he says, but you were unwilling to go up. You had the20:28 promise, you had the plan, but notice now here the problem show up. You rebelled against the lord your god, that he commanded you can't commanded you. And look at verse 27 7. You grumbled in your20:40 tents and said, the lord hates us. Let's just stop right there. What a bunch of crybabies. Right?20:53 Bunch of woe is me. Alright. The Lord just took you out of slavery, walked you toward the promised land, gave you a promise, you went in, the people reported back that21:04 the land is a good and spacious land. It is filled flowing with milk and honey and, you chose not to go in and said God hates us.21:18 Man, how small does that violin need to be? Guys, I I think there are times in our life and and let me tell you, I'm standing up here as a man who years ago21:30 felt the exact same way. That I wasn't walking with God, my father had passed away when, I was in Baylor and, man, things were going on in my life and I remember saying, God,21:44 you hate me? God, why would you let this happen to me? My hero dies and this struggle and, man, went through some things that you know, I just remember21:56 I literally remember laying there at night going, man, god, do you love me? Because if you love me, it doesn't seem like that would happen. If you love me, it doesn't seem like that wouldn't happen. If you love me, it22:07 doesn't seem like that would happen, and I start playing my violin. And maybe there are some of you that you're sitting here today and and you're wondering, god, do you love me? May or can you still love me based on22:19 what I did? Can you still love me? Do you still love me? Do you still have a purpose for me? Do you still have a plan for me? See, here's the key. Even though they were unwilling to go22:30 in, God would have still given them the promised land. See see, when they chose not to go in, God didn't say, then I revoke my promise.22:44 What God said is, I might give it to a different generation. I might give it to someone else who will say yes. And so as we think about in your life, are you sitting in a22:56 space of disobedience and unwillingness to say yes to God and then blaming God for not loving you enough? That's where they were. Did you get that?23:08 They chose disobedience, discouragement, stayed out in the wilderness and then accused God of not loving them enough.23:20 And God's sitting here going, look in your history, I've done enough. Alright? You were slaves, now you're not slaves. You came to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was behind you. Instead of me letting you die there, I23:32 parted the Red Sea and killed the Egyptian soldiers. You went a little further down and you ran out of water. I told Moses, hey, I got an idea. Go strike that rock. I'll give you clean water. That seems like a crazy23:43 idea, God. But Moses went ahead and did it. God goes up, takes Moses up on the give, up on the mountain. He gives him 10 commandments. He says, if you don't live out these 10 commandments, you'll all be better23:55 off for it. We'll be better off for it. Right? God says, don't say I don't love you just because you're choosing disobedience in this moment. God says, listen, I want you in the promised24:06 land, I don't want you in the wilderness. And maybe there's some guys in here today or maybe online or in the podcast, you need to hear this, that God says, I do love you, But you've chosen the24:18 wilderness instead of the promised land. And God says let's move to the promised land. So let's continue to read on. Says the Lord hates us. So he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of these Amorites,24:29 verse 27, to destroy us. Where can we go now? Our brothers have made us lose heart. So now they're what? They're blaming somebody else. Man, guys, don't ever24:41 roll into the blame game of, you know, hey, this, you know, in this past church or when I grew up here or there was a pastor or a deacon over there. Guys, don't ever let someone else control24:53 your spiritual future. Alright? Don't let some pastor they're like, our brothers discourage us. No. You made a choice not go in. And so I wanna encourage you, man. Moses is kinda25:05 giving it to these dudes. Alright? He's kinda giving it to him saying, it is time for us to move forward. It is time for us to go in. And so they said, where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. Verse 28.25:16 They say the people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there. Now look at verse 29. Then I, Moses said, then I said25:28 to you, do not be terrified and do not be afraid. The Lord your God who is going before you will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the wilderness.25:40 There you saw the Lord God carried you as a father carries his son all the way until you reach this place. I love what Moses did. He he went historical25:52 to remind them of the past problems, but he also went a little historical to remind them of God's faithfulness. And, guys, my my guess is there are a lot of us in this room, while we might have some past problems,26:05 we can also look back in the past and see where God was faithful. How many of you can think in your life, I can think of thousands, that even in those moments when I was unfaithful, god was faithful?26:19 Every 1 of us in this room, unless you're Jesus, We can all look back on past failures, past problems, past mistakes,26:31 and say, even when I was unfaithful, God was faithful. And so guys, I I wanna encourage us with this. Moses has given it to him, but for the purpose of saying, let's26:44 don't repeat past mistakes. Let's stop work walking in circles in our spiritual life and start walking in straight lines. Why? Because26:55 the promised land is over there. And if you choose, and I choose to walk in circles, in disobedience, let's don't then turn27:07 around and say, God hates us. No. God hates where you are because you're in the wilderness, because God wants you in the promised land.27:20 God doesn't hate you. God will challenge you. God will encourage you. Maybe this moment, maybe this message, you sound say, pastor, it's a little hard for prior to 7 in the morning.27:32 Man, some of us need to hear, let's stop walking in circles and let's start walking in straight lines. And so as we just continue to read on, notice what it says, as a father carries his son Man, what an incredible27:44 thought. Look at verse 32. In spite of this in spite of this, you did not trust the Lord your God.27:59 So here's where we're gonna close. How much do you trust God with your future? How much do you trust god with your28:10 future? Do you trust him enough to say I'm all in? Do you trust him enough to say I'm done walking in circles and I'm gonna start walking28:22 in straight lines? Do you trust him enough with your past failures that you believe more in his future grace than your past failures? Do you trust God enough?28:34 Because when it came down to it, they lacked faith and courage, but both of those led to 1 common problem that most men have.28:46 We will trust ourselves long before we will trust God. And guys, that will never ever, ever get us to the promised land.28:59 That's the best way to keep circling your mountain out in the wilderness. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for just an opportunity to let29:11 Moses wear me out, wear us out for the purpose of pushing us29:23 to get out over of our spiritual rut, to move towards revival, to move towards our promised land, to stop walking in circles. God,29:35 we know you love us. You demonstrate that through your son over 2000 years ago. God, many of us in here have salvation, but we're still walking29:47 in circles. God, let us leave here today as men who will trust you with our families, with our finances, with our29:58 future, because we know you love us. As Moses said, you're like a father who carries his son. God, let30:10 that image burn its way into our minds all day long as we trust you in every place. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. You guys30:22 have a blessed day. Go walk in some straight lines.30:27 Thank you for tuning in to Men's Breakfast with John Mark Caton. For more information on John Mark's ministry and resources, please visit johnmarkkayton dot com. Until next time, remember, we're30:39 on this journey of life together.In this video 0:00 Breaking the Cycle: From Wilderness to Promised Land
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.